Sermon given on the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 31, 2010, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. Text is 1 Corinthians 13.

Two weeks ago, on the Second Sunday after Epiphany, the Gospel reading was the story of Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. When I meet with couples planning their wedding service, I include the story of the wedding in Cana on the list of possible readings for a wedding. It is rarely chosen. Because it is entitled, The Wedding at Cana, it is often the first text couples will look at when they are looking for scripture readings for their wedding, but almost always, they choose a different reading, because it really says nothing about how a woman and man should set out to create a good marriage.

However, the second lesson for today, from 1 Corinthians 13, is the most often chosen text. I have seen it referred to as, “The Wedding Text”. Or more often: “The Love Chapter.” And I would guess that 90% of the times I’ve read 1 Corinthians 13 in worship, it has been at a wedding.

The 13th chapter of Corinthians has a kind of romantic sound to it.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.

You can almost picture a bride coming down the aisle, dressed in a beautiful white dress.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.

And imagines come to mind, of flowers, a unity candle, and tuxedos and bridesmaids dresses usually worn once and never again.

It is, a beautiful wedding text! It’s as if it were written for a wedding. with the invited guests all gathered together as spectators to a beautiful event. This is the day for the bride and the groom. They are the people for whom the day has been designed. They are the ones being honored. And 1 Corinthians 13 is what we wish for them.

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love believes all things, hope all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

It’s a nice sentiment, and it’s so … well … sentimental. We hope and pray, that when this couple gets out in the real world, that they will have a nice place at home where all these sentiments will apply, but don’t expect this kind of love out there in the real world. 1 Corinthians 13, a wonderful wedding text.

However, the circumstance that inspired Paul to write this insightful chapter was not a wedding. If you read all of the letter we know as First Corinthians – especially chapters 12 and 14, on either side of today’s reading, the reasons for Paul writing this chapter are dramatically different from a wedding. Paul is writing to a group of people who had found themselves locked in a conflict. And as is true with many conflicts, it wasn’t just one thing they disagreed on.

Sermon given on the Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 23, 2010, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. Text is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a.

As Christians, we have a world view that is admittedly simplistic. But then again, “simplistic” is the word you would have to use to describe the world view of any human being. We are, after all, human, which means that our scope, our vision is very, very limited. But none the less, we try to make sense out of the world, and as Christians, we believe that life and the world we live in is a gift from a loving, caring, forgiving God. Truth, we would say, is that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son …” you know it. Truth, we would say, is that all life is a gift of God’s grace.

But, truth be told, that is part of the reason we have so much trouble (people always have), trying to make sense out of the reality of suffering. How do you reconcile the “truth” of a loving, forgiving God of grace, with suffering?

Less than two weeks ago, a massive earthquake hit the poorest country in the western hemisphere: the island country of Haiti. A century ago, we would only now be hearing a few stories about the devastation, more than likely relegated to a back page of the newspaper. A century ago, we would have been pretty much be isolated and insulated from awareness of suffering that was beyond our small part of the world. But that is no longer the case. Today, within moments of a tragedy anywhere in the world, the news is out, accompanied by images, and live pictures that put us right there, in the middle of the tragedy. We get up in the morning, and watch reporters describing, live, the devastation of an earthquake in Haiti.

And what are we to feel? How are we to make sense of all this? “Where is God in all of this?” we ask. And where is our faith in all of this? It doesn’t seem to fit. We look for meaning – in everything – and the fact of the matter is, here’s nothing neat, or clear about the devastation of an earthquake that takes thousands of lives, in an instant, for no reason.

Some feel compelled to find a logical reason. Well, the only logical reason there is, is the fact that tectonic plate on the earth are continually shifting, and there are times when the shift is dramatic, and the result is an earthquake. That’s the logical reason, but it doesn’t relieve our feeling of suffering.

And so, our first response, is to lament this tragedy; to grieve, to mourn, and even to shake our fist at God because it doesn’t fit our simplistic way of looking at the world. Fist shaking and hand wringing are what you do, when you feel there’s nothing you can do. And the Biblical writers weren’t afraid to shake their fist at God. And so, that needs to be said. We need to feel, and lament, and mourn, and cry.

