2014 eNEWSLETTER ARTICLES

January 10  |  The Church’s Night Shift

As our nation is remembering this week the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s first State of the Union address, in which he declared a “War on Poverty,” we here at Bethel will be welcoming into our midst this Sunday someone who wages this war on a daily – rather nightly – basis: ELCA pastor, Rev. Lyle Beckman, who since 2007 serves as San Francisco Night Minister.  The following paragraphs are to give you a better understanding of the work of the SF Night Ministry.

In the fall of 1962, two clergy… one Lutheran, one United Presbyterian… observed the city of San Francisco at night. They asked of each other a simple question: “What happens to people in crisis during the hours of the night when all of the churches are closed and the only social services available are police, fire, and ambulance?” In a demonstration project the following year, the question answered itself. “Not much.”

Shaped out of human need and impelled by the gospel, the Spirit gave form to the vision and in 1964 the Night Ministry was born. Seven denominations responded and financed the ministry during its crucial early years.  In 1990, Night Ministry became an independent not-for-profit organization with its own Governing Board and new charter, constitution and mission statement.

The Night Ministry seeks “to be the presence of Christ in the city at night.”  The ministry does NOT see itself as “Christ bearers to the world,” dispensing a little of the Christ here and a little over there.  Instead, it seeks to represent “the presence of the Christian Church in the city at night,” witnessing to the fact that the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, cares about people where they are, not where the church wants them to be.  The staff and volunteers of the Night Ministry seek to discover in their ministry where Christ is already present in the world (in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner) and to serve that Christ as best they can (in the spirit of Matthew 25:31-46).
 The Night ministry ministers in 3 different ways: through the work of ordained clergy walking the streets at night, through staffing a crisis counseling phone line, and by celebrating weekly “Open Cathedral” worship services on the streets of San Francisco.

Night Ministry

God has entrusted to the SF Night Ministry one of the neediest “congregations”-  the lonely, frightened, confused, discouraged, defeated, anxious, addicted, and spiritually lost.   In a busy and sophisticated city, it is often difficult to see them. Terminally ignored by the successful workaday world, they often find anonymity, appearing only at night.  Before long, they simply seem to fall through the cracks of an otherwise caring society.
Since 1964, every night of the year, ordained members of the clergy walk city streets from 10:00pm to 4:00am, bringing a measure of compassion and understanding to this diverse group of people  through listening and prayer, counseling and referral, and crisis intervention.  Taking a lead from Jesus Christ, who was often found among the “wrong” kind of people, Pastor Lyle Beckman and a number of Assistant Night Ministers meet people wherever they are – in bars, hotels, all-night coffee shops, transportation centers, apartments, or simply on the street.  Since human suffering knows no “office hours,” a minister is available whenever there is a need at night when help is hard to find.

Crisis Line Counseling

The outreach of the San Francisco Night Ministry is not limited to the streets. Its telephones are staffed to receive crisis calls from 10:00pm to 2:00am when carefully selected and thoroughly trained volunteer Crisis Line Counselors are available to receive calls. Like the ministers on the streets, they listen, talk with callers, share resources, and offer referrals as appropriate. When necessary, they will page the Night Minister on the street who will either participate in a conference call or arrange to meet the caller face-to-face. All contacts, by telephone or on the streets, are treated with total confidentiality.

The Night Ministry seeks mature, sensitive Crisis Line Counselors who are emotionally capable of dealing with the diverse problems which may be encountered on the phones.  Crisis Line Counselors need to be at least 18 years of age. Their own ministry is every bit as rewarding as that of the Night Ministers on the street.

Open Cathedral

Night Ministry sponsors two “Open Cathedrals,” weekly non-denominational outdoor worship services for anyone who wishes to attend.  Singing, praying, preaching and the Eucharist are offered, followed by opportunities for private conversation, prayer, blessing or the same counseling that is offered at night.  Everyone is welcome to attend. Open Cathedrals gather rain or shine.  A number of Bethel members may remember joining one of these worship services in Spring 2012, as part of our congregation’s annual leadership retreat.

If you wish to explore the work of the Night Ministry in some more depth, here are a few links to additional online resources:  

• the website of the San Francisco Night Ministry
• an introductory video about the work of the Night Ministry
• a newspaper interview with Pastor Lyle Beckman

January 17   |  “The Story” Adult Bible Study

One of the core themes that emerged from our small group meetings last Summer was that we want Bethel to be known as a vibrant, grace-filled hub of Christian love in the midst of Silicon Valley.  We want Bethel to be known for its active outreach, for creative children’s and family ministry, and for genuine acts of Christian love and compassion.  

Such vibrant outreach does not come overnight.  Neither is such outreach merely the result of our decision to practice such outreach.  Rather, powerful Christian outreach is God’s doing.  Powerful Christ-centered outreach is the fruit of an active prayer life.  It begins and ends with love – love for God, and love for God’s people, and love for God’s Word.

If we want to become a more outreaching church with a greater impact onto our community, it will be of utmost importance that we get a better understanding of the God we believe and a better understanding of how that God weaves his own story into the story of our life.  

Last Sunday, we took an important step on this journey toward more intentional outreach, when we gathered for adult Bible Study in-between both worship services.  Our new Bible Study curriculum – The Story – promises to provide to us an increased appreciation of our spiritual roots and a solid foundation in Bible literacy, which then can become our platform from which to reach out and invite others to join in our faith journey. 

The turn-out for our Bible Study last Sunday was truly amazing and a testament for the hunger for God’s word among our community.  Some 70+ participants filled the Fireside Room; expectation was in the air.  So many people showed up for the first class session, that we ran out of copies of the Participant Guide that we had purchased.  A new order has been placed and the books are available for purchase on Sunday (for $10).  If you plan on attending class this week, please make sure to read Genesis 1-4 and 6-9.  On Sunday morning, we will watch a 10-minute video and then discuss the Bible chapters that we read at home and the video, guided by questions provided to us in the Participant Guide.  Please also make sure that you get to the Fireside Room in a timely fashion, if necessary, bringing your cup of coffee with you.

January 24  On the Challenge of Raising Children who Have Confidence and Humility

Spending as much as I do driving on Highway 280, I get to listen a lot to the radio.  As much else in my life, listening to the radio is a matter of negotiation with my two teenage and pre-teen daughters – in this case negotiation what radio we will listen to while driving.  Naomi and Anna – while admitting that there are really interesting stories on public radio – still much prefer the music on STAR101.3 over the insightful programs on KQED.  Hence, we have worked out that we listen to KQED on the way to the South Bay and STAR101.3 (“San Francisco's Variety from the 90's, 2000's”) on the way back home to San Bruno.  This morning was KQED time. Yeah!  

I am still thinking about the “Perspectives” program that I listened to this morning.  In it, a gentleman by the name of Les Bloch (writer and project manager for a stone construction company) was reflecting on the challenge of raising children who possess both confidence and humility.  As I found out upon arriving at my desk, his written “Perspectives” piece is published online, but instead of reproducing it here, I urge you to listen to it on the KQED website and use this opportunity to reflect on the values and personality traits that you seek to pass on to your children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews.
“With a Perspective,
I am Pastor Gabi”

January 31  |  Really Bad Reasons to Leave Your Church

A few members of our community recently read a recent online article published by Aaron Loy, church planter and pastor of Mosaic Lincoln (in Nebraska).  The full article is over 1,000 words long, too long to publish in our eNewsletter.  I hope, though, that the following summary will entice you to read the original article and to reflect on it – especially in light of our upcoming congregational meeting (this Sunday, February 2, after the second service).  If you haven’t read the annual report yet, you can do so online on the Bethel website.

