UNCHAIN MY SOUL

A Sermon for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C

Rev. Laura Gentry

Preached at Our Savior's Lutheran Church

Lansing, Iowa

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Picture this: you are sitting alone in a prison cell. You are shackled, hungry and miserable. You are aware that you are awaiting your death sentence. Worst of all, you didn’t commit any crime. You are here in this awful place because you did the right thing and you boldly proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ.

What’s your response? Do you live in denial and try to pretend this is not happening to you? Do you shake your fists at God and ask why you’ve had to suffer so? Do you give in to depression and lose hope?

You don’t do any of those things. Not, at least, if you are Saint Paul. Instead of despairing—which is obviously his natural reaction (he is human, after all), he holds firm to his faith, resolute to endure everything. And then gets busy with his letter writing.

In our first lesson, we are privy to one such letter. This one was written to Timothy, a young church leader who has worked with Paul. In Ephesus, Timothy is facing false teachings that are threatening to destroy his ministry. Scholars today find it unlikely that Paul himself wrote this letter to Timothy. It was probably a minister who was inspired by Paul and who was writing in his style. In ancient times this was a common practice and was a way of showing respect for the person in whose name it was written. In any case, the timeless truth of God’s power shines out in these words.

This is a letter of encouragement. Even today, so many years after this piece was written, we Christians still need encouragement. Perhaps, we need it more than ever before. It is so easy to feel sorry for ourselves and think that God ought to be doing more for us. But this letter reminds Timothy and it reminds us that we must focus on the gospel if we are to endure our presence circumstances.

This amazing passage declares the central message of our faith: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He has broken the bonds of death and is alive, and because he lives we may live also. This truth should always be in the forefront of our minds. We must hold firm to this. We live because Christ gave us life and not just life for this world, but life beyond the grave.

Paul knows this. Here he is, languishing in prison while nearly all of his friends have abandoned him. His ministry has led him to suffering. But he knows that his Lord Jesus Christ also suffered and so this suffering can draw him closer to God, not further away. He is aware of the truth that though his body is chained, God’s word is not. God’s word is not chained. What a powerful message!

And because God’s word is not chained, Paul is not chained. Yes, he may be in prison, but his soul is unchained. All things are still possible because he walks in faith. Now, he can endure this suffering and he reminds us that God gives us the power to do the same. We an live as resurrected people. Every morning is Easter morning because we are risen with Christ and that means we are risen above any of the circumstances of our lives that chain us. In Christ, our souls are unchained.

The other scripture readings for today bear witness to this reality. In both the Hebrew Scripture reading about Naaman and the Gospel reading about the 10 lepers, we see God’s word being unchained. In both stories, there are men who are stricken with leprosy. Talk about chains. These people were afflicted both physically and socially because their disease caused them to be ostracized. They were truly men without hope.

And then God’s power comes into the picture and heals them. They are given their lives back—resurrection is truly what happens to them. And not only that, some of those healed are outsiders. Naaman is the commander of the enemy army and one of the ten lepers Jesus heals is a Samaritan. It would have been unthinkable to the ancient audiences of these scriptures that God would heal such unworthy candidates. Yet that’s precisely what God does. Unchained? Yes! God’s word is unchained and God’s embrace is so much wider than we could ever fathom. And now, those who have been healed and unchained as well. Their lives are resurrected and will never be the same again.

So what does this all mean for us? We who live with the many chains of our modern world, we who suffer untold pain, we who fear about the future—what can this brief letter, which wasn’t even necessarily written by Paul, do for us?

Well, if we listen closely with the ears of faith, we know that these words were written just for you and me. "If we have died with him, we will also live with him." There is nothing surer. Though life may be full of suffering, we follow a living Lord. Paul says it all in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 4 verse 17, "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

God's Word is not chained, my friends. Do you believe that? Can you embrace that truth even when things look really dismal? Can you allow God to unchain your soul so that you may truly live today?

The wonderful thing is that God offers to free us even without our own doing. We don’t have to earn God’s love. It is a gift. Martin Luther once said that "the only thing we bring to our salvation is sin and resistance!" How powerful to know that all is God’s gift, all is grace even though we are so imperfect and so frequently faithless.

And now that we have this gift of resurrected life, we have the gleaming opportunity to live it. We have the amazing chance to be truly unchained. God wants to heal us and lift us up so that we can walk in newness of live today and on into eternity. Let us be unchained. Let us live. Amen.

Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura Gentry 2010 (painting and sermon)

A DESPERATE GOD

A Sermon for the 16th Sunday in Pentecost

September 12, 2010

Pastor Laura Gentry

Luke 15:1-10

Don’t you just hate it when you lose something and you have to go searching around for it? Have you ever lost something really important? What did you do? How did you seek it?

I once lost a turtle in the garden outside my office in the church where I interned. I turned the place upside down. I even let the children’s choir mess up the landscaping in an attempt to locate the wayward reptile. “Izzy!” they shouted wildly as they hunted around. I had to chuckle when I overheard one little girl pleading. “Izzy, Izzy!” she cried, “please come back or I think Pastor Gentry’s going to cry!” When we found Izzy five months later, we rejoiced. It even became the headline story for our Christmas letter that year.

In today’s gospel reading from Luke, Jesus tells two parables in a row on being lost and found. Now these parables are probably quite familiar to us and so they might sort of fly under the radar. They seem so nice. Even sentimental. Especially the one about the lost sheep. That is even cuter than my turtle story.

But what we might not realize is how shocking these parables really are. So let’s try to unpack Jesus’ radical message in them, shall we?

First of all, let’s look at the context. It begins with Jesus getting criticized by the religious authorities. Now we have religious authorities today too, me, for example. And we’ve got our church council members and our Sunday school teachers, who we will be installing this morning. They’re good people. They work very hard to know God’s will and obey it. But these folks are having a hard time understanding Jesus’ actions.

You see, Jesus isn’t behaving the way they expected him to behave. They don’t mind his message so much as the company he’s keeping. He’s hanging out rather extensively with sinners. We’re taking about tax collectors—traitors who worked for the oppressive Roman government, and sinners so bad they couldn’t even move in polite society. And if that weren’t bad enough, he’s eating with them. In biblical times, that implied a closeness, a familiarity. You only eat with people that you’re really connected to. So why would Jesus, this famous rabbi, be eating with this band of scumbags? It is not surprising, then, that the religious authorities felt obligated to say something about this to Jesus. His behavior was driving them through the roof.

Jesus, however, in typical Jesus-fashion, has a ready answer for their complaint. In fact, he’s got two parables ready to go. He unleashes them to help them understand that God is not at all like they thought.

"Which one of you," he asks them, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”

Now at first, you might think that this is a logical anecdote. Ah, but wait a minute. Think about it: who would you leave their ninety-nine safe and sound sheep to go search for their stray? Well, perhaps if they had a nice clean pen to put them in so they’d be safe. But that’s not what Jesus is asking. He’s asking who would leave them out in the wilderness where they would be in peril to go search for the lost one? Um, well, then I’d have to say nobody. Nobody would be that ridiculous and reckless. That makes no sense. No. You cut your losses and move on. That's what a normal shepherd would do.

Well, what about the second parable? This one makes a bit more sense: if you had only ten coins and lost one, you'd search, too, sweeping and sweeping until you find it. Hey, you’ve probably done this! But once you found it, would you really call your friends and invite them to rejoice? Keep in mind that in biblical times to have a party means to serve a meal. So with that in mind, let's try that again: which one of you would search all night for your silver coin and then spend at least twice that much in celebrating your find with your friends? Again, nobody! At least nobody with sense.

But that's just it. When it comes to God's children—God's lost children—God hasn’t any sense. At all. God would eagerly risk everything to find one of them—one of us—and having found a lost child, would give everything to celebrate. There's only one kind of word for this behavior: desperate. We don’t usually think of God as being desperate but that’s the exact picture Jesus is painting of God in these parables. God is desperate for us. God wants to throw all caution to the wind in hopes of finding us and drawing us back into the fold of God’s love.

It is in Jesus that we see most profoundly that God is desperate for us. God sent Jesus to come and claim the wayward children who are lost. This is radical news.

Have you ever been physically lost? It’s a frightening feeling. When we traveled to Bulgaria 3 years ago, we were surprised to discover they rarely post street signs so having a map doesn’t really help. We joked that we had no idea where we were until the third day. But seriously, being lost is no fun.

And when you're lost, at least according to this parable, there's not much you can do. Jesus doesn't set out a formula about how you have repent first or earn your salvation by saying the appropriate "sinner's prayer." He seems to understand that when you’re lost, you’re lost. Sometimes, you don’t even know you’re lost. You need someone to come find you.

