New Orleans - Day 5

Tina's Turn: The service work for today divided the Zion delegation. The younger group stayed at Peace Lutheran to he with a one-day Vacation Bible School. We had several stations for the kids, including an art project for the local nursing home, tie-dyed fish made of coffee filters, a music station run by Pastor, and a science station based on shells. The older group, on the other hand, went to Restore. They worked on moving building materials, including bricks, slate, and terra cotta. After our service work, we all reunited at Peace to enjoy the water slide that had been rented for VBS, and joined us in enjoying the chance to cool off. Next came dinner, which included corn (which somehow been infused with butter in a way that I had never believed possible) and ice cream bars. Tomorrow morning, we will leave for the Youth Gathering in New Orleans. I can't wait to report about it! Pastor's Portion: In addition to the work our troops from Zion did, we sent groups to Habitat for Humanity and Community Concern. They spent their time laying foundations and stacking shelves. I led the word detail at the Center painting sheds and water proofing the fire escape. Was happy to escape the heat by leading the music station for VBS. I thoroughly enjoyed the songs of Zion to the children of Peace. They learned Peace Like A River, The Banner Song, Father Abraham, and several others. The skies remain beautiful, but the heat and humidity are amazing. The temperature gauge in Tom's car read 122 degrees. I didn't know it went that high. Of course, it was seating in the sun. The food has been great. We had pulled pork along with the corn on the cob. I also enjoyed the leftover peach cobbler. The ice cream was a big hit with the kids. The center is now officially full. We have over 150 people from Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Conneticutt. Our young people are already making new friends. Everyone is excited about heading over to New Orleans. The Garhering officially begins tomorrow night. We'll report again after the openning service. Peace, Tina and Pastor

New Orleans - Day 4

Tina's Turn: This morning, we woke up early to start the service portion of our trip. The Zion youth was working at the house of Hugh Johnson and his son (also Hugh Johnson), where we were doing yard work. We cleared off the back patio–where we discovered a goldfish pond, several new animals, and many other remnants of Katrina's flooding–and old flower beds. Both Hughs were very nice and willing to tell their stories of the flooding, which came up to chest height and destroyed their home. Afterwords, we all raced to be first to the showers and wash off the grime! Dinner tonight was rice and beans, with homemade bread pudding from one of Peace Lutheran's members. Tonight, Peace held a Rock 'n Roll service with lots of great praise music and dancing. It was the most enthusiastic rendition of When The Saints Go Marching In that I've ever heard! Tommorrow, we will be splitting up; the younger group will be working with VBS, while the other group will be working with Restore (a group like Habitat for Humanity). Keep tuned to hear about! Pastor's Portion: While the Zion crew was at the Johnson home, I was working with the group that stayed with at Peace Lutheran to do all the needed work. The list was extensive. We painted the front of the church, weeded the gardens, waterproofed the sheds, fences, and children's play equipment, power washed all the travel homes that are used, cleaned the inside of the center, and reroofed the shed. The kids worked hard and the place looks great. The congregation was deeply grateful. I loved hearing all the stories from the groups returning from their work sites. They were in the soup kitchen, worked at the home of a parishioner, sorted and stacked goods at ReStore, and, of course, made a big difference at the Johnson house. The patio that our young people uncovered has a special place in the heart of Hugh Johnson Sr. The patio was his wife's, who died of cancer following Katrina. They lost so much, and then he lost his wife. His health and sorrow kept him from taking care of his property. Restoring the patio held special meaning. He and his son were deeply grateful. Hugh Johnson's story and the role our young people have now played in it is the reason we serve. The dinner of rice and red beans was delicious and the bread pudding was amazing. We are eating well. The worship that followed was joyful and heart felt. There's nothing like dancing with your young people during the service. Tomorrow will be another busy day. Tina and I will keep you posted. Peace, Tina and Pastor

