Will We Feed Them

 

The hungry sit at our gate…

While reading an article in the journal, Christian Century, http://christiancentury.org/article/2010-09/hunger-political, I was confronted by a stark fact – one BILLION people in our world suffer from hunger, and twenty-five thousand people a day die from hunger-related causes.  1 in 6 people on our globe will go to bed hungry tonight, and of that number, children are an uncomfortably high percentage.  While millions of Americans are struggling to lose weight due to over-eating, hundreds of millions of people starve from not having enough to eat.  The image of a person starving of hunger in our world of plenty is a difficult one for us to wrestle with as we read about the rich man Lazarus and the poor man begging at his gate.

I suppose what has made this issue very real for me has been the up-surge of people who are coming to the food distributions held by our church.  This past year, we went from serving about 120-130 families/week to now serving from 170-200 families, for a total of over 3100 people.  That is a significant increase in the number of people in our community who do not have enough to eat.  Some of these people could be your neighbors, your children’s friends at school, maybe even your relatives – and they are going to bed hungry.  How many more will come out for food in another year?  What can the average person or church do to stem this tide? 

As bad as the hunger in Flint, MI may be, how much worse are the conditions in Haiti or other struggling places around the world?  The percentage of people in Haiti who are hungry is even greater, with millions lacking access to basic food and water.  In many cases, food is not even available, unless one has a great deal of wealth.  The hungry sit at our gate….

“There was a certain rich man, who ate sumptuously every day.  At his gate lay a beggar named Lazarus, who desired only to eat the crumbs off of the rich mans table…”  Even in the greater Flint area, most of us eat like the rich man.  We eat most of what we want – maybe not at 5-star restaurants – but we have more than enough, and then some to spare.  One needs only to go to Old Country Buffet, Ci Ci’s Pizza, or China Wok (a Chinese buffet in Grand Blanc) to see the sumptuous (if not gourmet) tables set before, brimming over with food.  At the same time, hundreds of people stand in line for the left-over, expired food that grocery store chains are forced to throw away.  How many beggars sit at our gate?

Do we turn a blind eye to their hunger?  Do we ignore their hungry voices?  One of the core purposes of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church is to Share God’s Word.  We share God’s Word through both our words and our deeds.  If our actions do not support our words, then they are just so much hot air.  We talk about God’s love, but unless we are willing to take action, those who are not part of God’s family will not take us seriously.  Jesus didn’t just come to save people only after they die, he came to save them in the here and now as well.  Jesus shared God’s love in both word and deed.  He did this, both through telling people about his Father’s love for them, as well as showing them this love by feeding them and healing their illnesses.  Jesus’ words meshed with his actions.

The beggar is lying at our gate.  What will we do?  We are scheduled to hold two more food drives in October.  These are very real ways to at least meet the here and now needs of hungry people.  However, we are out of funds for food drives, and we can no longer purchase additional food to supplement what the food banks gives us to distribute.  With the added numbers of people receiving food, we are in great need of additional food from the food bank to give people some basic staples for their diet. Consider asking your business to partner with Holy Spirit to provide more food for these distributions – one dollar will but fourteen dollars worth of food.  For more information on our food distributions, check out the food bank’s website at www.fbem.org.  If you choose to donate to our food distributions, you can make a direct donation to the food bank and benefit our local distribution by directing to our Agency ID: M1018.   At the minimum, consider coming out to see the faces of those we serve and to hear their stories by volunteering at a food drive on Oct 2 or 30 at 9:00am.

Another way to help both locally and globally is to support the CROPWALK, either by walking and getting pledges or by pledging those from the church who are walking.  Either way, hungry people will benefit.

For more information on ways to help alleviate world hunger, check out the website of ELCA’s world Hunger appeal at http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-World-Hunger.aspx. 

The beggar is at our gate, will we turn our backs?

To Seek and Save the Lost

We are surrounded by many who are lost….

