Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Bonds Between Girlfriends

Well, the dark days of Advent have come and now have retreated back into the shadow side of my psyche and I am able to move on in anticipation. We are all in this excessive, almost hypnotic state of anticipation for the coming and the return of our Lord. And that’s good for Advent. It’s where we should be. It’s where our minds ought to be, as followers of Jesus Christ. But I am in an even more laborious state of anticipation, and some of you might be as well.

My nephew is in the process of being born. Right now at this moment (Nov. 15th 9:49am) he is being born, and my family and I are 500 miles away. This is a particularly tense time, not only for my brother and his wife, but for my wife as well. Her very best friend in the whole world is the one who is bearing our nephew, and she can’t breach the distance to be there at her side. To talk her through the labor pains. To make her laugh like Julia Roberts. To give everyone mints. To rub her back. To share that smile of confidence and the look of knowing. To give her that peace of mind assurance of spirit. To know without asking, that all she really wants is a slice of pizza. And this is all driving her crazy, and with good reason. You see, the bonds between girlfriends are great.

And myself? I just can't wait to welcome and hold my new nephew!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Dark Days of Advent

These next couple of days are probably the worst out of the entire year for me. I know it's advent and Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. I know that the holiday season is supposed to be full of love and joy, and for the most part it is. But these next couple of days are going to forever be ingrained upon my soul. For these are the dark days of Advent for me. My own personal hell relived every December 10, 11th and 12th. Now, the only redeeming quality for the 12th is that it happens to be the birthday of one of my most cherished of friends, and so I pull myself together on that day and thank God for gift of this person. But, the 10th and 11th shall forever go down in infamy...

My wife and I lost our newborn daughter 6 years ago on December 11th. We have grieved. we have moved on with our lives. But when these days arrive, I can't help but revisit the raw emotions that took over my soul 6 years ago. I find myself thinking about what life would be like had we not lost Arwyn Julia...I find myself wondering what it would be like to have a 6 year old daughter. What strange ideas might she have? What might she have accomplished in her life to that point? What would she look like? And in this process I thank God for creating us with such wonderful imaginations, because I can picture in my minds eye all of who she is. All of who she has become. What she looks like. Smells like. Sounds like......

I sigh with wonder. I sigh with a great sadness. But as her father, I owe it to her to not forget. To actively move through the process of grief and joy, anger and sadness. She'll forever be my little girl. Arwyn...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Advent

Every day I think to myself, “Wow what an amazing place that we get to live in.” I look at the trees and there magnificent abundance. I look at the sky and can’t yet quite believe my eyes at how blue it really is. I guess I am still used to the orange sky of Los Angeles. This place of the big water is truly a magnificent place to be. I don’t know how one could look out over the lake or up at the mountain peaks and not know that there is an immensely creative God. A God who takes pleasure in the things that He creates. It is a comforting thought.

I also think about the struggles that we are all going through, and the immense amount of pain within all of our lives. I ponder on it and I realize how much that pain takes over our lives. And it saddens me. Then I think about the upcoming season of Advent and what it ultimately leads to in lent. The One, coming among us who will experience for Himself the pain of our lives. The One Himself taking on all the pain and suffering and cruelty of this world, with each whipping, with every fist struck upon his brow, with every thorn cutting into his flesh, with the point of a spear thrust into his side, with the sneers and spiteful words thrown like daggers into His soul. Oh yes, He physically took on the sins of the world. Your fists and my spear. A truly sobering thought. Oh yes, He could have stopped it with but a thought, but He didn’t. It was too important a task for Him because He loves us so deeply. And it is this love of Christ’s that we need to turn to when we feel like we are the ones on the cross of life.

Throughout this Advent season I want to encourage you to anticipate the coming of Christ, and the love that He extends, when you feel as if life might overwhelm you, might smother you with its worries and fears and panics...Because all of those things that life brings, He experienced as well and He knows how to carry you through. Turn to Christ, and experience the profound love and joy that is found only in Him.

Blessings this Advent season,

Pastor Joel

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Message From Bishop Mark Homerud, bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA

August 22, 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

Perhaps by now you have heard that the E.L.C.A., meeting in Assembly in Minneapolis, has voted to allow people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered clergy in this church. You may be aware that this is a change for which I have advocated and worked, both as a parish pastor and as bishop.

In the moments that followed yesterday's vote, I began to feel the weight of the implications of living into this new reality for all of us in the Sierra Pacific Synod. For some it will mean challenge, for others, it will be a celebration. Many others probably don't yet know what to think about these votes.

Just at that moment, Bishop Hanson spoke to us with words that echoed deeply in my heart. His first sentence, below, summed up perfectly what I was feeling in that moment; when I realized I would need time with this decision to understand its implications for our life together as synod. I need time to pray, to talk with you, to hear what you think this decision means for you and your ministry. That time will come. For now, I invite you to consider the elegant and faithful words Bishop Hanson shared with us:

"I want more time to think about words from one you have called to serve as pastor of this church. I have been standing here thinking about my 23 years as a parish pastor and how differently I would go into a context if I was gathering with a family or a group of people that had just experienced loss, or perhaps were wondering if they still belonged, or in fact felt deeply that ones to whom they belong had been severed from them. That would be a very different pastoral conversation. And I would probably turn to words such as Romans 8:

"Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who was at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus."

But then I thought, "What if I were going into a family or a group, a community that had always wondered if they belonged and suddenly had now received a clear affirmation that they belonged?" All of the wondering about the dividing walls, the feelings of separation seem to have dropped away. That would be a very different conversation. I would probably read to them out of Ephesians [chapter 2]:

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."

But then I thought, what if those two groups were together, but also in their midst were those who had not experienced loss or the feeling of the dividing wall of separation coming down, but were wondering and worried if all that had occurred might sever the unity that is ours in Christ and might wonder if their actions might have contributed to reconciliation or separation? If all those people were together in a room, I would read from Colossians [chapter 3]:

"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

That passage gives invitation and expectation that those deeply disappointed today will have in this church the expectation and the freedom to continue to admonish and to teach. And so, too, those that have experienced reconciliation today, you are called to humility. You are called to clothe yourselves with love. But we're all called to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, remembering again and again that we are called in the one body. I will invite you tomorrow afternoon into important, thoughtful, prayerful conversations about what all of this means for our life together. But what is absolutely important for me is that that's a conversation we have together.

I ended my oral report with these words: "We meet one another finally, not in our agreements or our disagreements, but at the foot of the cross - where God is faithful, where Christ is present with us, and where, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are one in Christ."

Let us pray. O God, gracious and holy, mysterious and merciful, we meet this day at the foot of the cross and there we kneel in gratitude and awe that you have loved us so much that you would give the life of your Son so that we might have life in his name. Send your spirit this night, the spirit of the Risen Christ that has been breathed into us. May it calm us. May your Spirit unite us. May it continue to gather us. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Please note the text and video of Bishop Hanson's remarks, as well as all information about the actions of the Churchwide Assembly are available at the ELCA website: www.elca.org/assembly . Pastors Nelson, Blomberg and I will be praying and talking with you as we continue to walk and work together to fulfill the mission God has given us - to be a people who have been marked with the cross of Christ, called to do God's work with our hands.

God's Peace,
Bp. Mark

Letter From Presiding Bishop Mark Hansen of the ELCA

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
-- Colossians 3:14-15

I write to you from the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis with official information about the actions of this assembly related to human sexuality. I am grateful for the manner in which this church has engaged in this conversation. The way this assembly has discussed these questions is a continuation of the way this church has deliberated: with deep and heartfelt respect for each other, engaging with Scripture, listening to the faith stories and experiences of one another, and through worship and prayer seeking the discernment of the Spirit.

In my response to the voting members on Friday, August 21, I made this request: we need one another. We need time. We need the voices of those who lament and those who rejoice over these actions, for together we have been called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and engage in God’s mission for the life of the world.

The assembly adopted 676-338 -- precisely two-thirds of those voting -- “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” the ELCA’s 10th social statement, with minor editorial amendments. It also adopted a series of implementing resolutions with amendments. This theological and teaching document builds on the key Lutheran principles of justification by grace and Christian freedom to serve the neighbor. It emphasizes that central to our vocation, in relation to human sexuality, is the building and protection of trust in relationships. It therefore affirms that we are called to be trustworthy in our human sexuality and to build social institutions and practices where trust and trustworthy relationships can thrive. The social statement addresses marriage, same-gender relationships, families, protecting children, friendships, commitment, social responsibility and moral discernment. Regarding same-gender committed relationships, the social statement says that this church is not in agreement and recognizes the different perspectives which are present among us.

Our assembly also adopted resolutions proposed by the Church Council based on those contained in a “Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies.” The actions direct that changes be made to churchwide policy documents to make it possible for those in committed same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders in the ELCA. There were amendments to two of the proposals. The assembly adopted the resolutions in the following order, beginning with a strong statement about how we will live together in the face of our disagreements:

Resolution 3: “RESOLVED, that in the implementation of any resolutions on ministry policies, the ELCA commit itself to bear one another's burdens, love the neighbor, and respect the bound consciences of all." (Adopted 771-230 as amended)

Resolution 1: “RESOLVED, that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships.” (Adopted 619-402)

Resolution 2: “RESOLVED, that the ELCA commit itself to finding a way for people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church.” (Adopted 559-451)

Resolution 4: This resolution called upon members to respect the bound consciences of those with whom they disagree; declared intent to allow structured flexibility in decision-making about candidacy and the call process; eliminated the prohibition of rostered service by members in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships; recognized and committed to respect the conviction of members who believe that the ELCA should not call or roster people in committed same-gender relationships; called for development of accountability guidelines; directed that amendments to ministry policy documents be drafted and approved; and stated that this church continue to trust congregations, bishops, synods and others responsible for determining who should be called into public ministry. (Adopted 667-307 as amended)

I invite you into important, thoughtful, prayerful conversation about what all of this means for our life in mission together. What is absolutely important for me is that we have this conversation together.

We meet one another finally -- not in our agreements or our disagreements -- but at the foot of the cross, where God is faithful, where Christ is present with us, and where, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are one in Christ.

In Christ,
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
ELCA Presiding Bishop

Friday, August 21, 2009

Church Wide Assembly News

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 21, 2009

ELCA Presiding Bishop Comments on Decisions Regarding Ministry Policies
09-CWA-35-MRC

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- With debates closed and decisions made, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States has voted to allow Lutherans in same-gender relationships to serve as pastors of congregations and serve in other professional leadership roles. This will result in a change in current ministry policies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which require that professional leaders abstain from "homosexual sexual relationships."
At an Aug. 21 news conference the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, spoke about voting members who are rejoicing over decisions made to change ministry policies and those who did not support the decisions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
Hanson expressed gratitude for the manner in which the church has engaged the topic of human sexuality for the past eight years.
He said the assembly continued the conversation about human sexuality "with deep and heartfelt respect for the view of the other, engagement with Scripture and the tradition, listening to the faith stories and experiences of one another, and in prayer for seeking the discernment of the spirit."
Mindful of those voting members who spoke and voted in opposition of changing policies, Hanson said he hopes that they will remain committed to the conversation.
"I am always concerned when I hear any indication of either congregations or clergy or both wondering about whether they can continue to be part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in light of these decisions," he said. "Included in my concern is even a deeper concern for those who are at that point tonight. Are you willing to stay engaged with us in the conversation about how you can, with integrity, stay in this church body so that we might respect your bound conscience?"
The Rev. Stanley N. Olson, executive director, ELCA Vocation and Education, shared some next steps on how the denomination will proceed in modifying ministry policies.
"We will now need to begin to draft the language that will put into those policies the decisions the assembly has made. That language must be drafted in full respect to the kinds of disagreement that have been articulated, the joys and sorrows that are reflected in these conversations," he said.
Olson said the church has several policy documents "to assure that we have the kind of leaders that we need, speak to the processes by which we prepare and approve people for leadership, and the process by which folks are called into particular places of ministry."
"This is not simply rules and procedures for implementing something new. We have these policies because we are committed to having the kind of leaders who will serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who will respect this church and other churches, and who will have the world in view. We see the qualities, skills and the commitments that will make that possible," Olson said.
The Rev. Kaari M. Reierson, associate director for studies, ELCA Church in Society, said the experience of the assembly mirrors that of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, particularly "the sorrow of disagreement, the concern for each other and the church, and the sharing of deeply held concerns that are by now familiar to us all."
The task force developed the report and recommendations on ministry policies considered by the assembly.
- - -
Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news

Church Wide Assembly News

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 21, 2009

ELCA Assembly Opens Ministry to Partnered Gay and Lesbian Lutherans
09-CWA-34-CA

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) - The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted today to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships.
The action came by a vote of 559-451 at the highest legislative body of the 4.6 million member denomination. Earlier the assembly also approved a resolution committing the church to find ways for congregations that choose to do so to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships," though the resolution did not use the word "marriage."
The actions here change the church's policy, which previously allowed gays and lesbians into the ordained ministry only if they remained celibate.
Throughout the assembly, which opened Aug. 17, the more than 1,000 voting members have debated issues of human sexuality. On Wednesday they adopted a social statement on the subject as a teaching tool and policy guide for the denomination.
The churchwide assembly of the ELCA is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
Before discussing the thornier issues of same-gender unions in the ordained ministry, the assembly approved, by a vote of 771-230, a resolution committing the church to respect the differences of opinions on the matter and honor the "bound consciences" of those who disagree.
During the hours of discussion, led by ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, the delegates paused several times each hour for prayer, sometimes as a whole assembly, sometimes in small groups around the tables where the voting members of the assembly sat, debated and cast their votes.
Discussion here proved that matters of sexuality will be contentious throughout the church. A resolution that would have reasserted the church's current policy drew 344 votes, but failed because it was rejected by 670 of the voting members.
Pastor Richard Mahan of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod was among several speakers contending that the proposed changes are contrary to biblical teaching. "I cannot see how the church that I have known for 40 years can condone what God has condemned," Mahan said, "Nowhere does it say in scripture that homosexuality and same sex marriage is acceptable of God."
But others said a greater acceptance of people who are gay and lesbian in the church was consistent with the Bible. Bishop Gary Wollersheim of the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod said, "It's a matter of justice, a matter of hospitality, it's what Jesus would have us do." Wollersheim said he had been strongly influenced by meetings with youth at youth leadership events in his synod, a regional unit of the ELCA.
Some speakers contend that the actions taken here will alienate ELCA members and cause a drop in membership. But Allison Guttu of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod said, "I have seen congregations flourish while engaging these issues; I have seen congregations grow recognizing the gifts of gay and lesbian pastors."
During discussion of resolutions on implementation of the proposals, Bishop Kurt Kusserow of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod asked that the church make clear provision in its policies to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church cannot call or roster people in a publicly accountable, lifelong, monagamous, same-gender relationship. A resolution that the denomination consider a proposal for how it will exercise flexibility within its existing structure and practices to allow Lutherans in same gender relationship to be approved for professional service in the church. That resolution passed by a vote of 667-307.
-----
Information about the 2009 Churchwide Assembly is at http://www.elca.org/assembly on the ELCA Web site.

For more information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog

Church Wide Assembly News

Day of decision by Daniel Lehman The Lutheran Magazine

Whether the hours of quotations from Scripture or impassioned speeches of personal experiences changed any minds will never be known. But in the end Friday, the ELCA's highest governing authority opened the door to gays and lesbians in committed relationships to hold pastoral and other ministerial leadership roles in the church.

Following a key 559-451 vote by the Churchwide Assembly, silence engulfed the Minneapolis Convention Center. Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson led the group in prayer. Later, he called for unity and peace in the church, saying "it would be tragic if we walked away from one another."

"We need all of you" to contribute to conversations of where the denomination goes following the historic vote, Hanson said. The assembly approved four resolutions on ministry policies that would eventually produce rules for gays and lesbians "in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relations" to serve as pastors, associates in ministry and the like.

Rebuke came swiftly from Lutheran CORE, a coalition that holds a traditional or conservative view of Scripture. Leaders renounced CORE's recognition by the ELCAof it as an independent Lutheran organization in relationship with the denomination.

It also plans to host a gathering next month for disgruntled members and congregations to see what happens next. While upbraiding the assembly for its action and calling for certain economic sanctions, "it is important that congregations and individuals not make hasty decisions about their future in the ELCA," said Pastor Paull Spring, chair of CORE.

Debate during the day remained civil but did have moments of emotional appeals for each side to see the errors of their ways. One resolution was amended so that the ELCAmakes "provision in its policies to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church should not call or roster" gays or lesbians. That would allow congregations opposed to such ordinations from being forced to accept a gay or lesbian pastor.

Hanson said "it's going to take time to sort out how we live together." He said the ELCA has grappled with its unity and diversity throughout its 22-year history. "The maturity [of the denomination] will be tested but the Spirit will be faithful," he said.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Face Time with God

Thursday 5/7/09
Acts 8:26-40
It has often happened in my life that I have failed. Failed in my job. Failed in my schooling. Failed in my family. Failed in sports. Failed in faith. Failed in….the list goes on and on and on and on. What bothers me about this is not the fact that I have in many aspects of life failed, but that the control that I want and desire, over my life, gets taken away. I am left helpless and at a loss because suddenly just when things seem to be in control everything crumbles and failure is imminent.
I have come to learn that just like Philip who witnessed to the Ethiopian, we too need to be open to the Spirit of God. When we are open to God’s Spirit, no longer do we have the need to be in control. Rather we are able to trust that God is going to take care of us in ways that are unknown. Scary? Totally. Worth it? Totally, and here’s why. When we try to do it ourselves, whatever “it” is, we are going to fail. We are going to mess things up because that’s how our sinful human nature works. When we give control over to God, God takes care of us. God takes care of the issues. God takes care of the relationships….in God’s perfect way. All we have to do is to trust God…And that’s what faith is. Trust.

Holy gracious God, thank you for guiding us and for showing us your way. Amen.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Thoughts on Sin

Were I a normal theologian who was explaining the topic of sin to a normal everyday person, I would use words such as; total depravity, corruption, transgression, posterity, original righteousness, carnal concupiscence, inclination to evil, depraved state, consequences,state of integrity,evil propensity, wrath of God,first parents, and list goes on and on. But, you know what? I am not a normal theologian. In fact I don't even hold myself to be a theologian. Yes, I have been trained as a theologian, having received my BA in Theology and Ancient Biblical languages, and my Masters of Divinity in Theology at a four year grad school, but claim not to be a theologian due to the fact that I find that human beings, when thinking about mysteries and the world around them, tend to make difficult the simple. Tend to take the basic and make them "advanced".
So, I consider myself to be one who prefers the simple rather than the difficult. And I have found through all of my research and studies of sin, and through all of the questions that I have fielded as a pastor in the Lutheran Church ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), that the topic of sin is much easier to explain to people than theologians are apt to do. Now please understand that this blog is a place where I can write down my ideas, my thoughts on the subject and in turn receive feedback and ideas from others. That I will try to remain biblical in my interpretation of sin and humanities relationship with God, and back up any ideas biblically. So, ladies and gentlemen, I am willing to accept constructive feedback and criticisms and questions that any of you might have on the subject or relating subjects of sin.
So my first question on the subject is this, what in so many words is the definition of sin? I looked the word sin up in Merriam-Webster dictionary and this is the definition that was listed: 1. a: an offense against religious or moral law b: an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible c: an often serious shortcoming : 2 a: transgression of the law of God b: a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God...What I see in this definition of sin is 95% human created confusion and 5% truth. The confusion? a: an offense against religious or moral law b: an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible c: an often serious shortcoming....The truth? a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God. You see, it's all about relationship...more to come.

Friday, April 10, 2009

A Theology of Sin

So, I have decided after much conversation with my wife and others to start blogging in hopes to eventually write a book on the topic of sin. Please check back from time to time and give me your thoughts and comments on my musings.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Through Christ Alone...

John 3:17

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.


Indeed! The Easter message of Grace. Alleluia! God's saving work, done on an implement of torture and death. The cross. That Christ should take on the sin of the world. Humanities, dark secrets. Humanities vicious self-centered acts. All thrust upon the Christ, the Pascal Lamb, the scapegoat. Oh cruel people, oh loving God. To put Christ to death for the sin of the people...for the people. I find it quite amazing...

Pastor Joel Martyn

Give Thanks...

Psalm 107:1-3

"O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south."


What wonderful words from the Psalmist. It reminds me that God wants to be in relationship with me. That God wants to be close to me. So much so, that God promises to gather us in from wherever we have strayed. From wherever we have wandered off too. In our hearts, our minds, our lifestyle...However we might have separated ourselves from God. So give thanks you people. Give thanks that the Creator values you. Give thanks that the Creator's steadfast love includes you. Give thanks that no matter where you go, God will be right besides you.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Grace: The Pure Gift That Only God Could Give

Ephesians 2:8-10
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."


There was a time in my life where grace was a very foreign concept. It was as if the idea of grace took whatever last bit of control that I had over my life away from me. But over time I began to realize the true gift that was involved here. A gift that was and is, completely undeserved. And the more I became aware of what it took to bestow that gift upon us, the more I realized that my need for control, over my life, over other's lives, over whatever I could, was adamantly contrary to who God is in Christ Jesus. And as I began to receive that gift of grace in Christ, I began to experience a true freedom. A freedom from the need to control...I could finally trust.....Faith.

Pastor Joel Martyn
Hope Lutheran Church of the Sierra

Saturday, March 14, 2009

A Gentle Jesus?...Maybe Not!

John 2:13-22

"The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken."

Who is this Jesus over turning table and kicking the money changers and animal sellers out of the temple? Where is our gentle Jesus? Where is the Jesus of whom we sing "Fairest Lord Jesus..."? Where is the passive gentle Jesus of our childhood? The simple answer is that the gentle Jesus whom we grew up with indeed crosses all boundaries. He breaks through all walls. Just when we are comfortable in our relationship with Christ, he changes things up. He never lets us go, but he isn't passive. He is an active Christ. An active leader. He understands the abomination that was happening within the temple of God. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and chief priests to make money off of their Adonai, His Abba...And Jesus breaks boundaries, he breaks walls. He makes a weapon. A whip. A bit unconventional for the Jesus we know from our childhood...A strong Jesus. A tough Jesus. A Jesus with passion and fervor and fire. And love...for you...and for me.

Pastor Joel Martyn
Hope Lutheran Church of the Sierra

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Face Time with God

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."


Lent is a strange journey. For many it’s the time after Fat Tuesday. For others it’s a time of denying yourself what you desire. For others it’s a time to remember. Remembering your mortality. Remembering who you belong to. Remembering what the price of love cost. The cross is a symbol of the power and love of God for God’s creation. The journey to the cross is a sacred journey. One fraught with a strange sense of awe at the power of the almighty. As you journey toward the cross this Lenten season, keep in mind the reason for the journey. A love so deep, so powerful, so beyond human comprehension….for you.

Gracious God, help us to be mindful of your cross. Thank you for the gift of love. Amen.

Rev. Joel Martyn
Hope Lutheran Church of the Sierra

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Face Time with God

1 Peter 3:18-22

"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him."

*
Any parent who has adopted a child knows the joy of bringing a new member into the family. There is joy in the heart of our Heavenly Father when someone is baptized into his family. Baptism is like adoption. All children, all people are orphans in a world of sin. We have all been orphaned outside of the family garden, Eden. Our pride and self centered rebellion against God prove that we are a sinful humanity. We are orphans in a dark world of sin. A world of shadow and confusion. And if it weren’t for the infinite love of God who desires to be in relationship with us, we would be lost. It is in Jesus Christ, the savior of humanity, that God was able to become like us in every respect. In so doing, the Son put away his divinity so that he might fully identify with the people t hat he wanted to make his family. He became like us, so that we might be able to know and understand the very Father who desires us to be his children. But there was a cost to be paid. The cost was the cross.
Holy God, let me be ever mindful of the depth of your love, a love so deep that it led to the cross. Amen

Rev. Joel Martyn


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Face Time with God

Face Time with God
A Daily Devotion by Rev. Joel Martyn

Psalm 25:1-10
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. ”
*
The cry of the psalmist is plain. It reaches to the heart of every person “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” In other words, God what do you want me to do? What direction do you want me to go?...in life, in love, in our jobs,… “Show me your path!!”, are words that I have said often enough in life, when it was not clear to me what God wanted me to do. So we cry out to our God for help, for clarity, for a sense of purpose and for a sense of love. Then we remember that our God, the psalmist’s God, is a loving God. A faithful God. A God who promises to forget the sins of our youth, our transgressions. A God who sacrificed everything, for the sake of humanity. To bring us back into his arms of love.

Holy God, thank you for teaching me to trust in you. For showing me my path and for walking with me. Be with me today as I face the world. Amen