Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
November 17, 2019
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson

Click here to read scripture passages for the day.

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.

Jesus is not one to candy-coat things. He apparently didn’t learn that a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

No, Jesus tells it like it is. Things in this life are going to be hard. And he says things are going to be especially hard for us who follow him because we’ll come into conflict with the powers of this world.

This is true even if we aren’t handed over to authorities and put on trial. We will face opposition if we follow Jesus. Jesus said he was sent to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. This made Jesus a threat to the rich and powerful and they put him to death.

Sharing his priorities will put us at odds with the ways of the world. We will face opposition and we will be asked to testify – to serve as witnesses to the way of Jesus. All that sounds pretty daunting and yet, the call to testify as followers of Jesus is just what our souls need.

The English word testify can mean to express a personal conviction. That’s often how it’s under- stood by religious folks, as in – we’re supposed to testify about Jesus by telling people we believe in him.

Yet I think our Gospel reading here is calling us to something more. To testify can also mean to show or state that something is true, especially in court.

We are called to show and state that the way of Jesus is true. We’re called to do this in the court of public opinion – to testify through how we both live and speak.

In the court of public opinion others testify with words and deeds to what they perceive to be true: Those with the most toys win, might makes right, all is lost- just get yours, you get what you de-serve, and so on.

We are called to testify to a different reality – to Christ Jesus crucified and risen. That is: We are to bear witness that God has come to be with us in Jesus – all is not lost. God has come. And God has come not with power and might but as a peasant who lived among the poor, who suffered at the hands of the state. Jesus threatened the powers of this world, there was chaos and violence, and Jesus was killed. Yet, God brought new life when things looked most bleak. This is what God did then and what God always does. God raised Jesus from the dead, life and love prevailed and will ultimately prevail.

We need not despair. We need not be terrified. There will be wars, insurrections, tyrants, earth- quakes, famines, impeachment inquiries – but all is not lost. God is at work. God is with us still in the risen Christ to bring new life to us all and especially to those who are poor and oppressed.

God is with us to give us not what we deserve but what God freely gives – life, hope, compassion, community. This is the truth to which we are called to testify in our speech and our actions.

When the world is fixated on wealth and power, we’re called to see the face of God on the person who is poor and oppressed. When we feel despair about the state of the world, we’re called to look for signs of God bringing new life and point to those. This is what it means to testify to the way of Jesus.

One way we’re testifying together now is through the ELCA AMMPARO initiative focused on accompanying immigrants. This initiative helps us to notice and show honor to God’s beloved children who’ve had to flee their homes. As we do, we see God’s presence at work in so many courageous, faithful people. We see God calling us to accompany them in the US and in working for change in their home countries. All of this then shapes how we address immigration issues in the court of public opinion. Rather than amplify the fear and despair, we can bear witness to hope. Testifying is good for our souls. It gives us the chance to notice, name and nurture what God is up to in the world.

Yet, testifying can also feel like a daunting task.

Jesus promises that we will receive what we need to testify. We will be given words and wisdom. This is what happens when we gather for worship. We are nourished by God’s word. We join in the reflection and prayer that leads to wisdom. We are shaped into people who can speak words born of wisdom in the court of public opinion.

We are also nurtured by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that Jesus calls our advocate. When we testify, we are not alone. We have a good advocate, good counsel.

And, we are given a community that helps us to testify. All of the instruction and the assurance in this passage is given to a group of people – each you in this passage is a plural you. This will give you all an opportunity to testify. I will give you all the words and wisdom. By the endurance of all of you, you all will gain your souls.

This means we aren’t just individual witnesses; we are part of a class action lawsuit against the powers of this world. We are in this together and we have a great cloud of witnesses with us as we make the case. Finally, Jesus promises that we will not perish, we will not be overcome by evil, we will be held safe in God. As we testify, we are part of God’s witness protection program. Even if we are put in prison, even if we die, even when we die, we are held always in God and given new life.

All the trials of life give us an opportunity to testify. We have what we need to testify and testifying to Jesus is just what we need to do for our souls. It makes it possible for us to live and speak with hope.

