Sometimes the greatest lessons in life can be learned by getting lost...
"But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." ~Isaiah 43:1
It's funny how a title can change your perspective. A little over 8 years ago I was blessed to be called "Dad." I remember that moment as both incredible and challenging. The reality of being a dad was incredibly exciting. I was super thrilled about that moment and the reality of the news. Yet, I was also terrified. What if I screw this thing up? What if I mess up my kid? What if I break this tiny little thing? The same was true the moment that I married my incredible wife. A title that shifted my focus from simply surviving to thriving. I married a wonderful person and I went from being a single guy, to a person who was now a husband. The same reality is true this week. I have been sitting on a moment from Sunday morning. I had a moment, when what could have been nerve wracking, I finally felt a sense of identity. "Pastor Jeremy." What a title. I have wanted to be a pastor for at least a decade or two. Yet, in all realities I have tried my best to avoid it. Putting off education for the last couple of decades because being present in this identity was too difficult. This week, in a moment of interpersonal struggle. I finally had a moment of claiming that title an identity as who I am called to be. Tonight, I had a moment to admit that was true. The title I have tried to avoid was coming to a reality and for that I am grateful. This is a weird title, a weird reality worth claiming. What a wealth of tears and joy to finally admit something I have tried to avoid. It got me thinking this week. What identity do you struggle with claiming, and trusting? What word of challenge, or word of hope is holding you back from who God has called you to be? Ponder that this evening, this week, and this month. Maybe God is calling you to something you have been avoiding for a long time? Time to step into the unknown and trust.
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Text: “but the Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Devotion: Have you ever felt surprised by grace? When I was a kid I made a huge mistake. A friend and I decided that we wanted to throw rocks at a squirrel that was running around a tree, had been noisy, and causing a ruckus. Mostly, we were really unwise kids creating a nuisance. Well, having the accuracy of an adolescent, we hit the window with a rock and shattered the window. I remember the absolute terror I felt when the rock hit the glass. That sense of fear that accompanied waiting the punishment. Yet, the neighbor came out of the house, walked over to us, and asked if we were ok. He didn’t scream, yell, punish us, but cared for us. The only small favor he asked was help sweeping up the broken glass. That gentleman taught me a lesson about grace that I will never forget. The beauty of being met where we are, not with what we deserve but with love, compassion, and kindness. This week we invite you to think about offering a word of grace to those around you. Find a person who could use a word of kindness, a word of forgiveness, and meet them where they are at. At the same time, what word of grace do you need to extend to yourself? We hope this week you have a chance to extend a measure of grace that has been extended to you. May you find grace enough for today. Act:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Creator, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” ~Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi Social Media Prompt: What does a grace-filled life look like? Text: “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.” Psalm 96:11-12
Devotion: “Music is the language of the heart; it makes our soul dance with joy.” ~Debasish Mridha. I have loved over the last several years watching Weston jam out to his favorite music on Alexa. You can hear him belting out his favorite tunes, going crazy with his favorite dance moves, and bouncing all over the house. Music is the thing that brings out the joy for him and it in turn it brings out the joy for us. As a community of faith, singing creates a space of joy and connectedness. It is the element used to unite people in their causes, or identifies a generation and the events in that generation. Elk River Lutheran Church is a congregation that values joy as a part of our identity. In the midst of a pandemic, political uncertainty, and all the chaos we are experiencing, joy is one of the things that hold us together. Give yourself permission this week to let yourself go! Crank up the music, dance like nobody's watching, and sing your heart out! Create a little joy and find new ways to share that good news with others! You are loved, you are called, and you are invited! May you find joy this week! Act:
Prayer: Loving God, stir in us a spirit of joy this week. Help us pour out your spirit into the lives of others. In your holy name. Amen! Social Media Prompt: What gives you the greatest joy? Text: “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40
Devotion: Do you remember that awkward phase as a kid? The one when you felt out of sorts? Maybe you were like me, you grew three shoe sizes in a school year and often tripped over your own feet, or stubbed your toes on anything with a corner. Maybe you had a point where your pants were too short, or acne wasn’t your best friend. Somewhere along the way, despite the best efforts of bullies, or our own self-consciousness, we gradually grew out of that phase of life and learned who we were as a person. Though, admittedly, I can’t remember the day that it happened, I eventually learned to be comfortable in my own skin. I learned to accept myself, warts, and all. Jesus’s words this week paint an incredible picture of acceptance. We, as people of God, are called to love God first and love our neighbor as ourselves. Learning to give and receive love from God expands into learning to love our neighbor… as much as we love ourselves. Learning to accept yourself as the beloved person you are, translates into the ways we learn to love our neighbor. This week, as you explore this topic, be kind to yourself, learn to love what you can’t change. In doing so, we learn to pass that love onto someone else. ~Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: How do you learn to deal with people you don’t always agree with? How do you learn to accept things in yourself you struggle with? Text: “He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”Luke 14:12-14
Devotion: Before arriving at Elk River Lutheran my wife and I had an experience visiting a congregation that gave us the cold shoulder. We arrived, sat near the middle of the church, and I believe had our friendliest faces on. Yet, as we sat through worship we didn’t receive a single handshake, smile, or word of welcome. I had honestly thought we smelled bad or had committed the most grievous of sins by sitting in someone’s pew. We both left that day feeling like we had done something wrong. At one point in our lives, we have all felt that we didn’t fit in, or that we didn’t belong. Feeling unwelcome feels miserable. As dearly loved children of God, we reminded again and again how welcome we are in God’s family. A welcome that begins in God and pours out through us. We invite you this week to think about ways to invite others in, to encourage one another, and to be people who reciprocate love and welcome that has been extended to us through Christ Jesus. ~Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: Where have you felt the most welcome and why? Sunday, September 13th:
