In the garden

This past Saturday, I was part of Women's Day 2008 at LSTC with the theme "Fertile Ground: Women, Spirit & Sustainability." It was an amazing day with conversation about urban gardening, reminders to do no less than what helps you come alive (even in cases where you didn't know you were dead), and annointed singing from the LSTC gospel choir. My workshop was around themes of Creation & Vocation. Here are a few tidbits from that workshop.

"Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven't time - and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O'Keefe
I love this quote and the invitation to pause, look, really look... and hopefully see some detail that we might otherwise miss. I had the opportunity on an unexpected walk last week in St. Paul to walk with my camera in hand and see gardens that I would otherwise have missed. I breathed deeply and experienced unexpected sabbath.

How about you? What are your experiences in gardens? The season for gardening is coming to a close...temperatures are dropping... but I think there may still be a few days left for walks outside to watch the autumn leaves change. To pay attention and give some time to really look.

Peace,
Pastor Joy

In every breath

I thank thee
(from the book Graces)

For diamond-studded velvet
behind a silver moon
For music of the nightwinds,
A nightingale's sweet tune--
For whispering trees
And darkening peace--
I thank thee.

For mountains carved of sea pearls
For clouds that shroud their heights
For pristine air like nectar
And ghostly northern lights
For misty vales
And secret dales--
I thank thee.

For fiery fuchsia ribbons
That stream across the sky
For opalescent sunsets
And mornings dipped in dye
For mornings pale
And day's finale--
I thank thee.

love and justice

The summer of seminarians visiting camps as "Outdoor Ministry Ambassadors" (OMAs) has begun! Read the reflections of Adam and Rebecca at our partner blog "The Seminarian's Sojourn."
Henry David Thoreau wrote, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." I think you'll find that lots is being learned in the woods this summer.
Happy reading,
Pastor Joy

guide our feet

I have done a lot of walking these past months... through Germany and Switzerland, walking where the Reformers walked, and then in Mexico and Texas with the "Serving Christ in the World" Youth in Mission program. It has been a tremendous journey. And, today, I had the opportunity to talk with a prospective student who has just been in Jordan, Israel/Palestine and Egypt and now finds Jesus leading her to LSTC. There are so many connections between these places we've walked: Germany, Jerusalem, the borderlands. Each one has walls/barriers and in each place, God is working to bring people together across them. We may stumble and even fall, but we continue to pray that God might work in, through and in spite of us.
while we run this race,
Pastor Joy

sandy feet

compassion and grace

A poem by Julian of Norwich -

I understood that
our sensuality is grounded
in Nature, in Compassion
and in Grace.
This enables us to receive
gifts that lead to
everlasting life.
For I saw that in our sensuality
God is.
For God is never out of
the soul.

photo taken outside the Church of Reconciliation, Berlin, Germany

Alleluia! Jesus is risen! We have been on a journey. And now, the journey of Lent—with its powerful encounters, with its building drama of challenges and conflicts—is finished. Now, the journey through Holy Week and the Three Days—the final walk through Jesus’ turbulent life, betrayal, cross and burial—is complete. But the celebration of new life and resurrection has just begun.

Weather-permitting, this is where I’ll be on Easter Sunday, after we’ve sung our alleluias throughout the morning. I’ll be in a garden, sharing a meal, with neighbors I barely know. One host is an artist and dancer, who makes art from junk he finds in the dumpsters and who has the most amazingly wild corner garden I’ve seen in Chicago. Another host is an artist of another kind--she bakes incredible “sugarkist” desserts. And other neighbors invited promise to be a motley crew because these two artists invite with abandon.

And I will be there, for the Easter egg hunt and egg decorating and potluck… but that’s not all. I will be there as one “chosen by God as a witness, one who has eaten and drank with Jesus after he rose from the dead.” What does this mean? I will be in a garden, sharing a meal... Might I see the one Mary mistook for a gardener? Might I be called upon to share some good news of resurrection, since I am a witness?

My most favorite “title” I’ve ever been given came from a friend, who was introducing me in a group where I think he sensed “pastor” might feel alienating. He introduced me as a “soul artist.” And, I’m pretty sure that this articulates the Spirit’s invitation on this day when God has acted. The Spirit sings, “Join with me in this creative endeavor.”

How might we share the good news of Jesus with creativity, joy and artistry? With love & delight? As those who have shared a meal with Jesus, who have received forgiveness through Jesus’ name, may we recognize the Gardener, who calls each one by name.

Alleluia! Jesus is risen!

Creative God, on this day, you have acted. Forgive us for the ways we fail to recognize you and fail to proclaim deep joy. Thank you for accompanying us on the journey and for leading us into the future. Alleluia!

Called

I wish that God's call was as easy to hear as the photo I have of officially receiving the call to serve Galilee Lutheran Church in Pewaukee, WI (my first call). In that photo, I'm standing in the classic red phone booth of the UK. I happened to be in Nottingham, England the day the congregation voted. So, there I am, in the red phone booth, on the phone, "called." It's a fun photo. I'm smiling. I kept it so that I'd remember on the tough days, I really was called...

But so much of the time, as you already know, it's so much less obvious than that. What's next, God? One of my colleagues describes a moment in his life where he was offered two drastically different jobs, literally, a fork in the road. He chose one and then spent 6 very low months, wondering and wrestling. Did he make the right choice? After that time, though, he says, "I've never looked back."

Most of the time, for me, life has been a series of seeing only the next step. Not at all seeing the end or the total picture of how this is all going to fit together. I have needed to remind myself... there is no bad choice here, just taking the next step in faith that God will be able to work, within and in spite of us. And, that God works (thanks be to God!) even when we sleep.

