Once again, it’s the time in our lectionary where we pastor’s squirm, trying to sound intelligent, while explaining the unexplainable; the Holy Trinity. I floundered my way through bible study. Several years ago, I gave a sermon on and interesting metaphor for the Trinity—the dance. I must admit I thought it was pretty good, but everyone looked at me with the “deer in the headlights”
look, scratched their collective heads and said, “Huh?” The following are excerpts from an old sermon of mine. Perhaps it deserves it’s own resurrection.

To talk of the Trinity is to dance on the edge of mystery. There is no way we humans can fully grasp the doctrine of “God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.” But we keep trying. The most ancient Christian formula of God was one of 3 persons and one essence. Irish preachers like to use their national emblem: the three-in-one shamrock. Early Christian preachers used the “root, the shoot and the fruit” of a growing plant, or the sun, its ray of light, and the point of the ray where it touches the earth.

Here’s one from the New Zealand Prayer Book:

• God is the Earth Maker,
• Jesus is the Pain Bearer,
• Holy Spirit is the Life-Giver.

For some in the Christian tradition, even stodgy theologians, the metaphor of the dance was used to celebrate and demonstrate the power and majesty, love and tenderness, presence and
movement, of the divine. This divine dance, dubbed perichoresis, using the Greek choreo ‘where we get the word, choreography’ for the way each person of the godhead was contained or filled by
the others. “Perichoresis” was a moving metaphor.

According to theologian Paul S. Fiddes, in his book, Participating in God: A Pastoral Doctrine of the Trinity wrote; “In this dance the partners not only encircle each other and weave in and out
between each other as in human dancing; in the divine dance, so intimate is the communion that they move in and through each other so that the pattern is all-inclusive. In fact, I suggest that the
image of the dance makes most sense when we understand the divine persons as movements of relationship, rather than as individual subjects who have relationships.”

When Jesus commanded his disciples to go, make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, he called believers to participate in this divine dance, the
perichoresis, of intertwining attributes and relational rhythms. The greatness of the great commission is not just found in the expanded geography of the mission (“make disciples of all nations”) but also in the totality of these new disciples’ (and our) relationship with the divine.

One of the landmark spots in New York City is called “The Rainbow Room.” At the top of the GE building at Rockefeller Center, it’s famous for two things: a panoramic view of the city from its 64th floor, and a place where you can dance the night away.

The Rainbow Room is another name for the kingdom of God – a place where you can dance the night away – the night of despair, the night of disease, the night of depression, the night of doubt,
the night of death. “The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light. On those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.” (Isaiah 9:2).

Why then are so many people’s spiritual lives stuck on groundfloors or locked in basements, afraid of elevators that lift life to the Rainbow Room heights? Why do so many of us not feel right?” We know something’s wrong. We don’t feel comfortable in our skin. The tingle of tiptop, tiptoe living is at best a far-off memory.

Life sometimes goes into reverse. The clouds of glory dissolve into feet of clay. When it does, whatever is most cherished in your life, you can bring it to God in trust and confidence, and leave it
there.

• When your heart is wormed out with worry, trust in God for a new heart.
• When the body is willing, but the brain isn’t, keep the Rainbow Room clean and maintained.
• When the music of faith stops playing in your life, let God lead the dance.
• When you can no longer dance even with God as your dance partner, let the church dance for you.
• Then when your mind is healed and your faith secure, you can pick up the pieces, pick up where you left off…and dance.
• Will we be a church to help people dance the night away?

Amen?

As always, I welcome your comments.
Pastor Cory

God’s “glory” is how we describe the sum effect of all of his attributes: Grace, truth, goodness, mercy, justice, knowledge, power, eternality—all that he is. Therefore, the glory of God is fundamental, that is, it is as essential to God as light is to the sun, as blue is to the sky, as wet is to water. You don’t make the sun light; it is light. You don’t make water wet; it is wet. In all of these cases, the attribute is intrinsic to the object.

In contrast, man’s glory is granted to him. If you take a king and take off all his robes and crowns and give him only a rag to wear and leave him on the streets for a few weeks, when put next to a beggar you’ll never know which is which. Because there is no intrinsic glory. The only glory a king has is when you give him a crown and a robe and sit him on his throne. He has no intrinsic
glory.

That’s the point. The only glory that men have is granted to them. The glory that is God’s is his in his essence. You can’t de-glory God because glory is his nature. You can’t touch his glory. It cannot be taken away. It cannot be added to. It’s his being.

