On top of the desk are some photos of my children when they were young, a statue of Jesus with children I received from Peace, an appreciation for serving on the Habitat for Humanity Board.

On the shelves next to the desk are regularly used books: 3 Bibles, a Greek New Testament, 3 different hymnals, worship planning resources, a synod directory, a couple of books of poetry, and several “to read soon” books. There are binders from committees and programs and boards of which I have been a part. And, there are items which need a semi-secure place for storage and my office is as good as any.

Then I look at the shelves with the books I have collected over the years.  There is the complete set of the English translation of Martin Luther’s writings which I inherited from my grandfather – all 55 volumes.  There are children’s story books and adult education resources.

Across the room are the books gathered into general categories of worship, biblical reference, history, theology.  Many of them I have purchased, but some have come from other pastors: my grandfather, a pastor with whom I worked before going to seminary, and received as gifts.

On the shelves hanging on the wall contain an eclectic collection of books.  There are more biblical commentaries, several different  Bible translations, counseling resources, devotional books, more books on theology, books on comparative religion.  In one section I have old Bibles and hymnals, some dating back to the 1880’s.

On another shelf I have a collection of various items which include: the Christ candle we used in our wedding, a communion set made for my ordination, a ceramic owl given to me by my son when he was 4, a carving of a figure praying, and painted glass piece I received as a farewell gift.

Below those shelves is a 4 drawer file cabinet.  The top is filled with books which don’t fit on the shelves.  The draws are filled with sermon notes, stewardship ideas, Bible study notes, class notes from continuing education courses, and lots I don’t remember.

On the walls there are paintings by artists I have known personally, a crucifix and a cross from El Salvador featuring the martyred Bishop Oscar Romero.

There is a lot of sentimentality in all that surrounds me, but also a lot of history.  Not only in the history recorded in the books, but in how I received and used the books, and in how the books came to be.  Who wrote them? How were they published? From where did the paper on which they are printed come? Who sold them? Where have they travelled? How have they been used?

Then I think about the office and the building in which I sit.  It is over a century old, being originally built in 1905 standing on ancient land that has been filled in by floods and used as a potato patch.  Many people have lived here.  Children have been born, couples have been married, and people have died in this house.

We are surrounded by the stories of people.  The story of Peace is in those stories or stained glass, woodwork, organ, quilts, banners and walls.  For 113 of it’s 115 years, this space has been Peace’s home.  But like so much in my office, it is more than the building.  It is what is contained and carried out of that building.

We are contributing to that history because it is our story now.  What is the story  that we are passing on to the people who come after us?

May God guide us in our storytelling.

Pastor Ron Kempe

“O Spirit . . . unfurl our lives like springtime bud and flow’r.”*

Out of the darkness of winter, Spring bursts forth with the hope and promise of life.  The words from the hymn are our prayer than we live in the hope and promise of new life.  But how often is the color of our lives hidden?  What sepals keep us unfurled?

“Restore in us, O God, the splendor of your love, renew your image in our hearts.”*

In the Resurrection, the light and warmth of the new day shines upon us that our lives may unfurl to show forth the splendor of the love God has given us. .  In the joy of the light of the Risen Son, the light darkness cannot overcome, God’s image in which we are created is renewed in our hearts.

“Bring us, O Christ, to share the fullness of you; baptize us in the risen life.”*

To be baptized in the risen life is to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus, and is not about believing certain things about Jesus.  It is not something that is self-bestowed. It is about participating in the love of God and making the love incarnate in our lives.

As a contemporary theologian, John Howard Yoder, puts it: “Forgive as God has forgiven you; Love indiscriminately as God does; Serve others as he served; Give your life; Be a Christ bearer.”

It grows out of the relationship we have in Christ; out of the promise of our baptism, out of our renewal in Holy Communion.  But like Jesus, we are sorely tempted to take the easy way, to hide in our sepals by making excuses, justifying our self-centered orientation, and listening to the enticing call of the Theology of Glory which overlooks the cost.  That is why discipleship, being a follower, takes discipline.  Or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor in Germany executed by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, said, “It’s not cheap.  It cost a man his life, but it is grace because it gives true life.”

