Celebrating Love

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.    1 Cor. 13:1-7

Aside from a random birthday or anniversary, there’s usually not a lot in February to celebrate. For many of us, by the time February rolls around we’ve had enough of winter and we’re more than ready for spring, and this makes the shortest month of the year feel all that much longer. 

Sports fans get the Super Bowl and Daytona 500, and baseball fans start getting excited because pitchers and catchers begin reporting to spring training. This year we get the Winter Olympics. Outside of that though, pretty much all there is in February to look forward to is Valentine’s Day – an overly commercialized day celebrating romantic love with the exchange of heart shaped boxes of candy, cards, and dinners out at favorite restaurants.

As I’ve been thinking more about Valentine’s Day, and all that’s going on around us, I’m reminded of what Jesus said when asked what the greatest commandment is. In Mark’s gospel he answers, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”  

LOVE. That’s what it all comes down to for us. Many of you may have grown up singing the familiar hymn, They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always seem to be what Christians are known for these days. Too often I think we’re known for what we fear or what makes us angry. Maybe this Valentine’s Day and beyond we would do well to get back to the way of love.

As Paul writes in the scripture passage quoted at the top of this article, if we don’t have love, we’re just making noise, having nothing, and gaining nothing. The way to truly experience and share the love of God in our homes, communities, and world is through love. Loving God, loving one another, loving our neighbors, even loving our enemies. I’m pretty sure that covers just about everyone in our lives…at least, I can’t find any exceptions in there. 

Let’s be honest, loving others day in and day out is hard…fortunately the path of love is relatively straightforward. With everything you say and do, simply ask yourself, “Is what I’m about to say or do going to show the love of Jesus to this person?” I know sometimes this is easier said than done, however, the implications for us and the world to love the way Paul suggests are wide ranging and transformative.

Loving with this sort of patience and gentleness invites others into our lives and provides intimate ground for relationships to grow. And love like Paul describes can bring down the walls of fear and conflict that seem to be so effective at separating people right now. This is the kind of love I want to celebrate on Valentines Day and every day, and I hope you do too, because  I think it just might be enough to change the world. 

~ Pastor Tony

Making Room

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” ~ Luke 2:7

I read a story on the internet about a Sunday School Christmas Program telling the story of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem and looking for a room. In the program, a very pregnant Mary and Joseph move from place to place searching for lodging, but at each place they try, they’re told “there is no room for you here” and sent away.

During this most tense part of the story, one of the children playing an animal in the program stood up, strayed from the script, and loudly yelled, “Hey! Come over here by me, I’ll make room for you!”

Now I have no idea if this story is true or not, but it certainly illustrates a profound message for us during the Advent and Christmas seasons – Do I make room for Jesus? At my best, I hope the answer is yes. I hope and pray that my words and actions every day reflect Jesus, that my life is a witness to God’s love. I hope that I’m living out my faith, listening to those nudges from the Holy Spirit to take advantage of the opportunities God gives for me to love and care for my neighbors in Jesus’ name.

But I know my answer is not always yes. Life is busy, and I’m human. Even with the advantage of working in professional ministry, there are plenty of times when I miss chances to reflect God’s love or even find myself intentionally avoiding doing something I know God would want me to do. I suspect that’s true for you as well. It’s so easy for the busy-ness of life to push aside time with God. Ironically, perhaps that’s especially true in the Christmas season!

The Christmas story is a story about making room. Mary made room when she said yes to God – “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Joseph made room when he accepted the angel’s explanation of his fiancée’s pregnancy and changed his mind about ending their relationship – “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took Mary as his wife.” The shepherds in the fields made room by taking a break from the demands of their job, leaving their flocks, and hurrying to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby in the manger, then spreading the good news all over town – “So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child.” The Magi made room by leaving their homes and traveling to a far-away land on faith that a star would lead them to a king – “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” And of course, God is the one who started it, who – “emptied himself…being born in human likeness.”

As you and I celebrate the season of Christmas this year, I pray that we will all make room for Jesus, opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit who helps us to make room for what God is doing in our lives and in our world.

Wishing you and yours peace and joy throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons!

