First Lesson: Samuel 8: 4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 130
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4: 13 - 5:1
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 3: 20-35

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Once upon a time, there were two men who I’ll call Larry and John who were both ill and roommates in a hospital in Minneapolis[1].  Larry was allowed to sit up in his bed for one hour each afternoon to get fluid drained from his lungs.  Larry’s bed was next to the room’s only window.  John was required to spend his days lying still on his back.

Larry and John soon became good friends.  They would speak for hours on end about families, jobs, time in service, hobbies, and vacations.  Every afternoon, Larry would describe to John in great detail all that he saw out the window.

The highlight of John’s days was hearing Larry’s descriptions of the outside. 

Larry told John about a lovely park outside[2].  John heard about a lake where ducks and swans floated on the water, and children played with their model boats.  On a nearby path, lovers would walk by holding hands.  Flowers of every color of the rainbow sat in this park with huge trees completing the landscape.  The Minneapolis Skyline could be seen in the distance.  Even Target Field as both Larry and John were huge Twins fans.  John’s eyes would close, and a huge smile would break out on his face as Larry described these scenes. 

One afternoon, Larry even described a parade complete with floats and bands passing by the window.  John was thrilled as he pictured the most fun days of his years growing up when the parade came during his small town’s festival.  

Eventually, though John began to think, He wondered “Why should Larry have all this pleasure, while I never gets to see anything.”

John came to believe that Larry’s window wasn’t fair.  John began to resent Larry more and more with each passing day slowly.  John’s anger caused him to lose sleep at night[3]. 

One night though, John heard Larry start to cough.  It was a violent, unsettling cough[4].  Larry was choking on the fluid in his lungs.  John watched as Larry attempted to reach out to hit his call button, yet never quite hit it.  John never reached for his button.  Five minutes later, Larry’s coughing stopped.  The room was now silent.

The next morning, Larry’s lifeless body is removed from John’s room[5].  Later the next afternoon, John requested to be moved next to Larry’s window.  The nurse agrees to do so.  John gets excited at all the sights that he will now see.  As soon as John’s bed is moved, he props himself up on an elbow for his first look out the magic window.  John anticipates a joy soon coming like he hadn’t encountered in weeks.  As his head starts to turn slowly, he sees that what Larry’s window faced was a blank wall.

Today’s lesson contains some potentially difficult words for us to hear as Christian people.  These words are as difficult as John hearing descriptions day after day of an outside world that he couldn’t see. 

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal[6].”  These are words that the Apostle Paul drives further home in the next chapter when he declares: “For we walk by faith, not by sight[7].”

To understand Paul’s words, you need to know that one of the great conflicts within the Corinthian Church which Paul had previously visited was over the meaning of Resurrection. Believers were growing impatient at Christ not returning quick enough.  They thought Resurrection to be perhaps a hoax no different than the stories that Larry was telling his roommate John about the magical window.

Woody Allen, some years ago, declared: “If only God would give me one solid clue like depositing fifty thousand in my bank account[8].”

Woody Allen’s request though is as old as time itself.  When Moses stood on Mount Sinai he asked God to “Show me your glory[9]?” or “Give me just one good look[10].  Moses had a point if God would do this it would probably straighten out the disobedient Golden-Calf worshipping Israelites. 

In a world where I can look up details from a Vikings game from 1989 on my phone within seconds, not getting direct answers to the biggest questions in the universe can certainly frustrate[11].

Here’s the thing though perhaps the reason that we can’t see God’s face is that God doesn’t exist as we exist.  God doesn’t exist merely in material and visible ways.  Faith calls us to trust in invisible realities even when we’d like fifty-thousand dollars placed directly into our bank account. 

Martin Niemoller was born in Germany in 1892[12].  In World War I, he was a U-Boat officer in the German Navy.  Upon the completion of the War, Niemoller returned to school to become a Lutheran Pastor.  Niemoeller was a vocal opponent of the Weimar Republic set up in Germany in World War I’s wake[13].  Niemoeller was at first open-minded to Hitler’s opposition to the Weimar Republic.  He quickly came to see the Nazi Party’s agenda incompatible with his Christian faith.  Niemoller became a founder of a German resistance movement eventually becoming involved in the founding of the Confessing Church with Dietrich Bonhoeffer[14]. In 1937, Martin Niemoller was arrested.  He would spend the next seven years of his life in prison seemingly facing imminent execution. Niemoller could smell burning human flesh from his prison cell[15].  Years later, Niemoller was asked how he could survive all those days in prison while maintaining not only his sanity but also his faith.  

Niemoller replied that we do not know how much we can survive until our tests ultimately come.  “If God dwells in your life, you can stand far more than you think[16].”

All Niemoller could do spending day after day in a prison cell was cling to hope that what he could not see was ultimately more powerful than anything he had seen.  The following belief is what it means to walk by “faith” and not by “sight.”

Author W.P. Kinsella writes the novel Shoeless Joe which was eventually made into a very popular movie called Field of Dreams.

Shoeless Joe tells the story of a struggling Iowa corn farmer named Ray Kinsella.  Kinsella loved two things in the world his family; wife Annie and daughter Karin plus the game of Baseball.  One day while out in the fields, Ray hears a voice almost as if from on high declare “If you build it, he will come[17].”

Ray and Annie discuss the voice which provides no clarity as to what Ray is exactly supposed to build nor who will come.  Ray builds a baseball field in the middle of his corn crop.  For a struggling farmer, this would seem to be an act of foolishness.  Building a baseball field was the boldest act of faith a corn farmer can imagine, especially with a mortgage due.

Following through on any act of faith was not going to be easy as we don’t always control our own future.  Ray can merely be guided by promise that his faith will be given a eventual meaning. 

Pretty soon though faith gives way to sight as appearing on Ray’s field is Baseball’s legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson.  The rest of the book has Ray hearing more voices “ease his pain” “go to the distance.” Leading Ray on a pair of cross-country journeys to bring redemption and healing to those who didn’t think it was possible. 

When Ray Kinsella first heard a voice, he saw merely a cornfield, yet he would soon come to see there was something beyond the cornfield that would eventually gather people from far and wide to have their lives changed.    

The Apostle Paul would write to the Corinthian Church earlier in his ministry[18]: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known[19].”

Ray Kinsella’s cornfield would reunite him with his Baseball playing father[20].  A strange voice would turn into a manifest reality before his very eyes. 

We can probably relate to Ray Kinsella or John dreaming about Larry’s window.  We wonder why doesn’t the Holy Spirit speak more clearly to us[21]? Why can’t God make his intentions clear? Why don’t we get $50,000 placed in our bank account?  Why can’t we see God’s face?

Here’s why we do walk by faith and not by sight? God knows more than we can ever fathom.  God knows more about sin, grace, heaven, hell, death, and resurrection.  We see the Cross as God’s ending when in reality it is merely the beginning.  We see the temporary on this day, but we cannot see the eternal.  The good news is our God can see both the temporary and the eternal. 

Larry could see many wonderful things out his hospital room window; John merely saw an empty wall.  As people of faith like Larry, we are called not to cling to the temporary windows we see on this day, but rather the great eternal hope given to all God’s people.  Amen


[1] The following is a reimagining of a story told by AuthorUnknown posted on Stories for Preaching retrieved on May, 29, 2018. 
[2] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching. Web. May.29.2018. 
[3] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[4] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[5] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[6] 2 Corinthians 4:18. 
[7] 2 Corinthians 5:7
[8] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer. 2005. Web. May.29.2018. 
[9] Exodus 33:18. 
[10] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer.
[11] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer.
[12] “Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 7. May.2018. Web. May.29.2018. 
[13] Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[14] Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[15] Bowen, Gilbert. “Secularism: The Subtle Enemy.” Sermon Writer. 2006. Web. May.29.2018. 
[16] Bowen, Gilbert. “Secularism: The Subtle Enemy.” Sermon Writer.
[17] Huston, Jeffrey. “Why ‘Field of Dreams’ Is the Best Christian Parable in Movie History.” On Faith. Web. May.29.2018. 
[18] King, David. A. “Field of Dreams’ shines in the light of faith.” Georgia Bulletin. 19.May.2017. Web. May.29.2018. 
[19]1st Corinthians 13:12. 
[20] Wahl, Keith. “Field of Dreams - The Journey of Faith.” Complete Game Ministries. 30.Nov.2017. Web. May.29.2018. 
[21] Huston, Jeffrey. “Why ‘Field of Dreams’ Is the Best Christian Parable in Movie History.” On Faith.

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, (11-20)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4: 5-12
Gospel Lesson: Mark 2: 23- 3:6

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
“The world is mysteriously full of suffering.” But he also said, “The world is mysteriously full of the overcoming of suffering…overcoming which leads to life[1].”- Albert Schweizer

Let me begin by telling you the story of a woman named Nadia[2].  While Nadia grew away far from here, Nadia’s experiences aren’t that uncommon.  Nadia grew up in a family of six.  Her father never showed her any love as a child.  Nadia viewed her dad, not as a loving father but rather a stern judge.  Nadia’s dad was physically and emotionally abusive to both his wife and all of his children.  Nadia witnessed her mom being beaten to within an inch of her life[3].  Nadia understood her mom endured this as a means of protecting her children.  Nadia witnessed her brothers fleeing from her dad out of sheer terror and despair fearing the same.  Nadia’s family had heard plenty of religious messages over the years, yet the outcomes with her father remained the same.

Nadia eventually leaves her home and moves far, far away[4].  She tried to come to terms with her faith.  She could never wrap her head around how a God above though could be a loving father.  Nadia lived every day of her life overwhelmed with negative views of the men she encountered.  Nadia one day prayed to God to take her life.  What ends up happening to Nadia, we’ll get back to her story in just a little bit.

Today’s Lesson comes to us from the Life of the Apostle Paul[5].  We’ll be looking at Paul’s life and ministry in greater depth this Summer.

Paul had grown up Saul; Saul had what could be described as a comfortable life of power and prestige.  One day while walking on the Road to Damascus, Saul’s life gets turned upside down[6].  Saul converts from the Church’s greatest enemy to its greatest evangelist. 

Saul had not only come to believe that Jesus is Lord! Paul came to the belief that life came from death, purpose comes from pain, and suffering shall lead to eventual joy.  So as Saul becomes Paul, he endures Malaria, shipwreck, and arrest.  As hardship keeps coming Paul’s way day after day, he never despairs[7]. 

Today’s lesson comes to us from the Book of 2 Corinthians[8].  Paul begins our lesson by talking about a great treasure coming in “jars of clay” that we shall soon inherit.  Paul speaks of this treasure coming in the very things that seemingly can easily break. 

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed[9].”

How exactly does this work? How do we receive treasure though in clay jars?

Margaret O’ Rourke Gaffney was born in Ireland in 1813[10].  Gaffney’s family was poor at a time when Ireland was poor in the country due to British rule and summer famine.  When Margaret was five, her family immigrated to America.  Conditions were so harsh on board her ship; everyone was only allowed one cracker a day to try to survive on.  Her family eventually settles in Baltimore.  At the age of 9, a yellow fever wave hits the city leading to Margaret losing both per parents and becoming an orphan.  When things seemingly couldn’t get any worse, her older brother abandoned her, leaving her homeless at the age of 9.  Margaret eventually gets taken by a woman of Welsh ancestry to work as a servant and washwoman.  Margaret never learned to read or write on account of never receiving a formal education.

