Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study on Ezra 10:1-5 (March 21, 2024)

March 21, 2024:  Thursday morning Bible Study of the OT Book of Ezra 10:1-5

Praise to our God for the gift of Love and Forgiveness which is ours through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A reminder this morning that we are planning a fundraiser yard sale to benefit Kandice and Lisa in Hawaii.  Kandice is out of the hospital and a recovery facility, and back home.  Her treatments for cancer have destroyed portions of her spinal column leaving her with terrible pain.  She is now able to get herself out of bed, and to the bathroom, but going back to work is uncertain at this time.  If there is one thing that we know about Kandice, it is that she is passionate about special needs children, and children in general.  She is a gifted teacher and has given herself time and again to help children at school, and out of school in their personal lives.  She is also a woman of faith, and in spite of her health, is a fervent prayer on the prayer chain along with her wife Lisa.  The Yard Sale event will be on April 19 and 20.  Please, at worship, sign up to help set up, run the sale, and clean up at church, or by calling the office, and of course, we need your yard sale donations.  This is how Christian people care for one another, whether we are together or live thousands of miles apart.  You can bring your donations at any time (though you should call ahead to make sure someone will be at church), or if you have large items, we should be able to do a pick-up with the help of our teens, all of whom know Kandice and Lisa, and Alexis.  We are also sending a flyer out to the ELCA congregations in Tucson for their contributions and help.

The Old Testament book of Ezra

In Ezra today we encounter a passage, along with the one which we will do in a couple of weeks, that may cause us to be shocked by what is being suggested.  What we must realize is that the surviving exiles who have returned to work and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple have frequently taken advantage of the lack of oversight by the leaders of the Temple when it came to following God's original guidance to the 12 tribes that they should not intermarry with the peoples of the area.  Such marriages made it possible for the pagan beliefs of the now residents to mix with beliefs that were meant to keep the Judahites in a good relationship with God.  It was not the first time that this kind of thing had happened.  When the tribes of Israel first came to the Promised Land, they were shepherded to not intermarry with the tribes who were the current residents who did not know the God of the Judahites. 

As Ezra prayed it became evident that there was only one way, as a part of the confession and failure of the exiles who had returned to not intermarry to bring restoration of righteousness.  There had to be an action of repentance and penance which would accompany the confession of the breaking of God's guides for living in the relationship with Him.  The answer and action of Ezra and those who remained had to be a separation from the wives and children of these marriages with the exiles.  Since Ezra comes after about 100 years after the first exiles returned, there must have been many of these marriages, and now they were at least two generations into the lives of the communities that had been rebuilt.  In effect, Ezra was seeking to establish a separate and distinct community, with unique rules for living, and a community who would only answer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But, what about all of these people, many of whom were women and children of second or third generation families?  They were to be sent back to their original tribes.  We know this because of the Book of Ruth, when Ruth a Moabite woman loses her husband and is to go back to Moab.  Instead, she remains with her mother-in-law who takes her back to Israel where she meets Boaz, and, low-and-behold, he eventually marries her, and she becomes a part of the heritage of Jesus Christ, a Moabite, not a Jew!  Obviously, things change, but Ruth is accepted because she adopts the faith of her new husband Boaz.  In the church over the last 40 years, the years of my ordination in 1984, there has been a major shift in how we have received the LGBTQ community to serve as leaders in the church.  It has only been since post 2005 that the national assembly of the ELCA has welcomed our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in the faith to service of the Gospel through ordination.  Restrictions have changed over the years, beginning with ordinations of those who were abstaining from any sexual activity to those who were in life long committed relationships, to now, when we ordain LGBTQ members who are married, along with those who are not married living lives of abstinence from sexual activities, in the same way that we make that a rule of intimacy for heterosexuals who are unmarried.  Obviously, those kinds of inclusivity were not present as Ezra suggested the removal of the people of other tribes (not other Hebrew tribes) so that the anger of God might be softened over this issue of intermarriage. There were probably at least two schools of thought in Ezra's time about what should be done to solve this problem.  Like our church today, there has been movement to consider LGBTQ people for ordination for serving the Gospel, and today the standards are the same regardless of which community a person identifies with.  Marriage and abstinence are the two ways that the church has chosen to include either community of people considering the possibility of entering into the education program that results in earning a Master of Divinity degree, and the approval of a Synod, to serve in ordained ministry.  And there are a variety of beliefs on the part of the Body of Christ as the church moves forward with the current decisions and inclusivity.  I have become convinced that Christ has always given us the answer to this problem in our time.  Love God above all things and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

Next Thursday is Maundy Thursday in Holy Week.  I will not be offering this online study again until April 11th. I will be off, providing care for Melody who will be recovering from her knee replacement on April 2. Please keep her in your prayers for a successful surgery and recuperation.