Let’s take a moment for silent prayer.

November 10, 2019
22^nd Sunday after Pentecost
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, IA|
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson

Click here to read scripture passages for the day.

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.

When a loved one dies, it’s so hard to hear others refer to them in the past tense. As people say all sorts of kind things: “she was so generous”, “she was so funny”, it hits you again, “She was”, means she is no longer alive.

It’s also hard to know which tense you want to use when referring to a loved one. After the death of a spouse do you say, “today is our wedding anniversary,” or “today would have been our wedding anniversary?” Do you say, “we have three children,” or “we had three children and our son died ten years ago?”

Referring to our loved ones in the past tense is so painful. We want them to be present in our lives and we want our speech to reflect that.

Jesus says that God uses the present tense when speaking to Moses about his ancestors who have died. In the story Jesus is referencing, God says to Moses, “I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God doesn’t say, “I once was the God of your ancestors back when they were alive, and I remember them fondly,” but rather I AM the God of your ancestors.

Jesus says God doesn’t have to use the past tense for those who have died for they are alive to God. The dead are raised and live now as children of God, children of the resurrection.

Jesus’ words here raise many questions and don’t offer any easy answers. Instead, they give us a glimpse of a beautiful mystery beyond our comprehension: Those who have died do not only the inhabit the past. They live now in the presence of God, in the heart of God.

This means we can still think of our relationships with our departed loved ones in the present and future tenses: We were together here. We are each now held in God’s heart, so, in some way, we are still together. And we will be together in God in the age to come.

The end of life here is not the end of love, of connection, of intimacy with God and one another. We still have a future together.

The good news is that this future is not just a continuation of life here on earth with all its sin, sorrow and brokenness. As Jesus says, those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage but in the age to come everything will be different.

All of our relationships, all aspects of our life together will be transformed. We will know new ways of being in relationship, new ways of being together with all the children of God.

For instance, in the age to come, women won’t be the property of men as they were in Jesus’ day. So, no one will need to wonder what will happen to a woman who had many husbands and no children. She, and all those who’ve suffered oppression, will finally share in the fullness of life that God longs for them to know. We will all share in that fullness of life in the heart of God.

And, beloved, if you wonder if you are worthy of a place in the heart of God, if you wonder if death will separate you or your loved ones from God, hear the promises we are given in the book of Romans and the Gospel of John. It is Christ Jesus, who died, who was raised, and who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us, who prepares a place for us in God’s heart. And now nothing, not even death, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do not be afraid. Nothing in the past, present or future will separate you from God. Christ Jesus has opened up this life-giving relationship with God for you, for all people, now and always. God is present for you here and now, not only in the age to come.

Here and now, God is working for us all to know abundance.
Here and now, God assures us we need not fear.
Here are now, God asks us to be about the things that bring life to God’s world.

We aren’t to fixate on what happens when we die but rather, to join God in working for all people to know fullness of life now and always.

We are all held in God’s heart. You are held in God’s heart now and forever.

Let’s take a moment for silent prayer.

All Saints Sunday
November 3, 2019
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson

Click here to see scripture passages for the day.

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.

I don’t like hearing Jesus say, “woe to you”- especially on All Saints Sunday. On this day, I just want to grieve and give thanks for the saints who’ve gone before us. And, as we do that, I want to focus on God’s words of comfort and promise for us all.

I don’t want to hear, “woe to you who are rich … (because we’re all rich in comparison to just about everyone else who’s ever lived on this planet). I don’t want to hear, “woe to you who are full now … woe to you who laugh”. These words of judgement feel so harsh. The end of our Psalm to- day feels even more harsh as we hear about God’s people wreaking vengeance on the nations and inflicting God’s judgement.

On All Saints Sunday, I want to focus on God’s presence with us in our suffering – wiping away our tears and making for us a feast of rich foods and well-aged wines. God with us in times of sorrow and struggle is such good news.

And yet, God’s judgement is also good news for us because it is one way that God brings healing.