Drive-In (Theme: Serving) God’s Work. Our Hands.Text: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Devotion: I love these words from Matthew 5. They may sound familiar to you as the words that follow baptisms in our Lutheran order of worship. There is a brief moment near the end of the baptismal service where a baptismal candle is lit and passed from the Christ candle to the family of the person being baptized. This symbol goes largely unnoticed for most people. Yet, there is something beautiful happening. The light of Christ goes with us and we are invited to carry that light out into the world. The candle and the words, connected to our baptismal calling invite us to “live among God’s faithful people, hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, serve all people following the example of Jesus, and strive for peace and justice in all the earth.” (ELW) The passing of the light is an invitation to go out into the world and shine a light wherever you may go. Loving and serving our neighbors as an act of living out faith in radical ways. Today, as we embark on this journey of “God’s Work. Our Hands.” we invite you to hear the ways God has called you to shine a light in this world. ~ Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: How does serving others fill your bucket? Could've come like a mighty storm With all the strength of a hurricane You could've come like a forest fire With the power of Heaven in Your flame But You came like a winter snow Quiet and soft and slow Falling from the sky in the night To the earth below ~Chris Tomlin "Winter Snow" I have this love-hate relationship with winter. I love it from indoors and hate it when I have to venture out or do some task, or heaven forbid snow-blow. I love the serene quality as I watch from my window today. The beauty of the falling flakes, nestled with the movement of ice down the river causes for the briefest of moments a pause, a rest, and a hope. I love the view of freshly fallen snowflakes or the beauty of a cardinal with its red flush breaking the whiteness of the landscape. This season is about stopping, looking, and wondering.
Yet, the reality is that in just a few brief moments, I will have to venture out into this beautiful landscape and drive icy roads home, slug out the snowblower, and fight against cold winds and ice. It seems like, for the briefest of moments, the stillness is in the longing. I long for peace, tranquility, and to watch the dance of snow as it cascades down from the heavens. A reading from Matthew: 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.' [b]" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. ~Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV) Did you catch that? A baby born in Bethlehem. The wise men follow a star. They follow it to a place where they would find a baby. Can you imagine the moment? A baby born in Bethlehem was worth the journey. The wise men, discovering the house where the baby was born, saw a child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. What is so magnificent that it would be worth noting, stooping low, and taking in that which was before them? The wise men, seeing the beauty at that moment are so overtaken that they worship, they offer their good gifts, and spend time there. Yet, in the very next breath, they, having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, return to their country by another route. In the fleeting wink of a moment, they are thrust back into the reality of the world they live in. The venture out into the unknown, they know the dangers, and they go. I can't believe that these wise men didn't hold the beauty of what they witnessed within their hearts. I can't believe that they did pause and take a moment with them as they went out in the world. I can't believe that they weren't filled with hope as they ventured off out into the great unknown. I think they clasped tightly to that promised Messiah and held ever so tightly to the place where God showed up. As you go out into the world, my hope and longing are that you would know of God's love and promise for you. Even though you go into the uncertainty of life, the challenges of medical procedures, the difficulty of family issues, or whatever else life throws at you. I want you to know that you carry with you the beauty of these moments. When a tiny baby enters in when beauty can be seen around, you take a moment to bear witness to that and carry it with you as you go out into the world. May the peace of Christ go with you today and may you stop and take notice!
First, before I get to far into this post. I AM SORRY. I am sorry. I am sorry.
I have been struggling watching the news, facebook feeds, and social media in general. Why? We are better than this. Over the last several days my news feed has been alive with the conversations about gender and about accepting LGBTQIA+ individuals into the life and ministry of the church. Some has been positive, and some... horrendous. It has made me struggle immensely with the way we debate people's worth or worthiness. "Since its first official statement on homosexuality in 1972, the denomination has tried to mark out a middle ground of grace and traditional orthodoxy, stating that “homosexuals no less than heterosexuals are person of sacred worth” while still considering “the practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching.” (Link) We have these conversations as if the worthiness of a call is something for someone in a higher place to debate? Are we not all called, as people of God, to bear witness to Jesus Christ? Whether slave or free, Jew or Gentile, man or woman, LGBTQIA+ or straight, child or adult, we are all called and endowed with the Holy Spirit to share a message of Jesus' love with the world. We pervert scripture to seclude people. We, quite simply, exclude people. Whether scripture or not, we like who we like and we debate the worthiness of who is convenient. I have watched the news throughout the last few weeks and all of the language is about whether people are worthy of wearing a collar or not. We are so much better than this. My heart breaks for those that have to listen to a council debate whether or not someone is worthy of sharing the good news. Whether they qualify for the office of "Pastor" or not. Some of the best messages of grace, love and acceptance have come from the voices of my LGBTQIA+ friends and colleagues. They have humbled my spirit and shaped and formed me as a more compassionate leader. Why are we allowing institutions to judge worthiness? YOU ARE WORTH IT. Your voice needs to be heard. We need to hear your stories, we need your voice and your compassion. We are better when we are church together. When our valuing of human experience and story becomes our identity we are better. No "leader" of the church, no political power, no depth or height, can ever separate you from the love of God. You are a beloved child of God, marked with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world. No one can tell you otherwise. I believe you are gifted, talented, and able in more ways than the church will ever know! Go... and do it! Jesus Loves You, and so do I. |
AuthorHusband, Dad, Seminary Student, Hopeful Future Pastor. Learning to lean into God's better perspective. Click to set custom HTML
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Copyright of Jeremy Hallquist © 2018
All views and opinions are my own.
All views and opinions are my own.