Extra-Ordinary Time

It took me three or four months to learn Esther’s name even though she rides the bike next to mine at spin class almost every day.  She was an ordinary fixture in my daily routine.  This past week as I was leaving the gym it was obvious something was troubling her.  Something from deep within inspired me to ask about her well-being.  She shared about a work issue with a colleague and how heartbroken it was making her.  We prayed with heavy hearts asking for the Spirit to intercede for us as our words were few.  With teary eyes, Esther gave me a hug and it was then that I realized how extra-ordinary that moment and my relationship with Esther had become.

 

Pentecost began long before Jesus as a Jewish ritual marking the next ordinary holiday fifty days after Passover.   In the Christian church, Pentecost marks the fiftieth day of Easter—Christ’s resurrection and the Good News we have to tell.  On this day the Holy Spirit came in fire and wind filling the apostles with the power of God that heals, forgives, inspires, and unites. The Holy Spirit equipped those first followers for the mission and ministry of Christ, together as the body of Christ, as the church.  The Spirit that came to the apostles on that first Pentecost comes to us each day …  mostly without tongues of fire and heavenly wind.  Like my encounter with Esther, the Holy Spirit is with us in the ordinary places of our lives.

In Paul’s letters to Corinth, Rome and Galatia, he records how the Spirit is continually at work, giving us courage to confess Jesus as Lord, empowering us to serve God, binding us together, helping us to pray and even interceding on our behalf.  In other words, even when words fail us, the Spirit speaks!  The Spirit of God empowers us to do the ministry of Jesus Christ, making each ordinary relationship, event, and experience extra-ordinary.

 

I know I live in the presence and power of the Spirit, but limit myself out of selfishness and low expectations.  Mostly I limit myself out of fear.  Fear that if I open myself up others will take advantage of me.  Fear that I will mess up and say the wrong thing.  Fear that others will truly get to know the real me.  Pentecost offers a reminder and an opportunity to confess our failure to live by the Spirit and to ask the Lord to fill us afresh with power.  After all this is the day the Holy Spirit breathed the church into existence and continues to enliven it.

The Day of Pentecost begins a long period in the church calendar often called Ordinary Time.  In Christian faith we often see that the very ordinary—a baby born in Bethlehem and small pieces of bread received in communion, are in fact quite extraordinary.  As you experience the ordinary activities of summer, the pool, the good books, the vacations, and family get-togethers, invite God’s Spirit in to make these relationships, events, and experiences extra-ordinary.  The season after Pentecost, this ordinary time, presents us with opportunities to reflect on how God is actively involved in our lives today and enlivening us with the extra-ordinary power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Come Holy Spirit Come!

Pastor Steve  

Easter People in a Good Friday world

Abiding Presence, along with countless other Christians around the world, is celebrating Easter.  We made our way to the tomb to find it empty and now we join those first disciples running from the tomb shouting “He is risen!  He is risen indeed!”  We are Easter people; those who have been made new by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We are Easter people, attempting to live our lives in light of the resurrection, daily discerning the will of God.  The only issue is that we live in a Good Friday world.

In his book, Easter People in a Good Friday World, author James Hofrenning describes a “Good Friday World” as one that experiences the presence of sin and evil.   As Easter people, how are we to live in the midst of this reality?  A better question is how are we to discern the will of God, living in a world that experiences sin and evil which we do to each other.

I for one am very good at passing judgment, being convicted of a position or opinion, and have on a time or two quoted scripture to combat an argument.  These types of moral judgments and decisions are made daily and for the most part reflect who I am.  Selfish, dishonest, and fearful, I so often seek to please only me.  As an Easter Person I am called to discern the will of God more so than my own will.  I am called to have a sacred heart in a secular world.  This is hard stuff to do!

Some people make decisions based on past events and focus on commandments, rules, and a sense of obligations.  Others consider the future, focusing on goals, values, and consequences.   If we are to be Easter People, those made new in Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, then we need to consider making decisions not solely on commandments or consequences.  We are Children of God, Easter People!  What would this Good Friday world look like if the decisions we made rested in our identity as children of God, seeking only to do the will of God?

