Sunday, November 21, 2010
Christ the King
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 & 10:45 a.m.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Sermon from November 7, 2010
All Saints Sunday + Texts: Ephesians 1:11-23
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Seeing Through
Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
My children have been instructed that it would be nice for one of them to bring a bass-baritone into the family – we don’t know yet where Peter’s voice will end up, and he probably wouldn’t want to do the job I want done, which is to sing at my funeral. And of course, they could hire someone, but I think I’d prefer someone who knew me and presumably loved me. My children also have been told (though Hannah wants this in writing since I’m so specific about the details) which piece in particular I want sung. I want the recitative and aria from Messiah, “Behold, I tell you a mystery,” and “The trumpet shall sound.” And I want the entire aria, including the ‘B’ section, and full repeat of the ‘A’ section. No cuts should be made. They can hire the trumpeter if they want, if there isn’t one in the family by then.
All kidding aside, I do hope they choose to hear that music at my funeral. Because that music and those words of Paul move me into the mystery of which they sing – we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Through that music I move closer to seeing that life which is to come. And that’s what today’s celebration does for us as well. We come here this day to celebrate the feast of All Saints, to light candles as we remember our beloved dead who rest in the Lord, to place our hands in the font and mark ourselves with the cross of Christ’s death, to feast at the meal of his victory, his life. There is nothing in what we do today which we can pin down, explain fully, understand completely. And yet, what we do today profoundly moves us into the mystery, and helps us see.
The ancient Celts, my ancestors, believed that there were places they called “thin places,” places where the wall separating earth from heaven, human from divine, was especially transparent, almost non-existent. For the Celts, this was often geographically located – a certain tree or grove, a particular spring or well. I believe they were absolutely right. But in addition to particular locations, worship is also a thin place for me. Because sometimes it’s hard to tell where earth ends and heaven begins when we are gathered here in the presence and life of the Triune God.
And on days like All Saints, the veil between us and God seems especially thin, so much that at times in this liturgy it feels like we can see right through. We see the many candles flickering, we smell the linger of incense in the air, we hear music of angels, we feel the wetness of the water sprinkled on our faces, we taste bread and wine. Here is a thin place. And maybe that’s what Paul’s talking about today to the Ephesians, about having the eyes of our hearts enlightened. In this place, God comes to us, and for this moment in time, our eyes open and we see things we otherwise cannot see.
And this is so important to us because for most of our life reality intrudes so heavily that we cannot see beyond the end of our nose, much less into God’s realm.
Life is a difficult journey, and we fill each day, each moment, with things we deem important – but which ultimately do not fill us or give us life. Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed always comes to mind for me in this context. Particularly the seed which grows initially, but is choked out by the weeds. Jesus said that was the cares and struggles of the world which overwhelm the sense of life and faith we are given. Little wonder Jesus elsewhere felt the need to invite us not to worry about these things – what we will eat, what we will drink, what we will wear – and to trust that God will provide.
Many days all we can do is worry – about our lives, about our loved ones, about this country, about the world. About the environment, about our future, about suffering, about our death. About where we belong – do we belong, do we matter to others? To God? There are many things for which we do not easily find answers. And they weigh heavily on us and bring a cloud over our eyes of faith.
And for all these things we want answers, we want clarity. We want hope. And then we come to worship on All Saints Sunday. And we find mystery. But in that mystery we find that the veil between us and God is particularly diaphanous here –we can almost see through.
And that’s when we find the hope we’ve been wanting.
Here in this place there is no barrier to our seeing the One who answers, and knowing we are home, we belong.
Paul prays that the eyes of our heart be enlightened that we might know the hope to which we’ve been called. For Paul, the reality is that we don’t always find the answers we think we need or want. But we find the Answerer. The eyes of our heart are opened in faith to see the One who has come to give us life. And we see things differently then. The reality doesn’t necessarily change. But we see through the reality into the love of God which surrounds us no matter our circumstances.
And what I love is that Paul says our heart’s eyes are opened that we might know hope – hope to which we are called. We talk a lot about things to which we’ve been called. We are called to a vocation, to a life. We’re called to service. We’re called to love one another.
But here we are called to hope. Hope is not just a nice thing if you can find it. It’s so important that our Lord has made it our vocation, and a gift to us. It’s our calling, to be people of hope, people who see with enlightened hearts through the dirt and the sin and the brokenness of the world and see the grace and love of God. Hope that the One who was crucified and raised from the dead will make all things new, even if our worldly eyes cannot always see that. Our heart’s eyes enlightened can. We can see through the thin places into the love and face of God.
This is the mystery we celebrate today, this is what we’re about in this place. Seeing God, and knowing hope.
In Romans, Paul tells us that this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. It is that love which opens our heart’s eyes and gives us hope. This hope touches our sorrow. Our joy. Our fear. Our desire. Our pain. Our life. Everything we have to face is touched by the hope in God that is ours.
So we have hope for all these for whom these candles burn brightly, and all others who have died. In this place we experience the communion of saints and we don’t need to explain it or describe it – we’re all connected in this place, and we know it. Since my mother died I have been deeply aware of how many hymns we sing where we invite the “host of heaven” to join in our song. And the communion of saints is no longer abstract theory for me, but real. In this place, like no other, we feel the presence of those who have gone before us and we have hope. Because their future is our future, and our present is lived in the life of the One who holds all the saints in love for all time.
And we have hope for these young ones, and for us. We welcome Benjamin into the family of Christ today and we rejoice that he belongs. Just as we rejoice that we belong – that this place is always a place where we are welcome, where all are welcome. Where God’s love is offered for us and for all. Where together we can see the face of God in each other – because this is a thin place and our eyes are opened.
And so we must come here, to this water, this spring of life, because it is a thin place where we see through the water into a deeper reality.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we all belong to God in Christ through this water. Those who have gone before us. Those who are yet to come. And those who are alive with us today. We take this water and mark ourselves with it because here we are brought into a new reality, a new way of seeing.
So I invite you to come here – after the liturgy, but not after the worship, for the worship never ends even when each liturgy does – come here and get wet. Come to this spring and remember whose you are. And be close to the mystery which enables you to see with the eyes of your heart enlightened. So that you might know the hope to which you have been called, and be a sign of that hope to all.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Seeing Through
Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
My children have been instructed that it would be nice for one of them to bring a bass-baritone into the family – we don’t know yet where Peter’s voice will end up, and he probably wouldn’t want to do the job I want done, which is to sing at my funeral. And of course, they could hire someone, but I think I’d prefer someone who knew me and presumably loved me. My children also have been told (though Hannah wants this in writing since I’m so specific about the details) which piece in particular I want sung. I want the recitative and aria from Messiah, “Behold, I tell you a mystery,” and “The trumpet shall sound.” And I want the entire aria, including the ‘B’ section, and full repeat of the ‘A’ section. No cuts should be made. They can hire the trumpeter if they want, if there isn’t one in the family by then.
All kidding aside, I do hope they choose to hear that music at my funeral. Because that music and those words of Paul move me into the mystery of which they sing – we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Through that music I move closer to seeing that life which is to come. And that’s what today’s celebration does for us as well. We come here this day to celebrate the feast of All Saints, to light candles as we remember our beloved dead who rest in the Lord, to place our hands in the font and mark ourselves with the cross of Christ’s death, to feast at the meal of his victory, his life. There is nothing in what we do today which we can pin down, explain fully, understand completely. And yet, what we do today profoundly moves us into the mystery, and helps us see.
The ancient Celts, my ancestors, believed that there were places they called “thin places,” places where the wall separating earth from heaven, human from divine, was especially transparent, almost non-existent. For the Celts, this was often geographically located – a certain tree or grove, a particular spring or well. I believe they were absolutely right. But in addition to particular locations, worship is also a thin place for me. Because sometimes it’s hard to tell where earth ends and heaven begins when we are gathered here in the presence and life of the Triune God.
