#PastorNateblog

[bethanydevos]

“So much better than day-old Bread” by Pastor Nate

In the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John there is this crowd of people who follow Jesus to Capernaum and when they find him Jesus talks with them about the work that God is calling them to do and their response is:

What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Here’s the thing you need to know about this group though.  They are hinting at something else here with their statement.  They actually aren’t that interested in Jesus performing a sign so that they can be reassured and commit their lives to the Mission of God.  No. They are actually just trying to coax Jesus into giving them a free meal.  

Earlier in John chapter 6, Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 people and this group that followed him to Capernaum, the ones asking about manna in the wilderness? They were part of that 5,000!  They are following Jesus around because they want more miraculous bread and they aren’t being at all subtle about your hopes and intentions.  

Sometimes in our walk of faith, we start thinking like this group of people.  We start longing for the day-old bread that God once provided. We look to the past and talk about how great it once was and we try and find ways to get back to it.  In not-so-subtle ways we’ll ask God to return us to the “miraculous” days of yore.

Here’s the problem with this type of thinking – it focuses on the substance of the miracle and not the one who brought the miracle about.  

When that group ask Jesus for some more bread, Jesus responded by saying “I am the bread of life.”  Jesus was trying to remind the group that the meal they had miraculously experienced wasn’t the point, it was His love and his presence in the world that truly matter.

When we think about the “glory days” of our church or the “mountain top” moments of our faith, they are important, but only because of what they reveal to us about God.  The loving, ever-present God who authored those glory days and mountain top moments should be our focus.  

If our attention is only on the miraculous moments of the past then we are forgetting Jesus.  We are looking for day-old bread when The Bread of Life is still with us and guiding us into a new moment.  

[bethanydevos]

“Spending time with the Teacher” by Pastor Nate

Through my own personal quest to follow Jesus day in and day out, as well as my quest to lead others into a day by day relationship with Jesus I find myself constantly coming back to the topic of discipleship.   The calling from Jesus at the end of Matthew’s Gospel continues to ring in my ears: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”  (Matthew 28:19)

Clearly, it was part of Jesus’ plan to have us become disciples and to lead others into this walk.   But then the question becomes how?

I will always remember this one line about discipleship that I heard at a training conference years back: “Being a disciple means you are spending time with the teacher.”  

I think it’s as simple as that.  Spend time each and every day with The Teacher.  Time in prayer, time in study, time in worship and praise.  

Walking with Jesus the teacher is not reserved for a few hours a week but is a journey that we are challenged to bring into every aspect of our lives.  To me, “spending time with the teacher” is a personal act of consciousness; being aware of Christ’s presence in our daily interactions and showing the world through words and actions that Jesus is our teacher.

[bethanydevos]

“Faith and Reason” by Pastor Nate

I’ve written before about the importance of faith, about how sometimes we can get caught up in trying to “think our way” to God.   But, I need to mention that there is another side to this, and that is the importance of academics and intellect in our relationships with God.

God has created all of us in His image—in the beginning we were created by God and declared “good”. In this journey of faith we are called to us the gifts of our creation to seek and honor God: with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind.  

Sometimes we can become too engrossed in the mind part of pursuing God.  Try as we might, we cannot think our way to God.  God is so far beyond our grasp that it would be idolatrous to believe that our intellect would be able to pin down God.  Indeed, our relationship with God is largely dependent upon elements of faith.  

However, so much good can come from the struggles of faith. We are all blessed with the incredible ability to think and reason.  I strongly believe that challenges to our faith are also gifts of God.  If everything was easy then how would we ever grow?  We are constantly being molded to become more mature followers of God and Christ.  Challenges to faith, doubts within faith, all of these are merely further steps toward a more mature, more whole relationship with God.  

Please, do not abandon the questions that you have about God!  Embrace these challenges as signs of God working in your life and remind yourself that God is always guiding you toward maturity.  Our faith is a gift that allows us to be closer to God when the challenges of intellect overwhelm.  But also, our mind and our intellectual struggles are gifts that bring us into a stronger relationship with God.  