The college student who after a night of partying and living for the moment finds her life altered forever with an unintended pregnancy, a judgmental family, and lost dreams…

The successful professional who decides to drive after drinking and kills a child in another vehicle, forever changing his future and filling him with guilt…

The 75 year old who loses their spouse to a long battle with cancer and now finds life to have lost its meaning….

We are surrounded by many who are lost….In fact, at various times in life; we all have been the lost sheep. When you are lost, it is nearly impossible o find yourself – you need someone who will help find you. Whether we were aware of it or not, in those times, God has always sought us out. The stories above are very dramatic examples of people who have felt lost, but we all have experienced some time or situation when we felt lost. When we experienced these times of being lost, how did we experience being found? Did someone help us to find our way again?

Jesus tells a story about a shepherd, which may help us to understand his priorities a little better…There once, was a shepherd who had 100 sheep in his care. One evening, this shepherd noticed one sheep was missing. Leaving the 99 behind, he abandoned all caution to go out and seek the one sheep that was lost. Upon finding the lost sheep, he celebrated greatly that he had found the one that was lost.

As we read Jesus’ teachings, it is clear that he sees God as the one who anxiously seeks out those who are lost. Notice that the sheep did not repent and find its way home – the shepherd went out to find it, risking everything to find the one that was lost. Once the sheep was found, the shepherd did not berate or judge the sheep – the shepherd simply celebrated the fact that the sheep was found and returned to the fold.

What does this tell us? The role of those who follow Jesus should be to help seek out those who are lost – those whom the world may view as unworthy of God’s love and mercy, those who struggle with sin and bad choices, those who wrestle with addictions, those who are lost in worlds of grief or loss, those who have lost jobs or hope. There are many in our world who are lost – in fact, all of us are lost at various moments of our lives. If the church is to follows Jesus, we need to be people who make it their job to seek out the ones who are lost.

How do churches take on this mindset after years of worrying about the 99? It begins with filling our hearts with the compassion of Jesus. Too often, the only messages that people associate with churches are messages of hatred, judgment, and retribution. Look at the headlines this week and you will read about a church that will commemorate the 9/11 Terror attacks by burning a copy of the Quran. What will this act of hatred show those who are lost and looking for spiritual guidance? Will people see this act and associate it with a church that will point them to a God who loves them and all of creation? How can the church regain a love for those who are lost and a desire to find them and lead them home? How can we offer the lost acts of grace and compassion that overwhelm the media and put Jesus’ love in front of the eyes of the world.  Wouldn’t it be great if on 9/11 every Christian would make a demonstration of Jesus’ love?  If we did this, then the world would really see the way that God calls the Christian to act, and even more, acts of terror and hatred would then truly lose!  Nothing in all of creation can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How can we be a church that boldly lives the mission of Jesus – to seek and save the lost as we Worship God, Follow Jesus, and Share God’s word? May we listen with our hearts to the call and direction of the Spirit…

The family photo album

Last week I needed to prepare our family camera for our vacation up north.  In order to do so, I had to upload 700 pictures from the camera onto our home computer.  In the process, I found out that our home computer already had 16,000 pictures stored within its memory.  16,000!  These are pictures of Christmas celebrations, silly Halloween costumes, weddings and family gatherings, fireworks, family vacations, school outings and events, vacation Bible school celebrations through the ages, various cute stages of development for our kids, and many other pictures.  These pictures are some of our most treasured memories because they show the milestones of our family, friends, and church.  These pictures remind us of the good times and the challenging times that we have experienced together.  These pictures especially show us the wonderful people that God has placed in our lives – the people of faith who have shared their life with us and who have shaped our lives. 

