We have been traveling this past week with our girls, and they really have not been asking that much are we there yet….

BUT….

The other day I said we were there. We were sitting at a red light on the corner of two streets. And I said, “OK we are there.”
One of my daughters said, “no we are not there.”
I replied, “where is there?”
She said, “I do not know.”
I said, “Then how do you know we are not there?”

The problem with most of our outlooks on ministry is that we want to be there, with out first defining where there is. We put so much stock in how we are going to do the ministry, how we are going to get everything done, who we are going to get to help, and who we are going to help, that we miss the most important thing. Where are we going? If we have no defined location to arrive at, how are we going to know when we get there.

We can not go on a trip and not know where we are going. OK some of the people may not know, but one of the people on a trip has to know where the final destination is, otherwise, it is haphazard and is messy and takes a long time. Life and ministry are like this, but if we have some clue of where we are going, then we may actually make it.

So I wonder where is there? Where are we going?

How will we know when we have arrived?

Yoda once said to Luke Skywalker that there is no trying to do something. We either do it, or we do not. We either commit to doing something or we are not committed to it.

This week we look at the death of our savior, the death of a man who has committed no sin, innocent of all charges. The death of our savior, that brings us life. We obtain life from the fact that Jesus was committed to the task before him. He went to the cross with out waiving from this task, even in the questioning he had, that the cup be removed, yet not my will but yours be done Father.

What if you had been Jesus and were trying to be the savior of the world? Would you have been unwavering? Would you have followed through on the will of the Father?

I can say I would have questioned more than Jesus did. I would have fallen short. My humanness would have gotten in the way. That is where Jesus and I differ. I can try to follow him, but in the words of Yoda, I can not try, I either do it, or I do not.

I do both, in my humanness, I fail to follow in times of weakness, but Jesus never fails me. He is always with me and walks with me, and helps me on the way. As Philippians 4:13 says Whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

So we do not have to do or do not, Jesus does it for us, giving us the strength to be what he has called us to be. Rest in the strength that God has given us, and allow him to work in and through you. do not try to be anything other than what God has called you to be. Do what God has called you to do, trusting in Him who makes you who you are.

As we approach Holy Week, I have been thinking a lot lately about the Palm/Passion Sunday service. I wonder when did our congregations start needing a Passion Sunday? Well in out Lutheran understanding it has been a while, as Passion Sunday is a part of the Lutheran Book of Worship, the green book, the old book.

What has our society done to our understanding or discipleship? Our understanding of adoration? Our understanding of Worship?

We have easy macaroni and cheese, and quick hot dogs, already on the bun to be zapped in the microwave, and that is exactly what Pals/Passion Sunday is. It is a give it to me quick, because I can’t possibly come to church on Palm Sunday, then on Thursday, and then again on Friday, and then again on Easter Sunday. I mean do not even think about doing an Easter Vigil service, there is no way I am going to be coming to church on Saturday night too. What do you think I have all the time in the world? Palm/Passion Sunday is the way our society has made us think we have to do our services in adoration of God during the most Holy part of the year, the time when Jesus celebrated His last supper with His disciples, who went to crosses and martyrdom for Jesus, and did not complain about the time commitment. This Holy time of the year we celebrate the hours Jesus spent on the cross, hung there at 9:00 in the morning and then at 3:00 in the afternoon was pierced… not an easy day if you ask me. We need Palm Sunday, to celebrate as the people of that time did, the one who will set us free. The one who triumphantly entered the city of Jerusalem, to be hung outside of it only 5 days later under the most vile of forms of death. We need to celebrate the upside downness of God and how our society needs to be turned on its head, not our worship life.

God has called us to be a part of this world, yet separate from it. We are to be in the world, not of it. We are to be different from the world, so much so that they see us and see Christ and wonder how they can be a part of what we are, the body of Christ.

So as we enter Holy Week, I ask, where is your commitment? are you committed to giving God the time He has given you back in worship and adoration over Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter? Jesus was committed to you, never swerving from His task of redeeming us to a relationship with the father. He already hung on the cross, all he is asking is a little time.

