I’m sure this passage sounds familiar to the members of Crown of Life. When a person leaves our family here to move to another town we’re always sad. But instead of just saying goodbye, we have what we call a commissioning ceremony. We promise to pray for them and ask them to faithfully use the gifts that they shared with us with a new congregation. So I thought it would be fitting that we not just say goodbye to Jerry’s Kids/Faith in Action people but commission them to share what they did in our city with others. But what exactly was it that they shared? Was it gutting houses? Was it rebuilding houses? Was it helping others? Living in house trailers? Escaping the snow? To a casual observer that is what it might look like. But I can tell you that I have not been a casual observer here. Jerry’s Kids came and went sometimes several times. Some of Jerry’s Kids were here for months at a time. But I was here the whole time. So I feel qualified to share with you what I observed. Some of it was unexpected, some amazing, some almost miraculous. But WE SAW IT WITH OUR OWN EYES. 1. God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine through us. 2. There is such a thing as the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Our text begins with a doxology that I think we would all agree states the obvious. (V20) I doubt if any of us would disagree that God can do anything. As a matter of fact is says that God can do more than I can ask or imagine. I don’t know, I can ask for a lot. I’ve asked him for some things that would seem impossible. But God can do more than that. I can imagine even more. But according to St. Paul, God can even do more than I can imagine. If that’s not good enough, our God can do immeasurably more that we can ask or imagine. Imagine the most you think God can do and he can do immeasurably more than that. We are all happy to agree with that. But here’s the hook. (Read “according to his power that is at work within us.”) God’s power at work in us? Well the biggest thing we see is how God took a spiritually dead sinner like me and made me alive in Christ, born again, his child. But there is more and we saw it.

On August 29, 2005 we Crown of Lifers were thinking of one thing; the destruction of our church, our homes and the loss of our property. What we were not thinking about was our church body, our synod. At that time our synod was going through some tough financial times. We weren’t able to open new missions. It looked like we were going to have to close some schools. And even after efforts to get people to give better to the work of the synod, it seemed like there was no more money to be had. And then that dirty 7 letter word hit us. That same synod who couldn’t raise a nickel, gave over 2 million dollars for hurricane relief here in New Orleans. The money was coming in so fast that they had to hire more people just to count it. “Immeasurably more than we ask or think according to his power that is at work within us.” I used to be on the Board for World Missions so I had some meetings up at synod headquarters in Milwaukee. There I would run across those who were pinching pennies and closing schools and missions. They were wondering, “Why couldn’t they have given some of that money to us. We need it too.”

No one anticipated the response. Yes, God’s people respond to disaster, they always do. But nobody anticipated this response. It was more than we ask or imagine. Over 2 million dollars. 1200 volunteers. One week there were over 100 people here. We actually had to tell people no. How many man hours of labor. 75 houses gutted. Between 40-50 houses rebuilt. “Immeasurably more that we can ask or imagine according to his power at work within us.”

I know his promises ought to be enough. We actually saw this at work. God was moving his people and there was no stopping them. We who saw this with our own eyes will never be able to say, “We can’t do this.” And now for the commissioning part. You volunteers when you go back home and sit in your churches, look into the faces of the people sitting there with you and understand the potential that is there. “Immeasurably more that we can ask or imagine according to his power at work within them.” If there is something your church thinks it can’t do, tell them about us. Have them give me a call, because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

I saw something else. (Read 4:3) We talk about the unity of the Spirit all the time. And we say that it isn’t just the family here at Crown of Life who believe and confess the same thing. We say there is this unity between all the members of our synod, all these hundreds of churches and thousands of people scattered around the world, who believe and confess the same thing. The same Holy Spirit that is in me is in all of them, the unity of the Spirit. But come on, how close are we really? I can tell you that the members of Crown of Life had very little contact with the rest of the synod. We’d get the occasional visitor who wasn’t afraid to drive to our part of town. There was the WELS Connection video tapes and they helped but when they would announce that the CCFS is having its biennial meeting at MLC, I could see their eyes glossing over.

And then the hurricane hit us. And all at once there were all these people around us. People who talked funny, ate strange food. Some of them didn’t even want to suck the heads and pinch the tails, what’s with that? They came from odd places like Sleepy Eye and Oconomowoc, and they misspelled words like Natchitoches and Tchoupitoulas. But they were nice people. They prayed with us. They cried with us. They helped us come home. “The unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” We saw it with our own eyes. It was real. We were united with these people. And if we were united with these people then we were also united with all those other people.

