Church ladies: Quilting

The faithful women of all my churches are always up to something good, and one of those things is quilting. Several of my churches have quilting circles. They make various types of quilts to send to people around the world who need the warmth.

Here's a glimpse of the action at Holden last week. Unfortunately, I had a lot going on that day, so I got there as they were wrapping up. I'll have to see what I can do about better pictures, and some from other churches as well.

Weekly beauty: Prayer of St. Francis de Sales

I found this prayer (which really reads more like a blessing with its second-person language) on A Place for Prayer a while back. By total coincidence, the feast day of St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) was this past Monday, January 24.


The Prayer of St. Francis de Sales

Be at peace
Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
rather look to them with full hope as they arise.

God, whose very own you are,
will deliver you from out of them.
God has kept you hitherto,
and God will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it,
God will bury you in loving arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting parent who cares for you today
will take care of you then and everyday.

God will either shield you from suffering,
or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace,
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.

Sami the recluse

By my calculations, it's been a while since I did a Sami update. Here's the latest.

She's turned into a hermit. Sleeps under the sofa or chair all day long. I have a theory that it's extra warm under there, since I have radiant in-floor heat and the sofa and chair have skirts around them that probably retain the heat.





She has learned that an undiscovered territory lies beyond the front door, which goes upstairs into the main floors of my landlord's house. I had to keep it open one day a while back, in order to listen for a delivery at the front door, so now she has expanded her obsession with the laundry room door.




Incidentally, through a series of unfortunate events that occurred when I was out of town on retreat, Sami was trapped in the laundry room for almost 24 hours. It hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for that particular room. As soon as I liberated and fed her, she wanted right back in to explore some more.

She went with me to my parents' house just after Christmas, which is traumatic for both of us, as it involves prying her out from under the bed to get her in her carrier, and forcing a motion sickness pill down her throat to prevent (or at least diminish) car sickness.

But once we're there, she loves to play with my mom's yarn. And this is how she plays...chases it for about 8 seconds, then sits and watches the humans run and dance around like fools. I'm sure it's ever so amusing for her.





And, just for the sake of gratuitous cuteness, here's Christmas Sami sleeping on the little stocking that serves as both pillow and prey.

First English Lutheran Church, Faribault

The pastors of First English Lutheran both had conflicts that kept them away from their Saturday evening worship service last week, and they invited me to fill in as pulpit supply.

So I got to preach and lead worship with the good folks of this congregation, which was lovely. It's nice to meet more people from the area.

Also lovely is their building. My favorite part is the painted beams, which you can see on the last couple pictures.

January 23 sermon

Text: Matthew 4:12-23
Preached January 22 at First English Lutheran Church in Faribault, MN and January 23 at Trinity Lutheran Church in West Concord, MN


Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Did you hear some echoes of Christmas in our readings today?
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.”

These words from Isaiah are the Old Testament reading for Christmas Eve, when the light of Christ makes its appearance in a dark world.

The Israelites of Isaiah’s time knew oppression, as they languished under Assyrian domination. And the Jewish people of Jesus’ time knew their own kind of oppression, as they labored under Roman occupation.

Peter and Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. We tend to associate fishing with relaxation, I suppose—time away from work, a respite in the fresh air. But this is not at all what these fishermen’s life was like. Their work was relentless, demanding their attention through long days of strenuous physical exertion, hauling heavy nets around and hoping they became even heavier as they filled with fish. It was dirty, grimy, smelly work.

And it was not financially lucrative. Fishermen were at the bottom of a complex economic hierarchy. There were fees and taxes for everything from the fishing space itself to the boats to the shipping of the product. It was all designed to keep these men in place at the bottom, while benefiting the powerful few at the top of this economic pyramid.

Peter and Andrew, James and John were living in their own kind of darkness. Their work was difficult, and the structure within which they toiled was oppressive. Then one day Jesus walked by, and these people who walked in darkness saw a great light.

“Follow me,” Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “and I will make you fish for people.” What could this have meant? Did they understand what Jesus was calling them to do? James and John may not have gotten even that much information. Matthew just says Jesus called them. Could they have known what they were signing up for?

This was very early in Jesus’ ministry. So far, according to Matthew, Jesus’ public activity had included being baptized by John and proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Is this all the disciples had to go on? Is this all they knew of Jesus?

Maybe so, and still they responded. Matthew says they left their work immediately and followed Jesus. Immediately they followed, not knowing to what exactly they were being called, not knowing what this new life held for them, not knowing where Jesus would lead them or whether there was anything in it for them.

They didn’t know the rest of the story as we do, but they must have known something of the scriptures which the Jewish people heard and studied all their lives. They must have known that God had promised to send light into the world, to shine light on those sitting in deep darkness. And they must have seen that light shining in Jesus—the light no darkness can overcome, a force for freedom from all that oppresses us.

