LGBT Message

My name is Mark Hanson, and I am presiding bishop of the largest Lutheran church in
North America -- the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

I am a father of six and a grandfather of four.

I’ve listened with pain and shock to reports of young people taking their lives because
they’ve been bullied and tormented for being different, for being gay or perceived to be
gay, for being the people God created them to be.

I can only imagine what it’s like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender.

But I do know how bullying can destroy someone.

One day, I came home and found our daughter curled up in the fetal position on the floor
weeping uncontrollably. She was struggling to know who she was as a bi-racial young
woman.

She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense
of identity and self-worth. I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms.

Words have the power to harm and the power to heal.

Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you. And I also know
that our silence causes you pain.

Today, I want to speak honestly with you and offer you the hope I have in Christ:
You are a beloved child of God. Your life carries the dignity and the beauty of God’s
creation. God has called you by name and claimed you forever. There’s a place for you in
this world and in this church.

As a Christian I trust that God is working in this world for justice and peace through you
and through me.

It gets better.

“For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, 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.”

May it be so. Amen.

"The Long View" by Archbishop Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Pastor Doug's Sermon 10/10/10

Luke 17:11-19
October 10, 2010


Did you hear the one about the 10 HIV infected men and
a crazy man of God,
getting together in the middle of Joseph Avenue?
Oh it was quite a scene I would imagine…..
Not quite sure how the HIV came about in the 10 men.
Probably not in a way that the staid and steady church going crowds would approve.
And as for that crazy man of God?
Well, your guess is as good as mine as to how he found himself in such an unsafe and quite frankly, a rather invisible neighborhood – at least invisible to the ones who count for something in this world.
And speaking of invisible neighborhoods, why would anyone who doesn’t live on or near Joseph Avenue, find him or herself in such a dangerous place – a no man’s land – an urban desert of fear and neglect if you will….
Surely there are safer and more profitable places to go if one is looking for more people in the pews and more dollars in the offering plate on a Sabbath morning.
Certainly there are more important things for this “holy man of God” to be doing than hanging out on the wrong side of the Inner Loop with people who clearly have gotten themselves into a bad situation…
I bet that’s what the religious crowds in the temple pews were saying about Jesus when they first heard Luke’s story of
10 Lepers and
A crazy man of God…
Meeting in the middle of nowhere.
And why not? For those who see religion more as “sales” than “service” it doesn’t make sense for Jesus to be wasting his time in that part of town.
Certainly the magnificence of Pilate’s Mediterranean coastal oasis at Caesarea Maritima would have more lucrative crowds for your mission. Folks from all over the civilized world come and go through that splendid city. Pilate even has a pretty decent Oceanside swimming pool for himself there. And let’s not forget the sales potential in the roman hippodrome. Captive crowd in a stadium – Can’t go wrong there….
And what about the literal glow and splendor of that great city on a hill: Jerusalem: The religious and cultural epicenter of the universe? Boy, if you wish to bankroll your religion,
those are the places to go…
those are the people that statistically speaking are going to bring success to your ministry.
And yet something tells me that though Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, it is not to rub shoulders with the rich and pure…
Nor is it to build up the balance in his Galilean bank account – if he ever had such a thing.
No, as much as I might not approve of the places Jesus goes and the company he keeps, Luke tells me that in Jerusalem there is no glow.
In Jerusalem, there is no crowd waiting to put their tithes in the Jesus Ministries Bank Account.
Instead there is a cross.
A cross of shame..
A cross of weakness…
A cross of death….
Oh yeah, Luke warned me about that right from the beginning when on Mary’s lips came the confession that in Christ, God has
Brought down the powerful from their thrones..
And lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things…
And sent the rich away empty.
Lifting up the lowly…
Filling the hungry…
Now I get it! Now I know why Jesus is in the place he is
and with the people he is with. Now it makes sense.
And lest we think that Jesus is just a really compassionate social worker, Luke reminds us again and again, that the One who lifts up the lowly, will himself be lowly on a Cross.
That the One who fills the hungry, will himself hunger and thirst upon the hardwood of a cross ~ the cruelest instrument of execution known to humanity.
So who better to not only walk with the lowly, but to heal the lowly, than Jesus – The One who being born in lowliness, becomes the lowest of the lowly by pouring himself out on a Cross?
Kind of changes the Leper story this morning doesn’t it? Kind of makes it a little less tame…Makes it a little more dangerous… A little more scandalous…A little less Norman Rockwell at Thanksgiving.
Scandalous….
Not only because the tables are turned on the power structures which sustain us day by day… (You know the mighty being cast out and the lowly being lifted up)
But scandalous because the appropriate response to God’s gift of healing comes not from one of the temple priests or parish pastors, who should know how to respond to God, but from an outsider…
Someone from an unacceptable faith tradition…
Someone to whom I have given the label, “Enemy”.
“Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him”.
When one of the ten returns to Jesus after being healed, Luke tells us he does more than just say “thank you”.
First he turns…
Next he praises (The Greek word there is Doxa from which we get the word, “doxology” which literally means, “gives glory to God”)…
Following this, he worships (literally “falls on his face”)…
and then finally he gives thanks (the Greek word there being Eucharisteo – from which we get the word, Eucharist.)
Turning…
Praising…
Falling on your face…
And giving thanks…
According to Luke, that is how the faithful respond to God.
Turning…
Praising..
Worshiping..
Giving Thanks…
The Shepherds do it at the news of Jesus birth…
The Centurion does it at Jesus’ crucifixion…
The Disciples do it when they witness Jesus’ ascension…
And now we are told that this dermatalogically-challenged one…
This unclean Samaritan outsider knows where his healing has come from and does something about it:
He returns and gives praise.
We can learn a lot from a leper. We can learn a lot from those who reside on the outside…
Outside of our piety…
Outside of our comfort zones…
Outside of our assumptions of how God works and how God could not possibly work.
What would it look like for us, as individuals and as a congregation, if we actually did learn something from this leprous Samaritan…
And we actually returned and gave praise to God for the gift of Jesus?
Maybe our eyes would be opened to see that what we do here on a Sunday morning in worship is not an optional event where I come a few times a year and learn how to be a good person but instead we see worship for what it is: An event where we return over and over again praising God, falling on our faces and giving thanks that we too are recipients of healing, wholeness and eternal life. And all the while measuring the worship’s value not by “Timex time” but by “God’s Kairos Time”.
What would it look like if we returned and gave praise to God for the gift of Jesus?
Maybe life on the edge wouldn’t be so scary…
Maybe our eyes would see beyond the pews of today to the see the pews of tomorrow steeped in meaningful outreach helped in part by our own generosity today…
What would it look like if we returned and gave praise to God for the gift of Jesus?
Maybe, just maybe we would be a church whose bottom line value is determined not by the size of our savings but by the size of our serving.
So let me ask this question one more time.
Did you hear the one about the 10 HIV infected men and
a crazy man of God,
getting together in the middle of Joseph Avenue?
What about the 10 lepers and
A crazy man of God,
Getting together on the road to Jerusalem?
What about the saints and sinners of a local Lutheran church and
A crazy man of God,
Getting together in the middle of the city…?