“ 5 Really Bad Reasons To Leave Your Church”
by Aaron Loy

Serving as a pastor, the author has heard many reasons for leaving a church. Some of them good, many there are a lot more bad ones. He urges all who may be thinking about looking for a new church home NOT to use the following five reasons to make the jump:

1. “I’m not being fed”
Anyone who owns a smart phone, a personal computer, or a library card, has access to some of the best preaching and teaching in the world.  To leave a church because you’re not getting "enough" is a cop out. Your primary call in the church is to contribute, not just to consume. As a Christian, you shouldn’t require spoon-feeding for the rest of your life. Eventually you need to learn how to feed yourself so that, in time, you can actually feed others. Remember, your call is not just to be a disciple but to make disciples.

2. “It’s getting too big”
When churches are faithful to the Great Commission, lives will be changed and people will be added to their number. It may not happen rapidly, but growth and change are sometimes inevitable for faithful churches, given a long enough timeline. If you have a problem with big churches or diverse, you really wouldn’t have liked the first church, and you definitely won’t like heaven.

3. “I don’t agree with everything that is being preached”
If you insist that your pastor agree with you on every little thing under the sun, you are going to either hop from church to church for the rest of your life in perpetual disappointment or you will eventually give up and drop out altogether. Chances are you are not going to agree with everything that is preached anywhere. As long as your pastor isn’t preaching outright heresy, you can afford to disagree on secondary issues. The truth is when you choose to stay despite disagreeing on some things, you, your pastor and your church are better for it.

4. “My Needs Aren’t Being Met”
When someone lists this as a reason for leaving it is a dead giveaway that somewhere along the way they came to believe that the Church actually exists to serve their needs. They’ve bought into the lie that, when it comes to church, it’s really about “me.” Here’s the problem: the Church actually isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus. It’s his Church. He came for it. He died for it. He redeemed it. He continues to build it. And one day, he’ll come back for it. It’s his.  This is the same Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost and then commissioned his Church to go and do the same. The Church doesn’t exist to meet your needs. You are a part of the Church that exists to meet the needs of the world. Put away the shopping cart and pick up a shovel.

5. Unresolved Conflict
Wherever you find the community of sinning saints you will find conflict. Lots of it. The Church is one big family full of characters and misfits. Sometimes sisters argue. Sometimes brothers fight. Sometimes you want to bury your weird uncle in the backyard. But despite it all, family is supposed to be the place where you stick together. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.  When we leave at first sign of real conflict, it shortchanges God’s best work in our midst. It sidesteps the process of repentance, forgiveness and grace. It negates the power of the Gospel to bring reconciliation where reconciliation might seem impossible. We and those around us miss out on all of it when we just leave.

February 7  |  Dorothy Meyer Award 2013: Dave Arnold

Many of you will know that Bethel's annual volunteer award "for Joyful Service" is named after the late Dorothy Meyer who – as Associate in Ministry (AIM) – served for many years at Bethel in a wide range ministry areas that included women’s ministry, parish ministry, visitation ministry, small group ministry, membership development, ministry with seniors, as well as support of special projects such as Christmas programs, Vacation Bible School, teacher training, drama, musical concerts, and puppet shows. In addition, Dorothy’s ministry also extended beyond the local congregation to involvement in the Santa Clara Valley Lutheran Parish and the Sierra Pacific Synod.  

In memory of Dorothy and in celebration of her ministry, the Bethel's church council each year selects one member of the congregation who excels in "joyful service" and contributes in a significant manner to our shared ministry.  The recipient then is honored at the Winter congregational meeting and has her or his name added the plaque that is displayed in the church entrance.  Past recipients include Robyn Winegardner, Rev. Erwin Walz (former visitation pastor), Tom Cole, Bill Hanson, Euo Menezes, Kaye Kuhlmann, Carol Hooper, Vern Bollsesn, Brad Martinson, Tyler Freckmann, and Liz Tribby.  Recipients then can select an organization of their choice, to which we donate $500 in their honor.

This year's recipient of the Dorothy Meyer Award is David Arnold.  Dave and his wife Kathy happened to attend their first worship service at Bethel in the Fall of 1999 on a Sunday that a ministry fair was held.  They migrated to the tech table … and the rest is history…

In the past, Dave has set up PDF-based online registration for the Labor Day Retreat that was used for a few years and has served as the principal designer of the screens and projector in the sanctuary.  Most importantly to the rest of us, though, has been Dave’s service as Bethel’s webmaster.  As part of this ministry, he keeps the home-brew calendar program alive (separate from the website software), creates sermon podcasts on the Bethel website, and takes input from the ministry leads and Bethel staff to update the website.  In addition, Dave also serves as Media Shout operator and uses his Adobe connections to provide legal Adobe software and fonts.

The apostle Paul writes in his First Letter to the Corinthians that 

“to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

Strangely absent from Paul’s list of gifts of the Holy Spirit is tech know-how.  David’s ministry at Bethel is a vivid reminder to the rest of us that God continues to gift each one of us with a great many number of gifts and calls us to put to use these gift for the common good of the community and for the building of God’s Kingdom.  

On behalf of the Bethel community, I wish to that Dave for all that he continues to do so joyfully here at Bethel.  We look forward to serving together with you for many years to come.  Your joyful and consistent ministry truly is an inspiration to the rest of us!

February 28  |  Don't Give up, You Still Have Time

On the occasion of our upcoming celebration of Ascension Sunday I’d like to share with you a beautiful poem by Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti, who passed in May of 2009 at the age of 88.  I invite you to read the “I” in the poem’s last line as God speaking to you.
Please welcome back this Sunday Pastor Jim Friedrich, who will be leading worship and preaching at Bethel while I am on a short family vacation!
Pastor Gabi

Don't Give Up 
 - by Mario Benedetti

Don't give up, you still have timeto reach up and start anew,Accept your shadows,Bury your fears,Free your burdens,Fly again. 

Don't give up, that's what life isContinue the journey,Follow your dreams,Unstuck time,Move the rubble,And uncover the sky. 

Don't give up, please don't give way,Even if the cold burns,Even if fear bites,Even if the sun sets,And the wind goes silent,There is still fire in your soulThere is still life in your dreams. 

Because life is yours and yours is the desireBecause you have loved it and because I love youBecause wine exists and love is true.Because there are no wounds that time doesn't cure. 

To open the doors,Take away the locks,Abandon the walls that have protected you,To live life and accept the challengeGet back laughter,Practice a song,Lower the guard and extend the handsOpen the wingsAnd try again,Celebrate life and take back the skies. 

Don't give up, please don't give way,Even if the cold burns,Even if fear bites,Even if the sun sets,And the wind goes silent,There is still fire in your soulThere is still life in your dreams. 

Because every day is a new beginning, Because this is the hour and the best moment.Because you are not alone, because I love you.

March 7  |  Welcome to Holland

As we begin this year’s Lenten journey together, I wish to share with you a piece written in 1987 by a mother of a special needs child.  I was introduced to this piece by Patrice Sera and deeply touched by the feelings it conveys.  

This Lent we will examine our attitudes toward people living with a variety of disabilities.  We will also hear from families who expected to travel to Italy, but ended up living in Holland.  May God’s Holy Spirit be with us as we embark on this journey together.  May we grow together in faith, hope, and love.

May you be blessed with God’s presence in your lives,
Pr. Gabi

WELCOME TO HOLLAND 

by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... 

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. 

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." 

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." 

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. 

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. 

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. 

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. 

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." 

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. 

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland. 

©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

March 17  |  20 Things You Might Consider Giving Up for This Lent …or for Life 

I have been asked to share the list on “20 Things to Give up for Lent” that I mentioned in my message during the Ash Wednesday service.  The author of that list is Pastor Phil Ressler who serves at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Old Bridge, NJ. 
Pastor Phil posted the following on Facebook: 

“Many Christians “give something up” for Lent, but it usually has very little of impact on their life and walk with Christ. The reason is that we usually give stuff up for all the wrong reasons.

