Everyday Lutherans

Within the Deuteronomy text, the people of Israel are being told how they shall bring their offering, their sacrifice of what God has given to them, to the Temple of the Lord as a gift of Thanksgiving.   The people are to be reminded and speak of all the moments in the past in which God has been a part of their existence.   To remind them of all that God has done for them, of all that has shaped and formed them to be God’s Chosen People but also to be humbled of all that God has done for them.   As they gather together the things that have been given to them by God, by past generations, they should be reminded of the work, the sacrifice and the love in which all of this has been gathered together.   Which brings us to this holiday, that we celebrate, in which we are called to stop and be reminded of all the gifts and blessings that we have within our own life.   Yet before we get too far in listing those blessings in our own life, I want you to stop and think for a moment.   Have you e

Today, as we gather together, we celebrate Christ the King Sunday.  We are reminded of that time that will come.  The day that we long for and hope for, the arrival of Jesus Christ standing right before us.  It’s that day that we talk about in the Apostle’s Creed of “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”  This day is something that we are reminded of even within the construction of our very own churches.  Look at the way in which we have you seated in the pews.  We have this long aisle and one group sitting over here and another group sitting over there.  We are reminded that there will come a day in which we shall be divided into these groups.  It will be our Savior and Lord that declares a righteous judgment, and not the judgment of humankind.  Yet this day of Judgment gets so confused within the Scripture.  It is a day that some people fear.  So today, we hear from Jesus Christ, what it will be like. Jesus explains that it will be on that day that he will be able to

Today's parable seems harsh.  It does not even seem Christian.  Aren't we suppose to care for those who are less fortunate?  Aren't we suppose to care and support one another?  When a person first reads through this parable, they may begin to wonder which person in the story are they?  The Master is almost certainly God, so you can’t be that one.  We then think, how much do we have? Do we have five talents? Two? Or are we the slave with one talent?  As we know the parable, we do not think that we are the person with five talents. Even as those of us who are humble begin to think, do I just have one talent?  Maybe I have two talents that I am able to use that God has given to me.  We don't want to be the slave who has only been given one talent.  Yet so often in our lives we think that we have only one talent, one ability that we are able to share with the world. Now before we dive too far into the parable, let's back up.  Not just to the beginning, but to the part b

Today as we gather together and hear this parable, we may be left scratching our heads going, “Huh?” I have no idea what Jesus is trying to say or do within this parable. And you would be right. What’s happening here is something that does not happen anymore, and especially is not done within our culture. Does that mean that we should just ignore the parable and go on to the next reading? No. The very core of this parable is all about waiting. I am not talking about waiting in line at the DMV or waiting in line for food. But something that you really, really know is going to be a good thing. Something that you will treasure and can not seem to live without. Perhaps a better parable for our modern times within the marriage theme would be the longing look between the bride and groom. You know as the other bridesmaids and groomsmen enter into the church, that the bride and groom will be able to see each other for the first time. They will be united for a lifetime. However, even

Today, we hear a very familiar passage that is typically known as “The Sermon on the Mount.” This is one of the greatest sermons that has ever been delivered. It is also coming from the greatest preacher ever, Jesus. To truly appreciate all that is said here in this sermon, we should really understand this and dwell upon each of the phrases that Jesus shares with the people. As with every sermon, the words, phrases, and thoughts are carefully thought through. The person who delivers them is hoping to help the people who are listening understand and experience God within their daily life. Let's look at the very core of the message that Jesus shares with the people. When Jesus says, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, one can quickly think that the people are weak in their faith. Jesus is speaking of the humble spirit. A person who does not focus upon their own desires, their own status, but is instead focused upon God. One who has faith that God w