In thanks for God's presence and promises,
Pastor Joy

Meant to shine

Meant to shine—2 Timothy 1: 1-7 a sermon preached at Gustavus on February 14, 2008

To make a long story very short, there was a big snow storm in Chicago last week so a short flight home from San Antonio, TX became a 13-hour travel day where I flew to Denver then to Minneapolis and never actually did make it home to Chicago. It was Ash Wednesday. I had the opportunity at the beginning of the journey to talk on the phone with a good friend and mentor—and because he seems to be spiritually grounded so much of the time, when he said, “Hmmmm… stuck in an airport, there’s lots of sermon material in airports,” I paid attention.
So last Wednesday, while you were (perhaps) being marked with a cross of oil and ashes—a sign of our humanness & brokenness & blessedness—I was sitting and eating a vegetable sandwich and watching the myriad of people gathered on the holy ground of the Denver airport. In the course of my travels that day, I read a beautiful sermon from this book Earth & Word, about the body of life-giving, life-sustaining, baptism-evoking waters also called Lake Michigan. And I thought of our church’s renewed focus on baptism during this season we once called a “dry” season…
And I read and re-read 2 Timothy—our text for today—with you in mind. What is it that God wants to say to us today—in the midst of a cold February, in the beginning of Lent, on Valentine’s Day, on one more day of discerning our life’s journey?

The letter to Timothy begins “To Timothy, my beloved child”—and evokes Jesus’ own baptism where a voice from heaven says, “You are my son, the beloved.” Then Paul describes a whole legacy of faith—Paul’s own faith-filled ancestors, the mother & grandmother of Timothy. These are the ones who went before, who prayed and cried with joy and planted the seeds of sincere faith. Now, Timothy is growing up—maybe just as strong in faith as ever, maybe needing some encouragement, maybe full of questions, maybe full of doubts and fears—and so this encouragement comes… “rekindle again the gift of God in you. For God has not given a spirit of cowardice but of power and LOVE and self-discipline.” Why? Because “God has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to God’s purpose and grace.” [2 Timothy 1: 9]

That’s also why we, as ELCA Seminary Admissions representatives, come to visit you—because we are convinced that God is calling, not just some of us but everyone.
That’s why representatives of numerous outdoor ministries are here—because God may be calling you to rekindle the gifts that are in you… to go with faith into a summer of ministry with youth & families, in the midst of God’s creation. A place where you might sit as I did last summer around a campfire & a cross, looking at a star-filled sky, hearing God’s word in a whole new way. God is calling.
That’s why we are present from the ELCA seminaries, because God has called each of us with a holy calling that will lead some to seminary to prepare for a whole variety of ministries—ordained ministry of word & sacrament; lay rostered ministries of word & service, preparation for delving deeply into study & research to prepare for a vocation of teaching; theological training to prepare to work for justice & peace through all the world; and more…
And whether you are thinking of coming to camp or seminary or not… we are interested in hearing your stories because the chance to witness (to see and hear) YOU fills us with joy. These are the kinds of encounters that are possible today—as we share our stories with each other—conversations that rekindle the gift of God that is within not just some of us but everyone.
You may have heard this quote before but somehow, each time I hear it, it always seems to be right on time… first written by Marianne Williamson, it was most famously paraphrased by Nelson Mandela:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world…
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

This past weekend, I watched the movie Evan Almighty. I know this film’s been out for awhile but I just saw it so for any who have not yet… it’s the story of Noah (or Evan, in this case) coming literally true in our day. Evan Baxter is a political candidate who has been elected on the promise of… you guessed it, change! His plan is to change the world and at the prompting of his wife, Joan, he prays… “God, help me change the world.” And that sets off a course of bizarre events—a tool box & huge loads of wood delivered to his door, animals in pairs following him everyone, God (embodied by Morgan Freeman) appearing again and again with the message—build an ark. “But this wasn’t in my plans!” Evan argues and God laughs. Maybe I’ve never liked that saying—when we make plans, God laughs—because it sounds a little menacing… but it was clear in Morgan Freeman’s portrayal that really it is the laugh of a generous God, One who has a sense of humor, and a view of the bigger picture that we’d like to be able to see.
Well, Evan finally wears down, not without a struggle, and starts construction. Of course, everyone thinks he’s nuts. And although God promises that he “only asks us to do something because he LOVES us,” when things get bleakest, Evan does shout—“if you’re only doing this because you love me, could you love me less?”
At this point in the movie, I start speaking my questions aloud to the screen. “How is Evan going to be vindicated in front of his mocking neighbors?” “But, if everyone else gets drowned, how is this going to be a comedy?” “God, you can’t just talk to the man in the family, you need to tell the woman what’s going on!”
And as if on cue, God does just that, meeting Joan in a restaurant and asking her questions about her theology…
When you pray for courage, do you think God gives you courage or an opportunity to show courage? When you pray for patience, do you think God gives you patience or an opportunity to practice patience? When you pray for a closer relationship, does God just make it so or give you the circumstances where that can grow?
In true comic fashion, things turn out pretty well—Evan does change the world, not at all in the way he imagined—and is filled with a new sense of purpose and priorities… somehow, through it all, the gift of God is rekindled in Evan… not a spirit of cowardice but of powerful love—the love of God for all creation.

Change the world? Do you dare to imagine your future in those terms?

