ComeUnity

GNP = Gross National Peace

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:39:00 GMT

12th Sunday after Pentecost, B
August 23rd, 2009

Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

My book club just finished reading the book "Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner. It's a travel book in which the author goes to various places to try to figure out what it is that makes particular places happy. The country of Bhutan even has a GNH (Gross National Happiness) just as we in the US have a GNP (Gross National Product). The goal is to make sure that Bhutan continues to be a place of happiness. The thing is, it's not a matter of whether an individual is solely happy, but whether the community as a whole is happy. They even have votes about how the country should be run (laws and whatnot) based on whether it is good for the whole.

I was struck by this and wondered, given the way we are socialized in the US, if we'd be able to vote based on the greater good rather than simply what would be good for a person as an individual.

But, that is also what Paul's letter to the Ephesians is about. Living as a community of God, a body of Christ. Paul does not give this illustration of the armor of God as if one person was wearing it, but that the whole Body of Christ - the Church - was. And, the task of this body of Christ is to proclaim justice and righteousness and a gospel of peace.

I imagine a more-than-three-legged race. In a three-legged race, two people are tied together and move together and race against others. Those who are good at it work together, and communicate. In a more-than-three-legged race, the same skills of working together and communication are important. And, as it is the Body of Christ we're talking about here, the first kind of communication needs to be with God.

Paul instructs the Ephesians to pray in the Spirit at all times.

**This is my final ComeUnity blog posting since I am taking a new call. It is appropriate that my final blog post contains Paul's closure to the letter to the Ephesians. I thank you for engaging in Scripture study with me, and will continue to pray for the various ways in which the Word is heard and explored through Unity's ministry. As I pray for you, I ask that you pray for me, knowing that we are part of this same body of Christ, now dwelling in the Word in different locations.

In peace,
Pastor Amy Becker

Sing, Sing a Song

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:47:00 GMT

11th Sunday after Pentecost, B
August 16, 2009

Ephesians 5:15-20
¹⁵Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This week a number of us head to camp for a few days, and so I will offer a simple blog posting that I hope will be a lot of fun.

One of the songs that sticks in my mind from my childhood and watching Sesame Street sings, "Sing, sing a song. Make it simple, to last your whole life long. Don't worry if it's not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just sing (la la la la) sing (la la la la). Sing. Sing a song."

This is the spirit with which I read this selection of Ephesians. Filled with the Spirit we sing. What are song, hymns and psalms that make you recognize that you are filled with the Spirit? What are favorite hymns and songs that you sing when you're by yourself?

Imitators of God

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:45:00 GMT

10th Sunday After Pentecost

August 9, 2009

Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2

25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26Beangry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27anddo not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing;rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tender-hearted,forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 51Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Note: Jim Bjugstad is guest blogging this week and preaching on Sunday.

In looking at this text (which may or may not have actually been written by the Apostle Paul - there are varied opinions), I was struck first by the passage that begins: "Be angry but do not sin..."

It seems like it's walking a fine line to carry anger, yet in such a way that it not become a sin, something that keeps us apart from God. I'm interested to hear instances where you might feel anger is called for, and how you might express that anger without letting it get out of control.

In verse 51, we're told to be "imitators of God." Acknowledging that we humans, sinners that we are, will always be imperfect imitators, who would you hold up as either a living or historical example of that?

Promothing Growth

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:37:00 GMT

9th Sunday After Pentecost
August 2, 2009

Ephesians 4:1-16
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. ⁷But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” ⁹(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) ¹¹The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. ¹⁴We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, talks about finding a skeleton in her uncle's closet. A true skeleton, not some long buried secret. As a young girl she would play with this skeleton, including having tea parties with it.

When Paul writes about the Body of Christ, I usually think about an enfleshed body - one that you don't really see the inner-workings to, but that you know that the foot does one thing and the arm another and the eye another. But, it's much more complicated than that. As Paul writes here, we "grow up in every way into him who is the head" - "the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped...promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love."