In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 8:34-35 bible study (March 19, 2024)

March 19, 2024:  Tuesday Morning Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 8:34-35

Exploring God's Word

Good morning, dear friends in Christ,

I am working from home today to save money on heat at the church.  Sitting in my dining room I can see our navel orange tree which is beginning to fill with blossoms.  The hummingbirds have been busy in it collecting food and helping move pollen, so we have oranges next Christmas.  I can see a few oranges that we missed too.  This week we are closing in on the entrance into Holy Week, Palm Sunday.  There is such a good reason to participate in the services starting with Palm Sunday, and moving to Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, and then the surprise and joy of Easter Sunday Services.  All of this coming week helps to get us ready for Christ's suffering and degradation at the hands of those who should love Him, and then Christ's sacrifice of His life so that we can be right with our Father in Heaven in spite of our sin, and, of course, then we arrive at the Resurrection and our Lord's gift of new life for us to share with Him.  Next week I will be doing the Monday and Tuesday studies, but I will not be doing the Ezra study which falls on Maundy Thursday.  Remember that in Holy Week we have Thursday and Friday services at both Noon and 7PM.

Today we have only two verses to cover, but they tell us so much about Jesus, and what it means to believe in Him, and to accept His call to live differently than other people who do not know Christ in their lives, and who have not received the gift of faith in Christ.

1.       In this passage we encounter the startling honesty of Jesus.  No one can ever say that Christ failed to indicate to those who follow Him that it would not be an easy path.  Jesus makes no promise that following Him will bring peace, or glory, or an easy path in life.  When we look at the Master's own life, it does not take us long to understand that there will be struggle and difficulty, friendships and family lost, and worldly comforts set aside so that the work of Christ can be done.  Instead, it is as it has always been, this life journey of sacrifice will create those who people of faith see as great.  We get a picture of all of this when we think of the clergy we have known, their willingness to lead by example, to face challenges with the strength, to give their lives to the Holy Work of Our Lord and doing so with the fullness of joy in Christ, and without the worldly expectations of others for profit and power.  We also see these people in our congregations, our brothers and sisters in Christ who share joyfully of their time, talents, and resources so that Christ's Church might continue to carry God's Truth for the world, setting examples of God's justice and love in this broken world for all who will come to Him.

2.     A huge truth for us about Christ, is that He was unwilling to ask others to do the things that He too was unwilling to do.  He set the model for how we all should approach living in faith in the Savior.  We should love God above all else, and our neighbors as we love ourselves.  On the surface all of this sounds like it should not be too difficult, but when believers undertake this life in Christ, we discover that every one of us falters and stumbles from time to time.  Who are you willing to follow, or listen to?  Won't it be the one who leads the way by example with great love for each one of us, and when the time comes to be Christ's witness, we will be ready to follow where He has led us, to service and sacrifice?  Like Christ we should be humble before the LORD, knowing that we are never left alone to do the Kingdom Work.  All of this gives us courage to take up our own cross, bearing it with love and strength, carrying it with the Glory of the Holy One of God surrounding us. 

3.     Jesus calls all who will follow Him to deny themselves.  His model life shows us just how hard that can be.  Every moment of every day was filled with demands for his teaching and healing.  In many ways, just like the pastor of a congregation.  The shepherd must be willing to give of his time every day, no matter if it is night or day.  I can share an example with you from my time in my previous call.  A young woman, about 15, was out with friends having a "good" time. It was about 2AM when their group found themselves on a school playground.  One of her friends had created a metal pipe bomb, and that early morning they decided to set it off, thinking that it would be a great prank for the neighborhood.  The group moved far away from where the explosions would take place, but when it was detonated, this young woman, the only one in the group who was injured, had her head pierced by a piece of the shrapnel.  That small piece penetrated through her skull into her brain.  At about 3AM I got an early wakeup call that the family needed me at the hospital.  Away I went to spend the next 10 hours with them as they awaited the outcome of surgery and the subsequent post-surgery report.  The outcome was not good.  Their daughter remains quite challenged to this day.  There are other stories too, of people who have stopped at accidents and gotten involved saving lives.  Yes, they are people from our congregation, or of money found and returned by our teenagers.  And, it goes without saying, that clergy spouses often serve as examples of sacrifice offered out of love for the LORD.  People moved to share the love of their homes and lives in foster care and adoption are certainly examples of the sacrifice of Christ, and in doing so are giving their time, talent, and resources in love for the Lord.  Every one of us must set ourselves aside when we accept Christ's call to journey with Him in this world.  In these circumstances our hearts and minds and actions belong to the Savior.   Bearing a cross in our lives, means doing what Christ would do from circumstance to circumstance.  For each of us there are crosses that we do not yet know that we shall be called to bear, but like our Savior, we will take them on with God's Grace, and carry them with confidence in His love for us.