As I looked at some of the old pictures, I was reminded of people over the last 15 years who have shaped my life and faith.  Not all of the things I experienced with these people were pleasant or happy – in fact, some of them were quite painful.  At the same time, they shaped who I am today.  In each situation, there were people who God placed in my life to influence me, uplift me, of challenge me.  Here are a few snapshots…

• My father, when I was ten – struggling with cancer, but not losing faith; dying, but praising Jesus all the way to heaven…
• My mother, while I was growing up – striving to raise two active teenage boys, instilling faith in us, all while striving to be a solid single parent…
• My high school music instructor – helped me to believe in myself and encouraged me
• My wrestling coach – taught me discipline and the drive to give my everything…
• A campus pastor at Eastern Michigan University Lutheran Campus Ministry – helped me to wrestle with the grief over my father’s death, as well as the beginnings of my call to ministry…
• The program director at my second church – who, as a spiritual director, taught me about spiritual warfare, the need for prayer, as well as the challenges of working in staff ministry…
• An older, experienced pastor – who has mentored and challenged me to think outside the box, stretch myself, and find the ways that God is leading me…

 

These are some of the people who are my cloud of witnesses, the people who I have both watched, and with whom I have also interacted.  These are the saints (not that they always lived and acted like “saints”, since they certainly lived like both saints and sinners) who have surrounded me in my life.

Many of you have your own photo albums, containing the people who have shared their lives with you, and in turn, have had a hand in shaping you and guiding you along God’s pathway.   As we reflect this week, I encourage you to ask the question, “Who is in my cloud?  Who has God placed around me to shape me, help me to grow and challenge me, support me in difficult times, and be the hand of God for me?”  An equally important question is this one, “Whose cloud I am a part of…who am I called to encourage, comfort, and challenge?” 

Take some time this week to get out your photo album – the one on your bookshelf, your phone, your facebook page, or your hard drive – and reflect on how God has used those individuals to inspire, uplift, and grow your faith.  Whether we always realize it or not, God has surrounded us all with a great cloud of witnesses…

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us, as well the sin that so easily entangles us and the run the race with perseverance that is set before us.” 

                                                                        – Hebrews 11:29-30

Is the Devil for Real?

When people think of the devil, they often have a figure in their mind that is eternally opposed to God, with the power to devastate and destroy those who love God.  In the media, the devil is often pictured as either a character in a red suit with pointy ears, a pointy tail, and pitchfork; or a smooth-talking, sharp-dressed character in an Armani suit.  In both cases, the characters are very obviously evil in their words and deeds.

Do I believe in ”the devil”?  If you mean the scary-looking guy in the red suit with a pitchfork, then the answer is “no”.  Instead, I believe in many small “devils” in our world, which are much more insidious and dangerous than one “devil” could ever be.  These devils are around us to subtly tempt us, telling is the very things we most desire and want to hear.

In the Bible, what we think of as “the devil” goes by various names – Satan, the devil, the adversary, and the serpent.  In each case, the entity is opposed to God and God’s agents.  We see Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness, trying to get him to look out for himself and turn away from God’s mission of salvation for the world.  In the Garden of Eden, the serpent tempts Adam and Eve to turn their backs on God and become like God themselves.  In each case, temptation is the tool that the Adversary to God uses.  One only needs to look around us in the world to see that temptation has been, and always will be, around us.  If temptation is present, there will be “devils” who attempt to lead us away from God.

I have just returned from a week at confirmation camp.  While there, the campers were cut off from the internet, with no access to media, computers, phones, and most technology.  Even the adults leaders had greatly reduced access to technology, which I can say was difficult at times.  Evidenced by the fact that I couldn’t write this blog until the end of the week. 

At the same time, there was a sense of freedom from being away from most emails, phone calls, TV shows, and computers with their websites and even blogs.  I took time to walk in the woods with Nathaniel (my son) watching deer and hunting for turtles, talking with good friends, and listening for God.  It is not that technology is evil.  Tehnology is a tool that can be used for good as well as evil purposes.  However, there are many times those who would turn us away from God use technology to draw us away from our ultimate source of hope, healing, and love.  When we use the media and technology around us, it gives us unlimited access to both the good, and the evil, in the world. 

