Your Faith Journey

All of us are on a journey of faith in our lives. At Faith Lutheran in Okemos, Michigan we bring people one a journey of faith each week and share that journey with the world.

Special Music - Lonesome Valley 03/30/2025

Sermon- 3-29-25 03/30/2025

Sermon- 3-29-25 Year C – Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 30, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 15:1-3; 11b-32 Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord, Jesus Christ, whose abundant grace makes our repentance possible. Amen. *** This fellow welcomes sinners and tax collectors… and eats with them. I don’t know what these particular sinners did for the Pharisees to label them as such… but the tax collectors worked for the Roman government… they were agents for the Empire… For the average Jewish person, the tax collectors were the people who were actively working against your livelihood and your well-being. They were… not welcome at any decent Jewish person’s table… so the fact that this fellow, Jesus, welcomed tax collectors and ate with them is… well… it’s pretty offensive. This fellow… Jesus… he sure is a troublemaker… he is always getting the Pharisees grumbling. And so, Jesus responds to their grumbling with a parable that is even more offensive… on so many levels… It has a terrible, manipulative son who demands that his father give him his inheritance as if his father is dead to him… and then squanders all the money on prostitutes and ends up starving, surrounded by pigs… and… he is not sorry about what he did. He is not full of remorse… he does not repent, and then return to his father… What drives him to return home… is that he is hungry, and he thinks he can con his dad into feeding him again. But the hardest thing to admit is that perhaps… the greatest offense in this story… is that the father’s grace is so freely and abundantly given. Yes, it is grace… that is most offensive here. *** I confess to you… that I continually find myself identifying with the older brother. I cannot help my instinctual reaction and impulse that there must be some divine consequence for the actions of the younger son… I cannot help but overlay the sin of the younger brother with examples of offensive sin in our modern time… I see in him those who are, today, manipulative and conniving, those who seize power and use it to increase the exploitation of the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable. I see in him those who would squander the wealth and prosperity of generations for their own gain… and those who are so blinded by prejudice and a fear of the ‘other’ that they are dismantling the work toward equality and equity that others have worked and died for… and I am offended. I am offended at what Jesus’ story teaches us about God… that God’s arms are open wide and full of love and grace for all… even the unrepentant sinners. Even though I am well-versed in how much God proclaims unconditional love for all. I am still offended… this is my sin. And yet, I so deeply empathize with the hurt the older brother feels when he realizes there is a celebration happening, and he’s not part of it. I get angry… I confess this to you… I am offended by this story. Which, of course, means that I am just as much in need of forgiveness and grace as either one of these brothers… So… if you don’t mind, I’m going to preach to myself here for a few minutes because I am, clearly, captive to my sin and in need of some good news… *** During Lent, we’ve been paying close attention to God’s urgent call to return… return to the Lord, repent… change your heart… change your mind, and turn your attention back to God and God’s love for you. And what this parable today illustrates for us is that… we cannot truly repent until we have received, and accepted, God’s grace and love… The younger son… as I said earlier… what drove him back to his father was not remorse… it was hunger. Had he found a meal, he would likely not have gone back. Only when he showed up and realized that his father had never stopped searching for him… never stopped loving him… that his father’s arms were open wide and full of mercy and grace… Only then… did this young son’s heart soften… only then did the transformative power of genuine repentance go to work on him. Grace is not a reward for our repentance. Grace… makes our repentance possible. …and our repentance itself is a loving gift from God, given to help us heal… given so that we can be made whole. Our repentance, made possible through grace, transforms our inward concern for our own needs and gain… into outward love for others and their well-being. Our ability to humbly come before God and confess that we have strayed from the way Jesus called us to go… to come before God and confess our sin… is only possible… because we have first received… grace. God is not trying to manipulate us into a fake apology or a disingenuous change in behavior… the offer of grace is not coercion… God offers us this grace freely… and in so doing, God is creating the conditions for us to be made new. God will not settle for anything less than a full transformation… a full redemption… a new creation. But… for this to be so… we must hear this good news first… God loves you, God forgives you, and God’s arms are open wide, and full of mercy and grace, waiting for you to come home. And once we are home, safe in God’s embrace… only then, can we begin to heal from our sin… to be healed and made whole. Bathed in mercy and grace, washed in love, we are made new, and therefore, just as we are a new creation in Christ, we cannot help but look at our neighbors in a new way… We cannot help but see God’s love in them, see the dignity and value in all people, even those we have sinned against… in thought, word, or deed …and yes, even those who have sinned against us. We cannot love the world as God so loves the world… until we allow God’s grace to heal our hearts… and to confess that we are as much in need of that grace and healing as anyone else. We are as much in need of that grace and healing as the lost and wayward children, the con artists, the scoundrels, those who are collaborating with the Empire, and yes… even the resentful older brothers… …we ALL need God’s grace and healing… God’s unfair and offensive, extravagant and boundless grace… I need to hear this every day… God loves me… God forgives me… and God’s arms are open wide and full of grace. *** I still can’t help but empathize with that older brother and the hurt he must have felt when he realized he was not included in the celebration. He was so wound up about who is deserving of his father’s love… who is acceptable, who is worthy, who is deserving of mercy… that he refused to go into the celebration. He was so convinced of his own righteousness, and the wrongness of his brother, that he missed the party. I get it. I understand how he could feel this way… and I also understand that he is missing the point. You see, I don’t read this celebration as an allegory for eternal life with God… The celebration is a real party, and it’s happening now… it is our joyful response to our transformation – the new life and the new creation that comes from true repentance… and for the grace that makes it possible… right here and now… every day. The offensive celebration… is for the healing of a heart that has gone astray! For once, we were lost… and now we are found! The older brother has been with the father all this time… but he, too, has let his heart go astray… he has taken his position in his father’s house for granted, and has failed to return, again and again, to his father’s embrace of love and grace… he failed to allow that grace to continually renew and re-create his heart. The older brother has fallen captive to his sin, and he made it all about himself… saying to his father… but what have you done for me? But his father… who loves him… who forgives him… says to his son, my arms are open wide for you too, and full of grace, just as they have always been… come, and be made new. Come into my grace… let it go to work on your heart, and be transformed by my love… and then, my child… you, who have been made new, will have no other response but to rejoice. And so, Lord, I pray to you… guide me… guide us… every day… into your transformative embrace, and let us celebrate with you. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35920620