This image of the body as needing each part so much, - down to the ligaments - the image that as we as individuals grow up into Christ, we promote the whole body's growth - is helpful when we consider how we live in community with each other. How we live our lives, how we express our faith is connected to one another.

When have you recognized how your faith is tied to another's? How have you helped another grow in faith, which then meant that you grew in faith? When have you recognized that someone else's faith growth impacted your faith?

Body Building

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:39:00 GMT

8th Sunday After Pentecost
July 26, 2009

^{Ephesians 3:14-21}

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I am struck with the prayer, that it is a prayer for strength and love and knowledge that could fit almost any time and place. Reread the prayer. Read it outloud.

The prayer asks for strength and knowledge, not to overcome or overpower another, but to be strengthened to do the work that God would have us do. The prayer for strength and knowledge is that we may be granted it so that we might be church in the world.

The well known Bible verse, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) expresses this same sentiment.

Who do you pray this prayer for? How do you feel God's strength and the power to comprehend? When have you felt that God has worked within you and through you, accomplishing more than you could have yourself?

Peace, Love and Understanding

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:42:00 GMT

7th Sunday after Pentecost, year B
July 19, 2009

Ephesians 2:11-22
Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" - a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands - remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with it commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Christ came to bring peace and to reconcile people to God and to one another. However, as seen in this selection of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and in our world, often the way we followers of Christ tend to fall away from this vision.

I am regularly struck in conversations with friends about God and religion, how often people turn away from practicing religion because of things other people did. How often it a betrayal of trust, or a message of exclusion that means that people cannot experience God's love and grace coming through organized religion.

I am pained by this because I truly believe that it is in the waters of baptism and the breaking of the bread that we most clearly know God's love for us. I believe that in community we learn about God, in community we experience some of God.

I'm curious, how do you think, we as children of God, can witness to this message of peace and reconciliation to people who have been cast out and betrayed? How can we witness to that to one another? What thoughts do you have about this scripture?

Mystery - revealed!

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:02:00 GMT

6th Sunday After Pentecost
July 12, 2009

Ephesians 1:3-14
³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

"With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, thing in heaven and things on earth."

I am struck by the sentence above, particularly the phrase, "the mystery of his will." How often do I wish I understood the mystery of God's will! I think I mostly am eager to understand this mystery as I look at little picture stuff: when I want to know how God would have me act in a given situation or what purpose mosquitoes hold on this earth that make them of value to God.

But, Paul tells the Ephesians that God's purpose is to draw all things in heaven and earth to God through Jesus Christ. That is not a bad mission statement. how it gets enacted are the little picture things, but this is the overall good news - that God is bringing all things to him.

This doesn't mean that all things in heaven and on earth now have crystal clarity, but it does give us direction and some of that wisdom and insight that has been made known to us, and our hope is set on Christ and our purpose is to live for the praise of his glory (vs 12).

What does it mean to you to have your hope set on Christ?
How do you live for the praise of Christ's glory?
What is your take on the mystery here? What has been revealed?

(Don't) Justify Your Love (Faith)

Pastor Amy Becker — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:41:00 GMT

5th Sunday After Pentecost
July 5, 2009

2nd Corinthians 12:2-10
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. ³And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— ⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. ⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. ⁶But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, ⁷even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, ⁹but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

First of all, I must apologize for the incredible stretch of a title of a Madonna song. But, now it's running through my head, and so it will be the title for this post.

This section of 2nd Corinthians is really an interesting conversation that Paul has with the Corinthians. He sounds a bit defensive. In the first couple verses, Paul is talking about an ecstatic out-of-body experience by which some judged whether or not someone was faithful.

I recognize this in conversations with people sometime. The need to justify their faith to another person. (Maybe it's because I'm a pastor that people do this, do other people experience that?)

Paul says though, that it's not out of our strength or our experience that we have anything to boast about. Not one of us has the power that Christ has in weakness.

That's an interesting phrase - but it is in weakness that Christ chose to be strong. Christ was strong by going to the cross, by giving his life, by serving others.

We are strong not in our own accomplishments, not in our own experiences, but because Christ has conquered death.