So, how do we glorify God? Can we glorify God?

I think the best way to answer this question is to return to our Catechism, and take a look at the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer:

1)Hallowed be your name,
2)Your will be done,
3)Your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.

Both the Evangelical Catechism and Luther’s Small Catechism say basically the same thing as they claim, God’s name is holy, God’s will is done, and God’s kingdom will come with or without our
prayers.

In these petitions we pray that God’s name is hallowed, that God’s kingdom will come, and God’s will is done (and God is glorified) FOR US, IN US, AND THROUGH US as well.

What does this look like?

God’s name is made holy in us whenever God’s word is taught in truth and purity and we live like we believe it.
God’s dominion comes when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit when we believe God’s word and live a Godly life.
God’s will is done when we can resist the temptations of this life and keep firm in the word.

In other words, God is glorified when we realize that God is God and we are not, and we are truly happy about this! How are we doing?

As always, I invite your comments,
Pastor Cory

During this season of Lent, we have explored many themes designed to bring us closer in our relationship with Christ. We are called to follow him in our journey straight to the cross. Some of the Lenten disciplines we explored are:

Evangelism-Sharing God’s word to others with love and compassion
Stewardship-Sharing our gifts to those in need out of God’s abundance to us.
Taking care of our physical health-Understanding God gift of our body and mind, as God’s instruments to do good in the world.
Reading/studying God’s Word-How important it is, as people who are loved, to learn all we can about the one who loves us.
At our final Wednesday night service we discovered that all scripture is “God breathed/inspired,” and worthy of our study.
Can this “breath of God” bring us to inspired status? If not, what will?

Some years ago, a new pastor was called to a spiritually dead church in a small Oklahoma town. The pastor spent the first week calling on as many members as possible, inviting them to the first Sunday service. But the effort failed. In spite of many calls, not a single member showed up for worship! So, the pastor placed a notice in the local paper stating that since the church was dead, the pastor was going to give it a decent, Christian burial. The funeral for the church would be held at 2 p.m. on the following Sunday.

Morbidly curious, the whole town turned out for the “funeral.” In front of the pulpit, there was a large casket, smothered in flowers. After the eulogy was given, the pastor invited the congregation to come forward and pay their respects to the dead church. The long line of mourners filed by. Each one peered curiously into the open casket, and then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. For inside the casket, tilted at just the right angle was a large mirror. Each one saw his own reflection in the mirror as perhaps never before!

That is still what happens when human beings allow the Living Christ to confront them in their sinful brokenness. During Lent, we are called us to make a choice to receive God’s Christ, and
to let our lives be made whole again by the power of God. As you begin this Holy Week, can you truly say in your heart, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” The choice is up to you!

As always, I invite your comments.
Pastor Cory

Forgiveness is part of the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and is an integral part of our Lenten journey. It is the action of Christ through the Holy Spirit in our midst. By the power of the Spirit,
Christ is present both forgiving us and forgiving through us. The Spirit is given to us by Christ himself. He breathed upon the disciples and they received the Holy Spirit.

How difficult is it to forgive?

In one of her books, Corrie Ten Boom tells of meeting the guard from the concentration camp where she and her family had been held by the Nazis. She had been speaking at a large church meeting, and after the meeting he had come forward. He put out his hand to her, and she instinctively pulled back, remembering the horrors to which that hand had been put or in which it had cooperated, but then, she testified, something came over her, she knew not what, and she reached out and grasped his hand and extended her forgiveness as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

There will be those who say this is merely sentimental and who grit their teeth, as they demand more obvious vengeance; I cannot judge them. I only know that to forgive in such a manner is beyond human comprehension; it is the work of God and can only be done by us through the grace of God at work in us. Nor, is it an attitude we Christians carry around with us all the time, like little Mary Sunshines. Corrie Ten Boom received the grace to forgive in the moment the grace was needed, and not before. Our Lord, upon the cross, forgave his executioners while he was being nailed to it; there was no plenary absolution in advance. Forgiveness, like the resurrection, breaks in upon us through shut doors.

We are called and sent to participate in Christ’s message of forgiveness because we have been forgiven. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” Christ was sent to be the agent of reconciliation, and we are to be such agents in the world. It seems to me a sad fact that forgiveness has been for sale in the church during so much of its history, when it should have been given away.

We need to understand three things about forgiveness. First, we cannot earn it. Second, it is not for sale. And third, if we accept Christ, we already have it.