Worship - 3/26/25 03/27/2025

Special Music - Come to the Water 03/24/2025

Sermon - 3/23/25 03/23/2025

Sermon - 3/23/25 Year C – Third Sunday in Lent – March 23, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 13:1-9 Isaiah 55:1-13 Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord, Jesus Christ, who, together with the Holy Spirit, long for us to live fruitful lives full of abundance. Amen. *** I learned a long time ago that… I can’t tell the difference between a trombone and a baritone… or an oboe and a clarinet. Now, if I’m looking at them, then yes, I can tell them apart and would even agree that they sound different… but the quality of their different sounds is not overly distinctive to my ear… so I struggle to tell them apart based on sound alone. It’s just not something I have much experience with. I discovered this… tragic failing of mine back in college when I had some elective courses to fill, and I thought it would be fun to take …the History of Jazz. I thought I was taking a history class… I enjoy history… But it was not so… it was apparently a music class disguised as a history class. And I almost failed… A big part of the class involved listening to classic jazz pieces and identifying the parts of the music… not only the instrument but the artist… based on the way they were playing. I was way out of my league. But over the course of the semester, I was able to train my ear just enough to scoot by… and I also think the professor had mercy on me. I know there are people out there who are naturally gifted with hearing and can pick up on subtle differences in sound… but I think most of us have to be trained to do that… …and if we want to keep that skill and build on it, well… then we need to practice. It’s very similar to our ability to recognize God’s presence in our lives… and to truly listen to God’s word in such a way that it shapes our lives toward fruitful living. We have to be taught… trained to recognize God through word and action… and we have to return to God every day… to practice. *** The prophet Isaiah tells us this week to “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call up him while he is near.” It’s part of this beautiful invitation to come to the banquet… all who thirst… and all who hunger… Come! Eat and drink… it’s all freely given, and it is so much better than the junk food you had before… the stuff that did not satisfy… come… and eat what is good! No one is turned away! The Lord is near… and wants you to truly live! This must have been incredible for the Israelites to hear… it was likely written around the time of Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile, around 538 B.C.E. Can you imagine? Returning home after being exiled… returning to God after hardship and struggle… and hearing God’s promise anew that God’s love covers all. God proclaims… “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” Listen. Train your ear to hear… Listen to God’s word… and hear the promise that is spoken over you. Listen… so that you may live! And to those who have wandered away… to those who have chosen or stumbled onto the wicked and unrighteous path… let them also listen… and hear God’s promise… so that they might also return to God… and God will have abundant mercy on them. Listen… so that you may live! Your God, who loves you, wants you to have the fruitful and flourishing life that you were created to have… God wants your life… to bear good fruit… and through God’s word, we are given all we need to achieve it. But we must listen… and return daily to God’s word… to practice our hearing. *** There are just a few problems with all this… For starters, this open invitation to all is… well… pretty open… but we humans sure do like exclusivity… we like the V.I.P. treatment… so we struggle with the idea that everyone is invited to this banquet. Also, we like to think there is a hierarchy of sins… but that’s our invention… God doesn’t seem to play that way. God’s offer of compassion and mercy doesn’t seem to have the qualifiers that our human systems want to place around everything. And furthermore… sure… God wants us to live a fruitful life… but that’s harder for some… for all sorts of reasons… with lots of stumbling along the way. Even if we ignore the fact that many of the struggles some people face are due to the sin of human systems that are designed to keep them down and struggling… Most human… societies or even families… eventually want to give up on those who struggle with bearing good fruit… And yet, like the fig tree in our Gospel passage from Luke 13, God seems determined to give us more chances… to give us more time… to nurture us, and help us grow… God is determined for us to train our ears to hear… to listen… so that we may return to our Lord and live the fruitful and flourishing lives God created us to live! God comes to us in our pain and our struggle… and says… have mercy… give it another year… let us nurture this beloved child and give her more time… Because… thankfully…mercifully… God’s thoughts are not our thoughts… and God’s ways are not our ways. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declares that God’s love will not be denied… no obstacle is greater than God’s word! For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout… So shall my word be… it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace! God is near to you now… and longs for you to incline your ear and listen to the promise found in God’s word… to hear that word and repent, so you might return to the Lord, your God, every day. *** Both Isaiah and Luke emphasize the urgency of our repentance… but to be clear… this isn’t a transactional experience… Repentance… returning our heart and mind to God… is not a quid-pro-quo… it is not a trade we make with God… we are not trading our remorseful apology for God’s grace and forgiveness. Our repentance… is an act of faith… It's an acknowledgment of how much we need God’s grace, and it communicates our trust that God hears us, knows us to our core, and still loves us. God offers us grace and forgiveness… and our repentance allows us to receive these gifts… receive them, but not hide them… God’s gifts are meant to be shared. Our repentance is an act of faith that opens the way to a life that bears good fruit. …it acknowledges that when we return our hearts and minds to God, and truly listen to God’s word with ears that are trained to hear… it will shape us… it will shift our hard-heartedness into compassion and patience… our cruelty into mercy and kindness… and our indifference into empathy and love. Compassion… patience… mercy… kindness… empathy… and love… are signs of a fruitful life… the kind of flourishing that God created us to live. *** But even if we are not quite there… even if we stumble and are not quite as compassionate or loving as we ought to be… God, who is near, tells us to practice our training. Give it a little more time… return to God now and incline your ear to God’s word that guides us back to fruitful living. Don’t wait until you have it perfect… don’t wait until you think you are worthy… return now. God is not waiting for us to figure everything out… not waiting to bestow grace upon us until we have shed all questions and doubt. No… God is already here, speaking to us… speaking a word of light into our darkness… a word of love into our suffering… and so we train our ear to listen, to hear God’s word. Like the talent of distinguishing a trombone from a baritone… we learn to distinguish God’s word based on the good fruit it produces, both in us and through us. And we return to the Lord daily to be nourished by God’s word… and trust that God’s word, which is sent out with joy, will not return empty but will be led back in peace. Listen… so that you may live! Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35823775

Special Music - Once Upon A Tree 03/17/2025

Sermon - 3-16-25 03/17/2025

Sermon - 3-16-25 Year C – Second Sunday in Lent – March 16, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 13:31-35 Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Grace and peace to you from God, who is faithful and true, and from Jesus Christ, our Mother hen, who fiercely protects and provides for us. Amen. *** Have you ever been chased by an angry chicken? I have not… the only animals I grew up around were dogs and cats, and the occasional fish… so I do not have much experience with chickens. And because of my lack of experience, I used to miss much of the nuance of this passage from Luke… I didn’t quite understand the intensity of the creature to which Jesus compares himself. I mean… it’s a chicken. Not exactly scary, right? Chickens are famous for being… well… chicken… they’re scared of everything! Well… so then… one of my friends who raises chickens set me right. Yes… they are scared of everything… until you threaten their babies. A mother hen is gentle and nurturing to her brood. She provides for them, and gathers them under her feathers, sheltering them and keeping them warm. But when her babies are in danger, she will not hesitate to go after the threat with fierceness and tenacity. She will go to great lengths to protect her vulnerable baby chicks… even if it costs her… her life. *** God… as a fierce Mother hen… it’s a surprisingly beautiful way to understand who God is in Jesus… but not exactly what the early disciples really hoped for… or expected in a messiah. …and I think it’s still that way for many people today. God’s people had long awaited a conquering hero… a king who would overthrow the empire and crush those who were crushing them. And instead… we got Jesus. Not a brave warrior, but a poor, gentle Rabbi who insisted on hanging out with all the wrong people. Jesus was not a powerful ruler who would destroy our enemies… but a suffering messiah who calls upon us to love them. We think the strongman is the better deal… we are so conditioned to believe that the powerful and brash leader is the one who will save us… But only the one who was crucified on the cross …has the power to save. Jesus knew the forces of the empire were against him… he knew that his mission would end in death. But just like a Mother hen, Jesus was willing to face death – even death on a cross – in order to protect us… protect us from ourselves and our own sin… and provide for us… provide the salvation that can only come from God. Jesus was willing to face death… because Jesus is God, and God promised long before… that we would always be God’s beloved children… and God is faithful to God’s promises. God made this covenant with our ancestors, Abram and Sarai… we are God’s people… *** Even Abram doubted though… the scene we read today from Genesis describes one such moment of doubt. Abram laments because the promised future has not yet come to pass, but God reassures him… and Abram believes. But God takes this even further… God instructs Abram to bring animals for a ritual, and cut them in half, and lay them out, each side facing the other. And then God… passed through between the cut animals… to secure the covenant. You’ve heard the expression… to “cut a covenant” or “cut a deal” …yes? …this is where it comes from. The one who passes through demonstrates that they will fulfill their promise, and if they falter… then let happen to them what has happened to these animals. God promised to Abram and Sarai that they would be the ancestors to a great multitude of people… and that they would be God’s children forever… under God’s care and provision. And so, God passed through those animals to secure the promise for Abram, and to assure him that God will remain faithful to God’s promises… even unto death. God claimed us as God’s own, and laid foundations of love and trust… faithfulness and provision. And from the very beginning… God showed us what God was willing to do for us, to nurture and build this mutual relationship… Humans are the ones who falter and fall away… humans have not always held up our end of the agreement… but not God… God remains true. *** And so… roughly two thousand years after cutting that covenant with Abram… Jesus… who is God… knew where his mission would take him… he knew Herod was against him… Maybe the Pharisees were genuine in their attempt to warn him… or… maybe they were taunting him… hoping he would abandon his disciples and his mission, and run and hide… …maybe they were calling him a chicken. So, Jesus, in turn… calls Herod a fox. That’s not a compliment. The fox is the notorious enemy of the chicken – and not just because he’s a predator. My friend who taught me about chickens, also taught me about foxes… A fox doesn’t just kill when he’s hungry. A fox will savage an entire hen house, killing indiscriminately and leaving the bodies behind. In calling Herod a fox, Jesus names Herod as a danger to everyone, including the Pharisees before him. But a hen… a Mother hen, when faced with a threat to her babies… never leaves her post. He tells the Pharisees that he’s casting out demons and healing the sick… nothing will deter him from his mission. Jesus is resolute …even knowing that the path leads through death, he does not waver… because he also knows… that on the third day… the work will be complete. On the third day…sin and death will be defeated… and Love and mercy will prevail. We may still falter in our faithfulness to God… but God does not. God remains faithful and true to us, and through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God has redeemed us… once and for all. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection… we are saved… because Jesus gave his life to protect us… *** God in Jesus… is a fierce Mother. …and yet, tender and merciful, and full of love… longing to gather us under her wing… even though some are unwilling. God in Jesus is not an abstract idea of a god who controls the world through puppet strings, or teases us around like playthings… Jesus… is God who is near… a living, breathing, loving light in our lives who is worthy of our trust and love… worthy of our devotion… the kind of devotion that changes how you live in this world… …the kind of devotion that bends your heart toward those who are cast out and vulnerable… because they are among the first ones Jesus gathers to himself. Jesus is God… a mothering God, spreading her great wings over us, sheltering all of Creation in her feathers, protecting us… and ultimately giving her life… to save us. *** God has redeemed us… redeemed you… and me… God has given us grace and mercy… God has fulfilled the covenant made with Abram and Sarai… once and for all… and secured our place, for all time… as God’s beloved children… And we, who are beloved children …we can trust in the fierce determination of our God to protect us from our sin… …and trust in the shelter of our Lord, always. Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35719120