And we should lament. The image Paul offers us of the church in the Second lesson for this morning is an image that I believe God would have us embrace, not just for fellow Christians, but an image that is true for every human being. Paul sees each of us, as parts of a body that was created, not to function separately, but to function together. And he says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”

And so, we lament the pain and suffering of others. The most famous lament Psalm is Psalm 22: a Psalm Jesus spoke while suffering on the cross.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, so far from the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but find no rest.”

And how important it is that we feel. My friends, the people of Haiti are parts of the same body that we are a part of. There may be many differences between the simplistic way they look at the world, and the simplistic way that I look at the world, but they are a part of the body that I am a part of, and part of the body is suffering. And if one part of the body suffers, it all suffers. Why does this hurt so much? It’s because a part of the body has been hacked away.

There are some who want to isolate themselves from people who live in other parts of the world; who hear about something like this tragedy, and feel nothing; who don’t want to feel anything.

I remember when I was in grade school, the teacher was teaching about the importance of the nerve system, and she began the discussion asking the question: If you could always be free from pain, how does that sound. There are people who never feel pain. Their nerves don’t register pain of any kind. Well, a bunch of kids thought that sounded pretty good: no more skinned knees, no more bumps and bruises causing us discomfort; no more pain. But the fact of the matter, is that it is dangerous, to not feel. We remove our hand from a hot stove, as a protection against greater injury. Pain alerts us to something in the body that needs attention.

And my friends, the body we are a part of is hurting. And we are supposed to feel the pain. “If one part of the body suffers, all suffer together with it.”

So after lament, the next thing we do is try to make some sense out of the tragedy to try to explain away the parts of the tragedy that don’t fit our understanding of truth. The tragedy of suffering in Haiti doesn’t fit with my belief that God is a God of compassion and grace And I do believe, that God is indeed a God of compassion and truth, but I also must admit, that there is no good answer to the why of this earthquake, or any other disaster that brings suffering to innocent people.

Sadly, one of the things we simplistic human beings sometimes do, to make sense out of that which is so senseless, is blame the victim. We heard that during the hurricane, Katrina, that devastated New Orleans; it’s their fault for living in a dangerous place. And I must restrain myself from the ludicrous comments that accuse Haitians of making a pact with the devil over 200 years ago, because they wanted freedom, not slavery. Equally ludicrous, is the voice that looks at Haiti, and concludes that their suffer simply points out that God does not exist.

Actually, one of the best responses I have read, came from Jon Stewart, who’s not even a Christian, but responding to the “blame the victim” mentality, he said, “Out of all the things you could draw on from your religion to bring comfort to a devastated people and region” .. and then he opened a Bible, and quoted from Isaiah and the Psalms.

“The Lord is close to the broken hearted. God rescues those who are crushed in spirit. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will give you strength. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you.’

I don’t have a good answer to suffering but I believe that to be true, that

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you.”

I don’t have a good answer to explain suffering, but I do recognize the Spirit of God at work, and I recognize that which is NOT the word of God at work.

The Spirit of God, does not blame the victim. The Spirit of God does not wash it’s hands of other peoples’ suffering.

The Spirit of God is present in every act of compassion, every donation, every prayer, every expression of LOVE. For we are ONE body, and individually members of it.

As much as I would like to put an end to all suffering, it ain’t going to happen. The only answer to suffering that makes any sense at all, is the compassion that Paul is talking about. When one suffers, we all suffer, and together we lament, we mourn, and then we roll up our sleeves and we serve. We take care of our body and every part of it. For to not feel, to not care, is a perversion of what God made the body to be.

Let me close with my favorite quote about suffering from Ralph Wallin, who was church custodian, my first 20 years here at Wooddale, and died about 8 years ago. During a discussion, in Bible study on suffering, Ralph said to the group: “Well, I think we suffer, because we love this life so much.” And I believe that is true.

But I also believe, that God’s steadfast love is eternal, and in our sorrow, God will always be there to heal and restore us.

Pastor’s Report – 2009

A year ago, as Wooddale Lutheran Church began the new year in January of 2009, we were acutely aware of two contrasting parts of our history.