And they learned it too. They came from all over the country and met people from around the country for the first time. Sometimes they met people who went to the church across town from them that they had never met before. Sometimes they got to know people in their own church that they had not known before. I saw you. Sitting in a circle in the parking lot laughing, telling stories, drinking a beer. I saw you. I saw you hug each other. Sometimes there would even be a tear or two when someone left. You found it too. “The unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

If you don’t believe me ask Virgil. I guess you can’t ask him because he is really alive now. Big tough Virgil. He stood right there, at that door and he said to me with a tear in his eye, “Pastor, this is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.” He wasn’t talking about pounding nails. What Virgil had discovered should have been expected. I mean you started each day together with the word of God. You worked all day long out of love for Christ Jesus your Savior. You ate your meals together. You got to know each other. You worshipped on Sunday together. And something totally predictable started to happen. “The Unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Hanging out with other WELS people could actually be fun. Who’d have thought that? Virgil did. “The best thing that happened in his life.” Within a couple months of saying that, the Lord called him home. Now he has a new “Best thing that happened in his life.”

I know that we here at Crown of Life will never think of our synod in the same way. But should it really take a disaster to make us see this? And you volunteers, I hope that you feel the same way. I hope that you along with the other 1000 volunteers who were here will become ambassadors of the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. I suspect that there are a lot of people in your church that still don’t know what the Spirit taught you here.

So I hope that this is not the end of this project but that what our Lord taught us in this project will live on and make a difference in your churches as it has in ours. On behalf of a grateful congregation we thank you and the church and the synod and the God who produced you. AMEN

There are some things that happen in our lives that change us forever. I think the things that happened to Mr. Armstrong about 2 years ago were some of them. After one of our members ran across him in a shelter he came to our church service in a house in Baton Rouge. I remember how he looked. Here was a man who always dressed right: suits and ties. But here he was with just the clothes he had evacuated in, like the rest of us. But you could tell he had been through much more. You watch your companion for over 60 years drown before your eyes and it will affect you. I don’t think George was ever quite the same. How could he be? There are some things that happen in our lives that change us forever. This is such an event today when we mourn the death of our father, our grandfather, our relative, our friend. But this event could actually change us for the better if we can learn something from George’s life and more importantly if we can learn something from George’s Lord. It was Christmas Eve the last time I talked with George so I thought this passage would be appropriate for today. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Jesus is born in Bethlehem and the Angel proclaims, “Peace on earth.” What kind of peace is he talking about? This peace and this good will comes to those on whom God’s favor rests. Did God’s favor rest upon Mr. George? There might be those who would say that George earned God’s favor. He was a hard worker and provided for his family well. He supported his children and gave them a good chance in life. He and Lydia were consistent winners of the best attendance award here at church, even after she lost her health. He was a good giver to the church. I remember when we were discussing our offerings, he stood up in church and said, “I’ll raise my offering by 100%.” He was a leader, the best kind, by example. He was, I believe, one of the charter members of the organization called “Eracism.” Even though I’m sure he suffered a lot because of racism, he wanted to some how help end that horrible thing. And I’m sure that many of you have similar stories. So I suppose if it were possible to earn favor with God, George would be a candidate. But we know that it is impossible to earn God’s favor.

Some one might point to things in his life that were evidence of God’s favor. He had good health of over 90 years. He was blessed with a faithful wife and family. He was successful and prosperous. He lived well. But that isn’t the favor that the angel was talking about either.

We can only make sense of the Angel’s words, and of this day, if we understand something very important. As good a man as George was, he was an awful sinner. In that way he was like everyone else here today. As prosperous and hard working as he was, if left on his own, his life would have only led to death and damnation. George needed help. George needed a Savior and he knew it.

And God sent a Savior just for him. Don’t believe me? Well, the Bible tells us that God knew George even before he was born. The Bible also tells us that God had a plan for George’s life even before he was born. Now it is probably true that George messed up God’s plan sometimes and missed out on the joy that God was planning for him, but God still had a plan. And God also knew that he was a sinner and needed those sins paid for. And in an act of amazing love, goodwill and favor, God sent his son and George was washed in His blood, forgiven.

God sent his son, just for George and just for you. This could be a life changing event for us too, if we realize today that God sent a Savior just for us. If we are determined to look for God’s plan for our lives and live each day asking what God has in mind for me today. If we determine to faithfully hear the word of the Lord like George did.

So on Christmas Eve when I talked to him last, he said to me several times, “I just want to die.” He knew he had a home waiting for him, bought and paid for by his Savior, Jesus. He was ready to go there. He said, “I just want to die.” But what he meant was, “I just want to live.” And someone was listening to that conversation, He always does. Last week He answered that prayer and took him home. “Glory to God in the Highest.” AMEN

I remember seeing pictures of the dedication of our Seminary in Wisconsin. I have never seen so many Lutherans in one place. It was almost scary. I think the caption said that there might have been 10,000 people there, the largest gathering of Wisconsin synod people in history. Well, we won’t come close to that record, but I’ll bet we break a record of a different type. I’ll bet we have more people from all over the country, who have traveled the farthest to be here than any dedication in history. So that really begs the question, “Why?” Why did all you people come. We members….well it makes sense that we are here, but why are all you other people here. It is not the biggest church ever built, not even close. It is not the most elaborate or expensive ever built. Yet people came for thousands of miles to be here to dedicate it. I’d like to explore the question, “Why are we here?” “Why are you really here?”