Lenten Service - 3-12-25 03/13/2025

Special Music - My Jesus Walked 03/09/2025

Sermon - 3-9-25 03/08/2025

Sermon - 3-9-25 Year C – First Sunday in Lent – March 9, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 4:1-13 Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, and from our Lord, Jesus Christ, in whose death and resurrection we share through the gift of Holy Baptism. Amen. *** What a joyful day! Today we celebrate Stella who has been adopted into God’s family as our sibling in Christ… through the waters of baptism and through God’s word… God’s holy promise… spoken for us. God’s promise to Stella today reminds us that this promise is for us as well… that even though we may find ourselves lost and alone in the wilderness, God’s promise to us in our baptism is that God is with us… always… God promises to meet us in our wilderness, and that through water and word, our sins are drowned each day… and each day we are made new, forgiven, and loved. Through baptism, we share in our Lord’s death and resurrection… dying daily to our sin … and rising anew each day, embracing the promise of new life with Christ… Each day we are reborn, reconciled to God… and freed to worship God and give thanks, and respond to this precious gift by caring for others and boldly loving the world as God so loves the world. Baptism is a precious gift… that draws us into God’s grace, and transforms our relationship with God, and with our world. *** How poetic it is, then, that we celebrate Stella’s baptism on this day… the first Sunday in Lent. During Lent, we are called to pay special focus to all that draws us away from God, and to be intentional in our thoughts and actions, choosing patterns and habits that will bring us back closer to our Creator. We might fast, as Jesus did in the wilderness, so that each thought of whatever you are avoiding, becomes a reminder to return to the Lord and give thanks. Or we might introduce more intentional prayer and time for meditation on God’s faithful presence in our lives. This can be done alone… or you may choose to lean on the support of others, and come together with our community of Faith here… you could join in our weekly bible study, the Lenten book study, or come on Wednesday nights for our Holden Evening Prayer service. Or we might choose to give more generously to those in need, sharing gifts that we have first received… and in doing so, sharing love for others and celebrating God’s boundless love for all. However we choose to observe Lent, the goal is to grow in our relationship to God as we move toward the cross, and ultimately, to new life. The goal is to interrupt the patterns of sin that tempt us… and lead us away from God, as the devil unsuccessfully tempted Jesus… and to allow the challenge… the struggle… to strengthen us and deepen our faith and our trust in God who sustains us… and to remind us that we are forgiven and washed in grace. *** Our passage today brings us alongside Jesus in the wilderness… he is full of the Holy Spirit because he has just come from his own baptism in the Jordan River, signaling the start of his ministry on Earth. But even Jesus needed clarity for his mission… to face challenge and struggle… to strengthen himself for the work ahead, and so the Spirit leads him into the wilderness. The temptations Jesus faced mirror the temptations that Adam and Eve faced in the garden… to eat food that is not theirs to eat… to reach for power that is promised by one without the authority to make such a promise… and to test God, rather than trust that God will be true to God’s promise to provide. And where humanity falters, Jesus prevails… and in facing these challenges, Jesus gains clarity, and courage for his mission. And so, it is poetic that on this first Sunday in Lent, we celebrate the gift of Stella’s baptism, and by extension, the gift of our own baptism… We celebrate that Stella is now full of the Holy Spirit, and by extension, we too are full of the Holy Spirit, ready to face the challenges ahead… ready to strengthen and nurture our relationship with God and give intentional focus to all that God has done for us. Through our new sister, Stella, we are reminded of the promises we made… Promises that draw us closer to God. Promises that open our hearts to recognize all the ways that Jesus shows up for us…because that’s the goal… that’s always the goal. *** God’s promise to us through the word and the water is that we are always being made new… that every day, our sins are drowned… gone… and we rise from the water forgiven… and redeemed, and ready to walk with Christ. And even though we must die daily to our sin and receive the promise of new life each day… God’s promise is everlasting… unwavering… and true. And though we are still flawed, God still calls us to God’s self, still claims us as beloved just as we are, and desires for us to participate in the renewal of Creation by transforming the world around us with love. Baptism is our physical sign and reminder that we have received God’s grace… love… mercy… and forgiveness. And so today, on this first Sunday in Lent, we celebrate the promise of new life for Stella, and for all of us… and we give thanks to God for the gift of baptism. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35589140

Sermon - Ash Wednesday - 3-5-25 03/05/2025

Sermon - Ash Wednesday - 3-5-25 Year C – Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Remember that you are dust… and also, that you are loved. Ash Wednesday is the day we begin Lent, and we honor this day by considering our mortality… that we are made of the same dust and dirt as all the rest of Creation, and when we die… which we all will, we return to the same dust and dirt. It might seem odd to consider love, while also considering the dustiness of mortality … until you consider WHO made you from the dust and dirt… and WHY. Yes, you are dust… and dirt… but you were formed by God’s own hands… formed in love. And you live because of the first gift God gives each of us… God’s own breath… a gift given in love. God breathed into you… breathed life and love into you… so that you might live. Remembering that you are dust… also means… remembering that you are loved. And when the day comes that you return to dust… remember that you return to the presence of God… you return to the source of everlasting love. So then, it is with ashes and love that we step into Lent… a season of repentance and fasting… of giving alms and engaging in works of love that glorify our God… With ashes and love, we step into Lent, a season of preparation to behold God’s defining act of defeating death on the cross. With ashes and love, we step into Lent and we fast from the excesses in life… from whatever it is in our lives that comes between us and our God. We fast, so we can more clearly recognize that when all else is gone… when all things become irrelevant, we know that God, and God’s love, remain. Fasting, giving alms, and engaging in works of love are not about making a show of our piety… it’s about setting our hearts and minds on Christ and trusting that God is faithful and will not abandon us… because we are so deeply loved. And… because we are so deeply loved, we also repent. God, in love, calls us to return… return to me, says the Lord, with all your heart… God calls us to repent. We must repent because we live in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves… and our sin holds us apart from God. Our repentance is an acknowledgment of the hold that sin has over our lives… and our repentance frees us to fully receive the love and forgiveness God offers. Our repentance… the kind of repentance that changes the way we live… the kind that guides us back toward God’s justice... that kind of repentance… is rooted in love. We repent… not to become worthy of God’s love, but we repent because we ARE loved. As the prophet Joel wrote…”Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger… and abounding in steadfast love.” Repent… and turn your face… return your attention… back to God… turn back to God’s grace and mercy… to God’s love, and forgiveness… and remember that it was God who formed you in love. You were formed from the dust and dirt, and to the dust and dirt you will return… but you will never be without God’s love. So indeed… remember that you are dust… dust and dirt formed with love and given God’s very breath of life… and when your life is complete… remember… that to dust you shall return… called home to eternal life with your God who loves you… Remember that you are dust… and also, that you are loved. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35549890

