Author: Daren Bernecker

By Pastor Wes Poole

Jeremiah 29:11

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. – NRSV

Dear Friends,

As I write this, it is a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining, the snow is gone, and I just received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. If that weren’t enough, we are now able to resume in-person worship beginning this coming Palm Sunday, and Eastertide 2021 is looking a heckuva lot more hopeful than its 2020 counterpart did! I must confess that I’m feeling pretty “Eastery” at the moment, and not the slightest bit Lenten! I’m not going to apologize for it either. Hope is in the air…and that is A-OK with yours truly. Lent can certainly be dark and difficult, and the rollercoaster ride of Holy Week can leave you, as a late friend of mine used to say, “wholly weak”! The church calendar might insist it’s still Lent, rightly so, but my internal calendar begs to differ! And you know, what is the point of the journey of Lent if not to bring us to the most hope filled message of all time…Christ has conquered death once and for all, and we are forever God’s redeemed children. Yes, hope is a powerful force in our lives. Like all good things, it springs from the heart and mind of the God who loves us, and is there for us to share with others.

Parade magazine once told the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. It was a daunting task, even for someone used to hard work and stressful situations. Mr. Lang had been tasked with speaking to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What in the world could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would likely drop out of school!? He wondered how he could get these predominantly poor African American and Puerto Rican children even to look at him, much less pay attention to what he had to say. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school,” he admonished, “and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

“I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me.” There is a sermon in that somewhere! Yet the journey of Lent into Eastertide provides us so much more than hope for the future. Sure, we all live in the promise of the life of the world to come, as the creed teaches us, but that promise is also active right now, in this very moment. New life is ours in the present! As God’s people, part of our baptismal vocation is to minister together to a world that needs to hear the Story we have to tell. We all have our parts to play, both as individuals and as communities of faith. In this family of faith we call Good Shepherd, we too have been charged with bringing the hope of Jesus and His love to our communities and beyond. As the world starts to open back up, we will once again be charged with being an active and vital force for good in our community. Not even COVID could stop us from being the Church, but the months of distance have shown us just how valuable our connections with other people can be. As the vaccines continue to roll out, and it is safer to gather together, I hope to see you all really soon. We’ll meet the challenges ahead the same way we got through this last year…together, and with God’s help. As Jeremiah reminds us, God has plans for us, and they are great ones! In Jesus Christ, there is always something to look forward to, and something wonderful awaits. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray…

God of hope and health, we ask your blessings as we prepare to finish our Lenten journeys and travel the road of Holy Week to Resurrection Joy. Help us emerge on the Easter side with a renewed commitment to the ministries of our church family, and a powerful resolve to make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters everywhere. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. See you in church on Sunday!!!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

By Pastor Wes Poole

Sirach 18:26 

From morning to evening conditions change; all things move swiftly before the Lord. – NRSV

“All things move swiftly before the Lord”…a reminder that we are small, God is great, and that, in His sight, a million years might as well be a second. Here in this month of March, things are running swiftly for us as well. The next phase of the Lenten journey is almost upon us. Soon, the joyous Hosannas of Palm Sunday will quickly fade to the dark and unsettling events of the Passion. Holy Week moves quickly through the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday to the darkness of Good Friday. Then, as if all of that emotional upheaval weren’t enough, a glimmer of hope reappears on Holy Saturday that veritably bursts into elation as we hear those holiest of words once again…“Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!!” Then we have the fifty days of Easter which carry us almost all the way to summer. It really is quite the roller coaster ride; a reminder that God’s will does not follow any of the constraints of human time.  

As we take the exhilarating ride through the end of Lent, past Easter, into the often lazy months of summer, it is my hope and prayer that we will find ourselves returning to some semblance of normalcy. The vaccines are rolling out, the COVID numbers will start to tick down, and hopefully we will soon be able to worship together again. Indeed, your Church Council will be meeting tomorrow night to discuss the possibility of returning to in-person worship. Good things are happening! Regardless, the work of the Lord never stops, not for pandemics, not even for summer vacation!! We have all done our best to weather this admittedly daunting storm…and we are still The Church; we are the Lutheran Christian presence here in our community. There is ministry to do and ministries to restart. As a family of faith, we will have our work cut out for us. In the coming months, we’ll need fresh, new ideas for outreach and evangelism; to reach out into the community and show people the possibility of new life in Jesus Christ. There is just so much to do and plan and make happen. We want everyone who loves this community of faith called Good Shepherd Lutheran Church to come out and be a part of it. All things may indeed move swiftly before the Lord but, with His help, we might just show Him and our neighbors some swift movement of our own. Come and join in!

May the energy of Our God who never sleeps, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit inspire us all to keep His ministry alive, vibrant, and growing.

Let us pray…

God of Creation, we ask that you provide us with a fresh spirit of positivity and creativity. Help us to reach out and tell your Story to a world that needs to hear it now more than ever. As we quickly approach the celebration of your Son’s resurrection, help us live into that new life by recommitting ourselves to the ministry of this community of faith. Use us to show others the way to new life in Jesus Christ, for it is in his name that we pray. Amen. 

