Stillness

This was my tenth time preaching at Faith Lutheran in Bagley, on 08/09/20, and the second time preaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

Grace and Peace to you, from God Our Loving Creator, and from the Calmer of Our Rough Seas, Jesus the Christ, Amen. 

Last week, I stood up here and preached about Jesus feeding the multitudes and how that was an example of Grace in Action. I realized that after I wrote and preached the sermon that I neglected to say anything about the passing of Congressman John Lewis, and how his leadership during and after the Civil Rights Movement was a perfect example of Grace in Action. Getting in “good trouble” by leading sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, leading the people across the Edmund Pettus bridge to vote in Selma, Alabama and helping to lead the March on Washington, were lessons learned from his upbringing in the Church. He represented the people of Atlanta in Congress for many years in the United States Congress, and was a tireless advocate for Black and other marginalized people until he died. Showing God’s Grace to all in his advocacy and leadership, and living out his call as a Christian to make the world a better place for all. So that all may return to calm waters and a steady boat. 

There’s something to be said about a mostly empty and unlit sanctuary. Even before most sanctuaries around the world were forced to be unlit and emptied; have you ever stood in the silence of an empty sanctuary, and just taken it in? My mother worked at a church when I grew up, and there were days and afternoons that my brothers and I were left to our own devices in the church waiting for her to finish working. First Lutheran in Morris, MN is one of those churches that has a large sanctuary built in the 1920s like an upside down boat, and a large organ in the back. It has long pews and a center aisle, and floorboards that creak when you walk on them, and acoustics that resonate with the exposed wood rafters. I would sometimes sit in the front pew, and just, absorb the stillness. 

Then when I was on my pastoral internship, I would arrive at Zion Lutheran in Amor earlier than the secretary, and begin the morning kneeling at the altar rail in the empty sanctuary, praying for my day and other pressing needs. That sanctuary was built in the outline of a grain elevator, but much newer than the sanctuary of my younger days. Why am I telling you all this? Because there’s something to be said for the view from this pulpit, in this moment. In this sanctuary, with the large stained glass windows behind me, the long empty pews and the empty center aisle, the fellowship hall waiting to be used again… 

I can see why people want to be here again. It has been too long since pews and fellowship halls were brimming with people, and at the same time, they have to stay empty. Stillness must remain.  

Jesus again this week found refuge in getting away from the people. Jesus leaves the disciples to go up on a mountain, and the disciples get into the boat to wait for the Messiah. Jesus stays up on the mountain all night, and in the early morning, ventures out to join the disciples. Seeing a figure, and assuming a ghost, they get frightened, but Jesus tells them to “take heart” and “do not be afraid”. Peter decides to join Jesus out in the water, and begins to walk on the water with Jesus. In the three Gospels that this story happens, this is the only version that involves Peter getting out of the boat. Feeling the strong wind, he was suddenly reminded that he was miraculously walking on the water, and became scared. Remember the old cartoons, where the roadrunner was running across a cliff, and he keeps running into the air and the coyote follows him, all the way... until he looks down. Then the coyote falls, but not the roadrunner. It’s not until you realize that you should be falling, that you begin to fall. 

As soon as Peter realizes he should be “in” the water and not “on” the water, he begins to sink like the rock that he is, and reaches out for Jesus. Jesus “immediately” catches him. “Oh Ye, of little faith.” or “You of little faith”, Jesus says to Peter, and by extension, us. Jesus climbs into the boat with the disciples, and the waters calm. Stillness has returned to the world. 

The waves are rocking our world, friends. With all the euphemisms that the news have used over the last five months, this is the worst it’s been and it continues to get worse. Clearwater County seems sheltered from this storm a little bit, with coronavirus case numbers a fraction of what they are in neighboring counties. But it is still affected in so many other ways, this empty sanctuary a glaring example. When the boats of our lives are rocking, all we want is stability, a return to stillness. We do what we can to maintain the stability, so we don’t capsize. But there are moments when the waves become unbearable, when the strong wind becomes noticeable and we begin to sink. Jesus is always there to catch us when we fall. The stability of Jesus, the Good News, the Calmer of Our Rough Seas, is and will always be there to catch us. 

When I gaze out into this empty sanctuary, I miss those Sunday mornings that I was able to see you and preach and worship alongside you. Fumble through a different liturgy with you.  I'm sure Pastor Mark misses being with you as well. I'm sure every pastor misses being with their flock. But you know what else I see when I look out here? Stillness. Calm. Safety. 

