August 18, 2019 - Sermon over "Luke 12:49-59" - Jesus the Cause of Division

Well, it's always interesting to preach over passages of Scripture when one of the comments in the Commentaries are "this would be a good week to take some vacation time and call in someone to do Pulpit Supply".  That's really not particularly encouraging... but, the reality is that the verses selected by the Lectionary for this week are some of those so-called "hard-verses/saying" of Jesus.  We really like to preach over the love, grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation verses (come on Prodigal Son!) but... there is... and we can't forget it "judgment" and "correction" also in scripture.  None of us likes those verses that point out our sin and failings but we ignore them at our own peril.

I do, however, believe that these verses are not as "scary" as they appear at first... there is of all things, hope, love, grace, and reconciliation here in these eleven verses.  (I added 3 verses to the Lectionary selection and for a very important reason which you'll just have to listen to the sermon to discover what it was.)

We just have to abandon our fixation on "Apocalyptic" thinking in order to see what (I believe) Jesus was getting at here in these particularly peculiar verses... take a listen to the sermon.  I guarantee you'll see something new here.

Have a blessed day and remember above all else to...

Be a blessing to someone today!!

In His Grace & Glory,
Roy

Luke 12:49-59 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus the Cause of Division
49 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:

father against son
    and son against father,
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settling with Your Opponent
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case,[a] or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Footnotes:
a) Luke 12:58 Gk settle with him

Luke 11:42-48 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.”

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.” 46 And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.


Luke 12:35-48 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Watchful Slaves
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he[a] would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces,[b] and put him with the unfaithful. 47 That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Footnotes:
a) Luke 12:39 Other ancient authorities add would have watched and
b) Luke 12:46 Or cut him off

Veterans Day Sermon - November 11, 2018

Photo by Christian Begeman

Last Sunday was of course 'Veterans Day' here in the USA, the sermon highlighted the history of this day along with the history of World War I.  The message of the sermon was concerning that if we seek justice without a grace-filled heart we will only do more damage and ultimately all is lost...

I've included both the sermon video and the manuscript of the sermon.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

Sermon given on Veterans Day 2018

On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of 1918 the battles stopped and the guns fell silent... and bells were heard across Europe and the world.

(bell rings 11 times)

Today we post Veterans Day on our Calendars and we celebrate and recognize all those who have served our Nation in the Armed Services.  I would like to ask all those who have served in the Military to please stand and allow the rest of us to recognize and applaud you for your service.  Please stand if you have served this Nation or any Nation.

(Congregation applauds our Veterans)

Thank you all so very much for your devotion and your service.

We honor all those who have served our Nation in the Armed Forces, whether they served in times of War or in times of Peace... whether they served in combat or whether they served in a support or an administrative capacity, we recognize and say thank you to all of these brave men and brave women.  Thank you all for devoting your service to our Nation.

Today... is as I said Veterans Day, a day that was originally known as Armistice Day, it was recognized as a National Holiday here in the US in 1919 and it took place on the first anniversary of the end of World War I... November 11th.  The bells that tolled at the beginning of this sermon were in the tradition that persisted many years ago of marking Armistice Day by ringing bells for eleven strikes on the 11th hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.  The first Armistice Day was memorialized here in the US in 1919 as decreed-ed by a Congressional Resolution.  But, it's important to remember that this wasn't just a celebration here in the US, it was a date recognized around the Globe.

The poem “In Flanders Fields” has long been associated with Armistice/Veterans Day:

In Flanders Fields: By Dr. John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The poem “In Flanders Field” was written by Dr.  John McCrae in memory of his friend, Alexis Helmer:
Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was an officer in the 2nd Battery, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery. He had become good friends with  Major John McCrae. On the fate-filled morning of Sunday, May 2nd, 1915 Alexis left his dugout and was killed instantly by a direct hit from an 8-inch German shell. What body parts could be found were later gathered into sandbags and laid in an army blanket for burial that evening.

Alexis was 22 years old and a popular young officer. Before the outbreak of war, he had graduated from McGill University with a degree in Civil Engineering. He was the son of Elizabeth Helmer and Brigadier General R. A. Helmer.

Lieutenant Helmer was buried on May 2nd, and in the absence of the unit's chaplain, Major John McCrae conducted a simple service at the graveside, reciting from memory some passages from the Church of England's “Order of Burial of the Dead”. A wooden cross marked the burial place. The grave has long since been lost. Lieutenant Alexis Helmer is now commemorated on Panel 10 of the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres; he is one of the 54,896 soldiers who have no known grave in the battlefields of the Ypres Salient.