We have been given life to be unfurled like a springtime bud and flower in the light of the sun.  Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like you.

Go share the Good News!  Christ is Risen!

Peace be with you,

Pastor Ron Kempe

*Quotes from ELW Hymn 328 Restore in Us, O God

Text by Carl P. Daw , Jr.

I wonder if the branches are as resistant to change as I am.  I like to have things flow along without disruptions.  I like it when my schedule and my agenda aren’t interrupted by untimely illness, or a car breaking down, or unexpected phone calls from sales people, or a lack of agreement among people.  I like it when I know what is expected and I can do it, on my time and in my way, without criticism or complaint.

Yet, that is what Jesus is about.  He came into the world to bring life.  He came to those who appeared dead.  He is the living water, the bread of life.  His Spirit moves among us and in us, calling us into life, to be born anew.

Just like the branches, we can become lifeless in our routines.  We become comfortable in our conventional wisdom about ourselves, whether in self-pity or in pridefulness.  We do not bear new fruit in our lives.  Often it takes  something to jar us into looking at ourselves and what we are doing.  It is not easy to be so honest.  It seems easier to avoid and deny.  But Jesus is the light that shines into even the darkest corner.

Lent is a time of such renewal.  It is a time to be called out of our comfortable lethargy as children of God.  It is a time to focus on the Spirit moving in and among us.  It is a time to remember the discipline of discipleship through works of love, fasting, and prayer.  Each one challenges us to look beyond ourselves to God and our neighbor and to be honest.

The Lenten renewal is done in the light of God’s Easter grace.  We are renewing what has already been accomplished – new life through the resurrection of Jesus.  Like the tree we hold the promise of bearing good fruit through the gift of the Holy Spirit running in and through our lives.

May you grow in Christ and bear good fruit,

Pastor Ron Kempe

Following Jesus always begins with an invitation.  It does not begin with a test of knowledge or even any qualifying actions.  Peter, Andrew, James and John are reported have been “cleaning their nets” and Levi (Matthew) was sitting in his tax collectors booth when they received the invitation to a new way of living. To be a follower is more than knowing about Jesus.  It is a way of making decisions, a way of doing.  It is a way of looking at the world and others.  It is transformational, and challenging.

However, as noted in a recent survey about religion in American life, the percentage of people indicating “None” as their religious preference is now 20%, and higher for those under 35.

There have been a number of books and articles written about the changing religious scene in America, books like: Christianity after Religion by Dorothy Butler Bass and The Shrinking Church in The Lutheran magazine

There are courses produced such as Embracing an Adult Faith by Marcus Borg,  Embracing Emergence Christianity by Phyllis Tickle.  And the material we will be using on Sunday mornings in February and March titled Animate Faith. (See Adult Forums on page 5)

In a book titled Living the Questions the authors note A lot of people just don’t care anymore.  They stopped going to church long ago because nothing they heard or experienced resonated with them.  . . . They are passionately disinterested in the church.

As Robert Putnam, a Harvard sociologist  has noted, this is not only a church phenomenon. It is something running although the society.  It is affecting other volunteer organizations, how business is conducted, and our attitudes toward government.

This is not to say that people are faithless.  Rather, it says something about how they see the story of God in Jesus connecting with their lives, and how it makes a difference in the world.  Many of them use what has become a somewhat trite statement: I’m spiritual not religious.

In her book, Dorothy Butler Bass notes that what has happened is that we have redefined belief and religion as intellectual assent to statements which modern people have difficulty accepting as being logical or important.  This is opposed to the original meaning of faith as relational involving trust and belief as meaning committing one’s heart to something.

So what are we to do? That’s what we’re exploring in a variety of ways, but I remind you of a story from Greek/Roman mythology that I shared in a sermon several months ago.  The story is of Ulysses returning from the Trojan war.  One of the places he and his fellow sailors encountered was the place of the Sirens.  Sirens had beautiful voices and would lure sailors to be shipwrecked on sharp rocks.  Ulysses had the ears of the men sealed with wax so they couldn’t hear the enticing song.