NALC Is Wrong...

On page 8 of the latest Lutheran Magazine, is an article describing the formation of the North American Lutheran Church back in late August. In this article leaders of the newly formed NALC are quoted as saying they will "uphold confessional principles". Boy I don't know about you, but I sure can rest easier at night knowing that some group of Lutherans are upholding confessional principles because obviously the rest of us 4.5 million ELCA folk are not. Give me a break!

The last time I checked my Lutheran label and the one here at Incarnate Word, we still confessed belief in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth. We still confessed belief in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, who suffered death and was buried and on the third day rose again from the dead, who will come to judge the living and the dead. Oh yeah and the last time I checked under the Lutheran "hood" here at Incarnate Word, we still confessed belief in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. And we even say the word "amen" after that.

Oh yeah and as far as the Sacraments go, we still acknowledge the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life through the real presence of Christ as Luther put it, "in, with, through and under the elements..." Hey NALC folks: What confessional principles are we not upholding?

Since that pathetic argument doesn't hold up, our NALC friends tell us that we do not hold Scripture as authoritative. Wrong again my friends. Not only do we hold Scripture as authoritative, but also as normative.

Check out our Evangelical Lutheran Worship book beginning on page 1154 where it describes our understanding of Scripture and Worship. There you will find 69 separate parts of Scripture listed which are the basis for what we do each and every week around the altar of God's love. Do I have to list them all for our NALC detractors? Well okay...