The poem that Dr. McCrae wrote in memory and in suffering, trying to come to terms with the loss of his friend... and the loss of so, so many, many other young souls, is one of the connections that we still retain to those lost in the First World War.  There are of course memorials all across this land dedicated to those souls lost, and there are far, far, far more memorials from one end of Europe to the other.

One hundred years ago today, on November 11th, 1918, World War I, had come to an end... the war to end all wars as it was called at that time.  Ironically, it was a war that easily might not have been.  It was a tragic series of events, treaties, and alliances that allowed this war to come to be, though where it originated was no surprise to anyone at the time.  In the end, many millions where dead... and numbering vastly more than the dead were those left injured and maimed by the conflict.  The war was horrific even by the standards of war, and the use of chemical weapons made it all the more horrific.  These horrors of World War I are why we take such exception today toward chemical and biological warfare, and it is why these agents are not allowed by the Geneva Protocol. The war drug out for over four years and had it not been for the advent of the Spanish Flu, the war might well have gone on even longer.  In the final year of the war, more men were lost to the flu than to the fighting, the Spanish Flu, as it was called, may well have brought to an end the insanity of the fighting.

It was a war embroiled within the European Monarchies, most of whom ironically were related.  Many were related to the late Queen Victoria of England, who it was believed by many could have prevented the war from occurring had she still been alive.  Queen Victoria had seven direct descendants on thrones across Europe, and three of the main characters were cousins of one another,  Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany; King George V of England; and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.  Wilhelm and George were first cousins, George and Nicholas were also first cousins, and Wilhelm and Nicholas were third cousins.  Tsar Nicholas of Russia and King George V of England appear in many photos together as they had, as family, vacationed together and indeed bore such a startlingly resemblance to one another that they looked like brothers if not even twin brothers.

The end of this most tragic war left those on the victorious side... looking to avenge the loss of so, very, very, very many lives, and the destruction of property... entire villages, towns, and cities had been leveled and virtually removed from the face of the earth...  So the Treaty of Versailles was officially signed in 1919 to end the war and though there were those among the victors that wished to bring some mercy to the surrender, those that wished to punish and punish brutally held sway and the terms and conditions were well beyond justice and no desire for reconciliation was to be found.  Germany was especially brutalized by the treaty and their representatives literally forced to sign the agreement. There was, in the end, no justice... no justice at all... but how could there be justice with the scope and scale of the wrongs that had been heaped upon the world... there was only revenge... Sadly, this desire for revenge set the stage for what ultimately had to come out of this lack of grace... and that was an even more destructive and catastrophic war... World War II.

What do we as Christ-followers need to bring from this lesson of history into our own time here and now in this world... to God's Kingdom... what do we bring from this into our every day, hum-drum, seemingly mundane daily lives...

In our encounters with each other do we seek justice for ourselves and for others... or do we seek punishment... revenge... spurred on by our pride and egos... just like those Monarchs of World War I.  Do we rise to defend our friends even when we know that they are in the wrong, do we ratchet up our rhetoric when we know we're in the wrong... do we attack rather than forgive?  Do we hate rather than extend grace?

To quote myself from another sermon from another day: “The desire for revenge and punishment is all too prevalent in human justice, but to imply that it is a component of God's justice means forgetting entirely what we celebrate each week at this communion table.  The pursuit of human justice will never give us God's peace.  Any cry for justice that does not include and offer front and center grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation is not God's justice and will not bring us God's peace.”

This desire for revenge, for retribution, is so ingrained within us that we scarcely even recognized it within the words of “In Flanders Fields”... did any of you catch it?

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The lesson of World War I rings loud and clear... a desire to punish, to implement revenge... to obtain your pound of flesh... will only, and will always... end up causing further and even greater destruction and chaos.  Ultimately, we too lose...  we all lose... for our Father calls us to forgive so that we too might be forgiven...

Matthew 6:14-15   New International Version (NIV)
14  For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  15  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Mark 11:26  New King James Version (NKJV)
26  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Luke 6:37 New International Version (NIV)
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Grace, forgiveness, reconciliation... these are such gravely important matters that all three of the Synoptic writers chose to include these verses... we forgive because our Father has said we must... we forgive... because our Father COMMANDED that we must...

