How Can I Help?

The ELCA released $250,000 for relief the day after the earthquake.  Donations have now exceeded $1.2 million.
Why should you give through the church?
        Unlike some organizations, we were already there and helping along side local and partner organizations.
        100% of every dollar given to ELCA Disaster Response goes to direct aid not to overhead costs.
      
Checks may be sent to:
         ELCA Disaster Response
        39330 Treasury Center
        Chicago, IL  60694-9300
                write Haiti Earthquake Relief in the memo line
or call:
        800-638-3522.

Marching in the Light of God

          I used to have a friend who swore she could see the auras that people gave off - a color that surrounded each person.  She would  interpret what that color meant about the person's personality or attitude such as warm and friendly or cold or dark and evil.  It was very similar to what others called "vibes" except in color.  I was never quite sure about what each color meant; sometimes blue signified "being blue" or sad but sometimes it would get interpreted as being cold or standoffish to others. I have to confess that I thought it more likely that she interpreted others' body language and attitudes than that she actually saw colors around people.
        For hundreds of years artists have been seeing and painting halos around certain people, usually Mary, Joseph and Jesus, angels, the apostles and other saints.   Halos signified their holiness and often set them apart from other people.  For instance, in paintings of the nativity, there will be halos around the heads of the holy family (Mary, Joseph, and Jesus) and angels but not on the shepherds or the Magi.
        In the New Testament church, saint referred to anyone who followed Jesus.  Then it became a designation for the martyrs; people who were persecuted and killed because of their faith.  Later on in the Roman Catholic Church, a whole process was developed for naming and labeling people saints connected with miracles and extraordinary faith.  Luther brought back the term as one that relates to us all; all who follow Jesus are both saint and sinner, holy and still fallen.  
        Those that follow Jesus are those who walk in the light.  (1 John 1:7)  Ben Larson, a senior at Wartburg Theological Seminary was walking in that light in Haiti January 12th when the earthquake hit.  He was there with his wife and cousin working to teach, care for and learn from the people of Haiti and the Haitian Lutheran Church.  His wife and cousin were able to make it out alive but Ben did not.  They went back and heard Ben singing from the rubble.  The last words he sang were "God's peace to us we pray"; then his voice went silent.  
        Ben's witness even in death echoes the stories of the saints and martyrs of the early church but that is not the real lesson for us.  It is wonderful and heartwarming and a witness to the hope of resurrection that Ben's last words were a song of faith but his true witness is the love he showed in caring for others.  He was at seminary learning to be a pastor because he was called to serve God's people.  He was in Haiti because he was trying to walk as Jesus walked, caring for the least of these our sisters and brothers.  He had a joy and talent for music that showed his love of others and his joy in faith.

        The true witness of Ben is the same witness that is asked of each of us; to follow Jesus' command to love one another.  When we show love in how we treat one another, we shine the light of Christ.  This may take the form of small acts of kindness like a smile of welcome or larger acts of love and sacrifice.  Any time you walk with someone in need: listening, caring, or giving, you walk in the light of Christ, following his footsteps.  Read 1 John 2:8-10.

Let Your Light Shine!

        My second son was baptized when he was just a few weeks old.  We stood at the baptismal font that was made from a large polished rock held up in wrought iron frame.  The pastor scooped up water from the hollow and poured it on his head as he was named and claimed in God's name.  His forehead was marked with the sign of the cross - a mark that lasts forever, we are told.  Then we were given a lighted plain candle with the command for Ben to let his light shine.
        I found that candle in unpacking things this summer.  It doesn't look special at all.  There is nothing remarkable about it's color, shape, or finish.  A creamy color, it even lacks the mirror gloss of purchased candles.   It is just a narrow pillar about 7 or 8 inches tall.  But this very unassuming candle has significance all the same.
        Many churches follow the practice of giving a lighted candle to the one who has just been baptized.  As this is done, these words are spoken, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven". (Matthew 5:16)  To a young person or adult, the words are a reminder that our baptism should show to the people around us; it should make a difference in what we say and do.  To an infant, the words are a promise, that we are changed by the water bound to God's word. It may not show now, but the promise is real.
        Ben's candle is a sign of this promise but it also holds another promise.  At the time, our home congregation had large pillar candles on the altar which they didn't burn all the way down.   Not wanting to waste the leftovers and getting creative, volunteers took the old altar candles and melted the wax down and recast them into the narrower pillars that were then given to each person at their baptism.   Ben's baptism candle then is a literal remnant of their worship and functions also as a reminder of the congregation that also promised to support and uphold him as he grew in faith.
        Just as Jesus is made known by his words and deeds in his earthly ministry, Jesus asks the same of those who follow him.  We are also to shine Christ's light into the world by doing the same things Jesus did; caring for those who need help in any way.  We are not to keep our faith to ourselves as a private matter but let it be obvious to the world.  When we work to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, care for the sick, and visit, we make the good news of Jesus known.
        The light of Christ shines forth as we work to care for the world. That light is the gift of faith.   As we look to the needs of the people of Haiti in the months and years ahead, it is this that will break through the darkness of their grief and despair.  Read Matthew 5:14-16

