Salt and Light

Because of God’s generosity at work through you, we have a shiny new, truly “grand” piano:  6’1”, full to the brim with hammers, piano wire, pedals, keys and such.   It’s a complex instrument (it’s hard enough for me to tune eight mandolin strings!), yet from Mozart to Monk, I think of how simple the most captivating piano lines can sound.  How can something so big sound so small?  

Take the piano as a symbol for the church.  Think of what a complex lot Jesus’ followers have been - even when he appears raised from the dead, some doubt. (Matthew 28)  And yet, earlier in the story, when Jesus first tells us “who we are” as his followers, “tunes us in” to what we’re supposed to be and do, he makes it sound so simple, even small: “you are salt” and “you are light.”  (From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5)  If being Christian seems more complicated than that, maybe we’ve lost sight of our true calling?

In our three year cycle of Bible readings in worship, this year we hear from Matthew’s Gospel.  This January and February, we hear from the Sermon on the Mount, which you could say is Jesus’ “Discipleship 101” teachings.  I suggest that during worship and between services, we take some time to focus again on these teachings, and in particular the images of salt and light, as a way of understanding our calling today in the world.  

More about salt and light, from Matthew Chapter 5

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”

Photo by Mark Schellhase (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

The point of salt is to season.  It’s got to get out of the shaker onto the meat, as we disciples are sent out into the earth.  Then again, salt is supposed to be salty.  Our role “out there” in the world isn’t to fit in, but to be distinct, set apart (“holy”) from the people around us: in our way of life, in what we want, what we think.  It’s the contrast between the sharp bite of the salt and the plain dough that makes the pretzel tasty.  

I think of your inspiring stories about living faith in the world, challenged to “go against the grain” of our culture and to live with life’s struggles.  Do we have opportunities to talk to each other about God and daily life, to support each other in our “saltiness” - our distinctness?  Lately, we’ve been trying to point out what may set us apart, the generosity you show through the world hunger appeal, Lutheran Malaria Initiative, Loaves and Fishes and other ventures.  Do we as a congregation know how our neighbors effected by the salty presence of St Luke, and how would we find out and build on that?



‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Photo by C. Frank Starmer, via http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/

Salt is cast out, light attracts (see Isaiah 61).  We have something to show.  As evangelists, it’s not just about what we have to say, but what our actions say: “that they m

ay see your good works,” not works that make us look virtuous or praiseworthy, but works that inspire glorification of God.   When Jesus commissions his disciples after his resurrection (more about this next month) he doesn’t say “teach them,” he says “teach them to obey.”  Show em’ how it’s done - not “what we can accomplish,” more “who we can point to by what we do.”  Love of enemies and prayer may not accomplish much, but they witness to something.

You have seen these deeds in one another, even if we are still beginners.  God has lit the lamp in us, and it needs to be seen!

Books about the life of the church today

It's no secret that the Christian Church is no longer the well established institution it once was – (well, maybe in the Bible Belt but not California!). So what's the way forward? Different approaches in the past fifty years have included a focus on fostering healthy social dynamics or utilizing the best in business and management practices. As important as these approaches may be, some of the most exciting conversations today are about finding the heart of our needed renewal within Christian faith itself, with its tradition, wisdom and practices. Our council and liaisons are reading two very good books that have emerged from this “missional church” conversation:

Diana Butler Bass' book Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith is being read by our three ministry liaisons (Judy, Lisa and Linda). A couple of years ago, a few of us reading an earlier book by the same author, called the “Practicing Congregation.” Bass studied fifty mainline congregations (Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, etc..) and says: “I do not deny that mainline Protestantism is in trouble. Some of its institutions, unresponsive to change, are probably beyond hope of recovery or repair. I also believe, however, that lively faith is not located in buildings, programs, organizations, or structures. Rather, spiritual vitality lives in human beings; it is located in the heart of God's people and the communities they form. At the edges of mainline institutional decay, some remarkable congregations are finding new ways of being faithful – ways that offer hope to Americans who want to be Christian but are wary of the religion found in those suburban megachurches.” She tells inspiring stories of churches practicing hospitality, discernment, healing, contemplation, testimony, diversity, justice, worship, reflection and beauty.

Anthony B. Robinson's Transforming Congregational Culture is a book that focuses more on church leadership itself. It is being read by our council. “Programmatic change is not enough. Restructuring is not enough. Neither will go deep enough … Change in the internal life, self-perceptions, and culture of the congregation will be necessary if it is to respond to these shifts in the community.” Chapters include “From Civic Faith to Human Transformation. From Assuming the Goods to Delivering the Goods. Congregational Spirituality: From Givers to Receivers Who Give. From Board Culture to Ministry Culture. From Democracy to Discernment. The Budget: From Ends to Means. From Fellowship to Hospitality.”

Both books are readily available from Amazon and other sources – let us know if you'd like to read along and join in on the discussion!

