How Long?

Back in May, I joined a group of 8^th graders on a tour of Washington, DC. Among the memorials, monuments and museums were the grave markers of Arlington Cemetery. It’s impressive and humbling to look at the rows of white, and, then even more so, to look closer at the names – some we know (by fame or family) and many we have never met.

War is a word we learn at a young age. Some of you are or know veterans of our nation’s conflicts abroad. Still others serve in their home country, but are away from spouses and families. The multiple deployments and training demands take their toll on the resiliency of our forces. King David’s lament in Psalm 6 could easily come from the lips of any soldier, sailor, airman, marine or coast guardsman: “How Long? How Long, O LORD?”

When our children ask that question, it’s a matter of impatience. They are just too antsy to wait: for Christmas, for sleeping over at Grandma’s, or for their tooth to fall out. For many, in more serious situations, it’s a matter of desperation. It’s an anxious time of not knowing. “How Long, O LORD?” And, in those situations, we really want it to be done and over with right now!

King David, a warrior who led many military campaigns, isn’t the only one who ever asks this question. And, when David cries out, he isn’t just a little bit annoyed with something. He’s not swatting mosquitoes while grilling a steak and drinking a beer over Memorial Day Weekend. He’s in outright anguish and agony as he waits for God to deliver him. What he knows is that he can’t make it better on his own. He can’t get away from it. He’s desperate for God to make things right.

Our military men and women today ask likewise. Deployments are lengthy. Our troops feel alone, surrounded by other lonely people. I can only imagine the weariness that battle-readiness might cause, as the daily search for strength to go on brings despair instead.

The Bible says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual realm. That’s true, but I firmly believe that when we are worn down in one, we are more susceptible in the other.

How does God respond? When we cry out to Him on the battle field in a foreign land, or in our living room locking horns with our teenagers, we want to know how long this is going to go on! How does God respond?

He responds as He always has - He actually speaks. Sometimes, through a military chaplain or pastor, but often through a friend. The words remind us of a hope we can find – not in ourselves and in our conquests, but in Christ and His Spirit who give strength when our strength fails. When our flesh is weak and our blood is shed, it’s Christ’s shed blood and Christ’s risen body that give us hope!

If the message of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death is a good one for us, it’s an excellent one for those who are willing to sacrifice for others – to know that Jesus Himself has been in battle, has been alone, and has conquered what many fear most.

“How long, O Lord?” isn’t always a waiting forever question.

Whether we are soldiers or citizens of this country, we have no intentions of a forever existence here. We ask “how long” and we do our duty for God and country, but we really long for the day when we are no longer waiting for the next thing: not a new tour of duty, not the next expedition, not even Friday night when the whistle blows. We wait, sometimes patiently, for Christ to make His long-awaited return in glory.

And that, too, will be a day of battle. Christ’s final defeat of the evil in the spiritual realm, and our deliverance from death. Our bodies raised to new life. Our image, restored – for “how long?” Dear child of God, it will be forever and ever, in the perfect peace of Christ’s nearer presence.

Come Close

“We love because God first loved us.” This is a true statement, but there are other things that we do because God did them first, and made us in His image, to be like Him. We love, we create, we forgive, we serve, and, according to 2 Corinthians, we comfort or console because God has first comforted us.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers…” But, he’s not writing to share information. He’s writing to share his life, whatever it might include. He writes about difficulties. He writes of comfort, rejoicing, longing, mourning, zeal, grief, and regret…with tears, affliction, anguish, and abundant love. These are themes of our daily lives. Lives that are real, raw and messy. Lives that feature pain, death and grief – as well as healing, life and consolation. He pours out his heart and invites the Corinthian church into his world…not to feel badly for him, but to share the load.

Consolation. Para-kaleo. To call close.

Musician Christa Wells tells the story behind her song “Come Close Now.” About grief, it’s like "Being in this room upstairs in a house that is burning down and I'm strapped in a chair. And outside this house there are all these people running around with fire hoses and ladders and sirens and they are trying to fix it and make it better but I'm still alone up in this room. Eventually one, maybe two, people just quietly make their way up the front walk and they open the front door of the house and they walk up to this room that I'm in and they pull up a chair beside me and they sit down and they just sit in the burn with me." – Dan Walser, To Make a Life

Consolation isn’t about rescue, or about saying the right words to make somebody feel better. It’s not about moments of laughter in the midst of suffering. It’s about proximity. It’s about coming close.  You can be in a fishing boat, or taking a walk, sitting down to dinner, or having a beer, and be doing exactly the kind of thing Jesus did when He came close to His disciples.  

