An ELCA Congregation in Decorah, IA
On Thursday, May 5th, the CDC changed the COVID spread level within Winneshiek County to Yellow/Medium. Therefore, masks are now recommended in the building at Good Shepherd. Thank you.
Check the levels updated every Thursday by 8:00 pm here: https://www.cdc.gov/
Rev. Dr. Rolf Svanoe – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Decorah, Iowa
Revelation 5:1-14
Our text from Revelation this morning is the most important text in the book of Revelation. It reveals Christ as the Lamb who was slain. It reveals very clearly who God is and how God works in the world. I want to set this up for you by first telling you a story. In the fall of 1982, I spent a semester in Germany at a German Language School. I had a room in a private home. I rarely saw my host, but there was one meal a week that I shared with the family, Saturday brunch. Mostly we had good conversations as they tried to make this foreigner feel welcome. But some- times the conversation would turn to politics. When they spoke about World War II and Hitler, I heard a whole new way of viewing history. For me, raised and educated in the United States, Hitler was the embodiment of evil. But they didn’t see him that way at all. Hitler had done good things for the German people, restoring their pride and rebuilding the nation, putting people back to work. To them Hitler had been Der Führer, a wise and benevolent leader. He offered a vision of the future that was compelling to many Germans who were impoverished in the aftermath of World War I. At the time, many saw him as the Savior of Germany come to establish a perfect State – the Third Reich. “Heil Hitler!” was the Nazi salute and it meant literally, “salvation to Hitler.” It was a ritual that unified Germans. It impacted every part of public life. The Hitler salute showed one’s loyalty and allegiance to Hitler and his vision for the future. To refuse to give the Hitler salute was to invite suspicion and persecution. Many Germans followed Hitler with blind and unquestioning loyalty, and they truly believed in the glorious future he would bring them. It wasn’t until after the war that most Germans learned just how blind they had been. When the concentration camps were emptied, the world learned that it wasn’t salvation that Der Führer had come to bring.
What makes a good leader? What we look for in a leader says a lot about who we are, our values and our hopes and dreams. Every four years the people of the United States go through the process of electing a leader. We have a national struggle to define the kind of person we want to lead us. What we look for in a leader depends on what kind of future we envision for our country. It is all part of the process of trying to create a “more perfect union.” When times are difficult, we look for an individual with special gifts to lead the nation. We may look for qualities of intelligence, morals, or faith. Do we need an expert in business who can restore the economy? Do we need a strong military leader who can guarantee our security and status in the world? Who will make our lives better? Who will get us to the Promised Land?
These hopes and dreams are common to all people. How are we going to create a better world, a world where peace and justice exist for everyone? And who can help us create that better world? The answer to that question is what the prophet John shares with us in Chapter 5. “Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll … sealed with seven seals.” Most scholars believe that the scroll represents God’s plan for the redemption of the world, a plan to establish God’s reign of justice and peace on the earth. John sees a mighty angel asking the question, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” In other words, who will accomplish God’s plan? Who will establish peace and justice throughout the earth? Who will lead us to a better world? John broke into tears when he learned that “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.” No human being had the knowledge or skill. No human being was capable or worthy.
You and I living today in the United States might hear that and yawn. What’s the big deal? But to Christians living back then in the Roman Empire, this statement was deeply political. Rome offered a compelling vision for the world. The Roman Emperors were worshiped as divine saviors of the world. They brought peace on earth. People hailed Caesar as their “Lord and God.” Roman propaganda was filled with images showing the gods on Rome’s side and touting the benefits of Roman rule. Rome boasted of its military power and that it alone could conquer the world and guarantee peace. That propaganda saturated every aspect of life in the ancient world – religious, political, social and economic. It was a vision that many people bought into. Temples for emperor worship were erected in three of the seven cities that John wrote to. Emperor worship was part of the glue that held the Empire together. But, according to John, it was all a lie. Caesar was not the savior of the world. In fact, no one was found worthy to accomplish God’s will and create a better world. Not Caesar! Not anyone!
