Remembrance Celebration - Lampe's Funeral Home

Last week on Tuesday evening (Dec 15th), we hosted here at Woodlawn Christian Church the Annual Remembrance Celebration for the local funeral home, Lampe Funeral Home.  This is a celebration of life but also a time to come together and comfort one another concerning our losses this past year. (Everyone in the community is welcome and some attend that lost loved ones years ago, after all there is no time limit nor expiration date on grief and loss)

It is an ecumenical gathering with Pastors participating from the local Catholic Church as well as from the Union Church (mixed Methodist & Presbyterian), other nearby Methodist Churches and of course our congregation the Disciples of Christ.  This year I was asked to also do the message for the service.  I didn't have the sermon video taped, but it was very well received and I have been given nothing but good feedback concerning it.  One lady told me today that they were still talking about the message at the coffee shop today and how it had helped several individuals in dealing with their grief.  I praise God that he was able to use me to aid anyone in their time of suffering.

The sermon included two bits of scripture:
First Scripture referenced: Matthew 5:4 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Second Scripture referenced: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

We will be comforted if we reach out to God for our comfort. Though in the referenced translation it doesn't specify that God is doing the comforting, other translations go farther and say that we will be comforted by God.  This though, being a part of the beatitudes would imply that it is God doing the comforting.  Again some translations want to make this more specific and do so.

Of course a great deal of God's comfort is provided by His people, this is one of the great advantages of having a close and loving Church family.  Also, we lean on our friends and our family.

One of the things that I hit upon in the sermon was that we will never be 'normal' again.  Rather we have to search for a 'new normal'.  We aren't (or shouldn't be) looking to completely forget and get over the loss of our loved one.  Rather we are seeking to rebuild our life around our loss and to continue on with our lives in spite of it all.

I shared with those gathered about how even now over 20 years later, I still grieve for our son that passed away shortly after birth.  How even now the day of his birth and death haunt both Gail and I.  Often I see that day looming ahead of me, sometimes a month or more in advance, and it weighs heavily on me.  We never fully recover from such a loss and as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross implies, why should I want to.  Grief is a product of loving and losing, it's impossible to avoid.  During the sermon I also shared how losing my grandmother ultimately changed everything in my life... how I did not react to the loss well and how destructive my reaction was to me, and to those who loved me.

The worst part of the loss of my grandmother Karlen was the loss of a dream, and I shared with everyone how deeply this kind of loss affects us all.  I advised them to understand that this is a major part of losing a loved one.  In fact I shared with them that just a few days prior I had been to the funeral of a friend who passed away suddenly, a woman of only 58 years of age.  I laid out how not only had her husband lost his wife, his best friend, his lover, his care taker and the mother of his child, but that he had also lost all those dreams that they had of a retirement together.  Just a little more than a hand full of years separated them from this dream and now 'poof' it's gone.  Never, ever underestimate the intense power of grief related to a lost dream.

Ultimately, the loss of the dream of seeing my grandmother hold and admire my own child, another great grandchild for her, caused me to destroy my first marriage.  Grief can make us irrational at times, and do not disregard the anger that grief can instill in our hearts.  All of us need coping mechanisms in times of grief, do not let anger be your means of coping, I can tell you from first hand knowledge that it will not end well.

Just remember that love is why you're suffering this pain, and love, God's love can help you to get through this time of adjustment to your loss.  If you are having difficulty coping with a loss I urge you to see a caring (sadly not all are) minister or to see a reputable therapist.  If any of you are in the Lake City area and are suffering, please feel free to contact me here at Woodlawn Christian Church.

I have blogged about grief and loss before and due to time constraints, I will just post up some links to these previous blog posts.  As always I highly recommend the little book "All Our Losses/All Our Griefs", and I'll provide a link to it as well.

Previous blog posts of interest:
Sad News
Steve Main Funeral
Doris DeVries Funeral
Blog post about loss and which contains all the rest of the links to my posts on grief and loss

The last link will take you to one of my blog posts which contains more links to blog posts of mine about grief and loss.

Here is the link to Amazon where you can purchase the book "All Our Losses/All our Griefs".

All Our Losses / All Our Griefs - link to Amazon

I did also share with the folks gathered at the Remembrance Service, a poem and an e-mail that I sent to my first wife several years ago after learning of her mother's passing.  She was always very close to her mother, particularly close because her father died when she was very, very young.  Knowing this and knowing that Christmas (especially the first Christmas) is a very difficult time for those grieving loved ones, I sent her this poem and this e-mail.