Margaret at the age of 21, gets married to a man named Charles Haughery (how-er-ree)[11]. They would soon move to New Orleans.  Charles though was sick as the couple had their first child Frances.  Charles Haughery would die a short time after Frances’ birth, and Frances would die a short time later.  Margaret lost her entire family for the second time in her life at 23.  Margaret could merely remark: “My God! Thou hast broken every tie: Thou hast stripped me of all. Again I am all alone[12].”

It was the loss of Charles and Frances that would forever change Margaret’s course in life.

Margaret was going to dedicate her life to the causes of the poor, widowed, and orphaned[13].  Margaret went to work ironing clothes nearby an orphanage.  When she got paid her meager wages, she would give a generous portion to this orphanage.

She then began working full-time in the orphanage, when the orphans would run out of food, Margaret would give every cent to her name to provide for them.  Margaret eventually got started trying to raise money for them; she raised so much money, several new orphanages opened in New Orleans. Margaret becomes an orphanage administrator.

As an administrator, she eventually reveals herself to be a brilliant businesswoman: she purchased cows and made enough distributing dairy throughout the city that the orphans were nourished, and the orphanages were soon debt free[14].  She eventually becomes a bread baker turning her into a rich woman.  She came to be known as the “Bread Woman of New Orleans.” Margaret saw to it that this bread ended up in the hands of any destitute who needed it. 

As the Civil War raged in New Orleans, Margaret found a new generation of orphans to support through her bread making.  After the Civil War, Margaret became one of the most renowned people in the city with people from all walks of life coming to her for advice.  Margaret throughout her lifetime gave away over $600,000 for New Orleans’ widowed, poor, and orphaned.  This money would be worth over 15 million dollars Today.  Margaret died in 1882.  She was so renowned throughout the city that she was given a state funeral.  Upon her death, due to her thriftiness including only owning two dresses, she was able to leave her entire vast estate to fund New Orleans’ orphanages further.

In the wake of Margaret’s death, a monument was built in the city to honor her legacy.  The monument read: “She was a mother to the motherless; she was a friend to those who had no friends; she had wisdom greater than schools can teach; we will not let her memory go from us[15].”  Many Catholics today believe because of her efforts, she deserves being declared a “saint.”  Margaret today remains one of the most prominent regarded people in New Orleans’ history[16]. 

Margaret Haughery’s life is the greatest of testimonies to receiving treasures in clay jars of becoming an orphan, abandoned by her brother, working hard-thankless jobs, yet all these things eventually revealing itself in a greater purpose.  Margaret’s life reminds us that as fragile and broken as we might be.  God can find treasure in the lowliest clay jars of life even upon a cross. 

“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake[17].”
How God shines through our broken lives for the sake of our Gospel.  How even certain death has ways of bringing about Resurrection. 

Jesus was hanging upon the Cross when he cried out what we maybe cried out a time or to throughout our life. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me[18]?”  It was in Christ being forsaken that God’s greatest of promises would be known[19]. 

As Paul concludes our lesson for Today: “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you[20].”

What ends up happening to Nadia, who was contemplating taking her own life[21]?  Nadia decides against killing herself as not to shame her mother.  Nadia then encounters a woman from back home.  The woman admits that she is a non-believer but that her daughter’s life had been changed upon an encounter no different than Saul becoming Paul with the Risen Lord.  Nadia decides to attend a church near her home.  Nadia has her Damascus Road salvation experience, like the Apostle Paul her life was forever transformed.
Nadia began to see men in a new way, she no longer saw them as her mortal enemy but rather as forgiven sinners[22]. 

Nadia’s previous suffering began to lead to a newfound sense of joy. As Nadia begins to encounters a “new” loving heavenly father, she began to forgive her own “dad” slowly[23].

Nadia began to travel home more frequently.  Nadia’s father at first seemed beyond hope of redemption.  He left Nadia’s mom for a woman who was Nadia’s age.  Her mother’s tortuous marriage had ended with unimaginable shame.   Nadia though refused to give up on her father[24].

Nadia’s dad eventually gets a diagnosis of terminal cancer.  His new wife leaves him.  Nadia’s mom cares for him when no one else would dare.  Nadia reaches out to him, yet again in the days before his death.  Nadia tells him the story of Jesus and the Thief at the Cross “How it is never too late to receive God’s forgiveness.  Nadia’s dad cries out for forgiveness as he grabs her mother’s hand[25].  The story of Nadia’s father shows us no matter how dark a path might be in this life; the cross ultimately changes everything. 

Saul of Tarsus was a man much like Nadia’s father.  He was a man who persecuted the Christian Church and lashed out at those around him.  Saul becoming a “Christian” seems too unbelievable to hear, even as unbelievable as the worst father in the world.  The Cross does change everything.  The Cross gives meaning to sin and suffering.  The Cross gives hope.  Saul becomes Paul.  Paul proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the whole wide world.  The stories of Nadia, Margaret of New Orleans, and Paul remind us that Grace continually comes to us in the most unlikely of places.  Amen


[1] Bowen, Gilbert. “Down But Never Out.” Sermon Writer. 2003. Web. May.22.2018
[2 Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father” Eternal Pespective Ministries 18.May.2018. Web. May.22.2018.  Taken from  Email Mediatations.
[3] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[4] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[5] 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
[6] Acts 9:1-31. 
[7] Bowen, Gilbert. “Down But Never Out.”
[8] 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
[9] 2 Corinthians 4:7-8. 
[10] “Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 29.Jan.2018. Web. May.26.2018.
[11] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[12] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
[13] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[14] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[15] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[16] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[17] 2 Corinthians 4:5.
[18] Mark 15:34.
[19] Malcolm, Lois. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:5-12.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 3.June.2018. Web. May.28.2018. 
[20] 2 Corinthians 4:12.
[21] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[22] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[23] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[24] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[25] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.

First Lesson: Acts 2: 1-21
Responsive Reading: Psalm 104: 24-35b
Second Lesson: Romans 8: 22-27
Gospel Lesson: John 15: 26-27; 16: 4b-15

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Let me begin with a story told by author Margaret Wise Brown[1]. 

Once upon a time, there was a young bunny.  The young bunny was at the age where he was ready to leave his home.  So he continually taunted his mother with the threat that he will run so far away from home that she will never be able to find him.  The young bunny had his share of big dreams.  He first proclaims upon leaving his home: he will become a mountain.  The mother just calmly states if that you a become mountain then I will become a mountain climber.  The bunny then declares he will become a trout and swim around the lake where Mother surely cannot go.  To which mother reminds the young bunny, no problem she will then become a fisherman.  The bunny then declares he will become a flower that Mother will be unable to find, to which Mother declares that she will then become a gardener.  The bunny lastly threatens to become a bird so that he can fly far away from the only home he’s ever known, at which point the mother bunny declares at that point “I will then become a tree to which you can eventually come home.”  The message of The Runaway Bunny is this, no matter where you, no matter what you do, you are always assured of a place of love and acceptance that you can call your home[2].

Now I want you to keep the image of The Runaway Bunny in your head.  Today is a day when two important events take place in the life of our congregation.  Today is the Day of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Christian Church, the day when the Disciples were gathered unsure of what the future had in store.

On this day, the wind began to blow.  The disciples began to speak in every sort of language imaginable.  Pretty soon the commotion caused a huge crowd to gather; the people weren’t quite sure what was going on “They have had too much wine.” The crowd shouted. 

Then Peter began to preach.  “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Three thousand new believers were baptized on this day their life would never be the same again as forgiveness now had been proclaimed within their presence.  Today we also celebrate, Lily, Mallory and Timmy your Baptism, and it’s meaning as you are confirmed.  So what does your Confirmation mean?

Now each of you are athletes for the Silver Bay Mariners.   Lily a volleyball and basketball player, Mallory a volleyball player, Timmy a football, basketball, and baseball player.  Sports can teach us much about the message of The Runaway Bunny. 

I was just a few years older than you are all now.  I was a junior at Concordia College.  Now when I was in college, I wasn’t much different than I am now.  Every chance I got I would make the trip 250 miles down Interstate 94 to watch the Minnesota Vikings play.  I did it in good weather, in a snowstorm.  Most college kids travel abroad, the only place I ever wanted to go was Minneapolis. 

One Day, the Vikings were on this day playing the New York Giants.  If the Vikings won, they were going to the Super Bowl for the first time in my lifetime.  I bought all sorts of food, invited all sorts of people to my apartment.

 Five minutes into the game, the Vikings are losing 14-0.  At halftime, the Vikings are losing 34-0.  People’s reactions were quite interesting.  Some would storm off and issue all sorts of church inappropriate language; some would turn on the Vikings reminding everyone “how they're nothing more than ‘chokers’,” some would stay silent.

After halftime, the apartment is now empty. I vowed thought that I was going to watch every second of that 41-0 football game.  I didn’t care what anyone else thought.  I was born a Vikings fan, and I’ll eventually die a Vikings fan.  The following commitment will be true whether they win championship after championship or fail to win another game.  Just like in the story of the Runaway Bunny, some promises are written to you so strongly that they ultimately cannot be forsaken.  

Earlier this fall, I attended a similar football game.  Silver Bay was playing Mountain Iron-Buhl.  I should have known we were in trouble when before the game I saw a MIB parent who looked like a dead ringer for Hulk Hogan.  Coming into the game the Mariners had several starters injured; the Rangers were bigger, faster, and stronger.  Mountain Iron-Buhl won on this night 50-0.  There would seem to be nothing good ever come of a game like this if you’re associated with Silver Bay.

After the game, I was walking back to the school alongside that evening’s referees.  The refs commented to me how impressed they were with Silver Bay even in a 50-0 game.  They pointed out how their attitude was good, the effort never wavered, and they never sought to result to the type of dirty player often found in blowouts.  While no one can ever see any good when the score is 50-0, on this day I received a promise that things will ultimately get better down the line.   

Today, Mallory, Lily, and Timmy you will be confirmed as Lutherans.  Two of the most important questions that I asked in confirmation was “What is the Law?”, and “What is the Gospel?”

The Law is this.  We all have times in life where we feel we’re not good enough.  It might be when we lose football games 50-0, or when we struggle with a test at school, it might be when we see all the ways we seemingly don’t measure up with those around us.  We face the law when we’re six when we’re told we can’t run in the streets, we face the law at sixteen when seemingly every kid in NE Minnesota is our competition, we face the law at twenty-six when our checkbooks seemingly are continually running low on funds, we face the law at thirty-six when we realize we’re no longer able to eat a bag of Oreos without consequences.   We will all get older, grayer, and ultimately weaker.  These are the harshest forms of the Law the types of judgment that confront us every single day. 

So what is the Gospel?? Saturday after 50-0 loss to MIB, I go to my office fire off an email to the Coach Kaiser.  As I described earlier, I view results as far from the most important thing in football. So I decided to write the Coach and tell him what a wonderful job that I think he’s doing with the football team because of what the Refs had told me even as the Mariners had lost their last two football games like 90-0. I caught even Coach Kaiser off guard with my response. 

The Gospel is a reminder that Our Lord has a plan even when it doesn’t seem obvious.  Our reminder of this is the Cross of Christ.  The Gospel doesn’t promise us that we will never have our moments where difficult times and harsh judgments are continually slammed in our face.  The Gospel reminds us that life is much more than we see on this present day.  Despair comes before Hope.  Sin comes before forgiveness. Death comes before Resurrection.