And Jesus finds us. The good news is that you and I have been found. Now that we’ve been found, we are free and we can rejoice. That’s why the Christian life centerd around joy. We were lost but now we’re found. When we can let this fact sink in, we cannot help but be happy.

Perhaps that’s what the Pharisees have forgotten—how amazingly joyful it is to be sought, found and loved by desperate God. They remember the importance of obedience, discipline, and morality, but they’ve lost touch with the pure joy of being found.

Thanks to these parables, we are reminded again of our own joy. It is easy to forget amid the stress of our everyday lives that what we’re called to is rejoice. How comforting to know that God is still desperately searching, sweeping, and looking for God's lost and beloved children and won't ever stop until we're all found.

I understand this because that run-away turtle I told you about earlier, well, she ran away again. So if you happen to see a box turtle who answers to the name of Izzy, please let me know. I’m desperate to find her.

Now may the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

© 2010 Laura E. Gentry

CHOOSE LIFE

A SERMON FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

After their 40 year journey through the desert, Moses and the Israelites have approached the Promised Land. Now, their leader gives them final instruction, as they will soon press on to dwell in the land promised to them by God and he will remain there to live out his final days.

The book of Deuteronomy contains the incredible set of instructions, which Moses delivers to God’s people. These people are people of the promise. They are truly living in God’s grace. They have been delivered from slavery and given freedom. They’ve survived the trecherous years of wandering in the wilderness. And they have been given the Law, which has the power to guide them into the paths of life.

In this morning’s passage from Deuteronomy, we are allowed to listen in as Moses lays out the important choice that they will need to make: obedience or death. Love God and live, he tells them. Or serve other gods and perish! The entire Torah, the first 5 books of the Hewbrew Scriptures, has been driving toward this choice.

Now, on brink of the Promised Land and at this crucial point at the end of his big sermon, Moses urges the people to make the right choice. God won’t make the choice for them. God simply lays it before them. Life or death. You can imagine the passion with which Moses cries out these words: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity." Choose life.

How do they do this? They cling to the law. They learn it, they love it and they obey it. All too often, as Christians, we get so fixated upon grace in Jesus Christ that we forget that the law is life-giving. When we obey God’s law, we send our roots deep into the very heart of God. We know God and we learn to conform our actions to God’s will. Not that we’ll ever be perfect, but each good choice we make brings us closer to life, closer to joy, closer to being who we were created to be.

You see Moses is preaching to the people who came from Egypt. They were born and raised there. Slavery in Egypt is all they knew. Now, he shows them the way of freedom. The hope is that they will want to embrace this freedom and not be tempted to go back to Egypt.

The hope for us is that we, too, will embrace the life-giving freedom God offers us. We too, must resist the temptation to go back to Egypt. Why would we want to go back to Egypt? Because it’s easy. Because it is what we know. Because it is where everybody else is going. Egypt, in this sense, is not the country, but the state of mind that loves to disobey God. It is that part inside of each one of us that says: “You don’t need this! Obeying God is too demanding. It’s way too risky. Just forget it. Be selfish. Live for your own purposes. You don’t need God.”

And that voice, my friends, is the voice of enslavement. It is the way that leads to fear, saddness, and death. It lies to us. Every day it lies to us. But we don’t have to listen to that voice. We have a choice, Moses reminds us. And the choice God wants us to make is life. Will we choose life? It’s risky, it’s alaming, but it’s incredible!

In the Psalm for today, it says: Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.” (Psalm 1:1-3)

For us to be happy, according to this piece of wisdom literature, we must reject the advice of this world and delight in God’s Law. We must meditate upon it constantly so that we’ll be like trees plated by streams of living water. No matter how the weather batters us, we will still be tapped into our source. We will not wither. We will be choosing life.

What does this mean? How are we to meditate upon God’s Law? The word “meditation” often scares people off—they associate it with eastern mysticism. That’s not the point here. To meditate means to think about the instruction God has given for life. It means to dwell on it so much that it changes us. Day and night, we are to keep God’s Law in mind. This means the Bible is not casual reading. It is not for amusement, it is for life! We need to be reading it, considering it, meditating upon it, and acting upon it. That’s what choosing life is all about. How exciting that we can make this choice.

