Ephphatha

It's Monday- joy. The nice thing about it being Monday is that it is another day which means I am that much closer to knowing where I will be assigned. On the other hand it also means that it is no longer the weekend and my time with my wife is less and less as she is quite busy. I had a pretty good weekend however, so I do feel refreshed for another week. It's amazing what sleep will do for a person.

Anyway, enough about my immediate life, let's talk about more exciting stuff. The sermon I preached on Sunday focussed on Matthew 5:1-12, otherwise known as the beatitudes. The word "blessed" occurs nine times throughout in a kind of unusual setting. "Blessed are those who mourn" for instance does not seem to make sense. I decided to approach the text with a focus on "happy" rather than blessed. The Greek word actually can be translated as happy rather than blessed so it was not that big of a stretch. I stressed that all of those people can be happy because of the fact that "theirs is the kingdom of heaven"- now, in the present not in the future. I found it interesting that in the Gospel reading, the kingdom of heaven was now, while everything else was going to happen in the future.

After preaching the sermon, I began to wonder to myself, what is it that makes me happy? The fact that the kingdom of heaven is mine is pretty powerful and breeds happiness. Yet do we tend to forget this promise as we live our lives? I know I don't always do a good job of living as if I know this. If we remember daily even hourly that God has given us his kingdom now- because of Jesus Christ, would that change the way we live and treat others?

We are indeed blessed, and we can truly be happy. Recently I was reading on another blog about the struggle of faith. Someone was not feeling as if church was providing the kind of thing they were looking for. She was very interested in Christianity, but not the Church as we know it. That seems to be a struggle many people in young adult generation tend to have. The joy is Christ can be encountered in other places as well. We, that have that struggle and/or understand it need to relationally encourage while embodying the risen Lord and Christ in all we do. Big task- yes- but truly we are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is ours- now.

This morning I journeyed out to join a friend of mine for coffee and some conversation about life and some theology. It was nice to get out in the brisk air after spending much of the week inside with Logan (my 2 year old). Don't get me wrong I love being home with him all the time but once in a while I need a little adult conversation from the oustide world. With Anna working so much it's been tough lately. The conversation this morning was great. I shared my frustration with closed-minded people who fail to see the possibility of God working in our world in ways bigger than us. E, my friend, has a great way of standing strong on the immanent sense of God that drives her passion for social justice, while balancing that with a transcendent God that provides the pulse for her faith. It made me think about what does God call us to do on this earth? Do we every truly know where God is calling us to? These questions are loudly going on inside of my mind now as I await the dreaded day of February 22 when the "higher ups" in the ELCA will tell me where I will go to do ministry. I long for this day to come simply so that I know where Anna, Logan, and I will be spending the next leg of our journey on this earth. I also long for a setting where I can be a force for social justice and advocacy. E provided refreshment this morning and for that I am greatful. I pray now that God will continue to refresh me as I await for assignment, and as I get prepared for full-time ministry. Lord, in your mercy, hear my prayer.

Wow- The Passion of the Christ, which was the highest grossing box office movie of the year did not get a nomination in any major category for the academy awards. That seems quite idiotic to me. Does the academy truly represent the people? Obviously not, since Passion was the people's choice for best film. I have been hearing various reports from critics and most agree that this was a bad decision by the academy. Christian or not, the movie was done very well. It seems Hollywood might be afraid of pro-Christianity.

I went to the Twolves game last night against the Pistons here in Minneapolis. It was a great game and a good time with an old friend. At the end of the night we decided to go to a local pub, have a beer, play some Golden Tee and hang out. Little did I know that the night would turn into a theological discussion between two people with very different theologies. J (my friend) comes from a four-square background and now is working at an independent church which tends to be very conservative. I, on the other hand, come from a Lutheran background and tend to be much more liberal in my theology while still holding true to the confessions of my Church. We ventured into such areas as was there really an actual Adam and an Eve, sacraments, and homosexuality. We concluded that there was really no way that we could reach an agreement on homosexuality because the argument seemed to be quite circular. So I wonder, how does one continue to work in this tension? I have reached the point of believing that homosexuality is not a sin and we, as a church, must open our arms to those who are homosexual just as we must open our arms to those who are heterosexual, etc. What do we do when faced with the complete opposite view?

This week's Gospel in the lectionary, which I am preaching on, is part of the sermon on the mount and actually is the beatitudes. I do not recall Jesus saying Blessed are the heterosexuals.... or blessed are the homosexuals.....we tend to get caught up in the wrong arguments and forget what the Gospel is all about.

Let's talk about dreams....I recently preached a sermon on the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the theme of the sermon was dreaming. What is it that we mere mortal dream for. King was such an amazing example of the power of dreaming, and wonder if we were that passionate about something could we make a difference in the world greater than we already are. So what are you dreaming about out there?

I dream of a day when the homeless in our world will have homes. I am not sure how to fix this problem, but I truly long for a day when this will be. It has been bitterly cold the last few weeks, and my heart breaks every time I think of those without homes and shelter. I have in the past helped out with shelter programs, but wonder what more can I do.

Comments.....

Wow, my very own blog! I guess the reason I wanted to do this is so that I can have a place to write random thoughts, to discuss theology, to journal, to basically have a place to discuss anything and everything. So come along for the ride if you want. I am currently in that uncertain time of life- waiting to be done with Seminary so that I can begin my life as a pastor- somewhere- only God knows at this time. Uncertainty breeds frustration/excitement/fear/anxiety/and opportunity, and I guess that's where I'm at now. The title of my blog is "Ephphatha" which comes from Mark 7:34 where Jesus heals the deaf man and orders him to "be opened". It is my prayer that I can "be opened" in my life, my work, and my ministry. Be opened to the wonders of almighty God and the way that the Spirit can work in our lives.

Let us all journey together on a path to openess.....