Everyday Lutherans

Learning from the Past, Growing into the future. Tonight, we are gathered together to celebrate your accomplishment of graduating high school.  Now I want you to stop and think of all the people and events that have gotten you to this point.  Yes, I am talking about your mom waking you up in the morning.  Your mom picking out your clothes for your first day of school. Now that you have thought about this past year. (laughter) I also want you to think back to elementary school.  Going to a new place, in which you do not know all the people but you know that you have to and that you will grow from the experience.  Beginning to learn and grow.  The first times that you began meeting your classmates. As the years went by, you grew smarter. You figured out that recess was not a subject in school.  You read books, you learned details, had many projects.  You learned about things that you would use on a daily basis and you began to learn things that you have not found a use for yet.  You bega...

Today, we are confronted with the commandment that Jesus gives to his disciples. This includes you.  “To love one another as I have loved you.”  Now stop to think about that.  It is a short sentence.  One that can easily be overlooked.  Yet, here is the mantra that we are called to live by.  To live like Jesus did within this world. However, for us, it is impossible.  For no one can accomplish this.  Yet this is what we are called to do and to strive for each day. Now hearing that it is impossible, we may want to simply say, well then let’s forget it.  God is setting us up to fail.  However, when we stop and think of the whole life and faith of Jesus Christ, we are shown and bear witness to the extent that God is willing to go for each and every one of us.  We can not take this one line and use it as the whole Gospel, for it is truly the Law, calling us to do something that we can not do.  When we look at the whole of chapter 15, we look at the whole life of Jesus Christ and our own li...