God on the Move: God Moves Us to Empty Ourselves

Pastor Leta Arndt Behrens

Sermon Scripture: JOHN 12:1-8

¹Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ²There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” ⁶(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) ⁷Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

God on the Move: Down the Road

Brad Abbott, Director Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp

Sermon Scripture: LUKE 15:1-3, 11b-32

¹Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] ²And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
³So he told them this parable: ^11b“There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ ²⁰So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²²But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
²⁵“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

God on the Move: Over the Fence

Pastor Leta Arndt Behrens

Sermon Scripture: LUKE 13:1-9

¹At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.²[Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
⁶Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ ⁸He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Sermon Text:

My garden was hailed on 4 times last year. The first time I was home and was able to run out and cover the tiny plants with buckets and chairs and they survived. The second time I was not home and the storm came so fast and strong that my family could not get out there in time. When I got home my husband didn’t especially want me to go out and look, because he already had…. I stood in the garden and cried over the shredded leaves and stems.

There was one small hope that the strawberries were saved by the mesh net he had put over them to keep the birds out. My loving, patient husband, promptly replaced the netting as I tried to coax the other plants back to life. The next two storms pretty much did the garden in. We had strawberries and raspberries but the new small apples on the young tree and the cherries next to them simply fell to the ground unripe. While the tears were shed, the small fruits we did have were very much appreciated. We didn’t cover the garden with concrete but instead researched ways to have boxes with netting and slats to have a better year this year, come rain, sun or hail. There is still a spark of hope that gardening is something that just maybe we can still do.

This spark of hope is like our text today where the gardner who will not give up on that fig tree quite yet. The gardner is not busy looking over the fence at the neighbor’s yard but focused on the growth, the hope, the care for the tree that lives in her space and time. Why, we may ask, is this story here.. In the middle of Luke.. .in the middle of Jesus telling stories of judgement and in the middle of Lent making our way through the stories that will lead us to the cross. As we walk through Lent, we are lead by still waters yes, but we are also lead through the reality of storms. Perhaps it is as simple as Hail comes and goes and the gardner continues to persist in the midst of it all.

In the beginning of the passages we read today we may think of that line, the grass is greener on the other side. Here is a text about comparison of sins. Those gentiles, aren’t they worse sinners than us the people ask… what is my life like compared to my neighbor… my father…. My sister… my friends…  Are the sins of those killed in tragedy worse than ours? What did the people who died in Christchurch do to deserve that death? How can I make sure my sin is not the sin that brings down the wrath of God? These and others are question of comparison that can run through our minds, race really, around and around a track that has no end. And when we are in time of struggle, it can feel like a weight too heavy to lift.

And what does Jesus tell us here… well in biblical terms, I believe Jesus is saying stop it. Stop comparing. Stop believing the events in your life are better or worse than others. Stop believing the voices that tell you God is creating destruction. Stop looking over the fence and trying to figure out the growth and nurture of plants that are not yours and instead, remember the grace that comes through God in waiting patiently for trees to grow and produce fruit. That grace is the same for you… and for your neighbor. We all have sin, struggle, pain and hurt in our backyard. Yes, we all have sin and that sin is not about comparing and seeing who comes out on top…or on bottom. That sin is about how it changes us, how it affects our inner and outer lives, and how we live in the midst of it. We would love to say one sin is worse than another, and in our human ways we do. In our laws and our courts there is sin that is punished much more severely than other sin, as it should be. Yet here in this text, it is clear, that none of us escapes it. No one is clean, no one is above it all, no one is more deserving or less deserving than another of judgement.

And, Jesus says, it is is the same with grace. Just as we all have sin in our backyards, we also all have the gift of love to focus in on the nurturing that is within our own yard, within in our own sight and touch and ability to make a difference. Just like the gardner continues to wait and watch and nurture and beg for time with the fig tree, Jesus, is on our behalf, saying just a bit more time, just a bit more love, just a bit more blessing and promise in wine, bread, and water.

As I stood in the garden and cried, I was not just crying over shredded green leaves. I was remembering the hours and hours in the dirt, the coaxing of growth through sun, water, and time…  the love of my children helping me plant on mother’s day, and the grace of my husband to dig up the weeds that were too deep and strong for me. The garden to me was not just seeds and leaves, it is an act of love and connection within our home and our community. The produce from the garden in past years was used to make meals for friends and family, make gifts for colleagues and neighbors, used to bring fresh fruit and vegetables to the food bank and communities in need. The garden we tend is not miraculous and is does not feed thousands, but it is a piece of feeding of and nurturing and those in my yard and that is enough.

Your life. Your family and friends. Your work and play. Your community. Your connection to God is not trivial and it is not dismissed as too sinful or less than or more than another. All of who you are and who we are together is tended to, loved, and held in grace. Yes, we are called to come to God with our sins, our troubles, our worries and our pain. Yes we are called to respond to the world in need around us and to especially tend and care for all that is falls into our yards. And yes, the promise is that when the hails come God will stand in that garden and cry with us. When the sun shines, Jesus will call us to bring light. When we open our lives to all that we can see from our own place, the Holy Spirit will bring love, hands, and promise of all the things in our lives being firmly planted in the soil of God’s grace. And this too is enough.

God on the Move: Past All Obstacles

Pastor Michael Stadtmueller

Sermon Scripture: LUKE 13:31-35

³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus,] “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³²He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. ³³Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ ³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁵See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

God on the Move: God Moves in the Desert

Pastor Michael Stadtmueller

Sermon Scripture: LUKE 4:1-13

¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. ³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” ⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
¹¹and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
¹²Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.