"Do not be afraid", our Savior says. There will be a time when we come out of this pandemic. There will be life after Covid. What that will look like, we won't know until we get there, but it'll probably be a lot different for the people who survive infection, those who manage to not get infected, and the families of the millions of people who have and will experience loss during it. 

So for now, this empty sanctuary is a complicated space of memory and safety. Of wishful thinking and stillness. But it's also a reminder of why we're Church in the first place. Why it's a sanctuary... in the first place. This is a place, an identity for people. This is where baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings, celebrations and funerals happen. But they happen for the people that inhabit it. And the people are best served when we're as safe as we can be. 

This is the stillness of the boat. This empty sanctuary will carry this congregation until it's time to get out of the boat. Because there will come a day, when, like Peter, we need to get out of the boat and get to work. The work of the people. 

The work of the people that professes that Christ is our Savior from Our Rough Waters, the Savior that saves us all from ourselves through the Compassion, Grace, Love, and Mercy of God. The work of the people that puts that Grace into Action and serves neighbors alongside them for the betterment of us all. The work of the people that, in the words of the late John Lewis, gets us into "good trouble".

There will be times when we fall, and realize it's hard work and the wind is at our back… but that is when our Savior will pick us back up. John Lewis didn’t set out to do all the things he did for some sense of personal gain or glory, but for the people around him. He stood up when others couldn’t. He withstood beatings and arrests to stand up for what’s right, because the same Christ that we profess called him and every one of us to get into “good trouble” for our neighbors. 

For now, seek out the stillness whenever you can, because the waters are rough out there. While there is plenty to fear in the world, know that Jesus is beside you, always right there when we fall, telling us to not fear, but have faith and take heart that God’s got this. 

Amen

Pandemic Bread

This is my 9th sermon preached at Faith Lutheran in Bagley, and the first time I preached since Minnesota started dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. In a mostly-empty and dark sanctuary, it was nice to be in the pulpit once again. 

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

Grace and Peace to you from God our Loving Provider, and the Food For All Who Are Hungry, Jesus the Christ, Amen

It's been a while, friends. And what a time it's been. Times of a horrific global pandemic, social upheaval and tremendous uncertainty about the world, we find ourselves in a familiar and life-giving Gospel text. It doesn't start out that way, however. It's probably because the scholars who developed the Revised Common Lectionary were focused on a Northern Hemisphere audience, but it’s kinda fun how some of these texts line up with summer. This text, and a few others this summer begin with a note about Jesus wanting to retreat away from the crowds. Jesus was busy and popular and people wanted to hear the Messiah speak. For good reasons, of course, but Jesus would need time away, and attempt to find rest. While seemingly never getting it for long, even when he finally goes off into a boat and a storm brews, but that’s another sermon for another day. 

This time, Jesus wants to socially distance from the people because in the passage just before this, he learned of his cousin John the Baptizer’s brutal death. He was probably exhausted from the grief and the people, and needed time away. Now and again, people need time away from the world, especially these days. Some may receive it. There are so many stories from the last few months of healthcare workers working nonstop since March, day in and day out, to combat the Covid-19 virus. They surely need rest from the unfathomable stress. We can hope that the mask wearing measures help slow the spread of this horrific disease, allowing essential workers the time and space for rest. 

So after resting for seemingly not long enough, Jesus returns to the shore where a crowd of sick and hungry people have gathered. Jesus cures their sick. That simple statement is life-giving in a time of pandemic. The disciples ask if the hungry people should leave, so they could find food on their own in the city. Jesus says that they should stay, and that they will be fed. Seeing a couple loaves of bread and some fish, the disciples weren’t sure how the crowd of over five thousand people would be fed with so little food. 

Jesus sees the sick people, and cures them. Jesus sees the hungry people, and feeds them. With very little food. Jesus sees the problem, and jumps into action. Taking what little resources they had, Jesus gave the people what they needed, and at the end, when everyone was full, they still had leftovers. 

