He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all. – Eleanor Roosevelt

 Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” ― Horace Mann

 In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy. ― Matt Taibbi

 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. – St. Paul of Tarsus

 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. –Jesus of Nazareth

Unless you gave up the following the news for Lent, you already know about the tragedy that occurred in Parkland, Florida yesterday. There are 17 families grieving the loss of a loved one because they were killed by a disturbed lone gunman.

It causes me to shudder when I think about Christians receiving ashes yesterday with the words, “remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” for some in Florida it was prophetic.

It leaves us asking that same questions that we have already asked several times already in 2018, “Why?” and “How can we end this?”

The status quo is not acceptable. Cold blooded murder is not acceptable under any circumstance as a Christian. Not that I need to say that, but I guess I do.  The killing of innocent people is not the “trade-off” for the constitutional right to bear arms. There is no such thing as acceptable losses in order to preserve the freedom to own an automatic or semiautomatic weapons from a Christian point of view.

Some people will want to tell you that this is only a “mental health issue” and not a gun issue. Others will say that if someone wants a gun bad enough, they will procure one. Still others will say, it is “too soon” to talk about solutions knowing that it is never the right time. Another group will tell you that it is the time for “thoughts and prayers” and we should not try to “problem solve” in this moment or at the time of other tragedies in our recent past. All of these arguments are excuses for inaction.

As you know, we have a school at Bethel and we are located across the street from Cupertino High School. I suppose that makes me think about these things a little more seriously. As I write this, I can hear our children playing on the playground.

Is there a solution to this madness or should we expect a new normal or violence in the United States?

I refuse to believe that school violence or mass shootings is our new normal. There is no doubt that there are many things that contribute to the increase in violence: family and societal breakdown, the lack of political compromise, a mental healthcare system where people are not receiving the care they need either from a lack of personal assets or community funding and the list goes on.

And there is one more thing contributing to this ongoing problem: greed. Greed has the ability to make you do and say things that are contrary to your core values. The promise of more money can cause your moral compass to spin. A person who has traded their morals for money have lost their way.

The amount of money being spent by organizations to support politicians directly or indirectly is staggering and disheartening. It is the kind of money that will make a greedy person drool. I am not singling out the “gun lobby” on this. There is way too much money in politics period. This type of money prevents honest discussions and compromise on a whole range of issues including common sense gun laws, background checks and the sale of deadly weapons at unregulated gun shows in various states.

Money gets in the way of fixing a lot of things at the national and state level because lawmakers are beholden to their donors whether directly or indirectly.

Greed is not the only problem  but it is a big problem in finding solutions that protect people especially when we elect and trust lawmakers to work for the good of the community and not just special interests.

Within the first amendment of The United States Constitution it states that the government shall not abridge “the freedom of speech, or of the press…” yet we have libel and defamation laws. Even the Supreme Court once ruled that yelling “fire” in a crowded theater does not constitute free speech because it is “dangerous speech” (Schenck v. United States, 1919). Can we not have stronger protections as it pertains to the second amendment?

Is it not time to put the sixth commandment above the second amendment?

Everything I have written about are “heart issues.” As a nation we have a serious heart condition. It is time to do some soul searching and problem solving.

Last night at Ash Wednesday service I said that “Love is the most powerful force in the universe.” I stand by that statement because it is love that raised Jesus from the dead and love that turned Saint Paul from killing and persecuting Christians to becoming Christianity’s greatest theologian. It will take our active love and concern to slow this cycle of increasing violence.

Let us pray…
Lord of Love,

We pray for everyone affected by gun violence, domestic violence and senseless violence. We sense there is something really wrong with the ways things are in our world. The problems seem insurmountable and never ending. We despair at the mess humanity has created for ourselves.  Fill our hearts with your love so that we are protected from the sin of violence and greed in our own lives. We ask that you use us as your children to bring real change and lasting peace to our communities, our nation and your world. Please show us the way. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

God bless you all,
Pr. Ben

If you go to Bethel Lutheran Church (I assume most people reading this are from Bethel) you are going to hear about Jonah’s response to God for not destroying Nineveh this Sunday. (If you need to catch up, you can listen to the first 3 sermons of this series on this website.)

BUT… it is also Transfiguration Sunday, but we aren’t really going to talk about it on Sunday because of Jonah. Sorry. Especially if that is your favorite church holiday. It is not a total loss, I am going to talk about the Transfiguration right now!