Fly on Eagle's Wings

   I am enjoying the warmer weather today.  It is amazing to me how much easier it is to contemplate going outside and to do what needs to be done with temperatures above zero.   Getting all the clothes, boots, gloves, hats, and such on that are required in the severe cold is a job all by itself and then the cold just hits hard as soon as you step outside.  It is tiring to fight against the cold.
        I have a nephew who is currently working in Antarctica.
He had to take a survival course when he arrived that is required of all new personnel.  They went out to camp for two days in tents.  Once they got out, the weather drastically changed to what is called "condition one".  No one is allowed out in those conditions as it is very dangerous.  The temperature went to 60 below zero with gale force winds.  He said they had work bent forward in order to stay upright against the wind.  Every move had to be thought through carefully; if you set something down, like your glove, it would instantly be blown away and you would never see it again.   After one night in the tents, they had to be rescued and were welcomed back to base as minor celebrities.   Most of the time when people do the training, they have to be told 'imagine what it would be like if...' but they lived through the real thing.
        That's really what life requires us to do if we are blessed to live long enough; we live through the real things good and bad, easy and difficult, and through times of joy and grief.
        It would be easier to do if we always had the energy and optimism of little children.  Last week, as we took down the trees and put way the Christmas decorations at church, the adults enjoyed a sit-down coffee break.  We watched with amazement and some envy (to be truthful) as the child among us, continued to scamper and run circles around us, still bubbling with energy.  Whether it is age, the responsibilities of life, our bodies wearing out, illness, or whatever, we just seem to lose that unquenchable fountain of energy and lightness.
        But whatever our circumstances, God promises us renewal.  We are not bound and enslaved by our troubles, our limitations, or the brokenness of sin.  God loves us so much that Jesus came to set us free.  God forgives us and gives us new spirit, new hope, and eternal life.  Perhaps that is why we are caught by the image of angels as people with wings - flying light and high above the troubles of the world and free from all pains, griefs, and burdens.  The writer in Isaiah says it best:  God "gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless... they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  (Isaiah )
        The Church is here to remind us that we are never alone and to light the lamp of hope when our own candle has been blown out.  When we are so tired or in such pain or so weak, even to the point of death, God is still there one more time.  We remind each other of God's love and so witness the gift of faith.   When we say the Lord's prayer together, share the bread and wine, sing the words of a hymn, or hold a hand; then the light of God's love shines even in our darkest moments.  Alone, we cannot last, but together we are reminded and witnessed to that God continues to renew our faith and life.   Read Isaiah 40:28-31

Breaking the Darkness of Winter

      
          Depression and SAD (seasonal affective disorder) are common this time of year.  Between the high expectations that are often placed upon families during the holidays and the shorter, darker, cold days, winter takes its toll on people. Because of cold, ice, and snow, we tend to exercise less, eat more, and get less exposure to sun.   Add to the stress factors the increase in colds and flu, and winter can be difficult.  With the recent cold spell, it's even been hard on our formerly Kansas cats (not a reference to any specific Kansas college or sports team.)
        Our young gray cat has been very impatient with the cold weather.  He really wants to go outside but since temperatures went well below zero, even if we offer to let him go out, he refuses.  The other night he was crying so loud and long that I decided to let him try going out.  I only had time to get the storm door shut because he walked out a few steps and immediately turned back.  I opened the door and he came in all puffed up and growling at the cold!
        I'm sure he isn't the only one that has felt that way recently.  The long dark and cold days of winter are hard on everybody.  But in spite of the snow and cold, if you pay attention, you will notice that the days are noticeably longer than they were before Christmas.  There is more light each day signaling that Spring will come even if it doesn't yet feel that way.
        January 6th marked the day of Epiphany and the season of light that comes before Lent.  It is traditionally marked by the star that the Magi followed to Bethlehem to the baby Jesus.  But even more than that, the light of the season of Epiphany is the light John writes about in the beginning of the Gospel.
         "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5)   The darkness symbolizes the brokenness of the world and everything that is our inability to live lives without sin.   The light that shines in the darkness is Jesus himself.  And so Epiphany focuses our attention on the incarnation - God born among us and taking on human form in the birth of Jesus.  The stories of the season focus on the stories of the gospels that make clear that Jesus is God with us.  It begins with his baptism this Sunday and the declaration that Jesus is God's own beloved Son.
        No matter how cold, dark, or hopeless things seem, the world is forever changed because we are not alone.  We don't have to wait for aliens to make contact to know this.  And the God that comes among us comes not as some formless, unseen force or as something so strange that it is frightening or unknowable.  With Epiphany, we celebrate that God came in the baby Jesus that  was born in the stable and grew up walking this earth just like us.  Jesus is God feeling our fears, tears, laughs, joys, pain, and even death.  Jesus is God's great gift of love that will never leave.  Even if we turn away, God is still here.
        This is how much God loves us, that even while we are still broken and unable to make things right, Jesus came to save the world.  As John writes, in Jesus was "life, and the life was the light of all people".  Jesus didn't come to people who had it right, but into even the darkest corners of our hearts and lives, bringing grace, forgiveness, and love.  There is no place or person too dark, cold, sad, or hopeless to keep out the love of God in Jesus.   And once here, Jesus promises that never again will we be alone.   Read John 1:1-5
    