The years ahead will bring us face to face with the challenges of your faith.  You might like a lot of confirmands before you, be unsure how Church fits into all this.  That’s O.K.  Earlier, I told you the tale of the Runaway Bunny.  What the story reminds us is that we never other grow our need for grace.  We never outgrow our need for a place that we can truly call our home.  We never outgrow the promises given in our baptism and confirmed on this day.

Lily, Mallory, Timmy. “I have you called by name; You are Mine.” –Isaiah 43:1.

Now let me close with words about each of the Confirmands. 

Timmy Perfetto-Timmy is the only kid that I’ve ever confirmed who nearly got me banned from a rival school.  The Mariners were playing the Two Harbors Agates in Boys Basketball.  The year before watching an episode of College Gameday I saw the Washington State flag and thought we needed a Mariner flag both for Silver Bay and away games which Mrs. Ollila then ordered.  So I naturally brought the Mariner flag down to our biggest rival in Two Harbors.  Our fans were outnumbered on this night like 8-1.  The game was close; every Mariner basket brought the flag out to be waved.  Mariners win the game after Two Harbors misses a three at the buzzer.  I made the mistake of leaving the flag unattended in the immediate aftermath of the game. Next thing I do is turn around to see Timmy running laps with it on the Agates court. I’ve learned that I need to be careful where I bring the flag now in Two Harbors.  Timmy is the second Perfetto that I’ve confirmed.  .  Timmy though has been coming here for years now.   As we stand together on this day, Timmy has grown up before my eyes.  His coaches couldn’t speak higher of his attitude.  Community members speak highly of his work and good manners down at Zup’s.  My advice is always to keep your cool as we often tend to overrate the meaning of the present moment. 

Mallory Goettl-Mallory started attending classes here because of her good friend Lily Lewis.  Mallory was known for her quiet and gentle nature.  Our warm-up activity every week would be playing a game of “Would You Rather.” A sample question might be “Would you rather be paid $1,000,000 for every crime you commit, or $50,000 for every time you make someone smile?”

Now with a lot of kids asking these questions would make a person nervous not Mallory.  You knew that whatever you asked Mallory her heart would be in the right place. Mallory when she first started coming to Confirmation would always get nervous when put on the spot with any review question, but as time went on, she kept getting more and more assertive. Mallory, my one bit of advice, is never be afraid to let your voice be hard because you’ve got a lot worth saying.

Lily Lewis- When I first got to town, Lily was in fourth grade, and her mom was teaching the class.  Lily was the youngest one in the group by three years.  It continued this way for three-four years before we had some younger kids enroll.  Lily what’s stood out about you so much is that you’ve been going on 18 for so many years now.  When Lily was younger, the older kids treated her as their equal because of her maturity level.  When I first confirmed kids at Sychar three years ago, Gunnar Frahm and Lily’s brother Zach were the leaders of the group.  Lily soon assumed the role because of the respect is given to her by her peers.  The same thing is true at William Kelley.  Lily as you go deeper into high school, remember the type of impact that you can make on those around you. 

As we leave this place on this day, I want you all to cling to the great promise of the Christian faith.  No matter where you go in this world, no matter what you become, no matter how far from forgiveness or grace you might be at any given moment. What the story of The Runaway Bunny reminds us is that some promises of relationship are so significant that they never leave you throughout your life.  We confirm these promises given in your baptism on this day.  Amen
 
 


[1] Kindlon, Dan and Michael Thompson.  Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.  Ballatine Books. Balitmore. 1999. Pg.119. 
[2] Kindlon, Dan and Michael Thompson.  Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.  Pg.119.  

First Lesson: Acts 10: 44-48
Responsive Reading: Psalm 98
Second Lesson: 1 John 5: 1-6
​Gospel Lesson: John 15: 9-17

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Once upon a time in a town such as this one, there was a girl of sixteen years of age that I’ll call Katie[1].  Katie was like many of her friends, she hadn’t been baptized, her parents weren’t churchgoers and when she heard any sort of religious language, it sounded foreign.  Katie did have a friend who had recently been confirmed named Angie.  Katie had never heard of confirmation before and wanted to know more.  Angie invites Katie to her church.

Katie shows up one Sunday in early May.  Katie looks around for Angie, Angie is nowhere to be found.  Katie looks around for other people she doesn’t know anyone, but notices gray hairs with only a few kids she had seen in passing.  Katie wanted to sit in the back, but that’s where all the regular attendees sat.  So the usher marches Katie to the front as she had the eyes of everyone at Saint Martin’s Lutheran come down upon her[2].  She could hear the whispers of “What’s she doing here.”

Katie opened her hymnal.  The few kids her age she didn’t know well spent the whole time whispering[3].  The Pastor began to preach, Katie liked what she was hearing about the reality of faith and God’s grace.  But as Katie looked around, people looked bored.  Katie nonetheless was as determined as any sixteen year old could be.  She might have been the most determined sixteen-year-old girl to ever walk through the doors of Saint Martin’s Lutheran Church.  Katie wanted to talk to someone after the service.  It was chaos though with everyone shooting towards the exit barely acknowledging one another’s presence.  Katie began to greet a couple sitting near her, they were less than warm and inviting in response to her greeting.  She began to approach a few of the teens she sorta knew, only to quickly realize that she didn’t fit in with their clique at church either.    

Katie writes Angie the next day. 

“I went to Saint Martin’s yesterday.  I hoped to find worship and feel some love.  I realized how much of an outsider that I truly was.  I’m sorry, but I won’t be back[4].” 

Katie was the definition of a religious outsider.  Here’s the thing, within the world we live in there are a lot more Katies than Angies.

Such issues are nothing new under the sun.  After Jesus died, the Book of Acts tells the story of his first followers.  Today, we hear one of its most important tales[5].

Once upon a time, there was a man named Cornelius[6].  Cornelius was a good man, a family man, a charitable man.  You might say Cornelius was spiritual, but not religious as we think of it Today.  Cornelius had no formal church home but would pray for help and guidance[7].

One day when Cornelius is praying, an angel appears instructing Cornelius to meet a man named Peter who was staying in the nearby town of Joppa[8].  Around the same time, Peter had a vision, Peter’s vision was strange but yet his life would never be the same because of it.

A large sheet is being lowered onto the ground before Peter with all kinds of animals, reptiles, birds, and all sorts of four-footed creatures even pigs.  Peter then hears a command from the Lord “Get up, Peter; kill and eat[9].”

 Peter is initially shocked at God’s request; this would seem to be the equivalent of a parent encouraging a child to play in the dangerous street or inviting older Children to hang out with dangerous criminals. 
 
Peter at first objects: “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean[10].”

The Lord responds to Peter that it isn’t Peter’s place to judge: “You must not make unclean that which God has cleansed[11].”

Peter was stumped that God would declare the unclean, clean.  Peter couldn’t make sense of God’s message as it was much deeper and more significant than whether Peter could eat pork, shellfish, or mix meat with dairy.  Peter has three visitors show up unannounced to his door.  The spirit of the Lord proclaims to Peter: “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them[12].”

The men proclaim that they have been sent by Cornelius the Centurion.  The men began to cite to Peter, Cornelius’ good reputation among all the people.

Peter realizes the meaning of the vision; he is being called to preach outside his normal tribe of God-fearing Jews, he is called to reach the Katie of his day an Italian named Cornelius. 

Peter has come to a new understanding of outreach. “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God[13].”

The previous distinctions Peter had drawn for every day of his life between Jew and Non-Jew were now no more.  The Resurrection had truly changed “Who was in and out amongst God’s people.”

The story ends with the Holy Spirit reaching Cornelius’ entire household to Peter’s amazement[14].  Our lesson concludes with the Baptism of Cornelius family as the first non-Jewish Christians[15]. 

Barriers had been broken and the world would never be the same again.  All it took was the Lord freeing Peter to reach out to Cornelius.   

Ralph Branca was born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1926[16].  Branca was the fifteenth of seventeen children born to a Jewish mother but raised Roman Catholic.  In 1943, Branca attended a tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers by 1944 he was pitching in the major leagues. 

In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a new player named Jackie Robinson[17]. Robinson was attempting to become the first African American to play Major League Baseball.   Branca’s teammates were up in arms. They began to pass around a petition seeking to ban Robinson from the team.   Many of them refused to take the field alongside Robinson for opening day.  

When the Brooklyn Dodgers played on the road, every racial slur in the books was tossed at Robinson all game long. Robinson wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the same hotels at the rest of the Dodgers.   In Philadelphia, Manager Ben Chapman would continually call for Robinson to come over to shine Chapman’s shoes[18]. 

Ralph Branca was different.  He grew up in a diverse neighborhood in Mount Vernon, a Catholic Jew surrounded by Italians, Irish, other Jews, and African-Americans[19].  So when Jackie Robinson wanted a friend, he found Ralph Branca.  They shared meals together.  When Robinson waited to shower till the white players got done, Branca shouted out “What are you doing??  Robinson replied “waiting.”  No, no—you’re playing first base; you’re part of this team, both on and off the field.  Overtime thanks to Ralph Branca, Jackie Robinson was received as just another teammate on the Brooklyn Dodgers[20]. 

Jackie Robinson will forever be the Cornelius who broke Baseball’s color barrier, yet the world is still the same without men or women like Ralph Branca. 

Now the issues we face are different issues than those faced by Peter or Ralph Branca.  The questions that we face thought have to do with insiders vs. outsiders and who is truly a member of God’s family. 

Shawn Arvin had it tough in life[21].  His mother was a prostitute, and he never knew his father.  From his earliest days, he witnessed every type of drug imaginable in his presence.   Shawn would frequently be forced to move as a child because of his mother’s profession.  Shawn spent a lot of his growing up years living with people he barely knew.  He graduates high school, gets married, and enlists in the Army.  He eventually goes back to school to get an MBA, starts working 80 hours a week.  Eventually lands his dream job complete with the big, fancy house.  Shawn though get never shake his depression brought about by lifelong broken relationships.  Shawn Arvin eventually plans his suicide.  Shawn can’t go through with it.  So he eventually goes to visit a friend. While staying with his friend, he travels to the park where he meets a homeless man.  Shawn unloads all his lifelong burdens to the homeless man.  The homeless man closes the conversation by saying “Hey man, I just want you to know God loves you[22].”

 Shawn can’t shake the homeless man’s words.  The words lead Shawn to show up at church.  Shawn Arvin then became a Christian.  Today, Shawn Arvin runs a youth center in Louisville.  The center’s motto: “Just love God, and love people, and let Him figure out the rest[23].”

As our story of Peter and Cornelius illustrates you never know how God might work on any single day. 
Pastor Leon Stier[24] describes serving a congregation in Lignite, North Dakota[25]. Lignite is in Burke County, North Dakota which has a population of nearly as many people as Silver Bay. Lignite is near the North Dakota/Saskatchewan border.    Lignite, North Dakota’s population peaked in the 1960 census at 355 people.  It currently has about 155 people today.

 You were never going to have all sorts of visitors in Lignite, North Dakota.  None of this mattered to Cliff[26].  Cliff never went to ask the pastor for details; Cliff was going to find out for himself. No new visitor would set foot in the church without a visit from kindly, old Cliff[27].   Cliff probably didn’t have a lot of different things going for him.  He didn’t have youth, nor a great way with words, yet this wasn’t going to matter to any visitors to his church in tiny Lignite, North Dakota. 

