First Lesson: Joel 2: 23-32 Responsive Reading: Psalm 65 Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18 Gospel Lesson: Luke 18: 9-14 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Last month, I was at a Vikings game versus the Oakland Raiders. The Vikings were up 31-7 with little time left in the game. Oakland sends out their kicker Daniel Carlson with the only goal to make Oakland’s loss just a little bit smaller. The stadium erupts with “boos,” as soon as Daniel Carlson takes the field. Now Daniel Carlson hadn’t done anything criminal nor said anything against the fans. Daniel Carlson used to be the Vikings kicker until he had the worst game of his life against the Green Bay Packers. So the Vikings failed to win the game. Now a relatively meaningless kick would serve as a reminder for fans to remind Daniel Carlson, how bad he messed up with the Vikings. Carlson proceeded to bounce his kick off the uprights, to the fans great cheers. The Vikings would end up winning the game 34-14. The tale of Daniel Carlson reminds us how we live in a world that often delights in the failures of others. Now, as we hear the story of Daniel Carlson, let me ask you this? How many of you would like people from the worst parts of your past standing over you, reminding you of everything that you’ve done wrong for the rest of your life?” As we reflect on Daniel Carlson and the following question, it leads us into Today’s Celebration of Reformation Sunday. Luther was like Daniel Carlson in many ways. Luther’s whole life was defined by hearing voices telling him everything he had done wrong. You see, when Luther was young. His father dreamed of young Martin pursuing a lucrative career in the law. One night though, Martin, on a trip back to school, got caught in a thunderstorm. Luther cried out in a moment of desperation for his survival: “Help! Saint Anna, I will become a monk! Luther’s dad Hans thought this was a foolish move, but Martin could not break his vow[1]. Luther, as a monk, was as dedicated as any monk could be. He would fast for days on end. He would spend hours in prayer. He would seek to confess every individual sin that he committed[2]. Luther would appear to have been the best Christian around. Luther had a problem, though; he kept feeling worst and worst about himself. The more committed that Luther got to his faith, the more unlikely it was that he believed that God could save him. Luther heard every dark and spiritual force reminding him of everything he had done wrong in his life and then consigning him to the fires of hell. These voices within Luther’s life were even louder than 60,000 Vikings fans booing Daniel Carlson over his past mistakes. What ends up happening to Martin Luther, thereby making us all Lutherans, we’re going to get back to him in just a little bit. Today’s Gospel lesson comes to us from the 18th Chapter of Luke’s Gospel[3]. Let me set the stage. Two men go up to the Temple to pray. One man was a Pharisee; the other man was a Tax Collector. The Pharisee was a good man[4]; he was generous; he was religious; he prayed nearly every day. The Pharisee was the type of man any father would want their daughter to date. The Pharisee had plenty of admirable qualities to be thankful for in this life, and the Pharisee let God know this by praying the following: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get[5].” Now another man comes to pray a tax collector. Now picture your daughter coming in home amid the Revolutionary War, announcing she’s dating Benedict Arnold[6]. No parent in Jesus’ day would ever want thier daughter dating a Roman Tax Collector. If a parent had a choice between their daughter dating a guy with face tattoos, a Mohawk, and a massive nose ring currently unemployed or a tax collector. Mohawk man would be receiving an invitation to dinner. These tax collectors sold out their faith to the Romans. They helped collect money to pay for the Roman Army, courts, and the Roman Governor[7]. The tax collector basically engaged in organized crime on behalf of the godless Romans. They were locals who had turned their backs on the people of their hometown. So now it’s the tax collector’s turn to pray after the Pharisee. No one would point to the tax collector as anything other than an example of bad religion. As for the tax collector’s prayer, it’s direct and straightforward. The tax collector is so ashamed that he is unable to lift his eyes in the direction of heaven. He struggled to get the words of his prayer out of his mouth. The Tax Collector finally mouths the words: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner[8]!” A few weeks back, Sychar did adopt a highway. So Fred Mismash and I go down to the Split Rock wayside. I start wandering and collecting trash. What did I