Jesus put this choice before his followers as well. To everyone’s shock, he says: "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27)

Wait a minute, I thought Jesus wanted followers. Now, he makes it sound so difficult that nobody would want to follow him! But he wants people to know exactly what they are getting themselves into. Early Christians left everything to follow Jesus and exchanged their place in their birth families for the Christian community, which became a surrogate family for them. It is not that they hated their families, but their allegiance to Jesus was so much greater that it resembled hate by comparison. These followers understood that life apart from Jesus is without value. Nothing is more important than following him. Nothing. And for this reason, they were willing to forsake all for him so that they could choose life—authentic life.

And so today, we have the exciting opportunity to meditate upon Moses’ message of the choice we have to make: life or death. We hear the joyful wisdom of the Psalmist who reminds us that happiness comes not from this world but from God’s law. And we have the call of Jesus who also invites us to choose life and not take that choice lightly because it may cost everything. Today, my friends, may we recognize anew that life, true life, the life we seek so deserately, is found in God alone. So let’s go after it with everything that is within us. Let’s choose life.

© 2010 Laura Gentry

WE OUGHT TO DANCE WITH RAPTURE

The following sermon is from the wedding of Gabrielle Lynn McNally and Samuel Edmond White, which took place on Mount Hosmer in Lansing, Iowa on July 31, 2010.

They meet for the first time. He looks into her eyes. She takes his hand. They waltz across the stage, floating gracefully as the music soars. And they live happily ever after.

Sounds like a fairy tale or an internet forward, huh? No no, it is the real life story of Gabby and Sam. And I’m here with you and with the two of them on this, their wedding day because I engineered the whole thing by begging Gabby to audition for the Allamakee Players’ production of “Meet Me in Saint Louis” four years ago. I’d like to take credit for fixing her up with this amazing groom she’s got here but frankly, I was just trying to make sure we’d have a strong female lead. Little did I know she would meet the love of her life and they would dance off into the sunset together.

Gabby’s been dancing for a long time. When I first met her, I was choreographing a summer production of Grease and she was a dancing cast member. I later interviewed her for an art project I was doing to reveal the inner lives of teenage girls. When Gabby and I spoke, it was clear to me that she’d found a wisdom, a confidence beyond her young age. She said: “I found authenticity, but I don’t think that some people are that open to the idea, or just, you know, they’re trying so hard to fit in.” Gabby summoned the courage (and I think it had a lot to do with her parents’ unswerving love and support) to be herself. She emphatically said to me: “I’d like to think that I’m passionate too, like God is, just about my life and about the way I feel.” Yes, this young girl was already dancing to the beat of her own drummer.

And who waltzes into the life of this fiesty, amazing girl but a dashing, dancing young man named Sam? You guessed it, they were cast opposite one another in the Allamakee Players’ production so they were forced to spend the summer singing and dancing together. And it was at these rehearsals that Gabby began to noticed how wonderful Sam is. The first thing he got points for was getting along with her mom. He knew how to get to her heart. She found in Sam a kindred spirit who not only shares her interests in the arts, but is also a person of kindness generosity. And on top of that he’s a fellow rock concert devotee and has a great sense of humor!

They fast became friends. Then a romance blossomed. Then, four years later he popped the question. She said yes yes, she said yes before he could even finish asking. They both feel blessed to have the gift of one another. It’s the kind of love story everyone dreams of.

And all of this brings you, Gabby and Sam, to this sacred moment. The dance you began on that stage all those years ago is about to take a turn, a whirl if you will, into a deeper, more profound dance—a dance that you intend will last you the rest of your lives.

D.H. Lawrence wrote: “We ought to dance with rapture that we might be alive...and part of the living, incarnate cosmos.” That is your challenge, I believe, as you make your matrimoials vows to one another and move on from here. How can you dance in a way that makes you fully alive, fully a part of the living, incarnate cosmos—and do it in a unified way, as a married couple who can dance together without stepping on each other’s toes?

Well, that’s your job. But as a spiritual leader and a friend who's been asked to speak at your wedding, I’d like to offer 3 words of wisdom to you this evening that I hope you’ll bear in mind as you do the dance of life together.

My first piece of advise is: dance with passion. I know you are passionate people but you must stay passionate and direct that passion towards one another. According to a recent poll in the UK, the average romance now lasts two years, six months and 25 days. You’re already past that and you're still in love so that’s good. Gabby, you say “Sam’s my everything.” And Sam, you say “Gabby’s my everything.” Well, guess what? You’ve got to keep it that way if you want to dance with passion.