I feel like many of us may be feeling like all we have to offer the world is a small pile of food. Maybe our work has increased so we’re at wit’s end with too much stress, or maybe just the opposite. Maybe some of us haven’t had much for work because of the pandemic, and we’re still at wit’s end trying to make ends meet. For so many Americans, rent was due this week, and with an end of the federal moratorium of evictions, I wonder how many Americans will end up on the streets? I wonder how many people in this area, this state, this country, who have lived by the skin of their teeth, and the pandemic was the straw that broke the camel’s back? How many metaphors and idioms can I use to exemplify that this Covid-19 pandemic has destroyed the lives of millions of Americans, putting so many people in the same place as the people in the Gospel: Tired, sick, and hungry, and desperate to hear a word of Good News from our Savior. 

For Black, Indigenous and People of Color, for people with disabilities, people with health problems, and people living in poverty… this pandemic has exacerbated every social and economic problem. The protests that have been happening since this spring have shown the power of protest in the pursuit of justice for George Floyd, but we still await justice for Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade and too many others like them. 

People have been left with a hunger for justice, a need for social change, and a will to enact that change. Leadership with Grace in action like Jesus shows in our Gospel lesson, is the catalyst that we need to maintain the energy of this social change. Compassion, Grace, and Mercy are so desperately needed in this world. Putting that Grace into action is desperately needed right now. 

Even when likely grieved by the death of John the Baptizer, Jesus returns from rest with a desire to help all who need it. The people are sick, and Jesus cures them. Without asking why or how or how they'll pay for it, the problem is solved. When the disciples try to solve the problem of a hungry crowd by asking if they can send the crowd away, Jesus takes what limited resources there are and feeds the people, solving the issue at hand. Jesus shows Compassion, Grace, and Mercy, when the disciples would rather the people figure it out for themselves. 

Grace in action is what was needed then, and what is needed now. Grace is the daily bread that each of us need, what each of us pray for in the Lord’s Prayer, and what the world needs to get back on track. Last year about this time, I preached a sermon about our need for daily bread, and what that daily bread looks like. Daily bread is the basic necessities that we need to survive every day, and the sources that provide them. Without our daily bread, our lives are unfulfilled, and we cannot live our lives for very long in need of our basic needs. With the current state of the world, those realities are far too common for millions of people in this country. The need for Grace in action is abundant. 

Jesus feeding the multitudes with limited resources is Grace in action. Local schools providing thousands of meals per week to families in need is Grace in action. Local organizations providing grants to businesses and families is Grace in action. When we are able to ensure our neighbors have their daily bread, that is Grace in action, and what we are all called to do. Because Jesus feeding the multitudes with limited resources exemplifies for us all what each of us is called to do - whatever we can with whatever resources we have available - love one another, and show that love by ensuring we all have our daily bread. 

Even if all you have is a little, Jesus shows us that we can serve one another by sharing what we have for the betterment of others. A young family with little ones used to go to different churches in the area based on whether or not the church had a potluck. Because even if it was one meal out of the week, the family could spend what little they had on a bag of chips, a pan of bars, a bag of buns, and share it with the community and eat with their neighbors while sharing a meal in which many people contributed. They may not have had enough to pay for an entire meal for their family, but they were able to contribute to the potluck so that many people could benefit from their limited resources. 

When we’re able to use whatever resources, energy, or willpower for the betterment of our neighbors - we’re living into our call to serve one another, as Jesus the Christ routinely shows us in the Gospels. This same Jesus that came from humble beginnings, lived a life of preaching, teaching, healing, feeding and serving the people, and died on a cross - all the while saving us all from ourselves, to live again with us, by the Grace, Love and Mercy of God. 

We are all called to love and serve our neighbors. Jesus exemplified this calling by leading and showing the disciples how to solve the problems of sickness and hunger. Cure the sick and feed the hungry. Those are the mandates that Jesus exemplifies. Leadership through Grace in action for this ever-changing world is desperately needed, and the problems are only getting worse. Cases of Covid-19 are rising across the country, with hopeful new ways of treating it, but also with implementation of a vaccine many months away. According to data collected for Second Harvest Heartland, before the pandemic, 1 in 11 Minnesotans were facing food insecurity. They are now predicting that the number will be closer to 1 in 8 Minnesotans facing food insecurity next month. 

And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. (Matthew 14:20 NRSV) 

Whenever and however we come out of this season of pandemic, I hope that on the other side of it, we get to a place where people are filled with their daily bread, and we have plenty of leftovers, so that future generations may have their fill as well. 

Amen. 

Video of the service - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7eyP-wYamo