Pastor Tony

Thanks and Remembrance

“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.” Hebrews 12:1-2

November 1 marks All Saints Day in our life together as people of faith. We will observe it in worship the following day, on Sunday, Nov. 2. All Saints Day is a sacred occasion in the life of the Church, rooted in the ancient Christian tradition. It is a day to remember, honor, and celebrate the faithful who have gone before us—the saints who have lived, died, and passed on their legacy of faith; those whose lives have exemplified the grace and love of Jesus.
 
On this holy day, as many churches will remember those who have passed away in the last year, we also acknowledge that we are part of a great and unbroken communion of saints—a great cloud of witnesses, both living and departed, all bound together by the love of Christ.
 
The significance of All Saints Day lies in its reminder that our faith is both personal and communal. We run our individual race, but we do not run alone. We are inspired and sustained by the “great cloud of witnesses” who have shown us how to live faithfully. Their stories encourage us to persevere in our own struggles, and their lives serve as powerful examples to challenge and inspire us to embody God’s love in our world today.
 
But this day also invites us to reflect on our own legacy. How we are contributing to the ongoing story of God’s love in the world. Every person’s life has the potential to witness to the transformative power of God’s grace, and just as we honor all those saints who have shaped us, we too are called to live lives that bear witness to the gospel, for those around us and those who will come after us.

The arrival of November also means that the Thanksgiving holiday is almost here too. For many people this time of year is a reminder to reflect back on their lives and give thanks for all the wonderful blessings they’ve received.

Thanksgiving became official in the United States in 1863, and in his proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln made very clear whom we needed to thank. Lincoln said, “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.” In other words, we all need to thank God for our many blessings.

From the beginning of the month when we thank God for the example of the saints and the saintly people in our lives, to the end of the month when we thank God for everything we have and everything we are, November is a time to approach God with a grateful heart.

My friends, we all have so much to be thankful for. I pray that each of us will take a moment to pause, reflect, and see all that God has blessed us with. And as we recognize these blessings, may we joyfully return our thanks to God.

Pastor Tony

This Spooky Season, Do Not Be Afraid

Lately I’ve been noticing that people have started to decorate their houses and yards for Halloween. Which coincidently prompted my wife to ask if I want to put ours up this coming weekend. “Okay, sure” (thanks-a-lot, over-achiever neighbors). The decorations people choose run the spectrum from cute and silly to absolutely grotesque and terrifying. There was a time long ago that I enjoyed looking at scary decorations and doing things like going to haunted houses, but these days I think we have more than enough going on in our world and in our lives that causes us to be afraid and I for one don’t have any desire to add one more.

Do not be afraid. Over and over, we hear those words spoken in the scriptures. The first time is to Abram when God comes to reaffirm a promise that Abram fears might never be fulfilled. Those words are spoken to Hagar as she seeks shelter and sustenance in the wilderness for her and her son, Ishmael. The words are spoken to Isaac, and to Joseph, to Moses, to Samuel, to David, to Mary and Joseph, and to so many others.

Often those words are spoken by angels, and if the Biblical description of angels having six wings, four faces, hundreds of eyes, or just being engulfed in flames can be believed, then a calming word was probably necessary. Sometimes the words are spoken by prophets seeking to comfort the people in the middle of trying times. Jesus says those words more than a few times to disciples who are overwhelmed by and underprepared for the work ahead of them. Do not be afraid.

The truth is, we all have reason to be afraid from time to time. These are trying times in which we live, and I often find myself feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of hurt in the world and underprepared to do much to change it. Sometimes, perhaps more often than I’d care to admit, I am afraid. And I need to be reminded – sometimes gently, sometimes firmly – do not be afraid.

But I do not believe that these words mean that we should never feel fear. Rather, I think they serve as a reminder to not let fear be our guiding principle. Do not be afraid means that we should not let fear be what drives our decisions. We cannot let fear change who God made us to be. We cannot let fear deter us from doing what God has created us to do.

Do not be afraid. Fear is a powerful manipulator. There are those who would capitalize on our fear as a way of turning us against our sisters and brothers who look, love, and live in ways that seem different to us. And there are even some who would use fear as a weapon to divide and destroy and dehumanize. But that’s not who we were made to be.

The voice of Jesus still calls out to us, urging us “do not be afraid.” We were made to be in relationship – with God and with one another. So may your fears be calmed, and your faith strengthened. May you trust in the One who calls you by name. And may you follow the example of Jesus, who took every opportunity to cast fear aside by drawing closer to the other.