continually find alongside Highway 61, cigarette butts. So I had to bend down, again and again and again, picking up cigarette butt after cigarette butt. After about a mile of this, my back was hurting. The thought goes through my head, why can’t those who throw liquor bottles and cigarette butts out the window be more like me.” Why can’t they be in bed at a reasonable hour reading a book. Such thinking is nothing new among the religious. When I was growing up, my Grandma would always let me know what exactly thought about those who had children outside marriage using one of her favorite bad words. Every Viking fan can remember Daniel Carlson not winning a football game versus the Green Bay Packers. Jesus instead has a different message for us within our Gospel lesson for Today: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted[9].” The whole point of our lesson is other’s people sins are not your problem. Your next-door neighbor might be the one throwing cigarette butts alongside Highway 61; Our God will determine the level of grace and mercy that they will be given. If there are people in heaven that you don’t think should be there like your neighbor or the tax collector, then don’t make this your problem rather than Christ Jesus’ problem. What happened to Martin Luther, once he nearly reached a breaking point on account of his spiritual despair. Luther kept studying the Christian scriptures trying to escape God’s judgment. Luther comes across Romans 1:17: “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Luther came to realize that the Gospel was for this tax collector not just this Pharisee. Luther realized that the great Christian hope was that Jesus heard him call out on Easter Sunday: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The only thing that Luther required to be brought into the arms of his savior was his own, unique sin in need of saving. It was at this moment of encountering God’s forgiveness that the stadium of voices reminding Luther of everything that he had done wrong in his life had gone silent. Luther, because of this Gospel revelation saw a whole new world open before his eyes. Luther came to see Baptism as the ultimate example of this salvation by God taking what is weak and vulnerable and claiming us as his own, lost and sinful thought we might be. What we celebrate on this day of Reformation is not the Birth of the Lutheran Church, what we celebrate instead is God using Martin Luther’s broken life and pointing into the direction of the Cross of Christ. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” Let me close this morning with a Modern-Day re-telling of this parable. Dan Crenshaw was a Navy Seal who served five deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and South Korea[10]. On his third deployment in Afghanistan, a bomb cost him his right eye[11]. Crenshaw’s service was held in such high regard that he was elected to the U.S. Congress from the state of Texas. Dan Crenshaw is the definition of American hero. Pete Davidson spent years struggling with drugs before eventually getting clean. Davidson’s claim to fame is his work as stand up comedian, where he makes fun of things that people hold in high regard, such as the church[12]. Last year, upon Lieutenant Crenshaw getting elected to Congress, Pete Davidson appeared on Saturday Night Live to make fun of Lieutenant Crenshaw’s eye patch by declaring that he “looks like an actor from x-rated movies[13].” Davidson told the most inappropriate of unfunny jokes concerning Lieutenant Crenshaw’s lost eye from the war. Pete Davidson’s outburst took place the week of Veterans Day. People’s outrage at Pete Davidson made Vikings fans greetings of Daniel Carlson seem friendly. Lieutenant Crenshaw, though had a remarkable reaction to Pete Davidson. Crenshaw declared “I wasn’t outraged when people were shooting at me; why should I start now[14].” The next week Lieutenant Crenshaw went on Saturday Night Live to meet Pete Davidson. There was no dramatic confronation between the two very different men. Lieutenant Crenshaw used his moment in the spotlight to remember the loss of Pete Davidson’s father, a firefighter in New York, on September 11th. Common humanity, forgiveness, and grace were found on national television between the modern-day equivalent of the upstanding Pharisee Congressman Dan Crenshaw and the obnoxious Tax Collector comedian Pete Davidson[15]. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” Which one are you like? Here’s what Martin Luther realized at the start of the Reformation. It doesn’t matter whom you think you’re like. What matters is that the Gospel is given to both Pharisee and tax collector alike. No matter how loud the voices are telling us otherwise. I’ll remember this the next time that I go to a Vikings game. Happy Reformation Day!! Amen [1] “Martin Luther.