“I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:7)
Recently, I finally broke down and bought a smart phone. After eight years with my old phone, it was sadly necessary and overdue. One of its many features is the ability to play a musical alarm. Recalling my past joyful experiences with the Community of Taizé as well as the many prayers shared between All Souls Episcopal and Messiah Lutheran, I immediately thought to make a Taizé chant my alarm tone. Of all the many choices available, I selected Psalite Deo (Praise God), based on Psalm 118. [Listen below]
What a blessing it has proven to have my first conscious thoughts each day be of God’s love and the great things done and being done in my life. “This is the day the Lord has made” with all its opportunities. “Sing a new song to the Lord for all the wonders God has done.” It is another day for me to give thanks and praise with all the earth. “Sing out for joy!” No matter what happens in this day, “I shall not die but live!” “For God’s love endures forever.” “Alleluia! Alleluia!”
With such affirmations thrust upon my mind and heart, my day begins somehow differently than before. I recognize once again that God is always doing something new in my life. No matter the adversity laying before me in wait, I need not be afraid. It is truly time for me to awake from my slumber and witness to the new, joyful reality of the Risen Christ in my life.
In our Lenten class on grief, I mentioned that life can often seem like a number of “little deaths” with its many trials and losses. Yet as we might rightly grieve, we should never forget that through Jesus we have access to an abundant life. Our “little deaths” will be used by God to show love for us. Blessing will surely come, and so, we can live in hope. We are called as a resurrected people where we trust God is doing new and wonderful things in and through our lives. We need not get stuck in our doubts and darkness. We can instead embrace the resurrection dawning in our lives.
“In my distress, I called to the Lord. God heard my voice and set me free. God is my strength. God is my song.” How shall I proclaim this Good News? How can I not? It is humbling to think that our extraordinary God is breaking into our ordinary lives in such a joyful, intimate way.
Yes, we have access to God through the Risen Christ. The tomb is empty. Let us not linger there, but instead run and tell all we know through word and deed. Jesus is Risen! He is risen indeed! A new song and new life lie before us.
In thanksgiving, I want to live for him and those he entrusts to our care. I intend to lift my voice to the Lord for he is surely good, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 118). I pray your life will join mine and the lives of all the saints in singing praises to God forever.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37)
As we approach another Lenten season, I see barren farm fields around us. In the midst of winter, they don’t look like much. They are tired and seem spent. Yet with the right amount of gifts from God (water and nutrients) as well as care from the farmer (tilling, planting, weeding, etc.), these same fields will become abundant signs of life as we enter spring.
This is much as our Lent should be. We intentionally cooperate with the grace of God to promote and nurture life and love in the world. Following chosen disciplines and special worship or by making extra efforts of charity and service, we tend to the plot of land God has given us. We till and plant (reflecting on our lives, confessing our sin, and turning with expectation toward God’s promises). We weed (repent) and grow (renew). This sacred process is not just for us but also for our neighbor as we seek to share the love and grace we ourselves receive.
Yes, as we enter Lent, we return once again to the mission fields. We seek to reconnect to Christ and one another. What will you do to cooperate with God’s grace and nurture new life? Certainly, Jesus offers us his love freely, and so we could just watch and wait for spiritual growth. Yet as good farmers know, seeds of faith grow better with intentional love rather than lukewarm care.
Grace abounds, but Jesus invites all of us to roll up our sleeves and grow with God this Lent. Come join Jesus in the fields before us and witness the miracles God can do through your life and love.
Christ’s peace,
Pastor Lou
This post was originally published in Messiah Lutheran Church and School’s newsletter, The Messenger (February 2015).
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
This fall has seen a flurry of activity at Messiah: new audio-visual assets installed in the sanctuary; a very successful and well attended effort during God’s Work – Our Hands Day; a growing craft fair and pet blessing; wonderful and numerous contacts made at the county’s community fellowship festival; and of course an attention getting but very helpful effort by Kevin Hendrickson and our Virginia Synod team at Over the Edge for Special Olympics. I could make a longer list if I cared to do so. In short though, it has been a busy but productive time, and it couldn’t have happened without your support. I give thanks to you and our God for all the mighty things that God has accomplished through our small church family and its shared ministry.
As we continue into November, things will seem only to get busier. I would encourage all of us (me included) to not get lost in the hustle and bustle. Turn toward God and his church instead. Remember we were created to be human beings, not human doers. God reminds us, “Be still and no that I am God” (Palm 46:10). Let’s take time to reconnect with friends and family, as well as our family of faith. Let’s take time to be together and to rejoice in the love that we share. If you have been away, we invite you to come back and join our celebrations. Let’s give thanks together.
The truth remains, we need one another, and the world needs our witness. As Jesus reminds us, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there” (Matthew 18:19-20). Yet also we are told that we proclaim the risen Christ through our gatherings, service and celebrations. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Jesus needs to be invited into our lives and thus made manifest in the world. Do you already sense his presence, or is he perhaps inviting you to seek him out? Either way, we’ll find our place at his table when we live as church together.
I pray that the holiday season ahead serves to bless you to be a blessing to your family, your congregation, and the world. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good; his love endures forever. His love is at work in you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Lou
This post was originally published in Messiah Lutheran Church and School’s newsletter, The Messenger (November 2014).
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)
It is harvest time again! After a milder summer with a good amount of rain, I see many gardens overflowing. Nearly a ton of fresh vegetables have been harvested in All Souls’ community garden alone to feed our hungry neighbors. More is likely to be harvested throughout September. We are blessed to share in that effort as well as that of our community food pantry, MCEF.
Yet, we have neighbors who hunger for much more than food. In the upcoming months, we’ll need to feed the souls of those participating in worship, as well as others longing for the word of God through our Christian formation programs and witness. We’ll be asked to help Hanover Habitat in its mission to provide affordable, quality homes to our neighbors. We’ll seek to help the local Gideon’s comfort and enrich travelers, military members and others by providing Bibles. We’ll be feeding the intellect, heads, hearts and stomachs of our preschool and after school students. We’ll be actively preparing our house of faith to better welcome those with physical and intellectual disabilities. At times, we’ll be visiting the sick, suffering and dying. At other times, we’ll celebrate God’s creation through arts and crafts as well as our pets. At all times, we’ll continue to walk with our homeless brothers and sisters – especially those in our congregation – toward greater stability and renewal. This is just a short list of the harvest our shared ministry yields all year long. As busy as it may get, we are asked by Jesus to love one another, so we’ll plan to have some fun together too.
I once saw a sign that said, “Church is a verb.” As a past English major, I can’t strictly agree with that, but I do agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. We are the church. We were created to be living, growing beings who share a living, growing faith in active community. We are God’s hands and feet, and our faces shine upon others with the love of God.
If you have been away, distracted, or just plain unavailable, think about returning once again to the mission field with us. We invite you to worship, bible study, prayer and service, but I think you’ll find it filled with fellowship and fun. Your life will be enriched along with the lives of others. It is as scripture tells us, “Faith without works is dead.” Instead, Jesus’ desires to offer us an abundant life; one so full of love that it overflows to bless the lives of others. Even our most humble attempts to share faith, hope and love will even be used to usher in the kingdom of God.
Trust that our labor together will not be in vain, for it is God who sends us. Why not come, taste and see? Why not have your vision and sense of family and purpose renewed? Welcome back to another year at Messiah Lutheran! Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Learn about upcoming events and more at mlcas.org or our news pages. (Be sure to check out the “more news” tab for hot off the press information.)
Originally submitted for Messiah Lutheran’s newsletter, The Messenger (September 2014).
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation. This post was first published in The Messenger, the newsletter of Messiah Lutheran Church (June 2014).
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s gracewith me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. (Philippians 1:6-7)
We members of Messiah often face some tough days. This past week, I have had conversations with brothers and sisters facing serious disease, family discord, financial difficulties, homelessness, and more. Institutionally, our old van broke down again at the cost of over $1000. For a small congregation, there is a lot going on here, and not all of it seems good.
Yet amidst all of this, we keep coming back and reaching outward. Why? We have been blessed to live an abundant life found in hope. This isn’t the hope of our secular world – as when we hope to win the lottery and magically have our financial (and other?) problems drift away. It is a hope found only in the reality of Pentecost.
The Spirit is moving in, around and through us. It offers us unexpected opportunities and roots us in Christ’s victory. There is an understanding and expectation that God is doing something here, and that although bad things will happen, God is always good. So although we might at times feel like we are in prison with Paul, we share similar hearts and expect the same wonderful destiny.
Rather than relying on any strategic planning and committees (although these can be helpful), we surrender to the Spirit. We are flexible because we know that we are reeds that God might allow to bend but not break (Isa. 42:3). We are courageous and generous in our love for our neighbor and one another because we believe God won’t allow us to be tempted beyond our abilities. Yet if it seems we are about to fail or give up, scripture goes on to say, it is God who will provide us a way out (1 Cor. 10:13). We are strong because despite any quirkiness, shortcomings or disagreements, our abilities or challenges, we strive to live out our baptismal covenant to love and forgive one another as Jesus loved us first (John 13:34). We don’t obsess about mistakes and program challenges, nor do we fret about political differences. We meet people and embrace them as they are (2 Tim. 2:23-26; Rom. 12:9-21; Gal. 3:28). We can come to our assembly without makeup or dressed to the nines because we know we are welcomed, known, and loved here (Mark 9:36-37). I have witnessed how we live as family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and I and others are encouraged and inspired to believe in Christ all the more.
Yes, there are many larger, well healed congregations on our street and in our community doing wonderful things. (The Spirit is at work there too.) Yet, we pass those by to share in a call to this unique spiritual home called Messiah Lutheran. It is a place where both our needs and our talents fit into and find purpose. As brothers and sisters, we don’t give up or turn away when life gets hard. Instead, we dig in and get to work defending and confirming the Gospel. We hold on tight to one another and Christ to face our problems together and overcome. We do so trusting the Spirit is upon us.
Tough times will come and go, but the love we share – Christ’s love for us – will last forever. All things remain possible. All is and will be well.
Pastor Lou
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation. This post was first published in The Messenger, the newsletter of Messiah Lutheran Church (June 2014).
“O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8
Ironically a time commonly associated with fasting, Lent can prove a time of refreshment and renewal. Through intentionally refocusing our faith, seeking out spiritual disciplines, service, and yes, even simple food and fellowship together, we can grow as children of God and be used to build Christ’s church.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus first invites his followers, “Come and see.” To walk with him and share his life, that’s where we will come to know him – and perhaps ourselves and our purpose – all the more. Rooted in faith, we often grow by doing. When Jesus calls himself the living water or bread of life, you’ll also read that Jesus invites all to come to him, to taste and see, so that we will never hunger and thirst again.
Certainly, faith in Christ alone saves us, but his intention is for an active, communal faith that blesses us and others. It is a faith that calls us to assemble regularly to feast on his Word, share our gifts to honor God as well as for the good of others, and ultimately “remember” him and meet him; receiving his body and blood as a means of grace through his holy supper. This prepares and empowers us to go back out into the world, where we come to him in the lost, lonely, sick and dying. We become the vessels which carry his living water and bread of life, and yet, we often (if not always) find ourselves blessed more by such compassion than those we serve.
At home or away, we can always take private moments of prayer and meditation, but we are and remain the body of Christ. Jesus doesn’t want us to go through this life alone. Faith in Christ implies relationship with God, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and all our neighbors. For such love always feeds our lives, and Jesus seeks to love us always.
Yet, will we come to the feast being offered us? Do you feel you have been too busy laboring for your daily bread, running after things that don’t last, or beat up by the world, empty or alone? Perhaps you realize you haven’t loved Jesus as you should – that you are human? Well, don’t just sit there. I encourage you to come join your local family of faith. Come, taste and see. Rediscover the love that you were always meant to share.
Everyone is invited to eat, drink and be merry with Christ and his church this Lent, for “The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (Psalm 34:22). That’s surely something to celebrate with our lives.
Peace,
Pastor Lou
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.(John 15:4-5; emphasis mine)
In Virginia, we are surrounded by a number of vineyards and wineries. Over the years, I have visited many and learned of the great efforts and loving, intentional care needed to help the plants prove fruitful. It is no accident that in Jesus’ own day without our modern agricultural skills Jesus spoke about our faith life in terms of a vineyard. Many people would have been familiar with them and the intensive work and oversight associated with them. The image of vineyard was common to Old Testament writings signifying safety, abundance, the people of Israel, as well as God’s harvest. Thus, Jesus used that same imagery, and bread and wine would become part of the sacraments Jesus would leave us; means of God’s grace.
Yet in John 15, Christ’s believers are invited to become intimately part of the vineyard. He is the vine, and we are the branches. His word and the gift of faith have already made us worthy to reside there. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is reported to use the Greek word for abide. It signifies that we are to do more than just stay with him. “Abide” (meinate) in John is used over and over to imply much more. Life springs from, stems from, arises from this relationship; a relationship that begins to bear fruit as soon as we say, “We believe.” God dwells in us, and the love which is God wants to grow and expand to fully bless us and others with a love that overflows. It is an image of intimacy, relationship, and abundance.