Pastor Tony

Love One Another

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. – Romans 12:9-18 (NLT)

Our world, our communities, our families and friends as well as the strangers who we are yet to encounter are all being impacted by so many destructive forces taking place in our world.

Recently I preached a sermon where I referenced a conversation with someone who stated that they were “at their wits end” because of all the heavy things taking place in their life and throughout the world. And lately I’ve been feeling that same tension and I’m guessing many of you are too. In my search for how to make sense of and navigate all the chaotic things that are happening I turned to the only place I know to find unfailing guidance – Scripture. And this particular passage from Romans seems to be a guiding light in the midst of all the darkness.

So, every morning I’ve been meditating on this passage as a reminder of how God calls me to be in the world each day. I pray that you would find comfort in taking time to read and reflect on these holy words and allow them to dwell deeply in your heart. Then, I invite you to consider how God might be speaking to you through this passage? And as you choose to live out these words how might the Holy Spirit be guiding you toward a blessing for your life and the world?

Pastor Tony

Every Sunday Is a First Sunday for Someone

Do you remember the first time you were a visitor at Ascension? Did you walk in not knowing anybody? Did you encounter unfamiliar faces, practices, music, and traditions? What made you feel welcome? What brought you back?

Consider this – every Sunday could be someone’s first Sunday. At one time or another all of us have been visitors here – at some point we are all visitors somewhere, and how we experience welcome, comfort, and inclusion can significantly impact our decision to return or want to get more involved. For someone walking through the doors of Ascension, this may very well be the first time they’ve stepped into a church in years – or ever. It may have taken courage, hope, or even desperation to come. And what they experience when they arrive can speak louder than any sermon or song. 

Ascension is a congregation built on profound relationships with God and each other. I know this to be true, not simply because I’m one of your pastors, but because at one time I too was a visitor here. In fact, the very first time I visited Ascension it was with my family to see if this was a place I wanted to serve. And although I don’t recall the names or faces of the people we encountered that day, what I can tell you is that we felt a deep sense of welcome from the moment we walked in the door. I felt it then and I continue to feel it today – there is something special about Ascension. And what’s special about Ascension is YOU.

My friends, it doesn’t matter if you are a longtime member or someone who recently started to worship or serve with us, we are all called to be part of something greater – to participate and contribute as each of us are able – to be involved rather than stand on the sidelines as spectators – to be a family rather than an audience. We are called to share joys and concerns, successes and struggles, faith and doubt. And ultimately, our greatest coordinated efforts are to serve others in the name of Jesus rather than satisfy our own selfish wants and needs. These are marks of the body of Christ. This is what it means to be the family of God.

God invites all of us to welcome and walk alongside people to take part in what God is doing in and through us. Relationships don’t grow by accident and neither do churches. Signs, websites, social media posts, special events, and ministry programs all have their place but if openness and connection aren’t distinguishing marks of this congregation then we will never become the reflection of God’s kingdom we’ve been created to be.

When we are committed to being a reflection of Jesus’ radical welcome to our neighbors, coworkers, friends and more importantly to the strangers and onlookers with whom we cross paths, that spoken and often unspoken invitation is far more welcoming to visitors and newcomers than any fancy brochure, expensive advertising campaign, sermon, or song.

My ongoing prayer is that all of us would dedicate ourselves again to welcoming anyone who hears the Holy Spirit’s call to come into our doors on a Sunday morning or cross our path at other times. Here are a few easy ways you can be a glimpse of God’s love in action:

  • Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. If you forgot someone’s name ask.
  • Try sitting in different places, staying longer or arriving earlier so you can meet different people.
  • Invite a visitor or someone you don’t know to sit with you.
  • Say hello to a few people you don’t know before spending time with the people you know well.
  • If someone appears confused or lost take a moment to help them find their way.

So let us commit together to being an even more welcoming church than we already are, and not just in theory, but in practice. Let us pray for eyes to see the stranger, courage to start conversations, and hearts ready to listen. Let us invite, include, and involve our visitors. And if someone decides to return, not because of our building or programs, but because they felt seen and valued, then we’re being the church God calls us to be.

