God is Calling You

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

A Pentecost – 4 June 2017

Texts: Acts 2; Philippians 4:4-9 (Cecelia’s Confirmation verse)

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Cecelia has chosen a verse from Philippians 4 as her Confirmation verse, read a few minutes ago: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition present your requests to God." Whenever we look at a solitary Bible verse, it is helpful to look at the context of that verse. So, for some context of Philippians 4:6 –

Remember that this book was originally a letter, written by the Apostle Paul to a group of believers in Philippi. By the time Paul writes this letter, the Church in Philippi is undergoing some suffering as a community because of their belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Roman Empire is the pre-dominant ruling power, and absolute allegiance to the Roman emperor is the expectation. But, allegiance to the emperor is more than just saying a pledge – it’s a religion, so Christians in Philippi are being persecuted because they don’t worship the emperor, they worship Christ.

In addition to the suffering that the Philippians are enduring, Paul himself is writing this letter to them while in prison, so he himself is dealing with some pretty difficult circumstances when he writes to them.

So into this situation, and from his own difficult situation, Paul writes these words to the Philippians: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition present your requests to God."

It is one thing if Paul writes these words to them, and everyone is secure and happy in their faith. Having some of the background about the verse, it begins to take on a different significance. Paul writes to the Philippians from a place of endurance, knowing that they are also having to endure some things.

Last week, Cecelia came up here to work on her banner, and she brought her artwork with her. I offered to keep it in my office for safekeeping, and, Cecelia, we had no idea in that moment (when I asked you about keeping it in my office) how much of a witness that artwork would be for me over the next couple of days.

I wasn’t facing difficulties like Paul and the Philippians faced, however, I can tell you there was one point (following a challenging phone call) that I happened to look over and see this verse – and it spoke to me. It spoke directly into the situation I was facing in that moment – directly into my anxiety and stress – and it helped me focus on lifting my anxiety and stress to God in prayer. And several times over the next couple of days, I found myself pondering the words on your artwork. This message was a witness for me.

Even beyond the stresses of our day-to-day lives, we still live in anxious times. Maybe the names of countries and people in charge have changed since the First Century A.D. when Paul lived, but our world is filled with fear and stress, fear and stress that threaten our faith in a loving God.

But today is Pentecost, the day upon which we remember the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised the Spirit to his disciples – and on that first Pentecost, as they gathered, the Spirit descends upon them in a mighty way, granting them strength and power. And this Spirit is poured out on all kinds of people, just as the prophet Joel had said it would be: “…God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”

Which means, Cecelia, that God is calling you – but not only you – but you, and you, and you – God is calling all of us to proclaim God’s love and grace. All of us – young and old, and in the middle – all of us together are joined in this call of proclamation, and we are equipped by God’s Spirit for this work. It is the Spirit who empowers us, and we are not given that power only for our own sakes, but for the sake of this world that God loves. This world needs our witness to God’s love, this world needs our care in God’s name.

Today, you are affirming your baptismal faith. You were baptized – as many of us were – before you could speak for yourself, and so others took the vows for you. Today, you affirm those vows for yourself – promising a life of faith in which you live among God's faithful people, listen to the word of God and share in the Lord's supper, proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.

It’s a lot.

But – I promise you this – none of us is alone. Look around you – see your family and your friends, your pastor, and your church family – we are all here to walk with you. In a few minutes, when you come up to affirm your baptismal faith, you’ll kneel for prayer, and we will gather around you, surrounding you with our prayers and our love. Then, this congregation, representing the Body of Christ everywhere, will promise to support you and pray for you as our sister in Christ.

Never forget, too, that the Spirit of God – the same Spirit poured out on those first disciples way back when – that Spirit has been poured out on you, too. That Spirit has been poured out on all of us. Through the waters of baptism, and throughout our lives until today, and into tomorrow, and the next day – that Spirit is with us.

Thanks be to God for this gift. Amen.

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"Trust in God, trust also in me."

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Easter 5 – 14 May 2017

Text: John 14:1-14

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Hidden away in the heart of today’s gospel lesson is a message about relationship – specifically, the trust that is required in order for a relationship to exist. Today’s gospel lesson from John 14 is a part of what we call Jesus’ Farewell Discourse – a long speech (of sorts) that Jesus gives to his disciples before his arrest, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. By this point, Jesus has already told them that he will be killed and raised again, so in this discourse, he is trying to help his disciples see that they’re going to have to have some trust.

The word “believe” comes up a lot in the Gospel of John, but it doesn’t always mean what we think it does. When John talks about “believing” in Jesus, he isn’t talking about a head-belief. He’s talking more about a relationship that must exist. Belief in John has to do with trust. So when Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me,” that second part could very well also be rendered as, “Trust in God, trust also in me.”

So let’s back up for a second and look at the first part of what Jesus says here – “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

OK, Jesus, you got it.