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is most certainly true. Yet, for all those that grow tired from long hours at work, for those fatigued from dealing with strife or illness, for all those who hunger and thirst because of anything amiss in their life including sin, please remember the abundance Christ speaks of rarely if ever just grows on its own. Ultimately, it is a gift of the Spirit dwelling within our hearts, yet it helps for us to be intentional about our relationship with Jesus and his church. We must accept and cooperate with the grace offered us, for relationships deepen and mature over time shared with one another. So, all of us need to spend time together in worship, study, fellowship, and service. At home and work, we are richly blessed by caring for our own spiritual, emotional, and material needs, but even more blessed as we seek to care for and share faith with others.
These days, “Christian formation” is the phrase often bandied about for educational programs of the church. Like a potter with clay, God shapes our lives and future through such active, intentional times together. Perhaps it could rightly be called abiding in Jesus – a supernatural process of growth and new life rooted in Jesus while connecting us to one another. Yet such formation is ongoing. All we do and experience can become part of the process. Abiding in Jesus takes us out of the home, classroom, and sanctuary and boldly into the world!
Do you abide in Jesus? Does Jesus abide in you? If you have faith at any level, do not doubt that this is so. You are saved. Still, Jesus said he came that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Nurturing our faith and church, the days ahead might not necessarily be easy, but they can prove more fruitful – filled with Christ’s joy, peace and love.
Dare respond to his many invitations, and watch grace grow. “Abide in me. Follow me. Come, taste and see.”
Peace,
Pastor Lou
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
Thanks to all those who helped Messiah Lutheran Church and School celebrate our 45th anniversary. I created the above video to present during our worship service to help us reflect on our past, present and future together. It includes many (but not all) of our partners in ministry. For a small church, you’ll see once again that we have a long and loving reach! It is not by accident a Thrivent loan representative remarked that we do more than many congregations ten times our size.
At Messiah Lutheran, we live out many signs of discipleship: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and those at risk, meeting the marginalized and loving them as they are. Our financial stewardship has increased each year (faster than our growing membership), and our volunteering and lay leadership at our congregation and in the community has increased even more so. We have many new partners and now friends in ministry that help us reach beyond Hanover County to the world. Firmly Lutheran, we open our hearts to work with other Christians as part of one universal church, the family of God.
Yet we aren’t just busy bodies. Our activities, programs, wealth, size or location don’t make us who we are. In fact, we sometimes “lack” in those areas by standards of the world. No, we seek to act in response to our greatest gifts from God – hope, faith and love – and that makes all the difference. It defines us, shapes us and is the source of our ultimate significance. It is what makes so many notice our small little church in Mechanicsville as something “different.”
Over six years ago, the love I saw you have for one another attracted me to say yes to the offer of a call as your pastor. It is your love, a reflection of Christ’s own, that inspires me still. It is what amazes so many I meet, and I see it changing the world a relationship at a time. God’s doing something here. Christ is being made known.
Sure we aren’t perfect, and we can always do better. A small church that seriously struggles at times, we have Jesus and we have each other. That’s more than enough, and so we keep on discipling…together…no matter what.
As my friend from the Congo wrote, “Glory be to God for his faithfulness, happy celebration to everyone at the Messiah Lutheran Church and School.” Indeed, it is God’s faithfulness that invited us to be church together and made our celebration possible. Thanks for letting me walk with you. It is my honor, privilege and joy.
Pastor Lou Christ the King Sunday November 24, 2013
(I hope you enjoy the video. Please feel free to share this video with your family and friends.)
As Thanksgiving approaches, I find a favorite movie has begun playing on television over and over again, Miracle on 34th Street. This year, I have been reminded that miracles can happen over and over again in real life as well – whenever people choose to love one another as Jesus asked.
This past All Saints Sunday, I was given permission to share a sacred story. It was a tale of a suffering saint, not from long ago, but of one in our midst. Our sister in Christ, Rachel[i], a long-time member of our congregation, a baptized and believing child of God, was in desperate need. She was alone, fighting mental illness, and at risk of becoming homeless.
Rachel is well known to many if not all in our congregation. She has been a congregational member since the 1990s, although she has attended on and off since that time. Of late, she has especially stood out. Visibly, she has grown weaker and distant. Flowing conversations have become more and more difficult. Recently, one might only be answered with a short phrase or a single word. Due to medical issues, she is often seen getting up and down during our worship – going outside the sanctuary to the rest room or for water – and then returning. To be frank, her demeanor, appearance and behaviors could easily put one off or prove annoying.