As always, I look forward to your comments.
Pastor Cory

I once asked the people in a Bible study group at the last church I served to imagine what would happen if we adopted a policy of weed-pulling, if we drew a circle around our North Douglas neighborhood, and made a vow that no evil would cross that line, that no weeds would grow within that border. I said, “You know, you and I could spend the rest of our lives protecting that boundary, standing shoulder to shoulder with pitchforks and clubs, making sure that we kept drugs and alcohol and pornography and gambling safely on the other side. I think it would take all of our energy and most of our time. But what if we did it? What if we succeeded? What would we have? We would have a neighborhood characterized by the absence of evil, which is not the same as a neighborhood characterized by the presence of good. And maybe this is what Jesus was talking about all along, that it’s better to have a wheat field with weeds in it than a field with nothing in it at all.

A pastor/friend of mine inspired a church to begin a ministry to the children of a nearby trailer park. They had to decide what kind of ministry it would be. They could have chosen to root out all the sources of evil in that place-to chase down the drug dealers and the deadbeat dads, to confiscate handguns and arrest child abusers. Instead, they chose to put up a basketball goal, to tell stories from the Bible, to put their arms around little children, and sing songs about Jesus. And two years after they started that ministry, two years of going out there Saturday after Saturday to do those things, the pastor got a note in his box at church with five words on it: “Adrian wants to be baptized.” Adrian. The terror of the trailer park. That little girl who had made their work most difficult during the previous two years. Who would have guessed? Instead of pulling weeds in the field where she lived, they just tried hard to be wheat, and somehow Adrian saw that and fell in
love with it and wanted it for herself. After she was baptized, there was a little more wheat in the field. And because she was there, soon, there was even more.

What ministries can we implement in 2023? As I ask this question, I have heard some really good suggestions. We are exploring the idea of installing a “Blessing Box,” to provide food for the needy in our neighborhood. Someone suggested that we provide a free meal for our neighborhood as a way to reach out not only to those in need, but also to “unchurched” souls. I have spoken to local health departments, who tell me their pregnant teens and poor single mothers need assistance, and I am brainstorming with other organizations and agencies about how we may participate to meet the needs of the community.

I propose that 2023 is the year of ministry for this church. I would love to hear other ideas on how to share God’s love from the many blessings we have received from God. Isn’t this what Jesus
calls us to do?

As always, I invite your comments.
Pastor Cory

At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year. I don’t know how you are doing on your New Year’s resolutions. I do know something that is more important than resolutions, though. How do you see this New Year? Is it one that you approach with anxiety or anticipation?

What are we afraid of as we look toward 2023? Failure? My friends, let me remind you:

Failure doesn’t mean you’ll never make it.
It does mean you have to do it differently.

Failure doesn’t mean you don’t have it.
It does mean you have to make some deep changes.

Failure doesn’t mean you’ll never succeed.
It does mean it will take longer.

Failure doesn’t mean you’re a fool to try again.
It does mean you have the courage to keep making noble commitments and great resolutions.

Failure doesn’t mean God doesn’t answer prayers.
It does mean that God has a better idea.

How about considering these Christian Resolutions for the New Year:
Like Paul, forget those things which are behind and press forward.
Like David, lift up my eyes to the hills from which my help comes.
Like Abraham, trust my God implicitly.
Like Enoch, walk in daily fellowship with my heavenly Father.
Like Moses, suffer rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time.
Like Job, be patient and faithful in all circumstances.
Like Joseph, turn my back on all evil advances.
Like Gideon, advance even when my friends are few.
Like Andrew, strive to lead my brother to Christ.

As always, I welcome your comments.
Happy New Year,
Pastor Cory

Dear Friends,

I received my undergraduate degree at the University of Central Missouri, in Warrensburg, MO. While I was there, each Christmas we would hear of the generosity of one man in Kansas City. Larry Stewart from 1979-2006 (he died in 2007) became the city’s “Secret Santa.” He was an anonymous giver. He remained anonymous until shortly before he died. He would let reporters go with him when he passed out money as long as they promised not to divulge his identity. Larry would walk into places like diners and laundromats to surprise people he felt needed help.

Every Christmas, this “Secret Santa” sought out people who are down and out, and he quietly slips them an envelope with a crisp, brand new $100 bill slipped inside. The recipients are usually astonished at this unmerited act of generosity. Seeing the reaction of people was so heartwarming. He inspired people with intent.