Let’s be conscious about coming close to one another. Let’s enjoy and share this life together. Might as well start now, since we’ll be together for eternity, too!

Crazy Love

A comedian got a few laughs by suggesting that love ranks on the “crazy scale” just after insanity and psychosis. I heard it and snickered for a moment before realizing the truth behind it. Love defies logic, unless getting hurt is high on your list of priorities.

The problem is that we love imperfect people and imperfect things that are bound to fail us. But, then, that’s all we have. Things break or get worn out. People forget or get tired. No created thing or being is 100% reliable.

Lucy and John both recognize the lingering pain and inevitable challenges they face. Entering into a relationship, Lucy noted, means accepting the possibility of losing your partner. “If you are lucky enough,” she said, “you will be devastated when they die. Willingly entering that feels gutsy, but what else could you choose?” – When Breath Becomes Air

Football fans know disappointment, too. But, every season we follow the hype and cheer for a team whose season will end in a loss.

There’s a great deal of risk in love. The return isn’t guaranteed. It’s not even probable, if you’re into statistics. So, the comedian makes us laugh, but maybe this isn’t so funny. Love often hurts. It even hurts God Himself, because He loves His imperfect creation.

But, love also heals.

The love of another human lifts spirits, gives hope and inspires peace for a time. The love of God does all of that into eternity. His love never fails, never gives up and never runs out(to quote Jesus Culture), which is absolutely necessary when we keep pouring our love into the other cracked pots of creation. God continues to pour out His healing love into us.

When God tells us to love our neighbor, He isn’t asking us to feel a particular way, but to act. He’s telling us to pour out our love for the sake of that other human, and expect nothing in return. Love doesn’t need gratitude and it doesn’t get compensation. Loving others doesn’t fill your heart and soul. Being loved does.

God does His part, loving us perfectly, unconditionally, and unendingly. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Today, as you dare to love, may God’s love fill you to overflowing.

When You Have Eaten

When does the “thanks” part come in? Maybe more importantly to consider: When does it stop? When is thanksgiving done?

Many traditions feature a few moments of recognition…naming the tangible and spiritual blessings that come to mind before diving into dinner. At some point, when it’s time to eat, the family looks like they’ve been deprived of food for weeks. Soon enough, the animal that gave his life for a few is no longer recognizable…his turkey-ness is gone.

Look, the turkey starts off running around the farm until he gets his head chopped off and dies. Still a turkey? Oh, yes. Feathers next. Still a turkey? Yep. Guts – gone. Still a turkey. You go to the store to buy, “a turkey.” You cook, “the turkey.” You eat, “the turkey.”

But, after supper, it’s, “the carcass.” His turkey-ness is gone.

And, so often…the “thanks” part of Thanksgiving goes the way of the turkey.

Where does our praise and thanksgiving go after the Thanksgiving Service? Why do our hearts, that feels so full in that moments before feasting, find itself empty again? For other gifts we receive, where does the hand-written or heart-felt thank-you go after the gift has been opened…or eaten? “Thank you” comes easily in that moment we open the gift and first hold that special token of love. It’s just that sometimes, after we’ve received, we forget.

The Biblical book of Deuteronomy 8:10 says, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord…”

This serves as a reminder to do the thing we don’t do naturally. The thing we neglect when our bellies are full. It’s an appeal to not only count your blessings as we usually do, but to also recount them – remember them and tell the story of God’s goodness and grace, even after the turkey is long gone.

Happy Thanksgiving! And, remember: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Start Stopping Traffic

"A Human Life Is Not an Object"
"Human Trafficking Is Modern Day Slavery"

"This Could Be Your Daughter: Stop Human Trafficking"

With Easter coming in a few short weeks, Christians are ready to celebrate the pinnacle Holy Day of the year: Jesus Christ rising from the dead. I'm looking forward to the big crowd at church and singing the hymns that proclaim the glory of our God!

But, this year I'll be hearing familiar Easter praise in a new light. Human trafficking has come to the forefront of my mind - not because it's in the news in far-off places, but because there are cases in the USA, in Wisconsin, in Door County, in Sturgeon Bay. Phrases like, "No Longer Slaves" and "Redeemed" mean something different when we live in a world where people are physically stolen, sold, bought, and used. 

