Sermons

Sunday, August 2, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

In our second reading today, we heard the apostle Paul lamenting the fact that he was Jewish.  That he was part of God’s chosen people.  That he was part of this people of promise.  And it makes you wonder, why would Paul not be happy about that?  If, as he claims, the Jewish people are adopted by God, and they have the law, and they have the covenants, and they have the promise of salvation, if they have all these good things, why wouldn’t Paul be happy to be a part of that?  Well, Paul isn’t happy, because Paul has seen the hard truth.  The hard truth that Paul’s encounter with Jesus taught him.  That it’s not just about what God gives us, but, it’s also about what we do with what God gives us.  God gave the Jewish people all they could ever need.  God had chosen them to be his people.  Telling them that they would be his people, and he would be their God.  But, he did even more.  God gave them the commandments, so that they could live well and righteous.  And God did even more.  God had saved them from slavery, and had promised to do it again, and again, and again, and again, and again.  However many times it would take.  God had given them whatever they had needed.  Whatever they needed, and more.  But, they didn’t care.  They didn’t care.  They took it for granted.  They assumed that because God had made them his people, they didn’t have to do anything.  And so, over the years, they stopped striving for righteousness, as Paul says a few verses after what we read today.  They felt so entitled, that they didn’t care about the God who had given them everything, or about trying to live as God told them to live.  And that is what Paul lamented.  That his people were not doing God’s will.  That they were, once again, not living up to their side of the covenant.  They were not living the way God wanted them to live.  They were not being righteous.  And Paul discovered this because of Jesus.  Because he met Jesus on that road to Damascus, and his life was changed.  His mind, his heart, and his life, were all drastically changed.  He began to understand what Jesus was all about.  He began to understand what God was all about.  That living a life of faith, was not about trying to look good, and doing the least you could, it wasn’t about using your status as one of God’s people, to get things, it wasn’t about ourselves at all.  It was about living out what God gives each and every one of us.  Mercy, and grace, and love.  It was about living a life that does not look to self, but to other.  It is living out love.  And not just any love, but, the kind of love that God gives.  The kind of love that just keeps giving, and giving, and giving, until it seems there is no more to give, and then, gives even more.  And so, as Christians, as people who know and follow Jesus, we are in the same boat.  We are loved greatly by God, but we have to avoid the trap of taking it for granted.  The danger that Paul’s people faced is the same danger we face.  God has not only promised us love and salvation, but, in Jesus’ death and resurrection, God has delivered on that promise.  And we have to be careful that we do not forget that, or take it for granted, or feel entitled.  Because it is easy to do.  It is way too easy to do that.  We all have a tendency to do it.  The Jews in Paul’s time did it.  People now often do it.  It even happened to the disciples in our gospel reading today.  They assumed that Jesus would provide for them, and not that huge crowd.  When they told Jesus to send the crowds away, there was packed in those few words, the idea that Jesus only loved them.  His disciples.  They assumed that Jesus would love them, and not care about how those thousands would be fed.  And, they were wrong.  They were dead wrong, because Jesus loved everyone in that crowd.  The blind.  The lepers.  The orphans.  The widows.  The refugees.  Men, women, and children.  Everyone.  The disciples were wrong about who Jesus loved.  Like we often are.  Because the truth is, we do the same thing that the disciples did, and what the Jews of Paul’s time did too.  We all do it.  We forget that God gave us all we have, and we take it for granted, and too often we feel entitled.  And you can see that all the time.  Like when we make distinctions between those we think God loves, and those we don’t think God loves.  And it always lines up with those we like, versus those we don’t.  Or when we assume that what we believe, and the way that we live, is right, and any other way is wrong.  Or when we feel so good about ourselves, because we know God loves us, that we think it doesn’t matter what we do, or don’t do.  Those are not Christian values.  Anytime we put ourselves above others, any time we think God loves only us, or only those like us, any time we do not act in love, we are doing what Paul lamented that his people were doing.  Not living out the righteousness of God.  Not living out our faith.  Because faith is not just about the gifts that we get from God, which is everything.  It is also about responding to those gifts.  It is acknowledging the reality that God loves all people, and that we are to love all people too.  It is realizing the truth that God made us all, and has given us everything we could ever need, and the only true and faithful response to that has to be love.  For God, and for others.  The way we show our faith, is by loving God back.  And the way we love God back, is by loving others.  Grace and mercy are what we get, and grace and mercy are what we give.  Grace and mercy are to be our response.  And not out of guilt or duty, but out of the sheer and utter joy of knowing that we are loved that much.  That is the Christian call.  To simply live out God’s love for us, in all we do.  AMEN