This situation is sadly not unusual. She shares a story with many who are without family and suffering from mental illness. It is a story that began perhaps before birth, as her mother is said to have suffered from both mental illness and addiction. (Such issues are believed by some to often be partly genetic.) Yet, Rachel also reportedly suffered severe abuse in her original home from others who should have loved her. It is quite a testimony to her tenacity and gifts that she escaped that environment to become a valued employee where she worked and love a family of her own.
Still like many with similar histories, married life proved a challenge. When her husband allegedly became abusive, she decided to divorce him and start again. Unfortunately, he was able to use her mental condition and lack of financial means against her. She lost her children to his custody, and the now adult children – seemingly not understanding mental illness nor family systems – continue to blame her for the dissolution of their family. There is no meaningful contact or support.
Although she had tried hard to provide for herself and for her children, life seemed to work against her as new problems and challenges arouse time and time again. With this, her mental illness seemingly began to take control of her life. She had lost family, and she now lost friends. She eventually lost her job. Initially, a neighboring family tried to help her, but they, too, ran into problems of their own in the difficult economy. They couldn’t help her any longer.
All along, members of our congregation were walking beside Rachel. Certainly, I offered pastoral care and counseling. On top of that (if not more importantly), she received help with food, shelter, and rides. People tried to be patient with her and relate to her; always welcoming her into our assembly. Several sought to be like family to her inviting her to share in holidays and celebrations in their home. Despite our congregation’s current financial challenges[ii] and being a relatively small congregation[iii] for our area, our council managed to quietly pay for her room for several months while she was staying with her neighbors. We also provided assistance with necessities. Our president captured the council’s collective feeling when he said, “She’s been our sister in Christ when it was easy and times were good. We can’t pretend she isn’t our sister now when it is hard. We need to help her.”
Indeed, Rachel is not her mental illness. She is the person who always volunteers to help others, especially children. She heard of a need for children’s sandals and shoes overseas from a veteran she knew, so she initiated a collection through our church. Hundreds of youth in Afghanistan benefited. She is always ready to help us with property needs, vacation bible school, or mission work despite her current limitations. She is one who walks miles to join us for worship or events if she cannot get a ride. She insists on donating money for our shared ministry even when she has little and is told to use it for her own needs. As another person who knew her well said, “Some people love this church, but Rachel LOVES this church. It is her family.” Rachel is our sister, Christ’s sheep, and remains a beloved part of our family of faith.
As with family, Rachel had given the local social services permission to cooperate with me in meeting her needs, but we were confounded as to what could be done when Rachel finally became homeless. The local county only had funds for short-term housing (2 weeks), and our congregation struggled to find the money to pay the discounted rent with her neighbors never mind at a hotel or apartment. It appeared Rachel would be moved into the sometimes rough Richmond homeless shelter system. This put her at further risk of being far removed from her church family, being set back and delayed in her disability claim, and starting anew with a different social worker in an overtaxed, urban environment.
As I pondered this situation, I recognized the great challenge before us to get the money we would initially need to care for Rachel – $2500 for the first few months of housing using the county’s vendor. It was the safest place, easiest transition, and best rate we could hope for, and yet we don’t have that kind of money lying around. As I prayed about it, it struck me that perhaps I was looking at this problem the wrong way. Yes, it is an enormous problem in many respects, but what if we just tried to address the need bit by bit, step by step, and day by day? We could have a special appeal in our church and ask friends in the greater community to help Rachel. If we just looked for fifty people to offer fifty dollars (about the cost of a family eating out in many cases or to attend a family outing), that could cover the initial need. For those who couldn’t give, they would be asked to pray, help Rachel in concrete ways when possible, and welcome her in our assembly.
Symbolically, fifty is a number of freedom and new life, and that is what we want for Rachel. Leviticus 25 describes a Year of Jubilee when debts were to be forgiven, forced servitude was ended, and people began fresh. We now had a chance to help free one of our own sisters in faith – just 50 people and $50 at a time. We would call it our 50 X 50 Campaign, multiplying the love we ourselves had received as individuals from Christ and assuring Rachel that she is not alone.
Announcing this at worship on All Saints Sunday, I was nervous as to how the congregation would respond. I was heavy in my heart because I knew well what was at stake. In past police, hospice care, and mission work with at risk youth in South Dakota, I carried too many memories of those who didn’t make it through such times. Yet our hope is in a God of steadfast love. It is a love of miraculous, healing power that often works through the lives of ordinary people in unexpected ways.