How do we discern this?  How do we truly reflect and know what God is asking of us in this Good Friday World? To discern the will of God and make wise decisions in this world requires us to use not only our minds but to listen to our hearts as well.  More so it means that we need to spend time in prayer and conversation with the one who has claimed us, freed us, and redeemed us.   As you kneel in prayer, be open to the abiding presence of the Spirit that Jesus promised who will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has said. 

Blessings,

Pastor Steve

A great message from a graduate on the impact of youth ministry.

Fail to prepare, and prepare to fail. It’s a great phrase and this was one of the only things I kept in my head from physics class junior year.  Every test there would be someone complaining, "this test is too hard!" and my teacher, Mr. Fuchs, would quickly reply with "if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail." 

Throughout my childhood, I have been trying to prepare for adulthood.  One of the things that I believe has helped to prepare me was being a part of the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church youth group for all these years.  In middle school I was a part of the confirmation class that helps to prepare youth to become a member of the church.  In the various confirmation classes, we learned the Ten Commandments and the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed.  We also learned why we do what we do in the church, and we get a better understanding of this religion we were brought up in.  This is also the age when you travel to confirmation camp, where we get the opportunity from an early age to interact with other kids from all over the state who share our beliefs.  Camp was always a good time, and it was where the bonds were formed with my friends in the church that I still have today.

After being confirmed, I moved on to the high school Buzz sessions. We would meet for dinner on Wednesday nights and have various discussions on topics related to our age group.  Some of my school friends would say, "You have to go to church on Wednesday!? I'm sorry man!" but in reality I couldn't wait to go!  I rarely saw my friends from the church because most attended different schools, and the reality was that these where some of my only real friends.  It’s hard finding others that aren't just looking out for themselves, but when I come to Abiding Presence there are people like that all around me. 

After you become a high school student in the youth group you are invited to the Annual Sr. High Synod Gatherings in hotels all over south Texas.  Each year was a new place, but mostly the same faces we had seen before.  At each of these events, we learn different ways of promoting Christ through our actions, various skills to use in the real world, and there was always some fun stuff thrown in the middle of it all.  It was cool because you got to meet and interact with all these kids from all over the state some of which I'm still in contact with.  I believe these types of things helped me prepare for the next four years of my life.  I will be attending school out of state and I don't know a soul going there, but after years of attending these events and interacting with strangers it shouldn't be a problem.

The thing I feel to be the most important in preparing me for my future would have to be the mission trips.  This is a week-long learning experience, where you learn everything from how to scrape paint off a wall, to how to cook dinner for everyone.  One of the things I found most beneficial for me was working at the soup kitchen in Austin, TX last year.  We were given to chance to help out people that were not as well off as us and our families are.  After serving them, we had the opportunity to sit down and eat with them and get a little insight on how they live their lives.  After talking with them for a little, it was apparent that these people were smart, caring, and friendly people.  They were all very grateful for the simple service of serving them food and eating among them.  It showed me that doing things for others even if it seems like nothing to you could mean the world to that person.  I learned that day that just showing some one that you care is enough to make their day.  

"Fail to prepare and prepare to fail."  I believe that with the help of the Abiding Presence youth program and the spiritual and emotional support of the Abiding Presence family I am prepared to enter my next stage of life and see where it takes me.

Thank you and God Bless

Lane Hoggard

Blessings on your journey Lane, as we enjoy life in the wake your impact has made on us!

Pastor Steve

Easter People in a Good Friday World

Easter is the season of baptismal living.  We take time during the 50 days of Easter to ponder what it means to be the body of Christ, the church. We look at the stories of resurrection and the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to discover their meaning and what they tell us about how we as a community are to live the life of the Risen Lord. 

During worship, we will occasionally substitute the Old Testament reading with a reading from Acts. These readings tell the story of the church’s earliest days, and how the faith began to spread.  Stories of heroism, controversies, persecutions and miracles all testify to the continued presence of the Risen Christ in the world, through the lives of his disciples, and the actions of the Holy Spirit. 

God was at work in and through those first disciples, and they had to learn firsthand what it meant to be Easter people in a Good Friday world.  In other words, they were called to transcend the ways of the world and live in the light of the resurrection. Christ has overcome death and has opened everlasting life to not only the disciples, but to us as well, making us Easter people.   