At this, John describes how he began to weep bitterly. People need hope that somehow the fu- ture will be better than the past. They need to believe that someone somewhere is capable of solving their problems and making the world a better place. This is particularly true of people experiencing oppression. But then John says that he heard a loud voice. “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” John dried his tears. That was exactly what he wanted. A lion is a strong and mighty animal, the king of the jungle. A lion could conquer and give victory over enemies. Isn’t that often what people want in a leader? And a Lion of the tribe of Judah reminded John of Israel’s greatest king, David, and pointed to a future coming king, a Messiah. That is very good news!
That was what John heard. But when John turned and looked, what he saw was just the opposite of his expectations. “Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered …” If the lion is at the top of the food chain, the lamb is pretty close to the bottom. A lamb is weak, innocent, and defenseless. In fact, the word for lamb that John uses is a diminutive, lamby or lambkin. And if that weren’t enough, this lamb is standing as if it had been slaughtered. It’s as if John wants to give us an image bereft of everything we usually associate with a strong leader. Who is worthy to open the scroll? Who can bring about God’s plan for the redemption of the world? It is NOT the Lion, nor any Caesar or Führer – it is the Lamb. And all the host of heaven fell before the Lamb and broke out into a chorus of passionate praise. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” How does God choose to change the world and bring about its salvation? It is not through power or coercion or the threat of violence. It is not through anything the world understands or values. God changes the world through love and forgiveness. God changes the world through the courageous and nonviolent stand for truth and justice, even if the cost is suffering and death. John describes the Lamb as having seven horns. A horn was a symbol of power, and seven was a symbol for completeness. Where does complete power lie? It lies in the lamb that was slaughtered. It is what one author calls, “lamb-power.” Lamb-power is the wisdom of God that is foolishness to the world, for God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25).
Let me take you back to Germany and give you an example of what I mean. In 2010 I led a tour to Germany to visit the sites where Martin Luther had lived. When we drove through Leipzig our guide showed us a large building that had housed the Stasi, a nickname for the East German Secret Police. They employed thousands of people all intent on spying on their fellow East Germans to control them and force them into obedience. That is the way the world often works, with fear, coercion and threats of violence. That building is today a museum, a monument to the ways the East German government tried to control the population and maintain its power.
What happened? How did change come? In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. One of the epicenters for change was the Nikolai Church in Leipzig. While political demonstrations were outlawed, every Monday night at 5:00 the church held a prayer meeting. These prayer meetings became so popular because it was one of the few ways East Germans could meet to express their desire for change. By the summer of 1989, thousands of people were meeting there every week, yearning for a change in their lives and their leaders. That yearning came to a head on October 9. Over 70,000 East German citizens gathered around the Nikolai Church. Hundreds of fully armed police and soldiers had been imported to Leipzig. Hospitals were told to prepare for casualties. The pastor of Nikolai Church was named Christian Führer. That night those who gathered heard the words of Jesus from the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Jesus’ words that day were not a call to arms. His was not a call to battle, but a call to nonviolence, a call to be peacemakers, a call to love enemies and pray for persecutors. Pastor Führer described what happened next:
More than 2,000 people leaving the church were welcomed by tens of thousands waiting outside with candles in their hands. I will never forget this moment. A person needs two hands to carry a candle – one to hold it and the other to protect the flame – so you can’t carry sticks or stones at the same time. The miracle happened. Jesus’ spirit of nonviolence seized the masses and transformed them into a real and peaceful, powerful presence. Troops and police officers were drawn in and became engaged in conversations. The crowds chanted, “No violence,” and the police withdrew.
The Leipzig Communist Security Chief wanted to subdue the rebellion. His police force was well-armed. Soldiers with machine guns stood on top of nearby buildings. But the order to fire was never given. Later on, the Security Chief admitted, “We planned everything. We were prepared for everything, except for candles and prayers.” One month later the Wall came down.