[bethanydevos]

“Jesus’ Radical Love” by Pastor Nate

I was talking with some friends the other day about this passage: 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Galatians 3:28

It's a great passage, and through that conversation with friends, I've had some new insights about what it is saying to us.

You see, in the first century, when Paul was writing this, the debate about Jew vs Greek was HUGE.  Let me repeat that, the debate about Jew vs Greek was HUGE.  Following everything that Christ had done people were wondering what it meant to be Jewish, they were questioning where the lines had to be drawn.  Did people have to be Jewish to be Christian?  Did people still have to follow the customs of the Jewish culture to be a follower of Christ? That is what Paul is trying to approach with this question.  He's writing to his friends in Galatia and he's telling them that this fight needs to be ended—all are welcome.  The world doesn’t have to be like this anymore.  God has leveled the playing field. Paul is telling these people just how revolutionary the love of Jesus really is.  

Jesus through not only his words, but by his actions also sought to turn the entire system around.   Jesus lived in a world that segregated based on religion and sex and country of origin.

By befriending tax collectors and fisherman, and by loving the poor and the untouchables Jesus turned the entire culture upside-down.  His radical love opened the eyes of many.  It is that love, that Paul had heard about and then experienced himself.  That is why he wrote those words to the Galatians… “Don’t you get it? Don’t you see that all this fighting is silly in light of what Jesus did?  It’s not about being a Jew or a Greek, it’s about being a child of God; a beautiful, wonderful, perfect child of God.” (my version of Galatians 3:28)

The revolutionary love of Christ lives on.   Even today it is still truly present.  And so, Paul’s words are still relevant.  

There is so much today that has not yet been touched by Christ’s love.  It is our call to respond to the revolutionary love that Christ has shown us and to pass that love onto the world.  It is our task to carry on the words of Paul and to show people that because of Christ, our arguments can cease.   The world doesn’t have to be like this anymore.  

I pray that the radical love of Christ can work within us and can foster change in this world.

[bethanydevos]

“A Heart for God” by Pastor Nate

I recently had a conversation with some friends about the idea of what God wants for our lives and what is it that God requires of me?  Had you asked me this questions a few weeks ago I would have told you that I need to listen to God, and to follow God's path for my life.  I've always felt that my duty is to willingly follow God, to never question, but simply allow God to lead me wherever he has planned.  I thought God would want me to sacrifice any and everything for His plan for my life. You might be thinking that there is nothing wrong with what I'm describing above, and certainly a life lived in service and devotion to God is not a bad way to live your life.  But that's not God's longing for our life: "I don't want your sacrifices--I want your love! I don't want your offerings--I want you to know Me!" Hosea 6:6 Above all, God wants our heart, God wants to be in relationship with us. God is not a puppeteer pulling the strings of our life--God loves us so much more than that.   We were created to have freedom, to have wants and desires and hopes and dreams.  And all God wants is a relationship with us; a relationship where we share all of this with God, where we share our heart with God.

Over the years, we’ve complicated prayer so much.  People are left with the idea that they must say big extravagant prayers filled with words that are at least four syllables long, prayer has turned into a performance and what’s worst—this has caused people to be afraid to pray, afraid that they won’t “perform” adequately.  

But God doesn’t want a performance, God doesn’t want to see how impressive your vocabulary is, God wants to know your heart.  All our prayers need to be is open honest talking with God.  Let God know what you want, what you need, and what you’re thankful for.  God wants to craft your future together not just drag you along.  

I pray that we can all learn how to embrace our relationship with God.  That we can all share our hearts with God, and that we can rejoice-- because there is a God that wants nothing more than to know your deepest desires, to know us, and to craft a future with us, based on what's in our hearts. Lord, help us to lift your hearts to you.  Amen.