Do I believe in devils?  Yes, I do.  They are all around us and they draw us away from God.  The Bible talks about powers and evil forces that are arrayed against us, that draw us away from God, and that seek to drive a wedge between us and God.  Jesus regularly cast out demons and evil spirits.  Those evil spirits did not go away with Jesus death and resurrection.  I believe they are still alive and well, working to subvert God’s people.  Maybe they work in more subtle ways, but they are still around.  The very fact that they work so subtly is perhaps the greatest - they are all around us tempting us with some of the greatest things we love and depend upon – replacing God with things of our own creation. 

Devils are certainly real, but so is God, and God is the one who has the greater power.  In Romans, St. Paul says, 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

While there are certainly thing in creation that oppose God, God is the ultimate victor.  Jesus has defeated death and the devil or all time.  While devils are all around us to tempt us, they can never completely separate us from God.  Good is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Why don’t we see miracles today?

In our world today, there are so many challenges and needs.  Again and again, people pray for miracles, but they just don’t seem to happen very often, at least not like they used to happen…

• A large crowd of people listening to Jesus teach become hungry, and Jesus multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed all 5000 people…
• A Roman centurion’s daughter is sick.  Jesus is called, and he comes and heals the man’s daughter….
• One night, the disciples are in a boat on the lake when Jesus miraculously appears before them, walking on the water.  Even more amazing was when Jesus called Peter out of the boat to join him in walking on the water….

 John’s Gospel said that Jesus did many other signs and wonders, but they couldn’t all be recorded in this book, but these were written so that we would believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. 

 The old and new testaments are full of stories of miraculous deeds and amazing signs of God’s power.  Today, there are some people who are wondering why we do not see these types of signs and miracles any longer.  Where are the miracles that seemed so common back in Jesus’ day? 

 As we wrestle with this question, we have to explore what we view as a miracle.  Is a miracle something that defies any earthly, regular explanation?  Are miracles things that are uncommon or special, which at the same time may have some type of explanation other than the supernatural?  Are we limiting miracles to only those things that could be done by God?

 In our world today, there are many people who doubt that miracles happen at all.  In fact, they even doubt that miracles have ever happened.  This general doubt about the reality of miracles is a product of the enlightenment, and it is nothing new.   Thomas Jefferson commented in his writings on his disbelief in the miracles of Jesus, since they could not be proven scientifically.  In our world, unless we can prove something scientifically – unless we can touch it, see it, taste it, or hear it – it doesn’t exist.  This world-view does not leave much room for miracles, because at their heart, miracles are things that cannot be explained in human terms or through human means.

 At the same time, there are many things that happen in life that cannot be explained through everyday, human means.  We can attempt to find scientific explanations, but often scientific reasoning cannot explain everything under heaven and earth.

 I have personal experience of the miraculous.  Two years ago, my mother had major cancer surgery, during which, things went very wrong.  My mother started bleeding uncontrollably.  The doctors did everything within their power to save her, utilizing every technique and tool within this advanced hospital operating room, but nothing worked.  Finally, the doctor practiced basic first aid – simply having a resident apply direct pressure to the wound that was gushing blood.  At that point, in his words, all they could do was pray.  He then came out to tell us the very grim news and explain how bad the situation looked.  He came out to prepare us for her death.  However, when he went back to the OR, he found that the bleeding had stopped and she had stabilized.  The doctor had no explanation for why the bleeding stopped.  Medically, they had done everything they could to stop the bleeding, and yet it wasn’t enough.  Despite this, I spent last Saturday with my mother, eating her fried chicken, and admiring her gardening skills.

 Why don’t miracles happen today?  I believe that miracles do in fact happen today, but we don’t always see and acknowledge them.  Maybe, we experience miraculous things and attribute them to human, earthly causes (who said God could not work through humans).  At other times, there may be miraculous events happening around us and we are simply not looking for them.