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 9.Oct.2019. Web. Oct.9.2019. [2] “Martin Luther.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. [3] Luke 18:9-14. [4] Sylvester, Emily. “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.” Sermon Writer. 2010. Web. Oct.9.2019. [5] Luke 18:12. [6] Sylvester, Emily. “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.” Sermon Writer. [7] Sylvester, Emily. “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.” Sermon Writer. [8] Luke 18:13. [9] Luke 18:14. [10] “Dan Crenshaw.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 8.Oct.2019. Web. Oct.9.2019. [11] “Dan Crenshaw.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation [12] “Pete Davidson.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 7.Oct.2019. Web. Oct.9.2019. [13] Stier, Leon. “Where is the Kingdom of God? (part three of three).” Email Mediatations. 5.July.2019. Web. Oct.9.2019. [14] Stier, Leon. “Where is the Kingdom of God? (part three of three).” Email Mediatations. [15] Stier, Leon. “Where is the Kingdom of God? (part three of three).” Email Mediatations First Lesson:Jeremiah 31: 27-34 Responsive Reading: Psalm 119: 97-104 Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 3: 13- 4:5 Gospel Lesson: Luke 18: 1-8 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
“Pray continually.”-I Thessalonians 5:17. Once upon a time down south, there was a young boy. The boy was an only child as his twin brother didn’t survive his mother’s womb[1]. The boy was so poor growing up, that at the age of three his father got sentenced to three years in prison for forging a four dollar check[2]. The family would frequently be forced to move from home to home. When the boy was eleven years old, he asked his parents for a bicycle[3]. They couldn’t afford a bike, so he’s given a guitar instead. The family eventually moves to the big city. The boy who always carried a guitar would be frequently mocked and bullied by his classmates. One of his friend's parents wouldn’t let him into their house declaring him to be nothing more than “white trash[4].” The boy with the long black hair remained an outsider . Despite the boy’s love of country and blues music, he failed a music class in high school[5]. After graduating, the boy bounces between jobs including working as a truck driver. The boy seemingly eventually gets a big break in music being hired on at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. After his first show, the Opry’s manager Jimmy Denny fires him declaring: “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck[6].” The boy who was now a young man preserves at this point. Fifteen months after being fired by the Grand Ole Opry after one performance, the young man recorded a single of which you’ve maybe heard titled “Heartbreak Hotel[7].” The young man who preserved despite the toughest of childhoods and bouncing between jobs would eventually sell more of his music over 600 million record sales than any other artist in history [8]. Elvis Presley is one example of the power of perseverance. But there are even more significant examples of perseverance out there. A few years back at Washington D.C.’s Reagan Airport, a change in flight patterns began to inconvenience nearby residents[9]. Planes would take off earlier, land later, and fly at lower altitudes significantly affecting the quality of life for nearby homes. The first year of the change was 2015. The airport received 8700 complaints that year. What made that so remarkable is one individual filed 6500 of these complaints[10]. One individual was so persistent that they complained an average of 18 times a day, every day for one whole year. Now, this was just one individual versus one of the world’s largest airports, yet their persistence paid off as Reagan Airport officials eventually began working with local residents to address the problem “noise.” Now let me ask this question, how many of us would dare be so persistent. The following brings us to Our Gospel Lesson for Today from the 18th Chapter of Luke’s Gospel[11]. In our text, Jesus begins by making the following point to his Disciples: “Pray always” and “Do not give up[12].” Jesus proceeds to give them an example of persistence like Elvis Presley or the Airport neighbor to whom they could relate. Once upon a time, there was a widow. The widow longed for justice against her adversary. The widow approaches a particular judge. This judge was not the type that the widow would have wanted. The text says he “neither feared God nor cared what people thought[13].” The judge having no concern for this certain widow’s plight kept ignoring her requests. This judge was not going to be moved to act by any sense