In a world where bombs explode from Boston to Iraq, it is clear that our reality is plagued by war, violence, and personal struggles. Like those first apostles, God is at work in and though us in these times. God has not abandoned this Good Friday world!   The risen Savior is still with us.  During these 50 days of Easter, let us not only reflect on his presence in our lives, but even in the face of danger and turmoil, live with joy as Easter people, rejoicing in the resurrection!

Alleluia!

Pastor Steve

Go and tell others...Quickly

As those disciples watched Jesus hang on the cross, thoughts of His ministry must have flashed before their very eyes.  One of Jesus’ friends could see that He had stopped breathing and pleaded with Pilate to bury Jesus.   His body was wrapped and laid in a tomb and fear-stricken church leaders placed a large stone in front of the tomb.  The healings He performed, the mouths He fed, and the lives that He restored were beginning to become memories to those young followers. 

Days later, Mary and some other women returned to the tomb with spices and perfume.  They were wondering how they were going to get inside to anoint the body.  To their surprise the stone was rolled away and an angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid…He is not here.  He is risen!  Go tell the others quickly!”  The disciples must have forgotten what Jesus said and did because even when Mary and the other women shared the good news, they doubted its truth. 

This Easter we are blessed to hear the good news again!  “Do not be afraid,” because our Lord and Savior has conquered death.  With voices raised we proclaim, “Christ is risen!  Alleluia!”  Let us remember all that He has said and done.  Let us continue the ministry of those first apostles and “go and tell the others quickly.”  Some may come to believe, others may doubt, nevertheless the good news of Christ Resurrection embraces all.  

I invite you to come and worship at Abiding Presence this Easter season, but more so to take the good news and share it with all those you meet, because like those women at the tomb, we cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard!

He is Risen!  Alleluia!

Pastor Steve

Cleaning out the closet. A Lenten journey

I remember a time when I was a kid. My father asked me to clean up my room before going out to play. I frantically shoved toys, clothes, and school work into my closet, hurrying to join my friends outside. About three minutes later, I returned to my father, with sweat running down my face, and told him I was done.

My father, being a thorough man, walked into my room to check. He found it looking pristine and clean…a little too clean. As he opened the closet, an avalanche of dirty clothes and knick knacks engulfed him. I thought he would be furious with me, but he sat on my bed and watched me clean out my closet, clean my room, and then said, “Ok, now you can go out and play.”

Lent is similar to this. How many times have you put on a face, created a tidy appearance, or played a part to receive a certain reaction, accomplishment, or accolade? Lent reminds us not only to clean up the room, but clean out our closets as well; that inner place where God lives within us. Lent invites us to spend time with God, asking for direction, listening to instruction, and responding to the invitation to “go out” and play.

As you receive the sign of the cross on your forehead this Ash Wednesday, let it serve as a reminder. Let it remind you that Jesus has claimed you, saved you, and called you to go and be Christ like in a world of cluttered closets.

Pastor Steve

Season of Epiphany

The term epiphany really means manifestation or revelation of God.  God is revealed to us each and every weekend through word and sacrament.  During this season of Epiphany, come and discover how God presence is made known in the words that are spoken.  Come and see how God’s presence is made known as we share a foretaste of the feast to come.  Come this weekend and discover how God’s presence is made known through the waters of Baptism as we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus. 

            This epiphany, we are focused on Christ’s “light on the way.”  This is the same light that guided the wise astrologers to Jesus and Mary.  This light glows over the river Jordan as God beckons, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  In the remaining weeks of epiphany, this light will continue to shine as Christ as he begins his earthly ministry.  On the mountain top Jesus will be transfigured into the light on the way as God again shares with all of God’s people, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”  Even as we move into Lent and the 40 days, this light will not extinguish, but illumine in the shadows of this life. 

            Each weekend God is revealed to us through the words of scripture and God’s holy sacraments.  You are invited to this place of grace to listen, grow, and discover God’s abiding presence. You are invited to join this community of faith where all are welcome to celebrate the beginnings of Christ’s ministry in His baptism.  You are invited to bring a friend to share in the foretaste of the feast to come.

Come and worship at Abiding Presence - A Place of Grace.  All are Welcome!

www.aplc.org

There is a pew for you!

Steve