Sermon - 3-2-25 03/02/2025

Sermon - 3-2-25 Transfiguration of Our Lord March 2, 2025 Faith, Okemos Exodus 34:27-35, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-43a Changed From Glory into Glory Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down! Fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art; Visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart. Breathe, oh, breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast; let us all in thee inherit; let us find thy promised rest. Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be; End of faith as its being, set our hearts at liberty. [Today, called the Transfiguration of Our Lord, is, in the church year, the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany - the season of the Father revealing to us the glory of his Son, at once fully divine and fully human. Today we see Jesus, together with Peter and John and James, going up on a mountain to pray. And there Jesus is “transfigured.” ] And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white. And suddenly talking with Jesus were two ancient figures, Moses, to whom, on a mountain, was entrusted with the Ten Commandments and Elijah, prophet of the Lord, who, fleeing for his life, hid in a cave on a mountain after publicly naming the gross transgressions and idol worship of King Ahab and the evil deeds of his wife, Jezebel, who had ordered the killing of the prophets of the Lord. It was there that he heard the still small voice, the sound of sheer silence calling him to rise up and continue his prophetic ministry [Moses, Elijah, and Jesus] appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem His departure… [The word “departure” in the Greek , the first language in which our New Testament was written, is the same word for “exodus.”] For the Hebrew people living centuries before, it was the absolutely pivotal moment in which God made a way for them to escape from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. For Jesus the exodus would be his suffering and death on the cross, through which God would make a way for all the world to be set free from bondage, set free from its slavery to all the false, deceitful gods that wreck our lives, that wreck our relationships with each other, that destroy our communities and God’s good creation, and yes, would wreck the very hope for justice and civility and righteousness in a nation. Jesus’ death on the cross was God taking on to himself all the suffering and barbarism, all the personal and sometimes government-sanctioned use of power to crush our very souls. In the words of scripture, Jesus became sin who knew no sin. Jesus’ departure, his exodus thus made possible our freedom, made possible our liberation from all the evil soul-destroying, community-destroying powers of this world. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul put it this way: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4) Do you not know? Do you not know that when you were baptized into Jesus’ death, into Jesus’ exodus, you were set free, free every day for the rest of your life to walk in newness of life? Listen now to these words from our Second Reading: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Since then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness…all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. In the hybrid Bible Study this past Tuesday, we reflected on the glory Peter, John, and James witnessed when they looked at Jesus, at his face, his dazzling white clothing and at the two men standing with him. They saw his glory! This is Jesus who on the day of his baptism [which we celebrated on the first Sunday in Epiphany], while he was praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him…And a voice came from heaven, ”You are my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” And now on this day of the transfiguration a cloud came and overshadowed them, enveloping Jesus and his disciples and from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” During the Bible study I began to see my fellow participants a little differently. I saw all of them as “exodus” sons and daughters of God, as honest, open and freed, fully human children of God. [In our shared reflections on the Word, I saw them, in my mind if not with my physical eyes, being changed, with new insights, new understandings, moving from one degree of glory to another.] [I shared with them my father’s blessing to me one night just before his death, these words from Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.] And now I see you, all of you made in the image of God, each of you in your own distinctive way reflecting the glory of God; all of you by the grace of God being transformed from one degree of glory to another. This glory is the gift of the Holy Spirit freely given in and through you every day of your life, a life lived in words and deeds of love, until at last you and I see Jesus face to face in all his shining glory. This glory is the freedom to walk more and more in newness of life, a freedom to trust that Jesus meant it when in your baptism into his death, he was calling you and equipping you, to become a good listener, listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in your very soul, gently calling and equipping you day by day to love appropriately everyone whom God brings into your mind, everyone whom God lays on your heart. But I have a confession. I don’t always listen very well, either to that quiet, gentle voice of the Spirit within me or the words of inspired wisdom coming from my sisters and brothers . So, I am very grateful for God’s patience. I know I’m not alone in my failure to listen. Peter, John, and James didn’t do so hot at listening either, even after just hearing that commanding voice from the cloud: This is my Son, listen to him! On the very next day, after coming down from the mountain they, with Jesus, encounter a father whose son, his only child, was critically and dangerously ill. He had asked the disciples for help. The 12 disciples, including the three with Jesus on the mountain, had earlier been empowered by Jesus to have authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And they had been incredibly successful. But they grew lax in their calling. They apparently forgot to listen both to the Spirit’s voice within them and to the father’s urgent plea for help. The father of the little boy said, “I begged your disciples to cast out the demon, but they could not.” Jesus is clearly frustrated, giving his disciples a holy balling out: “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?” But then moving on from his frustration, he said to the father, “Bring your son here.”…Jesus in a sign of what he would do for whole world on the cross healed the boy and gave him back to his father. Some days we too will forget to listen. And Jesus will at times be frustrated with us. But we are still and always will be his beloved sisters and brothers. By the wonderful gift and presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, Jesus will remind us again and again that throughout the course of our lives we are becoming more and more like him, growing from one shining, grateful, joyful degree of glory to another expression of glory. Come, Almighty, to deliver, let us all thy life receive; Suddenly return, and never, never more thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as thy hosts above, Pray and praise thee without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love. Finish then thy new creation, pure and spotless let us be; let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee! Changed from glory into glory, till in heav’n we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise! Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35500795

Special Music - We Will Glorify 03/02/2025

Special Music – Mercy 02/23/2025

Sermon - 2-23-25 02/23/2025

Sermon - 2-23-25 Year C – 7th Sunday after Epiphany Pastor Megan Floyd February 23, 2025 Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, and from our savior, Jesus Christ, who longs for us to be consumed by love. Amen. *** This passage is remarkably beautiful for the way it draws us into Christ’s vision of justice… and of course… love. But… that doesn’t make it easy. It’s a well-known passage… love your enemies… turn the other cheek,… but it often misrepresents Christians as people who will and should continue to subject themselves to abuse. It is definitely not that. I can remember, even as a child, I would hear this and think… nope… no thanks… if someone slaps me and I turn the other cheek, then I’ll get slapped twice. No, thank you. What I have since learned is that this passage is really about justice, and holding others accountable for their abuse and harm… but doing so in a non-violent and loving way. Retaliation and violence cannot drive out evil… only love can do that. After all… even those who perpetrate harm against their neighbor, or community, or even the whole country… even those people are loved by God, who desire for their hearts to be remolded by love. Still doesn’t make it easy. *** This passage is a continuation of the sermon on the plain that we got into last week… the blessings and woes… Blessed are the poor and hungry… blessed are the powerless Woe to you who are rich and full… woe to you who are well thought of according to the world’s standards. …But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. We must read this command to love our enemies through the lens of Jesus’ flip of all we understand about the world… and about who is blessed and who is issued a warning. He says, ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged.’ To cast judgment on another person is to view them, for whatever reason, as unworthy of God’s gifts… to consider them as less than the beloved child of God that they are. Jesus issues blessings and woes, and a call to love our enemies… as a way to call us into a more just way of living that honors all people, regardless of status or any of our human categories. And this is huge for us in our modern American culture, but it’s arguably a bigger deal for those first disciples… because the culture that Jesus is preaching in is an honor-shame culture. It’s not quite the same way here and now… but for them… To be abused was a cause for shame, but to respond the way Jesus suggests shines a light on the abuse, and holds the perpetrator accountable for their wrongful actions… To respond the way Jesus suggests is to demand justice and dignity. He says… if anyone takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. In that culture, to be naked was shameful, but to be someone who caused another to be naked was more shameful. Jesus said, if anyone strikes you on the cheek – and in Matthew, he specifies, strikes you on the right cheek, offer the other. Well, most people are right-handed, so to strike someone on the right cheek would mean they back-handed them… This was how someone would strike a slave or someone so low in status that the abuser would not sully the palm of their hand. But if you then offer the other cheek for them to strike, it would require an open hand, …In doing that, they are demanding their abuser face what they did and strike them as an equal… thus throwing off the shame and exposing wrongful violence. If someone takes your goods… stealing from you… Jesus said, do not ask for them back, it is then considered a gift. The shame of being a victim is turned into honor for one who is generous. And again… it exposes the wrongful theft. Jesus is not preaching suggestions for passive weakness… not at all… To respond this way takes courage, and commitment to the way of Christ and strength in knowing that calling others back into right relationship brings healing to whole communities. Jesus is offering a way to level out power imbalance and call attention to injustice. Jesus is offering a way for us to create space for a pause… an examination of actions, a call to accountability… space for confession… forgiveness… and reconciliation. Jesus is calling us to follow a way that does not tolerate evil, but instead, it exposes the evil actions and invites the perpetrator back into right relationship with their community… using love. God does not want us to destroy our enemies… God wants us to love them. *** Earlier this week, our siblings in Christ at St. Luke’s ELCA church in Park Ridge, Illinois, experienced some of this world’s hatred and abuse. Vandals destroyed their sign, which featured the logo for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – the ELCA – and the logo for Reconciling in Christ, which, as we know, stands for justice and inclusion of our LGBTQ+ siblings. While it may have been a random act of disrespect… which was carried out in two separate acts… we cannot ignore that our Lutheran witness and commitment to standing with the vulnerable and marginalized has recently been nationally vilified… …and our ELCA siblings across this country are feeling the effects of that from those who are motivated to intimidate based on perceived orders from their leaders. As I read about this church, I was deeply encouraged that, in the face of harm, they are leaning into Jesus’ command to love others, to be welcoming to all, and to bear witness to the Gospel. Their pastor wrote, “In a world increasingly marked by division and fear, we are called to stand firm in the radical grace of Jesus. If this was meant to discourage us, let it do the opposite. Let it strengthen our resolve to be a beacon of hope, justice, and love. We will continue to proclaim love of neighbor through word and deed, showing with our lives that love is stronger than fear.” *** Friends… this is what it looks like… to turn the other cheek. To pause… and take a breath… to call for accountability and leave room for confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. This is what it looks like to follow in the way of Christ, to commit to love, to stand for justice, and to trust in the kind of costly grace that calls us into action. To not let the hardness of the world… harden our hearts against our enemies… or our neighbors. And no… it is not easy. And yes… there is risk. Which is why we cannot… and do not… accomplish this work on our own. It is only possible with the strength of the bonds that form within a community that follows the way of Christ together… And, most importantly, it is only possible by the will of God, who has called us to this path… and promises to accompany and guide us, to comfort us in our grief, and to transform our hearts with love. Our God, who loves us beyond measure, knows that if we hold onto fear… bitterness… suspicion… and hatred… we will be overcome… consumed by that hatred. So let us lay all that down at the foot of the cross… and in doing so, know that we cast a holy light… a loving light… onto the injustice of our world… …and, with strength that can only come from God… let us come together to call those who perpetuate evil and violence… back into love…. Let us call them back into just relationships… offering healing for our communities… and lives transformed by grace. Jesus’ sermon on the plain teaches us that what God wants for us… what Christ longs for… is for us to be consumed by mercy and compassion… consumed by love, and for that love to reshape the world. And so… though it is not easy… let us, together, love our enemies and pray for those who cause harm. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35392220