If not, what needs to be rekindled in you? A few weeks ago, I stayed with a friend whose heat supply for her home is a wood stove—so I had hands-on practice in rekindling. First, we had to open various doors and slots in the oven. Because whether you have glowing coals or are starting from nothing, to build a fire, you need fresh air. In airplane travels lately, I hear it at least twice a week “Put your oxygen mask on first.”
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

There are many things that we might fear… on Valentine’s Day, during Lent, as we attempt to look into and imagine the future... but how does it change things to know that God does not give a spirit of cowardice but of strength and LOVE and ability?
And here, just a word about Valentine’s Day… maybe one of the more hated holidays by at least half the population either because it’s been totally commercialized, totally over-rated, a day of dashed hopes & expectations, etc.
So, I’m confessing that in spite of all that, I love Valentine’s Day—and not because I’m a total sap or because it’s a day of flowers and chocolates, but because when I was a teenager, maybe the time when I felt most unloved & unlovely in my life… my Dad started giving me Valentines. A box of Crunch & Munch is the small gift I remember. A simple card. But it was unexpected and needed. And somehow, it’s propelled me to use this day say to “I love you”… “you are deeply loved” to those who might not expect it. Maybe this day works for me a little bit like these words to Timothy, reminding me how much we need to hear:
My beloved child—grace, mercy and peace to you
I am so grateful to God when I think of you…I pray for you every day
I long to see you because when I see you I’m filled with joy
Rekindle the gift of God that is in you—because God gives you
power and ability and LOVE.

Somehow, it makes sense that this day of LOVE falls in the midst of Lent—that it is immersed, flooded with the waters of baptism—which tell us the story of the deep love of God in Jesus Christ, a love that rekindles this fire, that fills us with oxygen, that reminds us “your playing small doesn’t serve the world,” for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and ability and LOVE.

Pass it on.

Earth & Word

I've been reading this collection of sermons and essays on saving the planet, edited by David Rhoads (professor of New Testament here at LSTC). So far, the richest words I've read have come from Wendell Berry, describing what makes for "good work."
"It does not dissociate life and work, or pleasure and work, or love and work, or usefulness and beauty. To work without pleasure or affection, to make a product that is not both useful and beautiful, is to dishonor God, nature, the thing that is made and whomever it is made for..."
Berry goes on to describe how in the scriptures, there is a poetry of awe and respect and profound cherishing for nature. And that includes us. We are people made of dust and breath--together these make us living souls. "God did not make a body and put a soul into it, like a letter into an envelope." Instead, with God's breath, the dust lives. We do not embody souls but become them--"creatures of God, members of the holy community of creation."
This seems like a great re-focusing as we consider call, vocation, next steps. How might I continue to weave love and work, usefulness and beauty? How might I both breathe in the breath of God and honor the dust from which I was formed? And how might more and more people do this together so that we might honor together the whole community of creation?

In another sermon in this same book, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas gives this route to discernment--
1) Prayer roots us in the love of God that extends through all creation.
2) Prayer also gives us courage to share Christ's crucifixion, mourn the losses and feel the grief.
3) Through the spirit of the risen Christ, we are sent out to act, to do what we can to transform the world.

She says "There is good nourishment to be had in a life lived like that."

In prayer and gratitude,
Pastor Joy

a fresh start

When pressed to make a new year's resolution, I could only think of one--get blogging! So, after a long absence, I'm again committing to this once a week practice of sharing with you why I am blessed to be a witness.

I've noticed that's how God's call can be, too. Sometimes, there are periods of silence. Or, as is more often the case for me, there are periods of such constant activity that we get lost in it. In these times, it's easy to lose our way. Like in any relationship, you can find yourself asking--what am I doing? where am I going? I need to breathe.

In her book Breathing Space, Pastor Heidi Neumark shares a winter poem written by Burnice, a phenomenal woman who's conquered crack, abuse, depression, and intemperate weather morning, noon and night.

My daughter says to me
"Mom here's the school bus"
I say "I love you, have a nice day."
Then, as I walk
I see the sun on my left.
It's coming across the sky
To try and meet the moon
On this early cold morning

Now the dark sky is all gone
A new day has dawned.
The birds sing their morning song
And I thank God that I am alive
On this early cold morning.

Amen
Pastor Joy

All Saints Day

Today, I am especially remembering the great cloud of witnesses who surrounds us and gathers with us at Holy Communion. I think of Louise's father, who died just a few days ago. I think of Bob, who was so kind to us while we lived in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. I think of the three students who have died this fall at Luther College--and the whole community there who mourns them so deeply. I think of the students, staff and faculty of LSTC who have lost family this past year - John, MaryAnn, Charles - and then I think further back to my own grandparents and loved ones - Emilie, Joseph, Janet, George, Tavia, Sam. All these are somehow present with us on this day when we celebrate the baptized, living and dead. And as we proclaim: I believe in the Holy Spirit... the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting.

Amen, amen.
For a portion of the beautiful sermon Pastor David Miller preached in chapel yesterday, check out this link: http://www.prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
(scroll down to November 1, 2007)

Blessings,
Pastor Joy

Recognition!

It happened around the supper table at the University of Iowa. I was talking with Laura, a student who was there because she is interested in exploring where God is calling her to go next. Suddenly, as she told me about her parents and dreams, something clicked and I really SAW her. "O Laura," I said with surprise, "We know each other!" She said back, "You're Joy!"

Both of us had aged quite a bit since we saw each other last but Laura is the only child of very good friends of my parents. The kind of friends who come faithfully to the funeral of your grandparent, even if they haven't seen you for awhile before that. It was an incredible experience to be sitting face-to-face with someone and then suddenly, to recognize her as family.

