Luke 7

A centurion, an officer in the Roman army, sent for Jesus to come and heal his servant. Jesus was on his way to the centurion's house when he was met by him on the road. He said to Jesus, "just say the word, and my servant will be healed." (Verse 7) This Roman soldier believed that his servant would be healed if Jesus just said the word.

The faith of the centurion amazed Jesus, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." (Verse 9)

The people of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah to come for a long time, and here he was, in their midst, and they didn't believe. A Roman soldier, who was not waiting for a Messiah, heard about Jesus, met Jesus and believed. How is that possible?

Maybe it is easier to see Jesus when we aren't expecting him to be a certain place or look a certain way.

I have recently become addicted to twitter. I'm not very good at tweeting yet, but I love how quickly information is now being shared. I especially like following sports reporters that are at the games that I wish I was at. They often attach pictures to their tweets from the sidelines right after the game. I open the tweet and while the picture is loading, I imagine what it will look like. I am never right... Nothing ever looks like I pictured it in my mind.

Maybe our culture has become too familiar with what we expect Jesus to look like, a white guy with long hair and a Chuck Norris beard, that we miss his presence in our lives.

Maybe you've heard a pastor say something stupid and you are convinced that God is unforgiving, quick to condemn and hates gay people. I understand why many have turned away from that God, but that isn't who Jesus is.

The truth is, Jesus probably doesn't look like Chuck Norris, heaven probably isn't in the clouds and God is more loving than any of us could ever imagine.

I think, if we could throw away our expectations of who we think God is, and burn the imaginary box that we have put God in, we will be freed to experience God in surprising and exciting ways.

Maybe we will learn to see Jesus through eyes of a Roman soldier.

Luke 6

Jesus said to a large crowd: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?" (Verse 39)

When I was a kid, I went to summer camp with my church. While we were there, we did all kinds of trust-building activities. One of them included wearing blindfolds and trusting our friend to guide us around the camp. It was hilarious to watch, but terrifying if you were the one wearing the blindfold. 

It was less terrifying if you trusted the person leading you, it was less terrifying if you believed the person leading you didn't want to see you run into a tree or a ditch. Life is like that.

I have worked for bosses that I've trusted and bosses that I haven't trusted. The bosses that I trusted pushed me to do my best and made work an enjoyable experience. The bosses I didn't trust had me constantly looking over my shoulder and made life miserable.  

Americans may be divided politically, but I think we can all agree that it's hard to trust our leaders... All of them. It's hard to trust them because it doesn't feel like they are concrened about us, instead it feels like they are concerned about themselves. When we can't trust our elected leaders, the anxiety level in our communities increase and people _______ . (You fill in the blank... Today my friends and neighbors are buying guns. In the 1960's people built bunkers in case Russia sent a nuclear missile at us. In the late 1920's everyone ran to the banks to withdraw their money.) 

Life can be terrifying when we don't trust the people leading us, but it can be even worse when we trust them and they let us down. We look back through history and wonder how we let Vietnam happen like it did? How did we let this recession happen? Why did we ignore the warning signs leading to Pearl Harbor or 9/11?

Our leaders are imperfect. They have always been imperfect because they are human, and without exception, humans are imperfect. When we put our faith in a human, we are the blind being led by the blind.

As Christians, we vote for and trust the leaders that we think will do their best for our community or country.

But our hope for a better future lies within. We must keep our eyes open to what is going on and our faith in the one whom we can always trust, Jesus. 

Bosses come and go. Elected officials come and go. Crises come and go. Wars come and go. Life comes and goes.

Jesus remains. 

Luke 5

The Pharisees were giving Jesus a hard time for eating with sinners, he responded, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (Verse 31)

My respect for doctors has grown exponentially in the past month. My father in-law Bill had double by-pass surgery the week before Christmas and my mother had part of her thyroid removed last week.

Bill was in serious trouble, if he hadn't had emergency surgery he could have gone at any time. Bill went to see his doctor on a Monday and had surgery 3 days later; he was a ticking time bomb.

My mother's surgery was less life-saving; she wasn't a ticking time bomb. The purpose of the surgery was to explore what was going on and see what further treatment was needed. Don't get me wrong, she was feeling lousy, but there was less urgency. Her surgery was 6 weeks after her initial visit.

Both of them were sick, but Bill was more sick. Bill needed a doctor immediately.

There are times in life when we need Jesus more than others. There are times when we are overcome with guilt or grief and need to feel the presence of God surround us... and we need it now. In those times, Jesus is there for comfort.
There other times when we feel spiritually lousy. Maybe you have gotten so lost in work that you have lost touch with friends and family, then one day you realized that you are alone. Maybe you feel distant from God because you haven't worshipped or prayed in months... or years. Maybe you look back on the last couple years and feel like you were just existing, instead of living. In those times, Jesus is there to give us purpose, to give us life.