When I saw this the other day for some reason I immediately thought of your Mother, you, Tom, Deb and all of your families.

Though I'm certain your Mother would very much love to be here with all of you, this year she is celebrating Christmas in Heaven.  How beautiful a thing that must be, and after waiting nearly 45 years she once again gets to spend Christmas with your Father.  Praise God!

On Christmas Eve when we come before God in worship and celebration, perhaps we are just a breath away from Heaven ourselves.  Certainly when I attend midnight Mass at St Cecilia's on Christmas Eve I'm convinced that Heaven is truly there.  It's there all around me, but 'just' beyond my human reach...

Have a wonderful Christmas, filled with all the joy that life brings.  Remember fondly Christmases past, look forward with anticipation to Christmases still to come, but rest assured that someday on some far distant Christmas you will once again feel the tender and caring arms of both your parents around you.  Until then may the loving arms of your husband, children and your Lord carry you to that blessed day.

God's Love & Blessings to you always.

Perhaps, the poem or the words in the e-mail will help some other soul who is suffering at this wonderful, but all too often painful time of year.  I pray with all my heart and soul that you all will have a very blessed and joy filled Christmas this year.  May our loving and grace filled God bless you in abundance this coming year.

In His Joy & Love,
Roy

Sermons for November 1st and 8th

It's been a bit crazy the last two weeks.  Last week due to preparing for the wedding that we performed here at the Church on Saturday.  I was back into Lake City on Friday afternoon rather than on Saturday evening as I generally am.  My time in Omaha was cut very short this week with leaving Lake City late Wednesday night and then getting back here about 4 pm.

I discovered that we had several members with health issues while I was gone and on Monday morning one of them passed away.  Unfortunately, I had not learned that she was ill until Sunday evening and I went up to the hospital to see her Monday morning only to find that she had passed before I got to the hospital.  Shirley Winter passed away that morning and honestly I feel awful as I had been to the hospital on Sunday afternoon visiting another member and had I known that Shirley was there also I would have stopped in and seen her.

All of our prayers are with the Winter family as they go through this time of mourning the loss of their mother and grandmother.  May God's comforting hand guide them through these days of grief.

I will put up another post concerning the wedding later but for now I wanted to get up the videos for the last two Sunday's sermons.

May God bless you all!

In His Grace & Care,

Pastor Roy

Sermon given November 8th, 2015

Sermon given November 1st, 2015

Sermon from October 18, 2015 - Pastor Roy Karlen, Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Well, here is the video from this past Sunday's sermon.  Sorry that it's fractured into so many segments, the camera was giving Kim grief again.  I think it has been doing this because my phone's memory was getting too full, so I've uploaded all my photos to the cloud and onto my computer hard drive and deleted them from my phone.  Hopefully, this will take care of the issue and we'll get a clean one shot video of the sermon this week.

This Saturday, I'm traveling to Hartley, Iowa to take a 'Boundaries' training session.  The Disciples of Christ require that you have a boundaries class every three years and I haven't had a class over this since ELM, so I need to squeeze one in this year.  I'm looking forward to getting the chance to meet some more clergy members from Iowa and Minnesota.  This is a class being put on by the United Church of Christ, but it's open to all denominations.

It's late and I just finished a workout in the garage so I need to get ready and hit the hay.  I pray that this quick blog entry finds you all well and richly blessed.  For those inclined to watch the video of the sermon, I hope you enjoy it and that perhaps it will be of some value to you.

In Christ,

Roy

If when reading Scripture.......

This past Sunday's Sermon was based on one of my own personal sayings... "If when reading scripture you never feel convicted, if you never see the hairy hand of God pointing a fat finger right back at you... well then you're not paying close enough attention."

Though scripture may 'convict' us, and God may 'judge' us, it is we alone who 'condemn' us.  God does not wish to be separated from even one of His little ones.  If we find ourselves in isolation from God, it is we who have condemned ourselves. This quote from C.S. Lewis pretty well sums it all up...

I've attached the video of the Sermon, it's in two parts once again and I apologize for that.  I thought it was a pretty fair sermon and I hope if you take the time to listen that you'll perhaps gain something from it.