In the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 8:31-33 bible study (March 18, 2024)

March 18, 2024:  Monday Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 8:31-33

Peace and Grace are yours today in Jesus Christ! 

I don't know about you, but the end of March feels like it is crunch time for the schedule of worship, Palm Sunday, Holy Week with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, caring for decorating the church on Holy Saturday, getting the Parish Hall ready for Easter Breakfast with no water in the kitchen due to water service lines needing to be replaced (bathrooms are fine), and then the power and glory of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the very next day, Easter Sunday.  I am hoping that you are finding enough time to care for those you love, and thinking carefully about how you will celebrate the Greatest Gift of God for all of our lives.  We will be at church for breakfast, the bell choir will play, soloists will be with us to sing, the Gospel Music Group will help lead some of the hymns, and our favorite hymns will be sung, and the Easter Gospel will be read filled with all of the wonder and love that God has always planned for us to receive in our relationship with Him.  Pray for healing for those you know who are in rough health circumstances, including Kandice, Jeff, and Pastor Dave, all of whom are having a really difficult journey in their lives right now with difficult to treat cancer.  Cherish the opportunities that you have on Easter to be together with family and friends, taking the Easter message of hope into your homes.

Online Bible Study

Our reading for today is brief, but it tells us right away that Jesus has reached the point in His ministry when He knows that the disciples need to be prepared for what is coming quickly.  This time with His disciples contradicts everything that they and the whole of the Jewish community think about who the Messiah must be, a person of great military power, who can defeat every earthly enemy of Israel and her people, and who will lift Jerusalem to a place of great authority over the kings of the earth.  Instead, Jesus tells the disciples that He will be summarily rejected by those who are currently in power in Israel, and that, He will instead of being worshiped and celebrated, be murdered by those He has come to save, and here comes the most difficult thing during this time of teaching the disciples, Peter, who Jesus knows will become the head of the Church on earth, the rock, instead approaches Jesus like the deceiver and tempter, saying that Jesus must not go to fulfill God's call on His life.  These words are coming to Jesus by His friend!  Christ has plainly told the direction that His life must now take, time and time again to the disciples.  The response of Jesus to Peter seems harsh.  However, it also indicates to us that Jesus may well have been struggling with the path upon which he must walk.  The tempter can make no more terrible attack than through the voice of one who loves Jesus.  I know that this is a reality in life, because Melody and I have experienced this very issue in the voice of a member of my family as we announced at Thanksgiving Dinner that we would be moving from Michigan to Arizona to take the Call of the Gospel at American Ev. Lutheran Church.  At the table we were told how selfish we were to leave our extended family behind, and though you might think that it came from my parents, it was my younger brother and his wife that challenged our decision.  Note please.  We lived in Ann Arbor, MI for six years, during which time my brother and his wife never visited our home, though they drove past every year on their way to Florida for vacation, so I still have never come to terms with their motive in objecting to our following the Lord's Call on our lives, but it was painful and difficult.  We left the dinner, drove out of town to the community where I had been a choir director at our church for nine years, and got a hotel for the night.  We went back to see my parents the next day to say goodbye.  We had been a big part of my brother's marriage, traveling from Des Moines, Iowa to Grand Rapids, MI to co officiate with the parish pastor, we visited their home, sent gifts for their children, but in all of that their voices will never be forgotten on that day at dinner, and I even attended their daughter's wedding and sang at the meal later after our move.  I wished that at the time of their confrontation I had been able to respond, but we were in shock.  I am certain that Jesus must have had some real heaviness on His own heart after Peter, out of what he thought was love for Jesus, desiring only to keep Him safe and keep Him near, did not offer words that said to Christ, you have my love and support on your journey into the danger of Jerusalem.  If words of encouragement, support, and love had been what was said on that Thanksgiving, today I would have a much better relationship with my brother.  The call to serve the Gospel at American was not easily made, it meant uprooting the family, moving to a place far away from our families, a place of uncertainty and trusting in the Lord to be with us in all that would be so new.  You know the rest of the story of our now thirty-three-year ministry in your midst, but there is no doubt that the tempter was really present on that Thanksgiving Day in my parents’ home.  You and I are filled with joy every day because Jesus rejected the temptation to step away from God's plan for His life.  In my heart I know that joy too, it comes from the centering of the people of God in the love of Christ, and His Gospel Truth, at American every day!

In Christ's love, Pastor Kim