Sunday, July 19, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

There is a mentality among some Christians, and among some other religions too, that they are the only ones who are correct in their theology.  It is an ideology that they are always right.  That only they are right.  That every single thing they do is right, and everyone else is wrong.  Everyone else is wrong.  And we can see it being played out as preachers from those religions preach what is wrong with the world, and how to overcome it, with just the right faith, which, of course, just happens to be the one that only they have.  And usually the problem they point out is something that they don’t do, but that others have going on in their lives.  Like people who drink, or those who play cards, or who dance, or they are divorced, or they are gay, or they are on a particular side of a particular political issue or, well, it can be all kinds of other things.  And there can be issues with many of those things I mentioned.  Many of them can be unhealthy.  Many of them can be bad for relationships.  But a bigger problem than all those things that some people have going on in their lives, is when people, or a church, starts deciding what the worst sin is.  A bigger, and maybe even more prevalent problem, is when people, and churches, get judgmental.  Because that leads to division.  That leads to separation.  And that eventually leads to hate.  And that is not what the church, or us as individuals, are called to do.  Besides, not being called to do that, we actually can’t do it.  None of us are qualified.  None of us.  Because all of us are unworthy sinners.  None of us follows the Ten Commandments perfectly.  None of us are always righteous.  None of us is so good that we are up for sainthood.  We are all unworthy sinners, who have to rely on the grace of God.  So, we are not in the place to judge.  Only God is.  It is not up to us, as individuals, or as a church, to decide who is righteous.  It is not up to us to decide who is saved.  It is not up to us to decide who is loved, and who is not loved, by God.  That is God’s job.  And God decides, because, as our first reading today points out, God is the first, and the last.  God is the ultimate power and the ultimate judge, because there is only one God.  So, God decides.  Although, the funny thing is, God has given us clues.  God created a world for us.  For all of us.  That is a good hint that he loves all of us.  And in the Bible, when people, like the Hebrews, or the disciples, or the prophets, or many others, were sinning, God loved them too.  God loved all of them.  And when Jesus came, he didn’t just come for certain people.  Jesus came to love all.  He came to die for all.  He came to save all people.  So it seems pretty clear what God’s judgement will be.  That God loves us all, and will save us all.  And if that’s not what happens, it’s still God’s call.  It’s still God who decides.  That is just something we are never to do, even though it may seem incredibly easy at times.  And this is something that is so pertinent to our lives, that Jesus told a parable about it.  The parable we heard today.  Where the master of a household had to decide what to do about some weeds.  The master decided.  Not the slaves.  Not the neighbors.  Not the church.  The master of the household.  It’s the same thing with us.  Our master decides what to do with the weeds.  God decides.  And so, if that’s not our job, what are we to do?  Well, our job is the same job that those slaves of that master in today’s parable had.  Our job is to care for wheat and weeds, until our master God is ready to harvest.  Our job is to care for the wheat and the weeds, and to leave the decision for who gets thrown into the furnace, for later.  For the master to decide.  For God to decide.  Only God is the one who decides when, and what, and how the weeds will be taken care of.  And, in a sense, God has decided.  Today’s parable says that God has decided that the wheat and the weeds will grow together, and only at the end will God send the weeds to be burned.  And the servants, the slaves, we ourselves, are to let both grow, and care for both.  Care for the weeds, like we care for the wheat.  And so, what we do, until that day of final harvest, is to love those that God puts in front of us.  What we do, until that day of final harvest, is to love those strangers that we don’t have a clue about.  And, what we do, until that day of final harvest, is to love those we tend to judge.  What we do, until that day of final harvest, is what we are called to do.  We love.  We love the wheat, and the weeds.  We love those we consider good, and those we consider bad.  We love everyone.  We love, until God decides to call us home.  AMEN

Sunday, July 12, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

I think all of us know that there are a lot of problems in this world.  We can see it played out on TV and in the newspapers every single day.  From poverty, to racism, to the COVID pandemic, to social injustice, to the bad economy, to poor judgement by lots of leaders, to all kinds of things that plague the entire world.  And if that’s not bad enough, if all that is not bad enough, we also have all the problems that we face in our own lives.  Trying to keep our jobs, or our farms, or our businesses going, the family issues we face, our own personal health issues, the death and disease of friends, and again, all kinds of things that just plague us and those we love.  There are just a lot of bad things going on that can trip us up, lead us down the wrong path, or simply ruin our lives.  Like the kinds of things that Jesus was talking about in our Gospel reading for today.  Things like not having roots when trouble comes.  Things like people wanting wealth and worldly goods.  Things that happen to make our hearts and minds go crazy.  There are all kinds of things going on in this world that can lead us astray.  In fact, it can be so overwhelming at times, that it seems as if nothing can be done about them.  These problems can seem so big, that they can even make us think of excuses and rationalizations for why we can’t, and why we don’t, do anything.  Racism is too big an issue, so why even bother?  I’m only one person, and I can’t do much, so why do anything?  My own life is a mess, I can’t help anyone else, so why try?  I’m not good enough to do any good, so why bother?  I am a woman, and women don’t do that.  I’m a man, and men don’t do that.  There are all kinds of rationalizations, and all kinds of excuses, for why we don’t do all kinds of things.  For why we don’t live the way we can and the way we should live.  And, to be honest, sometimes our excuses and rationalizations are valid and legitimate.  None of us are going to play college ball, we had our chance.  But we are either too old, too out of shape, or not good enough.  None of us are going to grow up and be doctors.  It’s too much, to go back to school, and learn all we have to learn, and go into debt.  So, there are some valid excuses, some valid reasons, for why some things won’t happen for us.  But too many of our excuses, are lame rationalizations for not doing the things that we should be doing.  Things that make us grow, and do God’s work, and help others in our world.  Too many rationalizations and excuses are just reasons for letting us be able to keep doing nothing.  And, in our Gospel reading for today, Jesus talks about all those things that we make excuses for.  Those things that cut us off from the life we want to live.  Those things that hinder and harm us, and others.  And Jesus says that even though we may not make it to where we want to be, even though we may end up choked off, even though our hand has been bitten too many times, even though we have had good things taken away from us, we are still called to be planted where we are, and to let God grow us into who, and what, we can be.  With this parable today, Jesus is saying that there are bad things that can happen to us, that there are bad things that do happen to us, and we will continue to make excuses for why we don’t do something about them, but, as Christians, we are still called to listen to God.  We are still called to care for others.  We are still called to love.  What we are really called to do, is to be faithful to the God who loves us.  To faithfully listen to God’s word and let it do what it does.  Love us.  Heal us.  Spur us on to go and do what God wants us to do.  In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus says that the parable he uses is about the word of God.  That that word is sprinkled all over the world, all over our lives, and if we listen to it, if we listen to it, and take it in, and understand it, we can, and we will, grow.  We will become what we are meant to become.  A beloved child of God.  A flower in God’s garden.  Someone who bears fruit, thirty fold, sixty fold, maybe even a hundred fold.  That word comes to us, and it tells us that we are loved.  And that simple truth, that simple, but powerful truth, is all that we need, to be able to live as God’s seed.  And do what seeds do.  To grow and to bear fruit.  To love and care for others.  To stop making excuses, and live the way God calls us to live.  The way it works is simple.  God gives his word to us freely and broadly.  We can read it in the Bible.  We can hear it in church.  We can even sense it in nature.  Any time we feel joy, we can know that is God sending his word to us.  And all we have to do, is to continue to enjoy it, and truly and fully listen to it.  To hear it, and understand what it is saying.  And it’s not that hard.  Because all it is saying, is that God loves us, and wants what is best.  For us, and for others.  And all we need to do, as we listen to God’s word, is let it inside, and let it do what it does.  Because it is just like air.  Just like rain.  Just like sunshine.  God’s word comes, and gives us what we need.  So we can grow in our love, and, hopefully, grow 30 fold.  60 fold.  Or maybe even a 100 fold.  If we simply listen to God’s word, and let it in our hearts.  AMEN