The Hebrew Passover (March 23 - March 30 this year) commemorates the night when millions of slaves were freed from Egypt and the physical cruelty they endured there. The Christian Easter celebration (April 1 this year) calls Jesus "Redeemer," because He bought us out of slavery to sin, to be free in the Spirit of God.

Christians should be on the front lines of this fight against human trafficking. It's our story. It's our life. It's our Gospel. It's our hope. "Slaves Set Free" is a phrase that should resonate for us, because that's who we are. 

End Human Trafficking (Presentation): Thursday, March 22 at 6:00pm, St. Joseph's Church

Stopping Traffic (Film & Panel Discussion): Monday, April 2 at 6:00pm, Prince of Peace Church

Be part of the solution. Start Stopping Traffic

Easter People

Easter People (from April 22, 2017)

Every Easter, and some days in-between, I find myself humming a little song I learned as a teenager. “Every morning is Easter morning, from now on (from now on), every day is Resurrection Day, the past is over and gone…”

This year, my humming began after reading Pastor Cory Dahl’s Faith Perspective article from last weekend. My remembrance of the words and melody brought me back to the person who taught it to me. I looked for her name online, and found this: “Morrison, Tracie M. age 43 of Rosemount. Tracie died peacefully surrounded by love. July 8, 2016.” I looked further and found one of the last things she posted on her Facebook account: “The Lord is good to us. We accept GREAT things! Isn’t [he] cool. It’s Easter!!!!!”

I don’t know what every day of her life was like. I’m sure that when I met her as an 18 year-old, she had plenty of worries about her future. I’m also sure that near the end, as a relatively young woman with a terminal illness, she thought about what she was leaving behind. But, more pronounced than those profoundly normal and expected concerns, from my perspective her life was bracketed by a faith that trusted the power of Jesus Christ rising from the dead! Her voice was powerful, loud and raspy…and, nothing much seemed to change in the way she pushed through life…death…and into eternity.

I suppose that’s the way life is when every morning is Easter morning, and every day is a day to start fresh and new. As Martin Luther writes about baptism, “the Old Adam in us should…daily…be drowned…and a new man should daily emerge and arise…” This isn’t a commentary about the power of water baptism, but about the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Romans 6:4 says, “We were buried with Him…in order that, just as Christ was raised…we too may live a new life.”

The cross is bare and the tomb is vacant, but neither of them lose their significance unless we deny the power of Christ to forgive and remove sin. Today is a day to start again. Tomorrow will be likewise. Christ died in the past so that we can have a future worth living.

"Good-bye guilt, good-bye fear, good riddance! Hello Lord, hello sun! I am one of the Easter People! My new life has begun!”

A Boy...and His Birds

A Boy…and His Birds (from June 3, 2017)

Said the robin to the sparrow, 'I would really like to know
why those anxious human beings rush around and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin, 'Friend, I think that it must be
that they have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you and me."

I was walking around in my back yard the other day, surveying my limited real estate and considering the creatures that live on it. The charcoal grill was fired up and the wind was calm for a moment. As thoughts of the day strolled through my mind, I mused: “I’m just a boy with a brat. And a beer. And some birds.”

Yes, birds. We are now co-owners (with our neighbors) of 8 chickens…half of which are contributing back to society with their egg production, while the others just eat food and poop in the yard. They’re not too complicated, but they are like children in that they both require our attention and garner our affection. They’re unlike children in that they may be eaten, if necessary.

What started as a simple assessment of my life got complicated quickly. “Just a boy” is just part of a much larger scenario, and I didn’t even get to family and work! Suddenly, the idea of somehow stripping down your life, and living “off the land” or “off the grid” sounds so good, pure and right, doesn’t it?

Dear friends, when you walk around, surveying the real estate that is your life – do you remember your Creator? You will always be busy, there will never be enough time and your brain will always be full when you put yourself in God’s role, and forget that you are one of His creatures under His care. When you’re anxious, overwhelmed or worried, Jesus says, “Look at the birds…” (Matthew 6:26).

Seriously, just look at them. If you don’t have any in your yard, come over and look at mine. They don’t frown or sweat. They don’t smile or laugh. They may not worry, but they also don’t know joy. God has created US with the capacity to worry, yes…but, also to know the unspeakable joy of being cared for, loved and rejoiced over with singing. We have great value in the eyes of the One who made us.

“Cast your anxiety upon the Lord, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7