Special Music – Above All 02/16/2025

Sermon-2-16-25 02/16/2025

Sermon-2-16-25 Year C – 6th Sunday after Epiphany Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, and from our savior, Jesus Christ, who came to bring good news to the poor. Amen. *** This one always used to make me squirm a bit… you know? No matter how much I shifted in my seat… I could not escape its conviction. We are still getting to know each other, but you have probably figured out that I love to laugh… And, of course, I like to be comfortable… and yes, I hope to maintain my good reputation. But when I read this… it’s like Jesus is standing there in front of me… shaking his head and looking disappointed. I don’t like that. But I know I’m not alone. We all like our comforts, and we all prefer financial security and a positive reputation. So why does Jesus say… woe to us... woe to us who are rich… woe to us who are filled… woe to us who are laughing and well thought of. Woe to us… who put our trust… our faith… in our earthly resources… *** I want to take a little detour and tell you about a time in my life when my faith just… exploded… my spiritual AH-HA moment! I’ve been a Lutheran all my life. My parents brought me to church every Sunday when I was little, I was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church. There were some years in college and as a young adult that I didn’t attend regularly… but church was my habit, and I valued the community that was available to me there. But when it came to my faith… well… I thought I had faith, but looking back, I don’t think I fully understood it… I believed in God, but I didn’t truly understand what it meant to be encountered by the living Christ… until about 12 years ago. That was when our youngest daughter was 2 years old, and I was home alone with her when she had a seizure. By the way… she is aware that I’m telling this story. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, and I was terrified… I didn’t know how to help her. I called my parents, and I called 911 We ended up at the hospital, where the seizures continued… and she was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy, but they couldn’t figure out why she had it. So for the next several months, we were in and out of the hospital… tests and specialist visits and all sorts of things were happening. And the medical bills were just… soaring… we had insurance, but it didn’t matter… the amount of the debt became comical for us… Bill was the primary earner in our family… working as a graphic designer for a tiny, struggling, family-run graphic design firm… and I worked for the church as the bookkeeper and the youth minister. We were not wealthy, but prior to this event, we were at least keeping our heads above water. And then… a few months into Kara’s medical adventures, Bill was laid off… on the day after Christmas. Suddenly, we were in deep poverty. The kind where you legitimately do not know where your next meal is coming from. It was very scary. The benefit, however, of being that deep in poverty is that Kara qualified for subsidized health insurance for children, and the amount we owed stopped ballooning. And… at least at that time, there were still social safety nets that gave us some breathing room on our mortgage, so we didn’t lose our house. And also, tending to Kara’s medical needs became a time-consuming responsibility… and since Bill wasn’t working, he was home and was able to give the extra time needed, and work with the doctors to get her stabilized. And as for our next meal… well… our church community showed up in huge ways. They brought casseroles by on hospital days… groceries would appear on our doorstep, and Meijer gift cards showed up in the mail. There was an abundance. They checked in on us… they held us… they prayed with us and for us. They surrounded us with so much love and support, that even though we felt we were free-falling, we never hit bottom. And every time I looked at them… they absolutely shined with Christ’s light… and I finally understood… this is how Christ meets us in our most difficult moments… This is how Christ ministers to us…loves us… holds us… surrounds us with peace. I didn’t recognize Christ in my community before because I was too busy with all my stuff… my hands were too full of my own earthly treasure… I was too used to being one of the helpers… I had no idea what it meant to be the one in need. Only once my hands were empty did I become ready to receive the fullness of God’s blessing… and only through God’s grace could I humble myself enough to receive it. In receiving this gift of grace, my awareness opened up, and I finally got it… that all the earthly treasure we had before, and all we have now… was always, and will always be, a gift given to us, meant to be shared… And so it is with joy that I endeavor to bring Christ’s light to others, just as others brought it to us. *** I had to learn this lesson of seeing Jesus the hard way… maybe you don’t have to – maybe you’re not as hard-headed as me… but I am forever grateful that Jesus met me where I was and showed me grace. What else could I possibly do after that… but follow him? That’s what Jesus does… he meets us exactly where we are… to call us into discipleship. And if we miss the cue… he’ll try again. Just like in our gospel text, Jesus met the people on the plain... all those people, he met them on a level place… no one higher or lower than the others. He met the very Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judea… the very Gentile people from Tyre and Sidon… disciples… followers of Jesus… those seeking healing… and all the different people in between. He meets them all… on a level place… and he heals them all. But to his disciples… to those who are following him in his mission… he explains that the kindom of God belongs to those who show up empty-handed. Blessed are you who are poor… hungry… Blessed are you who are weeping Jesus turns their understanding of the world… upside down… just like he did for me. He is… re-orienting their priorities, and not all are going to accept this new world order… But… he still healed them.... he healed them all… Because he still loves them. Because Christ is still Christ… and the invitation is always there to open our hearts and turn our minds to God’s ways… to open our hands to receive the goodness of God. But his mission is plainly stated… Jesus came to bring good news to the poor. *** That time in our life with Kara and experiencing poverty… it re-oriented our priorities and opened our eyes to see Christ all around us. In time, Kara’s epilepsy stabilized, and she’s doing great… and Bill found a new and better job. We’re doing ok… …and I don’t think Jesus is disappointed about that. Because, like I said, our priorities are different… we now consider that what we have is a gift from God, and gifts are meant to be shared. And, we understand now how much we are all connected, and how much we need each other. We understand that it is not ok for us to be satisfied in our wealth if our neighbor is starving. …what good is our freedom and privilege if our neighbor is held captive and oppressed. The blessings and woes Jesus proclaims are not two separate ideas… Jesus is not saying that God is only with the poor. God is with all the people… always… and Jesus is calling our awareness to our connection to all of them, but most especially… to those who are most in need. Those who are deeply in need or despairing are uniquely positioned to recognize that Jesus blesses them and offers encouragement… and ministers to them through others. And when we are so full of our own treasure that we have forgotten where it truly came from, Jesus brings words of challenge to remind us that we are connected and bound to all those in our community… and throughout Creation. These blessings and woes are a call into discipleship… they call us back into the way of Christ, and into a more generous, connected way of life. After all, we are… one body in Christ. And so it is with joy and delight that we care for each other and minister to each other… sharing our gifts as we are able and shining Christ’s light into the world… And trusting that when we come before God with empty hands, God will fill them with love and grace and blessing. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35303505

Sermon - 2-9-25 02/09/2025

Sermon - 2-9-25 Year C - 5th Sunday after Epiphany Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, and from Jesus Christ, our Savior… the holy seed in whom we place our hope. Amen. *** It is a fact of life that we don’t get to choose when we live, but I think it is safe to say… we are living in challenging times. The intentional chaos and resulting uncertainty of the past month is a lot of political theater, and not entirely unexpected… but what has really thrown me for a loop are these new attacks on the faithful, steadfast work of mainstream Christians with a long history of serving the poor and vulnerable. ELCA Lutherans and our many siblings in Christ, who faithfully LIVE and PREACH God’s saving message of mercy for all people and love for all people, are being challenged as adversaries to the current cultural powers. But… Love… and mercy… caring for the vulnerable and centering those on the margins are …and have always been… central to Jesus’ teaching and contrary to cultural norms. And yet… here we are… these are challenging times. You can imagine how I felt this week when I pulled up the lectionary texts for today and read poor Isaiah’s faithful response to God’s call – Here I am, Send me! …and then… what he’s actually being sent into. God called Isaiah to preach to people who are deaf to God’s word, and blind to God’s ways… to go to a people who are so hard of heart that they turn away from those in need and turn away from God’s mercy. Isaiah was called into God’s service… in challenging times. Jesus also lived in challenging times… in Matthew chapter 13, he quotes this very passage from Isaiah to refer to the people he’s preaching to… those for whom the good seed of God’s word falls among thorns or shallow soil. And of course… Jesus preached to his neighbors in his hometown, sharing stories of God’s mercy for the foreigner and the alien… and his neighbors are so angry and offended… they are determined to throw him off a cliff. So maybe the truth is… the times really haven’t changed all that much. But thankfully, I am not Isaiah… and God has called me to preach to you, who are certainly NOT hard of heart… You are a people who have heard God’s call to love, to offer mercy, and to stand with the vulnerable… and you have poured your hearts and your treasure into this… God’s mission. And yet still… these are challenging times. *** The good news is, that true growth really only happens when we face a challenge, so maybe living in challenging times isn’t so bad. Think about this.. Giant Sequoia trees are the largest trees on earth and can live 3,000 years. There are Giant Sequoia trees that were already ancient when Jesus’ message of love and mercy got him killed 2,000 years ago. These incredible trees can only reproduce… the seeds can only germinate… if they go through fire. The seed cones have a hard resin that only melts away when exposed to the extreme temperature of fire. But the fire also clears the ground upon which the seed falls… and it clears a space in the forest canopy, to let in water and light. The only way that new growth can happen for a Giant Sequoia tree… is to endure challenging times… the fire that burns away and seems to destroy… also leads to healthy, new creation. *** For Isaiah, his people were facing the fire of God’s judgment He was called to warn his people that turning away from God would lead to their ruin… even though he knew they would not hear him or heed his words. Their actions would lead to exile… they would face… challenging times. But for God, judgement is NEVER the last word… judgement is not how it ends. For when all else is gone… a seed remains… a holy seed, the stump of Jesse… from which healthy, new, redeemed creation can and will grow. God’s promise has always been… that death does not get the final word, and all is not lost because God is faithful and true. God promised that these challenging times would lead to a new creation, and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has fulfilled that promise to you! God’s word of judgment reminds us how much we need God… and the love of God through Jesus assures us that, even in the darkest moments, there is light. And where there is light… there is hope. *** We need this constant reminder because we are a people who are easily swayed by the noise of society. We need the centering words of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, to remind us who we are… and whose we are. We need to come and be surrounded by our community of Faith, to remember that we belong to Christ, who claimed us with love and calls us to share that love with the whole world… not just our families and immediate communities, but the WHOLE world. We need Christ, our cornerstone, to strengthen our resolve to live according to God’s word, especially when that way is more and more counter to the way our culture seems to want to go. This is a community that gathers around the proclamation of Christ, and him crucified, and so I believe we know what to do… We lean on Jesus… In these challenging times, we lean on Jesus and immerse ourselves in his words and teachings… We lean on Jesus, and allow our God to guide and comfort us… to be our light in the darkness. *** The path forward in challenging times is never easy… but the path is clear… if we keep our focus on Christ. In George H. Martin’s commentary, he wrote that in challenging times, “the reality known to people of faith is that we walk in the way of the Lord, while others seem to walk in a different direction. We live among people who who want to hate their enemy, and yet we hang on to a message about loving not just your neighbor but your enemy as well. We live in a world of wars and rumors of wars, and yet we have a Lord who suggests that when we are weak we are strong. Such is the cross-based faith of our Christianity.” In these challenging times, when the world tells us to turn away from the vulnerable, to be suspicious of those who are different, and to show no mercy for those we’ve pushed to the margins… …these are the times when we grow. These are the times when we, faithful followers of Christ, must recommit ourselves as disciples… fishers of people… followers of Jesus. These are the times when we reaffirm our baptismal promises and renew our trust in God’s abundant mercy and grace and our assurance that this incredible mercy and grace is for ALL people, in all the world. *** So like the fire in the forest that opens the seeds of the Giant Sequoia, Lord we pray to you, let the fire of our time and the judgment of your word open our hearts to new growth, new creation, and a renewed passion for your word. Open our hearts to new expressions of love and mercy for our neighbors, especially our neighbors in need. And Lord, in this work, fill us with renewed JOY… the joy that comes from basking in your light and living in your way of peace. Because we will have joy, and yes, we will have empathy and love, because we are called and claimed by God and given grace upon grace through our Lord, Jesus Christ… And the success of God’s grace is not dependent on us, but on the steadfast faithfulness of God and God’s promise to redeem and renew the world… and usher in a new Creation. Until that day, we who follow Christ have the JOY of living in God’s light, even when we feel we are surrounded by darkness… For we know that God’s light and God’s love will always have the final word. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35211760