One year, someone tracked down this “Secret Santa” and asked him, “Why do you do this?” Larry replied how life had blessed him with an extremely successful business venture. But this was not always the case. In 1971 he was an out-of-work salesman who was reduced to living out of his car. One morning he had not eaten for two days. He was incredibly hungry, so hungry that he walked into a diner in Houston, Mississippi to order breakfast with no intent of paying for it. He couldn’t! He had no money, but he was so hungry.

As he hungrily ate his breakfast, he wondered how he was going to pay for this meal, or how he was going to get out of paying for this meal. When the check came, he fumbled around in his pockets pretending to have lost his wallet. The owner of the diner had already sized him up and knew he didn’t have the money.

The owner came around the counter, approached the man, and bent down as if to pick up something. The owner said to the man, “Well, looks like you dropped this $20 bill.” Now the man had enough to pay for breakfast and a little more to keep for the road. He never forgot this totally undeserved act of generosity and goodness. He now gives to others as someone once gave to him.

This Advent season we need to reflect on the entire Christ event. Christ came into the world to save us from the power of sin. The Messiah is coming. Repent and be baptized. Then you will surely see God’s salvation.

I might add, kindness is free. The act of giving is infectious. Be inspired to be a giver to those in need. In doing so, have a Merry Christmas!!

Pastor Cory

The renowned teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in a small-town general store. This was the day before mails and supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put up stock.

On one particular Saturday, he recalled, he heard the owner say to one of the clerks “It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to take inventory.” Dr. McLennon wrote that this was a word that had not yet entered into his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the kindly older man and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon then asked, Why?

“Well,” responded the owner, “it’s easy to forget exactly how much you have each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what all you have.”

So often we are apt to complain about the challenges we face or about what we are lacking. What if instead, from time to time, we sat down to list the gifts, blessings and opportunities God has given us. It seems to me that this would be a great exercise especially when we are in a mood to whine or wallow in self-pity.

That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things that I don’t have. It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to brood or whine in self pity. Have you taken inventory lately?

What I am suggesting here is not some shallow “count your blessings” platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children’s poem that says: “Count your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has done.”

It is easy to forget just how much we have. Every now and then, let’s take inventory.

Following is a Newsletter Article I wrote for a class in Clergy Leadership in Health and Wholeness that I took while in Seminary.

Laugh ‘til it Heals

I find it amazing how humor can sustain a people. For centuries the children of Moses have endured such oppression, not the least of which in the form of Christian anti-Semitism. Still, the Jewish jokes about Christians abound. Like this one:

The priest says to the rabbi: “There are three things I can’t stand about you Jews: You wander about in the synagogue, you pray noisily, and your funerals are chaotic.”

The rabbi replies: “We wander about the synagogue because we feel at home there. We pray noisily because Yahweh is old and hard of hearing. And as for funerals, we too prefer the Christian ones.”

To quote a famous comedian, “That’s funny, I don’t care who you are!” I believe the healthiest and happiest people in the world, are the people who laugh; particularly at themselves. Now the medical community endorses what I’ve known for years. The Mayo Clinic and other sources report the many health benefits of laughter.

– Laughter enhances our intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulating your heart, lungs, and muscles.

– Laughter reduces the levels of stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine, while it increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells, giving us a stronger immune system.

– Have you ever felt like you “have to laugh or I’ll cry”? Have you experienced the cleansed feeling after a good laugh? Laughter provides a physical and emotional release.

– A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward.

– Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions in a more beneficial way than other mere distractions.

Where did humor originate? Not with people, angels, or Satan. God created all good things, including good humor. If God didn’t have a sense of humor, we, who are created in His image wouldn’t either. If God didn’t have a sense of humor, I would have a full head of hair. Still not convinced? Think of an aardvark, platypus, or a giraffe. Still not smiling? Go to the primate house at the St. Louis Zoo and look at a baboon’s butt! If any of these images put a smile on your face, can you imagine the roaring laughter in the heavens as God was creating all this?

God laughs at my jokes. No, I don’t believe I’m creative enough or quick enough to surprise God with the punch line. I recall many times, as a young boy, when I couldn’t wait to get home from school to share with my dad this great “new” joke I heard today. He always laughed. Later I realized these “new” jokes I share were older than his dad. His laughter was laughter of joy, because I was so excited to share with him. In the same way God laughs with us, and is filled with joy when I come to Him- even with a joke.