It might be because there have been so many people involved the this whole process of rebuilding. They say that what we have been through here is the largest natural disaster in the history of our country. More people lost more and their lives were affected more than any other disaster. I think it is also true that the people of our synod gave more money for the relief of this disaster than for any other thing in our history, the largest collection. Maybe the answer to why we are here today can be found in that.

I read in Time magazine awhile ago that there is a new kind of vacations that American’s are taking, adventure vacations. People are tired of the same old Disney, cabin on the lake vacations. They want to do something useful or something adventuresome. Maybe that is why hundreds of people came down here to help us rebuild. You know they even had a tour bus that would take tourists around to show them the disaster. Maybe that is why so many came.

But then how would you explain all the gifts given? It might be because that is what Americans do. We have a reputation for helping people out in disaster, coming to the rescue. I remember when the tsunami hit a few years ago, there was a time when some other country gave more money than we did. It made the news. Everyone was surprised, “Someone gave more money than Americans.” My neighbor in Mississippi said, “I just so proud of our country.” “All these people came from all over to help us out.” “America is such a great country.” People saw thousands of people who lost everything. They looked around and saw all the things that they still had and decided to help. That would be a possible explanation.

It could be the desire to be a super hero. Who wouldn’t like to be Superman or Spiderman….rescuing people, defending the defenseless? Well, there was an opportunity to come and help a church and its members who had really been knocked down. It didn’t take much to see that the money given and the labor spent was needed. You don’t get many chances to be heroes in life. There were a lot of heroes in this. I’m not sure that was the reason they came.

That could explain why so many people came here to help us rebuild, but why, members of Crown of Life, did we decide to rebuild? Why go through it all. There have been a lot of churches that decided that it was over and it would just make a lot more sense to start over someplace else, or just go to a different church. But the majority of you decided that we should set our sights on rebuilding. Is our church all that unique? It is a little unique. There aren’t many churches around here that are as racially mixed as we are. Around our synod we haven’t done real well at doing that either. I remember hearing about one of our visitors who said after the service, “That was nice, but that isn’t a WELS church is it?” I don’t know if that is good or bad but some might say it is unique. Is that why we are here?

Well I don’t think that is why we are here and I don’t think that is why all these other people are here and why all these people grabbed hold of this project. I believe it is because we know better than most what a disaster is. Friends we have been a part of the greatest disaster of all time. We have had starring roles in the greatest tragedy of all. Our world was hit by something far more destructive than a hurricane or flood. It was hit by sin and the whole thing was going down. No one brought this upon us. We sinful human beings defied our maker and brought it on ourselves. Everything that was beautiful, bright, gentle, lovely was really gone. All that was left was that scraping and clawing and dying.

Every now and then we get a hint of how bad it is. A young man in the French quarter, who everyone said was a nice, normal guy, cuts his girl friend in pieces and jumps off a building. His note said something like, “Nobody knew how evil I am.” We do. I’m not saying we would do that, but that thing is in us. And sometimes it really surprises us. “Did I just think that?” “Did I just say that?” “Did I just do that?” This is the person who is now going to meet my maker and judge? We know a disaster because the disaster is me. And then out of nowhere, for no known reason our God swooped down and picked us up in his hands and said, “It’s going to be alright.” I’d like to explain that to you but I think the choir can do a better job.” (Choir sings “Now behold the Lamb”)

“For God so loved the World that he gave is one and only Son.” That is why we are here. That is why all those crazy people came down here. That is why all that money was given. That is why we had to rebuild. We have been transformed by love and now there is nothing left for us to do but love Him back. I know that we sometimes make fun of our synod for being a little stodgy and less than cutting edge, but for many generations now, people have been sitting in their stodgy churches hearing that message of this incredible God who through his Son rescued us from the disaster that was us. How do you thank such a God?

You see a church of your fellow believers slapped down by a different disaster and swoop down, with your money and your labor and say, “It will be alright.” You see the church that has proclaimed that love of God and you won’t give it up. This is the God who has died for us, whose love inspires ours. To this God, on this day, we dedicate this building. AMEN

“Be strong in the Lord.” Over the past year, I’ve been sending out E-mails that I call, “Crown of Life Diaspora.” They were intended for the members of our Family here at Crown of Life but now are read by hundreds maybe even thousands of people around the world, of various religious denominations. But my intent was and still is that these letters would be one way to keep us together. We were and still are scattered all around. When I started writing them I wanted to let you know what was happening with our Family here and try to encourage you on the way. I knew that the members of our church were going through some hard times: some having lost their earthly possessions and others helping out those who had. I knew what you were going through because I was going through it myself. So as I searched for comfort in the Word of God, I thought it would be important to share it with you. At some point early on I began signing off with the phrase, “Be strong in the Lord.” To my way of thinking, that is what we needed, strength and the only place we could get it was from the Lord. I never really thought about where those words came from until I read the Epistle lesson for today. St. Paul was the first person to use those words and it sounds like what he was trying to do with his letter is what I am trying to do with mine. Today then we can listen to St. Paul say to us, BE STRONG IN THE LORD. 1. Stand firm against all the forces of evil. 2. Stand in your armor.

