We are back at work. Life has returned to normal. Lights that adorned houses in my neighborhood since Halloween are now extinguished. Christmas music has gone silent. Stores are advertising Valentine’s Day. And it’s only the sixth day of Christmas. It feels like it all went so fast, a brief flash of silent light and then business as usual . Without candles and the singing, it’s a bit more difficult to open ourselves to the miraculous, indwelling of Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us. It feels like ordinary life, which, of course, is what Jesus came to: Life. It is not our Christmas card picture of life, but real, every-day regular life. It is not even a comfortable life but the life of a homeless refugee family. Here’s the real miracle of Christmas: In and through the Christ Child, God is besides us and within us and for us all the time. Remember John the Gospel writer’s Christmas message for us: What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. – John 1:4-5 In receiving this life and light, Johns says that we have received grace upon grace. Thank you for the ways you have channeled this grace, one with another, in our holy days and holidays and ordinary, challenging days. Whatever our resolutions, and whatever this year brings, live in the joy that God is with us. This grace is sufficient, it is enough. Now we can get on with the living of these days, feeding the hungry, sharing peace with the troubled, welcoming the stranger --- or whatever else those who are least among us may from time to time require. I am thankful for this moment. I will use it as an Advent exercise. “Come, Lord Jesus,” I will pray. Then in the hushed reverence, I will listen, for a full minute. +Pastor Steve Klemz
0 Comments
The most powerful moment in the movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, happens when, for a full minute, nothing happens. In the scene leading up to the moment, Fred Rogers and a journalist are sitting in a downtown Chinese restaurant. The journalist is in crisis. “Mister” Rogers asks his struggling friend to join him in an exercise. “We’ll just take a minute and think about all the people who loved us into being,” Rogers quietly suggests. “I can’t do that,” replied his troubled friend. “They will come to you,” he assures him. “Just one minute of silence.” The camera slowly pans the restaurant. After a few moments, the camera shot rests on Rogers’ face. He turns his head ever so slightly until he is looking straight at the camera --- straight at us. We are inside a full minute when no words are spoken. We notice how silence envelopes the restaurant and now, all of us in the theater. It is profound. “Thank you for doing it with me,” Rogers says, “I feel so much better.” Norma and I agreed. Unwittingly, we had participated in a moment of mindful meditation. Mister Rogers did not ask us to be grateful for the people who come to mind in those 60 seconds. He simply asks us to be open to whoever comes. No judging. I am thankful for this moment. I will use it as an Advent exercise. “Come, Lord Jesus,” I will pray. Then in the hushed reverence, I will listen, for a full minute. Who knows? Maybe Jesus will be as far away as the word, “come.” And, perhaps, somehow I will feel so much better, resting in a minute of silence. + Pastor Steve Klemz
This All Saints’ Day I am amazed, caught up in the mystery of the Holy Spirit, who gathers us with all the saints “at all times and in all places” surrounding us with that great cloud of witnesses who are ever connecting us in grace. This All Saints’ Day I pray with those who live in hope for that day, when every tear will be wiped away. This All Saints’ Day I praise God for those Jesus calls blessed, our homeless friends, huddling for worship in Thursday morning devotions; for those who set the Table for our Holy Meal and all who offer refreshment and hospitality for coffee hour, for those who model generosity, with chocolate chip cookies and faithful giving, for all who work for justice, offering healing and hope, for the children, proclaiming the gospel news: “Jesus’ heals ten leprechauns!” for all who make music, moving our worship onto holy ground, for teachers and leaders who administer and organize Let Me Shine! for all who have kept the candle of their faith burning, even through their suffering. And, I thank God for those who have done nothing special at all, who quietly yet faithfully live as beloved children of God, living steady and bright in the light of God’s love for them. This All Saints’ Day I give thanks to God for all the saints in Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, for our fellowship shaped by love and forgiveness. + Pastor Steve
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2022
Categories |
ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH1070 Foothill Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84108 office@zelc.org 801-582-2321 Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-3:00 pm Friday, 8:30 am-1:00 pm Zion is a congregation of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). CLICK HERE to explore the Rocky Mountain Synod CLICK HERE to explore the ELCA |
We are a church on a mission
to proclaim Christ through word and deed. |
CLICK HERE for directions to Zion
|