Special Music - Deep Water 02/09/2025

Special Music - One Step He Leads 02/02/2025

Sermon - 2-2-25 02/02/2025

Sermon - 2-2-25 If you are sitting there thinking I have heard those names before…Anna and Simeon…it’s because some years, we get this gospel reading the Sunday after Christmas, and some years when Feb 2 is a Sunday, we hear them anew…now we are not that far removed from the last Christmas, but for a variety of reasons, at least for me, it feels likes Christmas and our celebration of the birth of Jesus seems like forever ago… So it is on this somewhat chilly, very snowy Sunday morning we hear of these two figures…Anna and Simeon who further the story of the baby born in a manger no matter if that feels like just yesterday or forever ago. Some pastors may go straight for the joy that Anna and Simeon much have felt…playing up their child-like joy at seeing Jesus, face-to-face. I never want to be guilty of diminishing joy, but my own experience is that joy is often not as joyful as it could be unless it has engaged in a long, drawn-out stare down with something that threatens to push it out of sight--joy often vanquishes something as it becomes real: despair, hopelessness, physical pain, perhaps a deep, disquieting grief that one's life never lived up to expectations. We don’t know a ton about Anna or Simeon, but I would imagine that the world of Jesus time could not have been a comfortable place for the aged to persevere. No climate control, no pain relief, little capacity to mitigate the embarrassing or just plain uncomfortable effects of the body's natural process of breaking down. There was physical pain in their bodies, morning, noon, and night--a burden that grew heavier with the dawn of each day. Was there something more? Confusion, social isolation, an inability to sleep well, irritability, gaps in the memory, and delusions are all common as we age. There is this frustrating sense that you can't keep up, that the world doesn't need you, that your body and mind that have been your bread-and-butter have sold you out. I confess that I haven't always been understanding, even as a pastor. And I am sure most of us have either heard or even participated in conversations where the graying of the church is discussed like it's a mortal wound--evidence of a church's irrelevance. Let me very clear here…we all want kids and young people in the church…but at the same time, any church can be very much alive and growing with a ton of gray hair too.. Because the thing is--more times than not--when I've sat with older adults, I walk away blown away by how openhearted and faithful and even visionary they are. I spend time traveling around the synod and it is no exaggeration to say that the older folks can be just as full of vibrancy, and mission, and good news as the younger folks among us…civil rights pioneers, anti-war activists, battling the war on poverty, turning the parsonage into a home for refugees, leading the way to become and RIC congregation . Older folks like Simeon and Anna are often the soul of our church: they are the ones who keep the prayer list and pray over the names and the personal tragedies asking God for mercy upon mercy; they prepare dinners for the family where the young mother is receiving chemo; they sit quietly alongside friends when they have lost their spouse of fifty years; they attend an otherwise sparse daytime funeral for the member who suffered for years with untreated mental illness, and they sit in the pews every Sunday, whether the sermon is good or lousy or somewhere in between. As we get older and we continue in the journey of faith, there continues to be joy. There's probably more joy there than I can even imagine. Even and especially when the world seems upside down and inside out…or maybe that’s just me. And I noticed something else about Anna and Simeon. Something that many of our wise elders also have in common, that guided by the Holy Spirit, they always for their best to point to Jesus, and to share God’s love in and around the world, and in and around us. In any and all circumstances…when all seems right in the world and when everything seems so very wrong. Filled with the promise of that same Holy Spirit, we, like Anna and Simeon, can praise God and always seek God’s love and mercy in the world Today, Faith in Okemos celebrates the coming of a new messenger of the good news, the story of Jesus, our Lord and savior, some who will at times walk alongside you, sometimes run ahead of you, and sometimes try to herd you forward from behind…your new pastor, Pastor Megan. As Pastor Megan begins her ministry to and with you in this place, together, you can be Anna and Simeon for one another…praising God and sharing the story of Jesus, who brings love, grace, and mercy to all people. She will share with you how God is at work in her life, this congregation, the church at large and the world around us. She will find joy with you, and dwell with you in your grief. She will pray with you, teach you, and learn from you. She will baptize, preach, administer the sacraments, marry, and bury you. She will try to live a life worthy of her calling to be pastor here, and most importantly she will share the story of Jesus with you…from before he was born, leaping in Mary’s womb, to meeting Anna and Simeon, to the performing of miracles, the teaching of parables, the healings, wandering around in dessert, all the way to the cross and then to the empty tomb where Mary Magdalene recognized who she thought was the gardener as Jesus when he simply said her name. Pastor Megan will be her own version of Anna and Simeon, and so will all of you. She will not be perfect, no pastor is…neither is any congregation. She will forget to visit, not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t know you wanted or needed a visit, and she is not a mind reader. She will not always agree with you, nor you with her. And when you or she stumbles in your faith or when you all stand firm in your faith for the sake of others, we can always and forever count in God’s faithfulness to us, and continue to share the story of Jesus with a world that needs to hear it ever so much. Thanks be to God! Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35117325