of compassion for the widow. What did the widow, do? She kept going back to the Judge again and again. Eventually, the Judge realizes that he needed to respond to the widow’s plight, or else she would keep approaching him no differently than the individual who filed 18 noise complaints a day[14]. So as soon as Jesus tells this story, he interprets it for the Disciples[15]. Now if this Unjust Judge can be moved by such persistence, how will Your God in Heaven respond to similar persistence in prayer. Jesus then declares: “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off[16]?” Now as Jesus points out, God will respond “quickly”, but often not quick enough for our liking, so Jesus ends our lesson by declaring: “when the “he” Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth[17]?” So Jesus closes our lesson by declaring how God’s timetables and plans in prayer might be very different from our own. So what are we to do in the midst of all this, persist like the widow within our lesson. Pray day and night, even when the cause seems to be hopeless. Perseverance and faith, like displayed by the widow within our lesson, have a way of eventually paying off. Once upon a time, there was a certain young man. He saw an ad in the newspaper to work as an understudy to a local statistician. He saw an address to which he should apply PO Box 1720[18]. The man responds to the ad, receives no answer. The young man would not be easily deterred, he writes again, again gets no reply. Writes a third time, nothing, yet again. Finally goes down to the local post office, asks the clerk for the name of the box holder, is told “no.” Requests for the postmaster, receives same response of “no”[19]. The young man finally had an idea which seemed like a breakthrough. He was going to get up early, fix a big breakfast, go back down to the post office, and stand outside Box 1720[20]. Finally, someone comes to get Box 1720’s mail. The young man follows the mailboy to a nearby brokerage firm. He proceeds to ask for the manager[21]. The young man begins to explain to the manager, everything he tried to do to hear back from the company, the manager is stunned at his persistence[22]. The manager finally turns to the young man before declaring: “You are just the kind of persistent fellow I want. You are hired[23]!” Now how many of us would dare be so persistent in our daily life? What would people say? Now let me you ask this how many would dare be so persistent with God? How many times would we pray for the church? How many times would we pray for a job? How many times would we pray for a relationship? How many times would we pray for a child? Before, figuring prayer is powerless when we don’t get exactly what we want. The most interesting thing about our lesson is this. Jesus uses a widow as an example of the power of prayer[24]. There were very few widows within the land of Israel. Women who lost spouses were expected to remarry, often to their husband’s brothers. Widows were women who had long outlived the childbearing age. They would often lose their husband’s property against any family member who would claim it instead. Widows would often seek out male relatives to defend them as carrying more credibility with a judge[25]. This widow though boldly choose to represent herself. Nearly every judge would seemingly ignore her pleas. The following background wasn’t going to matter to this lone widow; she believed her pleas would eventually bring about the change for which she longed. This brings us the following question for Today: “ What might happen as Christian people if we persisted just like this?” Let me close this morning with one final story. Some years ago there was a woman named Monica[26]. Monica was trapped in a miserable marriage. Her husband drank and drank. He had a violent temper and was continually unfaithful to Monica. On top of this, Monica had a son that I’ll call Augie. Augie was as rebellious a teenager as there was around. Augie engaged in theft for the enjoyment of it[27] and took frequent female lovers against Monica’s objections. Monica tried everything that she could to get Augie to turn his life around. When all of Monica’s solutions failed to work, she turned to prayer. Monica began praying for Augie night after night. Even as Monica kept praying for him, Augie drifted further and further from her Christian faith. Monica shed tear after tear over her lost child. Monica prayed for Augie night after night for nearly twenty years. Eventually, Augie hears a well-known preacher, gets converted and is ultimately baptized. Monica’s perseverance in prayer would subsequently lead to her being given the name of Saint Monica[28]. As for Augie, he would become one of the most influential Christians to ever live as Saint Augustine. There was no more prominent Christian voice in nearly fifteen years than Augustine[29]. Augustine’s most well-known work The Confessions would declare Monica as the one whose prayers would lead to not only Augustine’s salvation but the salvation of countless others in the years since. Monica was not an extraordinary woman. She just believed that her God would come through within her life, just as Christ came through death upon a cross. If an Unjust Judge eventually relented to the pleas of a persistent widow, how will a loving, and faithful God finally respond to the prayers of his people? Amen [1] Fujioka, Kuromi. “Elvis Presley's Perseverance.” Prezi. 