You and Me?

It’s rather astounding how many “outcasts” Jesus runs into in Luke’s Gospel. Tax collectors, widows, lepers, the demon-possessed: each have something that makes them unclean, untouchable and/or destitute. We tend to feel grateful, even self-satisfied, that we no longer understand those who suffer with mental illness to be demon-possessed. But, have we really come so far?

It’s March Madness and I’m a sports nut. I’m from Wisconsin and, of course, I was cheering for the Badgers all the way to the Sweet 16 when they faced Florida. Somehow, in the last two seconds of the game, Florida drained a three to win it. Being the wonderful disciple and faith-leader I am, I immediately began hoping Florida would get blown out, I mean embarrassed, in the next round. Why? Because they beat us!

If you’re not a sports enthusiast, try these on for size: Did your party/candidate beat their party/candidate in the last election? Are they (kids, dog owners, homeless folks, late-night-motorcycle-revvers, etc.) a problem in your neighborhood? I’m just getting warmed up…

The passages from Luke 18-19 we’ll hear on Sunday point, yet again, to people who have been ostracized and cast aside from their communities. Yet again, Jesus seeks these individuals out. He loves them. He heals them. He restores them. Why is this so hard for me to remember?

Instead of wallowing in self-loathing about my inability to stop myself from finding ways to make someone an “other,” I’m going to take this Lenten opportunity simply to notice it. How many times a day do I see someone else as “other” because of their sports team, political leanings, driving(!), or socioeconomic status? Will you join me?

Jesus makes the blind see – maybe there’s hope for me yet!

See you Sunday…

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Not again…

It happened again. I had an incredible day filled with God’s love, the work of the Spirit, and great people. Right in the middle of the day, however, I had one negative encounter. One person said some not-so-nice things. In the grand scheme of things, the day was one of the best in recent memory. But when I went to bed that night, any idea what I thought about? Yep, that one negative event occupied my brain.

Has this happened to you? Why is it that negative events can carry so much more weight than beautiful moments? Maybe I’m alone in this, but I have the sneaking suspicion it’s not “just me.”

In the Lenten season, we go through a process of preparation. We prepare to affirm the gift of baptism, and that involves all sorts of reflection. We ask ourselves how we’re doing with our commitment to God’s purposes. We think about God’s call to each of us in and through baptism: that we follow the example of Jesus, work for justice and peace, and renounce the forces that defy God. Why is it when we reflect, so many of our poor choices and missed opportunities rise to the top? Is that God’s ultimate hope for us, that we realize our brokenness? Is there any purpose that includes grace?

This Sunday we’ll experience the whole of Luke 15 and hear God’s response. How does God respond when we know we’re imperfect? What does God do for/to (gulp!) the “lost?” How can I affirm my baptism when I am so aware of the negative consequences of my decisions?

For all of us who need God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s unending and perfect love, we CANNOT miss Jesus this week!

Will you join me?

See you Sunday…

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Move me, Lord!

I sit a lot. It’s been made clear how unhealthy – some would say dangerous – a sedentary
lifestyle is. It’s detrimental to our physical and emotional health. I try to move. I stand while talking on the phone, writing sermons, and watching my son’s hockey practices. Still, I’m in one place for extended periods of time. My faith life feels like that sometimes…sedentary. That’s pretty dangerous, too.

Sedentary faith manifests itself in all sorts of ways. My first indication (to which I rarely pay attention) is increased fear: What if I can’t get it all done? What if I don’t measure up? That person didn’t smile very broadly at me, are they mad at me? Is that person who looks really different from me a threat? You can see where this leads. Another indication is fatigue: God, you don’t really want me to love my enemies, do you? That takes so much energy! Perhaps the biggest indicator is inertia: The problems of the world are way too big. What can I do? Sedentary faith manifests itself physically, emotionally, relationally, psychologically, and every other way imaginable.

In the season of Lent, God comes to us with an opportunity to move.

For the next 40 days, we will be “on the road” with Jesus in the book of Luke. In Luke 9, Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem and he doesn’t look back. He calls disciples, he offends with provocative teaching, he casts out demons, he heals, and he loves and forgives to his own destruction. He invites us to join him on this road. He invites us to move with him as he shows us and the world what love looks like: to and through death…to life everlasting.

Will I move?

Will you?