Special Music – Total Praise 01/26/2025

Sermon - 1/26/25 01/26/2025

Sermon - 1/26/25 Wow, here we are on another precipice. When I started back on June 26, 2013, we were on a precipice ready to jump off and start our work together. When we jump off we never know where will land. Thankfully as followers of Jesus Christ we know that we are not alone. We believe the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us. We have been through some major changes, and they all happened within 5-6 months in 2024. Walter passed away February 16. Thankfully we had a vice president in the wings to take over. In March we began counting money at the church. Our former secretary shared with members that I would not be putting my name in to be considered for your pastor. In one week in June, we essentially had 2 staff changes. That is a lot for any system to handle. We gathered our gifts and moved forward. We had a great VBS. Thankfully we found a new secretary within a relatively short amount of time. Thus, Randy and I could give up doing the bulletin and E-news. Thanks to Mark Kadrofske for planning and coordinating youth events. Sunday School is running smoothly with our gifted education people. We needed to do some reorganization with the pantry, and it now has a steering committee where the oversight is done by a group of people. They even have a job description for their committee. The finances are being monitored, and more funding is being sought. The pantry is in good shape right now. This is not about me doing all of this work. My role was to plant seeds and support the gifted people here at Faith. The council is in the midst of restructuring the operating system of the church so that the healthiest ministry can be done. This came out of the leadership workshop that we had and the work of the transition team. Today Pastor John will be sharing some thoughts on the Parish House as well as Laurie at our annual meeting. With the new administration we are very concerned about the guys and their continued ability to stay here. Now in saying that, we know of no imminent issue, but it is a concern. Things are changing every day. Michigan Refugee Hope has begun working on a safety plan and Faith will need to be a part of this. Pastor John, Laurie and I attended a zoom meeting on Tuesday with the other refugee providers in Lansing. This is to ensure that the leaders here are as up to date on what might be coming down the pike. This is what soon to be Pastor Megan is walking into. She will need your support in navigating whatever is ahead. Remembering what we have been through since I have been here. I believe that we have moved through it together with the power of the Holy Spirit. This leads us into our gospel lesson for today. After Jesus’ time in the wilderness with the devil, he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Jesus gave his inaugural address to the people in attendance at the synagogue. News had spread about Jesus throughout the whole countryside. He had taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. He returned to Nazareth, where he had grown up. He attended the service as he normally did. The hometown boy had come home. The assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where he wanted to read. As he read the passage from Isaiah, Jesus identified who he was and what his mission was. He said that God had anointed him, and the Spirit was on him. He was sent to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. As the Gospel of Luke continues we find Jesus not being liked very much. He was shaking the status quo. Neither the church leaders nor the government leaders were happy with his message through word and action. Next week the lesson would have been how even his hometown people realized they were being asked to do something that they might not be comfortable with. When I think about the fact that Jesus has asked us his followers to carry on this work, I’m just a bit taken back as were the people in his hometown. This is a great deal to do, and it has become more and more of an uphill battle. This week at the National Cathedral there was an Episcopal bishop who preached this kind of message, and she has been criticized by many people in power, even pastors. There is now a congressman who has introduced a resolution to condemn her as her message was distorted. He is saying that the sermon was not reflective of the faith community at large. As of today, I do not speak on behalf of Faith. I challenge you to consider what this means and where you stand. Is the bishop’s message in line with the welcoming statement? We can easily get bogged down in what we can’t do instead of focusing on what we can do. This was something the bishop felt she was called to do. I understand she also offered the National Cathedral as a resting place for Matthew Sheppard. I cannot cover all of these points Jesus outlined for himself in one sermon. What I would like us to briefly look at is preaching good news to the poor. You may tell me that you are not preachers and that is my job along with a few others. The Greek word for preach in this passage is euangelizō which means announcing, declaring, or telling the good news. This is for all of us including foreigners. It is what we say and do. It is the message that we present to others through our words and actions. Thus, this is what Jesus is calling all of to do in order to continue his ministry. In this passage from what we believe to be 2nd Isaiah, which is after the exile, they are reflecting on the destruction of Jerusalem and having to rebuild it. Even though the restoration has been promised it is frustrating project. A great deal of conflicted feelings are probably being felt. Could it be that Jesus was reminding the people in the synagogue what had gotten the Hebrew people that Isaiah was prophesying what had gotten them into exile? The people had been looking for a leader to bring them more power and control through acquiring more land. It was a very self-centered way of thinking and greediness. This way of thinking excluded people who were different from them. I have said it before and I am saying it again, history repeats itself if we don’t learn from it. God has been bringing the message to God’s people that God includes everyone. This is what RIC Sunday is about. It is a reminder that this is the good news that all of us have been called to announce. The good news is for all people. In my first sermon here, I thanked you for welcoming me. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. Faith has welcomed our refugee brothers in the Parish House. We welcome people to come and take food that they need \in order to live. This is sharing or announcing the good news. In going forward, Jesus calls you and I to continue sharing the good news. You may hear voices and see things done that do not model good news. Please allow the Holy Spirit to continue guiding you. This beloved community is called to share this good news regardless of these voices. Do your best in this place and this community to not let history repeat itself. Remember the Holy spirit has led us to this day and will lead you and myself forward to continue sharing the good news where we are! Let us pray: Gracious Spirit, thank you for bringing us together to share your good news. We continue to rely on you to lead us forward and to discern how and where to share your good news, regardless. In Jesus, Name. Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35018150

Special Music - Good and Simple Gifts 01/21/2025

Special Music - The Heavens Declare the Glory of God 01/21/2025

Sermon - 1/19/25 01/21/2025

Sermon - 1/19/25 Many of us here know the anxiety that goes into planning a wedding. Whether large or small there are many variables. Between people, flowers, site for wedding and reception, food & drink, etc. In the end we find out that something will not be just the way we wanted it. My parents, whose wedding was on May 9, 1959, had the experience of running out of food and drink. My dad grew up out in the country, thus many of his family and friends were farmers and it took them longer to be able to get to the reception which was about 40 minutes or so away. My parents both had large families, thus what they had budgeted didn’t seem to be covering. Someone who’s family my mother lived with her senior year in high school, after her parents had divorced, provided funds to keep things going. My parents were in a bind and Elmer came through to keep things going as if nothing had had been wrong. Weddings are always hopefully joyous occasions, but with so many variables, something is bound to go wrong. Thus Elmer, behind the scenes came through and my parent’s party went on. Does this story sound a little familiar to the story that we heard in our Gospel lesson for today? Jesus came through to provide what was needed for the celebration to go on just as Elmer did. Of course he is not Jesus, but Elmer gave of himself and did not make some big announcement as to what he had done. Neither did Jesus as there were very few people who knew the wine was replenished. When things don’t go right at events, the planners often feel shame when they can’t turn it around. Elmer knew that and of course Jesus did too. I want to say it is a heart thing and in a sense a humble act. Elmer and Jesus did not want shame to come upon the planners nor did they want to be recognized. Because of the relationship that my mother had built with Elmer, he felt that he wanted to support her. While my mother lived in their home she took care of their kids while she was finishing high school. Their children who are still living, remember my mother. With Jesus, I wonder if part of it is the relationship with his mother as she is the one who informed him that the wine had run out. We don’t know how well he knew the couple who got married, but he and his disciples attended it. This celebration often lasted a week. Thus, it was quite a chore to keep food and drink going, let alone the cost. Nonetheless, Jesus felt the need to allow the celebration to continue without a hitch with the replenished wine. This was his first sign as John labels Jesus’ work. So many other signs were done, but were more public and dealt with healings and raisings, etc. This first sign was done in a common ordinary setting so the celebration of this relationship could continue. It was also done to show his disciples who he was, and it says they believed after they saw the sign done. Jesus’ mother seemed to know what he was capable of as she told the workers to do whatever he told them to. Even after he was questioning why he should get involved with it. Signs in John were about revealing Jesus’ glory, they were to help people see who he was, the Messiah. He did not do them to impress people, but to help them believe. Even in this first sign it was because he cared about the people and did not want them to be shamed. This is what we call grace. He didn’t have to do it, but he did out of love for them. When you think about this, it is a model for his disciples, to do acts out of love, out of grace. Jesus had no real obligation, maybe in a sense to his mother, but not to the couple getting married and those who were in charge of the celebration. From JB Phillips translation we hear from John chapter 1:14-18 So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendor (the splendor as of a father’s only son), full of grace and truth. And it was about him that John stood up and testified, exclaiming: “Here is the one I was speaking about when I said that although he would come after me he would always be in front of me; for he existed before I was born!” Indeed, every one of us has shared in his riches—there is a grace in our lives because of his grace. For while the Law was given by Moses, love and truth came through Jesus Christ. It is true that no one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known. So, in this first sign in the Gospel of John, Jesus is modeling grace. This was a model for his disciples, for you and me. Jesus is already setting the tone and direction for his ministry and ultimate act of grace, his death and resurrection. We see and experience grace from Jesus through others. Without this, it would be difficult to share grace if we have not experienced it ourselves. I can say with complete certainty that everyone here in this room has received grace. Number one, our baptism is a means of grace. We have received this gift as infants or adults. As members of the beloved community, we are called to model how we share grace, as Jesus models here in our gospel lesson as well as throughout the Bible. We learn how to share or model grace by experiencing it through others. In our country and here at Faith things are changing. Through any transition grace is needed. As changes occur, we are called to respond and not react to them. There may be times that we need to step back and clear out as much of the anxiety as we can in order for grace to flow through us. I am not talking about graciously accepting everything as it is. What I am talking about is being graceful in our responses. When I hear the word reaction, I often think of no thought behind our action. In order for grace to flow through us, we need to take our anxiety to Jesus. This will allow us to think and consult with Jesus before responding. There will be anxiety. Jesus graciously walks with us and stands ready to listen to our anxieties. This is the grace that Jesus has modeled and continues to model for us through others and is ready to share with us. Once we have realized this grace and given our anxieties over to Jesus, we are ready to make graceful responses to the changes that we encounter. Just as Elmer and Jesus modeled grace, we are then called to model that grace for others. This is how people see Jesus at work within us and may be able to believe as the disciples did that day, when Jesus shared grace when he performed his first sign. Let us pray: Gracious God, you sent Jesus to model and share your graciousness. As we have read again the story of Jesus’ first sign we see your grace modeled for us. We daily ask and receive your grace, may your Holy Spirit help us to share your grace with others that more may come to believe and continue to share your grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/34935935

