What are you waiting for?

The season of Advent has always been a time of waiting in anticipation. Children wait (and not always so patiently) in anticipation of opening Christmas gifts found under a brightly decorated tree. Some people wait during Advent in anticipation of visiting with seldom-seen friends or relatives or of tasting Grandma’s lefse straight from the griddle. Each person has their own perception of the "ideal" holiday experience. It is natural to idealize these forthcoming events and hope and wish for what we desire.
 
You may, as I have, waited in anticipation of the perfect “Hallmark Christmas.” In my case, I may have, hypothetically, found  myself trying to quiet four active kids sitting around the holiday table, cleaning spilled juice and picking up pieces of a broken dish while realizing that all hope for that peaceful, relaxing meal has withered as fast as the krumkake will disappear after dinner. Your experience may have been slightly different, but I think we can all see the difference between what we hope for, and what actually is.
 
In that same vein,  I wonder what Mary was anticipating while she was pregnant and waiting for Jesus’ birth.  Do you think she was anticipating a glamorous birth with fanfare and beautiful surroundings, only to have reality hit and find herself giving birth in a stable?  I wonder what she thought during the preceding nine months knowing that she had been chosen as the mother of a King and Savior. It must have been difficult not to create an idealized view of what His coming would be like. I still find myself romanticizing around the holidays, as Mary may have, and planning how perfect everything should be. I should know better, but to a certain extent it is human nature.  

And because it is human nature, it seems right to distinguish idealizing what would make us happy from the actuality of Christianity and  the appreciation of our Lord. Instead of waiting and anticipating the peripheral “stuff” or affirmations we desire for our own purposes during this holiday season, perhaps we should spend advent waiting and anticipating what Christmas has truly brought us: Christ’s Light, Christ’s Peace and the Birth of Our Savior. To learn more about these wonders please join us on Wednesday evenings during advent in the Fireside Gallery for advent services from 6:30 to 7:00 pm.

Taking the time during the advent season to focus on what really is important may calm your mind and soul allowing you to answer the  question, "What are you waiting for?"

The Adventures of Steward Little

Growing up, the six Windels boys got to hear lots of parental advice on stewardship :

“Who left the front door standing open? Are you trying to heat the whole neighborhood?!”

“No, we sure don’t have the money to buy you a new one, so you better figure out where you left it…”

“You had all weekend, and you’re just starting your homework NOW?!”

What my folks surely meant was this: “Dear children, we want you to know the importance of being good caretakers of what time, resources and opportunities are given us, so that all will go well with you.”

So, I wish I could tell you that I absorbed every “waste not, want not” lesson taught by my wise and loving parents, and never had to learn anything the hard way—but in my adult daily life, I have in fact been guilty of wasting, and later wanting. It turns out money does not grow on trees (at least not for youth directors); car engines actually do seize up if you forget to do regular maintenance; not investing enough time for sleep is bad for your health; and I am sorry I quit piano lessons in 9th grade, Mom. And I can’t even count the number of deadlines I’ve needed extended for writing projects (including those for church newsletter articles) after frittering away prime writing hours.

Of the many ways my life has been blessed, I have not always properly valued those blessings with self-discipline and with generosity to others — the natural consequences of poor stewardship can be regret, strained finances and relationships, and even some hiding from God because of guilt.

God is good and generous however, in spite of how often we may be unfaithful in our response. Grace, delivered by Jesus’ death, means when we fall short in caring for the planet and each other, He doesn’t love us any less—although I can picture God shaking his head and thinking, “Why do they make things so hard for themselves?”

As we focus this year on Faith in Daily Life, each day is a chance to share our gifts in response to God; by doing our small part to care for the environment, by teaching a skill to somebody else, by supporting a cause or a ministry with our finances, time and labor, and by recognizing and affirming the gifts of others (like at the upcoming Talent Show—hint, hint!) For every blessing we have, we are called to give glory to God by appreciating and sharing it.

It’s too early to write a meaningful article on all the things that my wife’s cancer is teaching me, but I’m definitely getting a better appreciation that life is precious and time together with the people we love should not be taken for granted. Nancy has always hoped to go to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary… but we’re making plans to do the trip 3 years early. Cancer has a way of getting your attention.

So, friends: what gifts has God given you, and how are you sharing them and cherishing them? I pray today that you will not look back with regret, but with gratitude that God led you to invest them well.

God's Gifts. Our Giving.

One of the biggest frustrations in providing assistance to other countries comes when we hear of unscrupulous behavior, corruption and misappropriation of funds. We come across stories again and again where money donated to an international AIDS organization was redirected to a dictator’s private account. Or money given to a nonprofit organization gets embezzled by an employee with a gambling habit. In each of these cases we become indignant at the audacity of some people and wonder how they can live with themselves.

At times I wonder if God feels the same way about us. If God created everything, including us, and all that we have really belongs to God, then how is our accumulation and stockpiling of God’s gifts not a misappropriation of God’s blessings? If it is God who gives us our talents that we use to procure employment and reward, then should not a portion belong to God?

At some point in our life I think we need to take a God Audit. With the income of blessings and expenditures of necessities, is there an appropriate outpouring of thanksgiving? How do we view the balance in our bank accounts, large or small? Are these the sum total of our accomplishments, or are they really a result of good fortune and opportunity?

