Word for Today

From Revelation 21:

 ⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."  ⁶Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

The artwork here is titled "Liminal Air" by Shinji Ohmakidi Shinji. 

I think this is a good opportunity to talk about "liminality." 

Today is All Hallows Eve, a night that some talk about as if there is a crack in the border between the spirit world and the world we know better. This coming Sunday is All Saints Sunday, an opportunity to remember those who came before us and who also entered eternal rest before us. These are occasions when we recognize that we are on the edge of something. The threshold.

What is "liminality?" Surely not a word we use every day (but I challenge you to find an opportunity to use it today, tonight or tomorrow!), this is the concept of being on the threshold between. Between familiarity and un-familiarity.

How many times have you thought to yourself, "I'm not sure how this is going to go, but here I go"? How many times do you think nervously into the future, spinning scenarios until you're dizzy? There  is something inside us that detects we are on the edge, the edge of what? We don't yet know. I believe people and organizations, when they take on risk, can realize there is something energizing about that openness. Liminality. We are at a liminal moment.

Scripture here from Revelation 21 points to Jesus Christ, the one who has passed through the threshold. "I am the start and the stop, the 'A' and 'Z', the beginning and the end," he says to us. Quite a bold statement, but one I sorely need to hear! When I don't know what's past the threshold, Jesus is there. When I review where I've been, Jesus is there. When I notice I'm having a liminal moment, I would do well remembering that the threshold IS the very throne of Jesus.

Blessings! Let's stand at the threshold together.

Pastor James Aalgaard

St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

Words can at times Inhibit the Word

From Isaiah 53,

  ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

There are portions of the books of Isaiah that are called the "Servant Songs." This is one of the most well-known among Christians. We wear Jesus-Lenses throughout life, and so we see this described servant as a match for our Lord. 

How striking it is, that when the servant gave himself up, he spoke not a word, he did not even open his mouth.

When we hear something very startling, we too at times can't even open our mouths. Or we open them, but nothing comes out. Isaiah's suffering servant doesn't open his mouth because in part he needed to give himself entirely to the sacrifice. The experience of the sacrifice was too intense for words. The noise of no sound was louder than any word spoken.

There are times when silence is necessary, and there are times when we cannot be silent. In the moment the Lamb of God went to the Shearer, there needed to be silence, so the Good News could be heard loud and clear. In the quietness there, we can hear the very voice of God:

I love you.

James Aalgaard, pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

From Hebrews 4

¹⁴Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.  ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  ¹⁶Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Disney Pixar's "Up"

Dear friends, what happens when dreams change? What happens to your dream when the one who dreamt it with you is gone?

This was the situation for Mr. Carl Fredriksen. He is the best animated grumpy old man ever. Carl had one love, and that was his energetic wife Ellie. They had created a dream together, to travel to a certain point in South America when they had saved enough pennies. It was going to be an adventure. An adventure for two. They even started a book of adventures that had plenty of extra pages.

But as time went on, the car needed new tires. The house needed a new roof. Their dream was nickeled-and-dimed away. Finally, sadly, Ellie dies. (Carl's grumpiness really kicks in here, and for good reason). By the way, I triple-dog dare you to watch that opening sequence of the movie "Up" and come out of it with dry eyes.

In his lingering grief, Carl's world narrows around him, squeezes his understanding of self and neighbor until finally instead of cracking, he elevates. Carl and his house flee the stresses of life. He has attached hundreds of balloons filled with helium to his house, and literally floats away. He is on his way toward the adventure he and Ellie had spent their life planning.

Un-planned-for companions along the way make his adventure more complicated, and to make a long story very very short, Carl learns that he can create new adventures, especially since the first one wasn't going to work out. In fact his cherished book of Adventures had more entries than he knew. Before she died, Ellie had written there that she was thankful for every moment of that adventure of their life together. Now, she wrote, go make some of your own.

The writer of Hebrews lets us know there is One who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Christ. In EVERY respect, Jesus is able to sympathize with the death of our dreams, adventures never taken. In so doing, his death and resurrection become an adventure inside each of us. The wonder of it all, is the amazing array of unlikely companions we have now, with whom we dream.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)

Word for Today

From Hebrews 4

¹⁴Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.  ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  ¹⁶Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Disney Pixar's "Up"

Dear friends, what happens when dreams change? What happens to your dream when the one who dreamt it with you is gone?

This was the situation for Mr. Carl Fredriksen. He is the best animated grumpy old man ever. Carl had one love, and that was his energetic wife Ellie. They had created a dream together, to travel to a certain point in South America when they had saved enough pennies. It was going to be an adventure. An adventure for two. They even started a book of adventures that had plenty of extra pages.

But as time went on, the car needed new tires. The house needed a new roof. Their dream was nickeled-and-dimed away. Finally, sadly, Ellie dies. (Carl's grumpiness really kicks in here, and for good reason). By the way, I triple-dog dare you to watch that opening sequence of the movie "Up" and come out of it with dry eyes.