As the church calendar unfolds, this is the perfect Sunday for Transfiguration Sunday. Why you ask? Because it is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. This Sunday we are reminded in the gospel reading that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 9:2-9)! Then on Wednesday we begin the journey toward Calvary, toward Golgotha, toward the cross. We need the reminder of the Transfiguration before we get to Good Friday. We must not forget that Jesus the Savior took on sin and death for our sake. The Transfiguration reminds us that Jesus is not just another rabbi but God Himself!

The story of the Transfiguration within the gospel of Mark is found right in the middle of the story. Mark reminds us right in the middle of the gospel that Jesus is the Son of God. It is the second reminder we have received in the gospel story. Near the beginning, John baptizes Jesus and we hear the voice of God declaring that Jesus is God’s son. Mark doesn’t want us to forget this as we move toward the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The message is clear, “Jesus is special.”

Shortly after the Transfiguration in Luke’s version of the gospel story it says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51  That is why this Sunday is perfect for Transfiguration Sunday! Spiritually speaking, we begin our journey toward Jerusalem starting on Ash Wednesday with the declaration that Jesus is the Son of God on our minds.

I hope you make time to come to Ash Wednesday services next week (12pm or 7pm). I will be talking about love and why the season of Lent is all about love and our decision to return to the source of love. Jesus went to the cross because of God’s never ending love for us (John 3:16).

Last Sunday at our Congregational meeting, I talked about the importance of engaging people in loving conversations beyond our circle of friends at church. We are great extending hospitality to others but what is the next step? Growing closer in Christ Centered Community. Why is this important (beyond these being our core values)? Because it is a sign of God’s love in our lives and the lives of others.

Love is a powerful tool that is at our disposal. Let us stay close to the One who loved us so that we may love others in His name.

God bless,
Pr. Ben

This might seem a little odd but let’s talk about evil. There are many within the Christian community who would deny the existence of Satan, the devil and demons. They often claim that references to such things in the Bible are myth and not to be taken literally.

I was curious about how many times these words show up in the Bible so I did a little research and this is what I discovered.

Satan is mentioned 58 times in the Bible.
Demons is mentioned 87 times in the Bible.
Evil Spirit(s) is mentioned 40 times in the Bible.
The devil is mentioned 37 times in the Bible.

That is quite a bit! It comes to a total of 222 times. That is not insignificant. Even Jesus talks about such things. Did he teach about these things as if they were figments of our imagination? Not at all. I would go as far to say that Jesus believed these things to be very real and not mythological. (Hint: we should too.)

One would think if the Son of God knew such things were fake, he would just tell us and not perpetuate a falsehood. Yet when Christians dismiss evil personified, they are also dismissing Jesus’ teaching authority and Jesus himself. That doesn’t seem very tenable for a Christian. Even Jesus taught us to pray, “deliver us from evil…”

Over the years, I have talked to other pastors who have encountered unexplained, negative spiritual phenomena and have asked for help. They often comment, “why don’t they teach us this stuff in seminary?!?” Which of course is a very good question. Why don’t they?

Yes, in the world there are people who are encountering bad stuff that is not of human origin. And yes, in my work, I have encountered it too. You don’t often hear about it because people don’t want to talk about it or be judged as weird or worse.

This is nothing like Ghostbusters. This is serious stuff. I do not think for a moment that Jesus is perpetuating myths in the scripture. I also think that evil prefers that people dismiss it as nonsense. There is no better way to operate in secret when people do not think you exist.

Do I think that some of the exorcisms that Jesus performed were more medical related than demon possession? Yes. Remember, the human authors of the gospels interpreted what they saw or reported what they heard from eyewitnesses. Does that mean all exorcisms were health related? Nope.

Do I think that all the bad things that happen in the world have demonic origins? No again. Humans do a pretty good job of doing terrible things without any help from below. However, I do not believe all suffering and misery is of human origin.

Even though Jesus conquered sin and death through His death and resurrection, there is still evil in this world (just look around). It will continue to exist until Jesus returns. Whether we see it or not, there is a spiritual battle going on. Someone wants to save humanity and someone wants to destroy it.  Despite what some Satanists think, the devil doesn’t want followers. He wants to destroy and will deceive people for that very purpose including his followers.