How do you change the world? How do you make it a better place? How do you bring about God’s reign on the earth? Not with guns and bullets, but with candles and prayers. Not with powerful armies, but with the Word of God. Not with a lion, but with a lamb. Der Führer offered Germany a lion, but Pastor Führer offered them the Lamb that was slain. This is the wisdom of God that is foolishness to the world: that true and lasting change can only come to the world by a Lamb.
Our Lamb, Jesus Christ, loves us, forgives us, and calls us today to follow him in the nonviolent struggle for peace and justice in our world.
Rev. Dr. Rolf Svanoe – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Decorah, Iowa
Revelation 1:4-18
Several years ago, I received a phone call from my daughter, Siri, who was a student at St. Olaf College. One of the assignments in her Religion class was to read through the book of Revelation. She was disturbed and frightened by the images. This was different than anything else she had ever read in the Bible, and she had lots of questions.
I imagine many of you have had similar feelings about the book of Revelation. Most pastors don’t preach from Revelation. Some pastors are outright embar- rassed by it, or we are embarrassed by those who misinterpret it and hijack it to predict the end of the world. But there are good reasons to spend time in the book of Revelation. More than any other book of the Bible, Revelation has in- spired more art and hymns. Much of our liturgy which we sing comes straight out of Revelation. Did you know that Revelation is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it. My hope is that over the next five weeks you will fear it less and come to appreciate the message it can speak to our time.
Martin Luther himself had questions about Revelation, and early on thought this book did not deserve a place in the Bible. Later in life, he changed his mind. I saw this in 2016 when I had the privilege of serving as a volunteer chaplain in Luther’s hometown, Wittenberg, Germany. For two weeks I served in the Wittenberg English Ministry holding brief worship experiences for English speaking tourists who wanted more than their tour guides could give them. We held our daily worship in the City Church which is called the mother church of the Reformation and the place where Luther preached many of his sermons. We held our daily service in a small chapel next to the chancel. There on the wall behind the altar was a sandstone relief from before the time of Luther, a picture of Christ, the judge of the world. There was a sword coming from his mouth. It was part of the piety of the time before the Reformation and meant to scare people as they came for worship and put the fear of God into them. Luther disliked this image. He much preferred to focus on Christ as Savior instead of Christ as Judge.
The inspiration for that picture of Christ came straight from the first chapter of Revelation. The prophet John saw the Risen Christ. “I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe … In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.” It was a terrifying vision, and John’s immediate reaction was to fall at Jesus’ feet as though dead. He was terrified! Can you just picture yourself in John’s position? You would be frightened too. But Jesus’ immediate response to him was to place his hand on him and say, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Don’t be afraid!
What are you afraid of? There are lots of things for us to fear today. As a child, whenever I was afraid I would run to my mom or dad and they would put their hand on my head. It happened every time I watched the Wizard of Oz and the flying monkeys appeared. They terrified me. And somehow when mom or day would place a hand on my head it brought me comfort and reassured me that I was going to be okay. Jesus reached out in compassion to John, put his hand on him and told him not to fear. And Jesus is saying the same thing to us today, “Don’t be afraid.” There is a lot for us to be afraid of today. And Jesus would say the same thing to us that he said to the prophet John. Don’t be afraid of the future because I am with you. No matter what happens, nothing can separate you from my love for you.
As we get into Revelation I want to say a few things about how we read it. First, we read it the same way we read any other book of the Bible. We ask questions about what it meant when it was first written, and only then do we begin to ask what it might mean for us today. When we read the book of Romans we don’t assume that the Apostle Paul is writing to Christians living 2,000 years in the distant future. We shouldn’t do that with Revelation either. The book of Revelation does not reveal an end-time calendar; it reveals Jesus Christ. In fact, those are the very first words of the book. “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” This book is all about revealing Christ to Christians who lived in Asia Minor 1900 years ago. Many of those Christians were experiencing ostracism for their faith. Many of them were being tempted to give in to Roman Imperial propaganda. Some of them just gave in because it was easier to get ahead. When we realize what Christians back then were experiencing, we find that the book of Revelation can still speak so powerfully to Christians today.