Seated around the table are the world’s worse criminal minds: the leaders of the various gangs, organized crime, terrorist organizations. They have one person on their agenda. They want to take this person out and they are prepared to do whatever it takes to make it happen. That person is you. If you knew that wouldn’t that make you a little nervous? You’d certainly start being pretty careful wouldn’t you. Now listen to these words. (verse 12) Sounds kind of scary doesn’t it. And these earthly bad guys are small time amateur crooks compared to the ones who are scheming against us. Satan and all who work in league with him are busy scheming together to knock you over. So we shouldn’t be surprised at some really creative attacks. Let me give you just one example that I see. Today we have Muslims killing other Muslims to make Christians look bad. Who would ever come up with that? But it is working isn’t it. This is a formidable, spiritual enemy who has nothing better to do than to knock you over.

But it is important that we understand what these enemies are trying to do. As we have seen the attacks are not what they seem to be. Satan is not trying to kill you. That would be a huge mistake. You would just end up going to heaven. He made that mistake before. He thought that if he plotted to kill Jesus, that he would win. It turns out, Jesus’ death and resurrection meant the defeat of Satan. He isn’t trying to kill you. He may not even be trying to make your life miserable. What he is doing is trying to get you fall from faith, to get you to stop trusting God. And most importantly to stop trusting Jesus as your savior. He can use poverty or riches, war or peace. He can use any one of a thousand temptations, especially designed for you and your weakness. And let’s face it, we have them. I don’t have to make a list here, I think you know what they are. Your enemies might not, but they are busy searching. Sounds dangerous.

Still St. Paul says, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” “Stand firm.” (Verse 10-13) Notice how many times he says, “Stand?” You can do this. You can’t do it alone, but you can do this. And you can do it without fear. But notice that he says “after you have done all, stand.” I guess there are two ways of protecting yourself from an attack. If you go to the cities of Europe you will see that most cities at one time had a wall. This was a great defense. When the enemy came, everyone would run inside the wall and hope the enemy could break through or get over. We could decide to do that too. Christians have decided to do that too. That is why there are monasteries and communes and people like the Amish. They all know the world is evil out there with lots of enemies. If we can build a wall around ourselves, then we will be safer. But the Lord never suggest that as a defense. Satan might not like the devout people inside that wall but at least they are not bringing anyone else to Jesus. St. Paul describes someone who is engaged in life, doing what the Lord has told us to do, be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, his witnesses. And in spite of that, still standing when it is all over. There is only one way we can do that without fear. (verse 13)

Early armor was leather but then evolved into medal. By the middle ages it became that full body medal that the knights wore. But we are not defending ourselves against real arrows and real swords. We are defending ourselves against spiritual arrows and spiritual enemies. So our defense is going to be different. The first one? Truth (Verse 14)

Satan is the father of lies. One of his great weapons is the lie. To Eve, “That fruit won’t hurt you.” “That will make you wise like God.” To us, “You’re not such bad guy.” “Did God really mean you should live that way?” “Common, no one lives like that anymore.” “God doesn’t love you.” “God doesn’t care what you do.” Lies, lies, all lies. How do you neutralize a lie? The truth. The truth of God’s word, our greatest defense against the devil’s lies.

The breastplate of righteousness. Our greatest defense is who we are. We are people who stand for what is right, who show the world what is right. Of course the righteousness we have is the righteousness we’ve been given by Jesus. We stand in his righteousness. And because we stand in his perfect righteousness, nothing can get through.

(verse 15) That’s why we are not going to hide behind a wall. We have our running shoes on. We are an army constantly on the move. And what are we carrying to the world? Peace. Not just peace between people, but peace with God. We have the message that will give people the one thing that they long for and can’t find, peace with God through Jesus Christ. We don’t wage war, we wage peace.

Next we take up the shield of faith. Of course faith by itself doesn’t mean much. What matters is who or what your faith is in. Ours rests in the promises of God. Let me give you one of those promises that fit what we are talking about. Romans 8:38-39 If these forces of evil will not be able to accomplish what they are trying to do because God says so, that is a good shield to place our faith in.

The helmet of Salvation. I know it is kind of an odd defense, but it is true, we are saved. We are going to heaven. St. Paul said, “I won’t be afraid of what men can do to me.” Things might not always turn out the way we think they should but we are wearing the helmet of Salvation. We are going to heaven no matter what happens.

And then our one offensive weapon. The Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. We are going to do some damage here. We are going to cut into some folks. We are going to divide right from wrong. We are going to cut people’s hearts and consciences. We are going divide family members and maybe make an enemy. And we are going to do it with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. But when we slay someone with the Sword of the Spirit, they don’t die, they become alive.