And on days like All Saints, the veil between us and God seems especially thin, so much that at times in this liturgy it feels like we can see right through. We see the many candles flickering, we smell the linger of incense in the air, we hear music of angels, we feel the wetness of the water sprinkled on our faces, we taste bread and wine. Here is a thin place. And maybe that’s what Paul’s talking about today to the Ephesians, about having the eyes of our hearts enlightened. In this place, God comes to us, and for this moment in time, our eyes open and we see things we otherwise cannot see.
And this is so important to us because for most of our life reality intrudes so heavily that we cannot see beyond the end of our nose, much less into God’s realm.
Life is a difficult journey, and we fill each day, each moment, with things we deem important – but which ultimately do not fill us or give us life. Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed always comes to mind for me in this context. Particularly the seed which grows initially, but is choked out by the weeds. Jesus said that was the cares and struggles of the world which overwhelm the sense of life and faith we are given. Little wonder Jesus elsewhere felt the need to invite us not to worry about these things – what we will eat, what we will drink, what we will wear – and to trust that God will provide.
Many days all we can do is worry – about our lives, about our loved ones, about this country, about the world. About the environment, about our future, about suffering, about our death. About where we belong – do we belong, do we matter to others? To God? There are many things for which we do not easily find answers. And they weigh heavily on us and bring a cloud over our eyes of faith.
And for all these things we want answers, we want clarity. We want hope. And then we come to worship on All Saints Sunday. And we find mystery. But in that mystery we find that the veil between us and God is particularly diaphanous here –we can almost see through.
And that’s when we find the hope we’ve been wanting.
Here in this place there is no barrier to our seeing the One who answers, and knowing we are home, we belong.
Paul prays that the eyes of our heart be enlightened that we might know the hope to which we’ve been called. For Paul, the reality is that we don’t always find the answers we think we need or want. But we find the Answerer. The eyes of our heart are opened in faith to see the One who has come to give us life. And we see things differently then. The reality doesn’t necessarily change. But we see through the reality into the love of God which surrounds us no matter our circumstances.
And what I love is that Paul says our heart’s eyes are opened that we might know hope – hope to which we are called. We talk a lot about things to which we’ve been called. We are called to a vocation, to a life. We’re called to service. We’re called to love one another.
But here we are called to hope. Hope is not just a nice thing if you can find it. It’s so important that our Lord has made it our vocation, and a gift to us. It’s our calling, to be people of hope, people who see with enlightened hearts through the dirt and the sin and the brokenness of the world and see the grace and love of God. Hope that the One who was crucified and raised from the dead will make all things new, even if our worldly eyes cannot always see that. Our heart’s eyes enlightened can. We can see through the thin places into the love and face of God.
This is the mystery we celebrate today, this is what we’re about in this place. Seeing God, and knowing hope.
In Romans, Paul tells us that this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. It is that love which opens our heart’s eyes and gives us hope. This hope touches our sorrow. Our joy. Our fear. Our desire. Our pain. Our life. Everything we have to face is touched by the hope in God that is ours.
So we have hope for all these for whom these candles burn brightly, and all others who have died. In this place we experience the communion of saints and we don’t need to explain it or describe it – we’re all connected in this place, and we know it. Since my mother died I have been deeply aware of how many hymns we sing where we invite the “host of heaven” to join in our song. And the communion of saints is no longer abstract theory for me, but real. In this place, like no other, we feel the presence of those who have gone before us and we have hope. Because their future is our future, and our present is lived in the life of the One who holds all the saints in love for all time.
And we have hope for these young ones, and for us. We welcome Benjamin into the family of Christ today and we rejoice that he belongs. Just as we rejoice that we belong – that this place is always a place where we are welcome, where all are welcome. Where God’s love is offered for us and for all. Where together we can see the face of God in each other – because this is a thin place and our eyes are opened.
And so we must come here, to this water, this spring of life, because it is a thin place where we see through the water into a deeper reality.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we all belong to God in Christ through this water. Those who have gone before us. Those who are yet to come. And those who are alive with us today. We take this water and mark ourselves with it because here we are brought into a new reality, a new way of seeing.
So I invite you to come here – after the liturgy, but not after the worship, for the worship never ends even when each liturgy does – come here and get wet. Come to this spring and remember whose you are. And be close to the mystery which enables you to see with the eyes of your heart enlightened. So that you might know the hope to which you have been called, and be a sign of that hope to all.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Monday, November 8, 2010
This Week's Liturgies
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Consecration Sunday
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 & 10:45 a.m.
Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Consecration Sunday
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 & 10:45 a.m.
Accent on Worship
It has been warmer than normal the past couple days, but the reality is sinking in – we’re in autumn. Trees are increasingly bare, mornings are cold, grass isn’t growing anymore. What’s powerful in our worship is that as the growing season comes to an end in northern climates, so too our Church Year comes to an end. Our readings from Scripture, our hymns, the whole liturgy, all have a tone of not only the end of a season, but the end of all time. Apocalyptic words of Jesus, prophets speaking of the day of the LORD to come, it is impossible to miss the sense that we live in a finite world and we are finite people.
There is wisdom in the calendar and lectionary of the Church, at least for those of us who live with these seasons of weather changes, to tie this theme, this conversation, to concurrent events in our environment. Somehow at this time of year we are open to considering (in a way we do not in the spring, for example) that this will not all last. Yet we do not consider this reality apart from the reality of the risen Jesus who has defeated death and in whom all endings become beginnings. We remind ourselves of our mortality, and the world’s mortality, even while we stand in hope of the new creation God is promising. We stand as Easter people, even amongst dead-looking trees and brown grass and visible breath and sometimes frightening words of Scripture, in hope of the life of God which is always working in and through us and this world. From this truth, we move into our season of hope, Advent, even as the darkness deepens to its fullest. (But that must wait for a few weeks!)
A few more words on the Eucharistic Prayer: I want to follow up briefly on what I wrote about in The Olive Branch on Oct. 18 regarding the Eucharistic Prayer. As I said then, these are deeply important ideas for all of us, and I am committed to making this a conversation, not a unilateral decision of any kind. So the Worship Committee and Cantor Cherwien and I have already talked more of this, and will continue to do so. Part of this conversation was also me sharing with you the theology of the Eucharist that has shaped me for so long, and leading you at the table in a way consistent with that theology. But it is also important for me to understand how Mount Olive has been accustomed to celebrate the Eucharist, and that’s not something I can do abstractly. We are all incarnational people, and we understand each other far better when we experience things instead of merely talking about them. So I want you to know that the next important part of this conversation for me as your pastor is that I experience what it means to face the altar at this point in the liturgy, so that I can also better understand this. So for a time I have celebrated facing the people, and I’m grateful that has been well received by some. Now for a time I will celebrate facing the altar as well. This is “meet and right” as we like to say, not a random way of “trying something out.” The gift of our Lord in this meal is a rich gift, and there are so many ways it affects us and touches our lives, and as I said earlier, the two views of table and altar are both important and long-standing in our faith. You have honored me by supporting me as I led you facing the congregation; I need to honor you and the tradition and architecture here and experience the richness of what you have all experienced here as well. We will keep talking to each other, and more importantly, worshipping with each other, as we are ultimately centered not on anything other than the grace of God we receive in this meal.
- Joseph
Sunday’s Adult Forum, November 14: 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel Lounge
Representatives from Bethania will talk about the mission and the people it serves (see article elsewhere in this issue of The Olive Branch).
Consecration Sunday This Weekend!
Consecration Sunday, the day members of Mount Olive pledge their intentions for giving in 2011, will be this Sunday, Nov. 14. At worship that day members of Mount Olive will be invited to offer pledge cards declaring their intent for giving to the ministry God has called us to do together. (These pledge cards and current third quarter contribution statements were mailed to each household a couple of weeks ago.) Then, on Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 21, we will focus on opportunities for service in the ministries of Mount Olive, and host a celebratory meal following the second liturgy.
As we end the Church Year, we will commit ourselves in these two weeks to the work that God has placed before us here, and all members are invited to participate in these events.
