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Trees bear fruit for the sake of others; so we repent, return to God, that we might bear fruit for the sake of all and be a part of God’s extravagant satisfaction for all the world.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Third Sunday in Lent, year C
texts: Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; Luke 13:1-9
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Why do you spend your money and labor for that which does not satisfy?
It’s a fair question. Are we getting value for our investment of time, energy, wealth? Are we satisfied with life?
Can we evaluate this? We can live unaware of how we spend our time and wealth and whether it brings us blessing or satisfies. We hear many messages promising satisfaction, from advertisers, from politicians, from entertainers, offering fulfilled lives if we only buy what they’re selling.
What if Isaiah’s right? What if we’re running through life following this whim and that trend, living without any attention to how our time spent and our lives lived really fill us? Can we say with confidence that the things we spend the most time or money or thought on are the things that can satisfy us?
If we aren’t sure we could ask our psalmist: when we wake in the midnight watches, do we find a content spirit, filled with God’s goodness as if with the richest of foods? Or when we wake in the night is our spirit filled with worry, discontent?
Maybe a sign of our dissatisfaction is that we’re here this morning. We’ve come away from our everyday life, looking for God, seeking answers, hoping for something that will address our deepest needs.
So, what are we missing that would truly satisfy us?
Jesus compares us to a tree today, so let’s consider plants.
Plants need certain things to flourish and grow, and produce the fruit or leaves or flowers they are meant to. Some people are really good at knowing what plants need. They can take a plant out of the ground, put it in a pot, care for it, and it will grow and bring delight. My Uncle Ray once grew an apricot tree out of an apricot pit, and it won a prize at the county fair.
I’m not one of these. I don’t know what it means when told, “don’t water it too much.” Is that once a week? Every day? Only when it’s wilting and near death?
Maybe we’re the same when it comes to the tree we each are. Some instinctively know the ways to life and growth in God. Some are clueless, until we get to a point in our lives where we’re wilted or dried up or starving and aren’t sure how we got there.
Isaiah has wisdom for all of us, however we are: God knows what we need. If we’re seeking to be a fruitful tree, a flourishing plant, turn to God.
Or, as Jesus would say, “repent.” Turn around, and come back to the One who gives life.
But we’ve got a problem: Trees don’t bear fruit for themselves.
We look at Jesus’ parable today and think we want to be a tree bearing fruit. Why wouldn’t we?
But do we want it only because we don’t want to be cut down? When John or Jesus talk of fruitful trees and vines, lurking behind is always the idea of the dried up, unfruitful branch that feeds the fire. We may only want to be fruitful to avoid destruction.
Because there’s little self-interest found in bearing fruit. A tree doesn’t bear fruit for itself. Even if an apple falls uneaten, rots, and the seeds within begin to grow, that’s another tree reaping the benefit.
Do we avoid repentance because there’s no self-incentive for bearing fruit? Do we run after all sorts of things seeking satisfaction for ourselves rather than turning to God because God will only create gifts in us that will help others?
We make repentance a personal thing, a spiritual exercise God needs us to do because we’re sinful people. It’s all about us and our private, personal salvation.
But that doesn’t seem to be what our Lord means.
The turning around of repentance Jesus invites is for the sake of all, because it is meant to bear fruit.
This tree in the parable is meant to give to others, be a blessing. The problem of the owner of the tree is he isn’t getting any blessing from it.
John the Baptist invited his hearers to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.” But what was that fruit? If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have one. If you have more food than you need, share it. If you’re cheating someone, stop it. Don’t extort from others, and be satisfied with what you have. Fruit of repentance is for others.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways,” God says. Maybe we’re not satisfied deep within our spirits because we’ve been mistaken all along thinking our faith was all for our sake. That we needed to repent because otherwise we’d be punished. Instead, we repent so we can be a blessing to others. That’s God’s way.
What if God’s way is really better for us?
Isaiah begs us to see where our life is truly found.
Four times he invites: come to God. God’s arms are open wide with blessing and grace that can truly satisfy us and give us life.
If we’re afraid of being cut down as unfruitful, Isaiah says, “don’t be.” Return to the Lord, who will abundantly pardon; return to God, that God might have mercy. Whatever the result of our repentance, we have the promise of welcome and forgiveness when we turn.
And in that turning, we find life, because we become the fruitful tree we are meant to be. We find what satisfies, because we are living as we were made to live. The One who truly knows what makes us grow and flourish is the one who made us. And in Jesus’ parable, that One has grace prepared for us.
Whoever the owner is in this parable, it’s clear it is the Triune God who is the gardener: the Father created the tree and loves it enough to give it time, the Son cares for and prunes the tree, and the Spirit nurtures and feeds the tree, and in the patience of God the tree is given time to grow, deepen, and finally bear fruit.
And in that fruit, given away to others, we find true satisfaction.
This is the mystery of God’s way: all are satisfied when each bears fruit for another’s well-being.
This happens when we don’t look for God’s mercy and healing to benefit ourselves, or understand repentance as a path to personal salvation, and rather see the grace of a God who would have all people bear fruit for the sake of others, and will take all the time necessary to see it happen. Will dig around us, fertilize us, bless us, so we become what we’re meant to be.
This is how there’s wine and milk and bread and satisfaction and joy enough for all: when all are bearing fruit for others, there is more than enough to satisfy the whole world.
When we find the joy of this repentance we can wake in the midnight watches and, with the psalmist, say, “my spirit is content as with the richest of foods.”
No longer motivated to help ourselves, we turn to God so we are fruitful for others, and strangely enough, we are satisfied. In the middle of the night or the bright sunshine, we are satisfied.
There is grace today in God’s generous patience and willingness to help us turn and bear fruit. There is even more grace in the fruit we bear for the world.
Come, let us return to the Lord, who has mercy and abundant pardon, enough to satisfy all.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Week 2: So that they would search for God
Vicar Anna Helgen
Wednesday, 24 February 2016; Text: John 4:1-42
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God loves the world. And this story, the story of Jesus and the woman at the well, is a story about that world. It is a story about God’s love becoming embodied in the world. A story that comes to life in a conversation between the most unlikely pair: a Jew and a Samaritan. A story that names for us what eternal life in Christ looks like. A story in which we, too, are invited to participate.
As Jesus sets off on his journey from Judea to Galilee, we learn that he had to go through Samaria. If you take a look at the Greek, however, you’d find that this sentence would be better translated, “It was necessary that he go through Samaria.” But it wasn't necessary, at least geographically speaking, that he go through Samaria. So why? Why did Jesus take this route? While it may not have been geographically necessary that Jesus travel through Samaria, it was theologically necessary. Because God loves the world. All of the world. And that includes places like Samaria. God’s love cannot be contained by lines on a map or by boundaries that we create. God’s love is for the entire world.
Before we get to the story, it’s worth noting some of the history here to understand why Jews do not share things in common with the Samaritans. While both groups trace their lineage back to Abraham, the Samaritans saw themselves as descendants of the northern kingdom. The Jews and Samaritans disagreed over the proper place to worship God--or what we might call the religious center. The Jews worshiped in Jerusalem, whereas the Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim.
This backdrop sets the stage for the conversation that ensues between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Now, again, Jews do not share things in common with the Samaritans, so the fact that this man Jesus, a Jew, is talking with this unnamed woman, a Samaritan, alone in broad daylight, without any other people present is quite a big deal. Serious boundaries are being crossed!
As the conversation begins, we notice that there is a mutuality present in the dialogue. Both parties need something from the other. Jesus is tired and hot from his journey, and he needs water to drink. The woman has a bucket and she can provide water for him. She can meet his need. Jesus shares with the woman about the living water that he can provide and she quickly becomes curious about this water. He can inform her curiosity. This mutuality is important because it helps to propel the dialogue forward.
Jesus learns some more intimate details about the woman's life and she responds by calling him a prophet and speaking of Jacob as “our ancestor,” noting the shared ancestry for both Jews and Samaritans. As the conversation continues, both Jesus and the woman come to understand more about one another. Jesus shows in this conversation that God’s love is available to those outside of his religious center. And the woman begins to further understand Jesus’ identity--the last person that we’d think would recognize him as the Messiah! The question of where to worship God is discussed, and soon after, Jesus confirms the woman’s suspicions and reveals himself as the Messiah. Isn’t it interesting that dialogue is what leads Jesus and the woman into deeper understanding? It doesn’t involve research or writing a detailed plan, but jumping in and making conversation.