Cliff was who Katie needed when she walked into Saint Martin’s, Cliff who was Cornelius needed as he sought to hear the Gospel, Cliff was who Jackie Robinson needed as he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Cliff was who Shawn Arvin needed as he walked in the park.   We need people of warmth and welcome when people seek to make the unfamiliar familiar. 

Our Goal as a church should be the welcoming congregation that Katies of the world seek.  A church welcomed to the single, married, or divorced, black or white, rich or poor, skinny, or those with a little extra to love,  tattooed or pierced or none of the above, whether your hair is blond, blue, or gray, finally Jew or gentile[28].  We welcome all to this place which long to hear about the awesome power of Resurrection amongst God’s many types of people.  Amen
 


[1] The following tale of Katie and Angie is based on Author Unknown’s “ I Won’t Be Back” found on Stories for Preaching on April 28th, 2018. 
[2] Author Unknown. “I Won’t Be Back”. Stories for Preaching.
[3] Author Unknown. “I Won’t Be Back”. Stories for Preaching.
[4] Author Unknown. “I Won’t Be Back.” Stories for Preaching.
[5] Acts 10:44-48.
[6] Baker, Coleman. “Commentary on Acts 10:44-48.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 10.May.2015. Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[7] Acts 10:2. 
[8] Acts 10:3-6
[9] Acts 10:13
[10] Acts 10:14. 
[11] Acts 10:15
[12] Acts 10:19-20
[13] Acts 10:34-35
[14] Acts 10:45
[15] Acts 10:47-48.. 
[16] “Ralph Branca.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 13. Apr.2018. Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[17] Offang, Erik. “Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca Recalls Friendship With Jackie Robinson And Baseball’s History Of Racism:How a Mount Vernon native helped shape the Brooklyn Dodgers’ legacy.” Wechester Magazine. 13.Apr.2014. Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[18] Offang, Erik. “Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca Recalls Friendship With Jackie Robinson And Baseball’s History Of Racism:How a Mount Vernon native helped shape the Brooklyn Dodgers’ legacy.”
[19] Offang, Erik. “Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca Recalls Friendship With Jackie Robinson And Baseball’s History Of Racism:How a Mount Vernon native helped shape the Brooklyn Dodgers’ legacy.”
[20] Offang, Erik. “Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca Recalls Friendship With Jackie Robinson And Baseball’s History Of Racism:How a Mount Vernon native helped shape the Brooklyn Dodgers’ legacy.”
[21] “Message from Message from Strangers Changes Man's Life.” CBN (Christian Broadcast Network).Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[22] Message from Message from Strangers Changes Man's Life.” CBN (Christian Broadcast Network).
[23] Message from Message from Strangers Changes Man's Life.” CBN (Christian Broadcast Network).
[24] Stier, Leon. “Welcoming the Stranger.” Email Mediatations. 4. Sept.2015. Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[25] “Lignite, North Dakota.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 15.Jan.2018. Web. Apr.28.2018. 
[26] Stier, Leon. “Welcoming the Stranger.”
[27] Stier, Leon. “Welcoming the Stranger.”
[28] The following is based on the welcome from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community in Daytona Beach, FL.  This was found on  Stier, Leon. “You Are Welcome.” Email Mediatations. 19. June.2017. Web. Apr.28.2018.  

First Lesson: Acts 8: 26-40
Responsive Reading: Psalm 22: 25-31
Second Lesson: 1 John 4: 7-21
​Gospel Lesson: John 15: 1-8

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Once upon a time in a town not unlike this one sat a husband and wife that you could very well know.  On this day came a knock upon the door[1].  The husband and wife weren’t expecting any company.  Standing before them was a gentleman that neither of them had ever seen before.  He looked tired and road weary like he hadn’t been home for months.  The husband confused at the stranger’s presence asks “What can we do for you?”  The gentleman then proceeded to ask “Does God live here?” 

The husband and wife were stumped, he wasn’t dressed like a Mormon, he had no literature in front of him like a Jehovah Witness, and he had no reason to know what they believed or where they went to church.  The wife then asks “What exactly do you want?”  The gentleman replied again “Does God live here?”  The husband gets mad and begins to walk away; he orders the wife to slam the door in the man’s face. 

The husband keeps on fuming, “Doesn’t he know that we attend Saint Martin’s Lutheran Church” every Sunday[2].  To which the wife began to correct him “His question wasn’t whether we go to church?” She reminded him, he asked, “Does God live here?” 

They began to further reflect on the stranger’s question. 

Finally, the wife spoke up “Dear, yes God does live here.  We might be busy day after day.  We might not always be the perfect Christians like when we slammed the door in that man’s face.  Behind all this, we believe that Our Lord’s Gospel is at the center of our faith.  We believe that we shall abide in our faith because our Lord promises to abide with us[3].”

The husband spoke up “We might not be wealthy in this world.  Our lives certainly have had their share of difficulties with kids and marriage and jobs.  But through it, all God’s promises to us never waver.  God’s word shall abide through the end[4]?” 

Does God live here?  Does God live within our own lives?  Today’s Gospel lesson comes to us from John 15[5]. 

The key word that keeps coming up again and again in our lesson is “abide.”  What exactly does it mean to abide in Jesus as the husband and wife talked about in the previous story?  Abiding is a word that constantly appears in John’s Gospel[6].  John uses it to describe the mutual love dwelling inside of us.  How we love Christ because he first loved us[7].  John uses abiding to speak of the points and moments of our lives where God’s love is most clearly made known[8]. 

Samuel Timothy McGraw better known as Tim was born in 1967[9].  McGraw is one of the most successful country music superstars of all-time.  He has seen ten albums and twenty-five singles reach the top of the Country Music charts[10].  In 2004, he wrote perhaps his most important song for the sake of our Gospel Lesson. 

McGraw wrote a song titled “Live Like You Were Dying[11].”  McGraw based the song on conversations with a friend of his who had received a seemingly fatal diagnosis of a lung condition while still a young man in his early 40’s.  This diagnosis had given the man a whole new perspective on his life when he thought of life regarding months rather than decades to live like before.  The song tells the story of McGraw’s friend describing the impact of his diagnosis.  It was released shortly after the death of McGraw’s father Tug[12]. 
The song asks “What do you do when you get news that your life has changed on a dime.”  The song begins by describing fun activities to do like sky-diving and rocky mountain climbing knowing that your days are numbered.  As the song goes on though, it gets deeper and more spiritual[13]. 

To quote McGraw: “I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I’d been denying.  I finally was the husband that most of the time I wasn’t, and I became a friend a friend would like to have, and all of a sudden, goin’ fishin’ wasn’t such an imposition, and I went three times that year I lost my dad.  Well, I finally read the Good Book, and I took a good long hard look, at what I’d do if I could do it all again; And he said, someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying[14].”

The song asks what we do when confronted with the prospect of pending death?

Jesus within our Gospel lesson says “If anyone does not abide in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned[15].”  We hear this verse and picture a warning against hell. 

Like Tim McGraw what this verse seeks to address is confronting death.  For it is only in Christ that we have any hope in death.  How the Cross of Christ points to an abiding place even beyond the grave itself[16].

I want to close this morning with the story of one of the most remarkable Christians that you’ve maybe never heard.  A gentleman whose story shows us what it truly means to abide to the end.

Joseph M. Scriven was born in Ireland in 1819[17].  Scriven grew up the son of wealthy parents.  Scriven’s life seems to be going along great.  He graduated college in 1842.  He seems destined for a career as a school-teacher.  He is scheduled to marry his childhood sweetheart in 1843.  The day before the wedding, Scriven’s life would turn on a dime. 

He and his finance were scheduled to meet down along the banks of the local river[18].  She arrives first, her horse gets startled, she was bucked, thrown into the river, knocked unconscious, and drowned moments before Joseph Scriven arrived[19].

Scriven has to be a witness to her body being recovered from the river.  Upon seeing her deceased corpse, all he could comment was “The bottom of my world seemed to disappear[20].”

Scriven is so heartbroken by her loss that he decides he could no longer stay in his native Ireland.  He would see her memory every place that he looked.  He decides to move to a small-town in Ontario, Canada[21]. 

Scriven decides to dedicate his life to helping others in need especially the sick and poor.  Scriven develops a reputation as the local Good Samaritan.  He was known for being willing to do anything for anyone especially chop wood[22].

To give you an idea of the type of man that Joseph Scriven was one day two businessmen saw Scriven walking and carrying his saw.  One of the businessmen said that’s the type of guy that I would like to hire to chop my wood. 

The other businessman began to shake his head “I know that man. He would not cut your firewood.  He cuts wood only for the financially destitute and for those who are physically handicapped and cannot cut their own firewood[23].”  Scriven's philosophy was that he would only help those who couldn’t reimburse him to serve as an example of God’s grace.

In 1857, Scriven appeared on the verge of finally getting married.  While working as a tutor, he met a young woman.  They got engaged to be married.  Shortly before the wedding, his second finance contracted pneumonia.   Just like his first finance, she would die the day before their wedding[24]. 

Scriven though continually retained hope in life regardless of any devastating pain he endured.  When his mother got ill back in Ireland, he wrote a poem whose words he hoped would serve her as a source of comfort.  Scriven never expected that the poem would be seen by anyone other than him or his mother. 
One day though Scriven grows ill, a friend comes to help care for him and discovers Scriven’s seemingly long-lost poem[25].  Scriven is asked if he wrote the poem to which he replied: “The Lord and I did it between us[26].” Scriven’s poem begins to spread especially becoming a favorite of well-known evangelist D.L. Moody.  Perhaps you’ve heard it:
“What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Joseph Scriven would die in 1886.  The legacy of his testimony even after enduring the greatest of trials lives on.  What the story of Joseph Scriven reminds us of is the point of Our Gospel lesson.  Jesus abides with us even as those moments when we do not feel like it is so.  Jesus speaks these words of promise on the night before his crucifixion[27].
 