In Christ,
Pr. Rachael

There’s No Resurrection without Death

In the last few years, God has opened my eyes to the reality that death is an essential part of a living faith. I know what you’re thinking: “You’re a pastor, shouldn’t you have known that before?!” It’s a valid question. But for a while, it felt safer to ignore it.

You see, given the choice, I’d rather not die. Maybe it’s my innate survival instinct or maybe just good, Midwestern stubbornness. But, I wouldn’t choose death. I had no idea what a killer (pun intended) that is for a life of faith!

What I believed I’d prefer was to get better. I’d appreciate God’s help in making me a better person. That sounded nice and manageable. But when it came right down to it, becoming a “better person” still left me broken. It simply led to a version of myself that was a little less selfish, a little more kind, a little more O.K. with a muffin-top. The bottom line: I need a whole lot more than to get better. I NEED TO BE MADE NEW. The Apostle Paul is incredibly helpful:

For if we have been united with [Christ] in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)

This Holy Week, God lays out the beautiful news that the cross of Christ doesn’t make us a little better, it makes us brand-spankin’-new! We get to wake up Easter morning as a new creation, rising, WITH CHRIST, to newness of life!

So come! Come and wave palms; receive forgiveness in Christ’s meal; sing your way through the grief and pain of Good Friday; experience the empty tomb and God’s gift of new life!

Because with Christ, resurrection always comes after death, amen?!

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Heads up!

Something wonderful happens in Albuquerque at the end of February: UNM Lobos baseball begins. There’s nothing like sitting in the sun, cheering on the home team, with the Sandia Mountains in the background.

With all of that sun and relaxation, however, there’s a risk: somewhere between the fifth and seventh innings it’s pretty hard to stay focused. In a major-league ballpark, this wouldn’t matter so much, but at Lobo Field it’s really important. It’s a modest stadium. Last year, fans were thrilled that real bathrooms replaced the port-a-potties. Needless to say, if a foul ball comes screaming over the dugout, you’d better be alert.

Thankfully, baseball fans have each other’s backs. It’s an unwritten rule that everyone who has resisted a siesta is ready to shout, “Heads up!” These two words have saved many a trip to the E.R. They’re a gift of grace for fans like me. Lent can be quite similar…

We’ve reached the midpoint of Lent, and now is the time you may notice your attention waning. I can relate. The burst of energy at the beginning, along with the resolve to observe the season with gusto, may be giving way to fatigue.

This Sunday, Jesus aims to wake us up! We’ll hear him, in Mark 12:28-44, proclaim the greatest commandments. He begins the wake-up call with the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5-6), the cornerstone faith statement of God’s people. It thunders with the pronouncement, “Hear, O Israel!” If Jesus were to state this today, he might begin, “Heads up!” Lent isn’t over, and neither is the Good News God has for us in Jesus Christ.

So this Sunday, have your coffee and come ready for Jesus! Dozing off may not put you in the E.R., but trust me, you don’t want to miss this…

See you Sunday!

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Loving Lent

“Loving Lent” may sound like a cheap hook to get you interested in loving something you really don’t. Maybe it hits you like those “Go Grey Gloriously” ads hit me. No, I won’t, “go grey gloriously” and your commercial can’t make me.

When I was growing up, I really, really, really didn’t love the season of Lent. The church was mostly bare: no banners proclaimed the joy of life in Christ; no hallelujahs rang out from the choir; an already dark and cold late winter in Wisconsin got darker and colder. I finally accepted that to get through Lent I needed to keep my head down and soldier on. But then…

I recently learned that in the early centuries of the church, Lent was the season in which newcomers prepared to be received into Christian community through Holy Baptism. It was a season of building anticipation as communities of faith prepared one another for the sacrament that gave them their identity as children of God, and the whole community’s call to discipleship was renewed. Lent was a time of deepened relationship, growing awareness of the Spirit’s work, and delving intensely into God’s Word.

I’m sure a church history buff could tell me the reasons why that changed in many congregations, but I cannot tell you what a gift it has been to rediscover this season of renewal and hope! If Lent has scared you off in years past, don’t let it keep you away!

This Thursday and Sunday at St. Tim’s, we will continue our journey through a glorious season that prepares us, once again, to live as beloved children of God. If you could use some love, mercy, hope and renewal in your life, NOW is the time to worship!