Are you preparing for rain?
I recently watched the movie Facing the Giants. In it there was a pastor who told a story about 2 farmers. Both of them prayed for rain to help their crops, but only one of the farmers actually prepared his fields for the coming rain. The pastor then asks, who trusted God?
Are you preparing for rain?
Or I guess a better question is what are we preparing for? Or even better yet is what do we want to do? We can not possibly move forward if we do not have a focus, a vision, a place to look to to see how we are doing. We can continue to be the church, and not do ministry, but is that why we are here? In the movie, Facing the Giants, there is a football team that can not win a game. They have had losing seasons for 6 straight years. The coach asks God to show him where he should be, and after the above visit form the pastor and some prayer, he devises a new team philosophy. From this he asks the players why they are their. Is football only about winning games? Does God care about football? Does god care about teaching? Does God care about healthcare work? Does God care about electrical/plumbing/carpentry work? Does God care about learning? Does God care about basketball? Does God care about anything other than us being in worship? Of course God cares about all of these things. God cares about you, and has called you to be His own, so He cares about the things that we all do.
Are you preparing for rain?
We are all called by God in our baptisms, to be His children. We are all called to be co inheritors with Jesus of the kingdom of God. We are all called to be a part of the body of Christ in the world. We all have a part to play that no one else can in God’s plan. Just as Jesus bridged the gap of the chiasm that separated us from God. We all have our calling.
I am not the only person called at Hosanna. While I have a piece of paper that says I have been called by Hosanna Lutheran Church to your pastor, each one of you has a piece of paper that says you were called by God. Your baptismal certificate. In this document god called you to be His and to do His work.
Are you preparing for rain?
Are you ready for the ride of your life? Do we trust God to take us to the next level?
Bob Reccord and Randy Singer in their book Live Your Passion Tell Your Story Change Your World: a Challenge to Fulfill Your Calling on page 112 say, ““He (God) asks, “Do you think I can successfully guide your steps and order your life?” and we say, “Sure!” But when He says, “Then get in,” we start backtracking. He asks us to do something outrageous and exciting, and we start walking away from the Falls. Could it be we are really saying, “I believe you can guide my steps, as long as it makes sense to me. But there are more choices out there, and I want to keep my options open.
The bottom line is we either trust God or we don’t. We’re either willing to be obedient or we leave our options open. Yet He continually invites us on the ride of our lives!”
Where are we going Hosanna? Are we allowing God to guide our steps, to be the permeating force in our lives, or are we coasting along as a gathering of the body?
I am ready for a wild ride, with God leading us to new and wonderful things, are you with me?Let’s get preparing for rain!

Passion is a very interesting word. We do things everyday that play into our passions, but do we have one all encompassing passion that leads us to do everything else that we do?

I guess we first need to know what passion is. The Passion of the Christ is a movie about the crucifixion of Christ from Mel Gipsons directing. Is this what passion is? Merriam-Webster online has 5 definitions, one being the Passion of Christ, and #4 is emotion and #5 is ardent love.
I think these are the ones I am looking for. What is your passion, the thing that drives you emotionally, and the one thing you would do anything for because of love?

The gospel lesson for this coming Sunday is John 12:1-8. It made me think of 2 songs My Passion by Sammy Ward and Mary’s Alibaster Jar by Solomon’s Wish.

Passion is that thing that drives us to do the things we do. Why did Mary wash Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume? Why do you do the things you do? Is your addoration of Jesus what it should be?

My Passion – Sammy Ward
When I stray from my destiny,
You put me back on course,
My struggle is not to better my life,
It’s uniting with it’s source
I want you to be my passion
And not myself
For I have found that seeking you
Is greater than all wealth
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me
The disobedience I have in me
Has dimmed my life today
Lord let your light shine through me
So the darkness will run away
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me
I want you to be my passion
And not myself
For I would rather die with you
Than to live in sinner’s health
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me

We are so task oriented and results driven. We have our set of initiatives to complete. Our appointments are set and we live and die by the calendar. If something does not go by schedule, it throws everything out of whack.

God calls us to intimacy with him. God calls us to stop the bustle of this world and to rest in his undying love and care. To be in the shelter of his being. To rest calmly and surely in his loving spirit.