Sunday, July 5, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

America celebrates our freedom this weekend.  And it’s been a remarkable run over the past 244 years.  We have gone from 13 colonies, that could barely hold together, to 50 states, and more, if you include all our territories and Washington DC, that are bound by the social contract of our Constitution.  And what makes our run so all the more remarkable, is that we have been able, not just to adapt to the changes that the world has brought upon us, but we have also been able to adapt to the changes we ourselves have inflicted.  And some of it has not been easy.  Especially for those on the margins of our society.  We have moved from a nation that approved of Native American genocide and slavery, to being a big part of the Me Too Movement and Civil rights, and understanding that equal rights are really for all people.  Blacks.  Women.  Natives.  Gays.  The disabled.  The poor.  In the United States of America, everyone has equal rights.  And this has come about, not because we are so generous.  I believe there are many who would love to see some people have less rights.  But it has come about because our social contract with each other, the US Constitution, says that whoever has the majority, gets to decide how to live.  To a point.  It’s a majority rules, but with major protections for the non-majority.  And that means that there are inherent unfair advantages for those in power.  And so, there has always been a tension in our country between the haves and the have nots.  Between those who fit the stereotypes of the majority, and those who sit outside, on the margins.  Those we call, the marginalized.  But, what has happened, is that the marginalized are gaining power.  And that can happen in a democracy.  It should happen, in a democracy.  As people move up and down the socioeconomic ladder.  And, the funny thing is, as we traverse the movement from one cultural swing to another, like we have for the past 244 years, we ask the very same questions that Paul and Jesus asked.  The very same questions.  Questions like, What is freedom?  And, what does it mean to be free?  And, how do we live as a free people?  And there are different answers for Christians, versus US citizens.  For US citizens, it’s pretty simple.  We follow the Constitution.  We live by the laws and the rules that have been set up, so that we can know how we are supposed to live.  We live by those rights and those responsibilities we are granted to us by that document.  And even though it seems easy, there can be difficulty.  Because our rights can only go so far.  My rights go only as far as their impact on your rights.  So, for example, when it comes to the first amendment, and our free speech, we can say pretty much what we want as an opinion, but we can’t do things like shout “fire” in a movie theatre, if there’s no fire.  And we can’t incite people to violence.  And we shouldn’t.  And with the 2nd amendment, we can own guns, but we can’t own machine guns.  And the mentally ill who are institutionalized, they can’t own guns.  And they shouldn’t.  And back to the first amendment, when it comes to religion, we can go to any church we want, we can even worship the devil in this country.  Or we can not go to church at all.  But, we can’t force people to pray, or use government influence to push a particular religion on anyone.  So, in this country, freedom is being able to live out our rights, but with the responsibilities, and limits that come.  And that is different from what Jesus and Paul both say.  For a Christian, living out our freedom is different.  Much different.  For Christians, we subjugate our rights for what the other needs.  It’s not as much about life, liberty, and our pursuit of happiness for ourselves, as much as it is life, liberty, and a love for the other, so that their pursuit of happiness matters more than ours.  Paul, starting with the book of Romans, and proceeding through the rest of his letters, tells us that we are free from the law.  Not so much the laws and rules that we make as a society, but those laws and rules that kind of hold us in our place and make us feel as if we are not worthy of God’s love.  The ones that tell us how bad we are.  How horrible we are.  How wretched we are.  We are free from that.  The law doesn’t hold us back anymore.  We don’t have to feel guilty.  We don’t have to be afraid.  We don’t have to feel unworthy.  There is nothing more we can do to earn God’s favor.  God loves us in Christ, so we can love even more.  And in today’s reading, Paul talks about how hard that is.  How we know what we are supposed to do, but how sin gets in the way.  When it comes to freedom for a Christian, that freedom is from the sin that holds us down.  That freedom is from the sin that holds us back.  And for Paul, the answer for what we do is to love even more.  To battle with that sin inside us, that prevents us from doing that.  That is how we live out freedom.  By battling the sin inside us, outside us, and everywhere.  By loving the other, more than self.  And for Jesus, the answer to what freedom is, and how we live it out, is pretty much the same thing.  Jesus spent his whole career, his entire life, his whole being, preaching, and teaching, and living, love.  He pushed the boundaries of what love is, and how we are to live out the freedom that comes when we are given salvation.  And in today’s reading, he talks about people who complaining that they aren’t getting recognized for what they do.  He’s talking about the religious authorities who wanted to look as if they were being righteous, but didn’t bother to actually be righteous.  They even complained about John the Baptist and Jesus himself.  And what Jesus says, is that living faithfully is hard, that there is a heavy burden, but that he can help us through it.  That the love we are called to, through the freeing act of the cross, is hard.  But he is there.  Jesus is there.  So, as our nation celebrates freedom this weekend, let us celebrate true freedom.  The freedom God gives us.  Not what we find in the Bill of rights, but freedom from sin, and freedom to love.  AMEN