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”-John 15:13.
Jesus’ friendship was most ultimately made known upon the cross[28].  This friendship is sustained in all our imperfection and despair.  It is the one friendship in life that is not conditional of our circumstances, but rather unconditional. Our Lord will abide with us to the end through getting annoyed with strangers knocking on our doors through cancer diagnosis, through lost loves, and ultimately through our graves.   Amen
 


[1] The following is based on  Zingale, Tim. “Are You Attached?” Sermon Central. 3. June.2003. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[2] Zingale, Tim. “Are You Attached?”
[3] Zingale, Tim. “Are You Attached?”
[4] Zingale, Tim. “Are You Attached?”
[5] John 15:1-8. 
[6] Stamper, Meda, “John 15:1-8 Commentary.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 3.May.2015. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[7] 1 John 4:19. 
[8] Stamper, Meda. “John 15:1-8 Commentary.”
[9] McGraw, Tim. “Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 20. Apr.2018. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[10] McGraw, Tim. “Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[11] “Live Like You Were Dying.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 3.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.2018. 
[12] Live Like You Were Dying.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
[13] Stier, Leon. “Abide in Me (part three of three). Email Mediatations. 6. May.2015. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[14] Stier, Leon. “Abide in Me (part three of three).”
[15] John 15:6. 
[16] Stier, Leon. “Abide in Me (part three of three).
[17] Scriven, Joseph. M. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 15. Dec.2017. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[18] “The Story Behind the Hymn ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.” YouTube. 27.Jan.2012. Web. Apr.21.2018 published by jmose1009.
[19] The Story Behind the Hymn ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.” YouTube.
[20] The Story Behind the Hymn ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.” YouTube.
[21] The Story Behind the Hymn ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.” YouTube.
[22] The Story Behind the Hymn ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’.” YouTube.
[23] Brenneman, David. “The Story Behind the Hymn’ What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ “ Stuarts Draft and Retirement Community and Christian Homes. 28. Oct.2013. Web. Apr.23.2018. 
[24] Hall, Sharon. “Hymnspiration: What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” Digging History. 17.Jan.2015. Web. Apr.21.2018. 
[25] Hall, Sharon. “Hymnspiration: What A Friend We Have In Jesus.”
[26] Hall, Sharon. “Hymnspiration: What A Friend We Have In Jesus.”
[27] Habben, Daniel. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Sermon Central. 22. May.2006. Web. Apr.23.2018
[28] Habben, Daniel. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” 

First Lesson: Acts 4: 5-12
Responsive Reading: Psalm 23
Second Lesson: 1 John 3: 16-24
​Gospel Lesson: John 10: 11-18

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Let me begin with a story.  My Mom is not a big woman, standing around 5’0 tall and weighing less than 100 lbs.  My mom’s closest companion in life was her cairn terrier Winston picture Toto from the Wizard of Oz.  

When my mom would read Winston would lie on the floor nearby. When my mom would cook Winston would be standing by the stove. When my mom would be sleeping Winston would be in the area and quick to try to bark up a storm and even the slightest sound which could indicate a potential intruder. Winston wasn’t always the best behaved dog, until he was about ten years whenever my parents left the house, Winston would proceed to knock over everything in sight in fits of hysteria.  Winston loved more than anything else sprawling garbage across the dining room floor.  Despite Winston’s bad behavior my mom’s relationship with him never wavered.

One day, my mom took Winston for a walk.  They come across a coyote.  My mom sees the coyote as potentially eying Winston as nothing more than a delicious morsel, so what Mom does is grab Winston no different than the Shepherd would hold a Sheep and hightail it from the area as fast as she could.  My Mom was going to see to it that nothing happened which could destroy Winston while he remained in her care. 
Mom’s goal was not to confront the Coyote; her goal was ultimately to protect her canine companion above all else, even if it meant for harm to come her way.   We can probably identify with my mom.  We have our loved ones whether human or canine that we know of the need to defend regardless of circumstance.  

David Grossman grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming[1].  After high school, he enlists in the Army.  He graduates from Ranger school.  Works his way up the ranks to infantry platoon leader and eventually company commander out of Fort Ord, California.  Grossman then transitions careers within the service by becoming a military psychologist at West Point.  Grossman has since made his preeminent life work studying the psychology of killing how people in either military service or the police can push themselves to use force against others at any given moment[2].  Grossman wrote a book in titled On Combat in 2004 that summarized the wisdom of an old veteran that he encountered[3]: “There are three kinds of people in the world (wolves, sheep, and sheep dogs). 

The quote immediately became quite popular in a post 9-11 world, a world where violence seems pervasive.  Grossman’s quote makes sense when we are seemingly surrounded by wolves whether internationally in the form of Al-Queda/ISIS, domestically in the form of gangsters and thugs, and locally in the form of abusers[4].  We need sheep dogs in the world to protect us from all those who would seek to do the innocent sheep harm.  Life calls out for a continual confrontation with the wolves seemingly surrounding us.

Let me tell you today about someone who understands that there are constantly wolves roaming the world looking to get us.  Jesus addresses the problem of the wolf within our Gospel lesson for Today[5].
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The wolf comes…and snatches [the sheep] and scatters them. I am the good shepherd… And I lay down my life for the sheep.

Life seemingly tells us every day of the need for sheep dogs to protect the sheep against wolves.  The scriptures say something different.  The scriptures speak of a need for a shepherd to protect the sheep.  The shepherd though doesn’t bring salvation for meeting aggression with aggression; the shepherd rather speaks of bringing salvation by laying down his own life.

Jesus says to us on this day: “I am the good shepherd.” We hear these words, and we might picture the Sunday School painting of Jesus holding onto a lamb no differently than he would hold on to a child, no different than my mom would hold her little cairn terrier Winston.  You picture this image Jesus seems like the last type of person, we’d want to protect us from all the wolves in the world around us seeking to do us harm[6]. 

This image of what the good shepherd does is deceiving.  Our shepherd grabs the lamb because he is so concerned with the wolves that attack us.  Only the wolves the shepherd worries about aren’t what we imagine to be the insurmountable forces of this world, the wolves the good shepherd worries about are those of Sin, Death, and the Devil.  The need to confront these forces once and for all is why our good shepherd is so willing to display the ultimate act of courage in losing his own life upon the cross for our sake.

What makes the good shepherd different??  The American cowboy has long been considered a hero of the West[7].  Men like Roy Rogers are considered the epitome of American masculinity decades after his death.  Picture the cowboy; you’ve got the boots, the hat, the leather-face from being out in the sun all day[8].  There seems to be nothing stronger than the man who can control thousands of cattle across thousands of miles.  The cowboy is known for being honest to the fault and not afraid to defend his cattle against oncoming attackers. 

The shepherd is similar in many ways to the cowboy, they both live under the stars among the animals in their care, they are always on duty, and they both know where to find pasture[9].

Here’s the difference.  It has to do with the ultimate goal of the cowboy and the shepherd.  The cowboy is supposed to lead the cow to slaughter.  The cowboy sees the cattle as nothing more than merely another number, another head in the crowd.  So the cowboy drives the cattle, it wrestles, brands, herds, and ropes.  The cowboy will whoop and holler at the cows.  The work of a cowboy is to ultimately drive its herd to the very places it doesn’t want to go[10]. 

What makes a shepherd different from a cowboy?  Shepherds have a much more personalized relationship with their sheep.  Sheep are valued for their wool.  Shepherds will even caress their sheep out of the belief that it will produce better wool.  Shepherds will call out sheep by their very name.  The Shepherd seeks to lead and guide their sheep into the greenest of pastures where they long to go, even when they seemingly don’t know any better[11].

How does shepherding exactly work? D.L. Moody gives the following example[12].  In the Scottish Highlands, sheep will wander off from the herd; they will get into all sorts of trouble, they will get stuck in places they can’t easily get out.  Occasionally, the sheep will see very sweet looking grass which caused them to jump down onto mountain ledges from which they cannot get back up. 

 Here’s the interesting thing the shepherds will not automatically rescue the sheep as soon as they get stuck.  They will wait until the sheep eat all the grass, and began to grow faint.  So the shepherds wait until the shepherds are on the brink of death to rescue the sheep because otherwise, the sheep would get so excited they’d be likely to run off the edge of the cliff[13].  It is the same way with the good shepherd and us, only when we give up on trying to save ourselves does salvation come down from Heaven. 

What Jesus is saying to us in our lesson for Today is this.  He is the way to salvation because there cannot be any other way.  He knows our name, he knows our sins, he knows our imperfections, yet he remains our shepherd.  There are no wolves out there that will truly scare a good shepherd away.

Earlier this morning, I began by telling you about Lt. Colonel David Grossman.  The man is known as the lead sheep dog, the expert in human killing.  Grossman recognized a couple of downsides to his being seen as a sheep dog rather than a shepherd.  The first one is that sheepdogs can scare sheep because they look so much like wolves[14].  Grossman is terrified by the effects that video-game violence has had on the culture, almost desensitizing youth to the true nature of violence[15].  When we seek to impose our own righteous judgment upon the world the line between who are sheepdogs and wolves can blur fast. 

Here’s the difference between a sheep dog and a shepherd.  A sheep knows that no matter what a shepherd will never harm the lowliest of lambs. 

I have tremendous respect and gratefulness to those who put their lives on the line whether in the police force or armed services seeking to protect us.  Yet no forces no matter how good they appear will ever be able to replicate the true saving work of the good shepherd for those that the world has broken in all sorts of ways. 

Let me close with a Max Lucado story[16]. The year was 1945.  A deaf and blind teenager is found wandering the streets of Jacksonville, Illinois.  Since the boy was unable to speak, he ends up being placed in an institution.  They decide the boy had become blind as a result of his diabetes.  He becomes the 24th unidentified man in the state’s mental health system.  Twenty-four people with no identity, or no family with which to cling. 

John Doe #24 would spend nearly the next fifty years of his life within the institution with nowhere to go.  He died at the age of 64.  A woman conducting a service asks if anyone had anything to sat about John Doe #24,  the room remained silent[17].

The thing was there was an identity that belonged to John Doe #24.  Once upon a time, he had a mother, and a father, there were memories of a life before he was found wandering the street[18]. 

What this story reminds us of is the contrast between this world and the world that is to come.  John Doe #24 had a shepherd who knew his name, who called out his name and went to the Cross for John Doe’s sake.  What the shepherd promises to John Doe is that he will remain in his care until they reach the land of many mansions.   John Doe never was outside the unfailing love of his good shepherd.  What our lesson assures us Today is the same is true for us.  It doesn’t matter how far we wander off any path; it doesn’t mean how imposing the grave may look, our good shepherd will even dare go to the Cross to care for his sheep.  Amen
 
 
            

[1] Eells, Josh. “Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, the ‘Killologist’ Training America’s Cops.” Men’s Journal. Web. Apr.17.2018. 
[2] Eells, Josh. “Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, the ‘Killologist’ Training America’s Cops.”
[3] Cummings, Micheal and Eric Cummings. “The Surprising History of American Sniper’s’Wolves, Sheep, and Sheepdogs.’ Speech.” Slate. 21.Jan.2015. Web. Apr.17.2018. 
[4] Cummings, Micheal and Eric Cummings. “The Surprising History of American Sniper’s’Wolves, Sheep, and Sheepdogs.’ Speech.”
[5] John 10:11-18. 
[6] Mockingbird. “Hopelessly Devoted: John Chapter Ten Verses Eleven Through Eighteen.” Mockingbird Ministries. 18.May.2015. Web. Apr.17.2018.  The following is taken from a 2015 sermon given by Right Reverend Jeff W.Fisher, Bishop of Suffragan of Texas at Trinity Episcopal Church in Woodlands, Texas titled “Not Your Grandma’s Good Shepherd.”
[7] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.” Preach It Teach It. Web. Apr.17.2018. 
[8] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[9] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[10] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[11] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[12] “Sheep”. Sermon Illustrations. Web. Apr.17.2018 taken from Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71
[13] Sheep”. Sermon Illustrations.
[14] Eells, Josh. “Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, the ‘Killologist’ Training America’s Cops.”
[15] Eells, Josh. “Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, the ‘Killologist’ Training America’s Cops.”
[16] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[17] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”
[18] Lucado, Max. “Of Cowboys and Shepherds: The God Who Knows Your Name.”

First Lesson: Acts 3: 12-19
Responsive Reading: Psalm 4
Second Lesson: 1 John 3: 1-7
​Gospel Lesson: Luke 24: 36b-48

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Dorothy Dandridge Payne was born in North Carolina in 1768[1].  Dolley, as she came to be known, would eventually see her family move to Philadelphia.  At the age of 21, Dolley would get married to a lawyer with whom she would have two sons.  By the age of 25, Dolley would become a widow after her husband died of Yellow Fever. 