But in another story – Jason and the Argonauts – they encounter the Sirens song.  But, instead of shutting out the song – Jason had Orpheus, the maker of wonderful music sing a more beautiful song.

We are called to follow Jesus not by shutting out the world, but into the world living a more beautiful song, living boldly in all that we do as we follow Jesus.

Let us join together as we learn to sing so that our lives may flow on in endless song.

God be with you,

Pastor Ron Kempe

There was a time when I was learning to write programs for computers.  It was long ago – back when information was put on envelope size cards with holes punched in them. (Yes, we had to worry about hanging chads.)  One simple program could have a stack of cards 4” thick.

Now it seems I know enough to fix little things, but also enough to get myself into trouble.  I haven’t learned the more significant and complex details of computers.  it takes time and effort.  It’s easier to hope it works and call someone when it doesn’t.

This is true of many areas of our lives like electrical circuits in houses, or cars with all their gadgetry and computers.  It’s true of music, or cooking, or games of skill, or the fine art of fishing.  How many of us have learned a little of a 2^nd language, but don’t know much more than hello, thank you, and good-bye? This list goes on.

I think faith falls into this thinking too. It’s easy to treat it like a light, or car, or computer. We want it to be there and work when we want it and not have to think about the how’s and why’s. We learn a little Bible, even if we do mix up the stories, learn a little history, choose the worship style that seems most comfortable.  We don’t take time to look at the how’s and why’s.

But faith is different   It is not something to use like a car or computer. It is not something turned on like a lamp.  It is a relationship. It takes time and requires the work of a relationship, the learning about the other, the valuing the other.

The philosopher Martin Bruber describes faith as an “I-Thou” relationship not an “I-It” relationship.  It describes our very being.

Psychologist John Gottman says there are 7 important principles for making marriage work. Some of these transfer to our faith relationship.

1. One is to continue to learn something new about God.

2. Another is to nurture fondness and admiration.

3. A third is to turn toward each other instead of away.

4. And a fourth is to let the other influence you.

As we move into 2013, what is our relationship with God?  What does it mean to say “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)?

1.  Where do we need to work on our relationship?  What do we need to learn?

2.  How do we nurture fondness and admiration?

3.  God has turned toward us in Jesus, how do we turn toward God?

4. How does God influence us?

Gottman’s advice isn’t just for marriages.  It can work in all of our relationships.  How is it we love our neighbor.?  What do we need to learn,? How do we nurture fondness and admiration.  turn toward one another—not just in crises– and how do we influence one another?

The hope of the world born in Bethlehem where all the “hopes and fears of all the years are met” calls us to bear witness with our lives.  May you have a blessed and hope-filled 2013.

God be with you,

Pastor Ron Kempe

¹⁴Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

As part of our worship, we tell the story of what God has done in Jesus.  It begins with Advent, a short time (four Sundays) recalling the time of waiting for God’s promise to send a “Chosen One.”  This leads up to the celebration of the birth of the “Chosen One,” Christmas.

This got me to thinking about choices. God chose Jesus to bear the message of grace, hope, and love “but that the world might be saved through him.”  God choose us, announced in our baptism, to be the Body of Christ in the world. Now we have a choice—to follow or not to follow.

I am reminded of one of Robert Frost’s more well-known poems: The Road Not Taken.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both …..
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
So what difference does it make?

First, choices involve more choices if one is going to be faithful to the first choice.  When the people said to Joshua they would follow Yahweh, this affected the way they would live their lives, the choices to do justice, to care for the poor, their way of worship, the sacrifices they offered.

Second, we can see in the biblical story examples of how lives were changed by the choices they made.  Abraham & Sarah, Ruth, David, Amos, Mary & Joseph, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul.

The early Christians were called “Followers of the Way.”  To choose to follow Jesus in our daily actions is be a follower of the way.  When Jesus was instructing his disciples in discipleship, it was about acting: taking up the cross, giving water to the least, hungering and thirsting for more than food.  Turning the other cheek and not seeking revenge.  Praying for our enemies, Loving our neighbor as our self.  Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

In other words, it is a way of being in the world which affects all our other choices.

