Fear, anger, hate, suffering

path to the darksideThus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the LORD.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:5-8, NRSV)

A tree planted by water does not die, but sends it’s roots out to feed on the water from the stream…

Cursed those and dying trees are those who trust in themselves or others.

When we turn in on ourselves. That is when our hearts move away from God.

We can see in the quote from Yoda, that path to our demise and following the darkness is a slow spiraling one.

We look into our selves and fear the world around us.

That leads us to anger over the things we can not control.

Anger leads to hate, hating those things that will not bend to our whims.

And hate leads to suffering…

So don’t be Anakin, but follow the light, and plant yourself where you can abide in Jesus.

good tree

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20, NRSV)

You will know a tree by its fruit.

And yes you can tell an apple tree because it will only produce apples. And a pear tree will only produce pears.

You won’t see oranges growing on a banana tree.

But are all of our actions good?

We as Lutherans believe we are both saint and sinner. We do both good and bad things.

So is it easy to tell the wolf in sheep’s clothing human?

Now it is true that you can tell a lot about a person from their actions. More how do you act the 167 hours you are not in worship? Do you act the same in the congregational building as you do outside of it?

Your nature shines through, and if you let Jesus in, He will help you produce good fruit.

fruit

may the holy spirit be with youNow John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:4-10, NRSV)

As I read this after the text from John 15 from yesterday. The connection between the 2 is bearing fruit and abiding in Jesus.

But as I read this I had to stop for a moment and think, was John the first rendition of a Wookie? Wearing camel’s hair, and a leather belt. Now he was wearing the belt around his waist, and Wookies wear them as sashes… So there is a similar look I am thinking. Or maybe John just looked like a fruit!

But here is the thing. People were not afraid of what he looked like. In fact I think the author of Matthew tells us this to paint the picture for us, that John was rooted in Jesus, and because of that no one noticed how different he was. They listened to his message and came to be baptized.

Even the religious leaders were checking him out. They must had heard about the powerful preaching going on, so they came too.

So be connected to Jesus and don’t worry about what the world thinks about you.

And may the Holy Spirit be with you always!

abide

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 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. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (John 15:1-8, NRSV)

I read this passage again this year, and this time I was struck by the word abide…

“Abide in me as I abide in you.” Is how verse 4 starts. And in the Greek we have the word μενω 7 times in verses 4 – 7. (3 times in verse 4, once in 5 and 6 and 2 times in 7) It is used once in every verse. Yes you will tell me if you look at it, the word abide is in there 8 times. Yes in the English translations we have the word appears 8 times for it to make more sense. But actually this first part of verse 4 only has the word once. A better translation of “Abide in me as I abide in you.” is “Abide in me as I am in you.”

And that is the point here.

We are to abide in Jesus.

We are to stay in Jesus.

We are to trust in Jesus.

We are to depend on Jesus.

You see Jesus is telling His disciples that they are all intertwined and support each other, but they are only dependent on Him. The image of the vine is a beautiful one, and we can assume Jesus was walking with His disciples through a vineyard as He was telling them this.

You see a mature vine with branches is a wonderful living thing. The branches are all intertwined and they support each other, however the branches are not dependent on the other branches for survival, for that they need to vine. And the branches don’t decide who is not producing fruit and get cut away, or who need a snip here or there to help them produce more fruit, that is the gardener or the vine dresser.

And the thing we have to remember is even when we abide in the vine, we still get pruned. We still get cut back, because uncontrolled growth is not good and the vine dresser knows what is best for the branches.

So stay, remain, live in Christ as He is in you! And don’t worry about the other branches, just support them in their life in the vine, and rest in His grace.

go astray

going-astrayO come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.” Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.” (Psalm 95, NRSV)

Do not let your hearts go astray.

We are the sheep of His hand, and He is our shepherd.

If we only listen and follow His rod and staff, His direction for our lives, we will be led to streams of living water and abundance.

We must listen to His voice and not try to go astray from His hand.

Heed the warning and do not go astray. Listen to His voice and let your worship be of Him.

What is the church?

Is the church the building we gather in at 1253 County Road J?

Is the church what we come to every Sunday for worship?

Is the church the leadership?

Is the church the people?

Church is one of those words we use to mean many different things depending on the context in which we use it. We use it for many different things, and sometimes use it in places where it really doesn’t fit, but we do it any how.

The council is reading a book this year called Frogs Without Legs Can’t Hear by David W. Anderson and Paul Hill. Last month’s chapter was on congregation and home a partnership for a total church frog. It’s premise was that the congregation is not full of professionals that can teach people faith without the support of the home and family life. It also stated in many ways that worship not only happens within the confines of the congregation on Sunday morning, but all day every day. Church and faith formation are not things that happen in one place during one morning of the week, but happens every moment of our lives. That parents and family members are wonderful instructors in the faith, and can share the hope that they have with others.

The church is the body of Christ. It has come to mean a building, but we can think of it differently, maybe we will see that worship and faith formation happen more places than one building. We try to tell our kids we are going to worship on Sunday morning. And I will work harder on saying I am going to St. John’s or the congregation. Church is so much more than a building. It is truly who we are when we abide in Christ who told us, He is abiding in us! (John 15:4)

So know that you are the church, and wherever you go, that is where the church is! And join me for worship this Sunday!

Here is a link to a song to help you think on this some more.