Reflection for January 20, 2019

Tomorrow's Gospel reading is John 2:1-11; Jesus' first miracle in that gospel, when he changes water into wine at a wedding feast. 

In John's gospel, the miracles of Jesus serve the purpose of being signs to the fact that Jesus is not only human, but also divine. Who else but the Son of God could do such things? In a sense, Jesus is telling all who witness these great acts to LISTEN!

These miraculous signs have been written down and passed on to us, so that we may hear of them and LISTEN as well. LISTEN to the One who has the power to perform such things and LISTEN to the nature of God to whom these signs point. In the appointed reading for tomorrow, we hear of a God who is generously abundant and freely gives of that abundance. 

Notice, that Jesus makes the wine, the best wine, for everyone at the feast. There is no charge, or holding back, all that Jesus has, he gives, with no preconditions or discrimination. Also, Jesus isn't blessing some austere gathering with a mere morsel to get them by, this is a party that will keep on rocking because of Jesus' generous miracle. Truly, in this miracle, God's gracious abundance,and power are on display. This sign then, clearly points us to my two emphasis in our listening; first, that we LISTEN to God because of God's superiority to us (the power of the miracle) and second, that our LISTENING is life-giving, good news for us, because it comes from a God of grace (the gift of the wine for all people). 

It would seem like a no-brainer for us to LISTEN to the performer of the miracle, Jesus and follow him no matter what. Certainly, we would assume that the people 2000 years ago would have had an even easier time of doing what Jesus asks after such a powerful and gracious sign. What's more, Jesus continued to perform these signs; feeding thousands of people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, healing a blind man, and even bringing Lazarus back from the dead; all of which were not only amazing,but gracious. Still, the people went beyond not listening, they rebelled against the bringer of Good News, as do we and Jesus is crucified. 

In the crucifixion, we see the ultimate graciousness of God. Nothing is held back, not even for those who drove the nails, and forgiveness is absolutely proclaimed rather than punishment. And we see God's miraculous power at work as well, when the Son of God is raised to new life, and ascends to the Father, a sure sign of who Jesus is for all times and all places. This is the gift we receive when Jesus comes to us centuries later and continents away to proclaim to give us the great sign of his life and love for us.

As we LISTEN to this Good News today, we remember that Jesus didn't stay at the party forever. Rather, he went out into the world and called attention to, called people to LISTEN to those who the party left. The people who society has determined aren't worthy, wealthy, healthy, enough to receive the abundance of God. In fact, rules and laws were made not only to keep them out, but to give the insiders self-righteous justification for the suffering that their sin perpetrates and perpetuates upon that which God has made. 

This week, we will not gather to dine on the great feast of our Lord, which transforms the sin and death we give into grace and life. instead, we will be paying attention to how water is being made into snow, sleet, and ice; perhaps with no small amount of consternation and complaint. As we LISTEN to the sound of water transforming in the Gospel and in nature, may we prayerfully LISTEN to Jesus proclaiming God's gracious power for us. And may we LISTEN boldly for the cries of those for whom the weather, the government shutdown, inhuman separation policies, addictive substances, unfettered violence, and selfish apathy have seemingly left outside the party gates. May we LISTEN and hear the voice of Jesus proclaiming Good News. May we LISTEN and know that in those places of suffering, grief, and despair is where God truly throws the best parties. 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we give thanks for the bringer of such miraculous signs! Amen

An open letter to Oskar as he turns spiritually 2

Two years ago today, my son Oskar, was baptized. After the water was poured on his head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I put my thumb on his forehead, made the sign of the cross, and declared Oskar Thomas, child of God, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

And so, Oskar, now 30 months and a day old, I write to you.

You are a child of God, this can't be undone, there are no take-backs. This status means that you are loved, beyond compare, simply for the mass of muscles, bones, neurons, emotions, and other things that make you up. It means that the color of your skin, hair, and eyes are a beautiful miracle. You, my son, are a priceless treasure. Your baptism is a revelation of the truth, God's truth, a truth that by God's grace has been given to us, and a truth we get to share with each other, and with all people.

There's also more to this truth revealed in your baptism. Truly, God didn't begin loving you on the day you were baptized, nor did God give beauty to your life on that day. No, that day didn't change how God felt about you, rather, it was a day where we could see in the water and word poured out upon you how God feels about all people, and all of creation. It is a day where we experience together the promise that God will not fail to continue to send this abundant love and life into our world, and nothing we can do can separate us from it. This is Good News!