In reality all we have are God’s Gifts, poured out through Our Giving. Perhaps our blessings are really an opportunity presented by God to use his gifts to bless others.

It can be a rather intimidating thing to realize that God’s gifts for the world only get correctly appropriated when we give. But if that is true then one might think that the giving would never end or could never fill the world’s insatiable needs.

When teaching on the subject of giving I was once asked, “Does God want us to be poor?” At times we might hear scripture talking about giving away all we have and following Jesus, and feel it is a much too radical and idealized notion. The concept is not that God wants us to be poor, but that God wants us to be rich in his blessings, blessings that never were intended to stop with us. God blesses us to be a blessing to others. This was God’s promise to Abraham back in the book of Genesis, chapter 12:2 “I will bless you...so that you will be a blessing.”

This fall I invite you to take a God Audit. How has God blessed you with God’s Gifts, and how might God be calling you to be a blessing to others and to this congregation through Your Giving?

God's Work. Our Hands.

A long, long time ago someone decided it would be a good idea to create a house for God. They wanted to show respect and so they first used what they had, a tent, and felt that was the best place to go and sort of “be with God.” Others could join them and together they would worship their creator. They started creating plans for what they would do when they worshiped God, holding their hands just so, singing in a certain way, and doing various other things. Then over the course of a couple thousand years, people slowly forgot that God ever used to be loose in the world, working all over the place, in all sorts of ways. They felt that if you wanted to be near God you had to go to the box where they kept him.

I came across this concept in a book by Barbara Brown Taylor and it really hit home for me when I was thinking about our theme for this year, Faith in Daily Life. We know what faith looks like on Sunday morning, but what about Monday morning? What does faith look like then?
At one time or another we have all talked about living out our faith in the work place and in our homes. We know we are called to tell others about Jesus and his love during our coffee break or at the ball park, but it’s difficult. Some have taken the challenge to do just that and have had amazing stories to tell about it. For many there is just too great a disconnect with Sunday and Monday. They are two different realities in two different worlds.

Well, if we cannot picture faith at work, how about we take work to faith. What if we brought our work time to our worship time and called it all God’s time? What if we took our sweat equity and made it our worship offering? What if rather than just coming to worship and doing what people have done in churches for thousands of years, we get out of the “God box” and worship God out where God is? That would be one incredible way to “tell” others about God’s love.

Well… that is exactly what we are going to do. On October 4, we are canceling our worship services and instead we will perform acts of service with our hands as our worship to God that day. We will begin the day with a short blessing and sending out and then our entire congregation will go out into the community to serve our neighbors as our form of worship that day.

Gethsemane will be joining with over 10 other congregations in Hopkins and Minnetonka in sharing God’s love through acts of service. We have 1,000 volunteer opportunities available for people of all ages and abilities to help your neighbor and community. We are calling the event our Community Days of Service and we will join in sharing our stories of worshiping God out in our community with a culminating free Community Meal and Celebration in Hopkins’ Central Park at 5 pm. Look at our website to sign up for a project as a family or as yourself.

My prayer is that everyone will worship together by putting their faith into action. Come show me, ‘cause I want to see God through you.

Engaged by God in a Living Faith; at home, at church and IN THE WORLD

What difference does it make that you are a Christian? For many of us, that is simply an unexamined question. Here at Gethsemane, we have spent the last year exploring the Elements of a Living Faith, and we’ve gained some clarity about what a life of faith actually looks like. Prayer, worship, studying Scripture, acts of service and justice, sharing God’s story, stewardship of life and resources, and building spiritual friendships are becoming more and more part of our lives as we respond to the grace God pours out in Jesus. But, when all is said and done, what is the point of being a follower of Jesus?

For some, I suppose it is simply a matter of knowing that their sins are forgiven, and their place in heaven when they die is assured. The peace that comes from such knowing is precious, and part of the gift of God’s grace in Christ. But the whole story of scripture insists that a godly life points us beyond ourselves and into the world. Individual salvation is only part of the story! When asked about which was the greatest commandment, Jesus replied with two: Love God with all your heart and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as your self. Abundant grace draws forth a grateful response and overflows into every aspect of our lives.

Our focus for the program year that begins on Rally Day is Faith in Daily Life: Making the Sunday-to-Monday connection. Together we will explore the connection between what we do, what we hear, what we receive and who we are in church with how we live our lives every other day of the week. Living Faith is not contained within the walls of the church building, and following Jesus is not restricted to the volunteer work we do at church. Jesus has left the building!

From Matthew’s Great Commission to “Go and make disciples of all nations,” to Mark’s “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation,” Luke’s “You will be my witnesses,” and John’s “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” the reign of God comes near through the lives of those who follow Jesus. The decisions we make in our workplaces, the ways we use our time and our money, our interactions with our neighbors, friends and families, our participation in public life, how we take care of our bodies, and everything else we do in a given week are reflections of what we most deeply believe. Together we will explore what it means to be signs of God’s love and hope in a world deeply in need of some Good News. Join in the exploration of what it looks like to be Engaged by God in a Living Faith; IN THE WORLD!