The disciples return and the woman decides it’s time to be on her way. She leaves her water bucket behind, returns to the city, and invites her friends to come and see, to come and meet this man Jesus who has spoken truth to her. She knows what it means to be in relationship with Jesus, and so she invites others to have their own encounter. I love how she invites them, “He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” It’s like she doesn’t yet fully understand who he is. She remains uncertain, and yet that does not end her relationship with Jesus, but encourages her to invite others to experience him.
And many of these Samaritans do come to meet Jesus! They have their own encounter with him and then invite Jesus to stay with them for a few days. The verb “stay” is better translated as “abide.” In John’s Gospel, the language of abiding is the language of relationship. To abide means to take up space with somebody. It might mean living in the same space, sharing a meal, having a conversation, or simply noticing another person. But in that space, hearts and minds are opened, stretched, and made into God’s image. In that space, we come to see one another as God sees us.
What might this story mean for us today? This story teaches us about what eternal life looks like. It looks like relationship right now--in this time and place--with God and with others. But it requires dialogue! Because dialogue leads to understanding and understanding leads to relationship. Talking with our neighbors is the first step in building a relationship. And with a relationship comes opportunities for appreciation and recognition.
We live in a religiously pluralistic culture and world. It can be easy for us to talk about loving people on the other side of the globe, but sometimes it can be more challenging to love our closest neighbors--like the Muslim woman you ride the bus with, or the Jewish man you run into at the grocery store, or maybe even the teenager with neon hair who sees faith differently than you do. We can be afraid of those whose rituals, customs, language, and history are different than our own.
But are we really so different? Should we be so afraid? Or should we reach out, say hello, and be open to the possibility of seeing God in the face of all our neighbors?
With the woman at the well, I invite you. “Come and see.”
Amen.
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God desires to gather us together like a hen gathers a brood under her wings. Gathering here opens us up to further opportunities for healing, forgiveness, and love. To be a part of a brood invites us to see those gathered with us as living examples of faith.
Vicar Anna Helgen
The Second Sunday in Lent, year C
texts: Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I grew up in a suburb, so I’ve not seen first-hand how mother hens interact with their chicks. I know--I’m missing out. And it’s unfortunate that this vivid agrarian imagery is lost on me in this modern age of factory farms. Thankfully though, we do live in the age of the internet where we can look up anything in a matter of seconds. And since I’ll jump on any opportunity to look up videos of cute baby animals, I went to youtube to watch videos of mother hens and their chicks. Here’s what I noticed as I watched one of those videos:
As the mother hen pecks and scratches in the dirt for insects and seeds, her chicks are scattered about her, some venturing off farther than others, some staying close by. But each chick is aware of its mother; and the hen is always aware of her chicks. At the first sign of danger or uncertainty the chicks race to the mother hen, who opens her wings gently—almost like an embrace—and gathering the chicks close to her for security, they nestle in the warmth and familiarity of her wings.
There is a straggler chick though, who seems unsure--or perhaps unwilling--to nestle under its mother’s wings with its brothers and sisters. And so the mother hen goes out of her way to make sure the straggler chick knows where she is. Eventually, this chick too finds its place under the shelter of her wings.
What a powerful image of God’s love for us. God desires to gather us together--you and me, our neighbors down the street, the presidential candidates who fill the airwaves with mean-spiritedness--all of us. God desires to gather us together much like a hen gathers a brood under her wings. But often we are not willing. Often we’re like that chick that goes off on its own, who leaves the brood behind in search of a more succulent insect or a plumper kernel of grain.
What if we took seriously Jesus’ lament--and God’s longing for us--and imagined what it might be like to actually go there--to be gathered together under God’s wings? It’s worth asking the question why. Why does God want us to be gathered together? What is so special about our being with one another that Jesus would compare himself to a mother hen and us to baby chicks?
God wants us gathered together because here is a safe place where God offers protection and warmth. A place where we can settle in and rest. We can practice living as our best selves, but trust that when we don’t have all the answers, when we make a mistake, or when we wander off, God loves us unconditionally. The gathered brood is a place of love and forgiveness.
God wants us gathered together because here we will be brought into relationship with the stragglers and the strangers. The brood isn’t about our self-interests; it’s about the community. The gathered brood is diverse and being a part of it means that we’ll get to know people that we don’t know and we’ll come to appreciate those we maybe don’t like. But with this comes further exploration of how we live as God’s people in community with one another. We get to struggle together with the reality of practicing faith. The gathered brood is a community of faith.
God wants us gathered together because here we will get a foretaste of God’s goodness in the land of the living. The gathered brood is a sign of the new creation where all, even our enemies, are brought under God’s wings. Where what once divided us, now unites us. Where we live authentically with one another--with all the messiness and complexity that relationships bring. The gathered brood is a glimpse of God’s eternal kingdom.
God longs for us to be gathered together as a community because the brood matters--the people in our communities matter. Paul understands this, too. In his letter to the Philippians, he writes, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” Paul writes to a community that struggles, like he does, with how to live for the sake of the gospel in the face of persecution. Paul’s hope is in Christ and the power of his resurrection, and this is what enables him to rejoice even in the midst of difficult circumstances. But living this way, with this hope, requires community.
And so Paul invites the Philippians to be like him--to imitate Paul’s own example. To be of the same mind of Christ, but to follow the example of Paul and others like him, those who recognize that struggle is a part of what it means to live in community. Paul is one example of many who has followed Christ, struggled over the meaning of the gospel, and tried his best to live out authentic faith. He’s a wonderful example for us, too, but he’s not the only one.
And so we, too, are invited to look to those in our own community--those in this brood--as living examples of faith. People we can learn from. People who have gone through their own challenges as they seek to live as the people God created them to be. People who have screwed up and started again. People who model for us what authentic faith looks like at all stages of life. People who teach us that the way to the cross is a way of surprise, a way of redemption, a way of promise.
Who comes to mind for you? I think of my confirmation mentor, Jean Sprague, one of the first people who gently pestered me to go to seminary. Her generous support and willingness to share the joys and sorrows from her own life taught me the importance of living in community. That we need each other to be reminded of God’s grace and goodness. That we need each other for inspiration and encouragement. That we need each other in midst of all that life brings us. Who is your Jean Sprague?
Take a minute to get cozy, take a deep breath, and settle into your pew. Imagine that God’s wings are wrapped around you, around all of us. Now take a look around at this brood gathered here today. Seriously: look around. This is your brood. This community is for you. This is a safe place. A place of unconditional love.
Gathering here means we open ourselves up to further possibilities for healing, forgiveness, and protection.
Gathering here means we build deeper relationships with God and each other.
Gathering here means we have the opportunity to learn from one another, to see each other as imperfect, yet beautiful examples of living faith.
Gathering here means living in deep expectation of what is to come.
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.”
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Week 1: Christ is in the least of these
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Wednesday, 17 February 2016; Texts: Matthew 25:31-40; Deuteronomy 24:14-15, 17-22
Sisters and brothers, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
This parable is almost too familiar to us.
We can recite it all. We know what Jesus says. We’re to care for those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, strangers. When we do, we do it to Christ.
Except we’re missing something. These first ones, blessed by the King, didn’t know they were doing anything special or significant. In caring for “the least of these,” they were doing what was normal for them. When they saw hungry people, or had strangers show up, they welcomed them. They fed them. Had they known it was their King, it wouldn’t have changed their behavior.
That’s the powerful thing. Could we be so shaped that we know and act instinctively as if all people are our responsibility? Our political landscape is so dominated by people pandering to Americans’ self-interest, it’s stunning to realize how central the opposite view is to Christ.
We shouldn’t be talking about people in need as if we don’t know what’s right, or discussing the problems of society as if we can debate whether we should care or should act. If our priorities were aligned with Christ our King, they’d be set already. It would simply be a matter of deciding what action would actually accomplish them.
When we criticize other Christians, we’re missing the log in our own eyes.
Rather than bemoan all the Christians who seem to delight to exclude pretty much everyone on Christ’s “least of these” list, we need to look more critically at ourselves. Are we sure we live like those in the first group? Remember, it came naturally to them. They cared for people because that’s who they were.
If we want to be them, we need to have our “normal” changed. We need to learn new patterns. We begin, according to Deuteronomy and Jesus, by remembering who we are.
Remember you also were aliens, the “other,” Moses says.
The people are on the verge of the Promised Land. They’ve wandered in the wilderness forty years, aliens, exiles. And now, in the laws they are given in the Torah, they are told dozens of times that in the Promised Land they’re to care for the aliens among them, and the widows and orphans.
Why? Because: that’s who you were.