St. Paul clarifies the struggle we face in Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the principalities (the first thing, the origin of evil in this case), against the authorities (over humanity), against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 What are we to do with this information? Nothing. That’s right nothing. Our calling as Christians is to cling to Christ and Him alone. Christ provides all the protection we need. There is no need to go out and look for evil to banish. As a matter of fact, it is a dangerous thing to do battle with these forces. Seriously. Those who mess around with such things often bite off more than they can chew, spiritually speaking. Instead, continue to grow in your trust of the Lord and God will watch over you.

My prayer for you is that you understand that there is more going on “behind the scenes” than you might think. Be spiritually aware and spiritually awake so that you continue to seek God and not a dangerous dead end.

God bless you now and always,
Pr. Ben

Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10

These are profound words. Yet, they are often glossed over.

Believe it or not, this gets to the heart of what we believe. This is the center of our theology.

The ever-persistent Saint Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome so that they would know everything he did because he couldn’t visit them in person…yet.

Throughout this letter, he reminds the church in Rome that Gentile Christians are equal to Jewish Christians and that Jewish Christians are no longer under the Law of Moses. Instead, all Christians are given faith in Christ to live a life of love.

“The Law” is a hard habit to break and it is an easy trap to fall into when trying to follow Christ. It is alluring to simplify one’s faith into things you should do and things you shouldn’t do. Be good, don’t be bad. Jesus likes good people. Christians only do good things. Stuff like that. It is easy and simple to teach to people of every age.  Besides, even the New Testament is filled with lists of sins to avoid.  That seems pretty clear right?

Lists of behaviors to embrace or avoid may be extremely practical for some but it does not constitute our faith in Christ.

God doesn’t grade on performance. God doesn’t put gold stars next to your name in the Book of Life.  God didn’t give instruction of how to live as an end, but as a means to an end. Many Christians (pastors included) forgot what that end is. The purpose of all practical instruction (but not clearly stated near those lists) is to better love God and love the people around you.

Here is one of those lists:
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed… Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place… Ephesians 5:3-4

 This is sound advice for everyone. Not just Christians. This would be a positive message for anyone. More plainly, I wish every citizen of the world lived up this instruction. If someone dared to live into these instructions, would that make them a Christian even if they didn’t believe in Jesus? No. A Christian trusts in Jesus Christ the person. Moralism (being a good citizen) doesn’t require God.

Being a good person doesn’t make a person a Christian any more than a person who goes swimming is a fish. I wish every person was good, but that doesn’t mean they are a Christian. Why is it that we (within the Church) equate being good (and following lists) with being a Christian?  Sometimes I think it is laziness and the path of least resistance.

Long before there is a change in outward behavior, God changes our hearts. What does God change our hearts with? Love. The love of Jesus that forgives. The love of Jesus who would rather die than shut us out and leave us outside of God’s love. The love of Jesus who rises from the dead on Easter morning to show us that love wins.

Sadly, I have encountered “Christians” who have never experienced that kind of love. Or their moralistic behavior leads me to believe they have not felt the love of Jesus because they are fixated on behaviors and not love. Thankfully, I have only met a few, but they scare me.

Yes, there are times when we all speak up and say, “Don’t do that.” That’s not what I am talking about (in case you’re thinking I was vaguely talking about you, I’m not).

Behavior follows change. God does the changing in love with love.

Lists are good in the Bible if we know their place and their function. Lists are bad if we make them the centerpiece of our belief system. One doesn’t need faith if we are going to follow lists.

People change when they are loved. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 That’s all God is trying to do. Love us so we can love others and point them to the source of all love.

Besides, at various points of my life I have been on the naughty list. I am thankful for the forgiveness that God offers in love.

God bless you,
Pr. Ben

I came across a true but odd story about pardons….

In 1829 two men, George Wilson and James Porter, robbed a United States mail carrier. Both were subsequently captured and tried in a court of law. In May 1830 both men were found guilty of six charges, including robbery of the mail “and putting the life of the driver in jeopardy.” Both Wilson and Porter received their sentences: Execution by hanging, to be carried out on July 2.

 Porter was executed on schedule, but Wilson was not. Influential friends pleaded for mercy to the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on his behalf. President Jackson issued a formal pardon, dropping all charges. Wilson would have to serve only a prison term of 20 years for his other crimes. Incredibly, George Wilson refused the pardon!