Shortly after this, Dolley would be introduced to a congressman from Virginia named James Madison.  They would marry shortly after that.  Within fifteen years, Madison would be elected the fourth president of the United States[2].

Dolley’s presence upon Washington D.C. was a revelation.  Dolley was often credited with bringing high society to the previous swamp known as Washington D.C.  Madison was known as witty and charming with a seemingly photographic memory to remember other people.  The War of 1812, would see Dolley exhibit great courage for her continual outreach to D.C.’s fellow residents even as her White House residence burned to the ground.   Dolley Madison would leave the White House as one of the most popular first ladies in American history.  In fact when Dolley Madison died in 1849, her death was mourned by the entire country similar to that of a President.

In the years after Dolley’s death strange reports started to surface.  Dolley was frequently seen roaming the halls of her residence accompanied by the smell of her favorite flower Lilacs[3].

Nearly seventy years later during President Woodrow Wilson’s term, a proposal was made to dig up the Rose Garden[4].  Dolley Madison’s Rose Garden.  A work crew arrives to begin to dig it up, only for what they believed the ghost of Dolley Madison to appear, the men were terrified and refused to continue working, the project was quickly dropped, and even Today long after her death Dolley Madison’s Rose Garden continues to bloom. 

Dolley Madison and the Rose Garden raise a fascinating conversation for us as Christian people.  Do ghosts such as Dolley Madison exist within our lives?

A while back I was visiting with a congregational member.  The member raised a problem to me that Seminary classes didn’t prepare me to address.  The member believed her house was haunted.  Things would seemingly vanish without explanation, worst of all money couldn’t occasionally be found.  The member would get perpetually madder at the ghost shouting for it to leave her alone.  She began to claim that she didn’t want to live in a haunted house anymore.

Once upon a time, there was an author of a theological library where they possess books for Seminary students[5].  The library was quite old and allegedly haunted by the ghosts of a former librarian.  Reports of the ghost’s activity were numerous: chairs being moved without explanation, books knocked off shelves and loud, scary unexplained noises throughout the night[6].  

The ghost question is a tough one to wrestle with as Christian people.  Books, movies, T.V. shows, and personal experiences tend to give ghost sightings a degree of authority that we struggle to sort out[7].

Today we hear perhaps the scripture’s most famous ghost story[8].  The Disciples are gathering on Easter evening.  The Disciples had probably heard rumors of Jesus’ appearing before others.  They didn’t believe such a thing like a ghost sighting could be true.  Jesus seemed unlikely to appear on this night.  The Disciples were more consumed with their fear of Jesus enemies who had put him to death that they locked the doors to where they were out of fear.  Suddenly, Jesus appeared before them like an uninvited ghost.
The reaction was much different than Mary Magdalene at the Tomb; the Disciples were terrified at what they saw. 

I was sixteen years old; My great-grandfather had just died.  I remember attending the visitation.  Another kid I knew showed up.  We began talking; he then dared me to touch the body of the deceased.  I had never done such a thing, so I got nervous.  I had seen my great-grandpa just a few days prior, touched him many times before, but I just couldn’t believe on that night that I would actually be touching “him.”

So as soon as the Disciples see Jesus, they react no different than they would seeing a ghost.  They are startled and terrified. 

Jesus decides he needs to calm their fears.  “Peace be with you. Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have[9].”

Jesus then proceeded to take the necessary steps to point out the true nature of his flesh and blood.  He eats broiled fish in the Disciples presence.  The Disciples know that ghosts by nature don’t eat.  One question that our text doesn’t answer has to do with the reality of Ghosts within our world.

So what should Christians say about Ghosts?  It would be helpful to define what Ghosts are and aren’t. 

Ghosts are supernatural entities[10].  Jesus within our lesson draws the contrast.  Ghosts are entities that we cannot see, hear, touch, or weigh in the same way we can with human beings.’ Ghosts would fall outside the realm of modern science.  As Christian people, we believe in supernatural forces.  We believe in a God who lives outside this world, who created it and all that exists.  We believe this God is good.  We also believe in Devils, Demons, and other supernatural beings because the scriptures declare it to be so.  There is even a story of a Witch in the Bible when Saul enlists the help of the Wicked Witch of Endor[11]. 

Here’s something interesting about our passage from Luke 24.  Martin Luther preached on this passage for All Saints Day.  Luther did believe in Ghosts or Wandering spirits[12]. 

Luther makes an interesting point about our passage.  Jesus does not deny that Ghosts appear.  Jesus seems to confirm it when he contrasts his post-Resurrection being with that of a Ghost as he points out “A spirit does not have flesh or bones[13].”

So if there are these Ghosts who are they? Luther points out that Ghosts aren’t the souls of the dead who have previously walked this Earth.  Luther’s reason was the scriptures never give examples of the dead returning as Ghosts to walk among the living.  Luther makes the point that the fate of the dead who have walked among us, is to await the Resurrection which is to come[14]. 

So who are Ghosts according to Luther? Ghosts are rather minions of the Devil sent to frighten, terrify, and drive people to all sorts of despair.  So the Devil, in theory, could operate by creating the likeness of the formerly living to haunt the currently living[15].

So Luther would have believed that it wasn’t the deceased spirit of Dolley Madison that appeared in the Rose Garden rather that if anything was seen it would have been demonic forces meant to terrorize and frighten the innocent workers.  So we can believe that ghost-like appearances possibly take place, without believing that when people die that they become Ghosts.

At the same time, even though we believe in a well-defined supernatural realm.  We acknowledge that various people’s ghost encounters can be viewed as hoaxes or deceptions[16].  In other words, while Ghosts are possible, not all ghost stories are necessarily true.  I have a friend who considers himself a “free-thinker,” he denies God and all supernatural forces such as Ghosts as not existing due to lack of “verifiable” proof.  I do not doubt that he would be able to point to all sorts of “ghost” stories that would later prove to be nothing more than hoaxes.  As Christian people, we rather merely acknowledge the “unseen things above (or below) which possess power within this world, even if we can’t explain or conclusively prove their existence at any given moment. 

Earlier I told you the tale of the library that was haunted by Ghosts.  The librarian would always be asked the question whether there are really ghosts within the Library, his answer is instructive for us Today“ I don’t know…But if you want my opinion on ghosts in general, I will tell you this—I believe in God, and if there are ghosts, I am not afraid of them, because God is stronger than any ghost[17].”

Today’s Gospel lesson further drives home this point.  The Disciples were afraid because when they see the post-resurrected Jesus, they believe they see a Ghost.  Jesus takes the time to show the Disciples the realness of his flesh, how he returned in flesh and blood not merely as a ghost.   The point of our lesson is maintaining peace in the presence of death, maintaining peace in the presence of ghosts, believing that Our Lord and Savior can ultimately triumph over any forces of death and the devil that the world ultimately throws at us[18]. 

It is true that in many ways we are haunted in this life.  These hauntings don’t take place though, in the form of evil spirits, they take place in the form of unresolved sins and our spiritual despair.  What the appearance of Jesus reminds us of Today is because of the Resurrection things will be different, sins will be forgiven, and the grave shall ultimately haunt us no more.  Amen
 
               
               
 
 
[1] “Dolley Madison”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 3.Apr.2018. Web. Apr.10.2018. 
[2]“Dolley Madison.” . Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 
[3] Lamkin, Virginia. “The Ghost of Dolley Madison.” Seeks Ghosts. Blogspot. 11.July.2010. Web. Apr.10.2018. 
[4] “Famous Ghosts in American History.” History Channel. Web. Apr.10.2018. 
[5] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories (a).” Email Meditations 14. Aug.2017. Web. Apr.10.2018. 
[6] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories (a).”
[7] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories (a).”
[8] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories (b). Email Meditations 15. Aug.2017. Web. Apr.10.2018
[9] Luke 24:36b, 39. 
[10] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories (b).
[11] 1 Samuel 28.
[12] Dawn W. “Luther on Ghosts.” Concordia Publishing House Blog. Saint Louis. 31.Oct.2015. Web. Apr.10.2018. 
[13] Dawn W. “Luther on Ghosts.”
[14] Dawn W. “Luther on Ghosts.”
[15] Dawn W. “Luther on Ghosts.”
[16] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories –C) Email Meditations. 16. Aug.2017. Web. Apr.10.2018
[17] Stier, Leon. “Ghost Stories –C) Email Meditations.. 
[18] Vitalis-Hoffman, Mark. “Commentary on Luke 24:36b-48.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 15.Apr.2018. Web. Apr.10.2018.  

First Lesson: Acts 4: 32-35
Responsive Reading: Psalm 133
Second Lesson: 1 John 1: 1 - 2:2
​Gospel Lesson: John 20: 19-31

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Elisha Graves Otis was born in Vermont in 1811[1].  His younger years did not bring much success as businessman overseeing multiple failed mills.  Otis eventually takes over as the manager of a bedstead factory.  Otis was plagued with a problem of getting debris from lower levels to upper levels of his factory. 
In 1851, many American buildings had elevators[2].  The problem was they didn’t work very well.  Ropes and pulleys would pull platforms up shafts.  The problem was the cables often would snap causing crashes to the ground which would destroy all the elevator’s contents.  Humans getting inside of an elevator would have been considered as dangerous as trying to fly by gripping onto the wings of an airplane.  The risk was beyond foolish in 1851. 

Otis wanted to find a different solution to his factory than a crude hoisting platform.  Elisha Otis by the age of 40 had become a skilled craftsmen.  Otis develops the idea to install a ratchet bar inside the elevator shaft, so even if the ropes did snap, a break would prevent the elevator from plummeting[3].  Otis initially didn’t think much of the invention.  He didn’t pursue a patent.  Nor did he have any interest in selling his newfound elevator.  He proceeded to keep working at the bedsted factory.  The bedsted factory goes under.  Otis decides he needs to try to convince a doubting, skeptical public that they can actually trust in elevators as a source of transportation.

The World’s Fair took place in New York City in 1853.  Otis rented out the main hall.  He decided to reconstruct an elevator platform and shaft[4].  He was going to give an elevator demonstration.  Otis on this day climbs on the platform, asks an assistant to hoist him three stories off the ground.  Otis then stared at everyone in the convention hall.  Then Otis proceeds to shock onlookers by instructing an axe man to cut the rope while Otis is suspended in mid-air. The audience gasped in amazement. The audience’s first thought is Otis is suicidal.  The platform began to drop, only to be rescued by Otis’s safety break[5]. 
The world would never be the same after Elisha Otis’ presentation on this day.  Within thirty years because of Otis’ invention, skyscrapers would come to major American cities[6].  Doubt had been turned to faith before a roomful of skeptical onlookers.   

Today we hear a similar story[7].  A story where a very skeptical man named Thomas has his whole world changed forever.  Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the other Disciples.  Thomas was a nonsense sort of a man.  Thomas was bold enough even to interrupt Jesus during an earlier sermon when he said: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way[8]?”  Only to hear Jesus reply “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me[9].” Thomas wouldn’t understand what Jesus truly meant though until the day of our lesson.