Getting in tune with God’s call

“the Advocate, the Holy Spirit ... will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you ... I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (from John chapters 14 and 15)

What’s it like to experience Jesus saying “follow me?”  How do we know the sound of the Spirit’s voice when we hear it, guiding us into the truth, declaring the things that are to come?  What does Paul mean when he says “be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect?”  Here are some thoughts from my own reading and reflection about discerning the will of God:

God’s call meets us at the intersection of scripture and real life, especially in worship.  There are some pretty simple reminders of what God calls all of us to do - like “love God, your neighbor as yourself” and “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  But these are not simple instructions, like “click the button on top of the iPod to turn it on,” such that once we figure it out, the manual gets tossed.  They are words to return to and live with in each new day.  The words “love your neighbor” may bring to mind someone struggling at work one day, your spouse the next.  B. Brock says it this way: “the believer who clings to the commands is not obeying them as moral maxims but is constantly being trained through them to listen to God in new and historically unique contexts.”
So what command or part of scripture is most applicable to a given situation?  That’s easy - it’s the one I can find that best promotes my personal agenda!  L. Johnson points out some specific principles or guidelines Paul - for one - lays down for church deliberation: “Love builds up.” (1st Corinthians 3, 8, 12-14) But on this, I also like D. Bonhoeffer’s thought that worship itself is the place where we listen for God’s word in scripture - partly, I would guess, because we don’t have control over what text the preacher is using (especially if it’s the lectionary).  The “renewing of your mind” (Romans 12 - also Phil 2) would presumably come about only through ongoing participation in worship and scripture - whereas prooftexting needs no such renewal.   I am drawn to a common word of advice to churches: that those involved in a decision take time to think of a passage or image from scripture that would seem to connect with the situation.  Granted, the passage I choose may have more to do with me than with God, but that’s part of the process!  B.  Wannenwetsch points out that the “testing” of discernment is a testing of ourselves and our ideas, not a testing of God.
If God’s voice is still active, it comes not just on the words of the page but in real human lives and voices - indeed, through prophecy!  (See 1st Corinthians 14)  So discerning God’s call doesn’t involve simply listening to the text, but to people’s experiences and stories, to the rhythm of daily life itself (Luther says in his lectures on Genesis that all created things are “words” from God).   Luke Timothy Johnson connects the New Testament idea of prophecy to our experience of personal testimony.  He points out the important decisions in the New Testament were made not by quoting scripture - at least at first - but narrating “what happened” to Paul (Acts 9:26ff) or to Peter (Acts 11).  Granted, these experiences again need to be discerned / tested by the community in the light of scripture’s story and the Gospel (with the willingness to say “that’s not of God!”).  But the personal testimony of someone connected to the decision and situation can speak powerfully and lead forward.  

Don’t “just pray “about it,” make it all prayer.  One of the more annoying church practices to me is the whole “let’s pray about it” bit.  That is, you’re going along, making practical decisions like any board, when someone says “let’s pray about it,” since, after all, we’re Christians.  So there’s a quick prayer for wisdom, sometimes a moment of silence when presumably God might whisper something to someone,  then you move on.  Prayer is made something you do within the process, when it could be made the whole thing!  As Luther said about the Psalms somewhere, “prayer is everything you do in God’s word.”

God doesn’t way for us to pray before God speaks.  Prayer isn’t so much a method to listen for some new message, but more how we respond to what God has already said, by way of further questions, listening, discussion, trying things out.  All of this responding could be said to be “prayer.”  A person shares a Biblical image or remembers something heard in worship, another person entrusts us with an experience.  “Prayer” means allowing these witnesses to ground and frame the decisions that follow.  Even when a decision is made you could say the action itself is a prayer: done not in certainty “that I am doing God’s will,” but in hope that “God’s will be done” even despite ourselves -  that our sins will be forgiven.  The conversation with God continues, the course may change!

The “why” behind what we do, the witness it provides, may be more important than what we do.I like B. Wannenwetsch’s point that the good course may not be “the right” decision or one that makes us look good; rather one that raises questions and provoked curiousity from the world about why we’re doing what we’re doing: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.”(Matthew 5)  L. Timothy Johnson makes a similar point, that what we “build up” toward is Holiness: we do what makes us more distinct from the world as God’s people.  

Much more thinking and trying to do on these points!

Are Americans in tune with their own faith?

Interesting article by Stanley Hauerwas in the Guardian - not sure if Americans really have more faith than the British:

"Americans do not have to believe in God, because they believe that it is a good thing simply to believe: all they need is a general belief in belief. That is why we have never been able to produce interesting atheists in the US. The god most Americans say they believe in is not interesting enough to deny, because it is only the god that has given them a country that ensures that they have the right to choose to believe in the god of their choosing."