With that said, I want to offer up 20 things you might consider giving up this Lent. And these are things to give up not just for Lent, but for the rest of your life.

• Guilt – I am loved by Jesus and he has forgiven my sins. Today is a new day and the past is behind.
• Fear – God is on my side. In him I am more than a conqueror. (see Romans 8)
• The need to please everyone – I can’t please everyone anyways. There is only one I need to strive to please.
• Envy – I am blessed. My value is not found in my possessions, but in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
• Impatience – God’s timing is the perfect timing.
• Sense of entitlement – The world does not owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I live in humility and grace.
• Bitterness and resentment – The only person I am hurting by holding on to these is myself.
• Blame – I am not going to pass the buck. I will take responsibility for my actions.
• Gossip and negativity – I will put the best construction on everything when it comes to other people. I will also minimize my contact with people who are negative and toxic bringing other people down.
• Comparison – I have my own unique contribution to make and there is no one else like me.
• Fear of failure – You don’t succeed without experiencing failure. Just make sure you fail forward.
• A spirit of poverty – Believe with God that there is always more than enough and never a lack
• Feelings of unworthiness – You are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator. (see Psalm 139)
• Doubt – Believe God has a plan for you that is beyond anything you could imagine. The future is brighter than you could ever realize.
• Self-pity – God comforts us in our sorrow so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
• Retirement – As long as you are still breathing, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose to influence others for Christ. That does not come to an end until the day we die.
• Excuses – A wise man once said, if you need an excuse, any excuse will do.
• Lack of counsel – Wise decisions are rarely made in a vacuum.
• Pride – Blessed are the humble.
• Worry – God is in control and worrying will not help.

God has so much more in store for you. But so many of these things above are holding you back from walking in the full destiny he has laid out for you. Today is a new day.
So there you have it. What else might you add to the list? Please share in the comments below.”

After the tremendous response to his Facebook post, Pastor Phil developed a “40 Thinks to Give up for Lent” to which one can subscribe on his church’s website.

April 11  |  On Christian Vocation

"You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5).
This week, our worship services will not contain include a sermon.  We will listen to Matthew’s version of the Passion Story in its entirety.  In place of a sermon, I got into reflecting on our common calling to Christian ministry and on the Lutheran doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.  Please accept these reflections as a conclusion of our Lenten focus on our own disability attitudes.  All our us are called by God to serve him, all of us, no matter what our abilities.  And – we can serve God by including ALL our neighbors into our common ministry. 

Pastors are ordained into a “Ministry of Word and Sacrament.” Many clergy, though, end up devoting significant amounts of time to smelly bathrooms, rental agreements, investment options, marketing plans, and social media strategies.  And what about you and your ministry?  Do your own Christian life and ministry consist primarily of Bible study, Scripture study, and worship participation?  If so, what about the other 90 percent of your waking life?  To what sort of ministry does God call you in your roles of spouse, parent, child, neighbor, or colleague?  

Let’s look, for a moment, at the process of muscle development.  Do muscles develop by themselves?  Do our pulse and heart rate improve by themselves?  Does fitness come about magically?  No.  We gain physical fitness through some kind of “rub,” be it running, weight lifting, swimming, or doing some other kind of work-out routine.   

Another way of putting it is that any process of muscle development begins with physical trauma.  When individuals do any sort of resistance training, their muscles experience trauma and the cellular protein in the affected muscles gets injured. This prompts a cascade of molecular events which eventually lead to muscle repair and growth.   The adaptation of muscle to the overload stress of resistance exercise begins immediately after each exercise bout, but often takes weeks or months for it to physically manifest itself.

Now back to faith development.  Martin Luther taught that all Christians have a calling. Yet, our “calling” does not have to do with God's voice summoning us to do a great work for him. It does not mean “serving God by evangelizing on the job.”  Nor does the doctrine of vocation mean that everyone is a pastor. It does not even mean doing everything for God's glory. Rather, the doctrine of vocation shows us how faith and life and faith and works belong together and how God accomplishes his purposes through the people whom he has called in their baptism.  

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to give us this day our daily bread. And God does. The way God gives us our daily bread is through the vocations of farmers, millers, and bakers. We might add truck drivers, factory workers, bankers, warehouse attendants, and cashiers at the checkout counter. Virtually every step of our whole economic system contributes to that piece of toast we had for breakfast. And when we thank God for the food that God provided, we are right to do so.

Luther said that God is milking the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid. According to Luther, vocation is a "mask of God." God is hidden in vocation. We see the milkmaid, or the farmer, or the doctor or pastor or artist. But, looming behind this human mask, God is genuinely present and active in what they do for us.

For a Christian, conscious of vocation as the mask of God, all of life, even the most mundane facets of our existence, become occasions to glorify God. Whenever someone does something for you-brings your meal at a restaurant, cleans up after you, builds your house, preaches a sermon-be grateful for the human beings whom God is using to bless you and praise him for his unmerited gifts. Do you savor your food? Glorify God for the hands that prepared it! Are you moved by a work of art-a piece of music, a novel, a movie? Glorify God who has given such artistic gifts to human beings.

Of course, the idea that vocation is a mask of God also means that God works through you, in your various callings. That God is hidden in what we do is often obscured by our own sinful and selfish motivations. But our own sinful and selfish motivations do not prevent God from acting.

God's Word calls people to faith. This is the Christian's primary vocation, being a child of God. But God has also stationed that Christian to live a life in the world. The Christian, in faith, now understands his life and what God gives him to do as a calling from the Lord.
Luther understood that Christian are genuinely bi-vocational. We are called first through the Gospel to faith in Jesus Christ and we are called to occupy a particular station or place in life. The second sense of this calling embraces all that we do in service to our neighbors –  not only in a particular occupation but also as a member of the church, a citizen, a spouse, parent, or child, and worker. Here the Christian lives in love toward other human beings and is the instrument by which God does His work in the world.

The doctrine of vocation is an integral part of the Reformation teaching of the priesthood of all believers. This does not mean, at least for Luther, that the pastoral office is no longer necessary. Rather, being a pastor is a distinct vocation. God calls certain individuals into the pastoral ministry, and God works through them to give his Word and Sacraments to his flock. The priesthood of all believers means, among other things, that one does not have to be a pastor or to do pastoral functions in order to be a priest. 

Luther and the Lutherans took the life of the monastery and expanded that life and its values into the world, to be practiced by ALL Christians: Celibacy? Be sexually faithful within marriage. Poverty? Struggle to make a living for your family. Obedience? Do what the law and your employer tell you to do. Almsgiving? Be generous to your neighbors. Self-discipline? Steel yourself against the temptations that you will encounter in everyday life.
Priests perform sacrifices. Christ's sacrifice for our sins was once and for all. We no longer need to repeat that sacrifice, which is taught to happen in the Mass. But Christ's disciples are called to take up their own crosses and to follow him. His royal priesthood will sacrifice themselves in their callings, as they love and serve their spouses, children, customers, employees, and fellow citizens. " 

It may seem strange to think that such mundane activities as spending time with your spouse and children, going to work, and taking part in your community are part of your "holy" calling, and that the daily grind can be a "spiritual sacrifice."

Ordinary life is where God has placed us. The family, the workplace, the local church, the culture, and the public square are where he has called us. Vocation is where sanctification takes place.  And sanctification – just as muscle development – does not happen without external “rubs.” We need one another, with all our shortcomings and quirks, so that we ALL may grow in faith, love, and hope.