 Miracles are a matter of faith.  There are all types of amazing things happening in the world around us, if only we have eyes to see them…Albert Einstein famously said, “The way I see it you have two ways to live your life: the one as if no miracles exist and the other as though everything is a miracle.”  If I had to choose between the two, I would certainly choose the latter.  I would rather believe and trust that God is good, even if I cannot always understand how God is working.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

A major tough question for the Chrisian to wrestle through is the question of, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  As long as there have been people of faith, people have wrestled with this question.  One needs only look at the Book of Psalms to find examples of people who cry out because they believe that God is either unwilling to help, unable to help, apathetic toward human suffering, or is active conspiring against God’s people.  The most famous victim of seeming divine injustice is Job, who has his perfect destroyed because of a bet between God and the Adversary.  As we explore this question, we can explore to different things - God’s nature and our need.

This question first causes us to explore the nature of God.  Does God promise to watch out for the needs of God’s people, protect us from all physical and emotional harm, and give us all the things we want and need?  Does God even acknowledge these needs, or even, does God have bigger concerns than our day-to-day situation?  If God does care and is able to help us, then why do people still go through difficult times – especially some of the truly horrible things that we all know can happen?

The second thing to consider is: “What does the asking of this question say about us?”  Do we need to try to explain suffering and hardship, to make sense of troubles that we experience?  Are there times that we visit trouble upon ourselves, but it is easier to find a scapegoat than to accept our role in our troubles.  There are certainly times when the troubles we experience are not related to our own individual actions.  At the same time, there are instances when some of our troubles are of our own making.

To read how individuals in the Bible wrestle with this question, you can read Psalm 13 -a chapter where it sounds like God is put on trial for abandonment and neglect of God’s children.  The entire book of Job is considered by Bible scholars as God’s response to the problem of unjustified suffering.  Finally, in the Gospel of John Jesus is challenged by Mary and Martha when he delays coming to heal Lazarus, leading to the death of Lazarus.  These passages give us just a brief glimpse at how the Bible addresses this problem. 

The Bible does not necessarily give us easy answers, but it instead it shows us the way that people of faith have wrestled with this issue down through the ages.  People of faith have challenged God, railed at God, cried out to God and expressed their hurt and lack of understanding.  In these responses, we see a willingness of people to confront God and ask the question of God.  At the same time, we see an acceptance of the fact that this is not only OK to do, but is almost expected.  When we hurt and experience disillusionment, we need to express this to God.

The response of God to suffering is for God to be present right in the middle of it.  God is not a distant uninvolved God.  Instead, God plunged right into the heart of suffering, taking on human flesh and becoming one of us.  In Jesus, God experienced the fullness of the human experience – the greatest joys, along with the worst of human suffering, abandonment, betrayal, and loss - even to feeling the ultimate loss of his own Son, whom he allowed to be sacrificed for us.  In the same story where Mary and Martha challenge Jesus for not caring, he himself weeps at Lazarus’ grave.  God is not distant and uncaring – God is present and experiences our joys and sorrows along with us.  God does not promise us that we will never experience sorrow, loss, or suffering, but God does promise to never abandon us or leave us to suffer alone. 

This question, as difficult as it may be, makes us wrestle with ourselves, God, and even the meaning of suffering.  How do you make sense of it?  How does this commentary effect you?  Have these attempts to address this issue caused you to rethink your approach to this issue – or do you still wrestle with this topic?  It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit would lead us all to wrestle with this issue so that we can be prepared to help others make sense of this painful and often difficult topic, and in doing so, begin to grow closer to God.

Greetings! Welcome to the the Spirit Wind Page

Welcome to our new blog page, allowing us to discuss the Word that God is giving us to share each week. Each week, I will post (usually beforehand) info about the upcoming sermon. I will include the Theme, some Bible passages that relate to the theme, and some initial thoughts that are rumbling around in my head about that week’s theme. It is our hope that you will read and discuss this material on this site. I believe that this will really allow the Spirit to blow through the Word taht we share each week. May God be active and present in the things we read, the thoughts we share, and the manner in week we discuss these topics, themes, and questions with one another.

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