As much as that seems like an unreasonable expectation for us, imagine how it must’ve come across to his disciples. Guess what happens in John 13 right before Jesus tells his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled?

Jesus tells Peter, “Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.”

Oh, and right before that is when Judas Iscariot leaves Jesus to betray him to the authorities.

So, into this emotionally challenging evening filled with betrayal and prediction of denial, Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

This statement of Jesus, then, is not exactly spoken into a time of certainty – a time in which the disciples would find it easy to trust God or, even, to trust Jesus. Rather, Jesus is speaking this word to them at one of the most challenging points, emotionally – and one of the most critical points in terms of his own life and ministry. Lest we think that Jesus speaks this as a platitude from a place of utter comfort and security – no, we have to look at all this context to see that Jesus says these words after being betrayed by one disciple and after predicting the denial of another.

Someone once said, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” The person who said this knew about trust – she knew about hard trust – she knew about trust that is worked out in difficult times. The person who said this was Holocaust survivor and Dutch resistance leader Corrie ten Boom.

Ten Boom and her family hid Jews and resistance workers in their home after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, making sure that these people were not only kept safe, but had ration coupons to buy food. The ten Boom family was arrested for their work and held in concentration camps.

Corrie was eventually released because of a clerical error, and she went back to taking in those who needed shelter – especially caring for the mentally disabled, who lived in fear of execution by the Nazis. After the war, she cared for the many refugees who emerged from the concentration camps – alive, but often ill and jobless, and through no fault of their own. She tended to the forgotten victims of the war – those whose lives were deeply impacted simply because of who they were when they were born.

All of this work was done out of her deep and abiding trust in God. “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” Words spoken by someone who knew better than most about dark tunnels and abiding in trust.

In whom do we place our trust?

When writing about the First Commandment in his Large Catechism, Martin Luther said that “[a]nything on which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your god.” But, as opposed to all the things in which we might be tempted to place our trust, Luther goes on to say that, instead, our hearts are to cling to God, to grasp ahold of God, so that we entrust our lives to God completely.

Even as we place our trust in God, sometimes our lives will make us question that trust. But today’s Gospel lesson contains good news for us, hidden in all of the questions and uncertainties expressed by Jesus’ own disciples. Why are these questions and uncertainties good news for us?

Because they show us that God can handle our questions and uncertainties.

In God’s house there are many dwelling places, Jesus says – a statement that is very much about the expansive love of God for us. God has room for us, and for our questions, too. Sometimes, the best way to learn is to ask a question. And really, our questions don’t demonstrate a lack of trust. If anything, questions are a show of trust: it’s easier to ask a question if we trust someone than if we don’t!

In whom do you place your trust?

Trust in God, who will still your troubled heart and who will never fail you. Amen.

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Trust in God above all things

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Lectionary 16, Year C – 17 July 2016

Text: Luke 10:38-46

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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The other day, I decided to work at home. I got some laundry going, and then I began working on Day Camp details. About the time that I had gotten to a stopping point on the Day Camp work, I heard the washing machine begin to sing – our washer and dryer sing when they are done – so the timing was perfect as I went to the laundry room to switch the laundry around and get another load going.

I settled back into work and when I reached my next stopping point, it was time to let out the dogs and eat some lunch. Done and done. I settled in to work on my sermon for today, with a dog on either side of me, and…there went the dryer, singing away. A few minutes later, the washer sang.

So, there I was, trying to focus on the word of the Lord – and yet the tasks of our household were distracting me. After about a minute and a half of inner wrestling, I decided to leave the laundry and to focus on the writing.

Today’s story from Luke tells us that Jesus is in the home of Martha, visiting her and her sister, Mary. The sisters’ activities are a study in contrast: Martha buzzes around, completing many tasks of hospitality - tasks that are required in order to keep her household running smoothly and provide a welcoming environment for guests. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to him.

Luke tells us that Martha is distracted away from Jesus by her many tasks, so much so that she eventually tries to get Jesus to get Mary to help her. “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” Martha says to Jesus. “Tell her to help me.”

Unfortunately, Martha has turned her focus away from Jesus, and onto herself and her stress about getting things done. Mary, meanwhile, sits at Jesus’ feet, completely focused on him – not worried, not stressed. Jesus commends Mary’s behavior as the “better part.”

The more time I spend with this story of Martha and Mary, the more I realize that while we may tend one way or another, we are all actually some of both. We have two different characters – two different sisters - and so this story has often been used to describe two different types of people: the Marthas who are perpetually busy and getting things done; and the Marys who are the contemplatives, the ones who listen and learn.

But rather than thinking of some people as always being Marthas and other people as always being Marys, I think it is good to see that we are each called to service and hospitality, but we are also each called to take the time to be present with Jesus, listening for whatever it is that God may be trying to tell us.