 An official report stated Wilson chose to “waive and decline any advantage or protection which might be supposed to arise from the pardon….” Wilson also stated he “…had nothing to say, and did not wish in any manner to avail himself in order to avoid sentence….”

 This was such an unusual response because no one had ever refused a pardon before. Great legal minds did not know if you could refuse a pardon. So, this case went to court, all the way to the Supreme Court.

 The U.S. Supreme Court determined, “The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon, unless he claims the benefit of it…. It is a grant to him: it is his property; and he may accept it or not as he pleases.”

 Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws…. (But) delivery is not completed without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and…we have no power in a court to force it on him.”

Can you imagine not accepting a pardon if you were in George Wilson’s shoes? I certainly can’t! If someone wanted to pardon me to save me from the death penalty, I would gladly accept it, even if I was as guilty as George Wilson (and knew it).

Spiritually speaking, many don’t see themselves guilty of anything. We play the comparison game instead.  You know, “I’m not as bad as that person over there.” Even Jesus tells us a story about this very thing in the parable of “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” found in Luke 18:9-14.  In this story, the Pharisee prays this prayer, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.”

 God doesn’t play the comparison game and neither should we. Instead we should acknowledge our own culpability in the things that fall short of what God wants for us. When we do that, God is ready to pardon us in that very moment! When we point to someone else as being worse than us, what we are really doing is saying, “See, I am a good person” even though we are not.

The great evangelist Dwight L Moody (1837-1899) who founded “The Moody Bible Institute” in Chicago talks about pardons this way…

“Humans give pardons out for good character or good behavior; but God gives out pardons to people who do not have any charac­ter. God offers a pardon to every sinner on earth if they will take it. God says, I do not care who he (or she) is or what he (or she) is like. They may be the greatest unrestrained person that ever walked the streets, or the greatest user of foul language who ever lived, or thief, or tramp. Christ com­missioned His disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature.”

That “Gospel” is a “pardon for sin and a peace that endureth” to quote an old hymn.

As for me, I am guilty. I seek God’s pardon and peace. I know I am not that good, but I am forgiven.

God bless,
Pr. Ben

I am sure all of us at one time or another have used headphones to listen to music or watch a tv show or even a movie. I use my headphones to listen to audiobooks when I am at the gym. (I use the Bluetooth when I am in my car.)

Using headphones insures that you are not bugging anyone else when you want to listen to something. However, if someone says something to you (while you are wearing headphones)… you can’t hear them.

Has this ever happened to you? First you say, “What?” Then you say, “Hold on.” You pause your music and take your headphones out of your ears and say, “What did you say?” That’s the downside of wearing headphones. You can’t hear anything that is going on around you.

The other day I discovered something amazing. I walked into a store called “Brookstone.” If you are not familiar with them, they sell a lot of unique and eclectic products. I wasn’t shopping, I was just wasting before going to dinner with the family. As I walked in with our son Max, the manager greeted us and immediately said, “Have you tried these amazing headphones?”

Of course I haven’t tried their amazing headphones because I use ordinary headphones. What made them so amazing is that they are “bone conduction” headphones. Instead of putting them in your ears, you place them next to your ears. Bone conduction technology allows you to hear sound through the vibration of the bones of your face (jaw bones and cheek bones). This means that the sound waves are bypassing the outer and middle ear (where the eardrum is located) and directly stimulating the inner ear (hearing organ).

So, I tried them on and listened to music through my jaw/cheekbones AND I could carry on a conversation with the people around me because my ears were not blocked by anything. Needless to say, I was amazed and now I want a pair!

At this point, you may be wondering to yourself why on earth am I talking about headphones?!?

Often in our lives we get so caught up in our routines and the things we are doing that we miss the things that God is doing around us and in our lives. It is like we have headphones in our ears all the time. Saturday is the day of Epiphany. It is the day we are reminded that God breaks through into our lives to be reminded that God is with us! For the wise men (magi), they saw a star that wasn’t supposed to be in the sky and they followed it to find the baby Jesus. Instead of looking down, they looked up!

Maybe we need to look up more often to see what God is up to in the world. If our ears are only listening to the things we are tuned in to, we might miss the whisper of God murmuring echoes of love and mercy.  As we begin 2018, let us be looking and listening for God and not just the busyness of our lives.