From India With Love
Did you know that your financial offerings support poor, orphaned and disabled children in South India? For over 20 years, a portion of Mount Olive’s mission budget has been dedicated to Bethania Kids. Bethania’s Board Members and Advisory Board members personally pay for all administrative costs, including the ministry’s website, postage, travel, video production, public relations materials, newsletters, and salaries, so Mount Olive’s dollars directly provide basic care, immunizations, education, and housing.
On Sunday, November 14, two of our partners in service will be visiting Mount Olive to meet and celebrate with us and to give a report about their work. It is also Consecration Sunday that day. Please do the following: 1) pray that God will bless Godfrey, Paramadass and all that they do together with us for the sake of the Gospel and for the welfare of children, 2) pledge your intentions for financial giving to Mount Olive in 2011, 3) come to the adult forum at 9:30 a.m. to hear about the children whom your giving supports, and 4) stay for a “Biryani and Bethania” Indian meal after the second liturgy, celebrating India and the gifts these men bring to this project.
Gene Hennig, a founding member of Bethania, Mark Spitzack, who visited Bethania Kids projects in 2009, and Paul Schadewald and the Missions Committee are helping to coordinate these events. RSVPs for the meal are welcomed but not required. A freewill offering will help to cover the cost of the food. “Rise and take your treasure, yours in fullest measure. Sing, for love has found you; joy is all around you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
(from a popular Indian hymn)
Sunday Readings
November 14, 2010 – Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Malachi 4:1-2a + Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 + Luke 21:5-19
November 21, 2010 – Christ the King
Jeremiah 23:1-6 + Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20+ Luke 23:33-43
Thanksgiving Eucharist
Thursday, November 25
10:00 a.m.
Bring non-perishable food items to help re-stock local food shelves. Monetary donations are especially welcome (for every $1 donated, food shelf personnel are able to buy $9 worth of food!)
Volunteer Help Needed!
Donna Neste is currently in need of a volunteer or two to help transport groceries to the local food shelf. Thanks to generous worshippers our grocery shelves are full, and with the annual collection of non-perishable food items at the Thanksgiving Eucharist coming up there is simply no space to store more groceries!
If you are a strong, able-bodied person with a truck, van, or SUV and a willing heart, please call Donna at church (612.827.5919). This is a task she cannot do on her own.
Book Discussion Group
For their meeting this Saturday, November 13, the Book Discussion Group will read, The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, and for December 11, Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. This group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 am in the Chapel Lounge. All readers are welcome!
Christmas Plant Sale
The annual Youth Christmas Plant sale is on now. Order forms are available at church. Please pick up a form, place your order, and leave the completed forms in the box provided or in the Youth mailbox in the church office. The pick up date for Christmas plants is Sunday, December 5.
You’re Invited!
All are invited to attend the November Every Church a Peace Church meeting on Monday, November 8. The meeting begins with a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by a program beginning at 7:00. This month’s program is “Peacemaker’s Predicament: Opposing War while Affirming Warriors,” presented by Bishop Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the St. Paul Synod, ELCA.
The meeting will be held at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, 1600 W. County Road B, Roseville, MN (south of Hwy. #36 and west of Snelling Ave).
Diabetes Prayer Day
Diabetes Prayer Day is Sunday, November 14. Sponsored by the Diabetes Prayer Day organization, all are invited to keep those suffering with diabetes in prayer, and to pray for its cure. More information on the organization and this day can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/DiabetesPrayerDay2010.
Foundation Information
A copy of the Mount Olive Foundation’s latest tax return is now on file in the church office. If you would like to see it, please call the church office to make arrangements.
Thanks!
Thanks to all who participated in tasting the new Fair Trade/Equal Exchange coffee varieties yesterday! Of the votes cast, the Sisters Blend was the favorite flavor.
Congratulations to Susan Cherwien and Carla Manuel for winning prizes in the drawing. Watch for the Fair Trade craft sale during Advent.
Neighborhood Ministries Fall Newsletter
The Neighborhood Ministries fall newsletter is out, and will be distributed by the greeters following each of the liturgies on Christ the King Sunday, November 21.
If you cannot be present that Sunday and would like a newsletter, they will be available to pick up at the church office window.
The Lutheran Magazine Subscription Renewal Request
Each month, the households of Mount Olive Lutheran Church receive The Lutheran magazine as part of our congregational life budget. As an official publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran is an important communication tool. It enables us, as individuals and a congregation, to be aware of events, celebrations, and needs of the Church beyond Mount Olive and the greater Twin Cities metro. At the same time, it was apparent from discussion at the October Congregation Meeting that people get their news of the ELCA and the church-at-large from many sources and that not everyone necessarily wishes to receive a copy.
In an effort to be the best stewards of the gifts of God’s people, a motion was made, seconded and passed to ask members and friends of Mount Olive who wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine to contact the church office. We are very happy to continue to provide this excellent publication to those who enjoy and benefit from it. Similarly, if we can redirect funds for subscriptions that would go unread to other ministry needs, that also is a good thing.
If you wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine, please call (612) 827-5919 or email (welcome@mountolivechurch.org) and let Cha know by December 1, 2010.
The Wish List
The Mount Olive Wish List is up and running and we’ve had a few donations come in. Naomi Peterson originally wanted to remain anonymous, but I believe she is too generous and one of those pillars of Mount Olive that should not go unrecognized. Her donation of a new reception desk for the West Social Hall is exactly the catalyst we need to get the ball rolling. Naomi also magnanimously donated the Advent Godly Play set for the new Sunday School program. Naomi’s son, Steven, has donated one of two new leather sofas that are part of the interior design plan for our social spaces! We will begin to see interior design changes soon, thanks to these wonderful donations.
Please consider donating even just a single item on the Wish List. Banner stands, Godly Play items, and furnishings are on the list. The sign up sheet is in the office next to the altar flower donation board. Please indicate which item you wish to donate and put your name and contact number beside the item you are donating, and you will be contacted about total cost and how to pay. Your donation will be reflected on your giving statement for tax purposes.
Advent Procession - Service of Lessons and Carols
Sunday, November 28, 2010 - 4:00 p.m.
Join us for the annual Advent Procession Service, a liturgy of lessons and carols for Advent, sponsored by Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts.
Leading the music will be the Mount Olive Cantorei and Cantor David Cherwien. A reception will follow in the chapel lounge. All are warmly invited.
Thanksgiving Offerings
The offering received at the Eucharist on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, will be given to Sabbathani Community Center and Community Emergency Services.
New Members to Be Received November 28
Interested in becoming a member of Mount Olive? New members will be received on Sunday, Nov. 28, the First Sunday of Advent. Please talk to Pastor Crippen if you would like to consider joining at this time, or if you simply would like to talk about membership for a future time.
It has been warmer than normal the past couple days, but the reality is sinking in – we’re in autumn. Trees are increasingly bare, mornings are cold, grass isn’t growing anymore. What’s powerful in our worship is that as the growing season comes to an end in northern climates, so too our Church Year comes to an end. Our readings from Scripture, our hymns, the whole liturgy, all have a tone of not only the end of a season, but the end of all time. Apocalyptic words of Jesus, prophets speaking of the day of the LORD to come, it is impossible to miss the sense that we live in a finite world and we are finite people.
There is wisdom in the calendar and lectionary of the Church, at least for those of us who live with these seasons of weather changes, to tie this theme, this conversation, to concurrent events in our environment. Somehow at this time of year we are open to considering (in a way we do not in the spring, for example) that this will not all last. Yet we do not consider this reality apart from the reality of the risen Jesus who has defeated death and in whom all endings become beginnings. We remind ourselves of our mortality, and the world’s mortality, even while we stand in hope of the new creation God is promising. We stand as Easter people, even amongst dead-looking trees and brown grass and visible breath and sometimes frightening words of Scripture, in hope of the life of God which is always working in and through us and this world. From this truth, we move into our season of hope, Advent, even as the darkness deepens to its fullest. (But that must wait for a few weeks!)