That is still my prayer for you, Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. The Lord has called us to stand for him. It isn’t always easy considering who are enemies are. But when all is said and done, with his power and with his armor we will stand. AMEN

Herb Mehne, the leader of the Builders for Christ, used to stand up here on Sunday and report how many volunteer hours had been spend working on our rebuilding project. Thousands of hours were spent rebuilding the parsonage and fellowship hall. And I suppose thousands of additional hours have been spent rebuilding the building we are sitting in today. Thousands of hours, thousands of donated dollars have gone into this project, to get our church back up and running. Now we have spent some time and we have spent some money but the vast majority was given by other people. By the end of October we will be ready to call the rebuilding process complete. But the rebuilding of our church will just have begun. The most important part of that work, and the most critical still lay ahead. It is work that we have to do. It is work that no one can do for us. So before we rededicate these building on October 29th, I thought it would be important for us to rededicate ourselves to the project that we set out on nearly a year ago. Friends, a lot of people have helped, God has helped us, but NOW IT IS OUR TURN. 1. To provide this place with true worship. 2. To be a growing church.

This Psalm that we have before us today, sounds like a song that was written for pilgrimage. Once or twice a year the people of Israel would make a journey to the temple. Walking was the only way to get there and sometimes it would take several days depending on how far away you lived. On the big festivals like Passover huge crowds of people would be heading for the Temple. I can imagine them walking and joining with others on the way and breaking into song. This sounds like one of the songs they would sing along the way. (Verses 1-2) You can hear a personal longing to worship the Lord in his house. There is a longing inside. I’m not complete unless I worship the Lord in his house. It is even beyond that. “My soul faints for the courts of the Lord.” If I can’t worship my God, I’ll die. It almost sounds desperate. “My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God.”

That is the kind of desperation that we need. In some way, it was that desperation that led us to this place. I remember clearly that meeting at Halls house last September. In that meeting we did what probably looked to many like a stupid thing. The water was still standing 3 feet deep in this building. The levees were all still down. There was talk about bulldozing this whole area. Toxic mold, poisons, gasses, waste, no one will ever be able to live there again. You remember. That is when we decided that with God’s help we would rebuild. That decision was born out of desperation. We would not lose our church. We could not lose our church.

There were easier and “smarter” choices. We were not the only Lutheran church in the area. We weren’t even the only WELS Lutheran church in the area. We could have done what many church did, they relocated to where their people had evacuated to. We could have waited to see how many people came back and what was going to happen in our neighborhood and then decide. That is where many churches still are. I guess we are more desperate than they. We wanted our church back. “My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord.”

But it is important that we keep that same desperation….even after we get all the building prettied up. Its not the church. It is not the steeple. Its the people. It is important that we rebuild a church not just so that our souls can find peace but also where other souls can find their rest. I like the way this Psalm says it. (V 3-4) How can we be a place for souls to rest? We can start by making our theme song that Oh-so-Lutheran song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” We desperately need to rebuild a church that teaches what the Bible says. Souls cannot find their rest on the teachings and philosophies of man. Souls will never find their rest in human good deeds and thoughts, but only on the words and promises of God. If we are going to rebuild this church we will need to be standing solidly on the word of our God.

And we will rebuild it right if no one leaves this place without knowing that they can rest their souls on Jesus. You know we are here not because we are so smart, or clever or powerful. We are sinful people in desperate need for forgiveness. We are not here because we sing so good together or look so good together. We are here because we all sing with tears, “I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” We desperately need a church where our souls can rest in the love and forgiveness of our Savior Jesus. For us and for all who enter here.

But other people can’t do it for us. They can with their time, money and skill give us a place to meet. They can encourage us with their deeds of love. They can help us through art and symbols lift up our eyes to see to see the beauty of our God. We are the only ones who can build this kind of church. And we will only do it with the help and presence of God. We are the desperate ones –desperate for forgiveness and rest. With God’s help lets build a church for desperate people.

And lets build a growing church. (Verses 5-7) You get the picture of the people walking to the temple and brightening every place were they go. The desert valley of Baca springs forth when God’s people enter it. They walk toward their destination getting stronger each step along the way.

Normally when you talk about a growing church, you think of a church growing in numbers. That is the kind of church we want to rebuild here. But something has to happen first. We have to be growing people. We have to be growing in our faith and knowledge of Jesus. We have to be people who when we walk into the valley of Baca we make it a place of springs. People who bring life to the dying, light in the darkness, hope in despair. People who make a difference wherever we go. Salt of the earth, Jesus called us. That means that the most that we do for the church we don’t do in the church.

No one can do this for us. No one can live our lives for us. No one can walk our pilgrimage for us. No one can be salt and light for us. With God’s help, that is what we do. As we go from strength to strength, as we grow and faith and show our faith our church grows in faith and hopefully in numbers.