See you Sunday…

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Just take it all in.

There’s nothing like celebrating a job well done. A yard without weeds is a beautiful reward for the painstaking process of pulling them all out. The satisfaction at the end is worth the work.

It’s tempting to think of Lent and Holy Week in this way. We’ve walked the Lenten road of returning to the Lord and preparing for Holy Baptism, and now we come to the grief of Jesus’ final days. We’ll lay down our palm branches on Sunday and it will be a full seven days until Christ’s resurrection. Through it all we could “keep our eyes on the prize,” anticipating the joy of Easter morning. It would make sense to focus on the goal and prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ job well done. We could…

But what if we just took it all in? The great news is that these last days present us with a feast for the senses that draw us – mind, body and spirit, into the awesome work of God in Jesus Christ. We will hear God’s Word, voices raised in song, drums, piano, bass, organ and trumpet all proclaiming God’s love. We will taste and smell God’s work of redemption in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, and the charoset and horseradish of the Seder. We will see Seder tables set with symbols of salvation and a bare altar testifying to Christ’s willingness to give everything to reveal God’s unfailing love. And we will feel the water in the baptismal font rooting our identity in the death and resurrection of Christ.

So come. Just take it all in. And remember, with everything you are: God’s perfect love is for you.

See you Sunday…

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael

Is it Easter yet?

It’s halfway through the season of Lent. Halfway.

Halfway through anything is tough. Halfway through a workout, I inevitably start thinking about ice cream. Halfway through a 60 minute lecture my eyelids start feeling very heavy. Yep, halfway through Lent – it’s about time to ask, ‘Is it Easter yet?’

That’s one reason I’m so grateful for our newcomers! Here at St. Tim’s we have a great group of newcomers leading the way for us in their Lenten preparation for Holy Baptism. And this week they discussed the theological equivalent of the ice bucket challenge…the Renunciation of Evil. How’s that for a halfway-through-Lent wake-up call?

As we stand before the congregation at our Baptism or Affirmation of Baptism we are asked, “Do you renounce all the forces that defy God?” And with complete confidence we are invited to respond, “I renounce them.”

Just…like…that.

That’s enough to keep me awake until Easter. First, it’s a tough reminder of all that’s at work in my life that needs be renounced: judgmental words, accumulating more stuff, trying to find hope and comfort in something other than God (fill in any vice here), ignoring the needs of my neighbor, etc. Second, it’s an even greater reminder of how much God loves me!

As we head into the second half of Lent, we celebrate with humility and gratitude that God sees it all, everything that we have yet to renounce, and chooses to love us still. Through the cross of Christ, God shows us how deeply God is committed to loving us, whatever we may lack. Halfway through Lent it’s time to grab-on-to-the-cross-with-all-you’ve-got because no matter how confident (or not) our renunciation is, God’s acceptance of us and love for us are even greater! Amen?!

See you Sunday…

In Christ,
Pr. Rachael

Powerless…Gratitude

It’s Lent. It’s a season of the church year that can be pretty rough because it is a glaring reminder of just how powerless we are. This season especially I feel like the Apostle Paul when he says, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19). I fully intend at the beginning of each day to listen for God’s voice and do only what is pleasing to God. I can almost get out of bed holding on to that thought…almost. During Lent I hear God’s unwavering call to love. I want to. But the evil I do not want is what I do.

Now, this could place me (and you, too, if you’re feeling me on this) under a 40 day cloud of despair. You see, faced with our powerlessness we could fight! We could try to muster up more energy, strive to be more focused, berate ourselves at our failures and wallow in self-loathing for a while. That’s certainly one way to go. But…

What if, instead of fighting powerlessness we embraced it? What if we gave it the biggest, knock-you-down bear hug we could muster? That kind of throw-caution-to-the-wind behavior can only lead to one thing: Overwhelming Gratitude.

Yep, I’m always going to fall short of the daily love to which God calls me. I am powerless to be perfect. But God promises, always, to meet me in my powerless falling-short with the love I lack. As it turns out, powerlessness is a most beautiful gift because it points, so clearly, to the most powerful love of all…God in Christ. Christ’s love is enough. It’s enough for me, for you, for this whole creation. Thank you, Jesus! Amen?!

See you Sunday…

God’s Peace,
Pr. Rachael