I was very moved by this experience along the journey in Iowa, but maybe not so surprised now that I think about it. This is what happens in the family of God. Suddenly, as we listen, we come face-to-face with someone we know, we love, we recognize as family - and at the same time, we are fully known. And in the meal, we experience the body of Christ.

Giving thanks for witnesses along the way,
Pastor Joy

Doubly blessed

ELCA Seminary Admissions Directors, Jonathan Strandjord (ELCA Vocation and Education Unit) and Paul Hanson (ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission)

In the autumn of each year, the seminary admissions directors gather for an annual meeting hosted by one of the seminaries of the ELCA. Why? So that we might work together as collaboratively as possible in connecting with pontential leaders of the church. Why? Because God calls us to this way and this work for the building up of the whole church. We don't work together because "we're such nice people" but because Jesus calls us to be one body.

What a blessing to be able to serve not only LSTC, a place of theological education, formation & community that I love, but to keep a bigger picture of the gift and diversity of seminary education in the ELCA in mind. I am doubly blessed.

This year, we met at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary - my first time in beautiful South Carolina! There was wisdom, struggle and laughter shared around that table. Now our group is divided into two--visiting Lutheran colleges and campus ministries in North Carolina and South Carolina. It's incredible to be a witness to the many and varied ministries happening throughout the church--Lutheran Social Services, the incredible work of campus pastors, religion faculty and all who serve in Lutheran colleges, not to mentioned some very gifted churchwide staff.

Tonight, we'll hear about the Young Adults in Global Mission program from Franklin Ishida. If you are a young adult or know a young adult who might consider a year of faithful, global service, please check this website: http://www.elca.org/globalserve/youngadults/index.html

And of course, if God is calling you to rostered leadership in the church (or simply to seminary), don't hesitatae to be in contact with me.

In thanks for God's bold call,
Pastor Joy

Summer is past

August passed in a blur with so many activities and trying to squeeze in the last working and playing of summer. Did anyone else feel like that?

Now, though, we are into full-fledged autumn. Now is the time when some of you from various places are wondering--where will my path lead next? I remember (and still experience) the feeling of looking into the misty future and wondering where I will be next, after that bend in the road.

Andrew Greeley writes in his book Life for a Wanderer, "The Christian knows, vaguely at least, where he is going, but he is not quite sure how, specifically, he is going to get there. Hence he is forced to be experimental, to try one path for a time, but to be prepared always to cast these charts aside when a better set is offered. To change the image somewhat, she is like a sailor who adjusts the sails on her ship with the changing directions of the wind, since she knows as every good sailor does that the wind is inclined to blow whither it will."

For all of you who are wondering if it is time for your journey to take a turn, if it's time for you to travel light, to play it by ear... you are in my joy-filled prayers. That God might guide you, that Jesus might point you to those people who can help discern next steps, that the Spirit may fill your heart with power to move to the music.

And for all whose path may be winding this way, if God is leading you here to LSTC, we can't wait to welcome you!

In joy and welcome,
Pastor Joy

Shine in our hearts

Here's a photo from a night around the campfire at "Inspiration Point" and words from Bernadette Farrell, New Hymns and Songs, R127:

Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.

Shine on~
Pastor Joy

Off to camp

I'm not the first to go this summer--in fact, we have a group of folks going as "Outdoor Ministry Ambassadors" from LSTC to camps this summer. So far, they've been to Nebraska, Wisconsin, Colorado... and they will also go to camps in Iowa. Tim, Holly, Tom, Matt, Jennie... they go as a "living commercial" for the partnership we share in Christ. Some will be informal "camp chaplains" for a week, some will simply be present pitching in wherever needed.

Why? It's no secret that outdoor ministries are a place where people hear God's call. Maybe it's because in that "place apart," we can see our lives with new eyes. Maybe it's because dedicated camp staff remind us to keep listening. Maybe it's because we get to experience God's incredible creation all around us and God seems nearer... but for whatever reason, discernment about where God is calling us in life and how God is calling us to serve often happen in camp settings. So, we want to be there.

We come as people with listening ears, open hearts and an exciting story to tell about the possibility of seminary as a training ground on a ministry journey.

As for me, I'm off this weekend to Nebraska - first for an Operation IDEA retreat (if you haven't heard about this amazing Nebraska program, check out their website - http://www.operationidea.org/) and then to Camp Carole Joy Holling (http://www.nlom.org/)

Can't wait to share a photo here when I get back!

On the way,
Pastor Joy

Serving Christ in the World

This summer has already been so lively and full of opportunities for hearing God's call that it's hard to know where to begin... but let me start with the "Serving Christ in the World" Youth in Mission program which just ended last Saturday.

It was an incredible three weeks. Eighteen high school youth, mostly "rising juniors," gathered from all over the USA at LSTC for a program of immersion first in the city of Chicago and then in Mexico City. In the photo, we're "all cleaned up" for Sunday worship but these were not the only faces we saw during that transformative time. We saw faces with furrowed brows as we did the hard work of preparing to enter another culture. We saw faces bursting with laughter as youth totally enjoyed each other's company. We saw faces crumpled with tears at the injustices we witnessed. We saw faces absorbed in prayer. We saw faces totally wired from the intense games of ultimate frisbee. And on and on...

It was an honor and a privilege to make this strenuous and incredible journey with 18 youth, 5 seminary mentors, Heather Wallace (program director) and other faithful adults (those who accompanied, trained, taught). We were blessed to be hosted in Mexico by the Lutheran Center in Mexico City. http://www.elca.org/mexico/ During the whole three weeks, we talked about God's call for all the baptized.