Our misconception of justice isn't just a personal issue, it is a corporate affair as well... corporate as in we as a whole, as a body of believers, as the body of Christ... we are as a whole... I am afraid to say, guilty of ill-conceived and misguided concepts and motives for justice.  As I see it today, the all too fashionable justice movement has at its root... and it's core... a desire not for the concept of justice but rather the desire for retribution... the desire and clarion call for a pound of flesh... those that have wronged me must now be wronged as well... in the end this road, this path... leads only to destruction and we... if we're honest with ourselves... we should be able to see this all around us in the world today.  There is no one, not one calling for true grace, for true forgiveness, there are none that burn for true reconciliation... none save the man, our God... the figure upon the cross.

If we due to our alliances, our pacts, our associations, just like those ill-fated monarchs of World War I... advocate the destruction of one vulnerable class while advocating for the protection of another... we have lost our way.  If we call for violence against those with whom we disagree and in turn cry out when we too are attacked... we have lost our way.  If we in our pursuit of 'Justice' do not first reach out our hand and say “I forgive you brother/sister, can we sit and discuss our conceptions and misconceptions of each other and our situation”... if we cannot do that... we have lost our way... WE HAVE LOST OUR WAY...

When I look in the face of far too many and I see piety masking hate, anger, and a desire for retribution... I cry within myself for the anger and hate that wells up within me... and I cry out in my own soul... “Father forgive me”...

It's time that we as a society, as the world... both religious and secular turn from this path that we are all so hell-bent on following... if we continue to follow it, we follow it only to our own graves...  and before any of us in our self-righteousness look at our brother or sister and say it's their doing, it's they that are wrong... they're the problem, it's their fault... we're all wrong, it's all our problems... we all... in our fallen human state... we are all seeking human justice... and far, far, far too many want to claim it's in the name of our God.  And trust me... I know all too well... I fully acknowledge... and realize that as I point a prophetic finger... that there are three pointing right back at me...

Jesus, upon the cross, did not seek nor desire to mete out justice... His desire was ONLY... for grace, forgiveness, reconciliation... He desired those things so, so, so much that He alone took upon Himself the burden of all of our failings... all of the injustices that we have heaped upon each other, all our desires for that other SOB to pay... He paid it... He paid it ALL... if we seek revenge and retribution in the name of Christ... we heap coals upon the head of the God that we claim to worship and obey...

God help us all... 

Unfair Wages - sermon given on Sept 24th, 2017

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Newton, IA

In my "Children's Conversation" Sunday, I presented the scenario of hiring two of the children to do work for me.  One I wanted to hire to fold a single towel, and the other I wanted to mow the Church grounds (a total of a block and a half of ground).  When I told them that I want to pay the same amount for both jobs I was emphatically told, "That's crazy"!  And yes, that is CRAZY, but, that's just the kind of crazy that God is to us his children.

The parable of the "Workers in the Vineyard" is perhaps the second most important parable in understanding the nature of God that there is in the Bible. (First and foremost in my humble opinion would be the parable of 'The Prodigal Son') This isn't a story about justice, though some might confuse it as such, rather this is a story of grace.  The type and degree of grace that God extends to us does, in fact, seem 'crazy' in our human experience.

Ultimately, God's grace, God's capacity to forgive, God's desire for reconciliation, makes us exclaim "That's Crazy", but that's the radical nature of our all loving and all forgiving God.  The hour is not important to our God, what is important is that we arrive, that we accept the invitation to join the workers in the vineyard.  Praise be to God!

Please remember today and every day to...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In My Father's Grace,
Roy

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Newton, IA

Matthew 20:1-16  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Laborers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,[a] he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.[b] 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.[c] 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?[d] 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’[e] 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”[f]

Footnotes:
a) Matthew 20:2 Gk a denarius
b) Matthew 20:9 Gk a denarius
c) Matthew 20:10 Gk a denarius
d) Matthew 20:13 Gk a denarius
e) Matthew 20:15 Gk is your eye evil because I am good?
f) Matthew 20:16 Other ancient authorities add for many are called but few are chosen

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Newton, IA

Funeral for Roger J. Ring - Council Bluffs, IA - March 7th, 2016

Monday morning I traveled to Council Bluffs, IA in order to officiate over the Funeral Service for my brother-in-law Roger Ring.  Roger was married to my wife Gail's sister Nancy and he has suffered extremely poor health for many years now.  We often say that an individual's passing was 'a blessing', but rarely is this sentiment more accurate than in the passing of Roger.  He suffered so much for so long and it is truly better for him to have gone on to his Father's house.

Below is the 'Order of Service' for the funeral.  It is entirely scripted as this is the fashion that I do the funerals that I conduct.

God's blessings to all and please remember to be...