True, we sin badly in all of these vocations. Instead of loving and serving our neighbors, we want to be loved and to be served, putting ourselves first. But every Sunday, we can go to be nourished by God's Word, where we find forgiveness for our vocational sins and are built up in our faith. That faith, in turn, can bear fruit in our daily vocations.

April 25  |  Reading Tom Rainer's "I Am a Church Member" Together

 “He is risen!”  … “He is risen, indeed!”

If you celebrated Christ’s resurrection worship last Sunday, whether at Bethel or elsewhere, chances are that you affirmed the good news of the resurrection more than once.  

Five days have passed since Easter.  Stores have moved on from eggs and bunnies to beach umbrellas and picnic supplies. So, is your Easter over?  Have you moved on to new adventures and concerns, as well?   

At Bethel, the Easter season is far from over.  Liturgically the church’s “white” Easter season stretches until Pentecost (June 8).  This gives us, as a congregation, seven whole weeks to reflect on just how God has conquered death, how he has brought new life out of an empty tomb, how he promises to bring new life and resurrection into all our lives, and how he calls us in our baptism to bring new life in his name to everyone we meet.  

We will do so by reading together Thom Rainer’s book I Am A Church Member.  It's a brief book of just 79 pages, divided into six chapters, and yet, presents some challenging thoughts to us as Christians.  The author basically takes a look at this thing called church membership, focusing on what membership is biblically as opposed to what we tend to think of as “membership” in an organization.

Rainer contrasts membership in a church with membership in a country club.  According to the his empirical research into hundreds of churches, too many US church members behave more like country club members, who focus on services directed toward them, rather than seeking to serve.  

In contrast to a country club mentality, Rainer challenges us to have a servant heart and attitude rather than a consumer attitude, seeking to serve rather than being served. Service, not preferences or personal desires, Rainer insists, should be the driving force behind what we do, out of love for Christ, who redeemed us by serving us, and now sends us out to do the same in His name.

Thanks to a great online deal on the books and donations by two anonymous Bethel members, I was able to purchase enough copies of Rainer’s book to give away to anyone wanting to read the book at home.   Make sure to pick up your free copy this Sunday from Patricia and read chapter 1 prior to May 4!

As I am writing this message, I am happily resting at home, attending to much-needed Spring-cleaning projects, instead of worship preparation.  In my stead, Pr. Jim Friedrich (formerly of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Saratoga) will return to Bethel to preach and lead worship services.  Randy Shattuck has kindly agreed to facilitate the adult Bible Study, which will resume this Sunday.

May 14  |  The Call to Downward Mobility

This week’s Gospel lesson, at least for us here at Bethel who are reading Thom Rainer’s I Am a Church Member, is Mark 10:35-45.  In preparation of our worship services, I’d like to share with you some challenging thoughts “Downward Mobility”.

“The society in which we live suggests in countless ways that the way to go is up. Making it to the top, entering the limelight, breaking the record - that's what draws attention, gets us on the front page of the newspaper, and offers us the rewards of money and fame. 
The way of Jesus is radically different.  It is the way not of upward mobility but of downward mobility.  It is going to the bottom, staying behind the sets, and choosing the last place!  Why is the way of Jesus worth choosing?  Because it is the way to the Kingdom, the way Jesus took, and the way that brings everlasting life.”--Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, June 28

Methodist Bishop, Kenneth L. Carder writes: 

“Everybody wants to be somebody. Since the dawn of history, human beings have been trying to move up the scale of importance.  […]  We should not be surprised nor excessively judgmental with James and John. Although their brashness may not be our style, the motive underlying their request is not strange: ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ Shared glory; honored positions, closeness to powerful people -- these are popular means of being somebody. If we can’t be the glory or the honored guest or the one with the power, then being close by is the next best thing. Some of the glory will make us shine. Some of the honor may spill over onto us.”

Blogger Maria K. reflects on Henri Nouwen as follows: 

“In a world where the divide between rich and poor continues to widen and our environment is fighting a losing battle, it would help if the idea of downward mobility took hold. The push to keep profits rising and growth increasing […]  has wreaked havoc on our planet's limited resources, and on our happiness as human beings. The pressure to be always upwardly mobile has created stresses that mean even children are having panic attacks these days, and families don't have time for each other. It makes me sigh.

It's silly, all of it. Who came up with this idea that there always has to be more, bigger, faster, snazzier ways to live? It's just not good for us, body, mind or soul to be always scrabbling to get to the top of the heap!”

Bp. Carder continues: 

“Jesus’ response to James and John challenges popular assumptions about greatness, power and prominence: ‘Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ The other disciples were angry, perhaps afraid that James and John would be given positions which they had sought. But Jesus said to all the disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be a slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ 

The cup from which Jesus drank is self-emptying love, the giving of one’s own life for others. The baptism with which he was baptized is a burial of the old world with its power games and the rising of God’s reign of justice, generosity and joy. This is downward mobility. 

The world’s image of greatness is hierarchical, with the greatest at the pinnacle of the pyramid and God hovering over the top. The closer one gets to the pinnacle, the closer one is to greatness and to the image of God. Success, upward mobility and being served are signs of faithfulness to a hierarchical god.
The way of Jesus leads in another direction. […] Giving our lives ‘as a ransom for many’ involves making ourselves available to others in response to the One who laid down his life for us. It is offering our total being -- our hope and our despair, our doubts and our faith, our fear and our courage, our ambition and our humility.”  

Amen!  Blessed be the poor in Spirit; blessed be the downwardly mobile, for theirs is the Kingdom of God” (in paraphrase of Matthew 5:3).

August 22  |  On Luther's Theology of the Cross

NOT counting repeat attendees, over 80 among you attended the three Q&A Forums on August 10 and 14.  Each one of these forums was different. The first one was attended primarily by 8:45am worshippers.  The second forum was the one in which critical detail questions were asked and procedural suggestions made; it reflected the corporate work experience of the attendees.   The third forum, on Wednesday night, was the smallest, but the one with the deepest and most engaged conversation among the attendees.  

I want to take this opportunity to reflect on an important theme that came up in the third forum. The urgent question that came out of the third forum revolved around one particular question: “Who are we?” This question is related to the one question that will be at the core of this Sunday’s Gospel lesson: where Jesus asked his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” to which Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” On the rock of such faith, Christ promised to build his church!

Right after answering Peter’s question, Jesus revealed to his disciples that he would have to suffer and die. This is not what the disciples expected, especially not right after the revelation that he is the long-awaited Messiah!  But – by announcing his unavoidable death – Jesus helps us to understand what kind of Messiah he is.   He is NOT the Messiah that defeats the enemy armies in his glory and might.  The sword is not his weapon of choice. Rather, the cross is the symbol of Jesus’ Messiah-ship.  

We believe that God revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus.  God revealed who He is in the person of a rabbi who called disciples, who equipped them for ministry, and who sent them out into the world as kingdom builders. God revealed Himself and His ways to us in the person of a simple man who died a brutal, torturous death on a Roman cross.  God revealed Himself in Christ’s lowliness and humility, rather than his glory and power.  God reveals Himself in Christ’s suffering!  The apostle Paul understood this well, as we can see in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “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.”  If we don’t see Jesus through the cross, we miss who God truly is.  

The crucial thing for us is that this revelation is not one-way.  The moment God reveals Himself to people, God also reveals to those people who THEY are.  Take just two examples as an illustration of this statement:

• When barefoot Moses encountered God in the burning bush, Moses also learnt who he is and what God called him to do.  (Exodus 3:1-22)
• When Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah to Peter, he also revealed to Peter who he was to be – a leader among Jesus’ followers. (Matthew 16:13-20)

So what is it that we can learn from Jesus’ death and resurrection not only about God, but about ourselves, as individuals and as a church community?  What does the cross teach us about who we are?  Martin Luther’s question of how God – through the death of Jesus – justifies sinners, is what started his new theology and what lead to the eventual split form the Roman Catholic Church.  Commonly, this aspect of Luther’s theology is known as “Theology of the Cross” as opposed to a “Theology of Glory.”  Luther’s “Theology of the Cross’ is one of the great, lasting treasures of the Lutheran faith and identity.  Knowing about the theology of the cross is far more important to us than knowing about the 95 Theses.