Pastor Tony

Changed by the Resurrection

Our journey through Lent will soon be coming to an end. On Maundy Thursday we will gather in the upper room with Jesus and his disciples and be reminded of the incredible gift we celebrate in worship every Sunday morning as we hear, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” On Good Friday we will travel to the foot of the cross and hear Jesus utter a lonely cry of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” We will hear the words of finality that Jesus spoke with his last breath as he paid the ultimate price for our sin, “It is finished!” And we will travel again to the empty tomb to hear about the group of women that traveled there early on the first day of the week only to find it empty. We will hear once more the words of the angels at the empty tomb, “He is not here, but has risen.”

But once that final, culminating event of the Resurrection is complete. Then what? What are we supposed to do then? Well, I think it’s important for us to remember that Easter is more than just a day. Easter is an every day celebration of the cross and resurrection of Jesus – the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life with God. Easter is also an every day celebration in which we live each day trusting in God through Christ, knowing that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” for us.

So what do we do as we go forth from the empty tomb? Perhaps it would be best for us to start by following the example of the first witnesses of the empty tomb. After the two angels reminded the women that Jesus had risen, St. Luke tells us that “then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.” They went forth from the tomb changed by the resurrection of Jesus. They went forth from the tomb to bring an “every day” witness of God’s power over sin, death, and Satan himself.

And where then are we to go once we leave the empty tomb? Well, perhaps it would be best for us to follow the example of Jesus’ first disciples. After Jesus walked through locked doors to appear to the eleven disciples and to show himself to Thomas, seven of the eleven disciples went back to their fishing business. They went back to their everyday stations in life and took the witness of the resurrection with them. They lived in the joy of the resurrection of Jesus while carrying out the ordinary, daily responsibilities given to them.

Like the women at the empty tomb and the eleven disciples, we too are every day witnesses and participants in the resurrection of Jesus. We believe. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the joy of the resurrection living inside of us. Also, like the women at the empty tomb and the disciples, we have stations in life that God has given to us as gifts. Most of us aren’t fishermen, but all of us have one or more of these callings: mother, father, partner, wife, husband, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandparent, employee, retiree, caregiver, friend, and neighbor. Each of these callings comes with a set of duties and responsibilities.

And as followers of Jesus, redeemed by God’s grace we are called to wrap the daily duties and responsibilities of our lives in the joy, love, peace, and forgiveness of Christ. And when we do this, more than likely, others will take notice, and God will bless our faithful work by giving us more opportunities to “tell all these things to all the rest.”

So, what are we to do then?  My friends, we are to respond to God’s grace, love and mercy by going forth from Easter Sunday and the celebration of the empty tomb as every day witnesses, freed to live and love and serve as God’s forgiven children in Christ Jesus. And as we go forth empowered by God’s Spirit, living and active within us, may we live in the joy of the resurrection so that everyone, everywhere will see just how great God is! Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Tony

Called to Love

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

It’s February, the month of Valentines and heart-shaped boxes of candy…so what else is a pastor to write about in the newsletter but love? Thanks to the mass commercialization of Valentine’s Day, love is everywhere. Love is all around us!

Is it really, though? I mean, sure, our culture is highly skilled in and dedicated to promoting romance. I can’t tell you the number of jewelry commercials I typically see on television around this time. But while romance is as abundant as ever, it seems that love is a different story. And at least in my opinion, it seems love is much harder to come by in the public eye these days. Violence always leads off the nightly news, and public discourse has become hostile to the extent that political differences have driven wedges between families and friends.

But as people united in Christ, we are called by God to love others even if it’s not the most popular thing to do. Fortunately, the Bible is a great resource to help us do this! One of the best descriptions of love in the Bible is the passage quoted above, written by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church. These words to the Corinthians are some of the most enduring words in the Bible and are familiar to many people because they are often read at weddings.

Despite that common use, though, the implications of the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 are wide-ranging. Loving with this sort of patience and gentleness invites others into our lives and provides intimate ground for relationships to grow. Strangers whom we may at first stereotype into a category become individual people we truly see, know, and appreciate. Love like Paul describes can bring down the walls of fear and conflict that seem to be so effective at separating people right now.
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This is the kind of love God calls us to offer to the world not only this February or this Valentine’s Day, but every day. So, I invite all of us to let God’s love for us in Jesus Christ be the Valentine that we offer to everyone.

~ Pastor Tony