Israel is commanded to live with a perpetual remembrance of their wilderness wandering, to hold in their minds their nomadic life, their flight from slavery, their rescue by God. To remember forever they were unwelcome. We’re a nation of immigrants, but every immigrant group seems to forget that once they’re settled. That’s what Israel’s warned to avoid.
But the vulnerable are also part of Moses’ command. The “widows and orphans” are included with the aliens dozens of times, those on the fringes with no protectors, and no room for error.
How many of us have ancestors, or people we know we can call to mind, who once struggled this way, unwelcome, poor, hungry, alone, rejected? How many of us have struggled, needed help, wanted someone to look to us and make a difference? Moses says we can’t be who God desires us to be as long as we forget we also are people who have needed others’ help in more ways that we can count.
Second, remember you are followers of the king, Jesus says.
Everyone in this parable follows Christ the King. Some care for “the least of these.” Some do not. But all, all, want to serve their King.
Hearing this calls to mind our true identity: we are made into Christ, children of God, we belong to our Lord and have committed to follow him. We see here people who didn’t know how to act into their identity and people who acted simply because it was their identity.
If we need our normal changed, if we need our identity transformed, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit.
When the Spirit changes us, we see differently, act differently.
Filled with the Spirit, we see God’s anointed in those in need, those different from us, those who struggle.
Living in our true identity, we can no more ignore the cries of the poor than we can turn away from our God. We can no more pretend the disgrace of our nation’s prisons isn’t our problem than we can pretend we’ve never heard of Jesus. We who love Christ will clothe those who need it because that’s who we are, care for those who are sick because that’s who we are. That’s who the Spirit makes us.
There is another mystery in this, too.
When we serve others in love we serve our King. When we look into the eyes of another we see Christ. We see Christ.
So we can expect they will bless us as Christ in return. Knowing the other, the stranger, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, the sick, the naked, is knowing Christ. So they will be Christ to us. What if we lived in the world as Christ expecting to see Christ and be blessed as well?
It’s good Moses and Jesus remind us of our core being, who we were – beggars before God – and who we are – children of God.
They cut through the rhetoric and tell us it’s all very simple and always has been: God cares for the vulnerable, the weak, the lost, the frightened, the oppressed. If we, as God’s people, shaped by the Spirit, want to be with God, that’s where we’ll be.
Because when we see Christ in others, we get to see Christ. What greater joy could we hope for?
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Accent on Worship
Under the Wings, or Who Is My Neighbor?
I have a carving of a hen on my desk. Herb had it made for me, and gave it to me as I left St. John’s, to remind me of Sunday’s Gospel reading. Jesus, facing suffering and death, laments over the people’s rejection: “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
I once preached that our problem with Jesus the Mother Hen isn’t that we’re welcome under her wings. It’s all the others welcomed there. Herb admitted that was his problem; he also knew it wasn’t where he or Christ wanted him to be.
For people who claim the love of God in Christ Jesus, we struggle to welcome some people into that love. We play a “who’s in and who’s out” game.
In an ironic twist, those Christians who would exclude anyone who doesn’t meet their standards, whether Muslims or GLBT or poor or whatever, are the ones some of us would rather not share space with under Christ’s wings. Most of Christ’s followers have someone they look down on, someone they’d rather Christ kept out of the warm nest.
Snuggling under the warmth of a mother hen’s wings is also problematic when we consider the close quarters of such intimacy. It’s enough that Christ welcomes all, even sinners, even those whom we think are unChristlike Christians. But do they have to be so close?
On Lenten Wednesdays at noon Eucharist and evening Vespers we’ll listen to our Mother Hen. We’ll hear from Scripture of those whom Christ welcomes and loves, whom we struggle to embrace. “The least of these,” Jesus called them. A foreign woman at a well who has a different faith. A left-for-dead member of a different race. A poor man covered in sores sitting outside a wealthy man’s home. A sinful woman dragged into the public square for humiliation and punishment.
Paul tells us in Romans “love does no wrong to a neighbor.” Christ, our Mother Hen, stretches what neighbor means so far we struggle to embrace it. Thank God we’re not in charge of the wings. Perhaps this Lent we can learn to be truly glad for their breadth and their reach.
In the name of Jesus,
- Joseph
Sunday Readings
February 21, 2016: Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17—4:1
Luke 13:31-35
February 28, 2016: Third Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
I Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays during Lent
Holy Eucharist at noon + Evening Prayer at 7 pm
The theme for 2016 is “Love does no wrong to a neighbor: Who Christ calls us to be to those
not like us.”
A soup luncheon follows each Wednesday noon Eucharist, and a soup supper precedes each Wednesday Evening Prayer, beginning at 6 pm.
Meet the Voigts!
This Sunday, Feb. 21, there will be an opportunity for everyone to meet the Voigt family at Mount Olive. The Voigts are from Leipzig, Germany and are in the Twin Cities until August as part of an ex-change with the Minnea-polis Area Synod’s sister synod partnership with the Leipzig Church.
Come for a light lunch on Sunday after the second liturgy to meet the Voigts.
Sunday’s Adult Forum: February 21
“Reconciliation With God: The Question of the Atonement,” part 2 of a 3-part series presented by Pastor Crippen.
"In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us." (2 Cor. 5: 19).
This is one of the more powerful ways Paul describes just what it is God is doing for the world in Christ Jesus, what the church calls the atonement.
Centering Prayer
Centering Prayer is a discipline practiced by many monastic communities. During the penitential season of Lent, the people of Mount Olive have the opportunity to learn about and practice this ancient discipline.
Wednesdays during Lent, beginning at 5:30 p.m., we will gather in the north transept (columbarium area) for a brief instruction, a reading from the Psalms, followed by 20 minutes of silence. There will be a short time for debriefing, then close with the Lord's Prayer.
Please join us. For questions, call Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 612- 875-7865.
Climate Justice Task Force--Join Now
Here is your chance to take action on your concerns. In January the Vestry supported the formation of a Climate Justice Task Force to investigate and recommend education and action for our congregation and its members. This short-term (3-6 months)"big issue" task force will investigate and make recommendations to other standing committees (properties, missions, neighborhood, education, etc). Climate Justice is already a consideration for many of these committees, and the Climate Justice Task Force will offer the opportunity for creative thinking and "whole picture" action. Say, "Yes!" when asked, or volunteer by leaving your name in the church office, dropping a note to Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com, or writing your name and "Climate Justice" on one of the cream-colored cards in the pew and placing the card in the offering basket.
New Albs are Here
… at least, some of them are.
Please wear the old albs for now and try on a new alb for fit. A chart on the closet door will help you find a size. Each alb has a tag on the sleeve noting the size. Please keep the new albs in the closet, older albs are on the rolling rack and also in the closet. Please let me know which size you will be wearing by noting it on the size chart.
We will look very spiffy at Easter!
- Carol Austermann
Lenten Devotional Book Available
"Return to God," Susan Cherwien's new devotional booklet for Lent 2016, is free and available at church. Pick one up for use during Lent!
This devotional is also available on the web in blog form at http://returntogod2016.blogspot.com/
Soup-Makers Needed!
Soup makers are needed to provide soup and bread for our midweek Lenten meals. Soup and bread for the lunch following Wednesday midday Eucharist should feed 40-50 people, and for the supper before Wednesday Evening Prayer, we need soup and bread for about 15-20 people.
If you can help by signing up to bring a meal (or two!), the sign up chart is available at the serving window at coffee hour on Sundays.
Lenten series on Christian Nonviolence
Every Church a Peace Church (ECAPC) and Mount Olive are sponsoring a five-Sunday Lenten video series on Christian Non-violence. These presentations provide the background under-standings for the "soul searching by Lutherans on the U.S. continuing war efforts," called for by the Minneapolis Synod, ELCA. The peace community is invited and encouraged to be a part of the viewing and discussion of presentations by Father Emmanuel Charles McCarthy.
This Lenten video series is being offered during the Sundays in Lent in the East Assembly Room at Mount Olive at 12:45 and repeated at 3 pm. Light food and coffee will be available.
Each Sunday Lenten presentation can stand on its own and lasts about one hour followed by a half hour for questions and discussion. The first presentation held last Sunday, 2/14 is summarized below:
In the February 14 video presentation we learned that the Lamb of God represents a different kind of power than what we normally think of as power in present day Christianity. Power philosophically defined is the ability to make things happen or the capacity to produce change. Violence, fear, and intimidation are “powers,” as they produce change. But curiosity or care or love are also “powers” as they produce change. American Christians tend to think of lambs as symbols of utter powerlessness; that real power comes through political might and dominative power -- the very powers that Jesus rejected.