Happy New Year and God bless you,
Pr. Ben

The fundamentalist Christian movement began in the 1920’s as a hedge against modernism. This movement is characterized by a strict belief in the literal interpretation of scripture. Often the modernism that is rejected among fundamentalist relates to science (e.g. evolutionary theory and the age of the universe), music that is not specifically Christian and a negative response to anyone who doesn’t conform to their rigid interpretation of who is acceptable to God. (It is interesting to note that this is often reflected in a rejection of anyone who doesn’t look like or act like “them.”)

People are free to believe what they want, even if I don’t agree with them. However, the fruit of Christian fundamentalism is often exclusionary, self-righteous and at worst borders on the heresy of Pelagianism. Pelagianism has come to be identified with the view (whether taught by the British monk Pelagius or not) that human beings can earn salvation by their own efforts.

When any Christian is convinced that they have things figured out and have God figured out for that matter, self-righteousness often follows. When a person or group of people are convinced that they are truly God’s chosen there has to be a group of people who are not chosen. Unfortunately, judging and throwing stones often follows. It is really hard to share God’s love when we are judging and hating whole categories of people.

Every Christmas we hear the story from Luke about the angels announcing the birth of a Savior. They tell the shepherds that they bring “good news of great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

 I take the word of the angels very seriously. The message of God’s love (good news) is for everyone. There are no pre-requisites for wanting to hear the good news of God’s love. If someone wants to hear about the love of Jesus, nothing more is needed! That is good news indeed!

What about change? Doesn’t the good news change people? Absolutely it does! But change doesn’t mean conforming to look like or behave like everyone else. However, God is in the transformation business. God wants to transform our hearts into containers of love. God cares less about what we look like and who we hang out with as he does about the amount of love we have for Christ and for others.

The Christian walk is not about behavior. It is about love. When we reduce our faith to a way of acting versus a way of loving, we have lost sight of what God intends for us. Moralism (behavior based activity) does not require God. There are many moral people who don’t believe in God. What makes us different is that Christians are forgiven only to sin again. Christians understand that we will never achieve perfection and it is unrealistic to expect change from others when we can’t fully enact change in our own lives. Instead, we love others as Christ has loved us. Meaning we love others in spite of their mistakes as others do the same for us.

As we step into 2018, let us resolve to love more, judge less and abundantly welcome others into the fellowship of sinners who crave God’s tender mercy.

Happy New Year!

God bless,
Pr. Ben

What kind of Christmas will you have?

Some of us might say, “It is too soon to tell.” Or “I will let you know on the 26^th.” We don’t know what will happen on Christmas so we have no way of knowing what kind of Christmas we will have… or do we?

Yes, there are many things that are outside of our control including catastrophic events that could ruin anyone’s day. Outside of an incident like this (God forbid) there is one factor that plays a significant role in the kind of day you will have, including Christmas.

Your attitude plays a significant if not a primary role in any situation that you will face. Tied in to our attitude is our expectations.

I read an article by Debra Rickwood is a professor of psychology at the University of Canberra and head of research at Headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation recently. Here is a small portion of that article…

“There is a wealth of scientific evidence that helps us to understand the impact of expectations – from those attributed to a lucky charm, a pill or a positive mindset. Expectations influence how we think and behave, and how others behave towards us – all of which helps determine what happens in our lives.”

Now I don’t believe in lucky charms or placebo effect pills but I certainly believe that the expectations and attitudes we bring to any situation will play a big part in how you feel while you are going through it.

For example, if I bring negative expectations and a bad attitude with me to church, guess what? My experience will most likely be negative. Or if I am invited to a party that I don’t really want to go to and I act like I don’t want to be there, I am not going to have a good time.

Obviously, the same applies to Christmas. If you bring an openness and joy to Christmas, you will most likely have a blessed day.

I am reminded of a proverb written by King Solomon.

A cheerful (joyful) heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

 Even King Solomon knew that attitude matters 3000 years ago.

We have reason to be joyful which has nothing to do with the amount of money in our bank account, the size of our family, who we are spending Christmas with or how many presents we will receive. No, our joy comes from God. Joy in the fact that God loves us so much that he sent himself to us so that we could see for ourselves what God is really like. We can have joy because God has promised to always be with us (especially on our worst days).

I look forward to Christmas Eve. I am expectant that our worship will be full of joy and that our hearts will be warmed because Christ will be with us and we will be together.

If you are traveling this Christmas, pack your heart with joy and share with everyone you meet and spend time with.

Merry Christmas,
Pr. Ben