Do you know a youth who will be a sophomore in high school this fall? Please pass on word about this incredible program for vocational formation. Dates for next summer's program will be posted on the LSTC website this fall. http://www.lstc.edu/

In gratitude and delight,
Pastor Joy

Which way do we go?

The campus minstries of Marquette and UWM reported to the Greater Milwaukee Synod Assembly that campus ministry is a place where we sit under the question marks of life (just above the directional arrows you see in this photo) and 1) figure things out, 2) sit with the tensions, 3) try things, 4) learn and grow...

It's so true. But not only college students need a place to do this. Throughout life, we need community with those who sit with us--or run with us--and talk about next steps.

Thanks to future LSTC seminarian Laura Gerstl, Pastor Brad Brown and Pastor Christine Thompson (pictured here) for they great ministry they have done and are doing at Marquette and UWM... and for all those who meet us at the crossroads of life and discern with us next directions.

As we venture on,
Pastor Joy

Water-washed and Spirit-born

This was the last week of classes at LSTC so we had one sending service after another as we sent people to internship, to CPE (clinical pastoral education), to graduation, to retirement, to sabbatical, to many and various places, to summer...

In the midst of all these partings, we walked through the baptismal waters. We remembered together that we are washed as we go from here--whether we go far away or come back tomorrow, wherever we go. We go on this life journey singing:

Oh how deep your holy wisdom.
Unimagined, all your ways.
To your name be glory, honor.
With our lives we worship, praise.
We your people stand before you,
water-washed and Spirit-born.
By your grace, our lives we offer.
Recreate us; God, transform! -ELW 445

And in this time of saying goodbye, there was an opportunity for gratitude. I received a gift this week--a beautiful photo that one of our senior students took in Hong Kong of a place of prayer. This gift was a wonderful surprise, prodding me to be mindful of my deep thanks for this creative and dedicated servant-leader and so many people whose paths have crossed mine this past year. Thanks be to God who keeps recreating and transforming us.

In grace and gratitude,
Pastor Joy

Hope in Revelation

Shared in chapel at Luther College today

Text: Revelation 6:1-7:4

When I was a student here at Luther and lived in Larsen, I had a sticker posted beside my desk, chosen because of its earth-friendly scripture verse, “Hurt not the earth or the sea or the trees.” Revelation 7:3a – a very tiny portion of the reading for today.

You might almost miss this verse in the larger reading describing death and destruction. In fact, you could make an argument that this phrase is taken completely out of context since all around it, the vision is exposing harm and hurt. As John describes the reality of the Roman empire’s brutal impact on the communities he loves, he describes, almost like a newscaster, how they have come conquering and to conquer, removed peace from the earth so that people slaughter one another, live in brutal financial arrangements that starve people, kill in numerous ways… in John’s vision, even the earth is experiencing havoc—earthquakes and stars falling like a fruit tree that drops its fruit when shaken by a gale.

Really, it kind of sounds like our news. We hear at least daily of efforts in Iraq to conquer and of those lost in that effort. This morning in the Des Moines Register, I read John Carlson’s reflections on hearing an early morning report of 9 dead and 20 wounded from the 82nd Airbourne—and his dreadful waiting for a knock, a call because as he writes, “my family has someone in Iraq.”
We reel from the stories of killing at Virginia Tech: survivor Erin Sheehan in Norris room 207 said she doesn’t know how she wasn’t shot. As she lay motionless, people lay in every direction from her, and she could hear the sounds of their dying [NPR Morning Edition].
We heard the witness last night at the Hunger Banquet in Peace Dining Room of the brutal economics in our world—the problem isn’t that we don’t have enough food and resources to go around—it’s unfair and inadequate distribution that is starving children, not to mention mothers, to death.
And I heard this week, it a report from peach farmers throughout Alabama who experienced an unseasonable 20 degree cold snap, their grief at losing their entire fruit crop. “You look out and all the fruit is on the ground. There’s not one thing left on the tree. It makes you want to cry.” [NPR Morning Edition]

If we can relate to John’s revealing vision—it’s because the deep pain and need of our world is all around us—and as far as I can tell, this isn’t because we’re living in the “end times”—this is because empire-building, violent grasping for power, abuse of the earth, greed…because all of this sin and brokenness is present in our world today.

The good news is that there is an alternative to selling our souls to empire. We do not have to be paralyzed in the face of all this because there is another, truer, deeper story woven through the book of Revelation – through this vision of John – a story of hope that reminds us of God’s call and God’s promise. Like this little seed within the destruction - “Hurt not the earth or the sea or the trees” - we are bordered front and back by violence and death. But the violence described in chapter 6 is also bordered/bracketed/bookended – it is surrounded on every side by the power of the Lamb.

In the Easter texts of Revelation 5, we hear - “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!”

And we are moving on to the text that comes this next Sunday in chapter 7, “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more, the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

“Lamb power,”*as this power is described in Rev. Dr. Barbara Rossing’s book The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation, is a very different kind of power—power in vulnerability, power in sacrifice, power in singing, power in worship—this is the power that is given by the Holy Spirit who calls and gathers, enlightens and sanctifies God’s people… for a purpose.