A few more words on the Eucharistic Prayer: I want to follow up briefly on what I wrote about in The Olive Branch on Oct. 18 regarding the Eucharistic Prayer. As I said then, these are deeply important ideas for all of us, and I am committed to making this a conversation, not a unilateral decision of any kind. So the Worship Committee and Cantor Cherwien and I have already talked more of this, and will continue to do so. Part of this conversation was also me sharing with you the theology of the Eucharist that has shaped me for so long, and leading you at the table in a way consistent with that theology. But it is also important for me to understand how Mount Olive has been accustomed to celebrate the Eucharist, and that’s not something I can do abstractly. We are all incarnational people, and we understand each other far better when we experience things instead of merely talking about them. So I want you to know that the next important part of this conversation for me as your pastor is that I experience what it means to face the altar at this point in the liturgy, so that I can also better understand this. So for a time I have celebrated facing the people, and I’m grateful that has been well received by some. Now for a time I will celebrate facing the altar as well. This is “meet and right” as we like to say, not a random way of “trying something out.” The gift of our Lord in this meal is a rich gift, and there are so many ways it affects us and touches our lives, and as I said earlier, the two views of table and altar are both important and long-standing in our faith. You have honored me by supporting me as I led you facing the congregation; I need to honor you and the tradition and architecture here and experience the richness of what you have all experienced here as well. We will keep talking to each other, and more importantly, worshipping with each other, as we are ultimately centered not on anything other than the grace of God we receive in this meal.
- Joseph
Sunday’s Adult Forum, November 14: 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel Lounge
Representatives from Bethania will talk about the mission and the people it serves (see article elsewhere in this issue of The Olive Branch).
Consecration Sunday This Weekend!
Consecration Sunday, the day members of Mount Olive pledge their intentions for giving in 2011, will be this Sunday, Nov. 14. At worship that day members of Mount Olive will be invited to offer pledge cards declaring their intent for giving to the ministry God has called us to do together. (These pledge cards and current third quarter contribution statements were mailed to each household a couple of weeks ago.) Then, on Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 21, we will focus on opportunities for service in the ministries of Mount Olive, and host a celebratory meal following the second liturgy.
As we end the Church Year, we will commit ourselves in these two weeks to the work that God has placed before us here, and all members are invited to participate in these events.
From India With Love
Did you know that your financial offerings support poor, orphaned and disabled children in South India? For over 20 years, a portion of Mount Olive’s mission budget has been dedicated to Bethania Kids. Bethania’s Board Members and Advisory Board members personally pay for all administrative costs, including the ministry’s website, postage, travel, video production, public relations materials, newsletters, and salaries, so Mount Olive’s dollars directly provide basic care, immunizations, education, and housing.
On Sunday, November 14, two of our partners in service will be visiting Mount Olive to meet and celebrate with us and to give a report about their work. It is also Consecration Sunday that day. Please do the following: 1) pray that God will bless Godfrey, Paramadass and all that they do together with us for the sake of the Gospel and for the welfare of children, 2) pledge your intentions for financial giving to Mount Olive in 2011, 3) come to the adult forum at 9:30 a.m. to hear about the children whom your giving supports, and 4) stay for a “Biryani and Bethania” Indian meal after the second liturgy, celebrating India and the gifts these men bring to this project.
Gene Hennig, a founding member of Bethania, Mark Spitzack, who visited Bethania Kids projects in 2009, and Paul Schadewald and the Missions Committee are helping to coordinate these events. RSVPs for the meal are welcomed but not required. A freewill offering will help to cover the cost of the food. “Rise and take your treasure, yours in fullest measure. Sing, for love has found you; joy is all around you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
(from a popular Indian hymn)
Sunday Readings
November 14, 2010 – Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Malachi 4:1-2a + Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 + Luke 21:5-19
November 21, 2010 – Christ the King
Jeremiah 23:1-6 + Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20+ Luke 23:33-43
Thanksgiving Eucharist
Thursday, November 25
10:00 a.m.
Bring non-perishable food items to help re-stock local food shelves. Monetary donations are especially welcome (for every $1 donated, food shelf personnel are able to buy $9 worth of food!)
Volunteer Help Needed!
Donna Neste is currently in need of a volunteer or two to help transport groceries to the local food shelf. Thanks to generous worshippers our grocery shelves are full, and with the annual collection of non-perishable food items at the Thanksgiving Eucharist coming up there is simply no space to store more groceries!
If you are a strong, able-bodied person with a truck, van, or SUV and a willing heart, please call Donna at church (612.827.5919). This is a task she cannot do on her own.
Book Discussion Group
For their meeting this Saturday, November 13, the Book Discussion Group will read, The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, and for December 11, Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. This group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 am in the Chapel Lounge. All readers are welcome!
Christmas Plant Sale
The annual Youth Christmas Plant sale is on now. Order forms are available at church. Please pick up a form, place your order, and leave the completed forms in the box provided or in the Youth mailbox in the church office. The pick up date for Christmas plants is Sunday, December 5.
You’re Invited!
All are invited to attend the November Every Church a Peace Church meeting on Monday, November 8. The meeting begins with a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by a program beginning at 7:00. This month’s program is “Peacemaker’s Predicament: Opposing War while Affirming Warriors,” presented by Bishop Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the St. Paul Synod, ELCA.
The meeting will be held at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, 1600 W. County Road B, Roseville, MN (south of Hwy. #36 and west of Snelling Ave).
Diabetes Prayer Day
Diabetes Prayer Day is Sunday, November 14. Sponsored by the Diabetes Prayer Day organization, all are invited to keep those suffering with diabetes in prayer, and to pray for its cure. More information on the organization and this day can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/DiabetesPrayerDay2010.
Foundation Information
A copy of the Mount Olive Foundation’s latest tax return is now on file in the church office. If you would like to see it, please call the church office to make arrangements.
Thanks!
Thanks to all who participated in tasting the new Fair Trade/Equal Exchange coffee varieties yesterday! Of the votes cast, the Sisters Blend was the favorite flavor.
Congratulations to Susan Cherwien and Carla Manuel for winning prizes in the drawing. Watch for the Fair Trade craft sale during Advent.
Neighborhood Ministries Fall Newsletter
The Neighborhood Ministries fall newsletter is out, and will be distributed by the greeters following each of the liturgies on Christ the King Sunday, November 21.
If you cannot be present that Sunday and would like a newsletter, they will be available to pick up at the church office window.
The Lutheran Magazine Subscription Renewal Request
Each month, the households of Mount Olive Lutheran Church receive The Lutheran magazine as part of our congregational life budget. As an official publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran is an important communication tool. It enables us, as individuals and a congregation, to be aware of events, celebrations, and needs of the Church beyond Mount Olive and the greater Twin Cities metro. At the same time, it was apparent from discussion at the October Congregation Meeting that people get their news of the ELCA and the church-at-large from many sources and that not everyone necessarily wishes to receive a copy.
In an effort to be the best stewards of the gifts of God’s people, a motion was made, seconded and passed to ask members and friends of Mount Olive who wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine to contact the church office. We are very happy to continue to provide this excellent publication to those who enjoy and benefit from it. Similarly, if we can redirect funds for subscriptions that would go unread to other ministry needs, that also is a good thing.
If you wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine, please call (612) 827-5919 or email (welcome@mountolivechurch.org) and let Cha know by December 1, 2010.
The Wish List
The Mount Olive Wish List is up and running and we’ve had a few donations come in. Naomi Peterson originally wanted to remain anonymous, but I believe she is too generous and one of those pillars of Mount Olive that should not go unrecognized. Her donation of a new reception desk for the West Social Hall is exactly the catalyst we need to get the ball rolling. Naomi also magnanimously donated the Advent Godly Play set for the new Sunday School program. Naomi’s son, Steven, has donated one of two new leather sofas that are part of the interior design plan for our social spaces! We will begin to see interior design changes soon, thanks to these wonderful donations.
Please consider donating even just a single item on the Wish List. Banner stands, Godly Play items, and furnishings are on the list. The sign up sheet is in the office next to the altar flower donation board. Please indicate which item you wish to donate and put your name and contact number beside the item you are donating, and you will be contacted about total cost and how to pay. Your donation will be reflected on your giving statement for tax purposes.