So when the Other Disciples say to Thomas they have seen Jesus, Thomas was skeptical like every single audience member of the 1853’ World Fair was skeptical as Elisha Otis elevated on a platform.  Thomas didn’t so much doubt only he was going along with what would have seemed like an exaggerated story without proof.  Jesus “Rose from the Dead!” He walked and talked among you, Thomas needed to see for himself.

For our friends aren’t always reliable arbiters of truth.  It might be a movie, a book, a restaurant or whether the Vikings are a better football team than the Packers.  We all know that just because our friends say something doesn’t make it true[10]. 

So Thomas makes his point known: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”[11]

Thomas does eventually have his Resurrection moment when Jesus appears before him eight days later and says to him. “Peace be with you!... Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe[12].”

John’s Gospel highlights Thomas to make an important point.  Thomas’ story is written to a world of skeptics, doubters, and scoffers.  A world that often believes Jesus rising from the dead sounds way too good to be true.  “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands… I will not believe.” We often proclaim.   Here’s the thing signs of Resurrection often exist within our own lives even when we don’t believe it to be so. 

Louie Zamperini (Zamp-Er-Re-NI) was born in 1917.  He grew up in Torrance, California.  He was frequently bullied as a child as he only knew how to speak Italian[13].  As Zamperini became a teenager, he got in trouble all the time: smoking, drinking, fighting, skipping school, running away from home, and stealing[14].  Everyone in town knew to be on the lookout for Louie Zamperini; he was as skilled a thief as there could be.   Louie’s penchant for stealing discovered a hidden talent, he was a gifted runner.  He was so gifted in fact that he qualified for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin[15].  He was so good in fact there was talk that he would be the first man to break the 4-minute mile.  Zamperini would have run at the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo[16] only to see them canceled due to the outbreak of World War II. 

Louie enrolls in the Air Force.  Louie soon becomes decorated[17].  Eventually, though his plane goes down over the Pacific, Three of the nine members of Louie’s crew survive.  Louie’s crew was adrift in the ocean for 47 days with the Americans unable to find them; they are eventually captured by the Japanese[18].  Louie would spend the next two years of his life as a POW.  Conditions were harsh: hunger, disease, torture, forced labor, and random beatings.  Louie barely survived his time as a Japanese POW.
Louie returned home a hero.  He would eventually find the liquor bottle to be his most constant companion.  Louie was married, but the marriage was in trouble.  Louie could not find steady work because his mind was consumed with thoughts of revenge against the Japanese[19].

Louie’s wife eventually leaves him for a time.  She eventually comes across a preacher named Billy Graham.  She invited Louie to go along.  Louie’s heart at this point was as hard as a man’s could be.  Louie had grown up in the depression where food was hard to come by, Louie had seen his dreams as a runner crushed because of the war, Louie had two years of torment in a Japanese prison camp and now Louie was out of work with a marriage falling apart.  Louie seemed to be the most unlikely person on the planet to be converted to the cause of Jesus.   Louie like Thomas had all sorts of good reasons to doubt what he heard about God’s place in the world. 

Louie’s wife eventually convinces him to hear Billy Graham.  Graham during his sermon starts talking about forgiveness.  Louie starts to storm out because of Graham’s foolishness[20].  Billy Graham certainly hadn’t spent years a Japanese POW, Graham’s talk was nothing but foolishness.  Louie was ready to exit the door of the revival meeting. 

Louie then, almost as if the Lord touched him just like he touched Thomas, had a flashback.  Louie remembered after his plane went down over the Pacific.  Louie remembered calling out: “Lord if you save me, I will spend the rest of my life serving you[21].”  Louie’s promise was no different than Martin Luther’s caught up in a thunderstorm on the Road to Erfurt in 1505.  Louie drops down to his knees.  His reaction is similar to Thomas in our Gospel lesson “My Lord and my God.”   The Lord had touched now Louie like Thomas touched Jesus so long ago.  Louie on this night turned from doubter to believer.

Louie would eventually return to Japan only this time to proclaim forgiveness to his prior captors[22].  Louie would return in 1998 to carry the Olympic torch not far from the POW Camp in Nagano where he was previously held[23]. Zamperini would have a bestselling book and film made about his life titled Unbroken.   Despite living a life as remarkable as few individuals within the twentieth century, the defining mission of the last sixty-five years of Louie Zamperini’s life was proclaiming that the Lord Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.  Louie had experienced this Resurrection first hand in his own life as the greatest of doubts had become the strongest of faiths.   

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”- John 14:27

The point of Thomas’ story isn’t don’t be like Thomas.  Like Elisha Otis and Louie Zamperini, we will all have our experiences which creep doubts into our minds: whether they be history, personal struggle, broken dreams, or an uncertain future.  Life will have its share of elevators, yet Our Lord promises there will be no crash from which we cannot recover.  What our Lord says to us on this day is this.  Signs of the Resurrection that has come and the Resurrection that will come are in the world all around you[24].  Doubt like in the case of Elisha Oats, Louie Zamperini, or the Apostle Thomas will soon turn to faith before our very eyes. 

The story of Thomas during Holy Week is he had every imaginable emotion pass before his eyes: the triumph of Palm Sunday, the turmoil of Jesus’ arrest, the sadness of Jesus’ crucifixion, the uncertainty regarding the rumors of Resurrection.  Thomas would soon see standing before him the one to whom he truly belonged[25].  Thomas in spite of all turmoil in his life would hear words directly from Jesus of forgiveness and ultimately promise.

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed[26].”  Amen 

 


[1] “Elisha Otis.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 10.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[2] Pink, Daniel H.. To Sell is Human. Riverhead Books/Penguin Publishing. 2012.  Print. P.153. 
[3] Pink, Daniel H.. To Sell is Human.P.153. 
[4] Pink, Daniel H.. To Sell is Human. P.154
[5] Pink, Daniel H.. To Sell is Human. P.154
[6] “Skyscrapers.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2. Apr.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[7] John 20:19-31
[8] John 14:5. 
[9] John 14:6
[10] Hinkle Shore, Mary. “Commentary on John 20:19-31.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 8.Apr.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018.
[11] John 20:25.
[12] John 20:27. 
[13] “Louis Zamperini.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 31.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[14] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part one of three” Email Mediations. 14.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018.    Taken from a March 11th, 2018 sermon.
[15] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part one of three.”
[16] “1940 Summer Olympics.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 23.Feb. 2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[17] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part two of three” Email Mediations.15.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[18] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part two of three.”
[19] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part two of three.”
[20] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part two of three.”
[21] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part two of three.”
[22] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part three of three” Email Mediations.16.Mar.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[23] Stier, Leon. “Billy and Louie: part three of three.”
[24] Lewis, Karoline. “When Seeing is Believing.” Working Preacher: Dear Working Preacher Column. Luther Seminary. 1.Apr.2018. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[25] Molin, Steve. “Elated…Deflated.” Sermon Writer. 2008. Web. Apr.3.2018. 
[26] John 20:29. 

First Lesson: Acts 10: 34-43
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
Gospel Lesson: John 20: 1-18

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
The date is October 14th, 2003.  The place is Wrigley Field in Chicago.  The Chicago Cubs had a World Series title drought now in its 95th year.  Things were looking good though for the Cubs.  They were leading the Florida Marlins three games to two and led the sixth game three to zero with one out in the eighth inning.  Five outs and the Cubs were going to the World Series with the long-standing supposed Curse of the Billy Goat in danger of being broken. 

A Marlins batter hits a foul fly out towards the left field stands, Cubs outfielder Moises Alou possibly has a play on the ball.  Several spectators extend their hands trying to catch the foul ball interfering with Alou[1].  One man a financial analyst and lifelong Cubs fan named Steve Bartman reaches for the ball and deflects it away from the Cubs outfielder.  Ball touches the ground, Moises Alou slammed down his glove in anger and began shouting at Bartman.

Reaction towards Bartman from the other fans was swift (he was called vulgar names, pelted with both beer and other debris, and even threatened death).  Fans tried to strike him as he was being escorted from the stadium.  The Chicago Cubs go on to lose the game 8-3.  They would also lose to the Miami Marlins the next night thereby ending their 2003 season.

Steve Bartman would go into hiding as the worst person in the City of Chicago.  Even the Governor of Illinois suggested Bartman needed to go into the witness protection program[2].  Steve Bartman would seemingly forever be known as the person who ruined the Chicago Cubs season.  What eventually happened to Steve Bartman, we’ll get back to his story in a bit. 

I want to tell you a similar story this morning.  This woman had like Steve Bartman been a front-row witness to the harshest of defeats.  Mary Magdalene had seen her life changed by Jesus early in his ministry.  Jesus had cast a demon out of Mary Magdalene, and her life was never going to be the same[3].  Now, a few days prior Mary Magdalene had received word that Jesus been had arrested.  She then journeyed out to Mount Calvary along with Mary the Mother, Mary the Aunt, and John the Disciple[4].  She was a witness as Jesus took one last sip of sour wine, proclaimed “It is finished,” [5]and dropped his head as he breathed his last breath.

Death was undefeated since the time of Adam.  People could try to run as far away from this as they could.  But the scriptures say it best: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned[6].”

Mary Magdalene stuck around about the final breath; she stuck around when everyone else exited Mount Calvary, she stuck around when the Roman Soldiers cleaned the site of the crucifixion to get ready for the next one.  It was almost like Mary Magdalene stuck around because she had nowhere else to go, regardless of the outcome.  Mary Magdalene was there when Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus[7].  She even brought spices along to “anoint” Jesus’ body[8]. 

So fast forward, two days, Mary Magdalene gets up Sunday morning to visit Jesus’ tomb.

Sunday morning though was different, as soon as Mary arrives on the scene, she notices the stone guarding the tomb had been rolled away.  To do such a deed would have been no easy feat for grave robbers as the stone probably weighed a ton.

She decides to track down the Disciple Peter and another Disciple so that they can find evidence of the stolen body.  Peter walks into the tomb; they see the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head two days earlier lying on the ground.  The burial cloth lied before them with no body inside it.  As they searched and searched, still no sign of Jesus’ body could be found.  Peter and the Other Disciple eventually travel home. 

Mary Magdalene still didn’t want to leave Jesus’ tomb.  She begins to cry.  She grieves over the loss of her spiritual leader.  She grieves over death’s pain and separation.  She cries over the pain of defeat.  She figures she’ll cry until she can gather the strength to walk home.

Pretty soon, she sees two figures standing right at the spot where Jesus’ body had been.

“Woman, why are you crying[9].”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.[10]”

Mary then hears a voice behind her. “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for[11].”

Mary assumed this was just a nosy gardener, getting all up in her business.  She demands to know where the gardener had taken the body[12].

She then hears words that would change her life forever, words that wouldn’t change just her life but the lives of countless people after her. 

“Mary[13].” Mary hearing Jesus speak her name changed everything.  Mary’s world had been flipped upside-down.  Death’s verdict had been overturned.  Death was undefeated no more, regardless of the outcomes of century after century before.  Resurrection had proclaimed to Mary Magdalene that things were never going to be the same again. 

What the Resurrection that Mary Magdalene saw says to us is this “The worst moments of our lives do not inevitability write our story even unto the grave itself.”

You might wonder what exactly happened to Steve Bartman who I told you about earlier.  The man who supposedly cursed the Chicago Cubs to a further generation of misery.  The Chicago Cubs win Baseball’s World Series in 2016, after a 108-year drought.