Sunday, June 28, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

Usually, when we read the verses we heard today, the ones where Jesus talked about welcoming in our gospel reading, usually we think of them as to how we are to welcome Jesus, or the prophets or disciples, or the righteous of our time.  And not knowing who the prophets and the disciples and the righteous of our time are, or even how Jesus comes to us now, we usually think of Jesus’ words in terms of welcoming everybody.  Or, to put it in plainer language, in terms of hospitality.  And the gist of the Gospel reading then, is that we are to be like the people who welcomed his disciples when they were sent out as missionaries.  Who gave them water, or maybe a meal, or maybe even a place to stay.  Because Jesus told them that whoever welcomed them would be rewarded.  And when you think about welcoming and hospitality, you usually think in terms of what nice thing we can do to welcome people into our homes.  Because that’s where most hospitality occurs in our lives.  And the followers of Jesus are not the only ones who think this way.  One of the important things in every human culture that has ever existed is hospitality.  Caring for people who enter your home.  You can see that played out today.  Because when we invite people to come over to our houses, we usually clean them a little better, we make a meal we might not normally make, we make sure the kids know they need to behave, and we are friendly and kind when they arrive.  This is nothing new, or unknown to us.  We know it, and we live it.  And humanity always has.  In fact, hospitality was a very important thing in the Middle East in the first century.  Both Judaism and Islam had tenets that meant that you were supposed to be hospitable for visitors, even if it meant suffering for yourself.  There is an ancient story where a man was hosting a stranger who had come to his home to do business.  But before they began, the man said they would have supper first.  So they had a nice supper of lamb.  And once it was over, the man asked the stranger what he was interested in buying.  The stranger told him, he wanted his best sheep.  Unfortunately, the man said, we just had it for supper.  That’s how important hospitality was back then.  So, it’s not just Christians who are supposed to be hospitable to people, but everyone.  But, there’s a problem that comes when we try to be hospitable.  And it’s made worse by the misinterpretation of Jesus’ words today.  What happens, is that our hospitality becomes a kind of competition.  The idea that welcoming people can lead to rewards, as Jesus said, twists the meaning so that we are hospitable, not because of the other, but because of the reward.  And we’ve all seen that played out.  Where people compare houses, or compare food that is being served, or clothing that’s being worn, and even the behavior of kids.  And too often people try to do better, to one up them.  Again, not so much because you care for the other, but because there is the reward of feeling that we are better.  But, Jesus’ emphasis was not on welcoming as a way to get a reward.  No.  Jesus was saying that we are to be welcoming, we are to show hospitality, because that is what love and compassion do.  In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is not telling people to be welcoming for the reward, but, in a sense, that we do it because of the reward we already have.   When Jesus died on the cross, he made sure that salvation was ours.  That we were free.  Free from sin, and death.  Free from law, and rules.  And free to love.  That’s what our second reading says, with a kind of over explanation so people can “get it”.  It says we don’t sin because we are free from the law, rather, we are captive to grace now.  To knowing we are loved, and wanting to love more and more.  We love, because we are free from the constraints of law, free to live and love beyond what the law says we should do.  And so, we don’t do things because the law tells us to do them.  We don’t do things because some rules tell us to do them.  We do things because love compels us to.  Kind of going back to what we do when we visit each other in our homes.  We don’t go visit because Jesus told us to.  We don’t visit because the county or the state says we should.  We visit because they are our neighbors.  We visit because they are our friends.  And that’s just part of what friends do.  That’s part of what love does.  We do things for others.  They do things for us.  And back and forth it goes.  And Jesus wants that.  But, he also wants more.  Jesus wants us to be welcoming even when there is no reciprocity back and forth.  Where it is just us living out grace.  Giving water to the thirsty, or food to a hungry person, or a place to stay for someone who needs it, is not about the eternal reward we get, but the eternal reward we have.  And Jesus wants even more than that.  Not just caring for the needs of others in a rudimentary way, but in a deeper way.  In the most ways possible.  Because love is always extending itself.  Love gets extended from caring for people’s basic needs, to advocacy for the sake of others, to social justice, to battling injustice, to living lives of love all the time.  And so, we do things like praying for others.  Things like social distancing and getting thigs for those who can’t got out.  Things like letters, and phone calls, and internet chats and messages for those who are alone.  Our love is not limited by our body, or time, or the law, or anything.  Our love is not limited at all.  We are always called to do more.  Yes, we are called to be hospitable, to welcome all.  Because we are called to love.  But, that call to love is not limited.  We accept God’s grace, and we do more.  We pray.  We care for people’s needs.  We work for justice and equality.  Because that is what slaves of righteousness do.  Because that is what the God who loves us calls us to do.  Because that is what Jesus did.  And I hope we do it.  I hope we do it well, and often, and even joyfully.  AMEN

Sunday, June 21, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

Between the COVID-19 lockdown, and the protests of the George Floyd killing, and the subsequent infiltration of those protests by looters, and anarchists, and white nationalists, and, whatever else we think the rest of 2020 is going to bring, we are under a lot of stress.  We are under a lot of pressure.  And for those of you who are into canning, you know what happens when pressure mounts, and builds, and builds, and gathers more and more steam.  Some of that steam has to blow off.  Some of that pressure has to be released.  When you can, you build pressure to create an environment where no germs can survive.  And it’s not some easy thing.  It takes good instructions.  It takes good equipment.  It takes good experience.  And the secret to canning, is to blow off the steam correctly.  To not let too much pressure build up, AND to not let too much pressure go.  You have to do it correctly.  It’s the same thing with human beings.  There is a lot of stress on people today.  There is a lot of pressure on people today.  Depending on our personal situation, the lockdown, systemic racism, poverty, overcrowding, hunger, family dynamics, the job market, the stock market, and many, many more things, can bring so much pressure that it gets to be too much.  And that steam has to be blown.  But, it matters how we do that.  It makes a difference in how and why we blow off steam.  It makes a big difference.  A few weeks ago we saw some of that steam being released.  We had peaceful protests, and we had riots and looting.  We had some government officials responding with respect and compassion, and others responding with powerful anger and armies.  And all of it was blowing off steam.  It was all because this immense stress and pressure that we are under, had gotten to be too much.  But, the way steam was blown off, the way pressure was released, were not all the same.  There were differences in how people let off steam.  Like I said, some peacefully protested, while others rioted.  And some police responded by joining the protests, while others attacked people who weren’t even protesting.  And the big difference between the differing responses was motivation.  Why did people do what they did?  For some, what they did was done to fight injustice.  Many were protesting what happened in Minneapolis, and what has happened over past 200 plus years.  From slavery, to Jim Crow laws, to lynching, to poll taxes, to economic inequality, to other aspects of systemic racism.  And they were right to protest.  All of us saw the video of the callousness from some police officers.  But, it’s not just bad cops, but a bad system.  And so, when a police officer, sworn to preserve and protect, keeps his knee on a man almost 9 minutes, plenty long enough to kill him, there is going to be righteous anger and protesting.  But, within that, there were others who looted and burglarized, to steal stuff for themselves, and others who created chaos and anarchy, because they wanted black people blamed and a race war started.  That is not the way to let off steam.  And the responses to the protests differed too.  Some police joined in, taking a knee, hugging people, while others were decked out in riot gear, and even used force to clear out the front of a church.  And what makes it all the more difficult, is that Christians, like often happens, we Christians are caught in the middle.  We don’t condone systemic racism, and we don’t condone violence for the sake of violence.  And so, we find ourselves in the middle.  And often, we find ourselves where Jesus said we would be in the Gospel reading for today.  With man against father.  With daughter against mother.  With households torn apart.  So, what are we to do?  Not just now, but any and every time we get caught in the middle, what are we to do?  I would say that there are several things.  First, we must make sure that we are on the right side.  Are we on the side of good, and love, or our we on the side of self and sin?  And that gets hard when the good and the bad seem to go hand in hand.  When protestors and rioters look the same.  When some authorities behave well, and others poorly.  But as hard as it is, we have to always be on the side of love.  Now, because it is so hard to figure it out, the second thing we need to do is understand sin, and our part of it.  Sin is not just the overt and obvious acts we do, but the brokenness of our world.  And especially the brokenness that we allow to be done to others.  We need to work for a world that is just, and fair, and righteous.  And that means that love is not just about what is directly in front of us, but also what is further away.  Look at Jesus.  Jesus didn’t just care about his 12 disciples and the people of the first century.  Jesus cared, and cares, about us too.  So, we need to work for good, not just for the people near us, but those who are far away, in distance, and in time, and in being different.  And the third thing we need to do, is be ready to be hated.  Because we will find  ourselves hated.  Our Gospel reading reminds us that doing good can get us into trouble.  And that happens because love can get us into trouble.  But that’s what our faith is all about.  Christianity is not about doing good so we don’t get into trouble.  Christianity, love, is about doing good, even though we may get into trouble.  That’s what Jesus was talking about in our gospel reading today.  That if we acknowledge and follow Jesus, we may not have peace in our lives.  And so, some of those people peacefully protesting George Floyd’s death got met with pepper spray and rubber bullets.  Even Jesus tipped over tables in the Temple.  It cost him his life.  When we ask the question, of what can we do?  Of what should we do, there are no easy answers.  But, we follow Jesus.  We pray.  We love, those close and those far away.  We live, humbly, faithfully, lovingly.  No matter what the price.  AMEN