I must admit that every time I read this story, I get a little annoyed with Jesus because I think of all things that I need to get done: laundry or sermon writing or a community event or family obligations or dirty dishes – my to-do lists can go on and on, both at home and at work, and I’m sure yours can, too. When I think about my own to-do list, I can really relate to Martha.

However, there are times when I relate to Mary, too. There are times when I shut down the list for a while, and I sit in quiet, and I listen for the voice of God.

The struggle for me lies in the in between times – the times in which I feel torn: I am overwhelmed by the real tasks of the world around me, and yet I have the desire to be present with Jesus, listening for his voice. And then there also are times – especially recently – in which the sadness of this world feels like too great of a burden to bear.

And yet this story of Martha and Mary is ultimately a story about trusting in God above all things. In her busy-ness, Martha is doing what is expected of her – she is providing hospitality for her guest. In saying that Mary has chosen the better part, Jesus is inviting Martha to give up her worries and to focus on him. And so we learn that whether we are caught up in busy-ness or taking the time to listen, we are called to trust in God.

Isn’t this a good reminder for all of us – that reminder to trust in God, above all else?

This week, we have the blessing to serve as hosts to children from our community during our annual week of Day Camp. There are many hours of hard work that have gone into preparing for this week, and there will be many hours of hard work this week during the camp. During these busy times, it is easy to be sucked into the many tasks, and to lose sight of Jesus altogether. Whether you are helping with Day Camp or not, you have your own lists to keep you busy and distracted, and you have your own burdens to bear.

But it is the grace of God that allows us to be in relationship with God, and it is this relationship with God that sustains us. I hope and pray that, whatever this week may bring, we can each take time to be present with Jesus for a while, listening to his voice.

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, but always to your glory and the welfare of your people, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart...

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Reformation Sunday and Confirmation 

Text:s Proverbs 3:1-6 (includes Confirmation verses) and Psalm 46

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Grace and peace are yours, from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’d like you to think back to when you were a child or a teenager and try to remember words of wisdom that your elders gave you. What were some of those things…?

The book of Proverbs is basically a collection of all these kinds of pieces of wisdom from others - little snippets of advice from our elders – thirty-one chapters’ worth. Even though Proverbs is attributed to Solomon, most scholars now believe that this book actually contains the collected wisdom from hundreds of years, from different sources. So this book is similar to what we’d have if we collected all the pieces of wisdom that we shared a few moments ago…[such as…whatever you thought of!]

Much of the book of Proverbs is dedicated to educating youths, specifically, in the ways of following God (although the book makes it clear that this is good wisdom for anyone to follow – not just young people). Today’s lesson begins with this resounding call: “My child, do not forget my teaching but let your heart keep my commandments…” and when the child protested or rolled his or her eyes, the writer continued, “for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.”

In other words, it is good for us to listen to those who are wiser than we are because we can learn from them. Sometimes younger people listen to older people, and sometimes older people listen to younger people. Words of wisdom can come from almost any age, and from places that we least expect it. The book of Proverbs wants us to seek out wisdom – to seek it out and to find it and to listen to it.

The beauty of a community like a church is that we have different generations gathered under the same roof. It is in learning from others that we have lives that are abundant.

It is appropriate that Lynnlea has chosen two of the verses read earlier as her Confirmation verses: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”[1] Ringing through the ages, over thousands of years, is the wisdom that rings out to us today: that we should trust in God at all times, in every way.

If only it were that simple! Because we don’t always trust God at all times and in every way. We often trust our own insights, and our own ways. We often think of God as some sort of holy vending machine, dispensing whatever we want or whatever we think is best. When we get the wrong thing, we begin to question and we begin to doubt. We can appear faithless. We can even become faithless.

But instead of becoming faithless, I invite us to try another way: the way of trusting God, even when we don’t see what God is up to. I invite us to use all of our questions and all of our doubts as a way of seeking out what God is up to in our lives.

Sometimes, when I am up to here with my questions and doubts, they begin to swirl around my head, like I am trapped in some sort of whirlpool. It is at that point when I hear God say, “Be still, and know that I am God,” which is from our psalm today. “Be still and know that I am God,” which can also be translated as “Stop!” or “Be quiet! and know that I am God.”

God is God – and throughout time, God has shown himself to be interested in loving relationship with us, not as the dispenser of all things good, bad, and in between, but as one who dwells with us. One who is present with us in the good, the bad, and the in between.

This loving relationship between us and God is a tremendous gift. Many of you have heard me say before: that when we are baptized, we are marked as Christ’s own forever. This is the baptismal faith which Lynnlea is reaffirming this morning; this is the baptismal faith which has held her throughout her life, and will continue to hold her as she gets older. It is the faith that holds all of us. Through times of questions and doubts, through times of certainty and deep faith, God is with us.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”

Amen.

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[1] Proverbs 3:5-6