Jesus Changes Everything

        Do you know the joke about Lutherans and light bulbs?  It goes like this:  How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb?  The answer is "Change?!" spoken with anxiety with the implication being that they get no further.  When I told this joke to my sister, she responded 'that's why Lutherans are always in the dark.'
        Christmas is about change and darkness.  God comes to earth and nothing is the same again.  The darkness of the broken world is parted with the light of God's love and the promise of new life.  The salvation of the world is come.  The angels sing!  Our hearts are filled with light.
        And yet Christmas is also about dramatic change; not just for Mary and Joseph but for us all.  Lutheran or not, change is not always easy.  The more significant the change, the harder it tends to be for us to accept even when the change is good.  We know how to react, what is expected of us, and what will happen when things go the way they always have.  Change, even for good, takes that certainty away from us and so we get anxious.  Change can bring out the worst in us; almost especially in the Church because we want the church (and God) to stay the same.
        When I was in seminary, women students were sent out to do pulpit supply as often as possible, filling in for pastors who were gone for one reason or the other.  One Sunday, I showed up to an assignment with not much time to spare.  (I am directionally impaired - I have witnesses!)  I got out of the car and grabbed my robe and books.  I was met by a man who started to reach for the robe saying, "Here, let me get that for your husband".  I replied that it was mine but didn't stop to pay much attention.  I was more concerned about getting inside and talking to the organist and making sure I knew about the service.
        While talking to the organist, a woman came up.  Her husband was supposed to read the lessons but was sick, what should she do?  I asked her if she would feel comfortable reading the lessons and so she did.  Another woman came and was concerned that the information in the bulletin was wrong about the women's meeting that week.  I asked her to make that correction during the announcements since I wasn't familiar with the details.  I then went on to do the service as discussed, even (with permission as a senior student) presiding at Holy Communion.
        As soon as the service ended, the councilmen met me at the back of the church talking about what to do next.  The pastor, who had been there many years, insisted that no women were allowed to speak in the church.  He didn't believe in the changes being made and said they weren't scriptural.  So in this congregation, women didn't read lessons, usher, or even make their own announcements from the pew.  And now the seminary had sent them me (I was known as Chris at the time) and their own women had read and spoken too.
       Just then, the oldest woman of the congregation came up through the men and grabbed both my hands in hers.  With tears running down her cheeks, she spoke.  "I am so blessed God sent you here.  Now I can die in peace.  I have been waiting 98 years for this."  Her blessing has kept me strong through the years many times, in places and circumstances where I have been doubted, challenged, and tested.  She helped me see that this change I was part of really was from God and had been waited for and prayed for long before I was born.  She has been my "Anna".
        When the newborn Jesus is brought to the temple, two elderly prophets, Simeon and Anna give thanks to God for letting them see Jesus and the  fulfillment of the salvation story.  They help Mary and Joseph and us, see this new thing as wonderful and powerful good news.  Christ is born!  Celebrate the good news of God's love as the holy season of Christmas continues!  Read Luke 2:25-38.

Dear Readers,

The Creator of the Stars at night,
Christ the Light of the World,
and the fire of the Holy Spirit be with you all
and give you God's peace.
May you have a blessed Christmas!

                Pastor Christine Iverson