In the Bible, there is a whole book of romantic love poems called the Song of Solomon. In chapter 8, it says: “Love is as strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. ” Powerful words for a powerful emotion.

Gabby and Sam, it is your responsibility to keep your love alive, so that it will burn as strong as death. This connection that you have of mind, body, and spirit can and must grow. If you make this a priority, you’ll find that your hearts will continue to thrill with one another. And this will make your dance more passionate.

The second word of wisdom I have is: dance with positivity. Many couples get into trouble after a while, when the blinders come off their eyes and they see the truth about each other. All of their differences that they used to find so charming and cute become downright annoying. The reality is, there are endless things to dislike about each other. How easy it would be to fall into the trap of taking each other for granted and not seeing the incredible miracle that the other is.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addressed this human tendency. He was writing to the whole community but I think his words are equally applicable in the case of marriage. He offers these profound words: Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

We all have behavioral habits. The things we do are based on the patterns we’ve set up for ourselves. What Paul is urging here and what I’m urging is well, is that you start your marriage off on the right foot. And that means you dance positively. You intentionally think about the things that are good in each other. Just as there are plenty of things to be upset about with one another, there are plenty of things that are true, pleasing and excellent. So just think about those things. It really is that simple.

I’m sure you’re already doing this, but you must make it a relational habit, a way of life, if you intend to keep regarding one another with gratitude. Research shows that people who keep a gratitude journal, who each night before going to sleep write at least five things for which they are grateful, big things or little things, are happier, more optimistic, more successful, more likely to achieve their goals, physically healthier; it actually strengthens their immune system, and makes them more generous and benevolent toward others. This is an exercise that takes about three minutes a day with life-changing benefits. Gabby and Sam, I suggest you keep a gratitude journal about one another. Write down 5 things you appreciate about your spouse each day. In this way, you’ll be following the scriptural exhortation to think about those things which are worthy of praise. You’ll be enhancing your lives as you learn to dance with greater and greater positivity.

My final bit of wisdom is dance with purpose. I know that you are spiritual people. This is important. You must continue to tap into your spiritual roots. This is the place from which you draw your strength, grounding, and life purpose. If you are both doing this, it will bring you closer.

Psalm 87:7 puts it this way: Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” Sam and Gabby, you are young and optimistic but the truth is, there will be hard times ahead. You will experience negative emotions, hurts, disappointments and faillures even within this relationship. The hard knocks of life will come. But you, the singers and dancers, can cling to your Creator. You can hold fast to God, the wellspring of spiritual power.

In 1 John, Chapter 4 it says:

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love....Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."

This scripure tells us that your love for one another comes from God and it is through your love, that God lives in you. This means that your marriage has a spiritual foundation. God will be at work perfecting your love as the glowing depth, beauty and joy of your love increases over the years. This is the purpose of which I speak.

Gabby and Sam, we share your excitement. We want the very best for you and your marriage. We hope that your unified dance will be a constant source of blessing and that you’ll remember to dance with passion, to dance with positivity and to dance with purpose, that you may be alive and part of the incarnate cosmos.

Let us pray: O God of Love, pour down your grace upon Gabby & Sam that they may fulfill the vows they will make this day and reflect your steadfast love in their life-long faithfulness to each other. As members with them in the family of God, use us to support their life together; and from your great store of strength give them power and patience, affection and understanding, courage, and love toward you, toward each other, and toward the world, that they may continue to dance together in true and constant love. Amen.

LAUGHING IN HEAVEN

The following is a sermon I preached for the funeral of my great uncle, Donald Dodge in Colesburg, Iowa. Click here for his obituary.

Psalm 68:3-7

But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.

Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,

the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

John 14:15-21, 27

”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

IN THE NAME OF OUR SAVIOR WHO HAS DEFEATED DEATH, DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF DONALD DODGE.

When I was a very little girl, I remember being at a family gathering playing in the basement with my cousins. I ran upstairs for something and at the top of the steps, I was met by my great Uncle Donald who looked at me and casually said: “Okay, Laura, I paid your daddy the dime for you so you’re going home with me.” Being too young to know it was once of his many jokes, I whirled around and ran back down the stairs as fast as my little legs would take me. He laughed and laughed at me and never did let me live that one down.

That’s one of my first memories of Uncle Donald. And I smile at each and every memory of him, as I know you do too. It was great to hear stories from his great grandaughter, Lucie. Donald was so eager to offer a joke, a witicism, a laugh or just that big delightful grin of his.