Joel 2:15-17; Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:1-13; Matthew 28:19; Psalm 103:2-3; Psalm 136:1; 1 John 1:8-9; John 8:34; Matthew 22:37-39; Psalm 119:47; Psalm 25:4; John 20:22-23; Ephesians 2:4-5, 3:16-17; Jeremiah 17;13; Deuteronomy 32:18; Psalm 27:1.

Had enough yet? No?

Psalm 149:1-4; Luke 17:13; Luke 2:14; Philippians 2:11; Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 5:12-13; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Luke 1:28; Isaiah 55:10-11; John 1:1-5, 14; Colossians 3:16; Jeremiah 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 19:5-6; John 6:68; Psalm 119:41,42; Numbers 14:18; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Luke 23:46; Matthew 5:23-24; John 20:19; Romans 16:16; Acts 2:42; Isaiah 58:6-7; Matthew 25:35; Lamentations 3:41; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 6:9-13; John 1:29; Luke 24:30-31; Luke 2:28-32; Matthew 28:19; John 20:21; John 13:1-15; Numbers 6:23-26; Romans 15:5,13; Luke 7:50; Romans 12:11; Galatians 2:10; Matthew 10:7; 1 Corinthians 15:57; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 3:23; Galatians 3:27; Isaiah 11:2; Ephesians 1:13-14; John 8:12; Matthew 5:16.

What parts of these Scripture verses aren't authoratative? Let's call the North American Lutheran Church for what it is. An anti-gay, single issue church which falsely accuses the ELCA of heresy because we choose to model Christ's radical inclusivity to all. If that is why you must leave the ELCA, then fine, I'll even hold the door open for you. But don't proclaim to the national media and anyone else who will listen to your rants that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is neither scriptural nor confessional.

Perhaps other leaders in our beloved ELCA are content to let the North American Lutheran Church define us as unfaithful. I'm not. So while our departing NALC friends are crying in their milk about our unfaithfulness, the men, women and children here at Incarnate Word will continue to do what we do so well: Gathering around God's Word and Sacrament; clothing the naked and feeding the hungry: All in the name of Christ.

By the way at the bottom of page 8 (directly underneath the NALC article) is a picture of our ELCA reaching out to the 20 million people affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan. Does that sound unfaithful to you?


Your Faithful Partner in Christ,
Pastor Doug

Muslim, Jewish, Christian Prayer for Peace

In these anxious times where walls of suspicion are erected more easily than razed, I offer you the following prayer for peace I found outside our sanctuary today:

O God, you are the source of life and peace. Praised by your name forever. We know it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Hear our prayer in this time of war.

Your power changes hearts. Muslims, Christians and Jews remember, and profoundly affirm, that they are followers of the one God, children of Abraham, brothers and sisters; enemies begin to speak to one another; those who are estranged join hands in friendship; nations seek the way of peace together.

Strengthen our resolve to give witness to these truths by the way we live.

Give to us:
Understanding that puts an end to strife;
Mercy that quenches hatred, and
Forgiveness that overcomes vengeance.

Empower all people to live in your law of love.
Amen.

NLM Congregational Letter

Dear Friends in Christ,

It is with a great deal of sadness that we share with you the news that on Sunday, August 29, 2010, the Nile Lutheran Mission voted unanimously to leave our denomination, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Though financially the NLM was almost out of money, we are told the ELCA’s vote on human sexuality in August 2009, was the cause.

As you may have already heard, the Nile Lutheran Mission is no longer utilizing our facilities here at Incarnate Word. Unfortunately, there has been misinformation and outright lies circulating among some Lutherans in our area claiming that NLM was asked to leave Incarnate Word over its theological disagreements with the ELCA and that the ELCA is requiring NLM to repay over $200,000 in grant monies. Neither has been the case. Back in March of this year, denominational leaders in Chicago and Syracuse agreed to forgive the debt of any and all grant monies should NLM decide to leave the ELCA.

Let us be clear on the other lie: The termination of our building-use agreement with the Nile Lutheran Mission had nothing to do with any theological disagreements. Rather, our decision to go our separate ways came from growing concerns over increased abuse and neglect of our facilities on Sunday afternoons. Moreover, in their vote to leave the ELCA, it has come to light that Pastor Jordan and the Nile Lutheran Mission no longer have ELCA sponsored insurance coverage which stands in direct contradiction to our congregational policy of requiring certificates of insurance from all outside groups which use our building.