The hope and promise that permeates Revelation is not for some far-off day when we die and thus escape the realities of the world—no way! The hope and promise is to give us a glimpse of God’s vision, God’s reality, God’s way… and the part that each of us can play in bringing that vision to life in our daily work and living.
It’s a little like that piece of wisdom that is sometimes attributed to Martin Luther, “If I was told that world was going to end tomorrow—today, I would plant a tree.” Why? Well not because he was an eccentric man out of touch with reality… but because of his continued faith in God’s work of healing, renewal and reconciliation on earth.

We are called to be a part of this vision of hope—through who we are & what we say & do. Another name for that is vocation. I know, I know… if you’ve heard that word once in this chapel, you’ve heard it a thousand times.

But I think why we’re so obsessed with it is all of us know how hard it is in the crazy busyness, demands and pain of every day life to have a vision of the whole—God’s vision, my vision, the world’s deep need, my deep joy, how these intersect and come together. We need the reminder in our vocation as students, teachers and staff; as sons and daughters, parents, friends, or whatever our role in this place and time. There is a part for us to play in bringing hope into the world.
And whatever vocation God is calling us toward, there will be a part for us to play in bringing hope into the world.

Not unlike the jazz that surrounds this word in chapel this morning, we come together: trumpet, saxophone, drum, piano, trombone, voice… we come together to practice the way our songs together will flow. The melody is shared around. Solos are backed up and supported by the group. We improvise. There is give and take. Together, we make music that permeates the room, that will be in us throughout the day, maybe longer.

Today, God is calling you and me to be the change we want to see in the world, the jazz musicians, spirit-filled act-ors, proclaimers of hope … like the tree of life found at the end of the story in Revelation 22, whose branches hold 12 kinds of fruit and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, we are called to bear fruit and bring healing, we are nourished by living waters… we freed by the power of the Holy Spirit to set others free. Freed by the power of the Holy Spirit to be and become the people God is creating us to be. God is not done with us yet…God is not just leaving us to destruction… instead, we are like the seed, in fertile ground, and the Spirit whispers, “Grow, grow, grow.”

Keep in mind

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for you and has risen from the dead.

Today we sang these words in worship and it reminded me of the first time I heard this canticle. I was traveling for a month through Europe and it was New Year's Eve. We didn't have any supper that night, we were both sick and my best friend sang this song. Kind of like comfort food that fills you up and makes you feel good and satisfied, this canticle has always been a comfort to me since that day. It's also a reminder of what to keep in mind.

Thomas was not one of the first witnesses of the resurrection. He missed out when Jesus first appeared to the gathered community and thought everyone must have lost their collective mind when they said they had seen Jesus. But Jesus came around again, Thomas got a second chance. He got just what he asked for--the opportunity to put his fingers in the wounds in Jesus' hands and his hands in Jesus' side. When he said, "Show me," Jesus obliged. Jesus responded to Thomas' doubt and fear. Jesus also commends those who believe even without seeing. And in doing both, Jesus reaches out to all of us: trusting and cynical, naive and worldly, doubters and faithful.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for you and has risen from the dead. He is the saving Lord; he is joy for all ages.

Whether we find ourselves believing or not believing this Easter season, Jesus is present, believing in us. Jesus meets us where we are and calls us to rest and work with God in mind. Jesus saves us and gives us something to keep in mind... and brings joy.

In hope of resurrection,

Pastor Joy

Day of Arising

Day of arising, Christ on the roadway, unknown companion walks with his own. When they invite him, as fades the first day, and bread is broken, Christ is made known.

When we are walking, doubtful and dreading, blinded by sadness, slowness of heart, yet Christ walks with us, ever awaiting our invitation: Stay, do not part.

Lo, I am with you, Jesus has spoken. This is Christ's promise, this is Christ's sign: when the church gathers, when bread is broken, there Christ is with us in bread and wine.

Christ, our companion, hope for the journey, bread of compassion, open our eyes. Grant us your vision, set all hearts burning that all creation with you may rise.

"Day of Arising," by Susan Palo Cherwien, ELW 374

In resurrection hope and vision,
Pastor Joy

Holy Saturday

STEPS TOWARD NEW LIFE

So now, as we take the next steps into the wilderness into which God is sending us now; as the human creature has moved from being the hunter/gatherer to the land-worker to the city-dweller to the trveller in the skies, we must move on to a way of life where we are so much God's one people that warfare is no longer even a possibility. It is that, or dis-aster, and we must not let Satan, the great separator, win.
The phrase, "the butterfly effect," comes from the language of physics. It is equally the language of poetry, and of theology. For the Christian, the butterfly has long been a symbol of resurrection.
The butterfly emerges from the cocoon, its wings, wet with rebirth, slowly opening, and then this creature of fragile loveliness flies across the blue vault of sky.
Butterflies and angels, seraphim and cherubim, call us earthbound creatrues to lift up our mortal dust and sing with them, to God's delight.
Holy. Holy. Holy!

From Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

On this night of fire, journey through our storied past, baptismal waters and finally... resurrection!
Pastor Joy

Good Friday

LOVE, THE SURVIVAL KIT

Here it was August, but I found myself thinking of Holy Week. Lonely week. The most painful part of the story. Jesus, at the end of his earthly mission, facing failure, abandonment, death.
What kept Jesus going? What keeps us going when we're in the middle of the worst of it? The knowledge that we are loved by our Creator. Everybody else left Jesus. The disciples, those he had counted on to be with him to the end, all left him in the Garden. No one understood who he was, what he was about, what he had come for. How many times in our lives have we faced that utter and absolute abandonment? Jesus knew that his mission had been high, and it was in ruins about his feet.
He stood in front of Pontius Pilate and he held to his mission and his position because of love, God's love, which did not fail, not even when he questioned it on the cross.
What has happened during the centuries to that God of sustaining, enduring, total love? How can we survive without it?
I cannot.

From Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

In God's love, which does not fail but sustains even through failure, abandonment and death,
Pastor Joy

Maundy Thursday

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Heaven is not a place name. Heaven is wherever God's will is being done. When, occasionally, it is done on earth, then there is heaven. It is the most difficult thing in the world for most of us to give up directing our own story and turn to the Author. This has to be done over and over again. Time and again I know exactly how a certain situation should be handled, and in no uncertain terms I tell God how to handle it. Then I stop, stock-still, and (sometimes with reluctance) end by saying, "However, God, do it your way. Now my way, your way. Please."

In Dayspring all our fragments: body, mind
And spirit join, unite
Healed by your love, corruption and decay
Are turned, and whole, we greet the light of day.

From Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

On this day of forgiveness and feet,
sharing the meal of remembrance and being stripped of all illusions,
Pastor Joy

Wednesday in Holy Week

Whether I kneel or stand or sit in prayer
I am not caught in time nor held in space,
But, thrust beyond this posture, I am where
Time and eternity are face to face;
Infinity and space meet in this place
Where crossbar and upright hold the One
In agony and in all Love's embrace.
The power in helplessness which was begun
When all the brilliance of the flaming sun
Contained itself in the small confines of a child
Now comes to me in this strange action done
In mystery. Break time, break space, O wild
and lovely power. Break me: thus am I dead,
Am resurrected now in wine and bread.

From Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

In the mystery of Love's embrace,
Pastor Joy

Tuesday of Holy Week

All I have to know is that I do not have to know in limited, finite terms of provable fact that which I believe. Infallibility has led to schisms in the Church, to atheism, to deep misery. All I have to know is that God is love, and that love will not let us go, not any of us. When I say that I believe in the resurrection of the body, and I do, I am saying what I believe to be true, not literal, but true. Literalism and infallibility go hand in hand, but mercy and truth have kissed each other. To be human is to be falliable, but it is also to be capable of love and to be able to retain that childlike openness which enables us to go bravely into the darkness and towards that life of love and truth which will set us free.

From Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

As we go bravely into darkness and toward the life of love,
Pastor Joy

Monday of Holy Week

If I can learn a little how to die,
To die while body, mind and spirit still
Move in their triune dance of unity,
To die while living, dying I'll fulfill
The purpose of the finite in infinity.
If God will help me learn to die today,
Today in time I'll touch eternity,
And dying, thus will live within God's Way.
If I can free myself from self's iron bands,
Free from myself not by myself, but through
Christ's presence in this simple room, in hands
Outstretched in holy friendship, then, born new
In death, truth will outlive the deathly lie,
And in love's light I will be taught to die.

Words from Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle

In holy friendship,
Pastor Joy

Outpouring love

Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. - John 12:3

What I love about this image this year is the extravagance. There have been Lenten seasons where I have needed things to be spare, lean, full of discipline, even somber... but this has not been one of them. This year, I've been thinking about how my wedding falls in Lent - a reason for celebrating. I've been noticing flowers everywhere, creeping out unseasonably early. This season, I keep signing greetings, "in this season of Lenten spring." So, I love Mary's outpouring of extravagant love in the midst of this Lent - of course, the whole house was filled with the scent of her gift. And maybe we need to smell that healing scent as much as Jesus did.

Afterall, today I heard the witness of a reporter who was present as a whole group of children were gunned down in Baghdad. A colleague experienced two deaths in her community. I wrestled with a frightening dream during the night, one that made my heart race... in this kind of world, I long for Mary's ministering presence. I long for her gift of seeing just what is needed to fill the house with fragrance. I long for her touch of healing balm.

O God, we give thanks for Mary and all your faithful disciples whose witness guides us through this Lenten spring. Continue to call us into both the tasks of life and help us experience moments of outpouring love.

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. - Psalm 126:5

As we discern our work and God's joy today,

Pastor Joy

Sound of Faith

Hey women (and men, too) -
If you haven't yet seen the online women's magazine of the ELCA, "Cafe: Stirring the Spirit Within," please check out this month.
http://www.boldcafe.org/0407/hottopic.html
In addition to a fabulous article by Karris Golden, pastor and Harley rider, you'll find biblical reflections on the sounds of faith.

Blessings,
Pastor Joy

St. Patrick

Yesterday in Chicago at 10:45 a.m., the Chicago river was dyed green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Who knows what Patrick would have thought of such things... but here is some of his beautiful poetry.

I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three.

I bind this day to me forever by power of faith Christ's incarnation, his baptism in the Jordan river, his cross of death for my salvation, his bursting from the spiced tomb, his riding up the heavenly way, his coming at the day of doom, I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today the virtues of the starlit heaven, the glorious sun's lifegiving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, the stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, God's eye to watch, God's might to stay, God's ear to hearken to my need, the wisdom of my God to teach, God's hand to guide, God's shield to ward, the Word of God to give me speech, God's heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity by invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three, of whom all nature has creation, eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Praise to the Lord of my salvation; Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

In the power of God to hold and lead,
Pastor Joy

Lenten spring

Yes, we [Admissions Directors of the ELCA Seminaries] really do travel together and work collaboratively! It's so unusual that people can hardly believe it, but it's true! Pictured here are colleagues from the ELCA seminaries with the campus pastors at California Lutheran University, Pastors Scott and Melissa Maxwell-Doherty, in Thousand Oaks, CA.