[bethanydevos]

“Jesus Saves” by Pastor Nate

God, come back!

Smile your blessing smile

That will be our salvation

-Pslam 80 (the message)

Salvation is something that we are taught growing up, something that tells us that when we die God will save us from eternal damnation and we will live in heaven for ever eating candy and smelling flowers.   

I have no idea if that’s true or not, nor will I ever have an idea—at least not until I die and I actually partake in a candy feast with roses by my side.  

But instead of putting salvation off and to the side for the next 60 years (God-willing) we all need to look and see where salvation exists today, how the message of Jesus is affecting us today.  

It’s not just about reading the Gospel, or even believing the Gospel, it’s about living the Gospel.   With his life Jesus showed what perfect human existence looks like, submitting to God’s will, seeking out the lost and lonely, preaching kindness not hate, humbly following what God has planned for him.  

This is God’s hope for our lives.  That we might humbly follow him, serve the oppressed and be kind to all, to summarize: “What does the Lord require of you but to do Justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.”- Micah 6:8.  

Just living like this, truly bringing our lives into God’s presence will allow for salvation here and now. We will be saved from ourselves.  Everyday we try to serve some earthly God, whether it be popularity, TV, our job, a spouse or significant other, or even our own natural urges to care only for ourselves, these are the moments of are stumbling.  

The message of the Gospel, when we believe it, own it, and live it, when we truly seek to dwell in God’s presence, that message can be our salvation.  

The words and life that a man from Nazareth led 2000 years ago can today affect change in our lives.  His life can be our salvation today.  He can take us away from all those habits that self destruct us and ruin friendships.  He can save us from the behaviors that hurt us. He can save us from all the terrors and troubles in this world today.  

The life and example of Jesus can save us, when we die, but also today.

Lord, help us to live in your presence so that you can save us from those behaviors that destroy us. AMEN

[bethanydevos]

“God’s Community of Love” by Pastor Nate

Take a look at this painting.  This is a very old work of art.  If you’ve ever been to my office, you might have seen the image there.  You probably have a lot of ideas at the moment about the photo’s meaning.   

What if I told this painting was an Icon of the Trinity?  You see it a little differently now, don’t you.

Notice, how they are all sitting together, and yet the focus, the center of the painting is right in the middle, as if you are supposed to sit there with them?

This image that we see is supposed to depict the Father, Son, and Spirit all sitting together and yet the central focus seems to be on the space where we  can fit in at there table.

Here’s what I’m getting at.  There is a fancy term that people use when talking about the Trinity it’s called “perichoresis”.  You’ll notice in the painting that the Father appears to be looking at the Spirit, and the Son seems to be looking at the Father, and the then the Spirit seems to be looking at the empty space at the table.  The idea behind “Perichoresis” is that the Father, Son, and Spirit all existence in this loving community,  they are three and yet they are still one being, one God.   This love they have for each other flows between all three figures, the Father, Son, and Spirit literally are a community of love.   And this love they share moves between them, as the Father looks to the Son and the Son looks to the Spirit, the love flows back and forth both giving and receiving.

But notice that in this painting, the figure of the Holy Spirit is looking at the empty spot.  This is the same spot that is in the center of the painting, the space that you might feel invited to sit at.

That’s because this is God’s hope for us: that we might know and feel and be apart of God’s community of love.  

I don’t know about you, but I find so much peace when I look at this painting and think about the beautiful promises that it expresses.   What greater peace is there then to understand that God is love, that God exists as a community of love, and that God wants you to feel and become apart of God’s love?

That’s what some might call “the peace that surpasses all understanding”. I hope this deep peace of God finds you today.  

[bethanydevos]

“Cathedrals and Christ” by Pastor Nate

Author’s Note:  This post was written in April 2019 in the middle of Holy Week and right after the fires at the Notre Dame Cathedral.

This week, many are distraught over the news about the fires that have destroyed parts of the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.  The art, history, and spirituality of this building is causing many to mourn and pray.  