Here is a bit of historical background: Following the posting of Luther’s 95 Theses on indulgences on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg ion October 31, 1517, the head of the Augustinian order in Germany called for a formal debate to be attended by the leadership of the order, in which Luther would be provided a chance to explain his concern. The debate took place in April 1718 in Heidelberg, in April 1518.   At the meeting, Luther defined – for the first time – his “Theology of the Cross”, as opposed to a “Theology of Glory.” The so-called Heidelberg Debate of 1518 is, in many ways, more significant than the 95 Theses, because that debate helped Luther to realize that the theology of late Medieval Roman Catholicism was fundamentally and essentially at odds with Biblical theology. 
Luther’s actual talking points for this debate can be found in the Book of Concord, available online the Book of Concord website or in Bethel’s church library.

Risking that this may be bit too long and too dense for some, I am going to quote an entire paragraph from an essay on the Theology of the Cross: Subversive Theology for a Postmodern World?”, written by the British theologian Graham Tomlin: 

“It seems that sometime towards the end of 1515, Luther arrived at a realization that the cross was not just the way God chose to save the world, or the path to be trod if salvation was to be achieved, but that it reveals God’s characteristic way of working in the world. God condemns before he saves. If God is to be able to save him, the sinner must be made passive, brought to a sense of his own powerlessness before his creator. He can only come with empty hands. God reveals this pattern in the cross, where Christ too is made passive before God, before he can be raised. On the cross, Christ seems to be suffering defeat, yet, to the eye of faith, God is working out the salvation of the world. In this theology, therefore, revelation is back to front, hidden, and contrary to what is expected. Things are not what they seem and the sign and the thing signified are out of joint. What seem to be valuable (human piety, wisdom, philosophy) are in fact worthless, and what seem weak and negligible (the experience of suffering, temptation, awareness of sin and failure) are in fact God’s precious work to humble and then save the sinner.”

So, my friends, how does Bethel fit into this theological picture? What does it mean for us to worship a God who revealed himself in weakness, lowliness, and suffering?  It is this God who called Peter in his service.  It is this God who inspired St. Paul to write 2 Corinthians 12:9: “but he [Christ] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

As we set out to vote on Bethel’s ministry budget for FY 2015, I ask you to ponder this: What must your own life look like and what must our Bethel church look like, if God’s power were to manifest itself in our WEAKNESS, rather than in the security and comforts of power, influence, prosperity, and popularity?

September 4  |  On Bethel's Upcoming Switch to the  Narrative Lectionary

From this Sunday (September 7) on, Bethel will be switching from the so-called “Revised Common Lectionary” to the “Narrative Lectionary.”  A lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for worship on a given day or occasion.  The “Revised Common Lectionary” operates on a three-year cycle, meaning that the readings on Sundays and on some principal feasts recur in a three-year cycle, with four passages from Scripture being used in each celebration.  The Each year, the gospel readings come from a different Gospel (Year A: Matthew, Year B: Mark, Year C: Luke), with occasional readings taken from John’s Gospel and readings that relate to the liturgical season.  Added to the Gospel readings are an Old Testament Lesson, an Epistle Lesson, and a Psalm.  

Our “Revised Common Lectionary” is based on the Roman Catholic “Lectionary for Mass.”  The problem with our lectionary is that it is – just like its Catholic “parent” – intended for the celebration of the Eucharist, but not so much for preaching and for learning the Biblical stories.  Neither the “Revised Common Lectionary” nor the “Lectionary for Mass” help church-understand the story of the Bible as one ongoing story, a story that each one of us is a part of…even today.

To help church-goers regain familiarity with the Biblical story, faculty from of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, some seven years ago began to develop the “Narrative Lectionary.,”  The new lectionary now has been adopted by a small, but steadily growing number of churches.  In the “Narrative Lectionary,” the readings recur in a 4-year cycle, with John’s Gospel receiving equal attention.  

Each Sunday, there is only one preaching text and a shorter accompanying lesson.  Each Fall, the preaching texts begin with Old Testament passages. During Advent, the preaching texts move on to Gospel lessons.  Shortly after Easter, the preaching texts are taken from among the Book of Acts and the epistles.

Over the next few weeks, there will be more information on the “Narrative Lectionary.” If you can’t wait that long, you can find more information at the following sites:

• http://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_faqs.aspx 
• http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-10/what-s-text
• http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2013-10/why-im-trying-narrative-lectionary-fall
• https://luthersem.adobeconnect.com/_a771600403/p59of0celzi/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

To get a better sense of the overall flow of the lessons, we have hung posters with names and images for all Sundays through Pentecost 2015 on the kiosk in the church entry (under “Worship”) and on the outdoor bulletin board close to the bicycle racks (side entry to the church).  

October 9  |  Fictitious Monologue on God's Giving of the 10 Commandments

This is, in response to a request made by one worship participant, the passage that was read by Tom Cole (8:45am) and Dale Jones (10:45am) last Sunday – a fictitious monologue in which God reflects on the commandments that he gave to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai written on stone tablets.

What this monologue nicely emphasizes is the connection between God’s love and the giving of the commandments.  They were given by the same loving, gracious God who many centuries later came to us in human form to save us.  They were given out of love, not out of a spirit of judgment or punishment.  The monologue also shows God’s anguish over our disobedience and rebelliousness.

Thus, God thought to himself:“Being my people isn’t easy. 

I demand much.I expect more.I get angry at their disobedience. 

I react to their rebelliousness, but only because I love them and want the best for them. 

Like wayward children they follow their own rules. 

They worship not out of devotion, but suspicion. 

They crave not spiritual nourishment, but bodily comfort. 

They value not what others own, but what they can gain from them. 

They belittle their own lives through excess and intolerance.They consider another’s life as worth less than their own.

As they dishonor family so they bring shame on me. 

And yet I love them and yearn that they love themselves and one another. 

That is why there have to be don’ts in order to do. 

There have to be doers to make way for don’ts. 

There has to be discipline to be order. 

There has to be respect to be love. 

There has to be covenant to be community. 

There has to be journey to be arrival. 

There have to be roots for life to grow.
And so written in stone  

I offer my wisdom  

I pledge my love—a rock solid guarantee 

for my people. 

For all time.”

 Source: Spill the Beans. Worship and Learning Resources for All Ages. Issue 13. 

If you feel inspired, after reading this monologue, to open your Bible and reread last Sunday’s first lesson  -- they were Exodus 19:3-7 and 20:1-17 and Matthew 5:17.  Or if you’d rather like to read ahead in preparation of our worship services, the two lessons for October 12 are Joshua 24:1-15 and Matthew 4:8-10.

October 24  |  A Hospital for Sinners

On the occasion of the upcoming celebration of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, I hope to remind all of us of some of Luther’s fundamental theological insights about who we are as Christians and about the church, its nature and purpose.

For any follower of Christ, the temptation is easy to gather in churches, to rejoice in one’s salvation, and to consider those who don’t profess Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord with a rather uncanny mixture of pity and pride.  What might we call such attitude?  I think Jesus expressed this flaw well when he warned us that so very often we see the splinter in our neighbors’ eyes, but fail to see the log that’s hampering our own eyesight.  Another term for this unfortunate tendency to see other people’s flaws more prominently than our own shortcomings is “sin.” 

