Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

THE PROMISE OF GRACE Luke 10:38-42  After wiping the sweat from her face with the back of her hand, Martha threw down a dishtowel and then stormed out of the kitchen. “Where is that lazy girl?” she fumed to herself. Finding her sister in the living room chatting with their guest of honor, Mary lost her temper. Her face red with anger and the heat of the kitchen, she started shaking her finger at Jesus. “ Lord, I’ve been on my feet all day working my fingers to the bone to get ready for this dinner party, and Mary’s in here instead of helping me. It’s not fair that I have to do all the work! Do something about it! Send her back to the kitchen, now!” On and on she went, and when he could get a word in edgewise, Jesus calmly said, “Martha, Martha, Martha. It’s only a meal – over in fifteen minutes. Don’t let it distract you from the promise of grace of this moment.” Like Martha, we too can become distracted by all the things we have to do and the demands by...

Matthew 9:9-11 I John 4:8-10 "God is great.  God is good.  Let us thank him for our food.  Amen." One time I asked one of my confirmation students to define grace, her answer was, "It's the prayer you say before you eat." Well, it is the correct answer -- I asked the wrong question.  What I meant to ask was, "What is God's grace?" Day after day, Matthew sat in his booth doing his job.  It paid the bills, but only because the Romans looked the other way if tax collectors charge a little extra as long as they got their cut.  And because he was a Jew and he was employed by the Roman Empire,  the Pharisees and religious leaders called him, "unclean and a sinner," while his family and neighbors saw him as a traitor and a turncoat.  Until Jesus came along one day.  Jesus looked him in the eyes, smiled and said, "Come follow me and be my disciple."  For the first time in a long, long time, Matthew felt he was worthy and acce...

John 21:1-6 John 14:1-6     "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these. " Old Pete was an avid fisherman, drawing on the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of four generations of Olafson men, several of whom were buried with their fishing poles.  Using tried and true (and sometimes secret) methods that had been passed down from father to son, he rarely returned home without having caught his limit. That winter, though, Pete hadn't even had a nibble.  One particularly disappointing day out on the ice, Pete noticed that young Josh was having pretty good luck.  Walking over to where the boy was fishing, Pete asked, "Hey, Josh, what's your secret?"  The boy mumbled something.  Drawing closer, Old Pete said, "Sorry there, I couldn't understand you. Can you speak up?" Louder, Josh mumbled something.  Exasperated, Pete shouted at him, "Blast it, b...

2 Corinthians 3:18 Hebrews 10:23-25 Programs, routines and regimens help us move through a recovery process toward our goal of wholeness.  It might be a special diet, a support group, an exercise program, physical therapy or counseling.    Every kind of recovery process, including adapting to changes and a "new normal," benefits from adding a spiritual dimension to it. We are Resurrection people.  We are a loved, forgiven, and changed people, and through the sanctifying work of the Holy spirit, we, " are being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from one degree of glory to another. " (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Even in the changes of human life, God is capable of moving us from one level of wholeness in Christ to another. During the travels of the Hebrews through the wilderness to the Promised Land, God was also leading them on a journey from one state of being to another.  They left Egypt as slaves who had lost their identity as ...

Luke 24:13-35 When we think of intervention, does the first image that comes to mind that of someone being confronted about their behavior by a group of friends and family members?  I know God does intervene, convicts me, when I need to make a change for the better. I also believe that intervention happens when we're in a situation that is beyond our capabilities  to solve a problem.  You know, those times when we're up to our arm pits in alligators and someone shows up with a boat.  In the same way, God intervenes when we need guidance and help. In Luke 24:13-35, we find the story of the walk to Emmaus.  It had been a confusing and difficult morning for Jesus' followers, including Cleopas and his friend.  Was Jesus alive or dead?  Had the body been stolen or had Mary gone  to the wrong tomb?  So Cleopas and his friend decided to leave Jerusalem and go home.  Scripture doesn't tell us why.  Passover was over, and wi...

Whether a change is expected or unexpected, good or bad, there is always a period of transition when we adjust to our new circumstances.  In many ways, it's like recovering from surgery or an illness -- we are recovering from change while moving into a new normal, a new place of wholeness.  But before we can get to that promised land of the new normal, it is necessary to journey through the wilderness of change with all its feelings of grief, pain, dislocation and disorientation.  This is the first in our new five-part series, "Living into 'New Normals'."   Job 1:13-22 John 14-15-21, 25-28 No matter what the change is, no matter how strong our faith is, there is a sense of dislocation and disorientation where we need to figure out where we are and where we are now going.  It's like being lost in a wilderness without a compass. When my husband and I moved to Cedar Rapids in 1999, we were excited.  Tom was starting a new job as a software engin...

I Corinthians 1:18-31 "Wise men say, 'only fools rush in,' but I can't help  falling in love with you..."* Interesting that this year the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, fell on February 14, Valentine's Day, a holiday celebrating love, and ends with Easter on April Fools Day, a time for practical jokes, humor and all kinds of foolishness.  But then, the world does consider the wisdom of the cross foolishness.  So let us rejoice and be fools for Christ! "Hey, Lane," called my one of my co-workers, "Tom is on line one for you."  Sure it was my husband, Tom, I picked up the phone and said, "Hi, sweetie!  How's my hunka-hunka burning love doing today?"  Silence followed, and then a male voice I didn't  recognize said, "Um, ah, this is Tom from Sir Speedy Printing." We've all done something stupid, embarrassed ourselves, and maybe even something that seemed foolish for the sake of someone we cared abo...