Jewish writers on Jesus and Christianity have observed that we have rejected the life and teaching of Jesus for the same reasons they did. One quoted Jewish writer we heard on 2/14, said Jesus' teaching of ‘love your enemies’ was a dangerous teaching for the survival of the Jewish nation at that time. How-ever, he also noted that since Constantine, Christianity has not implemented “love your enemies” but rather viewed it as equally dangerous for the same Jewish reasons; and relegated “love your enemies to a book or to monastics (who live apart from ordinary life), thereby leaving the world cruel, wicked, and pagan” i.e. Jewish writers are saying Jesus did not have much impact on making the world a more peaceful place. Importantly, Jews view “Messiah” as one who will bring peace.
We have to admit, few outsiders observing Christians would say, “there goes a bunch of lambs!”
(The exceptions, of course, are people like Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day etc. Admittedly, my own Lutheran upbringing and understanding was more like a “wolf in sheep's clothing” than the nonviolent love that the Lamb of God Jesus incarnates.)
Jewish writers do acknowledge, however, that for over 300 years the Church was nonviolent. And it worked despite the fact that the Roman government sought to eradicate the movement with varying intensity during those 300 years. During that time, Christians refused to retaliate or defend themselves with violence. By the time Constantine became emperor, it was one of the largest, if not the largest, religion in the empire. What's more, you could not be in the Roman army and kill if you were a Christian. However, in 414 after Constantine, ONLY Christians served in the fighting Roman Army (in 311 AD you couldn't). In 104 years it was all turned around and hasn't changed since then.
If you have any questions about this series or discussion, please contact me at 612 722-5957, or by email to allanbostelmann@msn.com.
- Al Bostelmann
The Sheridan Story
In some schools, as many as 92% of kids depend on subsidized school meals. Each weekend over 100,000 of those kids go hungry. The Sheridan Story is working to reduce that number by providing children and their families healthy nutritious food for the weekend which the children carry home from school.
What can we do?
We're looking for at least 25 sponsors to support the children of at least one classroom at Jefferson Elementary for one year. A sponsor commits to $130 per year, or $12 per month ($144/year).
How will this work?
You can make checks to Mount Olive (marked "Sheridan Story), or arrange an automatic deduction from your bank by Sheridan Story (like Simply Giving).
What else can I do?
A big need will be volunteers to pack bags of food in children's backpacks early each Friday
afternoon. The more volunteers for this the better, so it isn't a burden for anyone. Also, groups or
families can participate in food packing at The Sheridan Story, either regularly or once in a
while.
When can we start?
There will be an opportunity to sign up as a sponsor or volunteer this Sunday, February 21.
Anna Scott will also be available that morning to set up the automatic deduction from your bank.
Coming Up
JRLC (Joint Religious Legislative Coalition) Regional Day on the Hill for the South Metro are being held Tuesday, March 8, from 5:30-8:30pm at Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville. This year they will focus on using our faith as “an inspiration and example as we chart our own strategy to use our stories to bring about legislative change.”
Please contact Anna Scott if interested. More information at : www.jrlc.org
Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack Event - Help pack two million meals during the five-day packing event February 24-28, in Champlin, MN.
Visit www.fundraising.fmsc.org/NWMetro for more information.
Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop: Feb. 27
Have you seen Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky) and always wanted to know how they are made? Here’s your chance to learn! Cha Posz, Mount Olive’s administrative assistant, along with her husband Kurt, have offered to teach a basic class at Mount Olive on the making of pysanky. The class will take place on Saturday, February 27, from 9 am to 12 noon in the East Assembly Room next to the Chapel Lounge. A fee of $10 will be charged to cover supplies (you will get to bring tools home with you). Please e-mail or call the church office by Friday, Feb. 19 to register, so we are sure to have enough supplies for everyone on hand. All ages* are welcome! (*keeping in mind that it does involve hot wax and an open flame…).
Extra Fabric and Notions Lying Around?
If you sew or quilt or for some other reason have extra fabric and sewing supplies that you no longer use and wish to donate, please call Carol Austermann. Carol will be happy to take them to the Textile Center’s annual sale on April 9.
This is a great opportunity to purge your space of those items – clean out your clutter!
She will be glad to pick up your donations –give her a call at 612-722-5123.
Betty Diersen information
Betty has moved from her apartment at Augustana to a care facility in Cambridge, Minnesota, near her daughter, Karen. She is waiting to move into a memory care unit in Princeton, Minnesota, where Karen lives.
Any who wish to send cards or letters to Betty may send them to: Betty Diersen, care of Karen Diersen Anderson, 1477 Alpha Road, Princeton, MN 55371.
Workshop with Gertrud Mueller-Nelson
Our friends at Christ Church Lutheran asked us to share this information about an upcoming workshop by Gertrud Mueller Nelson. Some of you may know her as a beloved writer, others as a gifted artist and illustrator, still others as a wise teacher and workshop leader. She is all of these, and she’s coming to Minneapolis on Saturday, March 5.
Gertrud will offer a free workshop at Christ Church Lutheran entitled, “The Home and What’s Holy: Nourishing Faith in the Home.” Her wonderful book, To Dance with God, is a classic work on sharing faith with children and bringing ceremony and Christian practice into in the home. All are warmly invited to attend this workshop which is free and open to the public.
Christ Church Lutheran is located at 3244 34th Ave S. in Minneapolis.
We go into the wilderness of life to be tested that we might become the Christ we are anointed to be; we do not go alone, we are filled and led by the Spirit of God.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The First Sunday in Lent, year C
text: Luke 4:1-13
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Jesus wasn’t alone in the wilderness.
Think about that. This looks bleak, Jesus spending forty days in the wilderness of Judea without food. He was tested, tempted. He had no companions with him. But he did not face testing alone.
He left his baptism at the river Jordan full of the Holy Spirit, Luke says. He was in the wilderness by choice, to fast, to be tested, to learn what kind of Christ he would be. But the Holy Spirit filled him to overflowing, and, Luke says, “led” him through those forty days.
Jesus faced his wilderness, his learning, his testing, in communion within the Triune God. That made all the difference.
What’s challenging is knowing what this has to do with us.
How does this story connect with us? We’re not Jesus.
We can’t compare to the Son of God. Consider his wilderness experience: well, he was fully God and fully human. Of course he handled this, we say, he is God’s Son. Whenever he had crises, we forget Jesus was fully human and sometimes assume his truth as the Son of God got him through, made it easier for him.
Well, what if it did? What if it was easier because of being God incarnate? Isn’t that also our truth? Repeatedly we are taught in the New Testament that in our baptism into Christ, we are joined into the life of God, made children of God ourselves. We are anointed, are Christ ourselves. We are, as Luke reminds us in Acts, filled with the Holy Spirit, ourselves, who leads us by the hand.
How can we be alone in our wilderness, then, when we have this same advantage Christ had to handle the tests we face in being Christ in the world?
But then we wonder: can we claim we live in a wilderness?
Most of us haven’t done a forty day fast in rugged terrain without any human support. The forty days of Lent mean to give us the spiritual sense that we are engaging in such a testing, but we keep eating and being with people.
Even if we say all life is a wilderness, we know we have it better than most. We’re privileged, wealthy people who have compassion for those who suffer. So we discount our own struggles because we always remember so many suffer far worse.
And they do. But that doesn’t mean life isn’t challenging for us. We can work for the healing of the world, care for those on the brink of death and loss and pain, and still recognize that we, too, walk in the wilderness.
We face all sorts of challenges from within and without. Doubts about our goodness, fears about our future, threats to those we love. No one in this room hasn’t faced deadly illness or death, either themselves or with a loved one. No one here hasn’t faced a desert time where God seemed absent, where we were feeling spiritually empty, if not physically hungry.
Life is often wilderness time. We don’t need to compete for whose is worst.
We also are tempted, tested, by the demonic.
Luther taught us that our testing comes from the devil, the world, and our sinful self, and all of these challenge us.
It can be embarrassing in some circles to speak of the devil. Maybe some have moved beyond belief in such things. But it doesn’t take much to see forces working in the world beyond simple human choice, forces in society, culture, even in mobs, that carry great power. They may not challenge us directly, as our ancestors felt. But seeing the evil perpetrated in the world, we can join those ancestors in acknowledging unseen forces working against God’s loving will for the world.
As for the world, we know that testing well. When children are teens we warn about peer pressure, but it’s rare that we aren’t pressured by culture, society, or led astray away from following God’s path. Our culture is designed to promote materialism, destructive self-centeredness, and individual autonomy as the prime good. We can’t claim that never tests us, challenges our faith, leads us to choices we later see are not of Christ.