The second thing we need to know is that John uses symbols to communicate important spiritual truths. John doesn’t mean what he says, he means what he means. He uses symbols to communicate truth, and those symbols are powerful. So when John talks about Jesus having a sword coming from his mouth, he is not talking about a literal sword. The sword is a symbol to show us the power of the Word of God.
We find the same symbol used in Hebrews chapter four where it says that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” God’s word is powerful. That’s what this symbol of a two-edged sword means. We can’t hide from God. The word of God pierces to the center of who we are. There are no masks God can’t look behind, no secret sins God doesn’t see. The word of God cuts into us, past all our defenses to show us the truth about who we are. God knows us and there is nothing we can hide from God.
If the word of God reveals who we are, we must remember that there are two edges to this sword. The Word of God also reveals whose we are. The word of God not only shows us our sins, but also shows us a Savior, who loves us. This is one of the very first things John tells us about Jesus. “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.” In baptism, God claims us and gives us a new identity- child of God. The book of Revelation may be filled with bizarre and strange images, but there is nothing strange about this. “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.” When life gets confusing, when the world seems frightening, this simple phrase keeps us grounded in our faith. When terror strikes, or extreme weather destroys everything, when a sudden stroke takes a loved one from us, or a cancer diagnosis turns our world upside down, that’s when we need to feel Jesus’ hand on our shoulders and his words in our ears, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Jesus is the faithful witness, the one who spoke truth to power, a truth the powerful didn’t want to hear. And they killed Jesus for it. But God raised him from the dead to show us that truth, love and forgiveness, not hatred and violence, are the greatest powers of change in this world. In this Easter season, this is the good news that we celebrate. Jesus is risen from the dead. We need not fear God, we need not fear death, and we need not fear the future.
As we journey through this bizarre book over the next four weeks, I want to invite you to memorize this verse and say it to yourself over and over again. “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.” If we remember this, it will keep us grounded and help us face our fears. Christ is risen from the dead. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Beloved of God,
Thank you to all who filled out the survey on masking. Seventy-eight households responded. 86% of respondents indicated that they are comfortable worshiping in person with masks optional. I was so moved by your responses. In a time when masking can be so divisive, Good Shepherd worshippers offered such kind and gentle responses. Thank you for all the ways you are tending to health and overall wellbeing at this time. It is an honor to serve as your pastor.
We have navigated so much together over the past two years. We have loved each other and God’s world so faithfully during this time. I would love to rejoice together with you this Sunday at Easter worship and brunch following worship. Please RSVP for the brunch here: https://forms.gle/qVV9bannfirJ19ae6. If worshiping in person isn’t possible for you right now, I hope you will join the livestream of the service at 9:30 on our YouTube channel. Easter Sunday will be my last Sunday leading worship for a while as my sabbatical starts on April 24. I’d love to be with you, in person or online, before I leave!
After considering the CDC recommendations on masking and the Good Shepherd survey data, the Congregation Council has adopted updated COVID-19 protocols (see below.) We are being guided by COVID-19 Community Levels “a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.” These Community Levels for each county can be found right on the front page of the CDC website at: https://www.cdc.gov/. This data is updated every Thursday night. Now that the CDC has such easy to access guidance, we will follow these levels rather than the levels used by Luther College.
We are also being guided by the high vaccination rate in our congregation and the increased use of KN95 (or similar type) masks by those who are immunocompromised. Those masks provide strong protection for people who need to wear them even when others are not masked. We are also being guided by the reality that COVID-19 will now always be with us. We are aware that a new variant, BA.2, is on the rise in the US now. We need to find ways to live with the variants. Continual masking can make worship and community life more difficult for many.
Currently, our county Community Level is low. At this level, per Congregation Council action on Sunday, masks during worship at Good Shepherd are now both optional and respected. You will be honored if you wear a mask and if you don’t wear a mask. Both are thoughtful choices at this time. This change will go into effect starting with Maundy Thursday evening worship this Thursday, April 14 at 7pm. Masks will still be required at the Maundy Thursday 12:15pm service to provide a safer communion option for those who need that.