Do you ever feel the need to justify your faith to another person? If so, when and why?
Discuss this idea of being powerful in weakness.

Abundance and Need

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:03:00 GMT

4th Sunday After Pentecost
June 28, 2009

2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. ⁸I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— ¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. ¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between ¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. ¹⁵As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”

During the devotion at a recent council meeting we had a discussion about the phrase "God only gives you what you can handle." For a starting point, I don't believe that God's purpose in the world is to give us stress and hardship, but in other ways I disagree with this statement as well.

If we read this in the individual sense, I fully disagree. There have been many times when I haven't been able to handle all that was coming at me. There have been many times when I've talked with people who have been hit from every side and it is just too much.

But, in the collective, I might be able to accept this phrase - with God, and our neighbors, there is nothing we can't do. Well, this too might be a bit "pie-in-the-sky," but, it's closer to reality. Together, we are able to handle quite a bit more than as individuals. Hopefully this is a give-and-take situation, such as Paul describes to the Corinthians.

Sometimes one has abundance (of time, resources, ideas, etc) that he or she shares, sometimes that one is given the abundance of another. One of the grounding principles I hold is that God has truly given us (meaning the entire world) enough. That people exist with not enough is a symptom of sin. A symptom of our unwillingness to share in abundance and ask for help in times of need.

When have you shared in your abundance?
When have you needed what another has shared?

An Acceptable Time

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:34:00 GMT

3rd Sunday After Pentecost, B
June 21, 2009

2 Corinthians 6:1-13
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. ²For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! ³We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, ⁷truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

¹¹We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. ¹²There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. ¹³In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.

Timing is everything, so the phrase goes. Jokes, investing money or buying a house, when cooking, when asking for a favor - the time and the atmosphere in which we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. All of these pay attention to time. Paul reminds the Corinthians that not only did God say that God would listen and save them (and us) at the right time...but that time is now!

This means that it isn't after we accept God's grace. It isn't after we are pure and have knowledge and are patient and kind. The acceptable time for God to encounter us and save us was before any one of us was fit for the kindom of God. That, my friends, is grace. The grace of receiving what we are not worthy to receive...only, we are made worthy by the very act of God giving that grace freely to us.

God's timing is different than our timing, and while that can be frustrating at times, in this instance, it is the very way we are able to live.

God's Business and Our Business

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:46:34 GMT

Second Sunday in Pentecost, B
June 14, 2009

2 Corinthians 5:6-17

6So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. 11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.

12We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

^[18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^* not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.]

Note: Jim Bjugstad is guest-blogging this week, and preaching on Sunday.

I first read this passage several weeks ago, right after it was determined that I'd be preaching on June 14th. It has been a bit of a struggle for me to understand and come to terms with it. For instance, it took some research before I learned that in verse 13, the talk about being "beside ourselves" refers to some defensiveness Paul was feeling about criticisms that he was not having "ecstatic experiences". The part about being in one's "right mind" refers to the practical work he was doing in his ministry to the church in Corinth. Paul was saying that those boasting about ecstatic experiences were taking credit for God's work, whereas Paul's focus was on doing the ministry that God actually calls him (and us) to do.

I am always a bit troubled by bible texts that suggest, as in verse 10, that we will one day stand before the "judgment seat" and get our "recompense", our just dues, for what we have done, whether good or evil. This idea has been used in the past, on me and millions of others, as a way of creating behaviors that will allow one to avoid hell and eternal damnation. I think those specific behaviors have often been more based on what the privileged and powerful (including the church) want done (sometimes based on a narrow or twisted interpretation of what the bible "says") than on what Christ's life and words show us.

But there is actually no mention of damnation here, or even punishment, specifically. If one reads on into verses 18 -20 (bracketed above), Paul talks about God's reconciling ministry to us- through Christ. We're given assurance that God is not counting our faults, our "trespasses" against us. Whatever this judging is about, it seems that it is God's business. In the meantime, God's business for us is "the message of reconciliation" he has entrusted us to deliver.

Were there times in the past when you've felt defensive about how your version of faith compares to those boasting about theirs? Please share.