But what about when life is going good? Everyone in your family is healthy, you've got good friends, and you've got a good job where you make more than enough money to survive. Do you need Jesus?

My wife Michelle tells me that I'm supposed to get a physical every year, even if I'm feeling great. I need to give the doctor a chance to look at my numbers and tell me what I can do to be a healthier person, and tell me what I need to change to avoid getting sick.

When things are going good, Jesus is still there for us. He is there to guide us and stop us from making bad choices that could hurt the ones we love most. He is there to love us when we make mistakes so that we can learn to forgive our loved ones when they make mistakes. He is there to make life the best that it can be. (If Jesus doesn't make your life better, you might want to talk to your pastor or try a new church)

In reality, we all need a doctor.

And we all need Jesus.


(I better make an appointment for my physical, this blog is going to remind Michelle to remind me.)

Luke 4

Jesus went to the local synagogue to tell his neighbors that he was the messiah, but they didn't listen. Instead they chose to do this:

Verses 29-30: "They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."

This may be the most anti-climactic story in the bible. They drove Jesus to a cliff, they were about to throw him off and murder him, but instead Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on with the rest of his day. This wouldn't make a very exciting movie.
I imagine that a group of church people got excited enough to drive him to the cliff, but no one had the courage to push him to his death. There they were, at the edge of the cliff looking at each other wondering who was going to be the one to finish him off, but no one stepped up. They were all talk, and instead they let Jesus walk right through them.

I'm glad that no one pushed him off the cliff... I think that would have been a bad decision. I am not surprised that they thought about it though, and almost acted on it. Small groups of people make bad decisions all the time, we call them riots and mobs today. At some point, the members of riots and mobs realize that what they are doing is a bad idea, so they stop. Maybe it's after a coulple days in jail, but no American riot has ever been permanent. 

Permanent riots have a different name... Revolution.

For a riot to turn into revolution, the members of the revolution have to be committed and courageous. I am humbled by the sacrifice of people like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi, who led non-violent revolts and were so committed to their cause that they paid the ultimate price. Their courage changed the lives of millions of people.

While his neighbors didn't have the courage to take Jesus' life, he had the courage and commitment to give it.

His courage changed the world, and the world to come.

His courage started a revolution of love, a revolution that has grown every day since.   


  

Luke 3

Jesus went down to the river to be baptized by John the Baptist.

Verse 22: The heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus was around 30 years old when he went to be baptized by John. His birth in a stable was a distant memory. He had been working as a carpenter, and probably lived like every other normal guy. Then he was baptized and the voice of God spoke, claiming Jesus as His son.

In the Lutheran church, we believe that God claims us all at our baptism... We all become God's children.

Or do we miss the point?

Jesus was God's son long before he was baptized. He was God's son when he was born.

What about us then, do we belong to God only after we are baptized? Maybe we belonged to God the moment that we took our first breath. Maybe we belonged to God before we were even born.

If that's the case, then baptism is not when we are claimed by God, but it is the moment that we accept the role of being God's child. It's the moment we decided, or our parents decided for us, that there had to be more to life, that there had to be a larger truth than a world full of empty glory.

So we went to the river, or the baptismal font and claimed God as our Father.

And God, who guided us there and gave us faith said, "welcome home."

Luke 2

Merry Christmas... Again!

Luke 2 is the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. The first people to come see him were a couple of dirty shepherds that came straight from their fields after an angel appeared to them. When Mary heard about the angel coming to them, she was amazed. 

This couldn't have been the story Mary was hoping for... No one looks forward to giving birth in a stable, while traveling. She didn't have family around to help; she didn't even have a place to put her baby, which is why they put him in a feed box. She was outside, among farm animals and the only people to come visit her were some smelly strangers. (I'm guessing that the shepherds were smelly, they came straight from the fields.)

It wasn't what she hoped for, it wasn't what she expected...

But it was holy, it was amazing... It was beyond words. Verse 19: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Sometimes life happens in such beautiful, majestic, awe-inspiring ways that there are no words to explain what we are feeling, so we treasure the moment in our heart and try to figure what just happened.

That is the essence of love. A mother's love for her child. A husband's love for his wife...

And God's love for us.

Luke 1

An angel of God visits a girl named Mary and tells her that she is going to have a son. You may have heard this one before...

But have you ever thought about it from Mary's perspective?

She was young, maybe 12 or 13. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. She must have thought that he would dump her when he found out she was pregnant. He would probably go on to tell everyone that she was unfaithful and she would forever be known as a fornicator or an adulterer. She was poor and had no way to support herself or her child. This was devstating news.

Mary may not have had much, but she had some standing in society. She had her reputation and would soon have a husband. She was looking ahead to a better life, to a higher place in society. No matter how bad people have it, they never want life to get worse.

