Taking the wings of the morning

“Where can I go from your spirit?  Or where can I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.  If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me…” – Psalm 139:7-9

            Well it’s back to days in the 90’s and one Sunday service -- must be summer is here.  While Florida summer can feel like down time, maybe we should see it as an opportunity.  As things go by a little slower, there could be more chances to stop and reflect, more opportunity for fellowship – get-togethers, visiting friends, getting to know each other better.  With the hectic pace of getting through each week easing up just a bit, summer gives us a chance to build on what we’re supposed to be about anyway – relationships.

            Events and projects, committees and meetings – sometimes that’s all the church seems to be made of.  But remember the old Sunday school hand trick: “…open the doors and see all the PEOPLE.”  We people of faith are not God’s special project, but God’s holy community.  In fact, church is not some offhand second thought God had while He was busy making stars and planets.  No, this is His divine plan to reveal and distribute His love to all the world.  The church is about worship, but it’s especially about the worship and prayer that happens when we gather as God’s faithful people.  Church is about helping others, but it’s especially about the kind of help we can give when we are working together on Jesus’ team.   That’s our job, and even through summer’s endless parade of 90 degree days, we’re sticking to it.

            Throughout the summer people will continue coming on Wednesdays for food.  Friday lunch times will remain open for drive-through prayer for anyone who needs a listening ear and a blessing from God.  Though Sunday school will be taking a break, there will be Day Camp in July for the children of our congregation and the community.  People who come here should always find that we dispense more than some bags of food or a few kind words.  Here the heart of Jesus still beats, here His hopes are pursued, here the ideas of justice, peace, and grace are lived out.  At Atonement, we are a love pantry.

            God’s love is not just a warm feeling or a polite disposition.  When we love, we help fulfill the mission of Jesus (John 3:16).  When we love we are connected to God, because all love comes from God (1 John 4:6-7).  When we love, we welcome those who are different whether they are neighbors (Mark 12:31), foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19), or even enemies (Luke 6:35).  Lovers are fearless (1 John 4:18-19), loyal (John 15:13), constant (Proverbs 17:17), chivalrous and respectful (Ephesians 5:25, 33).  When we love, the best of us rises to the top (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:14), and the worst of us sinks away (Proverbs 10:12, 1 Peter 4:8).  When we love, we are connected to the ones we love through our concern and commitment to their well-being (1 John 3:16-18). 

            We’ve said quite a few good-byes in the last couple months.  Among the usual snowbirds heading back up north, a few have sold their Florida homes and are done with the back-and-forth.  We don’t know when we will see them again, but we know when they look up at night, they will see the light of the same stars we see.  We know they’ll feel the warmth of the same sun that we stand under, and that they remain in the hands and heart of the same God who holds us.

            The cross of Jesus and the promises of baptism unite us wherever we may go.  We are connected by love to the same God, regardless of the distance between us.  Wherever you may find yourself this summer, God’s Holy Spirit will follow you.  Whether you are climbing a mountain, fishing in the Gulf, or sitting and knitting quietly at home, you will find the insight of the psalmist true that wherever you go, “…[God’s] right hand shall hold [you] fast” (Psalm 139:10).  So when you put on the wings of the morning and fly off to your next destination, make sure you take love along with you. 

Peace,
Pastor Scott

Reading the Heart

"But there are also many other things that Jesus did.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”  -- John 21:25

“Every day I write the book” – Elvis Costello

            At the end of the Gospel of John, we have this surprising statement.  John says that this gospel he wrote was only the very tip of the iceberg in telling the full and complete story of Jesus.  So what we have, as beautiful and amazing as it is, is more like the Cliff Notes to the life of Jesus than the full Director’s Cut.  He does his best to hit the highlights because he wants us to know this man whose story he tells.  But he picks and chooses, and he does so with a clear purpose: “…these are written so that you come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).  So we’re informed that he’s given us the stripped-down version of a story that, if it were fully told, would require an earth-sized library to hold it all (or at least buildings crammed full of terabyte hard drives).

            Atonement will turn 30 this year, just one week after the Lutheran movement turns 500 on Reformation Sunday.  We have lived through interesting times as a congregation – we’ve gone from being a mission church in the boonies to finding ourselves right in the heart of a booming suburb.  We’ve weathered storms of conflict, low attendance, and insufficient income.  We carried on through years when the church almost closed and we witnessed years when we’ve made great strides in our mission and ministry.  We’ve gone from being a barely seen church sitting a ways back from the main road to one that is up front and known in the community as a place where people find help. 

            But think of all the things the community doesn’t know about us.  Sure, they know we care about the community, but do they know that we have an active youth program and Sunday school?  They surely know about our food pantry and drive-through prayer, but do they know we have a worship service where all are welcome and where young and old together sing new and old songs to the praise of God?  Do they know we believe in God’s radical grace that empowers us all to be ministers, priests, and witnesses to God’s love?

            As our council came together for our annual retreat last month, we tried to identify the core values that flow from our identity as Lutherans and from our mission to share the love of Jesus, glorify God and extend His kingdom.  These values are the important principles that we are passionate about – things we hope to communicate clearly to our community, and to always keep before us as we move forward.  Here’s what we came up with:

At Atonement, we give praise and glory to God by…

Å      sharing the love of Jesus in Word and Sacrament

Å      helping others in need, whether they are members or not

Å      growing enriching relationships with God and our neighbors

Å      creating a safe haven where faith is nurtured and people experience Jesus

Å      seeing and treating all people as Christ in our midst

Å      reaching out to our community to bring people closer to God

Å      having fun

[OK, I admit it.  I put that last one in there.  But I do feel that following Christ brings with it an undeniable and irrepressible spirit of joy, which I see over and over at Atonement!]

            John wanted people to know that there’s much more to knowing Jesus than they can get from reading his book.  Still, he wrote to change hearts and share the story of our Risen Lord.  It is this Jesus himself who brings us new life.  By knowing him we gain a new life perspective.  By following him we develop a new life-style. 

            Just so, we hope to be an open book like John’s gospel.  We hope that when they read us, they find out about our Risen Lord.  Can they see his face in ours?  Will they sense his heart in our actions and hear his grace in our words?  Will our events and hospitality at Atonement --  will our outreach and work in the community communicate that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that believing in him brings life?  Do they see that life in us?  May God continue writing his Easter story in each of our hearts, and may we always be ready to be read!

Peace,

Pastor Scott