Sunday, May 31, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

Today we celebrate what some call the birthday of the church.  The Day of Pentecost.  And I used to call it that too.  Because today we celebrate the day when the Holy Spirit came to those early church fathers, who were gathered together to celebrate Pentecost, and started what eventually became the church that we are today.  Back then, they were gathered from all over, to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pentecost, which was the spring harvest festival.  It was a pilgrimage to give God from the first fruits.  But God was about to change all that.  God was going to give them a gift, that would change their lives forever.  That advocate that Jesus had told them about.  That counselor that Jesus had promised.  The Holy Spirit.  And that Holy Spirit that came to them, it empowered them.  God gave them a gift that day, that would help them become the great church we have become.  God gave them a gift that showed them all the things that were possible.  That people could speak in unknown tongues, and be understood.  That love and joy could triumph over sin and death.  That our own abilities could be increased.  So, in a sense, the church was born that day.  But, I don’t think of it in terms of a birthday anymore.  I think of it more like a graduation.  When we celebrate a birthday, we are celebrating a one time event.  We are only born once.  And then we grow up.  But we really aren’t an independent entity at first.  As a baby, we have our parents with us.  And at that age, they have to be with us.  We need them.  They feed us.  They clothe us.  They house us.  They teach us.  And, like I said, we do eventually grow up, and become a functioning adult.  Now, as most of us grow up, our parents continue to help us.  They continue to care.  They continue to guide us.  But, it’s not the same.  That’s why I’m starting to think of the Day of Pentecost more as a graduation.  I mean, there are similarities between birthdays and graduations.  Both of them are a one time event.  At least your graduation from high school or college is.  They are one time events for that grade and that school.  And just like our birthdays, even after we graduate, we keep growing.  Birthdays remind us that we have grown another year older.  After graduations, we don’t celebrate the anniversary, but we still grow.  We still learn.  We still change.  And there is one more very important similarity.  Just like when we are born, our parents don’t abandon us once we graduate.  They don’t.  They still help us, when we need it.  So, there are some similarities between graduations and birthdays.  But, there are also differences.  And that is where I want to focus.  When we are born, we are pretty much helpless.  We are pretty much helpless babies, and we need our parents, and other family, to grow, and to just survive.  After graduation, most of our parents continue to help us, but we are seen more as adults.  We are the ones who have to make decisions now.  We are seen as being able to be independent.  Of being able to be out on our own, and having to figure out how to live our lives.  That’s a big difference.  And as far as the church goes, we are not a baby, who needs help from others, but an independent, thinking institution.  Who can, and does, make decisions based on our own thinking.  We are independent of other institutions, and can, and do, decide what we should do.  Another difference between graduation and birthdays is that our day of birth only happens once.  None of us are going to be born again.  But, we can graduate from another school.  We can get newer knowledge that helps us.  We can go from high school, to college, to graduate school, to more.  And the church does that too.  Now, we don’t get degrees, but we can get new and different knowledge.  And through that new and different knowledge, we can nuance our theology.  When the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, we started looking at the Bible, and all the books that were not included in it, in different ways.  We also look at the Bible in terms of literature now.  Asking why the individual books are written the way they are written.  We also look at the Bible in terms of sociology.  Asking the question of what was going on at the time the books were written?  And we are starting to take into consideration other people’s perspectives.  What do the people of Africa and Asia think the scriptures say to them?  So, like graduation, we continue to grow and “graduate” in our knowledge.  That Holy Spirit still comes to us with insight and energy and wisdom.  The Holy Spirit keeps coming to us, and giving us more “graduations” in life.  But the biggest difference between birthdays and graduation is that when we graduate, our teachers aren’t usually around anymore.  When we are born, parents and other family members stay with us the rest of our lives.  But, in graduation, teachers don’t follow us along.  Oh, there are special teachers we have who will remain close to us.  And there will be other teachers to come along.  But, the ones who got us through our early schooling, the ones who pushed, and cajoled, and did what they had to do to keep us on track,  they are not going to be with us all the way.  And that is what makes me think of Pentecost more like a graduation than a birthday.  Our teacher is not with us anymore.  Jesus, as our teacher, is gone.  He ascended into heaven.  Yes, he left the Holy Spirit to teach us and remind us, but the teacher is gone.  But, even though the teacher is gone, the lessons are still there.  When we graduate from high school, we don’t forget everything.  What we learned stays with us.  It’s the same thing with the church.  Even though Jesus is not around, what he taught us and told us is.  And we need to keep living those lessons.  We need to remember the 3 R’s.  Not reading, writing, and arithmetic, but redemption, renewal, restoration.  The truth that God loves us and saved us with Jesus death and resurrection.  That this act renews our hearts and our lives, so we can be a new creation.  And that, as a new person, we can go out and love others.  Restore right relationships and community.  Yes, our teacher is gone.  But we have graduated, and we are to simply go out, and live out, the lessons we have been taught.  The lessons Jesus gave us.  The lessons we should have learned.  AMEN