God is active in the face of our suffering. God doesn’t just say, “I am so sorry for your pain. I wish I could do something to help.” God doesn’t just offer nice phrases like leaders who say, “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims,” and yet take no action.

God is with us in suffering, but God is also actively at work to heal us.

And one of the ways God brings healing is to convey judgement about our ways of being that are harmful to us and other people.

We may not always want to hear this message and yet, in our suffering, we need more than empathy. We also need to address the things that contribute to it.

This reminds me of a very funny video called “It’s Not About the Nail.” The video, which admittedly reinforces gender stereotypes – plays with the idea that women don’t want men to try to fix our suffering, offering advice and problem solving. We want you to listen and empathize. Yet, there are times when there is something causing us pain that could be fixed.

The video starts out with a woman talking to her male partner and you see just part of her face. She says, “It’s just, there’s all this pressure, you know. And sometimes it feels like it’s right up on me and I can just feel it – like literally feel it in my head and it’s relentless … “ She turns and you can see that she has a nail sticking out of her forehead.

The man replies, “Yeah, well you do a have a nail in your head.” “It is not about the nail,” she answers. “Are you sure,” he asks, “because, I mean, I bet if we got that out of there …” She interrupts, “You always do this – you always try to fix things when all I really need is for you to just listen.” “No, see, I don’t know if that is what you need; I think what you need is to get the nail out.”

Finally, she persuades him to just listen as she describes how she’s not sleeping well and all of her sweaters are snagged, literally all of the sweaters.

He listens and says, “That sounds really hard.” She’s grateful and they go to kiss, but the nail gets in the way.

It’s very funny, look for it on YouTube.

In our suffering, we all need people who are simply with us in the pain (and, I have to say, not man-splaining!) Yet, we also need to address what is leading to the suffering, especially because it’s rarely as obvious as a nail sticking out of our head.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus lets us know that our compassionate God is so very present with us in struggle and is especially present to those most in need. Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh.

Jesus also calls our attention to things that can be harmful – especially money, abundance, merriment and respect. These things are often viewed as a sign of God’s favor. Yet, here and throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus asks us to take another look at them.

Wealth and ease can lead to an arrogance that corrodes our lives, blunting our sense of solidarity with and responsibility towards others. Excess wealth and food can whet our appetite for more and more, leading us to harm our earthly home. We can become infected with fear and violence as we try to defend what we have. Respect can lead us to crave praise at the expense of truth and integrity. And when we have all these things, there is no room for God who is the source of our life and hope, there is no room for real community. All of this can leave us empty and alone.

God longs for us to live connected to each other in ways that allow all to flourish. So, Jesus says take heed, watch out for the things that can get in the way of that. These things that you think are a sign of God’s favor can be like a nail in your head.

Then, Jesus continues with guidance about how to live differently, how to address that nail. Love your enemies, pray for those who harm you, share with those in need, do to others as you would have them do to you.

This is the way of Jesus, the way that leads to healing for us and for this whole suffering world.

This is the way of the whole communion of saints to which we belong. The saints before us have heard Jesus’ words of judgment and forgiveness and have lived differently as a result. They have sought God’s justice and mercy for the nations, for those who are poor, hungry, weeping and
persecuted. They have loved, prayed, forgiven and shared. Through them, God has been so very active.

God doesn’t just say, I’m so sorry for your suffering.

God speaks a word of judgement and forgiveness to the saints, including each of us. God’s word changes lives and brings healing to the world – as the saints live in the way of Jesus.

Dear saints of God, we, too, can live in the way of Jesus because our just and compassionate God is with us always, with you always. We have all that we need for lives of justice and joy.

Let’s take a moment for silent prayer.

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Reformation Sunday
October 27, 2019
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson

Click here to read scripture passages for the day.

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus. Amen.

When I hear this story, I picture Zacchaeus as Danny DeVito, that short actor who often plays sketchy, dishonest types. Somehow DeVito makes these characters appear sympathetic. He helps us relate to them.

Zacchaeus is definitely a sketchy guy. He’s grown rich collecting taxes for the Roman Empire, which means he’s charging his neighbors too much and pocketing the extra. Ancient tax collectors are not sympathetic characters.