Special Music - Wade In The Living Water 01/12/2025

Sermon - 1-12-25 01/12/2025

Sermon - 1-12-25 Relationship is about connection. Baptism is about a relationship or connection with God in Jesus Christ and the beloved community. Even though Jesus’ baptism was not like ours, it is still about connection. The Hebrew people had been waiting many years for the prophesied Messiah. So here was John out in the wilderness baptizing people with the baptism of repentance. He really stuck out and people came to find him in the wilderness. John was bristling the church leaders. The Hebrew people were not hearing this kind of message from them, and they were waiting in hope and expectation. John clarified for them that he was not the Messiah that they had been waiting for. The Message puts it this way: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. She’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. She’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false she’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” Wow, so baptism is about cleansing, about cleaning our houses. It is not the kind of cleaning that we can hire someone else to do. Only the Holy Spirit can do this kind of cleaning. This is what it means to be in relationship with Jesus and to stay in right relationship with him. The theological term for this is sanctification or being made holy. We are brought into a healthy relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther has reminded us that this is a daily process. Making the sign of the cross reminds us of this. What can we learn from Jesus’ baptism that will help us in our connection or relationship with him? Jesus waited and possibly encouraged all who were present to be baptized by John. This was really a baptism of preparation or cleansing for following Jesus. As Jesus was praying, which was a common theme in Luke, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit or dove descended down on Jesus. Then a voice was heard, God’s, saying, “You are my beloved Son, chosen and marked by my love, with you I am well pleased.” Luke is telling us that God confirmed for Jesus that he was God’s son chosen and loved, and that God was pleased with him. Now we could gather that this voice was heard by all the people present, but we don’t know that for a fact as Luke does not tell us of their immediate response. Instead, Luke goes into a genealogy that connects Jesus back to Adam and then is followed by Jesus’ temptation story in the wilderness. Jesus waited and encouraged all to be baptized and then he was baptized as one of the people. This baptism of John was about being prepared, about being cleansed and for us keeping our relationship with Jesus healthy. Thus, Jesus was modeling for us the need for this baptism and the Holy Spirit cleansing us. Jesus waiting and encouragement also modeled humbleness and a heart for the people. This baptism of repentance and the Holy Spirit is what keeps our connection to Jesus healthy. Our connection with Jesus really begins the day we are born. Baptism recognizes this connection. It recognizes God’s grace for us. Our parents and often sponsors bring us to be baptized. Years ago, and sometimes still today, baptisms are done apart from the worship service. It is more appropriate for one’s baptism to be done in the context of worship as it is really about welcoming the child or adult into the beloved community. Also, it is the responsibility of the congregation to provide and encourage one’s growth in a person’s relationship with Jesus, just as Jesus modeled at his baptism. Today we are going to affirm our baptism. We will publicly say to God and each other that we are followers of Jesus Christ. We will be stating that we are continuing in this relationship or connection with Jesus, that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to come and clean our house. Through water and the Word, we strengthen our connection to Jesus. We are reminded that in this gift of baptism that we receive freely forgiveness, salvation and new life. Let us now affirm our baptism and the promises that go with it. AFFIRMATION OF OUR BAPTISM Pastor: God, who is rich in mercy and love, gives us a new birth into a living hope through the sacrament of baptism. By water and the Word God delivers us from sin and death and raises us to new life in Jesus Christ. We are united with all the baptized in the one body of Christ, anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and joined in God's mission for the life of the world. Thanksgiving The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise. Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: We give you thanks, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and you created heaven and earth. By the gift of water you nourish and sustain us and all living things. By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family. You led Israel by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, out of slavery into the freedom of the promised land. In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth. In obedience to his command, we make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Continue to pour out your Holy Spirit on your baptized people, so that we remember the new life received at our baptism. We thank you for washing away our sings and making us inheritors of your kingdom. To you be given praise and honor and worship through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen Profession of Faith Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? Response: I renounce them. Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? Response: I renounce them. Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God? Response: I renounce them. Do you believe in God the Father? I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism: to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth? The assembly makes affirmation: I do, and I ask God to help and guide me. The minister addresses the assembly. People of God, do you promise to support and pray for one another in your life in Christ? We do, and we ask God to help and guide us. The presiding minister prays for God’s blessing. Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give us new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life. Stir up in your people the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence both now and forever. Amen. Let us now make the sign of the cross remembering our Baptism. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/34824320

Sermon - 1-5-25 01/05/2025

Sermon - 1-5-25 We have begun another new year, 2025. It usually takes a little while to remember this when writing the date. Some people set resolutions or goals for the year. This may help us to decide where our focus will be. Our country will be looking and run differently. There are many different views on whether it will be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. I’m not sure how much control we have over it one way or the other. For me the bottom line is where will our focus be and whom will we trust. Today we begin a new season, Epiphany. Epiphany means manifestation. Where we place our focus and whom we trust has everything to do with how we represent or manifest Jesus in our world. God has a plan of how God wants to be represented. In our lessons today, we see contrasts and descriptions of this. Folklore has us thinking that there were three kings. In reality they were Magi or also called Wise Men, and it doesn’t really say that there were three. The Magi or Wise Men originated in Persia. They were followers of Zoroastrianism, a system of belief that was a precursor to Islam. There were most likely women in this group also. But Matthew sticks with the patriarchal context. We could easily question God how people not of the Jewish faith could be used in God’s plan. But that would be our way of thinking and not God’s. This is one thing to remember for the new year that God doesn’t follow our plans. In the Zoroastrianism religion, the primary prophet was conceived by a 15 year old Persian virgin. He predicted that other virgins would conceive additional divinely appointed prophets. They were waiting for the birth of a true Savior also, just as the Jews were. The Magi had heard of the birth of Jesus and went to Jerusalem to find out where this baby was. King Herod became frightened that this baby would be the Messiah that the Jews had been talking about and he did not want to lose the power and control that he had. He called together all of the chief priests and scribes and basically asked them, where do you think this baby that could be the Messiah, was born. They went back to the prophecy that said the baby would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod called the Wise Men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem to find the baby and then let him know so that he could go and visit the baby. A frightened leader is not to be trusted. The wise men followed the star and found Jesus in Bethlehem. They arrived and were overwhelmed with joy. Upon entering the stable they knelt down to give Jesus the gifts that they had brought. Consider this, leaders in their religion kneeling in reverence before a baby and acknowledging Jesus as the king of the Jews. This title was not used again until the passion story. God was using unexpected Gentiles to identify who Jesus was. I can remember other times in Jesus’ time on earth where he was identified for who he really was, such as the demons. Again, not what we would expect. God in Jesus Christ has plans that often do not match up with ours. This is where trust enters in. Whose plan are we going to follow, ours or God’s? The Wise Men heard in a dream not to return to Herod, and they left for their country by another road. They weighed out whether they needed to in a sense collude with Herod or bypass him. They may have sensed that he was a frightened man and not to be trusted. This also contrasts the two kingdoms, Herod’s and Jesus’. Herod’s was one of power and control over others creating an atmosphere of hostility created by his insecurity. He used whatever method he could think of to keep himself in power. But what might have he sensed in a baby that would threaten him and his power and control? Jesus’ kingdom represented one of peace and love. A kingdom that was called to love neighbor. Neighbor meaning all people. The fact that God used people from Persia who were not even of the Jewish faith helps us realize that neighbor includes all. In our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah, we hear about nations coming to God’s light. When Isaiah talks about nations coming, he is talking about building a community that includes all people, foreigners and sexual minorities, at this time meaning eunuchs. At one point explicitly includes sons of foreigners. I believe it is very revealing that God has been trying to build an inclusive, diverse kingdom from the beginning. Human beings are threatened by this. God’s community is built on love and acceptance not power and control. If we know all of this, what is our role in the kingdom. How will we represent or manifest Christ in 2025? Paul in our second lesson gives us some clue. First of all, Paul says, according to The Message, This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message, the good news. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. This is our life work as followers of Jesus as part of God’s kingdom: helping people understand and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul is trying to tell us that he didn’t always know how he was going to do this and relied on God for the details. This is where trust comes in. This good news of God’s grace shown through Jesus is a gift to us and the invitation to help people understand and respond is a gift. As the Wise Men humbled themselves and literally knelt before Jesus is a way of representing Jesus. They acknowledged who Jesus was. We acknowledge who Jesus is when we don’t try and think we have the plan by ourselves. It is when we trust God for the details. The idea of the Magi being part of God’s plan is a surprise. Even thinking that God would use people who would be a precursor to Islam can be difficult for some people to get their head around. This is how God works. Going through this new year we are challenged to be surprised by God and trust God for the details. In the end it is about humbling ourselves before God and trusting God’s plan as we know it and not ours. I believe as we strive to do this we will manifest or represent Christ to our neighbor. Let us pray, All knowing God, we have been reminded again today that you can use all people to carry out your plan. Unfortunately, we often get in the way and try and impose our plan. In this new year, we come before you, God in Jesus Christ humbly realizing that it is not about our plan, but yours. You have the details that you reveal to us as we are able to see them. During this Epiphany season continually remind us that it is not our light that shines, but your light shining through us. You have invited us to help people hear and understand the good news. We humbly pray for the details in how to do this. In Jesus name, Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/34726960

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