In no way do we want for any of these events to diminish the partnership we have enjoyed with Jordan and the NLM for the past sixteen years. Over those many years, there have been joys and tears, celebrations and disappointments, but through it all, both faith communities have proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we have learned from one another as well. The NLM has learned from us what it is to be a stable church and we have learned from them how to trust in times of scarcity and know joy in the midst of adversity. Over the past decade and-a-half, blessings between our congregations have flowed in abundance both here and in Africa. Here in the city, African refugees have been re-settled and in Gambela, Ethiopia, thanks to total funding from our congregation, drinking water now brings the hope of new life to 20,000 people, all because God placed us together in ministry. And for that, how can we not say, “thanks be to God”?

Doubtless this parting of the ways will feel like a death to some. And it is a death. For any dreams we may have had of further integrating our faith communities in ministry have come to an end. But as people of faith who live our lives under the cross of Jesus Christ, we also know something of resurrection. As the bonds of death could not keep Jesus in the grave, so too will the bonds of this death not stop our communities from proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And though we do so in separate venues, we do so together as brothers and sisters in the one body of Christ.

These are painful times for many people, especially Jordan and his community of faith. What is needed now more than ever is prayer and love. Let us continue to be the people of grace that God has called us to be as we do all we can to ensure that this time of transition goes as smoothly as possible not only for us but for our beloved sisters and brothers of the Nile Lutheran Mission.

Peace in Christ,
Pastors Doug and Joanne

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 9 Sunday, July 4, 2010

Prayer of the Day

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Isaiah 66:10–14

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her —
that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.
For thus says the LORD:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants,
and his indignation is against his enemies.


Galatians 6: [1–6] 7–16

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.
Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.


Luke 10:1–11, 16–20

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."


Reflection


"The precise style of the mission of the seventy-two is probably not the same as mission in most of our twenty-first-century congregations. Generally most congregations do not send out itinerant preachers/healers in pairs who go from town to town, staying in one particular house for a short period of time before moving to another town. Nevertheless, this text does provide some important mission insights for us today. First, this text reminds us that it is the Lord's mission first, last, and always. Because we are called by the Lord to participate in his mission, a key question we should be asking is not really, "What is our mission?" but, "What is the Lord's mission, and how is the Lord empowering and sending us to participate in that larger mission?" Second, this is a mission call for faithfulness that does not necessarily guarantee success. What we see here and throughout Luke—Acts is that God's mission in Jesus Christ brings forth both positive and negative responses. We should not judge the importance and value of our mission endeavors on quantifiable rates of success/failure but on faithfulness to Jesus and his saving mission. Third, this is a mission of dependence not of independence. It is the Lord's mission, and he (not we) remains in charge. We do not always know where that will take us. We go not by ourselves but in community (here exemplified in the two by two of v. 2). We do not always provide for ourselves but are somewhat dependent on the kindness of strangers who turn out to be children of peace (vv. 5-6). The goal of mission is not the elevation of power or status of those sent by Jesus but the joy that comes in participating in Jesus' mission of life now and life eternal both for us and for those who receive the fruits of our mission labors" (Dr. Richard P. Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg).


Bulletin Announcements for July 4, 2010

This year's Summer Sunday Book Series continues today at 10:45 for both Incarnate Word and 3rd Presbyterian members in the Auditorium by the stage area.


This Week: The church office is closed tomorrow (July 5th); Friday –
Wellness Center at 10 a.m.


The Prayer Chain is available to pray for those who need and want it. Call
Helen Coleman (544-4450) with your request.


The youth of Incarnate Word will be leaving next week on their mission trip to Luther Place in Washington, D.C. – You are invited to be a part of their trip by donating granola bars, bars of soap, and
especially men’s white socks to hand out to the homeless in Washington, D.C. Look for specially marked boxes at the entrances and in the auditorium. If you would like to donate money, please make checks out to Incarnate Word and
put ‘LYO Homeless Donations’ on the memo line. We will be collecting these items through next Sunday, July 11th. Thanks for your support!


Please donate your old eyeglasses and empty pill bottles – Joanne Peterson
can use them in the Dominican Republic Health Care Project. We plan to give them to her when she's here in July. Any donation is greatly appreciated.


You are invited to be a part of Incarnate Word’s summer musical, Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Both kids and adults of all ages are invited to perform, help with scenery and costumes. We will rehearse throughout the summer following worship on Sundays, and will present the
musical on September 12, Rally Day. Please see Michael Unger or Pastor Joanne if you would like to be a part of this exciting project (there is no rehearsal today).