And the sinful self? If that were the only testing in our wilderness we faced, it would be more than enough. Our own internal demons, ruts we’re stuck in, thoughts of inadequacy and failure that plague us, desires and wants that lure us, the fear of not being loved that haunts us: we may not easily speak of external devils, but the ones that wait to plague us from inside are all too familiar.
We often think we’re alone in all this. Like Jesus, we’re not.
Sometimes it’s easier to see our demons than the Spirit within us. We know our failings, our internal and external struggles. We know when we’ve messed up, when we’ve not been what we want to be, let alone what God wants us to be. These things we see easily. Sometimes we feel we’re in this by ourselves.
But we have a promise from the Triune God that we are not alone. In our baptism we were anointed with the promise of the Spirit, and that Holy Spirit is filling us even now. It’s only a matter of looking for God’s movement in our lives.
We see the Spirit in our lives when we follow Jesus’ model of constant communion. The Spirit led Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus walked with the Holy Spirit as companion and guide. That’s our gift. We can live our lives with open hearts and minds to God’s Spirit, a life of walking prayer. It takes reminding, being attentive. We’ll forget sometimes. But take this promise seriously. God is with you.
We need to talk about this together, too. Tell each other when we sense the Spirit’s presence, when we see the Spirit’s guidance. If we’re really not alone, it’s critical we name that when we see it. When we see glimpses, even if as in a mirror’s reflection, we point it out with joy so others can see.
And we do glimpse things like the fruits of the Spirit, when we see love, or joy, or patience, or self-control, all these gifts. We glimpse those moments of inner peace when we know God is with us, however fleeting. Or those times when we felt confidence from God to face life unafraid. These glimpses come to us. We would make such a difference if we told each other this.
Life’s wilderness is actually a gift to us, as it was to Jesus. It’s where and how we become what we’re meant to be.
Jesus intentionally went from his baptism into this testing. He needed to face whatever demons challenged him, learn what kind of Christ he was to be. How would he use his power? How would he lead people? How would he trust in God? In each test, he made decisions with great implications for his teaching and ministry, decisions that led directly to the cross. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, he made it through this testing, was filled to become what he was meant to become.
Like Jesus, we are tested as to what kind of Christ we are, and given the Spirit’s grace to become that. We need to know the Spirit’s presence even more, since we sometimes need to be convinced we are also Christ.
As the Spirit gives us grace to endure, to stand up for who we are called to be, gives us wisdom in our decisions and our plans, comforts us in our hunger and fear, we grow. We become. We are made holy, like Christ. We’ve seen glimpses of this, and we will again, because this is really happening to us.
That doesn’t mean our path won’t be hard. It will. But we won’t be alone.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Accent on Worship
Lent, the invitation: What is at your center?
I remember that, when growing up, Lent was a time when we went to services at church on Wednesdays, which was preceded by supper there. For some reason I remember scrambled eggs (!!). For many Lent is a kind of extended time focused on the death of Christ. It’s also interesting to see many performances of requiem set-tings in concerts during this time. Perhaps for many, these things are indeed meaningful to their celebration of the church-year cycle. The fact that I can remember something of Lenten experiences from childhood is significant in and of itself. It was a different stretch of time each year. And we knew it led to Easter joy.
So what is it for us now?
For the season of Lent, litur-gical materials and the lectionary now have as their themes renewal of Baptism, or perhaps more simply put, “Who are we?” We confess our need for God’s grace and our vulnerability at Ash Wednesday, then enter the journey of Lent that culminates with the great renewal of new life: renewal of our Baptism at the Easter Vigil, and celebration of the Risen Christ.
Along the way in that journey, the question seems clear to me: What is at our center? Certainly one might say the standard Sun-day School answer: “Well, that which you’re holding up and ask-ing me to identify really looks like a pencil, but I suppose the answer is Jesus.” In reality, our center can be many other things: power, money, things, substance, sin - all of these alternative centers, and what we should do with them are rather blatantly demonstrated by Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel, following his Baptism as he is tempted in the desert. They are NOT at our center.
During Lent we are invited to intensify our desire for God to be at our center. As baptized children of God, we are called to live a certain way, in a world which at times can seem so God-less. We are even called to let go of those things which are tempting to be at our center.
I recently heard a speaker talk about Doubting Thomas. Thomas needed confirmation/validation that Jesus was alive through touching his side. This is what we do every time we gather for liturgy here – we touch Christ, affirming together that which is at our center. During Lent, we have the opportunity to increase that confirmation/validation through our midweek gatherings at Noon Eucharist and Evening Prayer. It’s an extra battery boost for our centers, for living in what may seem like a Godless world. Well worth the time and effort to get here and be together.
See you there.
- Cantor David Cherwien
Sunday Readings
February 14, 2016: First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 8:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
February 21, 2016: Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Luke 13:31-35
Lent begins.
Ash Wednesday, February 10
Holy Eucharist at Noon and 7:00 pm
Thursday Evening Study on the Book of Daniel
“Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land” is the title of the current Thursday Bible Study, exploring the book of Daniel. This session concludes on Feb. 11.
Written in a time of national tribulation and set in another such time, the book explores how God’s faithful live faithful lives in a threatening world. As always, the study begins with a light supper at 6, followed by the study. All are welcome!
Book Discussion Group
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the February 13 meeting, they will read God's Hotel, by Victoria Sweet. For March 12 they will read In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.
Attention Worship Assistants
The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2016 (April - June) will be published at the beginning of March 2016. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 10, 2016. Please email your requests to peggyrf70@gmail.com.
Thanks!
- Peggy Hoeft
Climate Justice Task Force--Join Now
Here is your chance to take action on your concerns. In January the Vestry supported the formation of a Climate Justice Task Force to investigate and recom-mend education and action for our congregation and its members. This short-term (3-6 months)"big issue" task force will investigate and make recommendations to other standing committees (properties, missions, neighborhood, education, etc). Climate Justice is already a consideration for many of these committees, and the Climate Justice Task Force will offer the opportunity for creative thinking and "whole picture" action. Say, "Yes!" when asked, or volunteer by leaving your name in the church office, dropping a note to Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com, or writing your name and "Climate Justice" on one of the cream-colored cards in the pew and placing the card in the offering basket.
Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays during Lent
Holy Eucharist at noon
Evening Prayer at 7 pm
The theme for 2016 is “Love does no wrong to a neighbor: Who Christ calls us to be to those
not like us.”
A soup luncheon follows each Wednesday noon Eucharist, and a soup supper precedes each Wednesday Evening Prayer, beginning at 6 pm.
Lenten Devotional Book Available
"Return to God," Susan Cherwien's new devotional booklet for Lent 2016, is free and available at church. Pick one up for use during Lent!
This devotional is also available on the web in blog form at www.returntogod2016.blogspot.com.
Lenten series on Christian Nonviolence
The Sunday afternoon Lenten series on the topic "Gospel Nonviolence: the Great Failure, the Only Hope" will begin this Sunday February 14 in the East Assembly Room at Mount Olive.
There will be two repeat video presentations at 12:45 and 3:00. The videos last approximately one hour followed by a half hour question/discussion period. Each subsequent Lenten Sunday a new talk will be given. Light food and coffee will be available.
We are likely to have visitors from other faith communities join us.
These Lenten reflections will help ground the "soul searching on U.S. continuing and expanding war efforts" which our synod called on us to do. We hope that you will find that these talks expand and clarify your understanding of Jesus and his life and message.
A word about the video presenter: Father Emmanuel Charles McCarthy is a priest of the Eastern Rite (Byzantine) of the Catholic Church. He was formerly a lawyer, university educator and the founder and original director of The Program for the Study and Practice of Nonviolent Conflict Resolution at the University of Notre Dame.
For over forty years McCarthy has directed educational programs and conducted spiritual retreats throughout the world on the issue of the relationship of faith and violence. He was the keynote speaker for the 25th anniversary memorial of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tenn.
Questions about this series? Contact Al Bostelmann (allanbostelmann@msn.com, 612 722-5957).
Help Needed for Two Hours this Saturday Morning!
Please call or text Cathy Bosworth, 612-708-1144, if you can help our neighbor, Renee Ollikain, (we held her mother's funeral here on Jan. 26).
Renee does not have transportation and needs help to move around and sort through her mother's storage unit on American Blvd. in Bloomington. She then needs a vehicle and someone who can transport some of these items back to her apartment.
Can you help? Please contact Cathy Bosworth as soon as possible.
Transitions Support Group
(Please note day of week change for March only!)
All are welcome at the Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you, please consider joining us on Tuesday, March 8.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Transitions Support Group meets on Tuesday, March 8 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter. For more in-formation, please contact Cathy 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com or Amy 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com .
