EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Aug. 10, 2022.
This week's gospel: Luke 12:32-40
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Watchful Slaves
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he[a] would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
The message:
In tonight’s second reading we are told that: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
And also in the gospel reading we are encouraged in our faith with this: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Both are reassuring scriptures, aren’t they. … Both texts give us the hope that when the rubber meets the road, our faith will hold strong. … Until it doesn’t.
I know that as a pastor I’ve used scriptures such as these when consoling fearful and grieving believers. … Maybe you have too when supporting someone through a difficult time. … Good solid words.
Until life sucker punches you in the gut … and then the words can ring so hollow, can’t they? … Even as a pastor.
Yesterday, about this time, I had one of those moments when all I could do was fall back on my faith and pray for the best. But it sure wasn’t easy, and it helped me to remember compassion for all of those who seek a pastor’s consolation.
As Shelley and the girls and I were making our way back from our niece’s wedding in Crested Butte, Colo., yesterday … already 9 hours on the road … we pulled into a gas station at Julesberg, Colo., for a much needed bathroom break and some gas.
We pulled up to the pump; I put the car in park; and went to reach my wallet off the deck in the dashboard where I’d kept it all trip. … But it wasn’t there.
I checked the console, where we put it out of sight sometimes when we had made stops. … Again, no wallet.
Finally, I asked Shelley if she had put my wallet in the glove box, being she likes things pretty neat and orderly when she’s traveling. … And she looked at me with a blank stare.
Cue … the … panic! … We tore the car apart, and eventually -- as I’m sure you’ve already guessed -- there was no wallet. … It was gone.
Well, thankfully, we still had Shelley’s purse. So I used her debit card to put gas on while the girls went in the store. And over the next 10 minutes, as I continued to grow ever sicker to my stomach, I hazily pieced it all together.
Five hours earlier, we had stopped in Colorado Springs to put on gas. Shelley had run in to use the restroom, the girls were in the car, and I was pumping gas.
But at the island next to us, there was a low-level skirmish developing over two people wanting to use the pump at the same time. A little concerned that somehow our car, and our girls in it, would become embroiled in the dispute, I jumped in the car with them.
Now, in my haste, I had left my wallet lying on top of the roof of the car. … But when Shelley hopped in the passenger’s seat, I just wanted out of there. … And, yep, we eventually pulled out with the wallet still on the roof.
After my discovery five hours later, the next eight hours were a mess of trying to contact all of our banks and credit cards and my corporate office at The Forum, as everything I had was in that wallet. … License, insurance cards. … You name it. … It was all gone.
And you can about imagine how I was feeling. … I was embarrassed, and angry and felt like I could throw up.
Then things got worse.
I received word back from our accounting department that my corporate card had been charged $80 at a Colorado Springs gas station that afternoon.
Then I received a note from American Express that a $175 charge had been declined at another Colorado Springs business.
My mood continued to sour, and I felt even worse physically.
How could I have done that? … I never misplace things. I’m always so careful with my wallet, phone and keys. What was I thinking?
Well, I wasn’t. I’d made a mistake, and I was busy beating myself up, which seemed the only action available to me.
Trust me, in that moment, words from the likes of Hebrews and Luke about faith unseen and not fearing would have rung hollow had anyone said them to me.
I’m glad there wasn’t a pastor around offering up those platitudes at that point. I might have said something unkind.
But that is exactly the point of these scriptures, isn’t it?
Because if we aren’t leaning on these lessons in those “gut punch” moments of our lives, then when will we? … Scriptures like that are hardly necessary in our hilltop moments in life, are they?
Well, as the evening waned on, I was able to kick into action and get most things canceled, and I was even able through Facebook to find a friend of a friend who lived in Colorado Springs who was able to make a call to the gas station on my behalf.
The station said the wallet was never turned in, but it was very kind of this total stranger to try!
But, even though we came up empty, taking some proactive action, and the kindness of a total stranger, helped to assuage the awful feeling somewhat. … But, admittedly, by the time we stopped for the night, I was still feeling pretty low.
It was about that time that after some kind words from Shelley, I remembered the words, as a pastor, I would share with someone in the same exact situation.
And they would have absolutely contained scriptures about faith unseen and remembering to check the fear as a useless emotion in that moment.
After all, I had done all I could to mitigate the damage; my family was safe; and nearly everything in the wallet was fairly easily replaceable. … Now, it was time to rely on my faith, as I’ve preached to so many others.
And guess what, it was the first time I felt better in hours.
The anger drained away; the fear abated; and I managed to even sleep a little at the hotel last night.
But it was only after I turned the rest over to God that the situation improved.
This evening, the situation hasn’t improved a whole lot. … Still no wallet, nor any of the contents in it have turned up.
But I can tell you this. … None of my worst fears were realized. We’re not destitute because of the losses. … The corporate accounting office was very understanding. … And ultimately I’m left with only a little bit of shame for being so absent minded.
Now, I recognize that losing a wallet is not a life or death matter. … There are developments in life that are far more serious. But outside of health and life, losing your wallet is pretty close to the top of crappy events.
So when I say that falling back on my faith is the only thing that has made this past 24 hours better, I am serious. This isn’t some pastoral euphemism I’m trying to blow past you.
As we learn in Hebrews, faith is actually having trust in the outcome even when you can’t see God at work, and resting in his comfort is our only antidote to fear.
I can’t tell you what will come of the rest of this experience. I still find myself falling into moments of shame and also anger. But then I find myself in prayer again, and soon again the peace washes over me.
I pray the worst of it is behind us. I pray that I slowly rebuild what was in the wallet, and we move on.
But, more importantly, I am grateful for the reminder, that because of faith, whatever the outcome is, we will be OK. … For there is where our treasure is, as the writer of Luke’s gospel reminds us.
And that is the Good News for this Wednesday evening, Aug. 10, 2022. … Amen.
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