1) We thankfully looked ahead to the 80th anniversary of the congregation that would take place in November, 2009. But 2) we were also very aware of the parallels between the economic uncertainty that swept the nation in 1929 and the uncertainty felt by our society after a similar financial melt-down in 2008. A month before those 47 adults signed the charter creating Wooddale Lutheran Church on the First Sunday of Advent in 1929, the stock market crashed. And a year ago, in the wake of a similar financial strain, Wooddale had some difficult decisions to wrestle with. I am pleased to report that as a result of some budget cuts, much generous giving, and fiscal restraint, we are holding our own. The generosity and conviction of Wooddale’s membership has again risen to the challenge. And while the recession continues to make us nervous, all things considered, we’re doing pretty well.

As I wrote my report this year, I found my reflections drawn to three things I’d like to share in this report.

Sermon given on the Second Sunday of Epiphany. January 17, 2010, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. Text is John 2:1-11 and Isaiah 62:1-5.

Everyone has a story of a wedding where things didn’t quite go as planned. The setting for the Gospel story this morning is the wedding of an unnamed couple at a small town called Cana, located near the Sea of Galilee. At this wedding, Jesus did his first miracle at a wedding where things didn’t quite go as planned. Weddings are among the most important, significant, beautiful events in our society, and every wedding has it’s stories.

I was ordained as a pastor in 1975. The very first wedding I ever performed was scheduled just days after I was ordained. I hadn’t even started at my first church yet. The bride and groom were friends, and they wanted their wedding to be in the woods. Not just out doors, but out in the woods at one of Minnesota’s state parks. On the day of the wedding, a caravan of cars set out, following the bride and groom to a special spot at a state park where they had enjoyed spending time together. It was on the outskirts of the park where there were no parking lots or picnic grounds or ranger stations. We arrived at the turnoff, only to find a big chain stretched across the road they wanted to drive into. So we parked our cars by the highway, and walked, maybe a quarter of a mile down a dirt road that was more grass than dirt; 2 dirt ruts with tall grass in the middle.

Sermon given on the Sunday of the Baptism of our Lord, January 10, 2010, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk.  Texts are Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-17, 21-22.

Human beings need to belong.  We need to feel that we are important in the life of someone else.  Most very young children aren’t even aware of this need, this desire to belong, because, from the moment they were born, they were constantly reminded that that they were cherished, that they belonged in this family, so they’ve never known anything but the feeling of belonging and being embraced and loved.  It is an important gift of confidence, that most parents instinctively and naturally offer their children.  You “belong” here in our family.  You “fit in” here.  You are loved and cherished here.  You are precious.  And when a very young child feels as though they belong in their world, everything they do just seems so natural, and innocent, and playful.  What a wonderful gift that is, for a child to feel so safe and embraced by the people around them that it never occurs to them to doubt that they belong.

This was a part of an interesting report on TV a week or so ago, where they contrasted this natural, innocent, playful belonging, with the seemingly constant day to day struggle that some children seem destined to when they have not been the recipient of the innocence of a childhood of belonging.  There are all too many examples of what happens when we don’t feel as if we have a place where we belong.

Second Sunday of Christmas, January 3, 2010, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. Text is Ephesians 1:3-14.

Happy New Year. Can you believe it? It’s 2010! My, how time flies. There is something about us, as human beings, that likes the idea of new beginnings, of getting a fresh start, and the beginning of a new year is a good time for a fresh start. So, how do you get a fresh start?

Usually, the focus for a new start is seen as having something to do with your resolve. Get a fresh start to the New Year by making a Resolution: “Resolve” to do something different in the future from how you’ve done it in the past. New Year’s Resolutions: that tradition of self-examination and determination to do better next year than we did this past year.

So, how have you been at making, and keeping resolutions? Generally, the likelihood of giving up on our resolve is pretty high. Some resolutions are personal: I will eat more healthy food, or exercise regularly. Some resolutions are relational: I will be more patient with my children, or learn to get along with my coworker. Maybe you’ve got a spiritual resolution: I will worship more regularly, or join a Bible study. And for a week or maybe two, or maybe three, we make a good effort, and then – all too often, it all reverts to the way it was before.