There’s nothing like the laughter of dear friends and family. The Bible often portrays us around the dinner table in God’s coming kingdom. What sound do you hear when friends gather to eat and talk? Laughter! When I go home to visit my parents, aunts and uncles, my three older sisters (I remind them often how old they are), and my nieces and nephews, we eat, we play cards, we share stories of family, and work. We share heart-to-heart, often pausing to pray-all surrounded by laughter. God certainly made us to love and laugh.

“But look at this world,” you might say, “What is there to laugh about?” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God isn’t crying as well. Jesus wept, Jesus suffered for us, and He suffers with us. But, my friends, if God can suffer, surely God can laugh. Jesus tells us, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” In Heaven, I believe our joy will often erupt in laughter. Luther once said, “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.”

My friends, we are Easter people! We worship a God who promised us joy and laughter. We worship a God who recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy (and laughter). So lighten up. A wise man once said, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” O.K. that’s a bad joke. You should laugh anyway. It’s good for you.

Maybe more important for us today is another benefit to laughter. Laughter connects us with others. Laughter is the one contagious thing we should want to catch. If you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these health benefits as well. So laugh often. lt’s good for us, and it’s a wonderful ministry!

I read a bumper sticker the other day. It read, “God’s original plan for creation was to hang out in a garden with naked vegetarians.” I couldn’t wait to call Dad and share with him all the great “revelations” my seminary education provides. He belly laughed! I think I surprised him this time. God laughed with us.

And all God’s people say, AMEN!

We took an important step yesterday in “stepping up” our Christian hospitality efforts. This is the focus of this writing.

Christian hospitality is an expression of God’s love and living out our call to, “Love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mt 22:39). Christian hospitality is the cycle of both receiving God’s love and giving God’s love. Thinking of it in this way, how hospitable you are has everything to do with how much of God’s love you allow into your heart.

My initial understanding of hospitality was focused on the giving part of the cycle, and the external expressions of giving. I grew up on a farm where most of my aunts and uncles had farms within 5 miles from us. We gathered together at the drop of a hat. We celebrated everyone’s birthday, anniversary etc… When the rural electricity was down, it affected all of us, sometimes for days. What would we do? We all emptied out our freezers and had a giant family barbeque. All of these gatherings centered around family and food. These gatherings are my most treasured times.

As an adult, I hosted many gatherings of family and friends, yet I see now that my focus was on the externals of giving. Hospitality meant preparing my house for large gatherings (and making sure it was perfectly clean), cooking (and stressing over whether my food would taste perfect). Many times I did way more than necessary, to the point of exhaustion and resentment. I love welcoming people, yet I would become overly consumed thinking of every detail. As a result, I exhausted myself and took it out on my family. Frustrated with my family for not helping as much as I needed them to a few hours before a gathering became part of the preparation tradition I am not so proud of.

I hosted a lot of special times yet something was missing for me. All my giving energy was focused on the externals: the food, the table, the clean house. No time was devoted connecting within and allowing God’s love to fuel my giving.

When I began learning about Christian hospitality, I found a whole new way to be hospitable. I grew to see that I needed to begin with myself. I needed to clean my own inner home and learn to be hospitable to Christ within me before being hospitable to anyone else. I had been constantly depleting myself and was not allowing God’s love to fuel my service towards others. As a result, there was always a limit to how much I could give. There was always a point where I became frustrated, resentful, and exhausted and sometimes getting sick. I desperately needed to allow for an inward flow of love to fuel the outward flow of giving.

Allowing for a more hospitable place within my inner home meant becoming better at listening to my limits and setting boundaries with myself and others. Allowing time for quiet reflection and prayer became more of a consistent presence in my life. Caring less about perfection and more about connection put me in a different space when welcoming people. The giving, serving, and welcoming cycle comes from a more loving place within me. I try to focus on connecting with Christ within me so I can be present to Christ in the other.

The more you allow for a hospitable place for Christ within you, the more compassionate and loving you will be with others. As you give much more attention to your inward flow of love, you will find there is more of an outward flow toward others – more love, compassion, and giving – without much effort. More time nurturing your heart translates into more energy for others. You will have a wider container to hold others’ needs.

Reflect & Share

As you reflect on current events in this church, and move forward during this anniversary year, take some time to reflect on your hospitable heart.

What have you noticed about the events and experiences you have gone back to? Are you noticing in-person events can be extra tiring after not experiencing them for so long? Are you being kind to yourself – setting boundaries and being aware of what you need as you get into a busier season?

How are you allowing for a hospitable heart to others? How are you making room in your heart for those you disagree with? How can you extend a helping hand to those who need help this season?