Sunday, May 24, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

If you look closely at the state of affairs for the disciples, from the time Jesus was crucified, to the time where the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, about 50 days passed.  50 days.  That’s almost 2 months.  It’s almost the same amount of time we have had to shelter in place.  50 days.  And they spent that 50 days living in an upstairs room.  All of them.  And maybe there were a few more too.  That’s exactly what our first reading said today.  That after Jesus was ascended, those disciples went back to that upper room where they had been staying.  All 12 of them.  Now, you would think that between them, if they had pooled their money, and used it wisely, they may have been able to get a little more comfortable quarters.  Maybe a couple rooms, not just one.  Or maybe even an entire house.  Not just one room to have to all live together in.  I mean, it had to have been crowded.  It had to have been messy.  It had to feel like they were living on top of each other.  Kind of like what a lot of us have been feeling for the past 50 or so days.  But that being cooped up together, that getting messy together, those days you get tired of being around somebody all the time, that’s not the biggest concern, or wonder, that I have about their situation.  No, I want to know what the disciples were doing in that upper room, while they waited for the Holy Spirit to come.  I mean, think about what we are spending our time doing?  Nowadays, as we are stuck in our homes, we can surf the internet.  We can watch TV.  We can read books.  We can do online shopping.  We can, and probably do, spend lots of time eating.  But back then, there weren’t all these toys to play with.  So what did the disciples, and all those others who were there with them, do exactly?  Well, we don’t have too many Biblical clues.  About the only one we have is the one we read today as our first reading.  And that reading says that they devoted themselves to prayer.  Prayer!  All they did was pray?  I’m not 100 percent convinced that is all they did.  They had to eat.  They had to get out for food.  They had to talk and wonder about what was going to happen.  They had to discuss plans for the future.  But the fact that they prayed is about all we have for what the Bible says that they did in that crucial birthing of Christianity.  And I am sure they did pray.  A lot.  And about lots of good things.  But having been in the same shoes as they are, being cooped up in our “upper rooms”, I think we can make good guesses on what else they may have done too.  We can guess correctly that the first couple days they were in that upper room, the disciples had to be grieving.  I mean, they had just witnessed their teacher being unjustly crucified.  That had to have been a big shock, and they had to have been struggling with their teacher’s death, with all their hopes and dreams gone, with all of the uncertainty that comes at times like that.  But, then, Jesus appeared.  He appeared to them.  And he brought hope and joy back.  And the next 40 or so days was probably spent embracing that joy, and all that Jesus did with them.  And then, Jesus ascended into heaven.  And again, he was gone.  And for 10 days, the disciples waited for that spirit to come.  And what did they do?  That’s what I want to know.  What did they do?  Well, we know they prayed.  The Bible tells us that much.  But what else could they have been doing?  Well, for this answer, we’re going to have to look somewhat outside the Bible, and into our own hearts.  We will have to look into what we would have probably done.  As followers of Jesus, like we are, they probably would have done what Jesus told them to do.  What Jesus had hoped they would do.  Just like Jesus hopes that we do what he has told us.  And what did Jesus teach them?  To love.  And to do the things that love makes us do.  To pray for each other.  To care for each other.  To live, being honest and open with those around us.  To live, having integrity and honor for others, and even institutions.  To live in unity, like Jesus prayed about in our Gospel reading for today.  The disciples had to have been working on getting close.  Or being one, as Jesus puts it.  Because that’s one of the last things Jesus talked about. and prayed about.  The disciples spent their lock down time praying, preparing, getting closer, working toward unity, by talking.  By sharing.  By bonding.  By loving each other.  Now, you may wonder the reason I was so curious about what the disciples were doing in that upper room.  And that’s a legitimate question.  I wanted to know what they were doing, so I could figure out what we should be doing as we wait in our upper rooms.  Because that is what we are all doing.  Not so much as we wait out this pandemic, but as we wait for the end of days, for the last judgement.  And I got my answer.  The way we are to live, is the way we are always called to live.  To follow what the disciples did, and love, and pray, and become united.  Because that is what Jesus did.  And we follow Jesus, as he prayed, and as he loved, and as he became one with those around him.  As we hunker down, and as we start to get ready to end our hunkering down, and no matter where we are in  our lives, we are called to follow.  To pray.  To love.  To become one.  May God helps us to do so.  May God help us.  AMEN