With that, I will let you all go, and retire for the evening.

Be a blessing to someone today!!

In Christ,

Roy

Sermon on Fear, October 4th - Pastor Roy Karlen at Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Photo taken from the Facebook page of Prairie Sanctuaries
Check them out he takes the best photos of country churches!
https://www.facebook.com/?fref=ts

This past Sunday, I preached over "Psalm 91".  The sermon focused on 'fear', we are often afraid in this life and repeatedly we are told to not be afraid and to have faith.  Well, the problem with that is, as I outline in the sermon that faith is much like courage.  Courage is when you are afraid and you continue forward and do what must be done regardless of your fear.  Faith is much the same, regardless of our human fear and apprehension, we step forward with faith in our Creator that no matter the outcome, it will all work out just fine.  Faith can move mountains, not because we are without fear, but because God is there with us aiding us in the journey.

I hope you enjoy the sermon.........

Be a blessing to someone today!

God's Grace to You!
Roy

Woodlawn Christian Church Sesquicentennial Celebration 9/13/15

Sign in front of the abandoned Lohrville Christian Church
Lohrville, Iowa

Well this past Sunday, September 13th, 2015 was the official 'Sesquicentennial Celebration' here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  One hundred and fifty years ago on the 6th of September, a group of men and women came together and started a small church which would eventually evolve into the 'Woodlawn Christian Church' that we know and love today.

We had a good turnout for the service and it was a great event. Originally, we'd hoped to worship outside that morning, but it was a bit too cool for some of the members so we opted to stay in the Sanctuary.  After the service, we of course had a potluck luncheon.  The Church provided the meat and buns and the side dishes were all provided by the members of the congregation.  As always, it was a great feast and I for one certainly ate far, far too much food.

Julie Gibson our area Associate Regional Minister, was here at Woodlawn Christian in order to join in on the festivities.  It was great to have Julie here with us again, she has been such a steadying force for the church as it went through it's long and frustrating search for a new minister; and we're very happy to maintain that relationship with her now that hopefully things are off on a more stable footing.

Woodlawn Christian Church, Sept 13, 2015
Lake City, Iowa
Pastor Roy Karlen

Prior to the service starting, myself along with a few of the men decided to go ahead and try to locate the 'rumored' time capsule that was supposedly buried by one of the Vacation Bible School classes back in 1974.  We suspected that it was buried under a rock that is situated in front of the old tree where so many of the classes back then would take their class photographs.

Lonnie Daisy, Jeff Frank & Clyde Westcott
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Armed with three shovels and a giant pry bar we managed to dig up the rock.  We immediately realized that just as an iceberg conceals most of it's mass, this rock was a hidden giant.  We were able to dig the hole in such a fashion that we were able to roll the rock over and check underneath.  After going down several additional inches (digging made difficult by a considerable number of large tree roots) we found nothing.  By this time a member had shown up with a metal detector and we checked the bottom of the hole.  There was no response from the detector.

We continue to gather details as more folks are discovered who remember the burial of the capsule.  Just this morning Evelyn Johnson told me that her husband Darryl believes he remembers where it is buried.  Darryl is recovering from an illness right now and hopefully he'll soon be strong enough to come to church and point out the exact spot.  We haven't given up hope of finding the capsule quite yet.  Another individual was able to tell us that it's buried in an old metal ice cream bucket.  Hopefully, we'll be lucky and the metal won't have completely corroded away after forty one years of being buried.

I've attached to this post the video of the Children's Sermon above, along with the video of the Sermon itself which is linked directly below.

The photo of the sign at the very top of the blog today, is the sign that sits in front of the old Church of Christ in Lohrville, IA.  The building is no longer being used as unfortunately the congregation voted to close a number of years ago.  The building and the land belong to the Region and just yesterday I was successful in purchasing the sign from the Region.  We will be moving the sign over to Lake City in the near future.  There will be no restoration to the sign as it's in a magnificent state of weathering as it currently is.  We will investigate how to keep it from deteriorating any farther while still keeping it's absolutely beautiful state of aging intact.  I just love this old sign and I'm so very excited that the Church Council went along with their crazy Pastor and allowed me to negotiate for it's purchase.  It's wonderful that this old sign can once again serve a Disciples of Christ Church in the nearby area.