New Orleans - Day 3

Tina's Turn: The first thing I noticed that's different about church here is that people leave the pews and (*collective gasp*) dance! We attended the praise service this morning, where we got to listen to Peace Lutheran's own praise band. After lunch, we embarked on an exciting swamp tour (which Carl was quite excited about!) We saw several alligators, which the tour guide lured within feet of our boats using hot dogs and marshmallows. The swamps were, surprisingly, mosquito-free, thanks to the presence of dragonflies. We also saw a snake, which the tour guide spotted from far away in a moving boat (and took us getting much closer and about 10 minutes of pointing it out to find). Later, we had dinner and, after a short meeting, were treated to a special performance of My Aunt Came Back by Pastor. We made it (almost) to the end! Then, some of us escaped to a frozen yogurt store where Tom and Megan got free yogurt for correctly guessing its weight. The new people arrived from Colorado today. The Jennisons are excited! Tomorrow, we are off to work on fixing up a local's back yard. I can't wait! Pastor's Portion: It was wonderful to worship with the good people of Peace again. They were delighted to have us back. They are planning a special Louisiana dinner for us on Monday night. In talking with the vice-president of the congregation, he let me know they are still talking about us in New Orleans from our last visit. Our orange T-shirts were everywhere and they will be again. The swamp tour was a hit. Alligators, turtles, and herrons for everyone. There is a beauty that is difficult to describe. Hopefully the pictures we are bringing back will give everyone an idea of what we experienced. Dinner included homemade peach cobbler and more spaghetti than we could possibly eat. You never leave the table hungry. Leading the group in My Aunt Came Back was a special request by a person from another ciongregation. How could I say no. We almost made it to the end before collapsing into laughter. From our meeting, we set out to meet and greet the good people from Colorado. The day is coming to a close. The story will continue tomorrow. Peace, Tina and Pastor

New Orleans - Day 2

Tina's Turn: Today came as a special treat to the nerds in our group (myself included!) when we visited the NASA Stennis Science Center just over the Mississippi border. We were given a bus tour of the grounds used to test rocket engines, after which we visited the connected museum. It contained everything from thermal cameras to lettuce growing without soil to an interactive history of aeronautics. After a thorough exploration, we left for Bay St. Louis, a small, nearby town on the Gulf of Mexico. The water was shallow and calm enough to allow us to wade out several hundred feet without difficulty. We were even invited back by a local! We quickly explored the town, and then had a traditionally Southern dinner including Po Boys and fried oyster platters. As you most likely are aware, last night was not the most restful (I didn't get to sleep until after 3), so I'll be on my way soon! Keep tuned tomorrow for updates on the Swamp Tour.... Pastor's Portion: Like Tina, I'm looking forward to a better night of sleep. The flight was delayed for over an hour as we waited for the pilots to arrive from Boston. We arrived in Slidell around 2:30 am local time. Fortunately, our day didn't officially start until 11:30 am. The trip to the Stennis Science Center was a great beginning. The center just opened in April. The troops marveled that I was their age when we landed on the moon. 1969 seems so long ago. Bay St. Louis has all the charm of a deeply southern city. The warmth of the people is amazing. We were given invitations to return, offers for dinners, stories and histories shared, and suggestions for dining. With the advice of the locals, we found a beautiful restaurant overlooking the gulf. I thoroughly enjoyed the fried oysters. I haven't had them in years. As usual, I couldn't be prouder of our young people. In the words of last week's sermon. They are engaged and are looking forward to working this coming Monday and Tuesday. We worship with Peace tomorrow morning. Of course, we will be wearing our NJ ties. The swamps await us after lunch. I'm sure there will be more stories to tell when we report tomorrow night. Continue to keep us and all who will be attending the Youth Gathering in you thoughts and prayers. Peace, Tina and Pastor

New Orleans - Day 1

The Book Of Faith is on a short hiatus while I attend the Youth Gathering in New Orleans. For the next 10 days, I will be reporting from Louisiana. Tina Dornbusch will be helping me in this effort. At the present, we are sitting in the Newark airport waiting for our flight. If everything goes according to plan, we will be leaving at 9:30. We'll arrive in New Orleans at midnight and then drive to Slidell. The adventure begins. We'll keep you posted. You keep us in your prayers.

Book of Faith - Luke 17:11-37 - The Ten Lepers

The Ten Lepers raised a number of questions.  Was the one who returned to give thanks the only one who had faith?  How was the experience of the one who returned different from the other nine?  Did the leprosy come back for the nine who did not return to give thanks?  The consensus was that all ten were healed and remained healed.  The gift given to one who returned to give thanks is that he was told that the healing was possible through the gift of faith in him.  The others were left to believe that the the healing was to be found only in Jesus.  In the future, when there would be difficulties, the nine would be searching the countryside for Jesus, the one who came back to give thanks could turn to the gift of faith within himself.  