Advent Procession - Service of Lessons and Carols
Sunday, November 28, 2010 - 4:00 p.m.
Join us for the annual Advent Procession Service, a liturgy of lessons and carols for Advent, sponsored by Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts.
Leading the music will be the Mount Olive Cantorei and Cantor David Cherwien. A reception will follow in the chapel lounge. All are warmly invited.
Thanksgiving Offerings
The offering received at the Eucharist on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, will be given to Sabbathani Community Center and Community Emergency Services.
New Members to Be Received November 28
Interested in becoming a member of Mount Olive? New members will be received on Sunday, Nov. 28, the First Sunday of Advent. Please talk to Pastor Crippen if you would like to consider joining at this time, or if you simply would like to talk about membership for a future time.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sermon from Sunday, October 31, 2010
Reformation Day
Texts: Psalm 46; John 8:31-36
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Facing Truth
Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
There’s something unseemly about human beings and the idea of truth. Truth – the honest reality about life, about existence, about anything – sounds like a noble thing, worthy of our searching and discerning. But somehow when we get hold of the idea of truth, it becomes a license for the worst in us to come forward.
Some years ago I was involved in an e-mail sharing group of Lutheran theologians and pastors, where people would post comments and others would reply. There was a very heated exchange after a particular Churchwide Assembly, with hateful things spewed about ELCA leadership, about the Assembly voters, including personal aspersions and insinuations being cast to the four winds like sown seed. So I posted the comment that, while I understood that people were not happy with certain decisions and certain elections, perhaps this conversation could be continued with a mind to seeking and bearing some of the fruit of the Spirit in the discourse – love, peace, kindness, patience, self-control, among others. The posted reply to the group in response to me, from a prominent Lutheran theologian? “I don’t confuse bearing the fruits of the Spirit with fighting for the truth.”
Indeed? So when, pray tell, might we hope to ask for the Spirit’s gifts? Only when we’re having a lovely conversation over a glass of wine and a plate of cheese? In my experience one of the gifts with which I was not innately blessed is patience, and the time I most need to ask God for this spiritual gift is precisely in the midst of heated dialogue and difficult conversation.
But the honest reality about the Church throughout the centuries is that all too often the Church has also not confused the fruit of the Spirit with fighting for the truth. And so people were burned at the stake, whole cities were razed to the ground, entire cultures were obliterated. Vulnerable and broken people have been and still are ostracized from their communities, falsely imprisoned even, and abused, all in the name of truth. We shouldn’t be surprised when we encounter people who do not trust the Church – we should rather be surprised when we find some who have not been wounded in some way, or outraged at the wounding of others.
It’s difficult to reconcile this with what our Lord Jesus tells us today: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Of course, if Jesus means what he says then knowing the truth by continuing in his word will lead to freedom, not to hatred and destruction of others. It should be a source of joy and life.
There are two things we need to clarify to understand Jesus and find this gift of freedom. First, we need to know our need for freeing – do we actually believe we need it? And second, we’ve got the idea of truth all wrong. In fact, it’s not an idea at all. But first – freedom.
We may not be as audacious as Jesus’ audience today and say “We have never been slaves to anyone.” But we live with a fiction that says we are free when we are not.
Though we proclaim that this is a nation of freedom, we act as if we are the opposite. We are a nation of people who are enslaved to fear, enslaved to self-centered, short-sighted and destructive decision-making, and enslaved to patterns and ways of life which are killing us and others. That doesn’t sound very free to me.
This current national election is almost completely being run by exploiting the first enslavement, ignoring the realities of the second, and pandering to the third. So we’re told in ad after ad why we should fear a particular candidate –if he or she is elected, all horrors will ensue. And promises are made to make all things magically right, as if changing what is wrong in our society can be done overnight. And those promises are made without asking us for any sacrifice of our way of life – so we don’t have to change anything and we get everything.
Yet we all know that we’re going to wake up on Nov. 3 and still be afraid, still trapped in our destructive patterns and behaviors, and still facing a huge challenge of effectively running this country with justice for all. Because we know in our hearts that life is harder and more complicated than we’re being told by those running for office.
And we know we are not free. So we can put aside our indignation with Jesus and just admit it: we’re trapped and we don’t know how to get out. We don’t know how to let go of our fear of our enemies, our fear of the future, our fear of life. The Psalmist helps us name our fear today – and it looks like general chaos, mountains falling into seas, earth shaking, waters raging and foaming.
And, we don’t know how to get unstuck from the way we live at every level of our society including our own personal lives, ways which are not healthy and do not lead to life for others, for the environment, for the world, and even for ourselves. The Scriptures call these things sin – and say we are enslaved to them.
I’d be hard pressed to argue otherwise.
Not true? Then think of the littlest thing you do that’s not good for you or for others or for the world. A little habit. How often and how hard have you tried to get rid of that? Any luck? So what makes you think if you’re trapped in that that you’ve got any chance at the big stuff? And while we’re adding up our catalog of enslavements, let’s not forget our need to fight over our idea of truth, to the destruction of all who disagree.
I don’t know about you, but now I’m pretty interested in what Jesus has to say. I want to know what he means by continuing in his Word, and knowing the Truth, and being truly disciples and truly free.
Well, there’s one key thing we need to understand to see it all: the truth is not an idea to be held, known, or fought over. The Truth is a person. The Truth is Jesus.
After all, didn’t he tell us in John 14, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life?” Didn’t we hear in John 1 that the Word of God is not a book, it’s a person – the very intent of God for the world is incarnate, made flesh, one of us?
Martin Luther taught us that we know God’s Word in three ways: in the written Word, the Scriptures. But more important and real than that, in the Word of God proclaimed and preached and therefore alive. And most important of all, we know God’s Living Word, our Lord Jesus who rules our lives and hearts.
If God’s truth, God’s word, are written words only, doctrines to be held, axioms to be formulated, credos to be signed and posted, then we can possess them. Own them. And fight to the death over them. Only no doctrine, no credo, no axiom can save us, or free us.
But if Jesus is the Truth, Jesus is God’s Word, we have no control over him, because he is a living reality, the Lord of the universe, the proclamation and life of the Holy Trinity in our midst. And he is crucified and risen from the dead and leading us to abundant, rich life. This Truth, this Jesus, can and has saved us. Can and will free us. And if the Son makes you free, you are truly free, he says today.
So how are we freed? Because instead of our fearing the future, or fearing that we might not have the right truth, or others might be enemies of the truth, or distorting it, the real Truth speaks to us in love and says “Do not be afraid.” Do not fear, Jesus says, for I have overcome the world. Even if the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, you need not be afraid. Even death has no power over me. Do you think anything can keep me from loving you, loving all? Do you think that the worst future you can imagine can stop my restoring of the whole creation?
And we are freed from our enslavement to sin by the Truth who tells us the truth about ourselves and then offers forgiveness and grace. The Truth, our Lord Jesus, can be brutally honest with us, as he was to so many he encountered. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, we find ourselves a little frightened because he knows everything we have ever done. Jesus, the Truth, is utterly truthful with us, and lays us bare.
But he never leaves us there – because he is real and alive and has overcome the world. And so he offers us a place at the Table of life, forgiveness of all we have done, and love in spite of everything. Which gives us hope in a world that seems impossibly broken – because we are sent out to be that love and life for the sake of the world. To bring the same healing we have received, the same good news that the Truth is not a thing, but a loving, risen Lord of life. And is come to bring the world back to the life of God.
We often use the expression “facing the truth” to talk about honesty. As it turns out, the Truth actually has a face.
And that is the face we long to see – the visible presence of the invisible God, who at a point in our history came to be one of us and live with us. And be Truth for us.
It’s complicated to live following the real Truth instead of clinging to the idea of truth. Ideas can be grabbed and held and used to beat up others, and build walls of self-protection. They can help us define who’s one of us and who isn’t, and what we need to fear. Following the One who is the Truth means discernment, not absolute doctrine, conversation with God and each other, not firm certainty.