As always, I thank everyone who has wandered through this humble little blog and I hope you've found something enjoyable or perhaps something useful to you in your spiritual journey.  May the good Lord bless you and guide you along your path.

In Christ,
Roy

Sermon 9/6/15 - "Those Difficult Verses in Scripture"

Trinity Lutheran Church, Reliance, South Dakota

This past Sunday's sermon covered the verses found in the Gospel of Mark 7:24-30.

Mark 7:24-30

24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

These verses are some of those that make one want to say "really Jesus, seriously...".  They're difficult because of course Jesus sounds like... well like a jerk to be honest.  In my sermon, I encouraged everyone to not take the easy way out of this problem.  The easy way out of course is the all too common and wrong in my opinion, statement that "Jesus is just testing the woman", I'm afraid it's not that easy nor that painless.

We need to bear in mind that the Gospel of Mark is (of the four canonical gospels) the one where we find the most 'human' Jesus.  As I say in the sermon, here we find Jesus letting his 'human' show.  It may be a more difficult reality for us, but ultimately it also speaks more to us as human beings.  Here we find a Jesus that is also human, one that we can relate to far better than we are used to being able to.

Well, that's all I'm going to say about it... to find out more you'll just have to watch the video and hear the sermon.

As always please remember to "be a blessing to someone today!"

In His Love and unending Grace,
Roy

PS: This coming weekend we will be celebrating our 150th 'birthday' for the congregation here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  We're all very excited and looking forward to having an outdoor service and then a picnic afterward.  One of the other things that we're doing to celebrate is collecting items to bury in a 'time capsule' to be exhumed in the year 2040.  This evening while I was getting ready for my workout the doorbell rang and I found Lonnie Daisy at the front door.  He had just found out tonight from his younger brother that the Vacation Bible School class back in the summer of 1974 had buried a time capsule in the yard near the Chapel.  Lonnie had come down to look near where his brother told him it was buried and not too far away he discovered a rock just showing out of the ground near the base of an old tree that many of the old vbs classes had taken their class photos in front of.

Long story short, not many people knew of this 'time capsule' being buried and even fewer are still members.  We'll be investigating further and hopefully, we'll find this long forgotten 'time capsule' it will be great to see what a group of youngsters felt they wanted to leave for the future.  It's been buried in the Church lawn for 41 years and if Lonnie hadn't mentioned to his brother that we were getting ready to bury another time capsule, this one might have remained there for only God knows how many years.

I'll report back...

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa
Pastor Roy Karlen's photograph

Sermon and a whole lot of driving around the Midwest...

The last few days have included for me a great deal of driving as well as a whole lot of seeing and visiting with friends and relatives.  On Thursday morning, I drove Madeline up to the airport in Minneapolis.  She flew to Toronto to meet up with her boyfriend Yves and his family.  For the next two and a half months, she's going to be visiting with them as well as searching for a job up there in order to acquire a work visa in Canada.  Once she finds a job and gets her visa she'll be able to apply to attend college in Canada and start working towards becoming an ultrasound technician.

Maddie Karlen, July of 2015

After leaving the airport, I spent a bit of time shopping and then headed south to meet up with a couple of old friends from college, Kent and Sue Haselhorst, who live on a beautiful acreage near Spring Valley, Minnesota.  I had a very nice visit with them at their home and then we went to the local Dairy Queen and had a bite to eat.  It had been almost exactly twenty-four years since I saw them last, and it was great to see that they've aged so well.

Kent and Sue Haselhorst, July of 2015

I stayed as long as I could and returned back to Lake City about midnight, I pray it won't be nearly as long before I have a chance to see them both again.  Thanks to you Kent and Sue for allowing me to call out of the blue and just drop in on you all.  God's love and blessings to you.

Friday morning I woke up, worked out in the garage and then cleaned up and headed to South Dakota.  My aunt Silvia passed away back in February, but she didn't want her service to be held until the weather was better for her family to travel.  I arrived in Oacoma, South Dakota at my brother Merrill's home around 5 pm and had dinner with them.  Later my sister Paula came over and we visited on Merrill's deck overlooking the Missouri until my old friend Greg Powell called me to come and meet him and his wife Terri for a drink at Cedar Shore.  It was wonderful to see both of them again, I do talk to Greg fairly regularly, but it's only once or twice a year that we actually see each other face to face.  Greg promised me that they are going to make a trip over to Lake City some Sunday to come to Woodlawn for a Sunday Service.  I pray they'll be able to work it out as I'd love to introduce them to the town, and the good people at Woodlawn Christian Church.  Greg and Terri, I love you both like family!