Peace to you,
Pastor Amy
Good Shepherd COVID-19 Protocols rev. April 10, 2022
based on Winneshiek County Community Levels found here: https://www.cdc.gov/.
Green- low
Yellow- medium
Red- high
At all levels:
Ministry Support Coordinator, Erica Yaneff, will watch the CDC website each week and update signs on the doors on Friday. If there is a move in or out of the red level, she will alert the congregation via email.
Rev. Amy Zalk Larson – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Decorah, Iowa
Click here to read scripture passages for the day.
Today we get to immerse ourselves in the story of Jesus’ passion from the Gospel of Luke. I invite you to pay close attention to the sounds and voices you hear. We’ll ponder them in a brief reflection after the Gospel reading. You can remain seated for the reading of the Gospel.
Beloved of God, grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus.
This Sunday is full of lots of loud voices and lots of contrasts. We begin by yelling, “Hosanna in the Highest!” and singing out, “All Glory Laud and Honor”. We hear how the whole multitude of the disciples “praised God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen”. They, like we, had such high hopes that God was going to bring peace and change with Jesus.
Suddenly, we’re hearing about how the whole assembly of the leaders of the people vehemently accused Jesus before Pilate. They shout that Pilate should do away with Jesus, and release a murderer instead. Their voices grow to fevered pitch until all together they shout, “Crucify him, crucify him.” The crowd “Keeps urgently demanding with loud shouts that Jesus be crucified and their voices prevail.” And then, all of sudden, we find ourselves right in the middle of voices full of anger, violence, sorrow and death?
As we continue on, we hear about women “beating their breasts and wailing for Jesus, leaders scoffing at him, soldiers mocking him, and a condemned criminal deriding him.” And then Jesus, the one who was to bring peace and change, “cries out with a loud voice, ‘Father into your hands I commend my spirit.’” And dies.
Suddenly all worship and celebration seem awfully far away and awfully irrelevant to what’s in front of us. The voices of praise and hope are drowned out by the voices of death. And though the contrast is especially stark today, the contrasts of this Sunday aren’t all that different from what we encounter every Sunday.
We gather to worship and praise, we rejoice and sing out our hopes for God to do a new thing in our world. We pray for peace. And then we walk out of those doors and we’re surrounded by voices full of anger, violence, sorrow and death. We get back home and our bickering starts up again. We pick up the phone and hear the voice of yet another loved one who’s been diagnosed with cancer. We check the news and hear about atrocities in Ukraine.
As we leave here each Sunday and face all these other sounds, it doesn’t take long for the joyful gathering, the praising and singing, to feel awfully far away and awfully irrelevant to what faces. The voices of hope and praise are drowned out, overpowered, even silenced by voices full of sorrow, anger, despair and death. Or are they? When Jesus was told to silence his disciples’ praises he answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Jesus said that the voices of hope and praise cannot be silenced, cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. Jesus said that life and peace will have the last word.And yet, when Jesus was on trial, the crowd, “Kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that Jesus should be crucified and their voices prevailed.”
Which voices will prevail in our world? In our lives? Are our gatherings of praise and worship insignificant and irrelevant? Do we sing a word of false hope that will always be overpowered by the sounds of death?
Which voices will prevail? This week, this week we call Holy, we will hear all the ways that the powers of death try to defeat the power of life, try to silence our hope. Sometimes in this week, as in life, things get deafeningly loud. Sometimes things get painfully silent. At one point this week it will seem that death has prevailed and the silence will be terrible. The silence will proclaim the death of the Voice, the Word of life.
But in the end, Jesus’ words will ring out, “I tell you if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” In the end, a stone will tell of life – a stone that has been rolled away from an empty tomb to release again the Voice, the Word of life.
This voice is loose and at work in our world, telling a new story, singing a new song of peace and life.
Holy Week helps us to join that song.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Good Shepherd is fully accessible to all. (Learn more)
Copyright © 2024 · Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. · 701 Iowa Avenue, Decorah, IA 52101 · Contact Us · Privacy Policy