So, what was Martin Luther’s most fundamental insight about the nature of Christian human beings?  I believe that his lasting insight into Christian nature was that we are simultaneously saints and sinners (or in Martin Luther’s Latin: “simul iustus et peccator”). 

Yes, I is true, we have been saved by Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.  Because of Jesus, we no longer are strangers to God, but friends of the Father and members of the Son’s own household.   Inasmuch as Jesus Christ saved us and died and rose for us, we are saints of God.  That’s what we acknowledge and proclaim in our baptism into Christ.  

At the same time, though, we always are and always will be sinners, as well.  Redeemed sinners.  Our fallen nature does not miraculously disappear – despite everything God has done on our behalf.  Each and every day remain a struggle between knowing what is right and doing the right thing (Romans 7).  Our old Adam (or Eve) and our new Adam (or Eve) are in a fierce struggle with one another …. each and every day of our Christian lives.  Anybody who will tell us that on such and such time on such and such day they have become different people, misses the mark, at least as Dr. Martin Luther was concerned.

So, what implications does such view of the life of Christians have for the way we view the church?  There is widespread belief out there in the world that Christians are nothing but a bunch of self-righteous, narrow-minded, hypocritical individuals who try to tell the rest of the world how to live, even though they themselves live less than perfect lives.  If that’s how the world sees us, we do have more than a PR problem; we do have more than a problem of perception.  If sufficient numbers of people see us that way, they can’t all be wrong, can’t they?  The line between joy in God’s salvation and self-righteousness can, indeed be rather blurry at times.

Yes, there, indeed, is a tendency that Christians feel sorry and pity those who haven’t been “saved.” But, my friends, if we are saints and sinners, always and forevermore, then what would make this the Christian Church?  Martin Luther had an answer for that problem as well.  To him, the Church was a “hospital for sinners” (find reference).  In that, he was not alone.  Ever since the earliest times of the church, theologians (following the leadership of…) called the message of salvation a “medicine toward immortality” (pharmakon athanasia).  

So, let us therefore remember this Sunday, when we gather to both celebrate the theological breakthroughs of Martin Luther and the confirmation of seven Sr. High students the following theological fundamentals:

• Christians are saints and sinners all the same,
• the Church is a community of fallen individuals who know that they are flawed and in need of forgiveness and grace, and NOT a community of individuals who are less flawed and fallible that their non-Christian neighbors, and
• Christians have a medicine that Jesus Christ, their divine physician, administers to his followers to save them from eternal damnation and preserve them for eternal life.  That message is called UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.  

The two places where we experience that unconditional love more clearly than anywhere else are at the font and at the table.  We do so, because Christ has promised to meet us in the waters of baptism and in bread and wine.  Whoever administers those elements and whatever the mood may be that we find ourselves in while receiving the sacraments does not matter.  The heart of our sacraments is not whether or not we are ready to receive Christ, but that Christ meets us in water, bread, and wine.  It is not our own merit, not even the merit of our faith, that saves us, but Christ alone.

May the God in whom Martin Luther trusted with all his being preserve, protect, and guide your every thought and action.  

October 31  |  WWJD?

Last Sunday, toward the end of her sermon, LaVinnia charged the confirmands and the rest of us to “remember Jesus”, just as the grandmother of former Bethel interim pastor Tom Anderson had charged her grandson many a time.  

Remember Jesus.  But how?  Who is Jesus to all of us and to you individually, what did he do, and by which of his actions ought we remember him best?  

One particular means for daily remembrance of Jesus that became popular in the 1990s were the “W.W.J.D.?” bracelets which, I am sure, you all have seen around.  The idea behind those bracelets is similar to the intentions of Pr. Anderson’s grandmother: each time that the persons wearing the bracelet look at their bracelet they are to compare their own actions to those of Jesus.  What might Jesus do in any given moment? How would he act in a given situation?

Nice sentiment, indeed, but this tool does not necessarily make things easier for us.  Sometime things actually get a lot messier when we remember Jesus and seek to judge our own actions by his standard of living and loving.  It all comes down, in the end, to how we view Jesus, the first-century Jewish man, and his life.

This week I came across a satirical piece, first published in the Huffington Post as WWJD: What Would Jesus Do? Do You Really Want to Know?, a piece that fits very well with the theme of remembering Jesus, but with an interesting twist that puts a helpful spin on LaVinnia’s challenge to remember Jesus.  In it, author Mick Mooney writes:

“Once upon a time, a mother made her son a wristband. On it was written: WWJD? This, of course stood for: ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ She instructed her son to look at the wristband before making decisions on how to live his Christian life. 

A week later she was shocked to see that her son had become friends with prostitutes, was hanging out with 'sinners' -- even buying people who were already drunk yet another round of beers! 

Worse still, he had walked into their church the previous Sunday and tore down the book store, overturned the tables and threw the cash register through the window, he then made a whip and chased the pastor out of the building, declaring he was turning God's house into a den of thieves. 

Most shocking was what happened when his mother went to picket the local abortion clinic. To her embarrassment, her son was also there, but he was standing with the women who just had an abortion, and yelled at the protesters: "You who are without sin, throw the first stone!" 

The mother was very distressed, but fortunately she found a solution to this terrible problem. She made another wristband, this time it read: WWAPD? This, she explained to her son, stood for: ‘What Would A Pharisee Do?’ She took the old WWJD? wristband and burned it. 

Since her son has been wearing the new wristband, looking at it to help him make his decisions, he has become a dedicated tither, a public prayer warrior, an active condemner of 'sinners,' a passionate defender of the Old Covenant law, and has a great reputation as a godly young man amongst other religious people. 

Needless to say, the mother is very happy now. She only wishes Jesus would take notice and follow her son's good example.”

So, let us all remember Jesus, the one who loves and accepts sinners, eats with them, stands up for them against Pharisees, and transforms them through his love!

November 7  |  Remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989

On June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and challenged Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet head of state, with words that would soon become famous throughout the world:  "Mr. Gorbachev open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!"

Two years later - in preparation for the 40th anniversary of Communist East Germany - East German head of state, Erich Honecker, gave his defiant response. The Berlin Wall, he proclaimed, would stand for another 100 years, and Socialism and Communism would one day rule the world.

This was the last birthday that the Communist East German state celebrated. On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, on July 1990, East and West Germany began sharing a common currency, and on October 3, 1990, both countries were officially reunited into one.

This Sunday I want to challenge all of us to remember the strength we have as a Christian Church to impact lives, transform our society from within, make a difference, and change history.  How many walls could we bring down in our lives, communities and nation if we overcame our fears of rejection, our indifference and complacency, and carried God's light into the streets and places to set a fire aflame that cannot be put out?

This Sunday, we will be celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and praising a God who has set before us the vision and promise of a world without walls.
At the first worship service, we will do so in traditional liturgical manner, with organ and choir.  At the second worship service, we will be lead by our Worship Team, hear sounds of Pink Floyd, and encounter videos retelling the history of the Berlin Wall (1961-1989).

November 14  |  "Bringing Down Walls" Litany

As I have received several requests to share the litany from last Sunday’s “Berlin wall” contemporary service, I decided to share it with you via this week’s eNewsletter.  
For those who did not attend the contemporary service on November 9, this is what happened: The worship took a break from our regular order of worship (gathering-listening-communing-sending) and progressed along the following 4-part structure: 

• Building Walls in a Fallen World
• Living with Walls
• Dismantling Walls
• Dreaming a World Without Walls

The worship service was comprised of music by Pink Floyd, Scripture lessons (Micah 5:2-4 and 6:6-8, Ephesians 2:14, Matthew 9:13, Philippians 2:5-11), nine videos with original Berlin Wall footage, and several prayers and litanies. 