Greg and Terri Powell, July of 2015

 On Saturday morning, we all gathered at the cemetery near Reliance, South Dakota for my Aunt Silvia's memorial and interment service.  It was a small gathering of close family and the service was conducted at the cemetery.  After the rest of us left her son Perry buried the urn and then met us all at Al's Oasis in Oacoma for lunch.  It was a wonderful time of visiting and seeing cousins that I rarely ever see and honestly only see at funerals now.  Such unfortunately, is how things seem to go when you get to be middle aged.  Silvia was the last of the 'old guard' Karlen clan, there is only my mother Rosemarie and my Uncle Elton's wife Beth remaining and they of course both married into the Karlen clan.  

Once the visiting was done and everyone needed to get started home I headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where I met another dear old friend Kirk Jensen for supper at JL Beers.  Creath was working that evening managing the kitchen and he actually brought our food out to us at the table in order to say 'Hi' for a quick moment before having to get back to the kitchen.  I want to thank Kirk for buying me dinner, you're one of the best souls I know Kirk, God Bless you in abundance! 

I dropped several hints to Kirk that he needs to invite all of the old gang to come see him and his wife LaJean at their home near Beresford, South Dakota.  His home is about as close to the mid-point of travel distance, for the majority of us as one could ask for.  In case you didn't notice Kirk, I just dropped another hint.  LOL

Kirk Jensen, July of 2015

It was a tiring few days, but it was fantastic to see so many faces that I rarely get to see within such a short period of time.  I pray that it won't be as long between visits with all of you as it has been in the past.  Honestly, I've resolved that that won't be the case. 

After leaving Kirk in Sioux Falls, I drove back to Lake City and managed to get home just short of eleven at night.  All of this travel meant that I was a bit weary this morning during our service but it was still a great service and we had a very good attendance again this week.  God Bless all the souls at Woodlawn Christian, I really have fallen in love with this place and am so very thankful that the Lord has called us all together to serve him as partners.

Attached please find the video of the sermon, it was a continuation of last week's sermon and again I went the route of writing nothing down prior to the delivery.  There was no manuscript, no note cards, nothing written down nor even rehearsed.  I had formulated in my mind what I wanted to talk about and then I just started talking.  The only problem for me when doing this is I have no idea how long the sermon is going to be.  Also, I have to make sure and have it recorded as there is no manuscript to publish here or to place into my file of past sermons.

I pray that this blog post finds you all well and richly blessed.

In His Grace and Constant Care,

Pastor Roy

Vacation Bible School and Sermon from July 5th 2015

This week we are hosting the Vacation Bible School for the Lake City Community.  It's a fantastic week with all these little people running around the building.  There is nothing more rewarding than teaching and working with young children.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that is helping out with VBS, in so very many different roles!  It is amazing to see and I'm so impressed and proud of all the great work and dedication to the youth here in and around Lake City.  What a wonderful place and such incredible people!  God Bless you all!

God Bless the little ones they are so precious.  Tonight in the first class that I taught (the 1st & 2nd Graders) one of the girls asked me if they got to keep the Bibles we were reading I told her no they were just for the class.  I then asked if they all had Bibles at home, all of the children did with the exception of the little girl who asked if they got to keep the Bibles.  I asked her if she wanted one and she vigorously shook her head yes and said yes she did.  So I gave her a Bible of her own to take home.  I like to tell everyone to "be a blessing to someone today", but today I have to say this little girl was my blessing.  She reminded me just how precious a Bible is to have.  Later I saw that she was clutching that Bible tight to her chest and she held it like that until her parents came and picked her up.  God Bless her always.  

I've attached the manuscript for the July 5th sermon for anyone who wishes to read through it.  Gail did record the sermon on her phone, but I forgot to have her download it for me before she left to go back to Omaha.  I'll try and get it this weekend and add it to this post.

In His Love & Care, 

Roy

Sermon July 5^th, 2015

Woodlawn Christian Church – Roy Karlen

First off, I was pleased to see so many of you make it to the Community Worship Service last weekend in the town square. It was a beautiful day and I thought it was a great day of worshiping with our fellow Christians here in Lake City.