Be well, be kind, and be safe. I hope to see you all soon!

Many blessings,

Pastor Wes†

By Pastor Wes Poole

MEMORANDUM

TO:    Jeshua bar Josef

          Woodcrafters shop

          Nazareth

FROM: Jordan Management Consultants.

             Jerusalem.

SUBJECT: Staff Aptitude Test.

DATE: 22 May, 30 CE

Dear Rabbi,

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer but also have arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.

Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership.

The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew the Publican has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and innovative. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right hand man. All other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.  

JMCJ

(Many thanks to DesperatePreacher.com!)

Ah…worldly wisdom…it’s such an easy target! I was actively searching for some Lenten humor this week. The somber and serious tone of Lent, while altogether appropriate, can become a bit oppressive. Also, as I write this, it’s 60 degrees out, vaccines are going into arms, (though not mine as yet!) and I find myself in a lighter mood all around. When I came across the “letter” above, aside from making me smile, it immediately reminded me of two things. The first is a saying attributed to Mother Theresa, “the Christian is called to be faithful, not successful”. The second comes from Jesus himself in the sixteenth chapter of Luke, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” The Lenten takeaway?? Keep trying! The journey of self-improvement is a never ending process, and it’s the little things we do that tend to mean the most. In our relationships with others, are our words and actions kind? Are they encouraging? Are they up building? Are they free of judgment and fueled by compassion? Obviously, there aren’t permanent answers to any of those questions, but are we faithfully trying? That’s the key! God is always there for us, providing forgiveness and unlimited “second” chances. The journey of Lent lifts up for us the reality that we’re called to be Christ to our neighbors in all things. So-called worldly wisdom would have us submit a “Resume of Righteousness”, touting our achievements. Lent reminds us that there is no such thing. All goodness comes from God. When we discipline ourselves to trust in God first, we find that the rest tends to fall into place! I pray that we find the energy, here at mid-Lent, to keep striving to make ourselves more faithful, even and especially in the little things. God values our efforts. Our sisters and brothers in Christ will too!

Let us pray…

God of second chances, Jesus showed us what is possible when we are faithful to you and your commandments. As we strive to be Christ to our neighbor, help us to focus on faithfulness, especially in the small things. For it is in the acts of kindness, mercy, and compassion, no matter how big or small, that we bring all of Creation to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. I hope we’ll see each other sooner, rather than later.

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

By Pastor We Poole

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. – NRSV

Running a race. That’s a common theme in the church when Lent approaches. Once it’s upon us, it’s easy to start feeling like we’d rather just hurry up and get through all of the meditation, repentance, fasting, and denial that are attributed to Lent and get on with the celebration of Easter! If you have ever felt that way, don’t be too hard on yourself. If you feel that way this year particularly, definitely give yourself a break! It’s never easy to spend forty days examining our sin and our own shortcomings, even under the best circumstances. Most of us have a difficult time spending five minutes under that kind of scrutiny, much less an entire season of the church year!!

Yet it is so very appropriate that the church affords us such an opportunity directly before we celebrate Easter, the holiest day of the year.  Before we get to the celebration, we are set to the task of looking at ourselves and taking stock of who we are and how we have used the gifts that God has given us. The really difficult part lies in doing this honestly. For when we examine our lives truthfully, we realize all too quickly that we come out lacking. Once again we have fallen short of all that God intends for us. Once again, sin has caused us to lose sight of who and whose we are.

Nevertheless, as Jesus himself would say, “Don’t be afraid!” It was for just such a time that the words above from the Book of Hebrews were written. As we noted last week, Lent is truly a journey. That is what the apostle in Hebrews is urging us to consider. We are called to embark upon a journey of renewal, starting on Ash Wednesday. It is not always an easy journey, as it is marked by discipline, sacrifice, and honest self-examination. Still, we know that ultimately we are an Easter people; living in the truth of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life. Despite the hardships of the road, we emerge on the Easter side of the pilgrimage with a renewed resolve to continue striving to grow in those things are pleasing to God…kindness, compassion, generosity, and service to others. The joy and wonder of Lent are to be found in the fact that our Easter Lord is still there, waiting to take our sins on Himself as we uncover them and “lay them aside”.

The journey of Lent is a solemn time, filled with sometimes disturbing images and uncomfortable scrutiny. Yet we travel the road confident in the fact that the love and mercy of this great God who was willing to die for us is walking with us every step of the way. That’s reason enough to shout Hallelujah…even though we’re not strictly supposed to yet! ;>) 

Let us pray…

God of Grace, we thank you for this time to work on ourselves, and to focus on better modeling the life Jesus showed us. Make us strong in empathy, charity, kindness, and compassion. Help us to nurture each other in the faith, and to emerge on the Easter side refreshed and renewed. We ask these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe.

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes †