Date:
March 21, 2010, Fifth Sunday in Lent
Author: The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel
GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.
The call process in our Lutheran Church is complicated. Congregations complain that they never get good names from the synod office; pastors complain that they sit for years without getting an interview. Bishops are likely to throw up their hands and complain about congregations and pastors. Here at Central many folks think that the synod never seems to respond to them—I know call committees have had this opinion. I was part of the committee calling Pastor John and I must say that the process went on for a couple of years and we did not get suitable names—one woman had another call in hand when she came here from Wisconsin to interview, another was in a call process and because she was getting another call, she withdrew from us. One man, well, the committee suggested to the bishop that he seek professional counseling. How did John get here? People from his congregation back in Chicago suggested that he was ready for a new call and I telephoned him and asked him to get his papers ready and put his name in here. Jill Michelle Cossart is still without a pastoral call and it is almost two years since she graduated from Luther Seminary. She is working as a custodian—this woman with a PhD, the only student at the seminary to serve on the board of the theological journal, Word and Witness. Roberta Smythe graduated from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and is waiting for an interview. Pastors are not allowed to apply to congregations and congregations, depending upon the synod, are only given names that the bishop sends. Perhaps the kindest thing I can say is that it pays to be a good friend of the bishop, then the congregation may get names and pastors may get calls.
I remember applying to various synods when I was finishing my dissertation and needed a call. Every one is different. My home synod was Northwestern Minnesota, but when I was there it was still the Northern Minnesota District of the ALC. The American Lutheran Church of which Central was part, tended to be more laid-back, less bureaucratic and formal in its structures. The new Northwestern Minnesota Synod had elected the LCA bishop as its new head and Harold Lohr brought east-coast bureaucracy to Moorhead Minnesota. In order to be considered for his roster, a candidate had to write an essay listing fifty accomplishments. Well, I am a good one for jumping through hoops—anyone with a PhD knows just what I mean. I started listing fifty accomplishments—the first ten, twenty were pretty easy. They were things like graduating summa cum laude from Concordia College, coming in at the 99th percentile in the verbal portion of the GRE. Having my first sermon published in 1987 back then in hardbound volumes. But let me tell you this—it is hard to put down fifty accomplishments! I had to think back to high school and say I played an oboe solo in the district orchestra competition. I came up with the fifty accomplishments and sent them to Bishop Lohr. I did not receive an interview at the time. Later, after he had failed to be re-elected, I spoke with his successor—a good Norwegian ALCer. I asked him about those fifty accomplishments. He laughed and said that Bishop Harold Lohr never bothered to look at what was written; it was just a way of winnowing out people. Guess how that made me feel? Well, angry, disappointed, a little abused. But it was still an interesting exercise.
And I could take it one step further—every one of those fifty accomplishments really matters little in the scheme of things. The diplomas on the wall, the sermons published, whatever accomplishments I have had, will not matter. It is wisdom to learn that we really do not go from this world with money or status or awards. What matters is our relationship to Jesus Christ.
Paul is so very clear about that. In his letter to the Philippians, he lists his status: circumcised on the eighth day, member of the people of Israel, tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. We could add, one of the best educated men of his day who studied with the famous rabbi Gamaliel, Roman citizen, world traveler, founder of many congregations, considered the leading figure in Christianity after Jesus, author of many well-read books which have never been out-of-print, namesake of the capital of Minnesota and the largest city in South America. Yet he puts it, “Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul describes his life as a minister of Christ—greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings and often near death. “Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one,” Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people; danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty and often without food, cold and naked. And besides other things I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.” If Paul would boast it would be in the greatness of God. All the things for which we might feel proud, Paul counts as rubbish, refuse—the Greek word really means dung. Even our greatest gifts and abilities and achievements count for very little in light of eternity. What is most important is faith in Jesus Christ.
In our text Paul introduces another image, that of the games. Remember Philippi is in Greece and people in the ancient world celebrated yearly sports extravaganzas—the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games, the Delphi Games and greatest of all, the Olympic Games. Paul had personal experience working as a tentmaker in Corinth near the site of the Isthmian Games and likely those leather tents were used by people attending the games. Some of you went up to Vancouver a few weeks ago for the Olympics—I wish I could have but I spent hours in front of the television set. I love to watch the competition and cheer for people like Apolo Anton Ohno and Bode Miller and Evan Lysacek and Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn. People today are not so different from those two thousand years ago who cheered on their athletic heroes. When Paul uses the image of a race, it is one we can understand. He uses words like, “pressing onward, reaching the goal, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,” these are words from the games. Paul says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Nothing could be clearer. We leave behind every weight and hindrance and burden. We seek forgiveness for our sins and in Christ have the absolution of our sins. We can let go of our hurts and grievances—these are former things and we do not need to hang on to them. We can receive Christ’s forgiveness and forgive ourselves and other people. We can let go of good things which do not compare with the best thing, life with God in Christ. They weigh us down too. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and nothing is worth comparing to the glory to come. Let go those things which come between you and other people, you and God.
It might be a good assignment to write down your fifty greatest achievements. Just listing them will tell you what you most value in your life, what you are most proud of. Then give them over to God and tell the Lord that they are not as important as life with Christ. Many are blessings that you can thank God for—I thank God for my wife and daughters, Christian parents and grandparents, for my education, and having a job. I don’t care quite so much about the degrees on the office wall or having played an oboe solo in high school. But nothing, not even the best things compare with God’s promises. God is present with us in the ups and downs of life, giving us courage and strength to press on to our goal, the prize of seeing God and being welcomed to live with God forever. Amen.
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