In his lingering grief, Carl's world narrows around him, squeezes his understanding of self and neighbor until finally instead of cracking, he elevates. Carl and his house flee the stresses of life. He has attached hundreds of balloons filled with helium to his house, and literally floats away. He is on his way toward the adventure he and Ellie had spent their life planning.

Un-planned-for companions along the way make his adventure more complicated, and to make a long story very very short, Carl learns that he can create new adventures, especially since the first one wasn't going to work out. In fact his cherished book of Adventures had more entries than he knew. Before she died, Ellie had written there that she was thankful for every moment of that adventure of their life together. Now, she wrote, go make some of your own.

The writer of Hebrews lets us know there is One who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Christ. In EVERY respect, Jesus is able to sympathize with the death of our dreams, adventures never taken. In so doing, his death and resurrection become an adventure inside each of us. The wonder of it all, is the amazing array of unlikely companions we have now, with whom we dream.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)

Word for Today

From "Evangelical Lutheran Worship": Let us pray... Sovereign God, you have created us to live in loving community with one another. Form us for life that is faithful and steadfast, and teach us to trust like little children, that we may reflect the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

from Psalm 8:

¹O LORD our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!—

²you whose glory is chanted above the heavens

 out of the mouths of infants and children;

you have set up a fortress against your enemies,

to silence the foe and avenger.

From Mark 10

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."  ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

What are the characteristics of a child that YOU would like to have toward your Lord? Let me know what you come up with!

I would like  to assume that Jesus is a friend of mine.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

From Numbers chapter 11

Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!"

From Mark, chapter 9:

Whoever is not against us is for us.  ⁴¹For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Nikola Tesla was a pioneer in the field of electricity and radio. He worked for Thomas Edison for a time and then struck out on his own. I have been interested in Tesla's story ever since I heard that he was developing a method of electricity conduction that would not rely on wires for transfer. Imagine that! Wireless electricity. Electric cars could simply receive an electric signal and never need fuel. Computers would not need batteries... so many possibilities if only the "access" question were solved.

There is an  "access" question in today's scripture. First, Moses has brought leaders from the Israelite community together to receive a portion of the spirit that had been resting on him. But something remarkable happened. A few leaders who were registered were not in the tent when the spirit was distributed, yet, they began to speak like prophets. When questioned why the spirit had leaked into these other men, why the spirit had jumped wirelessly to them, Moses said "I wish that happened to everyone."

When it's reported to Jesus that his name was being used by unauthorized persons, his simple reply was "Let them do their thing." His priorities are very different from those of us who need to get it right with the right people all of the time. He was comfortable knowing his name was arcing in a rather haphazard, or Spirit-directed way.

Worrying about access is like trying to rely on a system of wires and powerhouses to conduct a power that was never meant to be tied down in such a way. I don't think I mentioned that Nikola Tesla was the son of a Serbian Orthodox priest. Could it be that Tesla worked so passionately on electromagnetic fields because he recognized something that reminded him of the Spirit of God? When it comes to God, who we know in Jesus Christ, you and I have unlimited access. The ultimate joy is when you hear about how your joy has arced into the life of another.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

From Mark 9:

³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."  ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,  ³⁷Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.

My friend Ken Jones shared this picture with me. It's a panel that spins around its center. Martin Luther's quote is on the top and bottom, "A Christian is a free lord of all, subject to none; a Christian is a dutiful servant of all, subject to all." This doublet is held in tension with itself, like a double-helix. It declares two simultaneous truths, that in relation to those around us the Christian perspective is to be at the same time freed and bound to the other. An incredible dialectic, it somehow makes sense in a deep way. We live this out every day. The closer people are to us (emotionally speaking), the more we sense this tension.

Jesus talks about greatness, and says that greatness on his terms has to do with being a servant, being last of all. Then he scoops up a child and uses it as an object lesson. Let's pause for a moment and consider what it's like to be a child.

Children have a happiness in them that comes from a certain kind of freedom. Maybe we can say they're care-free, or that they don't have the capacity to get bogged down by the complexities of life. Regardless, if you want to experience joy, hang around with a bunch of happy healthy kids! Their imagination is unlimited. Their ability to accept the rest of us is boundless. Their generosity is natural.

Yet, if a child were turned loose to try to survive in this wild world, they wouldn't do so well. Children as so dependent on the safety we create for them. Even if they don't realize it, they depend on our contingency-planning. They are subject to us.

So we treat our children tenderly. We are surprised by their creativity and even glimpses of wisdom, and we build whole societies around their protection. They are a picture of us, in the eyes of God.

Thank you Kenny for keeping this plain-spoken wisdom in front of me. I like to spin that panel in my imagination, around and around, as a picture of the spiritual life.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)