It isn’t a choice of what to believe about Jesus, (Perhaps our written creeds give us the wrong impression) but a choice to follow Jesus to where he is leading—to a land of abundance where there is enough for all.  Our choices make all the difference.

God be with you,

Pastor Ron Kempe

It is apparent that there must be something about the soil that has enabled some to grow so well and others not so well, or even not to survive. They demonstrate how important it is for the roots to be in good soil and to receive the healthful necessities of life, including water.

One of my favorite parables is in Luke 13.  The steward of the vineyard is taking the owner around when they spy a fig tree which has not yet begun producing fruit.  The owner wants to cut it down.  The steward says, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.’  In other words, let me nurture it by building up the soil in which it is rooted.

We have been given the gift of life.  Of course for us there is more to life than how tall we grow.  While it is important to nurture the physical with proper diet and exercise, we also are social, intellectual, emotional and spiritual beings.  These, too, need to be nurtured.

As we look at our life at Peace, we strive through our ministry to nurture our whole being which reflect our mission, to Learn, Share, Care, and Tell.  The nurturing begins in the waters of baptism, and sustained in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.  These are God’s gifts to us that we may be rooted in the love of God.

But there is more in which we can be nurtured and opportunities for being nurtured. These include Learning in the classes as discussions of Unbinding Your Soul, Tearing through the Torah, Embracing Faith, Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity, plus Adult Forums, retreats and  Sunday School. (Thanks to Trish Siltala for developing the themes of S.S. Discipleship.)

Sharing in our service to others in teaching Sunday School, making quilts, providing music for worship, helping worship to happen, serving Lunch with a Friend, being mentors and models for our youth, supporting the mission and ministry here and in the world with our financial resources, maintaining our facilities.

Caring by welcoming others and providing hospitality, calling and visiting people, sending cards, learning other people’s names, using our resources wisely, providing resources to people in need, by listening to one another.

Telling not only in our actions of sharing and caring but also with our words as we tell of God’s love in our lives and invite others to be present with us.

All this is to nurture the life we have been given through the Tree of Life of which we are the branches and in which we abide.  So come, join in the life we have in Christ that you may continue to grow and bear good fruit.

Pastor Ron Kempe

I have been on watercraft of various sizes, from small row boats and kayaks to fishing boats to multi-mast sailboats to passenger/freighters and once on a ship transporting timber.   Most of the journeys across the water have been for short periods of time and without difficulty.  Sometimes the journeys were for enjoyment. Sometimes they were to get from one place to another.  Usually they were without incident.

But there were some which were memorable, in part because of their duration like 10 days on a sailboat on the Sulu Sea and 9 ½ days on the Pacific on the timber ship and in part because of what happened during the journeys.  Being in close quarters was an experience in itself, then there was the sharing of responsibilities in a limited space, the feeling of being so small in the midst of the seemingly endless ocean, the frightening effects of a storm, the joy of arrival in port.

Journeys are important in the biblical story whether it is the journey of Abraham and Sarah to the new land, or of the Israelites across the wilderness, or of Mary & Joseph to Nazareth, or of Jesus to the cross, or of Paul going to Rome.  And, the early Christian church used the ship as symbol of the Christian journey drawing in part from the story of Noah and of Jesus stilling the storm for the frightened disciples.  It was also that the mast could be made to look like a cross.  As Christianity grew and built buildings, the idea of ships were incorporated into the buildings. That is why the area where the pews are is called the nave – from the Latin word for navy.  I know of church buildings which have retained the idea of a ship in how the walls are constructed and of others in which model ships are hung from the ceiling.

Ships and water are images of the Christian journey.  Passing through the sea is symbol of baptism.  We can find in Christian hymns images of stormy seas, safe harbors, and anchors.

Beginning in September and in the following months, ships will be themes for our ministry and learning.  Not just the ship symbolizing our journey with Christ, but also a variety of ships in our life of discipleship:  Friendship, Stewardship,

As our journey continues as the people of Peace, I invite you to consider your friendships at Peace and I encourage you to invite your friends to share in the friendship we have with Jesus. And, to remember the hymn, What a friend we have in Jesus.