So, I took the risk and made the appeal trusting that “all things work for the good of those that love God,” and God answered through his Holy People. Despite our attendance being lower than average that morning[iv], over $4000 was raised to help Rachel. We have never collected that much money in any appeal that fast before, and I dare say, never for anything as important. Since then, money is still coming in. In a world where too many people wonder if anyone could love them as they are, Jesus spoke love to Rachel that morning. Through us, he is still speaking.
Over the past few weeks in worship, we heard once again about the Beatitudes and how we should love one another. We were urged that we should be patient with and support the weak. We were reminded – both Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians alike – that saints are needed for earth and not just for heaven. I can’t say how this particular sacred story about Rachel will end in the immediate future, but I know Jesus and his people are in it for the duration. We have to be, because that’s exactly the way Jesus asks it to be.
As church, we should never focus on how weak we are or the size of any challenge ahead of us. We just need to seek to love, and Jesus will do the rest. Thus, we are told that we can rejoice and do all things through Christ who strengthens us – even miracles – one relationship at a time…even from a small, old building on Atlee Road.
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As Rachel’s needs are long-term and many others’ suffer as she does, donations are still being accepted for our benevolence and charitable work. If you would like to help, please send your tax deductible donation (noting “50 X 50” on the memo line) to:
Messiah Lutheran Church and School 8154 Atlee Rd. Mechanicsville, VA 23111
In hindsight, the above story is reminiscent of this song. Originally written at the time of the recent “Great Recession”, it reminds us all to love one another and boldly be ambassadors for Christ. We are never truly alone (Matt. 28:20)! Enjoy…
[i] For the sake of this public message, the woman’s name has been changed to provide for some privacy. It is a story shared with permission.
[ii] Although our financial situation has improved these past few years, it is still not unusual for us to struggle just to pay bills some months.
[iii] Messiah’s average attendance is about 95 with a bit over 200 members.
[iv] Attendance was in the mid-80s on November 3, 2013.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
How can we properly give thanks to God? According to Paul’s letter to the community of faith in Thessalonica (Thessaloníki), it isn’t just by our words alone. As his letter comes to a close, Paul reminds the local congregation that Jesus is coming. We don’t know when, but we are asked to be prepared to welcome him. We are to remain sober, “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet,” and all the while trusting that he will remain true to all his promises.
In other words, yes, we will share in Christ’s ultimate victory through faith, but we aren’t to be lazy while we wait for it. Our salvation isn’t just about our needs and our feelings. We are part of a much bigger, cosmic battle and purpose where we are to live – and yes, in some ways die – for one another: “encourage one another and build each other up”; “acknowledge those who work hard among you,” loving them and respecting their call to leadership; “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” It might require putting our needs behind the needs of others. We might need to forgive someone who hurt us or be gentle in our reproach. Ultimately, we are to humbly love and serve one another and all those entrusted to our care. That can be hard!
Yet actively discerning our call from Christ, we are empowered to go forward in confidence. Victory is assured. We respond in thanksgiving by seeking to follow his Holy Spirit wherever it leads, no matter the risk or cost. Our Christian lives prove to be a great and noble effort based solely upon the love of our God and never our own legacy. We give thanks by being more than “country club” church members. We are to live actively as Christ’s disciples and saints, for by grace through faith that is exactly who we are.
So, yes I give thanks in prayer for all that we have shared and accomplished these past five years together at Messiah. I give thanks for our wonderful shared legacy of forty-five years serving Mechanicsville, Hanover County, and beyond. I remain thankful for all the saints in my own time and before who continue to inspire me. Yet most of all, I rejoice with you in our call to shared life and ministry; one that might prove hard at times but always consists of a future full of hope. It is together as church where we find the abundant life that Jesus promised us, and I am grateful for living as church with you.
This life of discipleship is Christ’s way, leading us and all the saints to the eternal feast of thanksgiving yet to come. To help celebrate, I invite all of us to reflect upon how we can live out Messiah’s mission more fully, “To share the good news of Jesus Christ and to invite all to join us in faith, worship, and service,” for there always remains room at Christ’s table.
Christ’s peace be with you always. I send you my prayers for a blessed Thanksgiving. Please pray for Kristine and me as well.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Lou
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this article are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
Husband, Pastor, Law Enforcement Chaplain, and member of the Clerical Errors (aka "The Three Priests"), I'm sharing my two cents with anyone who cares...
You can also find me on social media as Loudluthrn (Lou-d-Luthrn or Lou the Lutheran). It is a moniker given me while attending a Presbyterian Seminary, but I'm a loud and proud Lutheran too (just not too loud and proud, mind you).
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