Yet picture Zacchaeus as Danny DeVito and it might help you relate to him. Or, just hear his story again and notice how much it has in common with ours.

Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is passing through his town – just passing through mind you, not staying for a while. Something big, exciting and potentially life changing is coming and Zacchaeus is afraid it’s just going to pass him by.

We can relate to that feeling. We know what it is to worry that we’re going to miss out on some-thing important – that life, healing, and hope are just going to pass us by.

Zacchaeus doesn’t want to miss out. So, he tries to get some face time with Jesus, but the crowd gets in his way.

We know what that feels like, too. There are so many obstacles that keep us from what we most need – the press of people, demands, noise, busyness. The crowd gets in the way.

Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus but he’s coming up short. So, he hustles to outrun the crowd and scrambles up a tree. That’s totally a Danny DeVito move – doing something undignified and potentially dangerous to get in on the action. Yet we also know what it’s like to feel we’re coming up short. We know the pressure to scramble, hustle and climb, to get ahead of it all. And when we’re panicked about getting passed over or missing out, we, too, can find ourselves in some ridiculous, perilous positions

That’s where Jesus finds Zacchaeus; that’s where Jesus finds us. We’d like for Jesus to see us at our Sunday best – calm, collected, dignified. We don’t want him to see us when we’re rushing and crazy and scrambling to keep up with it all. We’d prefer to appear more like Morgan Freeman and less like Danny DeVito.

Yet Jesus finds Zacchaeus. Jesus finds us where we are – even when we’re just barely hanging on from a perilous perch.

Jesus looks at Zacchaeus, and at us, and says, “Hurry and come down. You who’ve done so much scrambling, hustling and climbing, come quickly now to me. You who’ve worked yourself up to such a state, come down to me. I’m not going to pass you by, I’m going to stay at your house, I will be with you.”

Zacchaeus hurries down and welcomes Jesus.

Just as soon as he’s down, the noise of the crowd starts up again. People grumble and complain – this sinful tax collector is not worthy of Jesus’ attention. But strikingly, Zacchaeus is done trying to outmaneuver them all. Jesus has come to stay with Zacchaeus and that has changed everything.

We’re told, “Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’”

He stands there, stands firm, and says, in essence, I’m done with hustling people and climbing and trying to get ahead. I don’t need all that now. I can let that go. I can let many of my possessions go. I have what I need. I can act in ways that will lead to real life-giving relationships with others.

Jesus’ presence has given Zacchaeus a new way of being – a way that is generous and hopeful. Jesus’ presence also helps Zacchaeus to stand fast in this new way of being, even when others grumble about him. Beloved, Jesus has also come to stay with us, with you. The risen Jesus is present with us always by the power of the Spirit.

Jesus meets us here today in bread and wine, in word and song, in the gathered community and those the world sees as the last and least.

Jesus finds us wherever we are and says, “I see you and I want to be with you.” In him, the God of the universe is present with us to forgive us, to love us and feed us.

Jesus finds us in the midst of all the worries, fear, demands and press of daily life to say I am here, come down, breathe, stand still for a moment. You have what you need. You can pause and rest and open your hands to others.

Since Jesus is with us, we have all that we need to let go of hurry and worry, hustle and scramble. We can live in ways that lead to life-giving relationships with others and with the earth.

This is the good news that Jesus brings, the good news that we celebrate on Reformation Sunday. It’s the good news on which we can stand firm like Zacchaeus, like Martin Luther the Reformer, like the saints before us. Jesus is here to stay with you. You have all that you need.

Let’s take a moment for silent prayer.

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 20, 2019
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson

Click here to read scripture passages for the day.

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.

“We are seared and we are scarred by those things that make us restless in the night.” That line about Jacob’s all-night wrestling match has stayed with me since I heard it from Wartburg Seminary Professor Craig Nessan. (Sermon for the Northeastern Iowa Synod Fall Theological Conference, October 2016)

What keeps you up at night, tossing and turning?

How have you been seared and scarred by worries, fears and regrets that plague you by night?