A while back, I was in New York City on vacation and I had a chance to visit many of the old beautiful churches in that city.  These were big stone Cathedrals built over a hundred years ago with high arching ceilings and stained glass windows and incredible stonework .  These structures would take your breath away as soon as you set foot inside, overwhelming you with their grandeur and beauty.   And while I haven’t personally been to Notre Dame in Paris I’m sure most people who tell me that the churches of New York pale in comparison to the Cathedral in Paris.  

But we aren’t here to debate which city has the most beautiful structures.  The fact remains that no matter what city it is, beautiful church buildings like these are immensely expensive to build and maintain.  Notre Dame took over 200 years to complete!  200 years!   When you start to consider the sheer effort that goes into creating and then maintaining structures like these, the obvious question becomes: why?  Why have communities, for hundreds of years, made the effort to build these grand, awe-inspiring, expensive structures?  

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 8:1-4

Why do people build these huge ornate buildings? Why go to all the trouble and spend all the money?  Why?  I think the reason people build cathedrals like Notre Dame is because they are trying to express the holiness and majesty  of God. They are trying to make real for anyone who walks through the doors the power and glory of the God they know.  

It’s impossible for us as human beings to ever fully capture the reality of God.  Nothing we ever say, nothing we ever create, nothing we ever do could come close to fully expressing the greatness of God.  

And yet just as people have been trying for thousands of years to communicate the greatness of God, in the same way, God has been trying since the beginning of time to communicate to us the greatness of His Love.  

During this Holy Week, as we walk with Jesus during his last days, we must remember that the actions of Jesus were all meant to communicate to the world the greatness of God’s love.  God sent Jesus to earth and to the cross so that we might more fully understand the extent of God’s love for us.  

Beautiful music, beautiful sermons, and even beautiful church buildings will all fall short in communicating what Jesus revealed to us with his life, death, and resurrection and that is the greatness of God’s love for all the world.  

[bethanydevos]

“God’s Presence in our Prayers” by Pastor Nate

Lately, I've been looking into some of the more ancient practices of the Christian Church.  Christianity has been around for about 2000 years, and believe it or not in that time people have come up with all sorts of different ways for connecting with God.

I've found it so fascinating and so helpful to my own faith to learn about some of these different practices over the years... examples:  Praying by walking a prayer labyrinth, the process of "holy reading" (called lectio divina), maintaining a daily rhythm of prayer (called the Daily Office). These are just some of the many different practices that I have discovered, practices that were once widely used but have been lost through history.

As I've been able to discover and find value in different types of prayer and conversation with God, I've also learned something about the broader process of prayer.

God not only hears and responds to our prayers but God also works through the actual process of prayer.  Our questions and prayers can be answered as we pray them, they can be answered simply by taking part in the act of praying.  

I think we lose sight of the importance of the process and will simply pray a prayer to get results.  

I really enjoy the spin that Celtic Christian writer John Phillip Newell puts on these ideas:

“Prayer is not about beseeching a distant one to alter the mystery of reality, but rather prayer is about coming into tune with the deepest energies within us—the energies that I believe are of the One. The practice of prayer is bringing us back into relationship with that which is already among us and within us.”

We need to remember that we are holy and important in God’s eyes and that God is present with us right now.  This alone can fill us with peace and transform us.  Perhaps, in the process, we’ll even we’ll discover the answer to our prayers.

Take some time this week to really pray, to be intentional about the process and to see how God can work through the act of prayer.  Perhaps you could try a new way of praying, whether that's by journaling or drawing, sitting in silence, or even going on a walk.  Allow God to enter into the process.

[bethanydevos]

“All Things New” by Pastor Nate

Labor Day has always marked the end of summer for me.  I know that the season of Summer actually extends for another 3 weeks or so, but Labor Day has always served as that announcement of summer’s end and school’s beginning.  