Of course, what is remarkable in the telling of the story, as far as Luke was concerned, is that the one who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan.  This is a pattern all through Luke.  It is the outsider, the foreigner, the sinner who have the greatest faith and the greatest sense of gratitude.  This is part of the human condition.  When we are blessed, we can develop as a sense of entitlement.  We can lose our sense of gratitude.  We can lose our sense of grace being grace.  Jesus saw this within his own people and it broke his heart.  

The last part of chapter 17 was very challenging.  On the one hand, Luke is saying that the kingdom of God is not coming with signs.  On the other hand, Luke seems to be saying that the kingdom of God will come with signs, but we will not notice them.  The group decided that the point being made is not to concern ourselves with signs, whether they are there or not.  The concern in being God's person in the here and now.  The rest, we can simply and gratefully place in the hands of God.  The group believed that this section could have used an editor.  Matthew was much clearer handling the same material.  Luke makes his point, but the point seems to be little confusing.  

The Book of Faith will be going into hiatus during the summer and resume in September.  At least, the weekly meetings will.  The Book of Faith blog will continue and, hopefully, readers will continue reading.  The blog will start with the beginning of chapter 18 next week.  Keep reading.  Keep exploring. And keep discovering the riches and surprises of scripture.

Peace,
Pastor Summer

Book of Faith - Luke 17:1-10 - Tit for Tat

We moved into chapter 17 and were soon confronted by a number of questions.  In verse 3, are we to rebuke our brother when they sin in general or when they sin against us personally?  If we are to rebuke sin in general are we then called to be the moral police?  If so, doesn't that open the door to us to becoming judgmental?  What is the business about faith in verse 6?  Is Jesus saying the disciples have no faith?  How are we to understand a tree walking around by faith?  How are we to understand the parable of the master and the slave?  Is there to be no gratitude?

All of these were good questions and the discussion that followed was helpful.  In the first part of chapter 17, there seems to be a progression in the first verses.  Jesus say that life, with all its temptations, is hard enough without people putting up stumbling blocks (sin).  Let's say you are battling a food addiction.  You don't need someone offering you chocolate cake.  We are called, for the sake of others, to confront one another when we are stumbling blocks. Such a rebuke does not have to be hurtful.  It can simply be the truth without judgment.  The point is not to condemn someone, but to open the door to change.  We do this with children all the time.  If you son or daughter makes fun of another person, we confront them.  The end result is not to make our child feel bad about themselves, but to change their behavior.  This business of confrontation (rebuking) is easier when the sin is directed at us.  We noted that some translations of the Bible include the words "against us" in verse 3 after brother.  Forgiveness is also easier to understand when the sin is against us.  How do I forgive the sin of another that is directed elsewhere and not at you?  This seems to be God business.

Turing to the next verses, having faith like a mustard seed was not seen as an indictment of the disciples' faith, but an affirmation of the power of faith.  We are the ones who put on the limits.  Jesus is saying that, with faith, all things are possible even if that faith is the size of a mustard seed.  A walking tree is a wonderful image of that power.  

The parable of the master and the slave is an image that is foreign to us, however, the image would have been very well known in the time of Jesus.  Jesus often used images and metaphors from his own context.  Slavery was a part of that context.  Jesus is not saying that this is the way it should be, rather, he uses this known image to speak the truth.  The parable is not connected to the first part of chapter 17, but stands separate.  Luke strings together parables and teaching like a strand of pearls.  Each one has a meaning and purpose, but they do not need to interact with each other.  This parable stands alone and is a reaction to the tit for tat theology that had become prevalent.  If you did want God wanted you to do, then you should be rewarded.  It was pointed out that children work this angle all the time.  They do what they are suppose to do and then believe they are entitled to a reward.  A gift given is no longer a gift, but a payment due.  Jesus is challenging that idea.  Doing what God would have us do is our calling.  It is in response to what God has already done for us. We should not expect a reward and we should not feel cheated if their is no payoff.  Being Christian is not the door to great rewards in our life, but our response to a great and gracious God in our lives.

Next week, we move into the story of the ten lepers.  This will be the last Wednesday meeting until September.  However, the blog will continue through the summer.  Keep checking the website for new entries and keep the conversation going.

Peace,

Pastor Summer