Keep Us in the Loop!
Have you moved? Are you moving? Dump your land line or get a new phone number or email address?
Please be sure to let us know so that we can update your contact information and keep YOU in the loop!
The Sheridan Story
What is The Sheridan Story?
The Sheridan Story began in 2010 when the school administration at Sheridan Elementary School discovered that students were stealing and hoarding food on Fridays so that they would have something to eat on the weekends. The Sheridan Story was launched as a project of Mill City Church. In our first month, a bag of non-perishable food went home each weekend to 27 students. Soon the program was opened to all students at Sheridan, serving over 300 kids per week. The program opened to 4 more schools in the next year. Since 2013, The Sheridan Story has expanded to serve 74 schools across the metro area! But, there is still so much need: over 100,000 kids go hungry each weekend in the Twin Cities.
How does The Sheridan Story work?
The Sheridan Story partners with organizations, such as churches (like Mount Olive!), and schools. The organizations (like us!) sponsor the program in the school, paying for, packing and finally distributing the food directly to the kids each Friday. The Sheridan Story does all the organizing and logistics and supply, providing children with as much healthy nutritious food as they can carry to see them through the weekend.
Does it work?
The incredible story of growth in a few short years says "Yes it does!", even as it points to the stunning need right in our own neighborhood. Spend a little time reading about the Sheridan Story by clicking here: http://www.thesheridanstory.com. Hear the words of Jordan and her mother about the difference the Sheridan Story has made for her by clicking http://www.thesheridanstory.com/video-jordan.
What can we do here at Mount Olive?
We're looking for 25 sponsors willing to commit just $12 per month, or $130 per year to sponsor a child at Jefferson Elementary for one year. These 25 sponsors will support the kids of one classroom at Jefferson, where 92% of the children lack proper food every weekend. What a difference such a small amount of money can make in a child's life. Are you willing to be a sponsor? Pray over and consider if this may be a way God would have you help a child.
And there will be other ways to help. Watch this space next week for how to respond, and other ways you can be part of The Sheridan Story, helping children in need.
Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop
Pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs, are made during Lent and Holy Week among those in Slavic countries. The word "pysanky" is from the word "pysanta"= to write, because the designs are written on the egg in hot wax. The traditional designs and colors have specific meanings, and the eggs are often passed down in families from generation to generation. Pysanky is a very old tradition, combining meditation and prayer with art.
Cha Posz, Mount Olive’s administrative assistant, along with her husband Kurt, both members of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in St. Paul, have offered to teach a basic class at Mount Olive on the making of pysanky. The class will take place on Saturday, February 27, from 9 am to 12 noon in the East Assembly Room next to the Chapel Lounge. A fee of $10 will be charged to cover supplies. Please e-mail or call the church office to register, so we are sure to have enough supplies on hand. All ages* are welcome! (*keeping in mind that it does involve hot wax and a flame…)
Prodigal Son Artworks
During the Lenten season a portion of Jerry Evenrud’s Prodigal Son art collection will be on display in the hallway display case, the West Assembly area, and in the Chapel Lounge. We have facsimiles of the original art pieces, on loan from Luther Seminary. The book, And Grace Will Lead Me Home, which features the entire collection, is on display on the long cabinet in the West Assembly area. Each image has an index card which references pages in the book where more information is available.
The Prodigal Son display coordinates with Return to God, this year’s Lenten devotional booklet by Susan Cherwien which is available in the lounge areas.
- Paul Nixdorf
Soup-Makers Needed!
Soup makers are needed to provide soup and bread for our midweek Lenten meals.
Soup and bread for the lunch following Wednesday midday Eucharist should feed 40-50 people, and for the supper before Wednesday Evening Prayer, we need soup and bread for about 15-20 people.
If you can help by signing up to bring a meal (or two!), the sign up chart is available at the serving window at coffee hour on Sundays.
Psalms & Spirituals with the National Lutheran Choir
Saturday, February 27, 2016 – 7:30pm
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley
Sunday, February 28, 2016 – 4pm
St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth
Tickets: Adult $25 | Senior $23 | Student $10 | 17 and under FREE
Call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006 or order online at www.NLCA.com.
Workshop with Gertrud Mueller-Nelson
Our friends at Christ Church Lutheran asked us to share this information about an upcoming workshop by Gertrud Mueller Nelson. Some of you may know her as a beloved writer, others as a gifted artist and illustrator, still others as a wise teacher and workshop leader. She is all of these, and she’s coming to Minneapolis on Saturday, March 5.
Gertrud will offer a free workshop at Christ Church Lutheran entitled, “The Home and What’s Holy: Nourishing Faith in the Home.” Her wonderful book, To Dance with God, is a classic work on sharing faith with children and bringing ceremony and Christian practice into in the home. All are warmly invited to attend this workshop which is free and open to the public.
The purpose of our faith practices is not to improve our reputation or to prove to others our holiness. The purpose of our faith practices, rather, is to deepen our relationship with God, to practice humility, and to go about our daily lives with intention and focus.
Vicar Anna Helgen
Ash Wednesday, year C
text: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Around this time two years ago, I was just beginning my spring semester at Luther Seminary, and I was signed up for a bunch of classes, including Lutheran Confessions. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this class, not because I wasn’t interested in learning about the Lutheran Confessions, but because I was dreading one of the assignments: memorizing Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. The Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the Sacrament of the Altar, all the explanations to those things, plus all 28 articles of the Augsburg Confession.
I am not good at memorizing things. I can do it, sure, but it takes me a long time. So I knew this would be a challenging assignment for me. I spent hours pacing through our condo in St. Paul, reading off of notecards, and then repeating back to myself. “I believe that God has created me together with all that exists. God has given me and still preserves my body and soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs and senses; reason and all mental faculties.” And so on and so forth.
Well, in the midst of all these studies, my dear grandmother became sick. She quickly entered hospice care and my family rushed to be with her in her final days. For the next week we kept our own sort of vigil with Grammy. It was lovely to spend that time with her, and amidst the grief and tears, there were holy moments of laughter and joy.
And then one morning, very early, she died. My mom and I had spent the night with her, and I woke up early in the morning to the sound of silence, quite a contrast to the erratic rattling breathing we’d heard as we fell asleep. I woke up my mom, and together we went in to check on Grammy. And she was gone. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
So we did the only thing we knew how to do: we prayed the Lord’s Prayer together. And at the end I felt such peace, because in my head I was hearing all those explanations that I’d memorized, especially the explanation to the seventh petition: ”And deliver us from evil.”
What does this mean, you might ask? “We ask in this prayer, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven may deliver us from all kinds of evil--affecting body or soul, property or reputation--and at last, when our final hour comes, may grant us a blessed end and take us by grace from this valley of tears to himself in heaven.” Embedded in this petition is a promise that through Christ we shall overcome all things, even death.
Together we clung to that promise, my mother and I, to that blessed end. Which is also a beginning. God’s beginning for us. Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.
As we hear these words today and make our way into the season of Lent, we too are reminded of our own mortality. That without God, our lives are dust and ashes. They are empty vessels. Today, we remember that it's not about us. That with God, the Spirit gives us life abundant. Fullness. And hope.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us some clues about how we might live fully, with God at the center of all that we do. “Give alms, pray, and fast,” Jesus says. But he doesn’t invite us to these practices, he assumes that we already do them. “Whenever you give alms...whenever you pray...whenever you fast.”
I like this. Because it reminds us that there is value in the faith practices that we already do. His point, of course, is that we don’t show off. The purpose of these faith practices is not to improve our reputation or to prove to others our holiness. That is how we store up treasures on earth, “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.” There is shallowness there. And emptiness.
The purpose of our faith practices, rather, is to deepen our relationship with God. To practice humility. To surrender. To go about our daily lives with intention and focus. This is how we store up treasures in heaven--treasures with God that cannot be taken away from us. Practicing our faith with intention helps us to live confidently in Christ’s promises for us. We have courage to go into the world and live as God’s people, knowing that we are forgiven, loved, and blessed. Here there is depth. Meaning. And promise. For today and all the days ahead.
In this season of Lent, as many of us may begin a spiritual discipline, I appreciate that Jesus gives us permission to carry on in our normal business, but with this new intention. At the time when I was memorizing Luther’s Small Catechism, I certainly didn’t see it as a faith practice. It was homework! But after days and days of memorizing, it became a practice for me. A habit where I’d spend an hour or so each day working on the Small Catechism.