But the Truth looks us in the face in his Meal, in his Word, in each other, and says “do not be afraid. Be free to live in my love and forgiveness and transform the world. There is no one outside of my love, no one I do not desire to bring back into life with God. And that means you, too.” And so we rest our lives on the love of God in Christ we have come to know as Truth. What could be more freeing than that?
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Texts: Psalm 46; John 8:31-36
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Facing Truth
Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
There’s something unseemly about human beings and the idea of truth. Truth – the honest reality about life, about existence, about anything – sounds like a noble thing, worthy of our searching and discerning. But somehow when we get hold of the idea of truth, it becomes a license for the worst in us to come forward.
Some years ago I was involved in an e-mail sharing group of Lutheran theologians and pastors, where people would post comments and others would reply. There was a very heated exchange after a particular Churchwide Assembly, with hateful things spewed about ELCA leadership, about the Assembly voters, including personal aspersions and insinuations being cast to the four winds like sown seed. So I posted the comment that, while I understood that people were not happy with certain decisions and certain elections, perhaps this conversation could be continued with a mind to seeking and bearing some of the fruit of the Spirit in the discourse – love, peace, kindness, patience, self-control, among others. The posted reply to the group in response to me, from a prominent Lutheran theologian? “I don’t confuse bearing the fruits of the Spirit with fighting for the truth.”
Indeed? So when, pray tell, might we hope to ask for the Spirit’s gifts? Only when we’re having a lovely conversation over a glass of wine and a plate of cheese? In my experience one of the gifts with which I was not innately blessed is patience, and the time I most need to ask God for this spiritual gift is precisely in the midst of heated dialogue and difficult conversation.
But the honest reality about the Church throughout the centuries is that all too often the Church has also not confused the fruit of the Spirit with fighting for the truth. And so people were burned at the stake, whole cities were razed to the ground, entire cultures were obliterated. Vulnerable and broken people have been and still are ostracized from their communities, falsely imprisoned even, and abused, all in the name of truth. We shouldn’t be surprised when we encounter people who do not trust the Church – we should rather be surprised when we find some who have not been wounded in some way, or outraged at the wounding of others.
It’s difficult to reconcile this with what our Lord Jesus tells us today: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Of course, if Jesus means what he says then knowing the truth by continuing in his word will lead to freedom, not to hatred and destruction of others. It should be a source of joy and life.
There are two things we need to clarify to understand Jesus and find this gift of freedom. First, we need to know our need for freeing – do we actually believe we need it? And second, we’ve got the idea of truth all wrong. In fact, it’s not an idea at all. But first – freedom.
We may not be as audacious as Jesus’ audience today and say “We have never been slaves to anyone.” But we live with a fiction that says we are free when we are not.
Though we proclaim that this is a nation of freedom, we act as if we are the opposite. We are a nation of people who are enslaved to fear, enslaved to self-centered, short-sighted and destructive decision-making, and enslaved to patterns and ways of life which are killing us and others. That doesn’t sound very free to me.
This current national election is almost completely being run by exploiting the first enslavement, ignoring the realities of the second, and pandering to the third. So we’re told in ad after ad why we should fear a particular candidate –if he or she is elected, all horrors will ensue. And promises are made to make all things magically right, as if changing what is wrong in our society can be done overnight. And those promises are made without asking us for any sacrifice of our way of life – so we don’t have to change anything and we get everything.
Yet we all know that we’re going to wake up on Nov. 3 and still be afraid, still trapped in our destructive patterns and behaviors, and still facing a huge challenge of effectively running this country with justice for all. Because we know in our hearts that life is harder and more complicated than we’re being told by those running for office.
And we know we are not free. So we can put aside our indignation with Jesus and just admit it: we’re trapped and we don’t know how to get out. We don’t know how to let go of our fear of our enemies, our fear of the future, our fear of life. The Psalmist helps us name our fear today – and it looks like general chaos, mountains falling into seas, earth shaking, waters raging and foaming.
And, we don’t know how to get unstuck from the way we live at every level of our society including our own personal lives, ways which are not healthy and do not lead to life for others, for the environment, for the world, and even for ourselves. The Scriptures call these things sin – and say we are enslaved to them.
I’d be hard pressed to argue otherwise.
Not true? Then think of the littlest thing you do that’s not good for you or for others or for the world. A little habit. How often and how hard have you tried to get rid of that? Any luck? So what makes you think if you’re trapped in that that you’ve got any chance at the big stuff? And while we’re adding up our catalog of enslavements, let’s not forget our need to fight over our idea of truth, to the destruction of all who disagree.
I don’t know about you, but now I’m pretty interested in what Jesus has to say. I want to know what he means by continuing in his Word, and knowing the Truth, and being truly disciples and truly free.
Well, there’s one key thing we need to understand to see it all: the truth is not an idea to be held, known, or fought over. The Truth is a person. The Truth is Jesus.
After all, didn’t he tell us in John 14, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life?” Didn’t we hear in John 1 that the Word of God is not a book, it’s a person – the very intent of God for the world is incarnate, made flesh, one of us?
Martin Luther taught us that we know God’s Word in three ways: in the written Word, the Scriptures. But more important and real than that, in the Word of God proclaimed and preached and therefore alive. And most important of all, we know God’s Living Word, our Lord Jesus who rules our lives and hearts.
If God’s truth, God’s word, are written words only, doctrines to be held, axioms to be formulated, credos to be signed and posted, then we can possess them. Own them. And fight to the death over them. Only no doctrine, no credo, no axiom can save us, or free us.
But if Jesus is the Truth, Jesus is God’s Word, we have no control over him, because he is a living reality, the Lord of the universe, the proclamation and life of the Holy Trinity in our midst. And he is crucified and risen from the dead and leading us to abundant, rich life. This Truth, this Jesus, can and has saved us. Can and will free us. And if the Son makes you free, you are truly free, he says today.
So how are we freed? Because instead of our fearing the future, or fearing that we might not have the right truth, or others might be enemies of the truth, or distorting it, the real Truth speaks to us in love and says “Do not be afraid.” Do not fear, Jesus says, for I have overcome the world. Even if the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, you need not be afraid. Even death has no power over me. Do you think anything can keep me from loving you, loving all? Do you think that the worst future you can imagine can stop my restoring of the whole creation?
And we are freed from our enslavement to sin by the Truth who tells us the truth about ourselves and then offers forgiveness and grace. The Truth, our Lord Jesus, can be brutally honest with us, as he was to so many he encountered. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, we find ourselves a little frightened because he knows everything we have ever done. Jesus, the Truth, is utterly truthful with us, and lays us bare.
But he never leaves us there – because he is real and alive and has overcome the world. And so he offers us a place at the Table of life, forgiveness of all we have done, and love in spite of everything. Which gives us hope in a world that seems impossibly broken – because we are sent out to be that love and life for the sake of the world. To bring the same healing we have received, the same good news that the Truth is not a thing, but a loving, risen Lord of life. And is come to bring the world back to the life of God.
We often use the expression “facing the truth” to talk about honesty. As it turns out, the Truth actually has a face.
And that is the face we long to see – the visible presence of the invisible God, who at a point in our history came to be one of us and live with us. And be Truth for us.
It’s complicated to live following the real Truth instead of clinging to the idea of truth. Ideas can be grabbed and held and used to beat up others, and build walls of self-protection. They can help us define who’s one of us and who isn’t, and what we need to fear. Following the One who is the Truth means discernment, not absolute doctrine, conversation with God and each other, not firm certainty.
But the Truth looks us in the face in his Meal, in his Word, in each other, and says “do not be afraid. Be free to live in my love and forgiveness and transform the world. There is no one outside of my love, no one I do not desire to bring back into life with God. And that means you, too.” And so we rest our lives on the love of God in Christ we have come to know as Truth. What could be more freeing than that?