In so many ways this reentering the church is a far more emotional and joyful day than the first time we entered this building 15 years ago. I suppose that is understandable. There have been a lot more people involved this time. A lot more praying, a lot more work. The work has been more difficult, more challenging, more desperate. And the hand of God has been more obvious. In many ways, what has happened in the last year and what will happen in the next year will define our church for better or for worse. A lot of people have taken a turn at our building and rebuilding and now it is our turn. AMEN

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light - sat in darkness. Barbara Walters has been interviewing movie stars and Al Quida prisoners trying to discover what heaven is like. I couldn’t bring myself to watching it. So I switched channels and there was Dr. Phil talking about children who choke themselves for fun and excitement. The only other channel we get had a rerun of “Girlfriends” on. Do you think any of those girls know what sex is supposed to be? We met with the Committee on Relief at a restaurant in Metairie. Our waitress was from down in the parish. She explained with excitement to us all how house had been destroyed by the hurricane but the statue of the “Holy Mother” in her yard was untouched. I wanted to ask her what this meant to her. But it was clear. She saw it as a sign from God that he exists. King Herod heard that a king was born in Bethlehem so he had all the little baby boys killed in the area. The people sat in darkness? That’s our world. There are signs of it all over. But this is Christmas and we decorate our homes and our trees with lights and we turn them on because they look so nice in the darkness. It is all because we know that the light of the world came into this dark world. His name is Jesus. “THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND LIVED FOR AWHILE AMONG US.” Today as we celebrate Christmas we want to focus on that Light, that Word, who came into this dark world.

When St. Luke tells the story of the birth of Jesus it is just the facts. But the beauty and simplicity of those facts have made it the preferred account. “And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed... etc. John writes later. He knows you have the facts, he wants to tell us what the birth of Jesus means to us. It sounds almost like a philosophy. (Read verse 1) Odd! When you look at the Baby in the manger I don’t think you think of calling him the Word. What is the point here?

I think it is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. There is a picture of God reaching down from heaven touching the finger of Adam. What is the point of that? Touching fingers? I think there is more, right? The Bible tells us that God and Adam and Eve would walk together in the evening. Does that mean that God and Adam and Eve needed exercise? It’s about communication. Without communication there can’t be a relationship. Let me try to explain it this way. You all know people who have fallen into a coma. The family members all go there and talk to them, and they hang on any kind of response at all. Just to know that they are getting through. Now think about trying to develop a relationship with someone like that, you couldn’t do it. Since the fall into sin that has been the problem. Sin has broken the communication lines. We don’t talk God’s language anymore. We don’t understand our world or ourselves because we don’t understand our creator. So we are left in the dark to try to figure all this out ourselves. What is life all about? Is it money? Is it success? Is it power, sex, fun? What is it about? Is it about obeying God? It is about giving and sharing? Who knows? And I’m sorry but who is to say that choking myself for fun is any worse than your cheating to get ahead?

The Word became flesh and dwelt for awhile among us. Ever since sin broke down the communications with God, God as been trying to rebuild them. Through out the Old Testament God is calling out to his people. But they couldn’t hear anymore. So the Lord gave them the Holy Spirit who gave them ears to hear, the ears of faith. They heard his word of promise, “I’m sending a Savior.” And then in a manger in the town of Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary, he came. He is Emmanuel, God with us. As John says in verse 18 it is Jesus who better than anything tells us about God. (read) Through Jesus, God is communicating with us again.

So when you look into the manger, what is the message there? What is God saying to you? Is Christmas about miracles, like the one of 34th street, or the drummer boy or cows that talk? A scarlet ribbon for her hair? It is about a miracle, but not those. God becoming human to save humans, true God and yet true man. Isaiah said, “His name will be called wonderful councilor... The word for wonderful is Miracle. Christmas is about a miracle.

Is Christmas about giving. That is what you hear. Giving gifts to one another. You hear the stories of course about the child who lost everything in a fire or hurricane and some nice people give them toys. And the announcer just has to say, “That is what Christmas is all about, giving.” Well Christmas is all about giving but not that kind. “For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten son.” He gave us a gift that has inspired all our gift giving. Why can’t the announcer say, “that reminds me of the gift that God gave me on this day. ”

Yes and it is about peace and beauty. Not the peace of the cattle lowing and the snow falling. Not the beauty of an innocent young lady holding her new born. But the peace of forgiveness and the beauty of love, love of God. That is the message that we hear from the manger. The messenger is Jesus, the Word became flesh and lived for awhile among us.

Now we know our God. We understand what He is saying to us. We know how we fit in. We understand what life is about. We aren’t walking around in the darkness anymore. And that is why Christmas is important to us, maybe this year more than ever.

