Everyday Lutherans

Today, within our Gospel message, we hear of Jesus being a shepherd.  Jesus viewed the people as sheep, in need of a shepherd, and he would be that shepherd.  Throughout Scripture, Jesus is often thought of or referred to as a Shepherd of the people.  But not just any shepherd, a good shepherd.   So what does a good shepherd look like?  If they were hungry, he would provide for them.  If they were sick, he would heal them.  The people had experienced a bad shepherd, and we even have a lot of them within our own modern society.  A bad shepherd uses a powerful tool.  It is something grips our hearts and minds so that our whole life is consumed by this...fear.  Fear is the tool of a bad shepherd.  The bad shepherd uses fear to lead the people to serve his or her own agenda.  They are striving for their own sake so that they are built up and nothing would stop them.  This can also be other pastors or spiritual leaders.  If sheep are already in the pasture, a bad shepherd would scatter thos

Today, we hear of what the government was like during the time of Jesus.  The leader the of a nation is gripped with fear and it leads him to send people to prison.  The leader of the nation has a celebration and displays all his wealth to others.  A political leader who makes decisions based on fear and who shows off his wealth, this leader could easily be from our own time.  When we hear this, we are reminded that the world in which Jesus was preaching and teaching in is very much like our own.  How can that be?  We have so many wonderful improvements.  We have the car, so we can travel wherever we want to go.  We have the phone so we can talk to whomever we wish.  We have computers so information and all that we are is always online.  However, one thing truly remains the same.  We are HUMANS and we can not rule ourselves because we need God to lead us. However, many of us feel that God is so distant.  We do not see the direction or path that we are suppose to go.  There is not a yel

In the midst of our busy life, we make so many plans.  We plan vacations, family events, and things to do within our community.  However, one place we do not plan to go to is the hospital.  The hospital is a place that we never plan to go to, but we know precisely where it is and what it is for.  It is the place, when we feel sick and can not go on, we go there for help.  They are the ones who will give us the medicine and take the lessons learned from others who have had this affliction or disease that we are suffering from.  Now those in the medical fields have made great strides within the past few decades, however, they can not cure death.   Death is something that we do not want to talk about in our life.  However, death is indeed part of the journey of life.  We do not know when or how death will come to us, but we know that it is certain.  It could claim us as an infant, a child, a young adult, a parent, or even after many years of life.  It is a humbling reality and one that we

Today, we as disciples are confronted with a question.  How do we think of Jesus in our life?  We join the scripture reading in the Gospel of St. Mark where the disciples have been called.  They have left all that they were planning to do in their life to follow this teacher named Jesus.  They left family and friends for this life of travelling and learning.  Over the past few weeks, we have heard of those teachings as Jesus shared parables with the crowds that gathered.  After leaving these crowds, the disciples go on to the sea of Galilee traveling which is something that they have done before.   In the midst of their sea travel, they are confronted with their death.  How certain is their death? The boat is already taking on water and the storm shows no sign of letting up.  However, one of the disciples wakes up Jesus.  Jesus is so filled with peace and knows that God would never allow him to be destroyed because the work he is called to do is not fulfilled. He is able to sleep in th

Whenever Jesus spoke to people, he always spoke in parables.  A parable is a story that contains a metaphor that relates to something far more complex.  However to his disciples, he would explain what the parables mean.  Have you ever stopped to think about this?  Why would Jesus speak to the crowds who came to see him, to understand more about God, in stories?   To truly understand, we should stop and think about the people of the time of Jesus.  Most did not read but in order to learn, they would hear stories that conveyed  a message for them. They could remember the story and continue to think about it during the days of working in the fields or those routine jobs they would do over and over again.  The lessons and stories were something that they kept close to their heart, encouraged their family,  and share with friends so they could hear those lessons as well.  If the lessons and stories were not in their heart and mind, then they would not help to shape their life as a whole. Fo

The holy Trinity has been a topic that people have tried to understand ever since Christ was around.  People in the past have wrestled with how is it that God can be three, but one for years.  Around the year 300 AD, many of the debates of the church were settled by the means of Creeds.  Statements of faith that the Christian church could agree upon.  The Apostle's Creed, The Nicene Creed and the Athannasian Creed, were all formed to make it clear to all people exactly how it is that God is three in one and to clarify each of the roles that God took.  If you turn in your LBW to page _____ you will find two of the creeds.  You will find the Apostle's Creed which is said practically every Sunday.  The Nicene Creed, we typically say on special occasions within the church.  These two creeds sound very similar, and yet there are some slight changes.  Today, I am going to focus on the similarities so that we can understand God's relation to the world and the three names that are

Today is the Day of Pentecost.  We go from the white of Easter to fiery red of the Holy Spirit.  During the season of Easter, we are reminded of the resurrection and the new life that God has given to us through Jesus Christ.  It is during the season of Pentecost, that we are reminded of all the teachings, healings, miracles, and blessing that God was to us on Earth.  First we should note, Pentecost is not a Christian festival. It was a Jewish festival.  It is celebrated 50 days after Passover.  This is to celebrate the gift of the Ten Commandments to Moses and thus to the people.  The people are celebrating their covenant with God and God’s amazing work of forgiving and restoring them as God’s People.  However, on the day of Pentecost, our focus is not on Jesus but rather on the Holy Spirit.  The Agent, God’s Holy Spirit, The One who would lead us and guide us after Jesus is no longer among us.  It is this Holy Spirit, that we bear witness to among the disciples. Within the account th

Each week when we gather together, we begin and end our worship service in very similar ways.  We declare that we gather and go forth in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We speak these words as a declaration of what is happening in our lives and what will happen in our life.  We declare that we are in the loving relationship of our God.  We are reminded of the way in which God has been a part of our life, is in our life, and is going to be in our life.  This is our relationship with God that we experience every day.  We experience God, our creator, and sustainer.  We experience God as our Redeemer.  We experience God as the one who leads us, guides us, and protects us. As we begin and end our worship service in this way, we are reminded of God’s love for us and God’s promise for us.   Yet, what are these promises and how do we live out that love?  This is truly the heart of our relationship with God.  It is our ongoing conversation with God as a part of our life.