Despite all this, she said to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." (v.38)

Mary either didn't have a choice, or she had enough faith to put her life in God's hands... I think it was her faith.

Then miracles started happening. Joseph didn't dump her, instead he cared for her son like he was his own. Shepherds and wisemen showed up to see her baby boy. Her son Jesus went on to heal people, feed people, and teach people. He even rose from the dead after he was beaten and murdered by the Romans.

Mary grew from a girl to a wife and a mother. She watched her children struggle and succeed, she knew grief and she knew joy. She was like any other mom. Except she wasn't.

She was Jesus' mom. She gave birth to God in the flesh, the most famous person that ever lived. For that, she will be remembered as the most famous woman that ever lived. She was once poor and young, but now billions of people know of her... I mean, you have heard this one before, right?

All it took was faith.

What could God do with us if we had enough faith to put our lives in His hands?

John 21

Jesus appeared to the disciples again while they are fishing. He called them to shore and said to them: "Come and have breakfast." (Verse 12... This is one of my favorite verses in the bible, I love breakfast!)

Jesus then turned his attention to Peter. He asked Peter "Do you love me?" Peter had denied Jesus three times while Jesus was on trial, so he asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" And three times Peter said "Yes Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus responded the first time by saying "feed my lambs," the second time by saying "take care of my sheep," and finally by saying "feed my sheep."

I am fascinated by what Jesus doesn't say. He doesn't tell Peter to go to church and he doesn't tell him to preach the gospel. He tells Peter to serve others.

I don't think Jesus would say worshipping God is a bad thing, and we certainly need to preach the gospel. I do think Jesus is saying, "if you want to prove that you love me, serve others."

It's hard to find time in our lives to serve others. We are busy serving our families, our employers and ourselves. We serve our families because we love them, we serve our employers because we need a paycheck and we serve ourselves because we need to.

Jesus doesn't call us to serve others so that we will feel better about ourselves or be more thankful for what we have... He calls us to serve others because we love him.

I need to get better at loving Jesus, actually, I want to get better at loving Jesus.

All I need is for him to love me.

John 20

Jesus was crucified in John 19... He was dead, the story was supposed to be over. The disciples were in hiding and trying to figure what would be next for them. The Jewish leaders were proud of what they had done and celebrating the Passover.

But the story wasn't over.

In John 20 Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus' tomb, but he isn't there. She thought someone had taken his body so she runs to get a couple disciples. They don't understand where his body could have gone. While she is crying, Jesus appears and calls her by name. She runs to tell the disciples what she saw. Jesus then appears to some of the disciples, but not all of them.

Thomas didn't see Jesus. Thomas was one of Jesus' disciples, he traveled with him for years, saw him perform miracels and listened while he taught. Thomas believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but he didn't believe he had come back from the dead. No matter what the other disciples said, Thomas was not buying it.

Thomas, a man that was in Jesus' inner-circle, doubted. If Thomas can doubt, so can we.

A week later Thomas was with the other disciples when Jesus appeared; Jesus showed Thomas his scars. Thomas believes because he has seen. Thomas saw because although he doubted, he still showed up to meet with the other disciples.

We all go through periods of doubt in our life. Some periods last longer than others. Sometimes we want Jesus to appear and show us his scars. In those times, the most important thing we can do is continue to surround ourselves with disciples... We need to continue to show up at church or bible study or wherever we find Christian community.

And we ask God to show up... Even though God is already there.

John 19

It seems strange to be blogging about Jesus' death so soon after Christmas. As I walked in to my office today I passed the beautiful Christmas tree that still stands in our sanctuary... which made me want to hold on to Christmas a little longer. But I can't.

In John 19 Jesus is sentenced to be executed and murdered on a cross. Nails are hammered through his wrists and ankles, and a spear is thrust in to his side. He doesn't fight back, his only plea is for something to drink.

He was taken down from the cross following his death and his body was carried away by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus... They placed his corpse in a tomb.

It's interesting that Jesus wasn't buried by his disciples, who were all in hiding. He was buried by a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council! We first met Nicodemus in John 3, when he came to Jesus and wondered how someone could be born again. Jesus tried to explain it to him, but Nicodemus did not understand... He didn't get it and walked away confused.

Until he sees Jesus on the cross.

Jesus said a lot of things and he did a lot of things. Some of it we understand and some of it leaves us scratching our heads... actually a lot it leaves us scratching our heads. God is bigger than Nicodemus could understand, and God is bigger than we can understand.

But we can all understand the cross.

Jesus died because he loved us, all of us, every single one of us. And whether we realize it or not, we needed him to die for us.

It wasn't until Nicodemus saw Jesus on the cross that he got it.

If you want to understand God, look to the cross.