For most of us, this Christmas will be different from all the others. For many of our members it is like the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” Others wonder if they have a home at all. But we all have been affected in one way or another. But maybe this year there will be fewer distractions, a greater focus on how important that baby in the manger really is to us. Maybe this year more than any other year we will look into the manger and see our God reaching out to us and touching us with his message of love. Maybe when we see the Christmas star we will see the light that has lighted our darkest days and given us hope in the face of destruction. Merry Christmas! AMEN

It’s an empty thing. It just hurts and it won’t stop. It seems like something that you just can’t fix. And we can’t fix it. Our mother, our sister, our friend has passed away and we won’t hear her, “I’m OK” any more. These are days that we know will come but days we hope never come. We run out of words, we run out of tears, our emotions are drained. There is nothing left but empty silence. That is the silence the disciples found themselves in as they mourned the death of their friend, Jesus. But in he walked, into their silence and said, “Fear not it is I, Be not afraid.” Into their emptiness and pain he walked and he said, “Because I live you will live also.” And today we count on Jesus to do the same for us…. To walk into our silence suffering a pain and comfort us in our hour of need. And he will.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. In the middle of a psalm in which the psalmist cries out for help to the Lord, we find these amazing words, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” I guess we wouldn’t be surprised if it said, “Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the life of his saints.” We know that life is precious to the Lord and to us. It is his gift to us and each day of our lives, we count on the Lord blessing us. And certainly Joy’s life was precious to us.

I remember sitting at Joy’s kitchen table trying to study the Bible with her. I say trying because she had this pot of greens working on the stove and its hard to concentrate with food like that cooking on the stove. I got her to give me her recipe. I remember her coming early to Sunday School. She’d sit outside on the bench and she’d be braiding one of those grandbaby’s hair. Sunday Morning, so many little girls, so much hair. I remember her comments in Sunday School. Sometimes she would ask questions because she honestly wanted to know God’s word better. Sometimes she would inspire the whole class with a confession of faith and trust in God. You know Joy never had anything when it came to worldly wealth and her life wasn’t always easy but she was always quick to say how thankful she was to the Lord for all that she had. I remember going into the her daycare with all those little ones running around, and there she would be hold one baby sometimes two. The Lord gave her a love for children and a lap designed to hold two. And you know, that daycare might not have been the fanciest in town but people wanted to bring their children there, because they knew they would be loved. Joy was my friend and her life was precious to me. I know you all have stories like that. I know her life was precious to you.

But the psalm says that her death is precious to God. Something is precious if it cost a lot. Today cost a lot. Oh, I’m not talking about the funeral here, it cost our Lord a lot more. You see, as uncommonly gentle as Joy was, she had something very much in common with us, she was a sinner and she knew it. Her words, her deeds and her thoughts were not the perfect thoughts words and deeds that God demanded. If Joy would be judged by God according to her deeds, this day would be an awful day. The day of her death would be the beginning of eternal condemnation and we would be mourning indeed. But that is not were we are today. Jesus is here and he says, “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus died to wash away Joys sins and yours and mine. It cost him plenty, it cost him his life, death on the cross. Joy knew that. Joy believed that. And we know that because of what Jesus did, Joy lives today. Joy is alive with Jesus today. Joy is more alive today than at any time in her life. Oh, it is so good to know that. “Oh death where is thy sting?” It cost Jesus a lot to give us this precious day.

It is also precious to the Lord because it marks the day that Joy’s salvation is complete. It is kind of like raising children. We raise them, teach them, help them and one day we are able to let them off on their own, our work is complete. Well, God spent about 56 years working on Joy’s life. He brought her into his kingdom in baptism, he worked through his word and the Spirit to strengthen her faith. He was with her through some tough times. And there were probably times when it seemed like he was going to lose to the Devil. But he held her tight, taught her, loved her, held her on his lap more than once and last week he brought her home. We cried, but the angels sang. All we who have been displaced by this hurricane have been longing to go home. Well, Joy was the first one to make it. She really made it home.

So this day is also precious to us, because we are thankful for the blessings of Salvation which are Joy’s. It would be more precious if we would use this day to get ready to die like Joy died. Make no mistake, the day is coming when you won’t be out there, you will be up here. The best tribute you could ever make to Joy would be to say, “I remember Joy Feast’s funeral. That was the day I decided that I would get serious about knowing and believing in Jesus.” That was the day I found Joy.

So my friends, we will see her again. The day will come when we enter into glory and she will be there. And I don’t know if there are babies in heaven but if there are she’ll be holding one, maybe two. AMEN