Sunday, May 10, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

Today’s first reading is the gruesome story of the killing of Stephen, who was stoned by an angry mob.  And being stoned does not have the connotation it does today.  Back then, stoning meant that rocks and stones were thrown at a person, until it hit them enough times, and hard enough, so they were dead.  And this happened to Stephen, after he had been dragged out of the city by this angry, crazed mob.  Not a good way to die.  But one of the many questions that comes from this vile and vicious act, is the question of why Stephen would preach the words that angered people enough to kill him?  I mean, what did he say, and why did he say it?  The gist of what Stephen told the people was that the temple was not as important as Jesus.  That God coming down from heaven, and becoming human, and dying, and rising, were the crux of faith.  And they didn’t want to hear it.  They didn’t want to hear that the temple they had spent so much time and labor and sweat on was not that important.  They didn’t want to hear that instead of the temple that they revered so much, what really mattered was this teacher that had been killed as a criminal.  That’s what Stephen preached.  And it was too much.  The closest thing I can imagine for us, would be like me saying this building doesn’t matter.  With all it’s history, and all the things we have done in here, it really doesn’t matter.  And that would not sit well with many.  So why didn’t Stephen tone it down a bit?  Why didn’t he talk about how God loves people, and that Jesus died for all people, instead of telling those that he was preaching to, how bad they were, and how little the temple mattered in religion since God had become human?  That probably wouldn’t have angered them so much.  But what made Stephen preach this hard core, spiritual milk, as our second reading calls it?  Not the easy preaching, like televangelists do, telling people they will get rich if they pray and send money.  Not the easy preaching, like others do, by telling people if they do good, good will comes.  But real preaching.  The heart and soul of faith.  The truth that we are bad, but God is good, because he loves and forgives us.  The truth that God is not found in a building, but that God is found, and founded, in people?  I mean, what is it that compelled Stephen to preach so radically, that it angered people, and yet, he was still willing to die.  To die, all for this idea that God loves everyone, and the temple is not the focus of the faith?  I don’t get it.  It’s not like you are dying for a person you love, like many great love stories show.  It’s not like you are dying for your country, or the freedom of others, like many soldiers have done before too.  It’s not like dying for some great cause, like Martin Luther King, Jr. did battling racism, or Galileo did battling for science, and others who have also done.  But to die, for the idea, that God came to earth as a human being because he loves us.  To die for the idea that God loves everyone?  To die for the truth that buildings are not where God is found?  What would compel a person to do that?  To preach that truth, until it angered people to the point where they killed him?  Why?  And the only answer I can come up with, is faith.  Stephen’s faith in God.  Stephen’s faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Stephen’s faith, was the only thing that could have been strong enough to make him preach the words he preached, and suffer death at the hands of those who heard it and were angered.  Stephen died because his faith compelled him to preach so that the entire world would know what Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection meant.  That God was not found in some place, but in some other.  Stephen was compelled to preach the truth.  The good, where God loves everyone.  The mundane, where church buildings are not as important as the people.  And the bad.  Where we are horrible sinners, and need to repent, and can be forgiven by that same God, so that we can be saved.  Stephen was compelled to preach that.  He was driven.  So, he was not going to stop preaching what he preached.  Even if it meant death.  He was not going to stop living how he lived.  Even if it meant death.  He was simply not going to stop.  And so, the only way the crowd could stop him, was the only way it did stop him, by killing him.  By stoning him.  And for me, there are two simple questions from that story.  First, how can anyone’s faith be that strong?  How can someone be willing to die because they believe in God’s love that much?  And secondarily, and maybe even more importantly, how can our faith be that strong.  Stephen’s faith was strong because he had witnessed that same faith in others.  He knew the disciples.  He had been appointed to serve for them.  To distribute food so the disciples could be freed up to teach, and to pray, and to not spend so much time in mundane tasks like making sure food was distributed fairly.  He saw them caring for people.  He saw their faith in action, and it moved him so that he grew his faith.  And that’s the part that really matters.  That’s how his faith got as strong as it did.  Because it was in his heart.  He felt it in his heart, and it moved him in his soul.  And so, he didn’t just serve, but he too, preached, like the disciples.  And he too, did great works, like the disciples.  His faith was strong, because it burned inside him.  Unwavering.  Unwilling to stop, until he was stopped.  So, how do we get faith like this?  How can we live like Stephen, and the rest of the disciples?  How can we stop living these tepid, shallow lives, and live, and love, a deeper faith?  The same way Stephen and the disciples did.  By witnessing it in others, and feeling it in ourselves.  And we have many opportunities to see faith and love in action.  From how well people are filling local food pantries, to how well the vulnerable of our congregation are being treated, to the massive aid being done for victims of this pandemic.  We are witness to that.  And seeing that has to move us.  It has to remind us that is why Jesus came.  Jesus came to this world, our world, so we could know that we were loved, and live that out, in all we do.  And once we get that truth, it invades our heart and we are changed.  We are empowered. Encouraged.  Strengthened, so that we do like Stephen, and Peter and Paul, and all those others, and live out deep, lasting, real love.  Faith, real faith, comes from witnessing love, and feeling it.  And I hope it can keep happening to all of us, because that’s exactly what God wants.  For us to know we are loved, and to go out and love others.  AMEN

Sunday, May 3, 2020 – Pastor Mike Vetsch

Let us pray,

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus called himself the gate, and the gate keeper. Now, we all know what gates do. Gates are meant to keep things in, or out, of a certain area. So, we have gates in front of our houses, to make sure only those who have been invited will come in. We have gates in fences that surround our fields and our gardens, so we can get in and out, but not any animals that could harm our plants. And we also know what gate keepers are, even though we don’t have too many of those around here. Gate keepers are the ones who watch the gate. Letting in those who can come in, come in, and keeping out those who aren’t allowed. So, when Jesus said he was the gate, and the gate keeper, he was saying that he is the one who makes sure that it is only the sheep that enter the pen, and no one, or nothing, else. Not wolves. Not lions. Not any other predators. In calling himself the gate, and the gate keeper, Jesus is saying that he is the protector of the sheep. And this is something that God has said forever. Today’s Psalm, which I did not read, was the famous 23rd one, where God is seen as a shepherd. You know, someone who cares for, and protects sheep. So the idea of God and/or Jesus as a shepherd, as a protector, as one who cares for their sheep, is an old idea that reminds us of what God does for all people. Cares for them. Protects them. Saves them. Loves them. But there is a problem with Jesus saying that he is the gate and the gate keeper. You see, Jesus isn’t around anymore. Like we say in our creed, he ascended into heaven, and he sits there, right next to God. Jesus is not here physically anymore. So, how can Jesus protect us, and all the other sheep? How can he do that? How? Well, in a sense, he can’t, because he’s not here. But, in a sense, he does. And Jesus does it in a dangerous way. He does it in a very dangerous way. Jesus leaves it up to us. Yes, Jesus leaves the protection and care of his sheep, Jesus leaves the protection and care of those who follow him, and those he loves, Jesus leaves the protection and care of others, up to us. Now, that’s very dangerous. It’s very dangerous for us, because it’s a lot of responsibility. It’s very dangerous for those others, because they might not get the care and protection they need. And it’s even very dangerous for Jesus, because there’s a good chance we either won’t do it well, or we won’t do it at all. And that means some of his sheep will suffer. As strange and dangerous as it sounds, and as strange and dangerous as it is, that’s what Jesus wants. That’s what has been decided. We are the ones who are called to care and protect Jesus’ sheep. And we do it, because that’s what we are called to do, and that’s what love does. Our second reading today reminds us that we are called to a life of suffering love. Not because it helps us, but because it models how Jesus lived. How he was abused, and persecuted, and killed, for our sake. So, we are called to that life. And it’s what the church has always done. When we think about how we are to love, and protect, and care for the sheep, we don’t just have Jesus as our model, but we also have over 2,000 years of what the church has done. And it is shown brilliantly in our first reading. Today’s first reading says that the church, the baptized is how they phrase it, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. And it also says that they gave money to whoever had need. That is what they did. And that is what we are to do too. And, for the most part, we still do. When we gather in church, and read the Bible readings, and hear the sermon, we are devoting ourselves to the apostles teachings. The apostles wrote the New Testament. And that is one of the things we focus on in worship. When we gather together for worship, we are engaging in holy fellowship. Just like the early church did. When we gather in church and share communion, that is what it means to break bread together. And just like the early church, we do that. When we pray, at church, or at home, or in hospitals, or in friends’ homes, or wherever we are, we are also doing what the early church did. And when we take up our offerings, we distribute it to those who have need. Just like the early church did. And they did it, because God’s love in Jesus empowered and encouraged them to do it. It called them to do it, like it calls us to follow, and love, and protect, and care for Jesus’ sheep. And, to be honest, that’s just the beginning. We can’t just limit ourselves to what the early church did.   Because we know more about our world, and we have more tools we can use to help others. Nowadays, we can use social media to advocate for equality and justice for all people. Nowadays, we can mail letters to government entities and international corporations to call for fair business practices. Nowadays, we can enlist Facebook friends for prayer groups, and Bible studies, and even fundraisers for people in need. And there is so much more we can, and should, do. Because there should be no end to how, and who, and when, and where we love. We are to love like we do now, when it can be inconvenient. We are to love when all this coronavirus quarantine stuff is over, even if it costs us more to help people. And we are to love everywhere, and everyone. Because that’s what Jesus asks. Because that’s what Jesus did. And that’s what he does, still. Only now, it is through us. With us, and through us. May we do it as well as we can. AMEN