We are ambassadors for Christ, entrusted to deliver the message of reconciliation. How will you act as ambassador in the coming days?

Bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:51:00 GMT

Holy Trinity Sunday, B
June 7, 2009

Romans 8:12-17
¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I was priveleged enough to write "Preaching Helps" for a journal that comes out of my seminary. I wrote for June and July of this year, so six months ago I wrote this:
"Paul writes to the Romans about being led by the Spirit of God, rather than “according to the flesh.” At the end of the previous chapter, Paul had been confessing his inability to do what he wants, and the ease in which sin takes over. In the text for this Holy Trinity Sunday, we hear that in crying to the Father, and having been adopted and made heirs with Christ, we are led by the Spirit of God. A triune explanation of how God claims us, redeems us by joining us with Christ, and leads us. It calls us to draw our attention away from the earthly things, and focus on the heavenly things, or rather, the heavenly being."

As I considered what this might mean for our faith life, I wrote this: "Not one of us can provide legalized adoption papers to indicate that we have been adopted as children of God and joint heirs with Christ."

My dad reminded me, however, that we do have adoption papers - if we have our baptismal certificates.
The thing is, we don't need to have the proof of a piece of paper. The proof that we are God's children is as we live our lives trusting in God and God's love. Trusting that we are God's children, and living joyfully in that promise.

God does claim us, redeem us, and lead us. Those are heavenly things that impact the earthly world through us.

On this week that we celebrate the Holy Trinity - in what different ways - through Father, Son and Holy Spirit - do you recognize that you are God's child?

"With Sighs Too Deep for Words"

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:39:00 GMT

Day of Pentecost
May 31st, 2009

Romans 8: 22-27

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in^* hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes^* for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes^* with sighs too deep for words. And God,^* who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit^* intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Note: Jim Bjugstad is the guest-blogger this week.

In this timely Pentecost reading from Romans, Paul addresses two aspects of the workings of the Spirit. We are first promised that it's OK to "hope for what we do not see."

Paul then tells us that "we do not know how to pray as we ought." And I often feel that way, that my praying is either rushed, or rambling, or inarticulate, or just not done in a way that is "worthy" of being heard by God. Yet, Paul reassures us with the lovely idea that in our praying the "Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words."

What unseen hopes are you waiting to see fulfilled, either in your self, your life, or in the world?

How does this idea that even "our" prayers are heard and known through the workings of the Spirit fit with your understanding of prayer?

Our Life's Testimony

Pastor Amy Becker — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

7th Sunday of Easter
May 24, 2009

1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

How does your life, your heart, testify to the belief that God gave us eternal life - life in God's Son?
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ANNOUNCEMENT: After worship on Sunday, we will be preparing the upstairs and downstairs for YouthWorks! Please come and worship in clothes you can clean in.

Despite Raised Dander

Pastor Amy Becker — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:13:00 GMT

6th Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2009

1 John 5:1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, now with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

I am about to confess to something that may cause some people to gasp in horror. I don't really like pets. I'm not frightened of them (well, most of the time), I don't begrudge others who have them. There is no ethical reason behind my dislike. I just don't have an affinity towards a relationship with animals.

That being said. There are some animals - pets of friends and loved ones - who I have come to appreciate and care for. (Some, I need to appreciate and care for from a distance due to allergies, but the sentiment is there.) If I were to see one of these pets, wandering around by him or herself on the street, I would know whose s/he was. I would attempt to help that animal.

There are some animals who, were it not for my relationship with their owner, I would never go near (a friend's "dragons" come to mind), but I have pet sat those very same animals. Cared for them because my friend asked me to.

Now, is this such a big stretch? "Everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God..." We may not necessarily care to be around every person we meet. We might, in fact, feel allergic to them. But, as we recognize how much God cares for each and every one of God's children, does it not impact how we care for them as well?

There is so much more theology within this short piece of Scripture. Any thoughts?

Foundational Scripture

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:01:00 GMT

Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 10, 2009

1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love^* because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,^* are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister^* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters^* also.