25.Sept.2012. Web. Sept.19.2019. [2] Nix, Elizabeth. “7 Fascinating Facts About Elvis Presley.” History.com. 7.Aug.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. [3] Graceland. “Elvis Presley’s Early Childhood.” Graceland. Web. Sept.19.2019. [4] Aurandt, Paul. “You Can’t Come Inside.” More of Paul Harvey’s: The Rest of the Story. William Morrow and Company. New York. 1980. Print. Page 20-22. [5] Nix, Elizabeth. “7 Fascinating Facts About Elvis Presley.” History.com. [6] Eberle, Kevin. “10 Famous People Who Proved Perseverance Pays Off.” Business 2 Community. 3.June.2015. Web. Sept.20.2019. [7] Graceland. “1954-1957.” Graceland. Web. Sept.19.2019. [8] “List of best-selling music artists.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 18.Sept.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. [9] Tabor, Chuck. “Persistent prayer pays off.” The Times-Gazette. Hillsboro, Ohio. 10.Oct.2018. Web. Sept.19.2019. [10] Baskas, Harriet. “One Person Filed 6,500 Noise Complaints for Reagan National Airport.” NBC News. 11.Mar.2016. Web. Sept.20.2019. [11] Luke 18:1-8. [12] Luke 18:1. [13] Luke 18:2 [14] Tabor, Chuck. “Persistent prayer pays off.” The Times-Gazette. [15] Wilson, Brittany. E. “Commentary on Luke 18:1-8.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 20.Oct.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. [16] Luke 18:7 [17] Luke 18:8 [18] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. Found on moreillustrations.com under persistence. Sept.19.2019. [19] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. [20] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. [21] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. [22] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. [23] Sunshine Magazine. “PO Box 1720”. [24] Sylvester, Emily. “The Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow.” Sermon Writer. 2010. Web. Sept.19.2019. [25] Sylvester, Emily. “The Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow.” Sermon Writer. [26] Phillip, Dr. Babu. “Persistent Prayer.” Christian Moral Stories. 11. Feb.2013. Web. Sept.19.2019. [27] “Confessions (Augustine). Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 3.Sept.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. [28] “Saint Monica.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 28.Aug.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. [29] “Augustine of Hippo”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 19.Sept.2019. Web. Sept.19.2019. First Lesson: Lamentations 1: 1-6 Responsive Reading: Psalm 137 Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Gospel Lesson: Luke 17: 5-10 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
“Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”--Psalm 71:17-18 I have a friend named Tim, who is a pastor just outside Atlanta. I want to begin by telling you about Tim’s Grandma Marie, who recently passed. Marie blessed Tim’s life in many ways over the years from her cooking to her listening. What was most remarkable about Marie was what she taught Tim about God’s grace as a child[1]. When Tim was young, his dad took him not only to visit Grandma but go to the local county fair to see monster trucks. On top of the excitement of the monster trunks, Tim’s dad said he could have the biggest soda that they sold. Tim went to bed that night as excited over his evening as any boy could be. Overnight though there was an accident, Tim’s bladder couldn’t handle all the soda. Tim woke up with wet bed sheets[2]. Tim has to break the news to Grandma Marie at breakfast that next morning. Tim was thoroughly embarrassed as he was at the age where boys weren’t supposed to wet the bed anymore. So as soon as Tim sees his Grandma, he starts bawling, shedding crocodile tears[3]. What Grandma Marie said to Tim next were words that he would never forget: “What could you have possibly done to make you cry this hard[4].” Tim sat in church many Sundays as a child, but he never got a better sermon than that one sentence from Grandma Marie. She was willing to forgive, even before he admitted his wrong-doing. Grandma Marie’s love for Tim far surpassed anything that he could or would do wrong. Tim’s Grandma Marie leads us into our lesson today from 2 Timothy 1[5]. 