They must have known that God had promised a hopeful future to his people. God had promised that the “yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor,” God would break, “as on the day of Midian,” that great day when Gideon and his tiny band of scrappy Israelites had defeated a powerful foreign army.

Peter and Andrew, James and John must have seen something in Jesus that spoke of breaking the yoke of their burden. Perhaps it was the fact that Jesus didn’t ask them about their qualifications for discipleship. He didn’t ask about their background, education, or experience. He didn’t ask them for references, and he certainly didn’t demand a hefty slice of their profit like everyone else seemed to do.

Jesus knew exactly what kind of men these were. Jesus knew that fishermen were usually not well-educated, that they were at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, that they were covered in grime and probably quite rough around the edges. But Jesus didn’t even ask them to clean themselves up before joining him in his work. “Follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fish for people.”

Jesus called these men into discipleship and service, just as they were. God knows about our gifts and talents and interests and professions. God knows about our tastes and habits and personality quirks. And God doesn’t require us to change who we are in order to follow him. Instead, God invites us to use all of those gifts and interests and quirks in God’s work.

We don’t have to get our act together before God can use us to serve the world. Remember what God promised to do: To break the yoke of our burden, the bar across our shoulders, the rod of our oppressor, as on the day of Midian.

God is at work, freeing us from oppression to sin, death, and the devil. Freeing us from our mistakes and failures, freeing us from the burdens of our past and the flaws that continue to trouble us. We are not left alone in our darkness, for God sends us a great light. God sends Jesus Christ, the light of the world, to shine on us and lead us out of our darkness.

This is the light that Peter and Andrew saw and followed. This is the light that compelled James and John to leave their father and their fishing. Jesus’ followers see this light of hope and victory, and Jesus’ followers become the ones who bear that light to the world.

Very soon in Matthew’s story of Jesus’ ministry, we will hear Jesus say the words that someone said to each of us at our baptism: “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (5:16).

“Follow me,” Jesus says, “and I will make you fish for people.” Notice that Jesus does not say, “Follow me and I’ll make you rich and powerful and quite comfortable.” Jesus does not say, “Follow me and I’ll meet all your emotional needs so that you’ll feel happy all the time.” Instead, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I’ll put you to work”!

The followers of Jesus bear his light into the world. And when we shine forth the light of Christ, what are we illuminating? Matthew clues us in a little later in our text when he says: “Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”

In Jesus Christ, God’s kingdom comes near, and we see it in the good news of forgiveness and healing that Jesus proclaims and enacts. To follow Jesus is to point to this work of God’s kingdom, to participate in it, and to invite others to share in it. To follow Jesus is to use our gifts and talents in service to God and others.

Make no mistake: this call of Jesus to follow him is not without its challenges. James and John left their father and their family fishing business. Perhaps some of you have left your family farms or businesses, or perhaps you’ve watched your children do so. It’s not easy.

Jesus and his followers lived an unsettled life, constantly moving from place to place as their ministry unfolded. By the time I finish seminary next year, I will have moved 14 times in 14 years. I know about being unsettled, and perhaps you do to. It’s not easy.

God sometimes disrupts the comfortable patterns of our lives because the kingdom of God is not about our comfort. The kingdom of God is about serving God by loving our neighbors. God disrupts the comfortable patterns of our lives in order to rearrange them, to reorient us away from ourselves and our own agendas and toward others and their needs.

Peter and Andrew, James and John left their familiar lives to form a new community based not on family ties or geographic proximity or professional connections, but based solely in Jesus. We are all called to reorient our lives around Jesus and his work among us, but we are not all called to leave our communities or professions. In fact, Jesus didn’t invite these first followers to leave their profession entirely, but to transform it—to fish for people instead of fish!

When God calls us, he incorporates us into the story of God’s people, he invites us into God’s work in the world, and he draws us into the very life of God. God works through us in the everyday situations of our lives to shine Christ’s light into the world. Your work is God’s work—a way for you to follow Jesus.

If you’re a cook, God works through you to feed his people. If you’re an accountant, God works through you to maintain order and to ensure fair and accurate financial dealings. If you’re a construction worker, God works through you to create the places where people live and work and learn and play. Through your profession or your volunteering, you can “let your light so shine before others that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Neither does God’s call mean that we suddenly stop being daughters and sons, husbands and wives, sisters and brothers. Peter and Andrew, James and John left their families to travel with Jesus, but we are not all called to that kind of transformation of our family relationships. Indeed, God works through us within our family connections.

Think of the importance of family in doing God’s work. How many of us are here because our parents fulfilled the promises they made at our baptism “to faithfully bring [us] to the services of God’s house; to teach [us] the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments; to place in [our] hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for [our] instruction in the Christian faith” (LBW)? Your family relationships are God’s work as well—another way for you to follow Jesus.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Jesus Christ is the light of the world, who has broken the oppression of sin and death. What darkness are you sitting in, and how is the light of Christ breaking through that darkness?