In Proverbs, we read: “a cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) All of Donald’s friends, children, grand children, and great grandchildren were given a dose of good medicine whenever they encountered him. He was ever sharing his cheerful heart and cheering us all along the way. When you were in his presence, you were lifted.

Donald was certainly a person who lived out the joy of the Lord. He really walked the walk because he knew his Savior. In the Psalm we just heard, it says: "let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy." This does speak of Donald, doesn’t it? He was ever jubilant with joy. From this joyfulness, he was so caring, serving and all-around wonderful.

But when a person of jubilant joy departs, we feel a profound loss. Not that we thought we’d have him forever—we nearly did—but somehow the end still feels too soon. We need God’s help.

And for you Karen and Cindy, this is especially hard. You’ve lost your last remaining parent. It may feel—even at your age—that you’ve been orphaned. How do you go on without your parents? Jesus’ disciples felt this way too when he announced that he would be going to be with the Father. And so he assured them that he would not leave them. That’s what we heard in the Gospel reading this morning: I will not leave you orphaned. No, he promised that he would come to them and make his home with them and give them peace, even in the midst of distress. This reading closes with one of the most beautiful passages in the bible. Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

This beautiful peace beyond what the world can give is what our beloved Donald has now entered into. He is surrounded in glorious light, joy and peace. And Jesus promises us that same peace here as we continue our journey on earth. It is the peace of God that passes all understanding. Because we’ve been given the gift of this peace, we musn’t be afraid. Our hearts need not be troubled. We have God’s peace.

Therefore, our mourning, though deep, is only temporary. The Psalmist declares to the Lord, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy!” This is good news to all of us who mourn. The God we love will transform our mourning so much so that not only will we be okay, we’ll be dancing! Because we know that death is but a gateway to eternal life, because we know we will one day be reunited with Donald and all those we love who have gone before, because Jesus Christ has died for us, we can rejoice. Even now. Even as we mourn. Yes, we can and should faithfully rejoice. I know Donald would want it that way.

I’m a Lutheran minister so I have to sneak in a quote from Martin Luther and here it is. He wrote: “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.” I know Donald agreed with that sentiment. Yes, should rejoice even in our sorrow because we know our sackcloth will eventually come off and we’ll be clothed with joy, but Donald has already been clothed with joy. Completely. He is so full of the joy of the Lord right now that he must be laughing. I can only imagine how full his belly laugh is right now. I can only imagine how happy he was to take his beloved wife, Lucille, back into his arms and laugh together with her again. I can only imagine how they’ve both been lifted up on eagle’s wings, how they shine like the sun in God’s eternal kingdom. Oh, if we just picture them in our minds’ eye for a moment, we cannot help but smile.

This is why we may have tears today but it is really a day of celebration. We celebrate the happy, loving life of Donald Dodge. We celebrate the multitude of things that he meant to us. We celebrate how he enriched and changed our lives with the cheerfulness medicine he dished out daily. We celebrate the fact that his ours and we are his and so we’ll always have him in our hearts. And most of all, we celebrate the God who created Donald, saved him and gave him joy—joy that never never ends.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

COME, JOIN THE DANCE

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday—the only day of the church year dedicated to a theological teaching not associated with the life of Jesus. Furthermore, it contains the word “trinity,” which is not a biblical word but a theological concept developed about 300 years after Jesus’ death. A strange church day, to be sure.

But I’m totally into it. I know I’m an exception to the norm as I was brought up wholly immersed in the life of the church. I distinctly remember riding my tricycle around the garage on days it was too cold to trike outside. And as I made my circles, I would recite the Apostle’s Creed. Round and round I would go until I was both an excellent triker and an excellent mini theologian. I was able to wrap my mind around the doctrine of the Trinity even before I graduated to two wheels. Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a church nerd.

Yes, we celebrate the triune nature of God today. For those of you who might not be full-blown church nerds, what does this mean?

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the chosen people understood that God one God and was the only God. This was quite different from their cultural context where people carved lots of “gods” out of stone or cast them in metal and told stories of how these gods fought with each other endlessly—always staking out their supernatural turf. No, when the father of the faith, Abraham set forth from Ur to follow God’s command to go to the land of Caanan, he knew that there was just one God—and an all-powerful God that must be obeyed even if it was inconvenient. Moses knew this one God too, and saw God’s power unleashed in Egypt as God freed the enslaved and lead them forth to the Promised Land. The prophets continued to speak out about this one God who was holy and above all knowing.