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Olive Branch: November 1, 2010
Accent on Worship
Revelation describes the great gathering of saints around the throne of Christ, the Lamb who was slain. One of the elders standing nearby casually asks the writer of Revelation, “Who are these folks, all robed in white, singing their heads off – who are they?”
The New Testament calls them hagioi – “holy ones.” Who are they? Do they include our departed loved ones and friends? The stillborn baby? The victims of war or disaster?
And what of ourselves? Will we someday be among these whom God so loves that he personally wipes the tears of suffering from their eyes?
If you exercise the Google search engine just a little, quite a few thoughts about saints pop up. For example: “A saint is a dead sinner, revised and edited by surviving relatives and friends.” (Ambrose Bierce) "Saints are figures out of the Christian past whose lives have been insufficiently researched." (Thomas Long)
They reflect the operative notions in a lot of what is said about saints, that a saint is, a) someone perceived as not quite like you and me, and b) dead.
By contrast, St. Paul referred in his epistles to the “saints” of Corinth and Thessalonica, shortly before lambasting them about their current behavior which was falling quite short of God’s expectations of hagioi, These saints were quite alive, even if all was not well with their behavior. And, at least in terms of goodness or character, these saints of the New Testament appear to be little different from you or me. For our behavior, sadly, also quite frequently falls short.
Former ELCA Bishop H. George Anderson in a famous speech given at Luther College listed “his saints,” those unforgettable individuals who had inspired and motivated him. He referred to a certain Sunday School teacher, a Luther League counselor, the owner of his neighborhood hardware store. Bishop Anderson called these his “saints” – because, by word or example they had shaped his faith and values.
Bp. Anderson’s comments reflect what theologian Nathan Soderblom once wrote, “A saint is someone who makes it easier for us to believe in God.” And, they reflect what Revelation tells us is the “bottom line” qualification for sainthood: “Saint” is not the result of one’s deeds or spiritual character. Dead, alive, young, old, rich, poor - saints “… are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Soren Kierkegard wrote, “God created us out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. But, God does what is still more wonderful: God makes saints out of sinners.”
A saint bears all the warts, scars, faults, and questionable motives any of us is liable to carry, but is deemed holy by God as a result of reaching out in faith to grasp the forgiveness won by our Lord Jesus. And by the grace of God becomes the one who helps another believe in God. Perhaps there is hope even for me?
In our columbarium, this year we have placed the remains of saints – some famous and known by many, others just simple folk known to only a few. But, each of their lives has shaped the life of some others. Blessed are they.
But blessed also are we. For we are still living, equally touched by God’s grace, with lives still full of opportunities to be transformed by that grace. And, perhaps, by our example some other person may be encouraged to believe in God. Blessed are we… for that opportunity…most of all.
- Art Halbardier
Sunday Readings
November 7, 2010 – All Saints Sunday
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 + Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23+ Luke 6:20-31
November 14, 2010 – Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Malachi 4:1-2a + Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 + Luke 21:5-19
Consecration Sunday Set for Nov. 14
Consecration Sunday, the day members of Mount Olive pledge their intentions for giving in 2011, will be Sunday, Nov. 14. This is a date change from the October calendar, so please take note. At worship that day members of Mount Olive will be invited to offer pledge cards declaring their intent for giving to the ministry God has called us to do together. (These pledge cards and current third quarter contribution statements were mailed to each household last week.) Then, on Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 21, we will focus on opportunities for service in the ministries of Mount Olive, and host a celebratory meal following the second liturgy.
As we end the Church Year, we will commit ourselves in these two weeks to the work that God has placed before us here, and all members are invited to participate in these events.
Sunday’s Adult Forum, November 7 - A Coffee Tasting!
You are invited to a Lutheran World Relief Fair Trade coffee tasting on Sunday, November 7, during the Education Hour between worship services. Featuring four different coffees from LWR’s Fair Trade partner, Equal Exchange, (plus cocoa, tea and other goodies!) the tasting will give you the opportunity to vote on your favorites, to buy some to take home, win prizes, and find out more about how Fair Trade is making a difference.
With each purchase, you help farmers earn more for their coffee, gain access to credit, and fund much needed projects in their communities.
From India With Love
Did you know that your financial offerings support poor, orphaned and disabled children in South India? For over 20 years, a portion of Mount Olive's mission budget has been dedicated to Bethania Kids. Bethania's Board Members and Advisory Board members personally pay for all administrative costs, including the ministry's website, postage, travel, video production, public relations materials, newsletters, and salaries, so Mount Olive's dollars directly provide basic care, immunizations, education, and housing.
On Sunday, November 14, two of our partners in service will be visiting Mount Olive to meet and celebrate with us and to give a report about their work. It is also Consecration Sunday. Please do the following: 1) pray that God will bless Godfrey, Paramadass and all that they do together with us for the sake of the Gospel and for the welfare of children, 2) pledge your intentions for financial giving in 2011, 3) come to the adult forum at 9:30 a.m. to hear about the children whom your giving supports, and 4) stay for a "Biryani and Bethania" Indian meal after the second liturgy, celebrating India and the gifts these men bring to this project.
Gene Hennig, a founding member of Bethania, Mark Spitzack, who visited Bethania Kids projects in 2009, and Paul Schadewald and the Missions Committee are helping to coordinate these events. RSVPs for the meal are welcomed but not required. A freewill offering will help to cover the cost of the food. "Rise and take your treasure, yours in fullest measure. Sing, for love has found you; joy is all around you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow." (from a popular Indian hymn)
Volunteer Help Needed!
Donna Neste is currently in need of a volunteer or two to help transport groceries to the local food shelf. Thanks to generous worshippers our grocery shelves are full, and with the annual collection of non-perishable food items at the Thanksgiving Eucharist coming up there is simply no space to store more groceries!
If you are a strong, able-bodied person with a truck, van, or SUV and a willing heart, please call Donna at church (612.827.5919). This is a task she cannot do on her own.
The Lutheran Magazine Subscription Renewal Request
Each month, the households of Mount Olive Lutheran Church receive The Lutheran magazine as part of our congregational life budget. As an official publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran is an important communication tool. It enables us, as individuals and a congregation, to be aware of events, celebrations, and needs of the Church beyond Mount Olive and the greater Twin Cities metro. At the same time, it was apparent from discussion at the October Congregation Meeting that people get their news of the ELCA and the church-at-large from many sources and that not everyone necessarily wishes to receive a copy.
In an effort to be the best stewards of the gifts of God’s people, a motion was made, seconded and passed to ask members and friends of Mount Olive who wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine to contact the church office. We are very happy to continue to provide this excellent publication to those who enjoy and benefit from it. Similarly, if we can redirect funds for subscriptions that would go unread to other ministry needs, that also is a good thing.
If you wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine, please call (612) 827-5919 or email (welcome@mountolivechurch.org) and let Cha know by December 1, 2010.
Christmas Plant Sale
The annual Youth Christmas Plant sale will take place November 1-28 2010 this year. Order forms will be available at church. Please pick up a form, place your order, and leave the completed forms in the Youth mailbox in the church office.
The pick up date for Christmas plants is Sunday, December 5.
You're Invited
All are invited to attend the November Every Church a Peace Church meeting on Monday, November 8. The meeting begins with a potluck supper at 6:30 PM, followed by a program beginning at 7. This month’s program is "Peacemaker's Predicament: Opposing War while Affirming Warriors," presented by Bishop Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the St. Paul Synod, ELCA.
The meeting will be held at St. Michael's Lutheran Church, 1600 W. County Road B, Roseville, MN (south of Hwy. #36 and west of Snelling Ave).
First Sunday Collection - This Sunday, November 7
Please remember our monthly ingathering of non-perishable food items and travel-sized toiletries and personal items! These items are collected on the first Sunday of each month and distributed to those in our area who need them. Donations may be brought to the receptacles in the coat room at church. Be generous!
Book Discussion Group
For their meeting on November 13, the Book Discussion Group will read, The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, and for December 11, Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. This group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 am in the Chapel Lounge. All readers are welcome!