God Calls us to chill-n-hang with him. He names us as his children, claimed to be his in the waters of baptism. He brought us from slavery to sin to being heirs of the kingdom. He names us as his children, then as all parents hope, he calls for us to be friends. We can be the best of friends with God. Telling him all of our innermost secrets, desires, letdowns. He then calls us to the next stage after friends to intimacy. To fully know him and to be known by him. A person who knows your very being and loves you in spite of that. God calls us to complete his sentences, to have us complete his. He wants us to chill-n-hang with him.

So for a few minutes, or the whole day clear the schedule and chill-n-hang with God.

This morning I find myself frustrated by the technology I am working with. My Dell Axiom, handheld computer seems to think daylight savings time has not started yet, and the computer I am on now seems to think it needs to give me time to run to Starbucks in BG to get a cup of coffee before it will work.

Isn’t it interesting that when we get use to something working, we expect it it do that all the time. The car should run, the TV should work, the computer should show the correct time. We depend on these things.

Have you ever done anything and felt like that one thing was done for God? Something where you felt like God led you to be in that place at that time, to do that one thing? Do you think God is wondering why we are not working like we did then? Why are they not listening? Why do they not understand this is where I need them?

The only thing I need to depend on is God. My computer will not function the way I want it to, my car will eventually stop running, the TV will stop working, but God will always be there for me. He may not always tell me, or ask me to do the things I want him to, but I know I can always count on him.

I have been pondering, just what is faith?

It seems we equate faith with religion. You know you have faith by coming to church, by giving your time in the name of God, by being a good member of your local church. Is this really what faith is? Do we really believe that coming to church and doing good in the community is going to be the the basis of our belief in God? Is faith something we can have, hold, posses?

I love being in love with God, because I never know what is coming. It is a crap shoot. The one thing I know though that I can count on is that which Martin Luther said, I am saved by grace through faith. The grace of God is poured out daily in my living breathing faith. My faith is not my possession. My faith is that which Jesus Christ gave to me, by going to the cross for me, and for you. My faith is a living breathing entity that changes day to day and minute to minute. I do not possess, or hold, or have my faith. My faith is the relationship I have with God. Coming to worship is good to be with the community, and build each other up, but it is not what gets us our relationship.

Faith is a gift, a relationship with the creator of the universe. He wants to be with you always, and sent his son to the cross so that the gap could be bridged. Allow him to love you today and every day forward. Do not claim faith as a possession, something who have and need no longer to be concerned with, but see it for what it is, a gift, a relationship that needs daily tending.

Love is the beginning and the end. Love is the foundation our lives are built upon when we have the love of God within us. But what truly is love?

Is love something that we see at the movies? Is it the newly fallen in love teenagers holding hands and steeling a kiss while no one is looking?

1 Corinthians 13 tells us what love is. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious, it is not boastful, or arrogant, or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Are you always patient, when you are trying to do something and one of your kids keeps asking you to play a game with them? Are you quick to be kind to the person who just cut you off in traffic and/or just gave you the one finger salute? Are you always telling someone one else the great things you have done? Do you tell the cable company that you got those pay-per-view movies for free?

It is not easy to love as God does, but it is possible with Gods help. This world needs that supernatural love, the love that will lead them to God.

So live like you love God, and live with those who may not know God, loving them, so maybe through you they will come to see God.

How much is enough? Well I guess that would depend on what we are talking about…

There was a country song that talked about too much money, too much fun, too much time, is there really enough of these? Is there such a thing as too much love?

Put yourself in the place of those who lost loved ones in the Bluffton bus tragedy, or the police officer just killed, or how about the young father, who left 3 young kids, and a fiance with 2 young kids…

Where is the love in their lives, where is the hope? As we journey towards the cross of Jesus in this Lenten journey, we seem to be in a desolate place, where there is no hope. Jesus our Messiah the one who came to lead us out of slavery, out of bondage, is going to die… He is going to be killed by the most cruel form of death there is, to be hung on a tree, Deuteronomy says that the one who hangs on a tree is cursed. The cross is a tree, and Jesus is going to Jerusalem to be cursed for YOU!!!!

There is never enough room in our lives for the love God has for us. Every time we think we understand it and fully have received all the love we can, God turns and gives us more. When we mess up, he is still there to pick us up and hold us close. No matter what, no matter where, God is always by our sides, giving us his love.

So in those time Jesus feels far away, rest in the assurance that he is right there, holding you and loving you.