Even now, as an adult, Labor Day still has that finality attached to it.  As September begins so do a host of programs at the church; new things are beginning, and while all of this fall activity isn’t nearly as relaxing as summer, there is definitely something exciting about the new season that Labor Day ushers in.

Since my days in Elementary School, the beginning of the academic year always created this type of excitement within me too.  Part of it was finally getting to wear my new shoes but a even bigger part was simply the chance to start something new.  The new school year always seemed to bring that opportunity to re-invent myself-- the chance to get things right this time around-- the chance to start-over.  

I don’t think we live our lives with that type of first-day-of-school-excitement too often.  Obviously, its hard to get excited about each and every new day, but isn’t this idea of starting over and new beginnings at the heart of God’s message?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

As Christians our hope is found in Christ’s promises to make all things new.  This isn’t just a new beginning tomorrow, or after Labor Day, this is a promise that God is not yet finished with you or me or Creation as a whole; in Christ sins are forgiven, diseases are healed, suffering is ended, new life begins.

What would it mean for us to actually believe this promise?  So often, I am filled with real despair-- I see all the ways the churches are alienating others, or all the ways our political system is pitting neighbors against each other, or all the ways that violence, injustice, and suffering are rampant.   I see all of these things and wonder how long this will all go on.

But on my good days, I remember and cling to the hope that Christ is making all things new.  I cling to the hope that God is not yet finished with this world, and that the power of the resurrection is still at work, slowly but surely bringing new life and a new creation.

May we live in the excitement and hope of God’s promised new creation.  Amen.  

[bethanydevos]

“Surprise Me God”

I know that it seems like we have had just one too many surprises over the course of this past year.  2020 has been the most surprising year on record for about a dozen different reasons that I won’t go over in this blog post because I’m sure, like me, most of you are tired of being reminded of all the “unprecedented” things that have happened since January. 

While surprises might seem like a bad thing in the context of 2020, I want to remind us all that during normal-er times surprises were actually kinda fun.  Surprise birthday parties, surprise visits from friends, surprise letters in the mail, remember all of those things? 

A while back a friend told me about an unique approach to their prayer life.  Apparently, everyday, this friend would wake up in the morning and say a very simple prayer: “Surprise me God”.  (Apparently, it’s from a book called “Surprise Me” by Terry Esau) 

It’s a really interesting prayer especially when you consider how asking God to surprise you could change your entire approach to the day.  By asking God to surprise you, you are letting God be in control.  Rather than trying to have everything go your way, rather than being disappointed when life doesn’t go the way you had imagined, when you pray, “Surprise me God” you are letting God be in control and you can approach the day with a confidence and a sense of trust. 

But not only that.  When you pray, “Surprise Me God” you are also opening yourself up to the possibility of surprise.  You’ll go about your day with a new perspective.  What small ways has God answered that prayer?  Where is God breaking in with a surprise?  

Give it a try today.  Really ask God to surprise you and then live this day with a sense of trust and a sense of hopeful expectation, because God is in control, and what God can accomplish in your life, just might surprise you.      

[bethanydevos]

“Fundamentals” by Pastor Nate

Author’s Note: This post was written in March 2019 shortly before the March Madness basketball tournament began.  Since we did not have a NCAA tournament this year, I’m sharing this post now as the NBA begins their playoffs.  

I don't know how many of you knew this, but last week marked the beginning of the March Madness NCAA Basketball tournament.  Or as I like to call it: the most wonderful week of the year.  

I love watching basketball.  I love watching the college crowds get so excited for their team.  I love the story lines and the sappy puff pieces they share about players during the pre-game shows.  I love the upsets and the buzzer beaters and everything in between.  

But there’s one more piece that really gets me excited about the NCAA tournament and it has nothing to do with the tournament itself.   What I might love most this time of year is all the discussion about the upcoming NBA draft.