Then, Jesus came into the picture and the new religious movement of Christians began to speak not only of God, but of the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit that was still moving among them. Yet, they declared that all these were still one God. No wonder people got confused and frustrated by this new understanding. It IS difficult to understand God.

Saint Augustine often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never fully capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine.

Yet we do have this doctrine and it can give us a peephole into the divine. What is this triune God like? Well, the Athanasian Creed puts it this way: “In this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” Jesus explained it similarly when he said: "Do you not know that the Father is in me and I in the Father?" And of the Spirit, Jesus said: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. God, you see, is a like a committee...that actually works.

What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within the three forms of God. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described the Trinity with the Greek word "perichoresis." This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a graceful dance within the internal life of God. It is a dance of inclusion, equality and most of all, love.

God, the great "I AM," whom we can never fully understand gives us a major clue to help us understand. We see that God is not alone, God is—at the very core—relationship. This is completely different from those Greek gods of old who were constantly fighting with one another. Not so for our God. In the Trinity we find a beautiful and caring relationship. God is united and loving and dancing together seamlessly.

Amazing! And yet what is even more amazing is that we have been invited into the dance too. God could have danced in peace apart from our world and all its selfish ambition. Instead, God chooses to redeem us and to be together with God and one another in the dance of life.

We all know the pain of not being invited, not being included. We humans do this to each other all the time, and it hurts. God does just the opposite: God invites all to the table. No one is an outsider in God’s eyes. Everyone is beloved and vitally important. Remember that when Jesus was baptized, the father God said to him: "You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased." Well, when we are baptized, God says the same thing to us: "You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased."
We are invited into the Trinity of God in our baptism. We become part of the dance—adopted by God the father, redeemed by God the Son and sealed with God the Holy Spirit. What have we to fear, then? If God has brought us into the harmonious community, then we can live in unspeakable joy. We are beloved, each called by name, each more important than we ever thought we could be. This is a dance we can dig.

Now you can see that the doctrine of the Trinity is not just a fancy theory—it is the reality in which we live each day of our lives. We are part of the community and we are free to dance with God. How, then, should we dance?

In a very popular passage from 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explained that we need to respond to this amazing love by being loving ourselves. Love, he said, is not a gushy feeling but an action. Love is patient. It is kind. It is not jealous or self-serving. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. Love is the more excellent way. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. It never ends.

That’s the kind of dance we need. As I visit with people both inside and outside the congregation, I am chronically aware of this need. So many people feel hurt, lonely, isolated, rejected. There is pain that burns secretly within. It is like baggage too heavy to carry. They don’t know where to go or what to do to turn that around. They do not see themselves as beloved. They do not realize that they could be dancing with God.

We, who have been claimed as God’s beloved have an obligation to these people. We are to be the hands and feet of this triune God and make sure they understand that they are beloved. They are precious and God is pleased with them. They are invited into the dance where there is healing and joy. What more can we be doing to make sure that invitation is conveyed?

There is one God, who is relationship, who is dancing with equity and love. Can’t you see why I get excited about Holy Trinity Sunday? Whether you are a church nerd or not, you can see that it is worth celebrating! We are called to live and move and have our being in the Trinity’s love. This is the more excellent way. May we open our eyes to see our community as God does and say to them: Come, join the dance. Amen.


And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© 2010 Laura E. Gentry

FUNERAL SERMON FOR DONNA THRAN

READ THE OBITUARY HERE

Isaiah 40:28-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, of famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, no things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 14:15-21, 27

”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

The prophet Nehemiah spoke God’s word to the people in exile who were grieving. He said: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

Today, as we grieve the loss of Donna,—who was so much to those of us gathered here: wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend—we feel immense sadness. Grief weighs heavy upon us. And yet God says to us today: do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Yes, joy. Even now as our hearts are breaking. Joy is to be our strength.

Though Donna outlived her initial prognosis by a long shot, it still seems way too soon for her journey of life to be at an end. But the end has come and now we have gathered to celebrate her life and entrust her to God. We may not feel like celebrating because of our grief, but celebrate, we must, because Donna lived a life worth celebrating. She was, indeed, the prime example of strength coming from the joy of the Lord.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.

You probably learned that little song in Sunday school. It certainly reminds us of Donna, doesn’t it? There are many things that we can say about who Donna was and in particular, who she was to us but I think in just about everyone’s description, the word joy is in there.