It's going to be a busy week this week with Vacation Bible School going on and then next weekend is, of course, my formal installation service here at Woodlawn CC. We'll have a few special guests coming to be with us hopefully that day. My mentor the Rev. Bob Molby will be here with his wife Marcie, also my late mentor Jesse's wife Kathy will be here. Kathy will have with her, her sister Susan who is the past Executive Minister for the American Baptist in Nebraska. We'll also have my daughter Maddie and for the first time our son Creath will be here in Lake City. Creath will be playing his violin for us so that will be a treat. My older brother Merrill and his wife Karen are also making the trip, so I get another chance to harass my big brother from the pulpit, that's always fun for me. So make sure and be here next week to welcome all of these fine folks. You will also want to remember that we're having a potluck after the service, and you can never go wrong coming to church when there's a potluck.


Before we go any further this morning, let's go before the Lord in prayer;

We desire your presence with us O God.

Still our restless spirits, that with quiet minds and reverent hearts we may hear your voice and worthily worship you.

Prepare our minds and hearts O, God, that through your Word, read and proclaimed, Christ may come to dwell within us, and ever rule over our thoughts and affections as Lord of our lives.

AMEN

The scripture that we're going to be looking at today is found in the Gospel of Mark in the 6^th Chapter. It immediately follows a series of miracles that Jesus has performed and it's followed by the story of the death of John the Baptist. The story of John's death highlights for us just how dangerous this being a new voice was in these times. After the story of John's death, there are more stories of miracles.


Let’s go now to the Gospel of Mark;

Mark 6:1-13 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

6 He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.

And he went about among the villages teaching.

The Mission of the Twelve

7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

Jesus is in the first few lines of these verses, the hometown boy who's come back to town and the folks back home still see him as he was before. Isn't this the carpenter? Some translations say 'just' the carpenter. Isn't this the guy who we had make that table for us and one of the legs was too short? We grew up with this guy, what and who does he think he is now? And why can he do miracles and not the rest of us? What made him so special that God has favored him above all of us who grew up with him.

In the canonical writings there really isn't much about Jesus growing up other than a little bit in Luke's gospel. But it would seem by what Mark is telling us here that the folks in his hometown hadn't considered him as anything special prior to now. Isn't this just the carpenter and aren't his siblings here with us? Where did he get this wisdom and this power to do miracles?

We tend to have a hard time seeing people differently once we've gotten used to seeing them a certain way. An easy illustration of this would be parents and their children; it's difficult for us parents to see our children as grown adults and not think they still need us to tell them how to do things. I know for me as a father I still have a tendency to think of my kids as much younger and less capable than they really are. Sometimes it's easier for folks who have a bit more distance to see just how wonderful of an adult they might be.

Certainly, a prophet has a difficult time being appreciated in his own hometown, much less among his family and in his own home. We humans often have a tough time seeing what is right there in front of us all along.

Also here, we have no small amount of jealousy this guy wasn't special growing up? Why is he so special now? And why did God favor him over me anyways?

There just isn't the faith in him here where he grew up that is needed to see his work come to fruition.

Now let's look at the next section of this scripture, Jesus is sending his disciples off to the surrounding villages to heal and perform miracles. But get this, he tells them to not take any supplies or provisions along for the trip. He goes so far as to tell them that they are not to even take along an extra set of clothes, just the ones on their backs. And let's not forget the part about no money! He wants them to be entirely reliant on the help and generosity of those whom they are going to aid.

He is telling them to have faith that their endeavor will be supported and welcomed. They are to step forward into the darkness and uncertainty that lies ahead and believe that all will be well and God will ultimately provide for them through those that they encounter on their journey.

Have you ever been in a situation where all the odds seemed against you but you had absolute peace. You had peace because you had faith and an understanding that God would see you through. No matter what lay ahead you would prevail with God's support and love.

Now, I have to confess to you all that my wife Gail has a much stronger sense of faith than I or almost anyone else that I know. I want to tell you all a little story about our daughter Madeline or Maddie as we generally call her. Madeline was due to be born in December of 1994; over Labor Day weekend of that year my son Creath and I went up to South Dakota to visit my family. Gail wasn't able to go along as she was forbidden by her Doctor to travel. While we were there Gail called very early one morning to tell me that she was in the hospital and that the baby was coming. Her water had broken while she was asleep and she had called her mother to rush her to the hospital.

