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I remember the first time I heard this Gospel reading in church. I was quite young with an over active imagination and I would capture the words and create pictures in my mind. This text stayed with me because the images are so striking—somewhat frightening actually. The disciples are scolded, they don’t understand, Jesus tells them to pick up a cross, there’s talk of losing one’s life… these are frightening images! And I would like to believe that with time, age, experience, and with a better view and understanding of the world that this passage would be less daunting… more manageable to my more mature ears and eyes. But still, still I find myself wrestling over what Jesus says… wrestling over what Jesus calls his disciples to do.

But perhaps this wrestling is not a bad thing… perhaps it helps us to grow and understand God’s desire for us through Jesus Christ. We’re not the only ones who wrestle with God’s will for us- sometimes we’re like Jacob- Israel—who wrestles and struggles with his past and future, who wrestles and ultimately receives God’s blessing, and in God’s blessing receives his identity—understands who he as a child of God.

In the Gospel of Mark there are three occasions that Jesus wrestles- he wrestles with expectation and will- with temptation in the desert, with questions of his identity as the Messiah, and alone in prayer that night in Gethsemane. And through this wrestling he is what God desires him to be.

But who is Jesus? From the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel the good news is proclaimed- that Jesus is the Christ, God’s begotten Son… but we are often called to ask the question, “Who is Jesus to me?” We hear with our ears, see with our eyes, and feel with our hearts that Jesus God’s beloved—reaches out to us in the reality of our broken bodies, broken dreams, and broken lives. In his earthly ministry he proclaimed God’s mercy and grace—teaching through action offering words of guidance and criticism, comfort and compassion, and ultimately invitation to us all.

His ministry was on the go and the people would follow. He told his disciples that his mission on earth was not to stay in one place- but to go and proclaim good news to those who had yet to hear— to those who had yet to experience God’s awesome love. Taking on our burdens, our shame, our broken lives, the pieces that separate us from God- Jesus Christ bore them all, suffering and dying on a cross. And as Jesus Christ was raised to new life so too are we raised from the mire of sin, from the clutch of death—so too are we promised new life—a transformed life that we can see now. Look around you and you will see God’s transforming power each and every day.

Who are we? In the reality of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord- we’re called to ask “Who are we?” We are God’s children—saved and loved. We are brothers and sisters bearing the cross of Christ and the promise of salvation. We are transformed by Jesus’ presence in our lives. This transformation is ongoing—changing us each day of our lives.

I once visited a family who through health and physical ailments could no longer attend church. We talked about our lives and how God has reached out to us touching and changing us through our experiences, the people we have met, the friends that we have made, and those we have loved. The family talked about how their role in the town and church has changed as their physical well being has changed. They talked about their past—about how they moved a lot- always making a home in the town in which they lived and becoming close with the church that they joined. For a long time they helped with church fellowship and hospitality, working with outreach programs in the communities they lived, molding and encouraging the various youth groups, and being faithful stewards in ministry. And they talked about the present— realizing that they could no longer partake in the activities that they had once loved. And they said, “We know that our lives have changed a lot, but God still finds ways to connect us to people who need to be connected.” And it was true. Family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances all knew that they could come to their house for rest, for acceptance, for healing, for connection, for fellowship. They knew that this family would invite them in with love.

Love- that is what we’re called to do and how God reaches to others. Love that reaches beyond these walls, that spreads through time and place, age and gender, status and roles in life. Love- comes to us as a light in the darkness, love is God now with us, love is Jesus within and among us, love is inviting us now.

Jesus’ invitation is for us all- and for us always. We were but a thought in our parents’ minds when God loved us. We had yet to learn our first word when God was molding us from within, forming us as the children of God we are today. During times of loneliness and isolation, when we think that we are an island in the midst of a chaotic sea God is with us- tending, supporting, guiding. Even now God’s presence comes into our lives in new ways—constantly transforming us, constantly calling to us. This invitation is strong and eternal like God’s love for us. We have been invited and in the waters of baptism we are marked by the cross of Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit forever. And in our day to day lives we bear God’s love for us and we follow Christ.