May God watch over all your friendships.

Pastor Ron Kempe

And I thought about how connected we all are.  Not just by the roads, but by the whole process of food production.  And I wondered how much was being grown on family farms and how much is on corporation farms.  All I can tell you is that it sure looked like a lot of corn—as well as grain and soybeans and potatoes-stretching into the distance.  Then I read in the paper how commodity prices are going to be higher affecting what we pay for food because of the heat and drought in other places of the country.

Life is connected.  It is connected not just by the roads on which we were driving, or the phone which I was carrying, but by the weather, by the decisions of others,  by choices we make, and events in the world.

One of those events was the tragedy in North Aurora, Colorado. As the pictures and names of the victims were shown, as people shared their experience in the theater, it made it very personal even though I didn’t know a single person involved

Some years ago I read a book titled “I and Thou” by an Austrian philosopher named Martin Bruber.  According to Bruber, human beings may adopt two attitudes toward the world: I-Thou or I-It.  The I-Thou is a relationship of mutuality and reciprocity, while I-It is a relationship of

separateness and detachment, treating the other as an object.  The shooter in Colorado, for whatever reason, treated the people in the theater as It rather than Thou.

Love, as a relation between I and Thou. Love is an I-Thou relation in which participants in the relationship share a unity of being, in which I and Thou share a sense of caring, respect, commitment, and responsibility.

God desires to have a I and Thou relationship with us.  Throughout scripture we see God reaching out to people to have a relationship which conveys a sense of caring, respect, commitment, and responsibility.  Jesus is the embodiment of this relationship and calls upon us to love God with all our being and “to love our neighbor as ourselves.”

We cannot love the other person if we treat that person as an object, as It.   We turn the other person into It when we use labels, accuse, blame and faith to listen.  We become separated  and do not live in the unity God intends.

This is true of God too, when we try to use God for our own ends.  God is not a knowable object.  Our relationship with each other grows out of our relationship, our unity with God.  Our actions towards other are then guided by God’s acceptance of us, and our unity with God.

The eternal life Jesus speaks about in John then is a realization of the unity we have with God and with one another.

Think of the labels we use to turn others into objects, into It .  How do we love our neighbor? Who is our neighbor?

Pastor Ron Kempe

I remembered seeing online a 1895 final 8^th grade exam from a school district in Kansas so I looked it up.  It was a 3 hour exam with some of it oral and some written, and “Penmanship of Applicants will be graded from the manuscripts.” There were  6 sections:  Grammar, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Orthography, Geography, Health with most having 8-10 questions.

Questions included:

¨ Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

¨ Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.

¨ Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

¨ Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent

¨ Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

¨ What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, syllabication?

¨ Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

¨ What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?

From the earliest days of what became the Lutheran Church, education has been an important value.  In a tour of Lutheran communities, Martin Luther was astounded by the lack of knowledge and understanding by the clergy and

people. He then wrote Luther’s Small Catechism for parents to used to instruct their children, and the Luther’s Large Catechism for the clergy to instruction the parents in the faith.  He also made sure that the scriptures were available in the language of the people and encouraged people to learn to read and write.

I am concerned when it seems our talk about the importance of education doesn’t match our actions and when we seem to dismiss the value of learning and knowledge. And, I am concerned when we as adults seem to think our education has ended.  How will our children value learning if we do not?  Our children will learn, but what will they learn?  It seems that we could be asked the question that is in Job 38: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

I heard some years ago the proverb, “The education of a child takes a generation, before the child is born.”

So where are we in our own learning?  What is it we are teaching our children and grand-children?

It isn’t just knowing things.  It is also the wisdom to use well the knowledge we have.  Psalm 110 says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.”

“The knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3.

Here is the beginning of our learning and our wisdom—in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  It is not something that happens by osmosis, but, as the disciples learned, by diligently following and listening to Jesus.

May you seek ways to grow in the treasurers of wisdom and knowledge.

Pastor Ron Kempe