Getting in tune with Christ at his own table

The theme I am exploring in the coming months is “getting in tune.”  I was mindful of this the other day, when I heard a stunning violin concerto on the radio.  I wondered, what would all the intricate technical skill or emotional intensity amount to if the instrument was out of tune, or played flat?  Maybe just noise.  Think of St Paul: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal."(1 Corinthians 13)  If you're not in tune - if your G is an F#, it's just noise; if you're not in tune with love - not as a sentiment but the love shown by God in Christ (see Romans 5) -  your witness and worship is just so much clamor.  Getting in tune is ongoing work.  Martin Luther said that the "basic" material in his children’s catechism – Creed, Lord’s Prayer, and so on - requires constant study, even for himself. You never just “get it” and move on, any more than you “get it” when it comes to a spouse with whom you spend your life.  You are ever surprised and refreshed. 

So what would it mean to get in tune with Christ?  What’s the center, the heart of what he said and did?  What would you say if someone were to ask you?  You might think of his first recorded words.  Remember that Paul’s writings are thought to be the earliest in the New Testament.  I can only think of one place where Paul quotes Jesus:

“I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  (from 1^st Corinthians 11)

Paul seems to be referring to a common tradition (attested to also in Matthew, Mark and Luke) that these words were entrusted by Jesus himself to his followers. What if we were to think of Jesus' self-giving words with the bread and wine as the heart of his self-explanation and message?

A couple of thoughts: If this is his core message, you wouldn’t tell a friend about Jesus by reciting his words at the table, you would invite them to the Holy Communion on Sunday to hear these words for themselves.  People are maybe too willing to talk about Jesus – as if he wasn’t around (Risen!). I was asked to demonstrate my evangelism ability in an interview once by being asked: "tell me about Jesus."  It was OK but seemed odd - as it does in every sermon, maybe for a good reason: to talk about him is such a convenient way to promote our own views and agendas, morals and platitudes.  “Jesus said ‘I am the way,’ you need to believe or perish.”  At the Holy Communion, Jesus speaks for himself, saying about himself what we most need to know: “for you.”  He's "gift" first, example or teacher second.   Maybe the best way we can talk about him is to say "come and see."  When St Luke was talking about becoming more welcoming, it wasn't just about "doing as Jesus did," but rather remembering the welcome that Jesus himself always gives not just to us but all people from the table, with the bread and wine.  Whether or not we are welcoming, he is.  

His welcome puts us in our place.  Would the word "Christian" mean having a status above others, if we lived from Christ's table?  There, week after week, we find that we’re not upstanding Christian citizens and loyal followers who can look down on the non-Christian masses.  We are like Peter and Judas and the others: the way we know Jesus is that we have betrayed and denied him – we know ourselves as ever reliant on his mercy, praying weekly or daily as Jesus taught us: “Forgive us our sin, as we forgive those who sin against us.”  When Christians seem aloof or even mean and not joyful and full of gratitude, maybe it's because we've forgotten our place at the table?  "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude."  God make it so for us.

We will be getting in tune with Jesus’ words and the rite of Holy Communion during worship and education beginning in October and on into November.  The Biblical texts we hear at worship will be the same ones used in Sunday School both for adults and for children, all around the theme of Holy Communion.   Join us as we “get in tune” with Christ through a new look at how he is there for us! 

Getting in Tune: Introduction

It’s Tuesday night : we pull up folding chairs for the folkjam, and out come the guitars.  “Play me an E” I say to the person sitting next to me, who obliges.  I play the E string on my own guitar, listening, asking: “am I sharp or flat?”  We may both rotate our tuning pegs, try the string again, listen.  My guitar is maybe more warm in tone, his more crystal and clear, but this difference makes it all the more perfect when finally one common “E” sings out from both instruments, together.

Here at St Luke, we do a lot of “getting in tune.”  Think of our choirs, or the unison Lord’s prayer at 8:30, “Holy holy” around the altar at 10:45.  It’s ongoing work.  Even after the initial tuning, we listen for how fast to play, how loud to sing, how to end together (at the folkjam, we started having one of us put his foot in the air so everyone else knows it’s the last bar!).  

In this sense, I suggest “getting in tune” as a helpful analogy and theme for thinking about our life together as a congregation this coming year.  Members of the church council, at our last retreat, expressed a desire to feel more connected with one another: what’s going on in the lives of the people in the pew next to us?  What dreams or concerns do members have?  What is God doing among us?  How do we share this?  Also, how do we get more “in tune” with the people outside our doors?  Congregations so often assume they know what people want.  How do we better engage and learn about our neighbors?  Compassion - a central value for us - isn’t just about acts of kindness, but about recognizing and responding to one another in the truth of our situation.


The foundation for all this work of getting in tune is faith - that is, our getting in tune with God.  When I play my E and Randy plays his, we may be both playing an F.  The pitch pipe orients us again to the true sound of E.  Worship enables to hear God’s word, that true “E,” opening our ears and hearts to see one another and the way forward. Christ isn’t “just history” but risen and alive: he calls us, and “the sheep follow because they know his voice.”(John 10:5)  We’re not just believers, but also followers, never done listening and learning.  Jesus prays that we might be in tune with God’s love: “as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us … that they may be one, as we are one.”(John 17)