While the sometimes haunting music expressed the alienation , cruelty, loneliness that we experience and the crazy lives that we so often live, the videos took us back to East Germany from the 1960s to 1980s.  God’s word – as it came to us through the Scripture lessons – held a mirror to our eyes, calling us to live lives worthy of God’s love.

The following litany set the tone for the worship service. It came some 5-10 minutes into the worship service.

Litany: All in all it's just another brick in the wall.

We build walls.  All. the. time.Walls that protect.  Walls that divide.Walls that trap.Walls that imprison.When we squander the natural, God-given resources. When we pollute our air, rivers, and oceans – we add another brick in the wall. 

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.” 

When we lock up excessive numbers of young black men in our prisons, we add another brick in the wall. 

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.”

When we spend more money on weapons than we spend on the education of our children, we add another brick in the wall. 

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.”

When our veterans end up living on the streets, begging for handouts, haunted by memories, tormented by nightmares, suffering from mental illness and drug abuse, we add another brick in the wall.

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.”

When we don’t swing into serious action until deadly diseases like Ebola cross into our own nation, we add another brick in the wall.

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.”

When we say that some are more lovable by God than others.  When we discriminate people by color, race, gender, sexual orientation, income, age, or education, we add another brick in the wall.

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.” 

When children come to the US illegally, just to escape the every-day violence in their home countries, but we resolve to send them back into an uncertain future, we add another brick in the wall. 

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.” 

When we think that we are better, because we have God on our side,we add another brick in the wall. 

[Sung Response] “All in all it's just another brick in the wall.” 

 And soon, the walls we have built are too high for us to still see the beauty of God’s creation and the beauty of all of God’s children. The walls that we have built block us from loving ourselves, our neighbors, and God, our creator. 

ALL: Help us, O God, to dismantle the walls we have built. Help us to dream a world without walls, a world in which we follow the path that Jesus has laid out for us, the path of the cross. Amen

Please join me this Sunday as we will worship God, celebrate the First Communion of 5 of our children (at 8:45am), and listen to God’s word.

November 21  |  What Kind of King Do We Worship?

This Sunday is the last year of the church year, with Advent beginning after that.  The proper liturgical name of this Sunday is “Christ the King Sunday.”  Because of that, the question comes to my mind is, "What kind of king is this?"

Each of the three synoptic Gospels presents a slightly different picture of Christ as King. 
In Matthew, Jesus is the God-authorized Son and Israel's Messiah who teaches with heavenly authority concerning the will of God, and performs miracles that give authority to his teachings. Jesus as King in Matthew is, in the words that both open and close his gospel, "God with us."

In Mark, Christ is Israel's true king, but his kingship is hidden in suffering and rejection. 
In Luke, Jesus is the Son of a God who, through Jesus' ministry, grants forgiveness of sins to the repentant and the salvation through the sending of the Holy Spirit.

In all three gospels, Jesus freely chooses to head toward Jerusalem. He could have run for the hills, instead of heading for the center of Jewish religious authority and facing the consequences of challenging the Jewish religious leaders.  We are right to say that Jesus chose the kind of king he was to be. 

• What kind of king is this?  A king who gets crucified at a place called the Skull? One murdered with a criminal on his left and a criminal on his right?
• What kind of king is this? One who forgives, rather than renders judgment on those who question his authority?
• What kind of king is this? One who allows himself to be disrespected and abused without speaking a single word in his own defense?
• What kind of king is this?  One who allows even criminals to mock him without putting them in their place?
• What kind of king is this?  One who cares more about others than his own pain at the peak of his own suffering?

How can such a King save, lead, and guide us?  He can't, if we see our role as bystanders watching from the sidelines as salvation unfolds.  Instead, Jesus wants us to identify with his suffering. He wants us to die with him and rise with him in our baptism.  He wants us to be transformed into his likeness, the likeness of a King who carried his own cross.

What kind of king is this that we honor on this Reign of Christ Sunday? Not one we've ever seen before on this earth, but One who was, One who is, and One who is to come. Thanks be to God!

November 28  |  Thanksgiving, Immigration, and the ELCA

Last Sunday, LaVinnia Pierson was preaching on the message of the prophet Jeremiah – reminding us that Jeremiah had been called by God as a young boy and that God provided him with all the skills necessary to function as God’s messenger to the people of Judah (Jeremiah 1:1-4), just as God calls and equips each one of into service.


LaVinnia then talked about Jeremiah’s so-called “temple sermon,” his challenge to all those who felt safe and secure, because of their worship in God’s house, the Jerusalem temple.  The prophet warns his people not to deceive themselves by trusting that God is on their side, no matter what.  Instead, Jeremiah reminds his people that God’s covenant with the people of Israel has always been a conditional covenant, a mutual pact in which God promised to look after his people and the people, in return, promised to act justly with one another.  

Jeremiah, just like most other Old Testament prophets, mentions the widows, the orphans, and the resident aliens (Jeremiah 7:1-10). When those three groups fare well in society, justice prevails. 

Tomorrow, many in our nation will gather in homes, halls, and around tables to give thanks for the big and small blessings in our lives.  Most Americans celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday share a common bond – the bond of immigration.  Most Americans live in this country because either they themselves or their ancestors immigrated to it.  

It is therefore befitting that our church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adds its voice to the public discussion on immigration.  On November 20, all 65 ELCA bishops, plus the ELCA Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, issued a statement in swift response to President Obama’s immigration speech.  

I invite you to take the time and read the full text of the bishops’ statement (provided below).  May this statement remind you both of the blessing to be a citizen of this country and of the Christian responsibility to show hospitality to the stranger in our midst.

“As people of faith and leaders of the church, we support public policy that protects children, reunites families, and cares for the most vulnerable, regardless of their place of birth. The treatment of immigrants is a core religious value. To welcome the stranger is to welcome a child of God. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to welcome the stranger, for "just as you did it to one of the least of these... you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40) 

Each day in our congregations and in our service to the community, we see the consequences of this broken immigration system: separated families, children returning home to find their parents have been deported, and the exploitation of undocumented workers. By removing the threat of deportation for many people, we are showing compassion for people who have been here for years, working hard to provide for their families, obeying the law, and contributing to the fabric of our community. 

While today’s action addresses a pressing need, it does not provide a path to citizenship, establish policies that prioritize family unity, or create more efficient channels for entry of new migrant workers. Our hope is that congress will address these and related issues, including the practice of family detention, which undermines our values as a people of faith and a nation of welcome. 

The Scriptures consistently show a significant concern for immigrants: "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:33-34)
The positive role of immigrants in our history, economy and our community is unmistakable. We support this compassionate first step toward reforming an immigration system that is flawed and requires many of our neighbors to live in the shadows in fear. 

The ELCA Conference of Bishops”

The bishops’ statement can be found online at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/ELCA_Bishops_Statement_on_Immigration_Anouncement.pdf

December 5  |  Hanging of the Greens

During Advent, many churches hold a service of preparation for Christ's coming, during which they would hang greenery traditionally associated with everlasting life.  The greens used include cedar (symbolizing the royalty of Mary’s son), fir and pine boughs (symbolizing everlasting life), holly (symbolizing Jesus' death), and ivy (representing the resurrection).

Bethel used to hold “Hanging of the Greens” events this many years ago, not on a Sunday morning, but as an evening event for the whole family.  This year, we will be incorporating parts of the “Hanging of the Greens” into our regular Sunday morning worship services.  

Our theme for this Sunday is “Time for Preparation”, which alludes to the many different kinds of preparation happening taking place during this season: Advent is the time when we prepare we prepare sanctuaries and homes for Christmas, Advent is the time when we prepare ourselves for Christmas, but Advent is also the time when we remind ourselves that God is in this project for the long haul.  God’s plan for the world and for the humanity is not complete yet.  God is not finished yet, and neither are we.  