We hear the words “Follow me”, yet we may wonder and ask, “Lord, how are we to follow?” Thinking about following someone—there’s often an anxiety that I feel—the fear that someone will lead the way and I will lose sight of them. There have been times that I’m following someone in a busy store, a crowded street, or a large museum and all I can see is the back of their head from far away. And it seems that the more I try to follow them, the more they become a blur in a mass of bodies and distraction.

But then I remember Jesus- my savior, my redeemer, my shepherd who says, ‘follow me’. Have you ever had a good leader on a trip or a tour? I have and I’ve noticed that when they lead me they want me to follow and they will not lose me. They will walk backwards so that their eyes never leave mine. The leader knows the terrain and the pitfalls—they know the dangers and the pastures in which we may lay down, they know the places in which we may be nourished.

Love has come and will never leave us. In Christ’s love we are inviters- so that all of God’s world may know this love. We are greeters, welcoming all in the name of unconditional love—and through our hands and hearts God’s love shines into the dark corners of life. As Christ’s followers, with the certainty of God’s promise, we may walk together- with the light of Jesus’ eyes shining in our own—we may walk hand in hand, supporting each other in faith and love—sharing God’s love with the sick, with the lonely, the poor, the disenfranchised—with each other in every step of our lives. Following Christ every day, I can’t wait to see where God takes us.

Amen.

For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven, a time to break down and a time to build up. –Ecclesiastes 3:1-3

Did you ever have times in your life when God seems not to be on time? We pray and ask for something and nothing happens, or it hap-pens much later in our life and we wonder why it took so long. Why couldn’t it have happened years before?

Having been raised on a farm, I know that farmers, because of their life style and profession, live by a time line. It is the kind of time that is measured by the clock, calendar and season of the year. Daily chores are completed by clock time. At 6:00am the cows are fed and milked and again at 6:00pm. Fields are plowed, planted and harvested by a calendar time line or a seasonal time line. Like the farmer, most of us live by clock or calendar time.

There is another kind of time we experience in our life. A time to grow up and develop into all we can be, a transition time, a process time of making our own self. As each day begins we are able to get involved, make choices, make decisions, be creative. This is the time which affects our lives by what happens, because something happens inside us.

Our lives appear to operate on measured time. Maybe God keeps a different time. Accomplishments are expected today. Maybe God’s plan for us requires waiting, so we can develop a time of personal growth and maturity.

Life does not always happen the way we want, or when we want. We may get impatient, feel mistreated, ignored. We think God doesn’t care about us and our problems. Time out–He does care! He may not come when we want but He will always be on time!

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to his people and spirit to those who walk on it. I the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you people as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations. –Isaiah 42:5-6

God gives us so much.

The Most Beautiful Thing
Lightning, lightning
A flash in the sky
A rain of sparkles
A fire in the sky

Strings of diamonds
Rumbles of light
Booms of illumination
A beam from the sky

What first gave us light
Now gives us joy

A flash during darkness
To bring us the hope
To outline the heavens
To shake the sky

It can be soft
It can be hard
It can bring hope
It can bring sorrow
It can be radiant
It can be gentle
It can be graceful
It can be awful

It will always bring beauty
It will always show light
It will always try to bring daylight
It will always be a light
It will always glow
It will always be illuminate
And it shall always be beautiful

The Lord says, “forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it? I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land.” –Isaiah 43:18-19

God has promised us great things, but we must help. No matter how many times we have failed before, we must listen to His promises again and still.

And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth… –John 14:15

Many people today doubt Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit. They cite declining church attendance as well as the indifference of many, particularly the youth. They fear that Christian belief will diminish and become irrelevant.