A blessing to someone today!
Roy

Order of Service – Funeral for Roger Ring

Call to Worship:

Gathered in Christ's name, let us praise God
who is our certain hope in all life's varied circumstances.
In the face of death believe the good news the scriptures proclaim:
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13)

Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of Roger J. Ring;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Roger to God's everlasting care.

Music:  Pancho & Lefty – Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard

Opening Prayer:
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Roger.
We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see death the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Music:  Just A Closer Walk With Thee – Patsy Cline

Readings from the Old & New Testament:
Let us now hear the word of our Lord as recorded in the Old & New Testaments:

Psalm 32 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let all who are faithful
    offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
    shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    else it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Today we gather to celebrate the life of and to mourn the passing of Roger J. Ring.  Roger was born on July 1st, 1954 in Council Bluffs, IA to Helen & Jim Ring.  He was one of five children in the Ring family with three sisters, Jacolyn who has preceded him in death, Kim and Linda, along with one younger brother Mark.  On June 24h, 1978 Roger was joined in marriage to Nancy A. Engleman in Omaha, NE.  Into this union was born two children Makayla on September 12th, 1981 and Andrew on August 1st, 1983.  Roger passed from this world into the next on March 3rd, 2016 at 1:56 pm at the home of his mother-in-law Mary Engleman in Omaha, NE.

In his life Roger loved to hunt and fish, he enjoyed watching rodeos and horse shows.  He competed in several rodeos in bareback bronc riding and a time or two riding bulls though Nancy said he wasn't fond of bull-riding because he felt it was too dangerous.  Roger enjoyed watching his daughter Makayla compete in horse shows and enjoyed the Pony Express Rides.

Roger worked for years at a number of different shops working on repairing and rebuilding wrecked or damaged semi-trailers.  He was proud of his abilities to restore these once damaged pieces of equipment to being nearly as good as new once again.  After suffering a fall which resulted in a broken back, Roger was limited in his ability to work on these projects and so he and his wife Nancy purchased a dump truck and for a number of years, Roger drove truck under the name of 'Rocking R Hauling'.  In 2007, Roger suffered a stroke which rendered him disabled and he suffered from poor health of one degree or another from then on until his passing.

Any of us gathered here today would be hard pressed to state that Roger was the model father, husband, son or brother.  But these are accolades that also evade any of us gathered here today.  For all fall short of the glory of our God almighty.  None of us are perfect, we all fall short in one way or another.  Roger is remembered by those that loved him each in their own special and personal way.

Yesterday in Lake City, I preached over the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.  The parable of the prodigal son is found in the 15th Chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son  Luke 15: 11-24
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

The story of the Prodigal Son is a tale of redemption, of restoration and above all else reconciliation.  The father greets and restores the son to the family as if no slight or insult had ever occurred.  And in second half of this parable concerning the elder brother, along with the two parables which preceded it in the Gospel of Luke, we see an illustration of a God who pursues us, even when we are attempting to distance ourselves from him.  No matter how far we run nor where we decide to hide, God will find us and he will pursue us to death and beyond.

The Psalmist in the 139th Psalm shares this with us:
Psalm 139:8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

Sheol in the Jewish tradition meant death.  It is often translated as 'the grave' or even 'hell' though it isn't hell as we think of hell today.  It simply means death, it is the realm of the dead.  Even there our almighty, all loving, all caring, and unfailing God pursues us.  For what is death to God... it seems like a sharp division in our reality... but is merely a minor distinction for God.  Death, will not stop a God that is determined to round up and locate each and every one of his lost sheep.  This reality is made abundantly clear in the parable of the lost sheep as found in the Gospel of Luke just preceding the story of the prodigal son.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Luke 15:3-7
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

I have every confidence in the world that on March 3 at 1:56 pm our ever grace-filled and ever loving God pursued Roger past the blurred line of death and just as the father in the tale of the prodigal son, God ran to Roger, embraced him and adorned him with a robe, a ring and sandals fit for the streets of heaven itself. 

Though Roger has been taken from his family and friends far too early, we know that he is safe in his Father's house in Heaven.  Though the parting is far too early in this world it is but a moment in Heaven.  In our Lord's Kingdom, a day is like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years are like a day.  Though we can count

Though we are parted but for a time, we can take solace in the words of Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.
Even though we are apart, as long as we have their memories, as long as these memories continue to influence our lives, our relationship with our loved ones that have passed remains.  And when that time comes that we are reunited in God's presence our joy will be complete.  In the knowledge that this separation is only temporary and with the love and comfort of our Lord along with the love and support of our family and friends, we can endure this brief separation.  For love remains, it never dies, it is there still with us.  For as Paul said;

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends, love always remains.