August 2017, The Chicago Cubs decide to reach out to Steve Bartman with the most unusual of offers. 
The Chicago Cubs decided to offer a World Series Championship Ring to the same Steve Bartman who years prior heard chants of “ Rot in Hell” “Everyone in Chicago Hates You” “We’re gonna kill you[14].”

What were the Cubs’ reason for giving Bartman a ring, let me read from their statement:
“We felt it was important Steve knows he has been and continues to be fully embraced by this organization[15].”

What Mary Magdalene encounters at the Tomb on Easter Sunday is a message that her burdens of sin, shame, and all the other ways that the devil has tried to defeat her, have been rolled away.  The one-ton stone is gone, her story and our stories will now be different every day of our lives.  She will be embraced by her savior even beyond the grave!  The power of our graves will soon be no more!

William Franklin Graham, Jr. was born in Charlotte, NC in 1918[16].  Graham was an early proponent of racial integration.  He even once bailed his good friend Martin Luther King, Jr. out of jail. He would serve as a spiritual advisor to every President from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.  Graham’s preaching would become so famous that he ended up being heard by estimates of upwards of 2 billion people[17].  Graham would frequently be on Gallup’s Most Admired Americans list.

Max Lucado summed up Graham well: “He had convictions without being divisive, and he never took himself too seriously despite all his fame[18].

Perhaps the best story of Billy Graham comes from an encounter between him and musician Michael W. Smith when Graham was a ripe, young man of 94.  Graham wanted to discuss with Smith his funeral.  Graham’s one wish was as follows “That my name not be mentioned.”…” I hope only that the name of the Lord Jesus be lifted up[19].”

For despite every personal accolade that Billy Graham had every achieved, Billy Graham understood what the Empty Tomb that Mary Magdalene encountered truly meant. 

The great hope confronting us Today is we are not the source of our salvation, we do not walk out of own tombs, for only by the grace of God do we experience the forgiveness and hope given to Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday. 

Billy Graham died in February. Graham was 99 years old.  Graham described his death quite well in a statement years prior.

“Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”

Steve Bartman thought he was destined for a lifetime of public shaming until one great and dramatic act after 108 long years changed the whole narrative of his life!

Mary Magdalene thought there was no life after death until she encountered her Resurrected Lord. 

Billy Graham saw the stone had been rolled away; the tomb is now empty, tears will soon be no more, your savior will soon stand before you!

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen
 
 
 

[1] Duke, Annie. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts. Portfolio/Penguin Publshing. New York. 2018. Print. P.98.
[2] “Steve Bartman Incident.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 10.Mar.2018. Web. Mar.12.2018. 
[3] Luke 8:2. 
[4] John 19:25. 
[5] John 19:30
[6] Romans 5:12. 
[7] Mark 15:47. 
[8] Mark 16:1. 
[9] John 20:13. 
[10] John 20:13b.
[11] John 20:15. 
[12] John 20:15. 
[13] John 20:16. 
[14] Duke, Annie. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts.P.100. 
[15] Steve Bartman Incident.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[16] “Billy Graham.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 8.Mar.2018. Web. Mar.12.2018. 
[17] Lucado, Max. “Farewell Mr. Graham.” Max Lucado.com. 21.Feb.2018. Web. Mar.12.2018. 
[18] Lucado, Max. “Farewell Mr. Graham.”
[19] Lucado, Max. “Farewell Mr. Graham.”

Responsive Reading: Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 11: 1-11

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
“Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”-1st Corinthians 1:26b-29. 

“Jesus plus nothing equals everything; everything minus Jesus equals nothing[1].”–Tullian Tchividjian

Shortly after graduating from Seminary I worked as a substitute teacher.  One day I was filling in for 9th Grade math class.  On this day, there was one kid who I’ll call Alfred that was short and small with red hair and freckles who proceeded to interrupt me at every opportunity.  So I sent Alfred out in the hall.  As soon as I did this the other kids were aghast; they couldn’t believe I would be so foolish to do such a thing.  The kids explained that Alfred had a really bad habit, whenever he was out in the hall.  Alfred would always run his mouth to passing seniors.  Alfred’s mouth would get him in trouble to the point where fights would quickly break out.  As I pictured Alfred, I couldn’t believe the other kids.  Alfred was giving away several inches of height, all sorts of weight, and probably a good deal of muscle to the average senior at North Branch High School.  Ten minutes, later I hear a ruckus brewing in the highway.  Open the door, and there is Alfred surrounded by a group of senior boys with unfriendly intentions, because his pride just couldn’t help itself.   

Now I want to tell you a similar story that ties into our Palm Sunday Gospel lesson.  Wayne Rice tells the following story[2].  Once upon a time, there was a donkey.  The donkey woke up the day after Palm Sunday.  The donkey had given a ride to a man they call Jesus.  The donkey for the first time in its life felt the cheers of an adoring crowd.  Never before had the donkey felt such pleasure.

So the donkey figures Monday morning is going to be the same.  So the donkey wanders into town, sees a group of people by the well. “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.

The people see the donkey and just mind their own business.   The donkey gets mad.  “Throw your garments down, don’t you know who I am.”

The people are dumbfounded by the lip on this donkey.  Someone slaps him on the tail and tells him to move along.

The donkey stormed away angry.  “Miserable heathens, I’ll just go to the market where the good people are.  They will remember me[3].”

The scene is just the same at the market.  The donkey strutted around like he owned the place, only to be ignored, again.

The donkey gets mad at this point and begins to lash out. “The palm branches!  Where are the palm branches!” “Yesterday, you threw palm branches down for me to walk on[4]!”

The donkey’s feelings were really hurt at this point.  The donkey walks home to see his mother.  The donkey describes what happened and how foolish the people were. 

The donkey’s mother finally sought to set him straight.  “Foolish child, don’t you realize that without Him (Jesus), you are just an ordinary donkey[5]?

So if the donkey isn’t at the center of our story, how does the donkey fit?

For years and years, the people of Judea where Jesus walked on Palm Sunday were awaiting a conquering hero, a larger than life figure to drive the Romans off the land[6].  The Romans were known for their impressive war horses.  You saw a Roman war horse; you knew you were coming face to face with an imposing solider.
Donkeys were just like Alfred, short, small, and slow seemingly unable to match Roman might.  If Jesus wanted to make a dramatic entrance, he’d find a war horse. Instead, he found a donkey.

You see donkeys were the symbol of servanthood.  Rich people owned horses; poor people owned donkeys[7].   Kings certainly would never ride into town on a donkey, especially a young one. 

Centuries before Jesus marched on Palm Sunday the prophet Zechariah had predicted the following: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey[8]!”

The donkey would serve as a reminder to the people that Jesus over the course of Holy Week was about to turn the whole world upside down.   Donkeys triumphing over stallions would seem ridiculous.  The seemingly wise would look foolish and the seemingly foolish look wise.   

 David Letterman was born in Indianapolis in 1947.  Letterman soon rose to fame as one of the most famous television stars in the country.  Letterman also was known for being one of the most difficult T.V. Stars around a man whose fame like the silly donkey easily got to his head.  Letterman though several years back was interviewing a reality T.V. Star regarding all the drama within her life. 

Letterman made the following observation. “For a long time, I thought ‘geez people are idiots.’  Then it occurred to me, ‘Is it possible that everybody’s an idiot? Maybe I’m the idiot, and it turns out that I am.[9]”  

For we are broken people in this world, left in continual search of answers about both sin and salvation, yet perhaps these answers always point in the same direction of a cross. 

To quote the Apostle Paul: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.- 1st Corinthians 2:2-3

Let me close with the following story to illustrate how one very wise King had learned differently from the Silly Donkey or David Letterman when it comes to knowing your place and the source of your hope within this world.

King Canute of Denmark was one of the greatest kings of the Middle Ages sitting on the thrones of England, Denmark, and Norway all at the same time[10]. Canute was known for rebuilding English churches in the wake of previous Viking plunder, while he was king he oversaw the continual Christianization of his native Denmark.   King Canute like Solomon was not a perfect man, yet he was a wise man!

King Canute had an extensive court.  The court would praise Canute at every opportunity[11]. 

“You are the greatest man that ever lived…You are the most powerful king of all…Your Highness, there is nothing you cannot do, nothing in this world dares disobey you.”

Canute eventually grew tired of such foolish flattery, for he was a mere mortal.  Canute decides to teach his court a lesson.

“So you say I am the greatest man in the world?”- Canute said.

“O king, there never has been anyone as mighty as you, and there never be anyone so great, ever again.” They cried.

‘And you say all things obey me?”- said, Canute

“Yes, sire…“The world bows before you, and gives you honor.”

“I see,”’ In that case, bring me my chair, and place it down by the water[12].”

The servants go and get Canute’s royal chair and place it at the water's edge. 

Canute sits down and looks at the ocean before proclaiming “I notice the tide is coming in. Do you think it will stop if I give the command?”

“Give the order, O great king, and it will obey,”- cried out his court.

“Sea. I command you to come no further! Do not dare touch my feet.”

Next thing you know, a wave touches Canute’s feet. 

“How dare you! Ocean, turn back now! I have ordered you to retreat before me, and now you must obey! Go back[13]!”- Canute cried out.

Another wave touches Canute’s feet.  Canute kept sitting on his throne all day, shouting at the sea, pretty soon Canute’s throne was completely soaked with water. 

Finally, Canute realizes his point has been made,  Canute then turns the crowd and gives the following speech: “It seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps now you will remember there is only one king who is all-powerful, and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for him[14].”

Holy Week is coming, pretty soon all our foolish pride will be put to death.  We will soon see that we are not quite as tough as our mouths make us be.  No different than the silly donkey, our role in the salvation story is often inflated.  As the very wise King Canute makes us know.  A great king journeyed into Jerusalem on this day, the king may not have looked like much riding in on a slow, small donkey, yet this king is mighty enough to command the sea and soon to triumph over the grave.  Holy Week reminds us as Our Lord is soon to be put to death, a new creation shall soon emerge.  A world of forgiveness and hope.  A world that will shout “Hosanna!” in the very direction of the one who deserves it. 

Amen
           
           


[1] Stier, Leon. “A Foolish Donkey.” Email Mediatations. 21. May.2017. Web. Mar.19.2018. 
[2] Rice, Wayne. Illustrations for Youth Talks. Youth Specialities. 1994. Print. page.138. Taken from Leon Stier “A Foolish Donkey.” on Mar.19.2018. 
[3] Rice, Wayne. Illustrations for Youth Talks. Page.138. 
[4] Rice, Wayne. Illustrations for Youth Talks. Page.138. 
[5] Rice, Wayne. Illustrations for Youth Talks. Page.138. 
[6] Dale, Martin. “Palm Sunday and the Donkey.” Sermon Central. 29. Mar.2007. Web. Mar.18.2018. 
[7] Dale, Martin. “Palm Sunday and the Donkey.”
[8] Zechariah 9:9. 
[9] Duke, Annie. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts. Portfolio/Penguin Publshing. New York. 2018. Print.p.120. 
[10] “Cnut the Great.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2.Mar.2018. Web. Mar.18.2018. 
[11] Higgins, Scott. “King Canute.” Stories for Preaching. Web. Mar.18.2018. 
[12] Higgins, Scott. “King Canute.”
[13] Higgins, Scott. “King Canute.”
[14] Higgins, Scott. “King Canute.”