The history of the Soviet Union is instructive on this point. Lenin and Stalin believed that religion was “the opiate of the masses,” a device that secular leaders used to keep the common people under control. They disbanded the clergy and took over the church buildings. For 75 years their powerful publishing house, Pravda (Russian for “truth”), poured scorn and ridicule on followers of Christ, using such devices as cartoons showing Jesus being kicked out of his Church. When Communism collapsed Pravda fell on hard times with no more propaganda to publish. However they soon revived their fortunes with a new best seller which soon became their major product, the Holy Bible! The Holy Spirit had flourished underground and Christianity came back stronger than ever.

Two of the most ruthless tyrants in history showed that not only is the Holy Spirit not in danger of dying out from indifference, you can’t kill it.

“Will you Come and Follow Me?”
“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?” –ELW 798

This hymn asks tough questions!

As I read these words, I am jolted out of the complacency of my “good life.” Sure, I’ve had my share of problems and heartaches and everyday worries. Fortunately, I’ve also learned over the years to lean on God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ for comfort and healing. Much of the support I have experienced has come from within my church homes, especially the welcoming people at Christus Victor Lutheran Church.

Herein lies the problem–focusing on myself and others familiar to myself. What about people who have never experienced that love or are without a support system at this time? These words ask me to leave my “comfort zone”–to truly let God’s love grow!

Heavenly Father, please lead me where I have not gone before to reach out in love to others. Help me to hear your voice and to lean on your strength to accomplish whatever the tasks may be. Amen.

Will You Come and Follow Me? –ELW 798

Believing in the unknown is very difficult, and to go where you don’t know is when your faith in the Lord takes over your heart and mind.

It is then that you can use the faith you’ve found to love and help your fellow man. If he but calls your name will you follow and never be the same?

Dear Lord, thank you for the miracle of faith. Amen.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. –Deuteronomy 6:6-7

As a teenager in today’s society, I am constantly faced with daily struggles from other teenagers of doing drugs, drinking alcohol, partying, smoking cigarettes, being apathetic about school, disrespecting authority, and having sex. Fortunately, I have been blessed with caring parents that have raised me and my brother with this verse in mind. Beginning with my birth, my parents have started building on a solid foundation for a Christ-driven life by:

• Having me baptized
• Enrolling me in Sunday school from the age of 3
• Encouraging me to participate in weekly youth groups
• Attending confirmation class and being confirmed
• Thanking God daily through prayer
• Traveling on mission trips

I’m grateful that my parents have put Jesus in my heart, continue to take me to church every Sunday, encourage me to grow spiritually and reach out to serve others in the church and the community. I’m glad to be a part of Christus Victor and look forward to the potential of expanding our church to further serve the youth in this community.

The King will reply,”I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” –Matthew 25:40

Jesus blessed those who fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, clothed the naked, helped the sick, and gave comfort to strangers. By serving the needy they were serving Him.

The Café of Life’s vision is to assist persons who are in need of food, support and necessities so that all might have the benefit of a warm meal and opportunities for a better life. Through caring, sharing and serving they seek to preserve the dignity of all people.

Each day 175 hungry people receive a hot healthy lunch prepared by volunteers who give an outpouring of love and encouragement.

Cindy, a client of many years, recently wrote in a letter, “I would like to thank you for the blessings you have poured out to me in my time of need. My addiction carried me into the depths of hell, and away from Jesus. He has people like you who he works through to save people like me. I was living in the woods and put myself into some bad situations. I felt hopeless, very alone and lost. You fed me, clothed me, and provided medical help. But most of all you loved me as I was. While in jail I made the decision to give my life and God a chance again. I now have been clean and sober over a year, have a home, a job, and am involved in church. I would not have done it without your help.”

The Café of Life would not exist without volunteers who have heard Christ’s calling.

O God, Let us hear your calling and follow you. May we open our hearts to the less fortunate and serve their needs so that we might also serve you. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Marietta Bala is the Chairperson of the Café of Life Board of Directors.