Still though, there's more. We, human beings, fail at love, a lot. In fact, we fail so badly, that some people think that there are some of us who are created better than others. They feel that light skin is better than dark skin. They feel that people who have different names for God are to be left out. They feel that their ways of doing things are the best. They feel that it's okay to make others scared, to treat them like they are animals, and even to harm and kill them if they have to. I want to make it very clear to you that this is not how God feels, and it is why you were baptized, so that God can tell the truth that all people are miraculous creations, that all are loved equally, that all are indeed God's children.

God gives us this truth in baptism, so that we can share it, so that it can be proclaimed everywhere, so that all may know it, and so that all may live in it. When people say otherwise, and they will, it is wrong. In fact, it is so wrong, that God wants us to use our words and our actions to say it is wrong as boldly as we can. Some people do this by talking, others by marching, some by writing, and some even by being arrested, persecuted, and dying. Sometimes these people will make mistakes, but it is God's grace that has called them to this work, and it is that grace which will continue to use them to bring God's love. No matter what, there are not two sides, there is only one, the side of love, unity, justice, and peace. This is the truth, God's truth.

My dear son, may you always know the love of God, the love proclaimed in your baptism. May it fill you up and call you forward to a life proclaiming that truth, no matter what. God has done a great work in you, and God will continue to do great works in you. Surely, God has blessed us and this world with the work that is you.

Love, your Dad

April 4, 1968. "Why? The King of Love is Dead."

On this day, 49 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. Just 3 days later, musician Nina Simone and her band performed this moving song with lyrics written by bassist, Gene Taylor. 

Martin Luther King Jr. was not Jesus Christ, but through faith was given Christ's Holy Spirit, and he proclaimed Christ's love. Just as Christ's crucifixion was an image of our sinful response to love, so was Martin's assassination. 

The song's question, "Why?" is one worth asking, one that troubles our shared humanity and compassion to the bones. It's other question, "What's going to happen, now that the King of Love is dead?" is one for which we have the answer. Resurrection. New life brought forth out of love that is stronger than hate, stronger than sin, stronger than even death. New life that is given to us in the bread and wine of Christ's body broken and poured out for each of us. New life that fills us, convicts us and calls us to join with our brother, Martin, and all the saints, in proclaiming Christ's endless victory to all.

For a retrospective on this song, 40 years later, see http://www.npr.org/2008/04/06/89418339/why-remembering-nina-simones-tribute-to-the-rev-martin-luther-king-jr

Peace.

Sermon for January 15, 2017: A Lamb and two Martin's

Sermon given by Pr. Mark T. Peterson on January 15, 2017 at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA.

 John 1:29-42

 ²⁹[John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³²And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

  ³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). ⁴²He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Sermon for January 8, 2017: Visions of Trust

This sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA on January 8, 2017. We were celebrating the Epiphany of our Lord. (2 days late.)

Matthew 2:1-12

1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
  are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
 for from you shall come a ruler
  who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
  7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Pr Mark's Sermon Nov 13, 2016 God is Near. And Far

Luke 21:5-19

5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, [Jesus] said, 6“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
  7They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.
  9“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
  12“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Sermon for August 7, 2016: Admission Standards for the Kingdom

This sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Holliston, MA on August 7, 2016.

Luke 12:32-40

[Jesus said:] ³²“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  ³⁵“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; ³⁶be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. ³⁷Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
  ³⁹“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

  

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ,

As many students prepare to go back to school, especially those who are off to college somewhere, the excitement of the day that an acceptance letter came from the school of one’s dreams has certainly faded by now. The joy that came when the packet was opened, and that young person read, “Congratulations, we are excited to offer you admission to….” or maybe it went, “It is our good pleasure to welcome you into the distinguished….” or some other greeting, which was both warm and enthusiastic.

I started thinking about these letters and the spirit with which they are written, and it occurred to me why they could come across in such away, it’s because these schools get to choose who is good enough to get one of these acceptance letters. Each school gets to pick people who will be contributors to the school’s student life and academic reputation, and so they are excited about picking people who will make them better. And, hopefully, each prospective student will share this excitement in return.

The one caveat with these acceptance letters, which perhaps some of you have framed, or have safely kept somewhere, is that they aren’t good forever. In order to go to the school, you have to keep your grades up during your senior year and most certainly graduate. When you do get started, you of course have to keep your academic life on track, pass your classes, don’t do anything too horribly wrong, and of course, most importantly, keep the checks coming in on time. If you fail at this, the warm greeting that you received in your acceptance letter will be replaced by other messages telling you to leave.

This morning, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Now this, is an acceptance letter as it is an offer of entrance into a Kingdom. Now, this is not simply any Kingdom, but this is the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom that is at the top of every publications “best Kingdom’s” list. It is a great kingdom for all majors, all careers, all different types of people. This is the Kingdom that Jesus declares it is the Father’s good pleasure to give to us. In comparison, I’m guessing that not many schools out there are including invitations to sit on the Endowment Board as a part of their acceptance letters. Schools out there are happy to give you the opportunity of an education, but they aren’t real anxious to hand over the whole institution.