Revelation describes the great gathering of saints around the throne of Christ, the Lamb who was slain. One of the elders standing nearby casually asks the writer of Revelation, “Who are these folks, all robed in white, singing their heads off – who are they?”
The New Testament calls them hagioi – “holy ones.” Who are they? Do they include our departed loved ones and friends? The stillborn baby? The victims of war or disaster?
And what of ourselves? Will we someday be among these whom God so loves that he personally wipes the tears of suffering from their eyes?
If you exercise the Google search engine just a little, quite a few thoughts about saints pop up. For example: “A saint is a dead sinner, revised and edited by surviving relatives and friends.” (Ambrose Bierce) "Saints are figures out of the Christian past whose lives have been insufficiently researched." (Thomas Long)
They reflect the operative notions in a lot of what is said about saints, that a saint is, a) someone perceived as not quite like you and me, and b) dead.
By contrast, St. Paul referred in his epistles to the “saints” of Corinth and Thessalonica, shortly before lambasting them about their current behavior which was falling quite short of God’s expectations of hagioi, These saints were quite alive, even if all was not well with their behavior. And, at least in terms of goodness or character, these saints of the New Testament appear to be little different from you or me. For our behavior, sadly, also quite frequently falls short.
Former ELCA Bishop H. George Anderson in a famous speech given at Luther College listed “his saints,” those unforgettable individuals who had inspired and motivated him. He referred to a certain Sunday School teacher, a Luther League counselor, the owner of his neighborhood hardware store. Bishop Anderson called these his “saints” – because, by word or example they had shaped his faith and values.
Bp. Anderson’s comments reflect what theologian Nathan Soderblom once wrote, “A saint is someone who makes it easier for us to believe in God.” And, they reflect what Revelation tells us is the “bottom line” qualification for sainthood: “Saint” is not the result of one’s deeds or spiritual character. Dead, alive, young, old, rich, poor - saints “… are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Soren Kierkegard wrote, “God created us out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. But, God does what is still more wonderful: God makes saints out of sinners.”
A saint bears all the warts, scars, faults, and questionable motives any of us is liable to carry, but is deemed holy by God as a result of reaching out in faith to grasp the forgiveness won by our Lord Jesus. And by the grace of God becomes the one who helps another believe in God. Perhaps there is hope even for me?
In our columbarium, this year we have placed the remains of saints – some famous and known by many, others just simple folk known to only a few. But, each of their lives has shaped the life of some others. Blessed are they.
But blessed also are we. For we are still living, equally touched by God’s grace, with lives still full of opportunities to be transformed by that grace. And, perhaps, by our example some other person may be encouraged to believe in God. Blessed are we… for that opportunity…most of all.
- Art Halbardier
Sunday Readings
November 7, 2010 – All Saints Sunday
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 + Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23+ Luke 6:20-31
November 14, 2010 – Ordinary Time: Sunday 33
Malachi 4:1-2a + Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 + Luke 21:5-19
Consecration Sunday Set for Nov. 14
Consecration Sunday, the day members of Mount Olive pledge their intentions for giving in 2011, will be Sunday, Nov. 14. This is a date change from the October calendar, so please take note. At worship that day members of Mount Olive will be invited to offer pledge cards declaring their intent for giving to the ministry God has called us to do together. (These pledge cards and current third quarter contribution statements were mailed to each household last week.) Then, on Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 21, we will focus on opportunities for service in the ministries of Mount Olive, and host a celebratory meal following the second liturgy.
As we end the Church Year, we will commit ourselves in these two weeks to the work that God has placed before us here, and all members are invited to participate in these events.
Sunday’s Adult Forum, November 7 - A Coffee Tasting!
You are invited to a Lutheran World Relief Fair Trade coffee tasting on Sunday, November 7, during the Education Hour between worship services. Featuring four different coffees from LWR’s Fair Trade partner, Equal Exchange, (plus cocoa, tea and other goodies!) the tasting will give you the opportunity to vote on your favorites, to buy some to take home, win prizes, and find out more about how Fair Trade is making a difference.
With each purchase, you help farmers earn more for their coffee, gain access to credit, and fund much needed projects in their communities.
From India With Love
Did you know that your financial offerings support poor, orphaned and disabled children in South India? For over 20 years, a portion of Mount Olive's mission budget has been dedicated to Bethania Kids. Bethania's Board Members and Advisory Board members personally pay for all administrative costs, including the ministry's website, postage, travel, video production, public relations materials, newsletters, and salaries, so Mount Olive's dollars directly provide basic care, immunizations, education, and housing.
On Sunday, November 14, two of our partners in service will be visiting Mount Olive to meet and celebrate with us and to give a report about their work. It is also Consecration Sunday. Please do the following: 1) pray that God will bless Godfrey, Paramadass and all that they do together with us for the sake of the Gospel and for the welfare of children, 2) pledge your intentions for financial giving in 2011, 3) come to the adult forum at 9:30 a.m. to hear about the children whom your giving supports, and 4) stay for a "Biryani and Bethania" Indian meal after the second liturgy, celebrating India and the gifts these men bring to this project.
Gene Hennig, a founding member of Bethania, Mark Spitzack, who visited Bethania Kids projects in 2009, and Paul Schadewald and the Missions Committee are helping to coordinate these events. RSVPs for the meal are welcomed but not required. A freewill offering will help to cover the cost of the food. "Rise and take your treasure, yours in fullest measure. Sing, for love has found you; joy is all around you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow." (from a popular Indian hymn)
Volunteer Help Needed!
Donna Neste is currently in need of a volunteer or two to help transport groceries to the local food shelf. Thanks to generous worshippers our grocery shelves are full, and with the annual collection of non-perishable food items at the Thanksgiving Eucharist coming up there is simply no space to store more groceries!
If you are a strong, able-bodied person with a truck, van, or SUV and a willing heart, please call Donna at church (612.827.5919). This is a task she cannot do on her own.
The Lutheran Magazine Subscription Renewal Request
Each month, the households of Mount Olive Lutheran Church receive The Lutheran magazine as part of our congregational life budget. As an official publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran is an important communication tool. It enables us, as individuals and a congregation, to be aware of events, celebrations, and needs of the Church beyond Mount Olive and the greater Twin Cities metro. At the same time, it was apparent from discussion at the October Congregation Meeting that people get their news of the ELCA and the church-at-large from many sources and that not everyone necessarily wishes to receive a copy.
In an effort to be the best stewards of the gifts of God’s people, a motion was made, seconded and passed to ask members and friends of Mount Olive who wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine to contact the church office. We are very happy to continue to provide this excellent publication to those who enjoy and benefit from it. Similarly, if we can redirect funds for subscriptions that would go unread to other ministry needs, that also is a good thing.
If you wish to continue receiving The Lutheran magazine, please call (612) 827-5919 or email (welcome@mountolivechurch.org) and let Cha know by December 1, 2010.
Christmas Plant Sale
The annual Youth Christmas Plant sale will take place November 1-28 2010 this year. Order forms will be available at church. Please pick up a form, place your order, and leave the completed forms in the Youth mailbox in the church office.
The pick up date for Christmas plants is Sunday, December 5.
You're Invited
All are invited to attend the November Every Church a Peace Church meeting on Monday, November 8. The meeting begins with a potluck supper at 6:30 PM, followed by a program beginning at 7. This month’s program is "Peacemaker's Predicament: Opposing War while Affirming Warriors," presented by Bishop Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the St. Paul Synod, ELCA.
The meeting will be held at St. Michael's Lutheran Church, 1600 W. County Road B, Roseville, MN (south of Hwy. #36 and west of Snelling Ave).
First Sunday Collection - This Sunday, November 7
Please remember our monthly ingathering of non-perishable food items and travel-sized toiletries and personal items! These items are collected on the first Sunday of each month and distributed to those in our area who need them. Donations may be brought to the receptacles in the coat room at church. Be generous!
Book Discussion Group
For their meeting on November 13, the Book Discussion Group will read, The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, and for December 11, Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. This group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 am in the Chapel Lounge. All readers are welcome!
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