Easter Sermon – Pastor Mike Vetsch – April 12, 2020

Let us pray,

This world that we live in can be a hard and dark place.  It can be a very dark place.  And we all know it.  From the cruelty of nature, where animals kill other animals for food, to the earth itself erupting with storms and volcanos, and other calamities, to how dark it can be for people. And we all know that our world is a hard and dark place. Because we have all lived it.  All of us have suffered in our own lives.  From death and disease.  From aging and inability.  From just living our lives, we know that the world can be a hard and dark place.  And it has always been this way. We can read many olden stories of the harshness of our world in the Bible.  From floods to famines.  From enslaved peoples to engulfing poverty.  This is just further proof, that the world can be a hard and dark place.  And now, we are in a hard and dark time in our world again.  With COVID 19 on the loose, the statistics are grim.  Many have fallen from it.  And it’s not just about the disease and the deaths, which are bad enough, but there are also the other effects of it.  We have people not working, and needing that paycheck.  We have economics stagnating.  We have people suffering undue burdens, at no fault of their own.  We even have people hoarding necessities and others scamming people.  Simply because, the world can be a dark, lonely, burdensome place.  Just think about all the individuals who suffered from domestic abuse, hunger, and the devastating effects of war, disease, and pestilence.  Yes, the world is a harsh place.  But, we are not alone.  We are not alone in our suffering.  Not now, and not down through history.  Not too long ago, during World War II, people in England had to find shelter from deadly bombs that silently fell.  Back then, some people in Germany and Poland suffered unspeakable, barbaric cruelties that happened in forced ghettos and concentration camps.  That was a dark time.  Even if you think about America, the land of the free and the brave, we had dark times.  For hundreds of years, blacks were enslaved, and Native Americans were seen as less than human, with children sometimes being taken away from parents and schooled away from their homes and cultures.  And often tribes were simply killed.  Those were dark times.  And going further back, even Jesus’ disciples had dark times.  Especially after Jesus was crucified.  On Good Friday, and the days that followed, the disciples were in a very dark place.  A dark place that was pretty similar to what we are going through these days.  They found themselves sheltered, in a locked room.  They were afraid to go outside because it could mean death.  They were unsure of their future.  They were unsure of what things were going to look like.  They were unsure of what things were going to be like.  They were unsure what to do.  They were just like we are today.  Confused.  Worried.  Struggling at times to have hope.  It was a hard, dark time.  But, the good news is we are like them.  Not just like them in the dark times, but we are also like them in the good that came from Easter.  Because we all know what happened on Easter.  We celebrate it to this very day.  Jesus rose from the dead.  Death was overcome.  The disciples were given new light to guide their way.  And it changed their lives.  They saw the truth for the first time.  That the God who created us, the God whom the Scriptures say loves us, showed just how deep that love was, by dying for us.  And that spark, that light, changed them.  It changed them deeply, and it changed them profoundly, and it changed them permanently.  They went from this small band of fearful men, who were hidden in a locked room, to unflinchingly and unabashedly dispersing themselves all over the known world, preaching and proclaiming what they had experienced.  God’s overpowering hope.  God’s overpowering love. And that could be like us, once this disease passes.  That should be like us, once this disease passes.  We should have the same fearlessness, the same bravado, the same faith and love that the disciples had once they saw the power of God in Jesus Christ.  We should be just as willing to go out into our worlds, and preach, and proclaim, and live that same truth.  That God loves each and everyone of us, enough to die, for each and everyone of us.  Because that truth should make us realize, that what God wants, is not for us to complain about how bad other people are, or to judge people, but to love them.  God doesn’t want us to practice hand wringing, where we lament on the sin of others.  God wants us to practice handwashing, to protect the vulnerable.  And we should be able to do that, because we have the same light and the same as the disciples had, to guide us.  And once you have that light, things are different.  We can see.  We don’t have to be afraid.  We can, and we will, change our hearts, and our lives, and the world we live in.  And the truth is, it’s up to us.  It’s up to us, to write the future, to WRITE, the future.  To make it what it will be.  But, it’s also up to us, to right, RIGHT, the future.  To make it the way it should be.  Where justice and love are our guides.  Where care for others, is the way we live.  Where hope and joy overcome the hard and dark times this world has.  It is up to us, to make the world what it can be.  What it should be.  And it will only come when we see the truth, of God’s love for everyone, and live that out.  AMEN

https://www.facebook.com/groups/753986921461805/permalink/1456111761249314/