The Hebrew word “Bethel” means “God’s house” or “house of God.”  Our congregation bears this name to remind us that the world and everyone in it is God’s house, not just this congregation.  We live in this house, so that God can get us ready.  Ever since the beginning of the world, God has been preparing a house for us, our heavenly home.  Jesus himself revealed that he’d be gong ahead to get rooms in that house ready for us.  

But, are we ready yet to move into our mansion?  Not quite, I believe.  Our sin, our greed, and self-centeredness renders us unfit as inhabitants of God’s heavenly home.  The wonderful news, though, is that God himself is preparing us to share his house.  Through the life that we live, through our parents, spouse, children, friends, coworkers, etc., God is preparing us for his own house.  

God is not so much preparing his blessings for us, as he is preparing us for his blessings. In fact, God’s blessings have already been prepared in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  God’s blessings have already been prepared and are firmly in place.  Now God prepares us for those blessings.  

Just as new drivers are better suited to drive Volkswagen bugs than big rig trucks, we are not suited yet to move into God’s heavenly house.  God gives us the experience of our lives to prepare us for his house and for living there eternally with him.

Part of that process is also church life.  As new churches are planted and older ones close their doors, as new members join existing congregations and long-time members may move on, as new pastors come and others leave, and as surrounding communities change, God uses church communities to prepare people of faith so that they be fit for God’s heavenly home.  

Let us be grateful to God for his commitment to us for the long haul when we gather this Sunday to adorn the Bethel sanctuary, to worship God, to celebrate, and to hold the congregational meeting between worship services and vote on the calling of a new lead pastor for Bethel.

Wishing you a blessed 2nd Sunday of Advent,

December 12  |  Advent at Bethel

There’s no denying – we have boarded the express train that takes us to Christmas.  Some of the beautiful worship and fellowship events of this season have already taken place, many more are to come.

The Advent season at Bethel began with iSERVE Sunday on November 30.  This coincidence of 1st Sunday of Advent and iSERVE was rather appropriate, as Advent emphasizes the waiting for the return of the Messiah and the eventual completion of God’s work.  There is still so much in this world that is contrary to God’s ways.  May God’s Spirit lead us onto paths of thanksgiving and service to others in His name!

On the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we symbolically decorated our sanctuary to remind one another that God has already prepared a house for us and still prepares us for his house.  Many thanks go to Liz Barton, LaVinnia Pierson, and Tom Hoegel for leading the decorating efforts. Our efforts at worshipping God were further supported by the beautiful music of the Grace Notes a capella choir, who will also be singing this Saturday (December 13) at 6pm in our sanctuary.

Mid-week, on December 10, Scandinavian sights, sounds, and tastes filled Torvend Hall when “Nordahl Grieg Leikarring og Spelemannslag”, upon LaVinnia Pierson’s invitation, joined the Bethel community to party Scandinavia-American style.    It was a true delight to see so many gather, dance, have fun, and (re)connect.  In addition to LaVinnia, a few individuals stand out among the organizers and deserve to receive a special word of thanks: Patricia Myerholtz for recruiting helpers and putting in countless hours of work in preparation of the event; Sandie Hersh and Sue Jacobus  for adding their culinary, decorating, and artistic talents to the pool of event organizers;  Linnea Pierson for educating us about Scandinavian holiday traditions and cooking and baking up a storm at home to supply us with cookies, sweet soup, and breads.  Tusen takk  (Norwegian for thank you very much) to all of you!

This Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, we will have musical guests again – the Mountain View Madricals in all of their visual and acoustic splendor, led by our own Jill Denny.  This year, the Madrigals will fill our sanctuary with their glorious sounds  between both services.  Just a few hours later, from 7:30pm on, the same space will be filled with music again.  All our choirs and music groups will come together for Bethel’s annual Christmas Concert to jubilate and exult God’s holy name.

All the while, our children – in both church and school – have been busy rehearsing songs and practicing scenes.  This year, there will be four opportunities to enjoy the children of our community proclaim the good news of Christ’s birth:

• The Bethel Lutheran School elementary students invite you to attend their Christmas program, titled “Miracle on Main Street”, on Wednesday, December 17 at 6:30pm
• The Bethel Lutheran preschoolers invite you to attend their performance of the “Christmas Alphabet” on Thursday, December 18, at 10:30am.  As an additional incentive, you might consider joining the Evergreens for their December meeting, during part of which they will be watching the preschool program.
• The Kid Connection children and their teachers invite you to attend not one, but two performances of “The Right Way,” an original Christmas play written and co-produced by Randy Shattuck.  The first opportunity to watch our Sunday School children at work will be on Saturday, December 20, at 5:30pm.  You will also have the opportunity to watch the play again during worship the next day, Sunday, December 21, at 10:45am. 

In addition, there are many more opportunities for fellowship – the 5K Santa Run on December 4, the Skating/Caroling/Pizza Extravaganza on Sunday, December 21, and the all-day San Francisco Walking Tour on December 23.

I hope that you will avail yourself of many of these opportunities to enjoy the company of your brothers and sisters in the faith at Bethel!

December 19  |  And Jesus Said, “I Can’t Breathe”

I’d like to pick up where LaVinnia left of last Sunday in her sermon.  The first lesson for her sermon came from Isaiah 42: 1-9.  In that lesson, God announces the coming of a savior, a savior upon whom God has put his spirit, a savior who bring forth justice.  This savior will be gentle; he won’t lift up his voice, nor will he crush dimly burning lights, causing them to go out altogether.  Isaiah trusts in God’s words, because those words come from the One who gives breath and spirit to the people who walk upon the earth.  Once he comes, the savior will be a light to the nations; he will open the eyes of the blind and liberate those who sit in darkness.  In and through him, God will make everything new.  And God did.  He did so in the child who drew his first breath in a stable in Bethlehem.  He did so in the man who took his last breath, dying on a cross on Calvary.

Spirit – breath – burning wick –  light – vision  – all these have something in common.   In order to breath, people need oxygen, in order for a light to burn and illuminate the darkness, oxygen is needed.   Without air, without oxygen, human life would be impossible.  We can trust God’s savior, because he is sent by the One who gave us life, to begin with.   At the same time, Isaiah leaves no doubt – salvation from darkness is closely relate to the presence of justice among us.  God’s savior will come to bring about light AND justice. 

Toward the end of her sermon, LaVinnia alluded to the recent protests that spilled onto streets and closed down freeways in some of our cities.  People on the streets and in the media  demanded more justice for ALL Americans, no matter what the color of their skin.  They did so quoting  Eric Garner, the 43-year old asthmatic African-American man and father of six who was arrested and called out “I can’t breathe” before he died in police custody.

Without God’s life-giving Spirit, none of us can live. Without oxygen, none of us can live.  God’s love and forgiveness none of us can live.  Yet, neither can anyone among us live, truly live without justice. The prophet Isaiah knew that and Jesus knew that, as he proves when he quoted Isaiah to state his mission.

It is God who gives breath to the people, God who revives those who can’t breathe.  God is the giver of spirit, breath, and justice and He invites us be bringers of justice, light, life, and love in his name.  He invites us to partner with Jesus, who came to transform the world and to make all things new and invites us t be part of this life-giving mission.  God invites us to partner with Jesus who took stopped breathing while hanging on a cross, so that we may have life in abundance.

As we prepare to celebrate the light that has come into the world in and through Jesus, may we also remember that that light came, so that there be justice for all – the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the downtrodden.  

May we open our hearts and minds to God’s love this Christmas.  May we surrender our bodies, hearts, and minds to him – so that he can further the cause of love and justice through us and our small acts of love and service.

Wishing a Merry Christmas to you and yours!