The baby was coming over three months early, well I immediately jumped in the car and drove as fast as I could back the 360 miles to Omaha. When I got to the hospital the contractions had slowed down but the baby was coming, there was no stopping that.  Maddie was born on September 5^th, which was Labor Day that year. She was so small that the Doctor handed her back with just one hand to the Doctors and nurses behind him that were there waiting for her.  

Now, I'm sure all of you can do the math but Maddie was coming into this world at 25 weeks term rather than the normal 40 weeks. Twenty one years ago this wasn't a good thing, Gail and I had already lost one child at 22 weeks and I'll be honest I was scared out of my mind. All the hospital staff was obviously concerned as well, but there surrounded by all this chaos, fear and frayed nerves laid Gail, absolutely, serene and assured. She told me not to worry that everything would be fine, I wish I could tell you I believed her completely... she said God would get us through this and that this child would be just fine.

Creath visiting Maddie in the NeoNat Unit.

Well Maddie came into this world at only 2 lbs 2 ounces, but a stubborn little girl from the get go. She gave us a lot of scares, actually she gave me a lot of scares, Gail always believed that everything would be fine... and it was. Maddie came home the day before Thanksgiving she was so small that we gave her baths in a mixing bowl, and not a large mixing bowl either. She was home for a short time before having to go back into the Neonate unit with RSV. She was very, very, very sick and honestly the doctors knew they were losing her. But Gail had faith, everything would be fine.

Maddie was so sick that they were giving her nebulizer treatments with albuterol with 15 minute intervals between treatments. There was no doubt that she was dying, but Gail remained stoic and professing that everything would be just fine.

Maddie's doctor came to us and said there was a drug trial that they wanted to put Maddie into. A new potential treatment for RSV that they wanted to know if we'd let them use on Maddie. Well, of course when you're in a drug trial you never know if you're getting a placebo or a real drug.  We said okay, honestly we didn't have anything else to do, she was dying right there before our eyes. Gail though again was unwavering in her belief that it would all be all right.

Well, they immediately started Maddie on the treatments and almost like magic she started to improve. She literally bounced back from death's door and lo and behold she recovered. Later we learned that she did indeed get the real drug and not a placebo. That drug which I don't remember the name of was shortly the standard treatment for babies with RSV and has saved many lives. One of the first lives it saved though was our own little Miss Maddie Kaye Karlen.

The fact that we just happened to be there when this drug trial was going on is to us no small miracle.  Certainly, Gail's great faith in her God for His provision and great care was well founded.  Maddie made a rapid and complete recovery, though she did have lung damage due to the RSV and her premature birth.  Thankfully, she outgrew this damage as she grew older and today her lungs are as good as gold.

Faith is a difficult thing, to step out and carry on even though the situation looks hopeless is not something that comes natural to us humans. Most of us let fear take over and we start to doubt... fear is normal and it's impossible to say that even the faithful don't suffer from fear. Faith means in spite of your fears and in spite of what should be normal human doubt, you place your faith in God and you go forth. Knowing that ultimately this world can only throw so much against us and that no matter what might come God will bring us through.

Even in those situations where it seems that the world has won, it really hasn't because God's Kingdom is bigger than the world. Now back to our scripture verses, I'm sure that the disciples all thought "what in the world is he trying to do to us, no food, no money, we're going to perish". But none of them did, at least not yet. In the end, of course, nearly all of them paid the ultimate price for witnessing for our Lord. Of course, we know that even in death their faith has saved them. The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Church in Rome:

Romans 8:33-39 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

God’s Love in Christ Jesus

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; 34 who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the end, it all works out, faith even into death.  For not even death can separate us from the Love of our God. I forget the name of the movie, but I remember this line from it; “it will all work out in the end and if it hasn't yet worked out, then it's not yet the end.”

In the end it all works out, we are called to journey through the darkness of life with the knowledge that the light of our God awaits us on the other side. We have faith that nothing in this world or beyond can change that truth.

But while we're on this journey of faith, let us never forget that we're supposed to be witnessing and helping others along the way.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father,

Help us to be ever mindful to not be judgmental of others. But let us be ever mindful of living our lives as a reflection of your love for each and everyone. Please forgive us for our failings and guide us daily to a better understanding of you and the path that you wish for us to walk in your creation.

We pray this in Your Holy Name.

Amen