“Follow me,” Jesus says, “and I will make you fish for people.” How will you use your particular gifts and interests to share the light of Christ with a world in darkness? How will God work through you in your profession, in your hobbies, in your family?

For God calls all of us, as the unique people we are, to point to Jesus’ work of forgiveness and healing, and to invite others into that work. And God equips us for the work to which he has called us. Thanks be to God! Amen.

The post-Christmas lull is a lie

This it the latest thing I have learned on internship. I was expecting January to be quiet and slow. Actually, I was a little concerned that it would be too slow after all the fun and festivity of December. But I now know that my concern was misguided. There is no such thing as a post-Christmas lull.

The last couple weeks I've been out and about almost every weeknight. I've participated in two funerals. I've been in on confirmation and visiting. I've enjoyed fellowship with a delightful variety of people. I preached and led worship as pulpit supply tonight. The list goes on, and it all adds up to no fear of boredom.

I much prefer it this way, though one of these days I could use a couple of slow evenings to do catch up at home. Tonight I finally did my nails (important stuff!) and next on the list is putting away my Christmas decorations. One year I left my Christmas tree up until Holy Week. I don't necessarily want to challenge that record, especially since I hear the post-Easter lull and the summer lull are just as mythical as the post-Christmas lull!

Weekly beauty: "O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright"

I love this Epiphany hymn, which we sang at our conference meeting recently. Here's a video of the first verse, with additional verses (though not all six that are in the ELW) printed below.

O Morning Star, how fair and bright!
You shine with God's own truth and light,
aglow with grace and mercy!
Of Jacob's line, King David's son,
our Lord and Savior, you have won
our hearts to serve you only!
Lowly, holy!
Great and glorious, all victorious, rich in blessing!
Rule and might o'er all possessing!


Come, precious diamond, light divine,
and deep within our hearts now shine;
there light a flame undying!
In your one body let us be
as living branches of a tree,
your life our lives supplying.
Now, though daily
earth's deep sadness may perplex us and distress us,
yet with heav'nly joy you bless us.


Almighty Father, in your Son
you loved us, when not yet begun
was this old earth's foundation!
Your Son has ransomed us in love
to live in him here and above:
this is your great salvation.
Alleluia!
Christ the living, to us giving
life forever,
keeps us yours and fails us never!


What joy to know, when life is past
the Lord we love is first and last,
the end and the beginning!
He will one day, oh glorious grace,
transport us to that happy place
beyond all tears and sinning!
Amen! Amen!
Come Lord Jesus! Crown of gladness! We are yearning
for the day of your returning.

United Lutheran Church, Red Wing

We had another meeting of the Cannon River Conference clergy this month, the first one since October. In November we had synod Fall Theological Conference instead, and there was no meeting in December. So we're back at it, and this month we heard about the Care Clinic in Red Wing and some other great resources for Goodhue County.

We met at United Lutheran in Red Wing. Check it out. The amazing organ was made in Iowa, for the record.

Exciting transitions

Two of my churches, Holden and Dale, are a yoked parish in the midst of exciting changes. They just called a new pastor, who officially starts tomorrow. Yesterday they said goodbye to Interim Pastor Rell Spickerman, who has been here for about 15 months.

It has been a delight to work with Rell. He has over 40 years of ministry experience, much of it in the area of counseling, so his perspective has been unique among my pastors, and very helpful.

Rell and his wife, Louise, will head back to their home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and he hopes to do one more stint as an interim pastor somewhere before retiring for real. ("Small world" moment: before coming to Holden and Dale, Rell was interim pastor of a church I attended during college, St. John in Cedar Falls.)

Pastor Heather Culuris will take the reins at Holden and Dale. I hope she knows what she's in for: Holden has had only eight pastors in its 155-year history, which averages out to almost 20 years each. Dale is just two years younger and has had 13 pastors. So this seems to be a long-term gig!

But Heather comes to us well-informed, since she and her husband, Chris, were Kenyon-area interns several years ago. Incidentally, Chris was just called as pastor of Trinity and Wanamingo Lutheran Churches in Wanamingo, so there's all kinds of excitement 'round these parts lately.

Though I don't work with Chris's congregations, we attend the same text study, so I'm thrilled to add both Heather and Chris to my already lengthy roster of great resources! The folks of Holden and Dale are excited to launch this new chapter of their history, and I'm happy to participate!

Coolest garage door ever

It's bright pink.





This is the home of one of my lovely WELCA ladies. Her house was certainly easier to find once I knew I was looking for a bright pink garage door. Check out some of the winter decorations she has displayed. This is a woman who knows how to be festive!





Incidentally, she's the same one who shared part of her hat collection at a Bible study a while back. She's just full of life and fun!