At this point in the ceremony, the family would like to make time available for any of Roger's friends or family members that would like to come forward and share with all of us their thoughts and memories.

Eulogies and Reflections:

Closing Prayer:
Nancy would like you all to join her and the family in a light luncheon here at the funeral home in the adjacent room.  Please allow this closing prayer to serve as grace for that meal.

O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given... but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.
We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.
With confidence, we now entrust Roger to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own.  Accept him as he is with all his frailties as well as his strengths.  Enfold him in your everlasting arms.  Embrace him as your child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Closing and Benediction:
The family encourages you that if you so desire to dance as we enjoy the sending song.  For let us mourn no longer, but rather celebrate Roger's re-birth into Heaven.

“May the Lord Bless you and keep you, and may His face shine down upon you and grant you all His Peace”  Amen.

Sending Song:  The Cowboy Rides Away – George Strait

Part 5 - Sermon Series "A Walk Through The Book of James" - Jan 31, 2016

 This past Sunday (Jan 31st) we covered Chapter 3 in the Book of James.

James 3 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature,[b] and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters,[d] this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

The sermon wasn't quite as long as the last few and isn't too much of a time commitment so I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch the video linked below.

Highlights would include that we are not to go into a teaching position due to our egos and our desires for prestige or an exalted position, but rather, we who teach should do so out of a genuine calling to help and to educate others.  I do disagree with James on the premise that I believe all of us should consider ourselves both teachers and students.  All have something to offer to anyone and everyone.

We'll spend one more Sunday in James before moving on into the Lenten Season and focusing on all that is to transpire in Jerusalem.

One comment on a personal note is that Maddie informed me today that she has signed a lease for her first apartment.  She'll be moving at the end of the month and it just breaks her Daddy's heart to see his little girl so grown up.  She won't be far away from the house in Omaha and very close to the Gallery so we'll certainly see her often.  I reminded her that when she was 5 years old she promised (she swore up and down very dramatically actually) me that she wouldn't leave me until she was 40.  Somehow, she doesn't feel that the agreement was binding... she will always be my little girl even when she's old and gray.

One more passage of life comes to pass...

God's Blessings & Grace,

Roy

Sermon January 3rd, 2016 - The Book of James, Part One

Photo by Brian Voges, Brandon SD

Beginning with this past Sunday we are doing a sermon series on the book of James.  James has long been one of my favorite books and I believe it to be also one of the oldest if not the oldest book in the New Testament.  My personal opinion is that the book was indeed penned by James the brother of Christ.  I will be diving a little bit into the history and academic study of the book as we go along in our study of what the book means to us as believers today.  The book of James is only five chapters long, but it has so much to offer to Christians, even today nearly two thousand years after it was written.

I've linked the YouTube video of the sermon below and I hope you all take the time to watch it and that in doing so you might learn something new, or perhaps, remember something that you've forgotten about the book of James.  At the bottom of the page you'll find the verses in James that are covered in the sermon.

May this short blog post find all who wander through very well and richly blessed in this new year.  Happy 2016 to everyone!

In His constant and unfailing grace,
Roy

James 1:1-15   Revised Standard Version (RSV)


1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greeting.

2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7, 8 For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; 14 but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.

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 From August 23rd / Stumbling Blocks

This week's sermon was about 'Stumbling Blocks'.  The scripture which it was predicated upon was Chapter 8 of 1st Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 8 - New International Version (NIV)

Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols

8 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Far too often in life we ourselves are stumbling blocks to other Christians as well as to individuals who are unbelievers who might under the right approach become followers of Christ.  I'll confess and admit that at times I think Christians are their own worst enemy, we all too often appear to be unforgiving and entrenched on either the left or the right theologically.  One of the things that I very much like about the Disciples of Christ denomination, especially here in the Upper Midwest Region is the great diversity within the denomination.  There is room for everyone no matter where they fall left to right.  For me as one who has theological positions on both sides, this is the perfect home.  I am all for remaining in dialogue with others with whom I might disagree, all the while making no effort to cause their personal beliefs in God and His grace and love to be threatened.  It would be my constant prayer that I should never  be a 'stumbling block' to another.  One of my personal mantras is that "it's not my job to take you along with me on my spiritual journey, it's my job to help you along on your own path."

I've attached the video for the sermon, I pray that it finds all who have 'stumbled' through this blog post well and blessed.

In His Constant Love & Care,

Roy

Sermon delivered August 23, 2015 -  Woodlawn Christ Church, Lake City, Iowa.

Pastor Wm Roy Karlen