There are so many gems in our epistle reading this week. My "Confirmation verses" were 1 John 4:7-8, and so they hold a particular importance to me. I also have used them a lot in wedding sermons. If God is love (perfect love), then as people show love to one another, they show God. It may not be the entirety of God, but I'm fairly certain that nothing shows us that.

Other segments of this passage have been important in my faith formation as well: the concept God abiding in us - and we in God. The thought that God abides in our brother and sisters, so much so that if we don't love them then we are not loving God.

I continue to be a little in awe of these verses, as I continue to think about what they might mean for me, for communities, for the world and about God.

Knowing Love

Pastor Amy Becker — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:55:00 GMT

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2009

1 John 3:16-24

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister^* in need and yet refuses help?

18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

As evidenced by the Wednesday (April 29) blog post, I'm running a tad bit behind this week. I am actually glad that I am, because otherwise I would have posted before a meeting I attended in which we read this piece of Scripture and then were asked to focus on the first verse (vs 16). We then were all asked, "When did you first know you were loved?"

It was a fun conversation. So - tell a story of when you first knew you were loved.

Lawless vs. Righteous

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:22:00 GMT

3rd Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2009

1 John 3: 1-7

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Note: As Pastor Becker travels, Jim Bjugstad is the guest blogger this week.

Martin Luther famously branded all of us "simul iustus et peccator" - at the same time righteous and sinner - often translated as "simultaneously saint and sinner". That label acknowldeges a basic truth about each of us: we are all capable of doing bad, and also capable of great good, sometimes one following hard on the heels of the other.

In this reading from 1 John, we are told that we sinners are guilty of "lawlessness", and that our sin keeps us from seeing or knowing Christ. At the same time, we are reassured that "he was revealed to take away sins", and that "in him there is no sin".

Where do you personally find the laws that keep you away from sin?

How does Christ being revealed to you lead you on to righteousness?

Any other thoughts?

Check, Please!

Pastor Amy Becker — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:18:00 GMT

2nd Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2009

1 John 1:1-2:2
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ²this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— ³we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; ⁷but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Celebrate folder we use starts to explain this reading as "a reality check." The reality check is that we are sinners. For some, this is hard to swallow. Others, wallow in it.

I regularly wonder how to best walk this line of realism. Neither overly optimistic of how "good" we are, nor overly pessimistic. I do believe that God created humanity and all creation good. But, I do recognize that sin has corrupted God's good creation. The sin we hold includes that which we actively do, that which we fail to do, and the general sense of sin in which we live.

The Gospel for this day is the story of Thomas doubting. I love this story because it really shows Jesus doing what needs to be done so that Thomas believes. Jesus takes the reality of Thomas' inability to believe, and works with it. I believe this is what Jesus does with all of us as well.

We do need that reality check! Whether it's the reality that we are sinners, that we fail to believe; or whether its the reality that Jesus has forgiven us. Sometimes that reality check is as difficult to grasp as any other.

What best helps you pay attention to sin?
What best helps you recognize the forgiveness God offers?

Reminders

Pastor Amy Becker — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:46:00 GMT

EASTER SUNDAY
April 12, 2009

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, ²through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. ³For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Reminders; we all need them. I need them a lot. Some folks were just here in the office helping to get things ready for Holy Week, and one of the tasks was to send out reminder cards to those who agreed to be worship assistants at the various worship services this week.

But Paul is offering a different kind of reminder. He is reminding the Corinthians of a time when they first discovered Jesus as Christ; when they first received the Good News of God's love. He also does something I think we all do - he both claims himself unworthy (because he persecuted Christians) and pats himself on the back (for working harder than others). The attention, though, is on the resurrected Jesus appearing to the various disciples and apostles and on God's grace.

This message spread, so much so that during this week, people all over the world will recount the events - the Last Supper, the arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, the trial, the crucifixion, the empty tomb - people in many languages and locations will celebrate Christ's triumph over death. A triumph that is known because the resurrected Jesus appeared to a bunch of people, and they started telling other people about it.

How have you been told about Jesus' triumph over death and what that means for us? Who have you told?