What blessings have come out of the wrestling?

The night Jacob wrestles with a stranger ‘til daybreak he has so many reasons to be anxious and afraid. He’s been leaving messes in his wake and running from it all and now there’s so much stuff from his past with which he has to contend.

Jacob’s life to this point has been marked by contentious relationships. When he was born, he was grasping onto the heel of his twin brother. Apparently even in the womb he was striving with his brother, trying to get out first. His parents gave him the name Jacob which can mean trickster or overreacher or the one who supplants others or even just the heel. Talk about a loaded name.

Jacob lives up to his name. He tricks his brother Esau into giving away his inheritance, Esau’s birthright as the first born. Later he tricks his blind father into giving him the blessing that should go to Esau. Esau gets spitting mad and Jacob has to run for his life. He flees to his uncle Laban’s house and then spends years trying to get the upper hand in their fraught relationship. Jacob marries Laban’s daughters Rachel and Leah, gives Laban lots of grandchildren and works for him. But as he is leaving Laban to finally go home, he does Laban wrong in a business deal and has to flee with things he stole from Laban. As Jacob makes his way toward home, he learns that his brother is approaching with 400 armed men.

Jacob is between a rock and a hard place. He wants to go home but his angry brother stands in the way. He can’t go back because he’s made a mess of things with Laban. His life is full of things that keep him up at night.

Our backstories may not be quite as fraught as Jacob’s. Most of us don’t have to worry that our family conflicts will end in armed warfare.

Yet there’s still so much that weighs on us – so much with which we must contend: fears, worries, regrets, disappointments. And, we are seared and scarred by these things that make us restless in the night. The good news is that God doesn’t leave us to wrestle with our stuff on our own. God doesn’t say: Wow your life is a mess, good luck with that; have you tried a sleeping pill? Instead, God gets into the mix of it all with us.

This is what happens for Jacob. At the point we pick up his story, everything is catching up with him. He gets his family safely settled and goes off by himself to prepare to face his brother. Jacob likely feels so alone as all the fears and worries crash in on him.

Yet he isn’t left alone to wrestle with all his stuff. A stranger shows up to wrestle with him. When it’s all said and done, he finds that he has been wrestling with God. God is there to say, “You can’t keep running. You’ve got to face this. You’ve got to engage your life and I’m here to help you to do that.”

God does the same for each of us. God is a wrestling partner who challenges us, engages us and pushes us to confront everything that is keeping us up at night.

We see this throughout scripture and in the person of Christ Jesus. God doesn’t stay removed and at a distance. God gets involved in the nitty-gritty stuff of our lives. And God is not above contend-ing with us when needed.

When God contends with us, it is not as our enemy. God’s challenge is not to destroy or defeat us. It’s to get us going, like a sparring partner who gets a boxer prepared for a good match. It’s to get us to wrap our arms around life and lay our hands on God.

The thing is, it’s rarely apparent that we are wrestling with God. Like Jacob, we often don’t recognize God in the wrestling match. It may often feel as if God is distant, silent and removed. Yet as Pr. Steve Garnaas-Holmes describes it, whether we know it or not we are always wrestling with God. He says, “No matter what our struggles, our deepest anxiety is about our identity, our Source, our meaning, our future, our worth, which means we’re really wrestling with the One from whom those things come. This is good news because as much as it may appear that the difficulties of our lives are our enemies, at their heart is a God who is our ally and deepest friend and companion.”

He continues, “God comes to us in dark, lonely places, in struggles and mystery. So, grapple vigorously with this life and its Creator. Trust the grace that lurks in the night.”

This wrestling and struggling isn’t warm, fuzzy and uplifting the way we might prefer encounters with God to feel. It may even leave us feeling wounded. Yet the wrestling also brings deep bless-ing. We find that God is present when we thought we were most alone. We find that God has a hold of us and that God will not let us go.

God has claimed you in Christ Jesus and you are held in God now and always. Whatever struggle and wrestling you face, God is with you. God is your ally, friend and companion always. You can trust the grace that lurks in the night for you.

Let’s take a moment for silent prayer.