Word for Today

"Scrolling Down"

Philippians 2:5–11

(Read responsively today)

⁵Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

  ⁷but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

  ⁸he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death — 

even death on a cross.

  ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

  ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 (All) ¹¹and  every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

As we come to the Sunday of Christ's Passion (also called Palm Sunday) we hear longer passages of scripture that require focus and a longer attention span. Attention span is a challenge for us today. So many fantastic distractions.

Even when writing emails, I try to write brief, so the reader doesn't have to be burdened with the need to "scroll down."

Today's passage from Philippians is a wonderful ancient hymn for the easily distracted. It quickly gets to the motive, the commotion, the emotion and the promotion of Christ. I believe we could say that when God highly exalted Jesus, God put the scroll down so we could focus and worship without distraction.

This photo is taken by Bo Løvschall of Denmark. It is of the "Hill of Crosses" in Lithuania

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

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Word for Today

From Isaiah 43:

  ¹⁸Do not remember the former things,

or consider the things of old.

  ¹⁹I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

From John 12:

 ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 

http://www.bulloughphotography.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=9&p=0&a=0&at=0

I invite you to click on the link above for a few spectacular examples of "rivers in the desert."

Bill Bryson, in the book "A Walk in the Woods" muses about the U.S. Forest Service. For all the good the Forest Service does, they also have a tendency to build a lot of roads. Paraphrasing Bryson, the Forest Service will look at a mountain-scape and say, "wow, that is so beautiful. I bet we can put a road through there."

Is this what the book of Isaiah means with this image? Is God interested in providing water for those who live in the desert, or a highway for those who want to get through the mountains?

I think the metaphor speaks for itself and is even more powerful as such. Through God's own power, God is going to make the impossible possible. God will make safe passage through the wilds of life, and will be satisfaction for the driest of souls.

Think of Mary's gift as a stream in the desert. Her love and devotion to the Lord changed that moment, even the air in the room was different!

May God be for you the way through the wilderness, the river in your desert.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church
541.889.9349

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Word for Today

Preemptive Celebration

From Luke 15

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

This Sunday we have the story of the Prodigal Son. It can also be called the story of the Forgiving Father! You can probably reassemble parts of the story from memory..

  Son wants to leave home

  Son claims inheritance

  Son leaves home

  Son blows all his cash

  Son reconsiders his home

  Son plans to work as a servant

  Father welcomes son

  Father throws a party

  Other son feels slighted

I would like to take another step. I find myself wondering what the other members of the household might be thinking. There may be some who don't know exactly what to think about him. There may be some who are as glad as the father to see a family reunited. Some may have thought of him as a dead-beat, a brat who only wanted to live on the edge without a care for those who cared for him most.

Now, back to the forgiving father. What if, along with wanting a celebration for the sheer joy of it, the father wanted to influence the attitudes of all the others in the household? What if the father wanted to direct his people to organize a preemptive celebration? Minimize the awkward moment while people try to figure out how they should think.

Perhaps you know people who throw together preemptive celebrations. You are blessed to know them!

Communities of faith - how about preemptive celebration as a guiding principle?

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

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