God though, operates differently. God doesn’t just welcome us into the life of the Kingdom, but hands over the whole thing. What’s also different, is that none of us even needed to apply. This Kingdom has been given to us in the waters of baptism, by the work of the Holy Spirit, and it is in these waters where we are made citizens of this kingdom. The citizenship that we are given is the work of God’s grace, not our own achievements, but is given to us because right from the get-go, God has made us miraculously and marvelously, and has stitched that wonderfulness into every inch of creation. Ultimately, it is a sign of how much God loves what God has made, and out of this love, God gives to us the Kingdom.

In receiving this offer, just as one goes to college or university, there is work to be done in this Kingdom. Joyful work. The work of creating, restoring, and giving life. The work of relationships. The work of seeing and giving thanks for the joy that is found in each and every day, and that is found in each other. This is the work of love, and it is the work that we are called to in those waters of baptism. This work is our daily vocation, the work of living lives that reflect the Kingdom’s love, peace and justice. This is the work that isn’t about making a living, especially as we hear Jesus tell us to “sell everything we have and give the money to the poor.” This is the work of realizing the abundance we have been given and growing in our generosity of that abundance. This is truly the work of the Kingdom. The work of faith.

19 years ago, I was about to head off to college myself. I had my sights on becoming a social studies teacher. Four years later, I graduated and then taught for another 5 years.

10 years ago, at this time, I was just finishing our Summer Greek class, on my way to beginning seminary. I was ready to go down the road to becoming a pastor.

As I take stock of these years, it’s easy to see that my profession has changed, my title has even changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the work, the work of faith…the vocation. This is the calling from God to be loving and caring, the call to be a steward of God’s creation, the call to learn to trust in God and proclaim God’s grace. This is a calling that has been formed in me since I was baptized as a little baby. This is a calling to the work of the Kingdom of Heaven, and it has been given to me as a family business is passed on from generation to generation. This is the work that God gave to Abram, or Abraham, so that it would be passed on with such abundance that the numbers receiving it would be more countless than the stars.

Now in my 37^th year of this work, with the days remaining before my 38^th year dwindling, I must admit that I have not been a big success in this “Kingdom Work” that God has given to me. I’ve hurt people instead of loving them. I’ve lied. I’ve taken things that don’t belong to me. If you could find ways to be incompetent at this Kingdom work, I’ve found them…we all have. And, that’s just counting the things that are on the outside, I don’t even want to get into the stuff on my mind and in my heart, the stuff that is not very Kingdom oriented, the stuff on the inside that tells God exactly what kind of person I am.

If I were God. If I were the one making this Kingdom, I would surely pick someone different than me, someone different than all of us. I would pick people who have much better qualifications then simply being born. I would pick people that actually listened to what I wanted them to do, and who actually did it. Even more so, if any of those worthy candidates who I picked to give the Kingdom to, who I left in charge of running it didn’t do it right, I would kick them out, or at least put them on double-secret probation.

It certainly seems like God could have chosen better citizens of the Kingdom than us. Yes, the Kingdom is still here and still going on, but sin remains as well. Our sin, sin that continues to mar this Kingdom with violence and death, selfishness and greed, envy and hatred.  Yet, in the midst of our own sinful incompetence in the work of the Kingdom, what we are given eyes to see is that this work of faith is ultimately not ours, but is God’s. This is work that has gone on long before we were here and it will go on long after we are gone.

 When God opens our eyes to the work that God is doing, God also gives to us a vision of faith, just as Abram was shown the stars in the sky as a promise of how numerous his unlikely descendants would be. This is the vision of faith we put our hope and our trust in, this is the vision of Jesus Christ who continues to complete this work of faith in us. This is the vision of Jesus Christ continuing to call us through his mercy and grace to be a blessing to others, by giving them these same things.

As we stand before God, knowing our applications don’t look good and there’s not much we could show God to continue justifying our presence in the Kingdom of Heaven, we give thanks that God doesn’t kick us out. Rather, God comes to us, in flesh and blood, and gives us this life, and through his work assures us that he knows what he is doing in picking us for the Kingdom. God comes to us in Jesus Christ and lovingly affirms that it is truly the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

While we get ready to go back to school, or college, as we enter into Kindergarten or if we haven’t gone back to school shopping for years, our calling remains the same. As Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, as Children of God we have been called to the work of faith. The very work that is being done in us today, the work of love, the work of our Lord, Jesus Christ, giving himself for each of us and for all of creation. May we share in this work wherever our roads lead, and may we share and proclaim this Kingdom life that we have been given, and the one who gave it to us.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Amen