You see, the best players in the NCAA will go on to be drafted by an NBA team in July, and for many College players the tournament offers them a chance to finally showcase their talents on a national stage.  

And so throughout the NCAA Tournament, I listen closely for the discussions about a player’s NBA potential.  I hang on every word about a prospect’s “upside” or their “wingspan” or their “motor”.    

Inevitably, somewhere in these discussions you’ll also hear talk about a player’s fundamentals.  By this I mean how well the player  has refined the core aspects of their game. How clean is their jump shot? How crisp is their passing?  Do they dribble well? Do they know how to play defense? Do they have proper footwork in the post?

Discussions of fundamentals when talking about college basketball players is a joy for me.  However, I bet if I used the word “fundamentals” in church or “fundamentalism” it would call to mind something completely different for most of you.   When it comes to matters of faith, Fundamentalism is often associated with a particular branch of Christianity that emphasizes condemnation and judgement above all else.  

But here’s the thing, I think we could all benefit from attending to the fundamentals of our faith a little bit more.  Let me use a passage from Acts to explain:

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” 

- Acts 2:44-47

I think, in a way, this passage describes for us true Christian fundamentalism.   The fundamentals of our practice of faith are described plainly for us in this short passage.  The earliest Christians committed themselves to the apostle's teachings, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.  

For the early Christian Church and the original disciples, the fundamentals are what kept their communities strong in the face of persecution.  The fundamentals helped to constantly remind them and re-center them in the promises of God.  

So I invite you this week, to focus on the fundamentals.  Study the apostles’ teachings that are recorded in the scriptures.  Take time to fellowship and be in community with other Christians.  Take part in a worship service where Holy Communion is celebrated.  Find a moment each day to pause and pray.  

And then, take note of the ways that these fundamental practices keep you grounded and aware of the promises of God.

Amen.    

[bethanydevos]

“Chipping Away” by Pastor Nate

No doubt, you’ve seen the famous sculpture of King David created by the artist Michelangelo.  Just in case you haven’t here’s a picture:

It’s widely considered to be one of the most remarkable sculptures ever.  Even today, 500 years after it was first sculpted, it is still consider a masterpiece with no equal.  Legend has it that after the work was completed in 1504 many people would ask Michelangelo, “how in the world did you ever do this?”

And Michelangelo would say something like, “Oh, it wasn’t all that difficult. I ran across this huge stone in the quarry. And I saw David in it. So, I had the stone brought back to my studio and month after month, I very carefully—chipped away everything that wasn’t David.”  

I like to think that it is the same way with our relationship with God.  I’ve heard it said that Genesis 1:27 is one of the most important verses in the bible, and it speaks to this idea from Michelangelo, it reads,

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

The implications of this verse are huge.  Much like Michelangelo and his statue of King David, God has created us in God’s image and is slowly chipping away at all that isn’t truly us.  

We all lump on a variety of different things to our being.  We try to be popular, we try and fit in, we try and like the things we are supposed to like and often times it leaves us totally confused about who we are and what we're supposed to be doing with this life.  But this wasn’t God’s intent!  We are created in the image of God! And that means that God desires for us to discover the people that we were truly created to be.  

By building a relationship with God we allow God to chip away at all the stuff that is not a part of our true being.

Pastor and author Rob Bell puts it this way: “Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God made you to be.”

God has a purpose and identity for each and every one of us and it might take some chipping away, but through God's love and grace we can all begin to discover the Imagine of God that lives within ourselves and one another.

May we pursue our true being, and allow God to chip away at everything else that gets in the way. Amen.

[bethanydevos]

“Power in the Beauty” by Pastor Nate

The other day I had a friend share with me an interesting fact about Niagara Falls.  Apparently, much of the water that flows down the Niagara River towards the falls is diverted.  The water is directed elsewhere, away from its typical path in order to be used for electrical power.