2 Timothy is a personal letter written from the Apostle Paul to his fellow worker in the Gospel Timothy. The New Testament paints Timothy as one of Paul’s closest friends. Timothy and Paul were so close that he’s listed as a supporting author to many of Paul’s letters to the First Christian churches[6]. So our lesson for Today addresses the original source of Timothy’s faith. Paul declares to Timothy: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also[7].” So who were Lois and Eunice of which are lesson speaks as remarkable women of faith? We know that in the Book of Acts that Paul had visited Lystra (listra) where Lois and Eunice lived. We know that when Paul visited Lystra that Timothy was already well, respected within the Christian Community[8]. Paul appears to have met Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois during this visit and praises them both as remarkable woman of faith[9]. What else can we say about Eunice and Lois? What we know about Timothy’s family tree from the Book of Acts is that his mother was Jewish and his father, Greek[10]. So this seems to indicate that Timothy was raised in a mixed-faith home. Eunice appears to be Timothy’s spiritual influence within his immediate family when growing up. Lois’ mention is perhaps even more noteworthy. Lois is mentioned as the one who not only helped teach Eunice the scriptures but help raise Timothy in the Christian faith[11]. The reference Paul makes seems to indicate that Lois either lived in Timothy’s household or very nearby as I did to my Grandmother growing up, eventually making her a part of numerous sermons. Later in the Book of 2 Timothy, Paul makes the following mention: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which can make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus[12].” So Paul’s reference points out how Timothy never travels throughout the world preaching the Gospel if it wasn’t for both the influence of his mother, Eunice and grandmother Lois. While both Eunice and Lois are important in Timothy’s life, I want to highlight the Lois' of this world a bit more this morning as we’ve got a lot of people with us who have grandchildren or even great-grandchildren, or even other children within this community that they can influence for the better. How might we exactly do this in 2019?? Today is a milestone sermon that I’m giving as it’s the last Sunday morning that I will preach in my 30’s. So as I prepare to turn 40 later this week, who do I want to be when I enter the Lois generation. Many of you from within this congregation know John Sandstrom. For those of you who don’t, John previously worked for the railroad with North Shore Mining. John currently substitute teaches and is the Girls Basketball Coach for Silver Bay. John described himself as the only first-year basketball coach in the state on Medicare. What does John do that is so remarkable? I want to tell you about a basketball game last winter between Silver Bay and Chisholm. Neither team’s girls talents in life lie in the game of basketball. They both had way more losses than wins on the season. Silver Bay went into the game thinking they could get a victory! As soon as the ball is tapped, everything that could have possibly gone wrong for Silver Bay did. By the 2nd Half, Chisholm was up over “30”. Coach Sandstrom was all out of ideas; he admitted that for the first time all season, he actually “yelled”at the team during half-time to his later regret. Coach Sandstrom though would proceed to give one of the most remarkable post-game speeches that I’ve ever heard. Coach Sandstrom stands before the team declaring: “While things didn’t go our way tonight, I want to let you know that I wouldn’t trade you for any girls basketball team in the State of Minnesota.” The girls on the Silver Bay basketball team will never receive a more powerful sermon about how their value in life and God’s eyes goes beyond wins and losses on the Basketball court. John saw to it that girls left one of the worst losses of the season with tears of joy in their eyes. Here’s the reason that I want to be like John Sandstrom when I get older. Nearly everyone can praise great athletes or straight-A students. John though goes out of his way to notice and praise the gifts of students who don’t even see their own talents. John is so popular with Silver Bay students that was named graduation speaker last year. John certainly doesn’t have to do any of these things with his time. He would be plenty content spending his days fishing and watching baseball. John understands though that just like Lois and Eunice, there is no more important calling as Christian