Donna was baptized as a child. God claimed her in those waters and planted that joy, joy, joy, joy down in her heart to stay. And yes, that faith and that joy grew as Donna did. Throughout her life, she believed God’s promise of salvation to her through Jesus Christ. She was actively involved in her church. She served faithfully and always with good cheer because of her great love for Jesus.

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.

Then, in the prime of her retirement years, she was given a cancer diagnosis. She had to endure a grueling schedule of chemotherapy, which exhausted her. But you sure would not have known that Donna was ill if she hadn’t told you. Even as she was going through all of those treatments, she was strong and remarkably joyful. As we heard in the scripture lesson from Isaiah, God gives power and strength to those who wait upon the Lord. “They shall mount up with wings like eagles,” it says, “they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Like the eagles that soared outside her windows, God lifted Donna up on eagle’s wings and gave her such strength we knew it was from above.

She continued to shine her bright light into our lives. She went right on serving others in so many ways, including being our church treasurer right up to the beginning of March. Donna kept sending out cards of encouragement as our church’s encouragement team leader. She continued to come to laughter club and share that marvelous, contagious laugh of hers. And she remained the rock of her family.

In Romans, Paul asks: What shall separate us from the love of God? “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, of famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? No,” he says, “No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Certainly that’s what Donna was, even in the midst of her illness. She was so in tune with the love of God that she was not deterred by anything. She was a conqueror. No, she was more than a conqueror. She knew the peace of God that passes all understanding and it was her strength.

But what now? What are we to do now that she has passed from this life and into the next, more glorious one? Now she is in the place where there is no pain, no sickness, no death, no sorrow—where God will wipe away all tears. By faith, we have confidence that Donna’s suffering is all over and her joy is expanding, but what about our joy? In our grief, we feel lost and alone without her here. We miss her so much. We wonder if our joy will ever really return.

Jesus disciples felt this kind of uncertainty when he told them about his impending death. They were scared, but he assured them with these comforting words: ”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” Jesus promises you and me as well that we will not be orphaned. No matter how great our loss, we are not alone. Jesus is coming to us and he is bringing the gift of his peace. He says to us: “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Yes, my friends. We can have the peace that passes understanding even now, just as Donna had it all the days of her life.

I’ve got the peace the passes understanding down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the peace the passes understanding down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.

So we have the gift of God’s peace to see us through this present darkness. Jesus has promised it to each one of us.

But we have more than that! We have the promise that everyone who believes in Jesus will not die, but will live eternally. This is God’s grace to us. Donna, as I’ve said, was a child of God, loved by Jesus, filled with the strength of joy, lifted upon on eagle’s wings, more than a conqueror and filled with peace. And the good news is that we can be too! All of these things are gifts from God. They are gifts to all those who are willing to receive them.

And this means that we can have the assurance that we will see Donna again. She’s been spirited away from her beloved Mississippi River but the bible promises that in heaven we’ll gather at another, presumably more beautiful river (though it’s hard for us to imagine anything more beautiful). This river is the river that flows from the throne of God and I presume the bird watching there is mighty good. That’s where we will stand one day. And that’s where we’ll have a powerful reunion with Donna and all of the saints who have gone before. We’ll sing and dance and laugh without end.

Last All Saint’s Day, I tried to make the point that we are all saints by virtue of our baptism. God gifts us with saint status because of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. It is not about our own works, but about the work of Christ. And so I made a painting of an old, stylized saint with a bright, glowing halo and the face was a cut-out. I proceeded to make everyone stick their face through the hole so that they could see themselves and one another as saints.

Now Donna was a saint—I don’t need to convince you of this because you already know it. But have you seen her as a saint? Well, I made this print-out of her saint portrait to show you so that when you see her at the river that flows from the throne of God, you’ll be able to recognize her!

She will be standing there in all God’s glory with her arms open to welcome you. And that, my friends, is good news.

This is why we may have tears today but it is really a day of celebration. We celebrate the happy, loving life of Donna Thran. We celebrate the multitude of things that she meant to us. We celebrate how she enriched and changed our lives. And most of all, we celebrate the God who created her and gave her joy.

So to close my sermon, I would like to invite you to sing the first verse of “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy” with me. Let’s clap and sing and show all our enthusiasm. This one is for Saint Donna.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

© 2010 Laura Gentry