Soon, the explanations to these important confessions of faith became a part of me. They weren’t just words on a notecard; they became truths that I lived out in the world. This practice changed the way I experienced life. And when confronted directly with my mortality and the mortality of someone I love, I had hope. I heard Christ’s promise of the resurrection. And I believed it. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Those seminary professors knew something when they assigned this exercise. While the words may fade from memory (and many of them have), God’s promise of hope made known to us in Jesus Christ certainly will not. And that is the purpose of our Lenten disciplines: that we may be moved from our self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
In Lent, we remember that our faith practices are gifts of God, gifts that bring us back into relationship with God--who forms us from dust, who by his death and resurrection gives us eternal life, and who makes us holy and equips us for the work of the kingdom. We give extra focus during Lent so that these practices might become a part of who we are, so that during the rest of the year we can simply live out this intention and embody God’s love in the world.
In the coming weeks, may you continue in your faith practices with intention. May you have the courage to live out your faith boldly for the sake of the world. And, when you need some extra encouragement, may you be immersed in God’s abundant grace: a grace so amazing it turns endings into beginnings and brings life out of ashes. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Amen.
In Jesus’ transfiguration we get a glimpse of his divine glory, enough to give us hope as we follow him to the cross, as he walks with us in the suffering of the world, hope as to what we, and the world, are being transformed into.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Transfiguration of Our Lord, year C
texts: Luke 9:28-36; 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Why did Jesus need Peter, James, and John on the mountain?
They kept silent about it afterward; they were so sleepy they almost missed it; he didn’t ask any of his other disciples to come. What value did they bring?
It’s clear this experience was a gift to Jesus. After this, he turned toward Jerusalem, toward his suffering and death. But here he was strengthened by Israel’s greatest leaders, the prophet Elijah, the lawgiver Moses. Luke says they spoke of his “exodus,” his departure, that is, about the cross he was facing, what was to come. Jesus needed this encouragement, this conversation with people who understood what was to happen, something we rarely say about the disciples.
And that cross was a very different scene. On that other mountain, really a hill, everyone saw what happened, not just three. On a highway outside a major city at the most important Jewish festival, thousands likely saw the humiliation, torture, and execution of Jesus, the Son of God. Unlike today, that hill was very public.
Maybe Peter, James, and John needed to be on this first mountain because what they saw was going to be important later. This glimpse of Jesus’ divine glory became an important reminder to the Church that what happened on the cross had a deeper truth than those thousands could have understood.
What they couldn’t see, what Peter, James, and John had glimpsed, was that it was God on that cross.
The second mountain was public because this is what God needed the world to know.
The way of the cross is the way of God. This is how God heals the world’s suffering. Not by shining in glory, as on today’s mountain. Not by overpowering oppressors or destroying the wicked, as we sometimes hope. Jesus’ “departure” he talked about today was how God would change the world.
This is the center of our faith: the Triune God who made all things answers the pain and suffering of our world by becoming one of us, living among us, and entering the depth of that pain and suffering. The cross shows us all that God’s love will enfold the whole universe, but that love only lives on a path where we win by losing, we live by dying.
God needed the world to see the cross to understand this truth. And then to follow this path.
But Christ’s path is abundantly hard to walk. We’ve long known this.
There’s a reason the Church so easily falls for the power games of the world, so quickly seeks the security of dominance and control, even though we know that’s a false security. Our faith is centered on a God who gives up power willingly, but we go the other way so often because the path the Triune God walks is a hard, frightening path.
We fear losing, letting go. We fear not knowing all the answers. We fear true love, which, as Paul told us again last week, is deeply self-giving. So much so the world can’t abide considering it, substituting all sorts of nonsense for love. We know having our Lord walk beside us in our suffering, sharing the pain of the world, is a gift. But we’d rather that gift included our never having to suffer for the sake of someone else. We’d rather an easy path where all things feel good, and we never doubt, and no one ever hurts.
Unfortunately, that isn’t Christ’s path. So if we are, as we believe, also Christ, anointed ones of God, well. The hard path is the only one for us.
Maybe this is why those three witnessed today: to give an encouraging glimpse of who it is we follow, so we will follow.
Today’s glimpse reminds us of the profound mystery: it was the God of the universe hanging there.
Seeing a glimpse behind the curtain of Jesus’ humanity gives us hope. If God can face death and bring new life, then even if this path is hard, even if it means dying in little ways every day, we, filled with the Spirit of God, will find life. If this is truly how God deals with suffering and pain, and transforms it to healing and wholeness, we, filled with the Spirit of God, can trust this path even when it’s overwhelming.
At the center of our Eucharist we say this: When we eat of this bread, and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. We proclaim the Lord’s death. Every week we remember we have to account for this in our theology and life: the one, true God entered death, now lives, and is coming.
It really was the God of all who faced that. That’s who walks beside us, leads ahead of us, and sustains and fills us on the path, whenever we are afraid, or stumble, or want to turn aside.
Now, we don’t often see these glimpses clearly.
Sometimes the best we have is this third- or fourth-hand account: Peter, James, and John pass it to others, who tell the evangelists, who share it with us. We don’t always see God when we look at the cross. But Paul says that’s fine. We might see dimly, like a reflection (this is twice in two weeks we’ve heard him say we see as in a mirror), but we see something. And it’s enough to go on.
We know in that dimness who is with us. And we see in that reflection a sign of who we are becoming. Paul says we are being transformed into the same image, into that glimpse. Into the likeness of Christ.
Not surprisingly, we only see this in ourselves in glimpses, too.
If our destiny is that in walking Christ’s path of self-giving love, we become the Christ we follow, we don’t often see that clearly.
We know our flaws, we fret about our weaknesses. But every so often we have a moment where it makes sense, where we act, and realize the Spirit is there, where we know we are Christ. We get a glimpse of ourselves, like in a mirror, transformed. And that, too, is enough to keep us going.
Sometimes we can even look back with a few years’ perspective on our lives, and marvel at how different the Spirit has made us. The glimpses in the moment become, after many years, realities of the children of God we are transforming into.
So now we turn to Lent, to practice walking this hard path.
We get a glimpse today of who is walking with us, and filling us. And of who we are becoming.
And that will get us through. These glimpses of Christ in our lives, of the moments we are Christ, help us set aside our fear and our reluctance and step forward on Christ’s path.
Today in our liturgy we remind ourselves of this. We bid farewell to Alleluia in Lent so we can focus. We need Lent to teach us once again what it is to walk Christ’s path, to follow the way of divine love with our lives.
But we carry through Lent the glimpse of Alleluia with us in our hearts until the Easter feast, even as we carry through life’s wilderness the glimpse of the image of God who is with us, the image of who we are becoming, until we fully see all.
And “so we do not lose heart.” By God’s mercy we live our ministry. We see this, if only in glimpses. And we do not lose heart.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Accent on Worship
Transfiguration of our Lord
“Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” -Luke 9:28-31
I recently read a story on MPR about a town called Ittoqqortoormiit. Ittoqqortoormiit is located in Greenland and for two months the sun does not rise. Yes, you read that correctly! For two months, or 58 days, the people who live in Ittoqqortoormiit live in darkness. Can you imagine what that would be like? No sunlight on Christmas when we celebrate the coming of the light into the world. No sunrise when you wake up in the morning. No sunset as the day comes to a close. The people of Ittoqqortoormiit don’t mind, though. They’re used to it. They go about all their daily business in the dark.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t celebrate the return of the sun (which happened this year on January 20). On the day the sun is about to rise, all the kids in town put on their warm clothes and climb to the top of a hill where they have a welcome celebration. The kids carry with them posters that they’ve made that depict the sun, made of markers and con-struction paper. And together they sing a song. “Welcome back, my dear friend. Welcome back the sun.” From this day on, each day will have more sunlight than the last.
I have no idea what it was like for this small group of disciples to experience the transfiguration of Jesus. But I wonder if it was something like welcoming back the sun for the people of Ittoqqortoormiit. The brightness and glory of that first sunrise surely had the ability to bring hope to this community. The shining sun likely reminded them of the great mystery of God and focused their attention on God’s transformative power.
As we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord this coming Sunday, may you too, with the people of Ittoqqortoormiit, be shaped, molded, and transformed into God’s image.
- Vicar Anna Helgen
Climate Justice Task Force--Join Now
Here is your chance to take action on your concerns. In January the Vestry supported the formation of a Climate Justice Task Force to investigate and recom-mend education and action for our congregation and its members. This short-term (3-6 months)"big issue" task force will investigate and make recommendations to other standing committees (properties, missions, neighborhood, education, etc). Climate Justice is already a consideration for many of these committees, and the Climate Justice Task Force will offer the opportunity for creative thinking and "whole picture" action. Say, "Yes!" when asked, or volunteer by leaving your name in the church office, dropping a note to Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com, or writing your name and "Climate Justice" on one of the cream-colored cards in the pew and placing the card in the offering basket.