It's a joy to be able to do this work of discerning with prospective students the places to which they might be called next and to do this with a group of colleagues who care so much that people are called to the place where God is calling, the place where deep gladness and deep need will meet for the next year(s).

We hope that we can help prospective students find the home for this next step in the journey, where God is waiting, getting ready to run out and meet you, with open arms and a single word, Welcome.

In these days of Lenten spring,
Pastor Joy

Thirsty

O God, eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you. - Psalm 63:1

Every morning during this dry season, I wake up... parched. The first thing I do after rolling out of bed is make my way to the kitchen and drink water. Just as my body cries out for water after the night's fast, my soul is thirsty this Lent.

I read this today - Jesus is our rock, our water, our food, our drink.

I heard this today - sing out, o barren one, sing and cry out loud.

I sang this week - Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a shelter in a time of storm.

When we are thirsty, it is reassuring that before we even know we need it, the living water of Christ is being poured out. What are you thirsting for? How does this help you know where you are being called by God today?

Pastor Joy

Spring Seminary Sampler: a taste of LSTC

It was Lent and we sampled chocolate in the spirit of that great film about abstinence and desire, judgment and compassion, solitude and community--Chocolat. It was cold outside but we gathered in warm conversation. Students, faculty and staff gathered to welcome guests--come one, come all, come and see if this is the place God is calling you next.

Enjoy!

After the fire... ashes

One cold, winter night around ten or ten-thirty, I was sitting in the living room of our house in Wisconsin, reading a magazine when I heard sirens. I looked outside as the volume grew and watched as fire truck after fire truck - eventually four or fire - pulled into the church parking lot across from our house. I looked at the steeple and a great cloud of smoke was rising from it. I called out, "Ben, I think the church is on FIRE!" It was true. This neighborhood church, where we had worshipped on Mother's Day and they had given me a pansy, this incredible structure was soon engulfed in powerful flames. We watched with awe. News teams came. For days afterward, the fire trucks still were spraying the structure, trying to keep the fire from reigniting.
What is left after a fire? Ash. Soot. Everywhere. Covering the neighboring homes, covering the snow--along with thick layers of ice from the fire hoses, the remains of the structure were covered with ash.
Today, we are marked with ash. It's a reminder of the earth from which we come and the earth to which we'll go. We are earth, mud, fertile ground.
This was not the first church that burned to the ground during our time in Wisconsin--and in both cases, the people/the church sensed the blazing fire not only as a great loss but as an opportunity. The ashes left behind became fertile ground for a new beginning.
We are marked today with the cross--an intersection. This is the place where God meets us and walks with us along the way.
We are marked today with the cross--the symbol of one reaching out in loving embrace.
We are marked today with the cross--marked in oil at baptism, marked at death, marked today in the in-between time with healing oil and ashes.
The oil and ash mark us and we are fertile ground for new beginnings.

Pastor Joy

Fresh Fire

From the Fresh Fire Metro Chicago Synod Youth and Youth Leaders Event on Saturday, February 17, hosted at LSTC

Tell your story

"The Lord brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. Deuteronomy 26:1-11

I had the opportunity to talk about "Sharing Your Faith" at one of our Metro Chicago congregations yesterday and it seems to me, the most honest way to share faith is to tell your story. Maybe the best way to open a way for real sharing is to invite the other to share her/his story first and actually be curious about that person's life. It takes time and attention and courage to ask the deeper questions. But then, there is the possibility that the other might be interested to hear about you. And it's in our stories that we share who we really are, what moves us, what gives us hope.

We move from Epiphany to Lent this week. So, around LSTC, we will be feasting on pancakes on Tuesday, gathering to be marked with a cross of oil and ash on Wednesday. It's a week of remembering who we belong to--the earth, our God. Then, next Sunday, we will hear this passage from Deuteronomy (translatation byJoy): “A wanderer was my ancestor... there have been times of plenty but I have also been enslaved... now, I'm trying to remember that the Lord provides all I need. In fact, if we brought just the first portion of what we've received together, there would be a bounty for our celebration."
Even in tight times, we have bounty--if we can see it, if only we can realize that we can tell the story that way. If we can realize that God commands us, "Trust in me to provide all you need to live, to tell your story, to share faith."

It's the season for remembering our identity once again. Share your story.

As we move from Epiphany light to Lenten spring,
Pastor Joy

Journeying together

We've come this far by faith,
Leaning on the LORD,
Trusting in God's holy word,
God's never failed us yet.
Oh... can't turn around,
God's never failed us yet.

Pictured here:
Metro Chicago Anti-Racism Team

Love casts out fear

As I was driving past this high school, I had to stop and take a photo of this quote:
"Hatred and bitterness can never cure fear, only love can do that." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In this month of love, this is the kind of love we really need... the love that transforms our hearts, our homes, our communities, our world. This is the kind of love that is necessary to follow God's calling for our lives because there are many things to fear in making transitions. There are many things to fear in daily remembering our baptism, in dying and rising each morning. There are many things to fear in offering forgiveness to those we have grown to hate or at least ignore. But, that's the kind of transformative love that God calls us to practice. And, that's the love God gives as a gift.
Blessings,
Pastor Joy

Invitation to Serve

The fabulous people in these photos were at the Greater Milwaukee Synod's Invitation to Serve event. Generously sponsored by the Siebert Foundation, pastors and youth leaders are asked to bring a high school youth who they have identified as someone who would make a good leader in the church. We shared a meal, worship and heard many stories of God's call to step up in this place and in this time to serve God and God's people. Who knows? Maybe God has called you for just such a time as this!

Pastor Joy