people than raising the next generation. Without the presence of Lois and Eunice, no Timothy is bringing Jesus Christ unto the ends of the Earth. What might this mean for us as a congregation? We get a lot of gray hairs here on Sunday morning, every time we meet as a Church Council; we talk about how we can get younger heads of hair to join us. We might assume there’s a great evangelistic strategy involved. What if the solution though is more straightforward? What if what God is calling us to do is being an extra set of grandparents to a kid in need. Gunnar Frahm from our congregation lost his dad at the age of 4[13]. Two years later, his grandpa E.J. died. Frank Moschet afterward approached Gunnar saying: “I’ll be your Grandpa if you’d like.” Frank reaching out to Gunnar formed a special friendship between the two of them. When Frank passed at the end of August, Gunnar was one of the last people to visit him. As long as Gunnar lives, he’ll never forget Frank’s influence over him. What we can be as a congregation is like Frank, the best set of extra parents and grandparents in town. Lois wouldn’t’ usually have been the one to raise her grandchild Timothy in the faith. But God had a reason for keeping Lois within Timothy’s life. Timothy doesn’t become such a passionate spokesperson for the Christian Gospel without her. Grandparents whether biological or not as in the story of my friend Tim, the Biblical Timothy or any number of adopted grandchildren throughout Silver Bay can serve as the sources of God’s grace who shape others as Christian people long after we’ve left this earth behind. With this in mind, let me close with one final story[14]. Once upon a time, there was a young man named Geoffrey. Geoffrey grew up in a tough part of the Bronx. Geoffrey was going through such a hard period in life; he had nearly reached his breaking point. Geoffrey had lost his infant son, his beloved brother, and now he was visiting his dying Grandmother. Geoffrey came to believe that this was evidence that no God could exist and be so cruel. So Geoffrey goes to see his Grandmother shortly before her death[15]. Geoffrey proceeds to ask: “Grandma, do you still believe in God?” Grandma responds: “Of course I do. Why do you ask me that?” Geoffrey says: “Because you are sick. You have cancer.” To which Grandma replies: “Being sick doesn’t have anything to do with faith[16]. Grandma proceeds to set Geoffrey on a course that would affect him for the rest of his life: “Geoffrey, listen to me. I know you’ve been through so much with the loss of your son and your brother. But don’t lose faith in God or yourself…God has a plan and you’re part of it, so you can’t give up…Do you hear me? Your problem is that you think if you study your books hard enough, you will find all the answers. All the answers aren’t in books. They never will be. So do I believe in God? Yes. More now that ever before[17].” The following would be the last time that Geoffrey and his Grandmother visited each other. As Geoffrey struggled with her passing, he would seek to borrow his Grandmother’s faith to lift him up[18].” Geoffrey came to realize something after her loss that every child needs a Grandma Lois, a Grandma Marie, a Grandpa Frank, or a Grandpa John in their life. They need someone to look up to in the faith, someone to forgive, someone whose example they can cling to in their darkest of days. So this is why God gives us Grandparents [19]. Amen [1] Wrenn, Tim. “My Grandma.” Facebook. 17.Aug.2019. Web. Aug. 27.2019. [2] Wrenn, Tim. “My Grandma.” Facebook. [3] Wrenn, Tim. “My Grandma.” Facebook. [4] Wrenn, Tim. “My Grandma.” Facebook. [5] 2 Timothy 1:1-14. [6] “Saint Timothy.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 20.Aug.2019. Web. Aug.27.2019. [7] 2 Timothy 1:5. [8] Acts 16:1 [9] “Lois.” All the Women of the Bible. Zondervan Publishing.1988. Web. Aug.27.2019. Found on Bible Gateway.com [10] Acts 16:1 [11] Shay, Kim. “Women in Scripture.” Out of Ordinary: Blogger Publishing. 15.Feb.2017. Web. Aug.27.2019. [12] 2 Timothy 3:14-15. [13] Frahm, Renee. “God puts people in your life when you need them the most.” Facebook. 23. Aug.2019. Web. Aug.27.2019. [14] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. 22.May.2015. Web. Aug.27.2019. Story appears both in Geoffrey Canada’s authobiography Reaching Up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America. quoted in James Dobson’s Bringing Up Boys. [15] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. [16] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. [17] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. [18] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. [19] Stier, Leon. “Leaning on Grandma’s Faith.” Email Mediatations. |
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