Lent begins.
Ash Wednesday, February 10
Holy Eucharist at Noon and 7:00 pm
Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays during Lent
Holy Eucharist at noon
Evening Prayer at 7 pm
Sunday Readings
February 7, 2016: Transfiguration of Our Lord
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12—4:2
Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]
February 14, 2016: First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 8:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
Thursday Evening Study on the Book of Daniel
“Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land” is the title of the current Thursday Bible Study, exploring the book of Daniel. Written in a time of national tribulation and set in another such time, the book explores how God’s faithful live faithful lives in a threatening world. As always, the study begins with a light supper at 6, followed by the study. All are welcome!
Book Discussion Group
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the February 13 meeting, they will read God's Hotel, by Victoria Sweet. For March 12 they will read In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.
Attention Worship Assistants
The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2016 (April - June) will be published at the beginning of March 2016. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 10, 2016. Please email your requests to peggyrf70@gmail.com.
Thanks!
- Peggy Hoeft
Tending the Family of God
As a congregation, we want to be respectful of people’s journeys. Some people are here long-term; some people are here only for a short time. Both are OK. There are a multitude of reasons for staying and a multitude of reasons for leaving.
How can we send those who are leaving on their way knowing that they have our love, our blessing, and our prayers?
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held on Tuesday, February 9, beginning at 6:00 pm.
Plan to come for a night of fun and fellowship for the whole congregation!
If you are willing to help with this event, please contact Amy Thompson via email to:
Amy.B.Thompson@wellsfargo.com.
- Sponsored by the Mount Olive Youth
Meet the Voigts!
On Feb. 21, there will be an opportunity for everyone to meet the Voigt family at Mount Olive. The Voigts are from Leipzig, Germany and are in the Twin Cities until August as part of an exchange with the Minneapolis Area Synod’s sister synod partnership with the Leipzig Church.
Pr. Voigt is serving at Christ Church Lutheran, but is spending time with other congregations as well.
He and his wife, Anke, and daughters Hannah and Marie, have interesting stories to tell! Come for a light lunch on Feb. 21 after the second liturgy to meet the Voigts.
Sunday’s Adult Forum: February 7
Stewardshift!, presented by Bob Sitze. Bob Sitze is a former ELCA staff member in the ministries of hunger Christian education, stewardship education and family life. An experienced ecclesiological observer, Sitze brings more than 40 years of wide-ranging experience as a congregational leader and denominational executive. He is the author of Starting Simple: Conversations About the Way We Live (Alban, 2007). This forum is sponsored by the Stewardship Committee
Lenten Devotional Book Available
"Return to God," Susan Cherwien's new devotional booklet for Lent 2016, is free and available at church. Pick one up for use during Lent!
Palms Needed!
If you have palm branches left from last year’s Palm Sunday Eucharist, please bring them to the narthex and place them in the basket provided.
They will be burned on Shrove Tuesday to make ashes for Ash Wednesday liturgies next week.
Thanks!
Stewardshift: Join the conversation
Are you passionate about stewardship and pretty certain that, yes, it’s about our financial support of the church’s mission, but, properly understood, it’s about much more than that in our lives as Christians and members of congregations?
Join us Saturday, February 6, 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., in the Chapel Lounge as Bob Sitze leads us in a Stewardshift! workshop. Bob, whose Stewardshift: An Economia for Congregational Change (Morehouse) was published in January, comes to us after years of leadership, conversations, thinking, and writing about stewardship in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, former Lutheran Church in America, and the ELCA. We’re hoping to start continuing conversations that will broaden and deepen our lived-out stewardship as the people of Mount Olive.
If you’re coming, please let me know: agathach@bitstream.net or 952-452-2049. We’ll have coffee and goodies of some sort when you arrive, and we’ll join the community lunch at noon.
—Donn McLellan, Director of Stewardship
Transitions Support Group
(Please note day of week change for March only!)
All are welcome at the Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertain-ties that are before you, please consider joining us on Tuesday, March 8.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Transitions Support Group meets on Tuesday, March 8 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter.
For more information, please contact Cathy 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com or Amy 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com.
The Sheridan Story: Fighting Child Hunger
We believe that no child should be hungry, so we are fighting child hunger through community and school partnerships
Over 100,000 children in the Twin Cities don't always know if they will have food for their next meal. These children have access to meals at school, but on weekends they often go hungry. The Sheridan Story has taken up the challenge to closing this weekend food gap. Click here to watch the story of Jordan, and how the Sheridan Story has made a difference for her and her mom.
The Sheridan Story works to mobilize the community to partner with nearby schools. Mount Olive cares about children, and cares about our community. We will soon have an opportunity to support the children at Jefferson Elementary nearby.
The Sheridan Story makes it easy for us to make a difference for these hungry children. They locate, pack, store and deliver the food to the schools - we take it from there by distributing the food to the kids who are hungry, and perhaps discover over time other ways that we can help the children.
Children who are hungry struggle to learn and pay attention in class. The Sheridan Story has shown that when we fill this weekend food gap for them, grades, test scores, attendance and self-esteem go up. The kids have a chance to succeed that hunger takes away from them. Click here to watch a short video of how we can give hungry kids that chance.
Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop
Pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs, are made during Lent and Holy Week among those in Slavic countries. The word "pysanky" is from the word "pysanta"= to write, because the designs are written on the egg in hot wax. The traditional designs and colors have specific meanings, and the eggs are often passed down in families from generation to generation. Pysanky is a very old tradition, combining meditation and prayer with art.
Cha Posz, Mount Olive’s administrative assistant, along with her husband Kurt, both members of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in St. Paul, have offered to teach a basic class at Mount Olive on the making of pysanky. The class will take place on Saturday, February 27, from 9 am to 12 noon in the East Assembly Room next to the Chapel Lounge. A fee of $10 will be charged to cover supplies. Please e-mail or call the church office to register, so we are sure to have enough supplies on hand. All ages* are welcome! (*keeping in mind that it does involve hot wax and a flame…)
Lenten series on Christian Nonviolence
Last summer the' Minneapolis Synod Assembly passed a resolution calling for Lutherans/Christians to "soul search on our nation's continuing and expanding war effort."
Since Lent is a time for reflection and repentance, Mount Olive and Twin Cities Every Church a Peace Church will present a video series on the theology and spirituality of Christian Nonviolence as background for “soul searching” on expanding wars.
Nonviolence is the original tradition in Christianity pre-dating the Christian Just War theory by more than three centuries. The video series features Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, who has been leading workshops and retreats on this topic throughout the U.S. and other countries. A nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, Fr. McCarthy has informed Twin Cities Lutherans for several decades in venues such as Luther Seminary, Lutheran Social Service, St. Paul Synod, and, more recently, to over 430 people at a two day Central Lutheran conference (in addition to numerous events in local Roman Catholic seminaries, churches, and religious orders).
The plan is to offer this series on Sunday afternoons during Lent, beginning Feb. 14. We are working out times and logistics for accommodating an audience which will likely include other faith community members interested in learning more about this original but lesser known Christian understanding.
Look for more specific information in the next Olive Branch.
Contact Al Bostelmann (allanbostelmann@msn.com, 612 722-5957) with questions, thoughts and suggestions.
Psalms & Spirituals with the National Lutheran Choir
Saturday, February 27, 2016 – 7:30pm
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley
Sunday, February 28, 2016 – 4pm
St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth
Tickets: Adult $25 | Senior $23 | Student $10 | 17 and under FREE
Call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006 or order online at www.NLCA.com.
Minneapolis Area Interfaith Initiative Feb. Meeting
MAII (Minneapolis Area Interfaith Initiative) holds monthly educational programs at the Southdale Library. All are invited to attend the February meeting, “The Pope & Climate Change,” this Sunday afternoon, February 7, at 2:00 pm (Super Bowl kickoff is at 5:30) at the Ethel Berry Room, Southdale Library, 7001 York Ave. S, Edina 55435.
This presentation will be led by Dr. Amy Levad, Associate Professor of Moral Theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, where she has taught since 2009. She will present an overview of Laudato Si (“On Care for our Common Home”), the encyclical written by Pope Francis on the environment and climate change.
More details available by sending an email to maiimpls@gmail.com. MAII unites individuals and faith communities in the Minneapolis area in learning about other religious traditions, increasing interfaith understanding and building personal relationships across faiths.
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