We had just escaped the hurricane, evacuating to a friends place in Memphis. We watched like you did, in horror as the word came out that the levies had broken and our homes were flooded. We began the process of trying to contact all the members of Crown of Life. But the phones weren't working. We weren't finding you. Gradually the word got out to my relatives and friends, where we were. Three days after the storm the editor of the Forward Magazine called me and asked me if I would write an article on how I thought Crown of Life would be celebrating Thanksgiving. He knew that we had been through a hurricane and I'm sure he was thinking that it would be like every other hurricane, a lot of destruction and personal loss, but I'm sure he never thought that neighborhood would still be basically empty by Thanksgiving. Of course, I didn't envision it either. But I did think of some of the phone calls I had received and thought about how each of those persons would be celebrating thanksgiving and so I wrote the article that I did. But how are we celebrating thanksgiving? I think some of us are thankful that our homes weren't destroyed. Some of us are thankful that few lives were lost. Some of us are thankful to have a roof over our heads, food on the table, a job, friends to help us rebuild, a place to gather around the word of God. And some of us are thankful for each other. Will our Thanksgiving be better this year? Will be able to thank God better this year than in the past? Will any of us reduce the event to Turkey Day? Today, I'd like to refer back to one of the first letters I wrote to the scattered member of Crown of Life after the storm. I used this passage from Habakkuk. Today on this Thanksgiving that we will all remember I'd like to join Habakkuk in a "THANKSGIVING WHEN THE OLIVE CROP FAILS." 1. We can thank him with nothing, maybe better. 2. We are more appreciative of the little things.

Habakkuk didn't have much good around him. He was a prophet of the Lord, but he looked at the people of Judah and saw that they had drifted far from the Lord. They not only stopped worshipping the Lord, but they were out there worshipping other gods. All the calls to repentance by the prophets had made no difference, the people were living the way they felt like it. Add to that the looming danger of the Babylonians. They were busy defeating one nation after another, no one could stand up to their power, not even the Egyptians. The Little country of Judah had little change of winning a battle against them. When Habakkuk looked at the conditions of his country he had little good to report. (read verse 17) This is poetry. I don't think Habakkuk is talking about a literal famine, he is talking about a spiritual famine. But in spite of it all Habakkuk says, "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in God my Savior." In the end Habakkuk knew that he had a Savior. He knew that God would send the Messiah who would make him right with God. He had peace with God and eternal life waiting for him. And he had a God who was offering that same gift freely to all. He had learned one of the secrets of true thanksgiving, looking through the obvious to that is really important.

I remember walking into our house for the first time when we were allowed to come back. I was afraid of what I'd see and it turned out to be worse than I expected. Of course all the furniture was ruined, the computer, the TV and all the things of your life. As I picked around in the mud and mold I'd come across one of those special things. You know? One of those things that you had saved because it had some good memories or it felt good in your hand or you just like to look at it. The Old 22 rifle my grandfather and hunted with and I had carried and a child through the woods where I grew up. When I held that gun, it always took me back to those younger days. Now here it was, all rusty and moldy. And there were a lot of things like that. I think I know what Habakkuk is talking about when he talks about no sheep in the pen and no grapes on the vine.

And then there was our church. It wasn't the most beautiful church in the world. It wasn't laid out the best. There were always things that needed fixing. But it was a comfortable place where we sat around the Word of God with people we loved. We lifted up our voices there to praise our God. We brought our babies there to enter into God's kingdom. We held spiritual hands and prayed for each other and we mourned together when God took one of us home. And now it was a pile of wet, junk. Some said, that it couldn't be repaired. When the District President found out that we didn?t have a church and our members couldn't live there and were scattered all over the country and I didn't have a place to live, he asked me if I would like serve a different church. "Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food?."

But Habakkuk steps up to the plate. "Yet will I rejoice in Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." To me it is one of the most powerful statements of faith in the face of hard times that you will find in the Bible. It is not uncommon. John Newton was the captain of a slave ship. It was already against the law in Britain but you could make a pile of money. So he spent is life getting rich off of the suffering of others. One day in a storm he cried out to God became a Christian. But how could God forgive him for the harm he had caused? But he did. And he wrote, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound" A pastor came home to find his house on fire his wife and babies dead inside. Thomas Dorsey sat in his grief and wrote, "Precious Lord, Take my hand, lead me on, help me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home." Sometimes in the face of life's greatest challenges, our faith rises to new heights. It is from that new perspective that we find Thanksgiving. That is where Habakkuk found it.

Is it possible that we can be more thankful with fewer things? Even when we have lost all our things? It is possible that without things it is easier to see that our thanksgiving does not depend on them but on the love, forgiveness and daily care of our God? Is it possible that as we have fewer things to rely on for our happiness we rely more on the greater blessings of peace and forgiveness for our happiness?

And is it possible that times like these help us to be thankful for things we don?t think of often enough. I made a list of the things I was thankful for as I went along these last months. For escaping the hurricane with my family. Knowing where my family was. Having a place to land and the end of our flight. Enough gas to make it there. That none of the cars broke down on the way. Finding first one member and then another. A place to stay closer by. A place to worship in. Worship. The hugs. A computer that worked. Cell phones that worked. Electricity, air conditioning. The promise of help from our Synod. The strength to carry on. A gift in the mail. A house trailer. My own place and furniture for it. And the hope that our whole family will be together again.

Thanksgiving when the olive crop fails is different. It might help us to see we have more to be thankful for than the olive crop. It might help us to be more thankful for a good olive crop. That's thanksgiving Habakkuk style. That's thanksgiving Katrina style. AMEN