This is always the case.  Except, and this is the “interesting fact” part, during the summer months.  During the summer, a far smaller amount of the water is diverted, not because we use less electrical power in the summer-- if anything our air conditioners and fans cause us to use more power -- but because the summer months are the peak tourism times at Niagara Falls.

Now, when my friend told me this I thought it was one of the dumber things I had ever heard.  I’ve seen the Falls during January, when supposedly more water is diverted away, and believe me it is still very impressive.  Why would anyone go to all the trouble (and surrender so much potential energy) by letting more water flow during tourist season?

But, before I could even make this argument to my friend, he said something that made me reconsider: “Isn’t the real power of Niagara Falls not the electricity that it can produce but it’s overwhelming beauty?”

It’s the same with much of what happens at church.  As a Pastor, I put a lot of effort into creative new ideas, clever sermons, and moving worship services, but ultimately the real power of Christianity comes through the simple beauty of its message.

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me.” - 1 Corinthians 11:24

The simple yet beautiful Christian message is this: Christ died for us.  Through ordinary bread and wine we proclaim this beautiful truth at Communion.  But we also proclaim this powerful truth in all sorts of simple ways: through water at baptism, through the words of Scripture, through the act of gathering together in community-- these are simple practices that illustrate and proclaim the powerful truth of God’s love for us.  

May we discover the simple, yet powerful beauty of God in our lives.  Amen.

[bethanydevos]

“Who do You Say that I am?” by Pastor Nate

Today is the day of Epiphany! Happy Epiphany everyone! 

As we make this liturgical shift from Christmas to Epiphany, the assigned readings that we read on Sunday mornings will also make an appropriate shift from stories about the baby Jesus to stories of adult Jesus.  

I think it’s helpful, during this season of discovery, to read hear these stories about adult Jesus by asking ourselves the question that Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”  

It’s a question that we’ve likely been asked before by a preacher or confirmation teacher, but it is nonetheless a helpful question to reengage periodically because the answer to this question doesn’t just reveal something about who Jesus is, but who we are as well.

Father Richard Rohr puts it beautifully: “Your image of God creates you.”  Such a statement makes one wonder if the current climate of fear and hatred in our world is a product of Sunday school classes and Sunday morning sermons about an angry and vengeful god.  

But as we lean into a new year and a new liturgical season, I wonder if the stories of Jesus the miracle worker, Jesus the teacher, and Jesus the transfigured might alter our image of Jesus ever so slightly, and in so doing, change how we understand ourselves and our place in God’s grand story.  

Who do you say Jesus is?  And how does your answer to this question change the way you live each day?  

[bethanydevos]

“Excess and Need” by Pastor Nate

Halloween is this Saturday and every year on Halloween I’m reminded of a twitter post I saw on a Halloween many years ago.  It read:

“for kids whose stomachs hurt because they ate too much candy, and for those whose bellies hurt because they have no food at all, we pray.”

I’m not always quite sure what to do when I get a cold splash of reality like this.  We know that our world exists in the tension of these type of circumstances.  We know that some of us have so much that we don’t know how to enjoy it all without getting a stomach ache, while others lack the basic needs for survival but we don’t often know what to do with these situations.  How are we to live in a world where there is so much excess and yet so much need?

I’ll be honest, I don’t have a good answer to all these questions.  I’m sure that next Halloween will come and go and child will gorge themselves on candy while others go to bed hungry.  But in a world where this stark contrast is possible I find the following words of Jesus not only helpful, but convicting:

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:1-12

Christ calls some of the most unlikely groups of people blessed not because He thinks their hunger or pain is a blessing but because, by His love he has declared them blessed.  And in so doing, Christ challenges us to understand blessings not in terms of what we have or don’t have, but to understand blessing in terms of Christ’s love for us.  A love that is powerful enough to overcome the dichotomies within our world.

In our world of stark contrasts, we are called to see the excess and the needs with Christ’s eyes and to bring that love of Christ to the many places of hardship in our world.

May we learn to see the world with Christ’s eyes. Amen.