Pr. Meranda Pages are on sabbatical a few weeks.
They will return shortly.

Faithfully,
Michael Meranda

Archive of previous week's message:
Welcome to the Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2008

The Church measures time in octaves. And octave is a unit of time from a Sunday to a Sunday- eight days, hence the term “octave”. This final week in Advent is an exception. Instead of beginning on a Sunday, this last week of Advent began on December 17th. The final octave runs December 17th through Morning Prayer on December 24th. The Church addresses Jesus these final seven days with a different title each day. They are set to music in that wonderful hymn, “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel.” The Advent titles for Jesus are: Wisdom, Lord, Branch of Jesse, Key of David, Morning Star, King of Nations, and Emmanuel. Our calling out to Jesus to come deliver us has almost concluded. Soon we shall be worshiping newborn Jesus in the manger.

The Messiah senior choir did their usual wonderful job of leading us in worship today. We read lessons and they sang an anthem after each lesson. On this kind of a Sunday the choir is the work horse of the liturgy. After the offerings the children gathered and presented the story and songs of the season. I’m always grateful to them and to their leaders for doing so much so well in spite of busy family schedules.

This is the week where we welcome back folk who are coming home for the holidays. Households always breathe easier when the airplane lands on time or the drivers arrive without incident. This is also the week where we say farewell to those who are traveling elsewhere for Christmas. We miss them when they cannot be here and know our celebration would be all the more joyous with them. But we wish them safe travel and joyful arrivals.

Federal bail outs of Wall Street and Detroit bring to mind a not too distance memory of New York City. The Big Apple was floundering in the late 1970’s. Early in the 1980’s she came to Congress asking for a bail out. The argument in her favor was she was the cultural / financial Mecca of America – we cannot possibly let New York, our premier city, go bankrupt. President Reagan stood firm. There was no bail out for New York. New York had to rediscover herself and find ways to become soluble again. That was 1982. When I first visited New York in 1996 she had become an amazing city. Basic services worked efficiently. Real estate came at a premium. Available activities were more than ample for a lifetime. And the people there were the friendliest and most helpful I have ever encountered. New York made it work without a bail out. We Americans are much more resourceful, creative, inventive, and disciplined than Congress and the media give us credit for.

Sing and celebrate well these sacred days. This is the 4th Sunday of Advent. When next I write it will be the 4th Day of Christmas. In the meantime we will gather for communion and candlelight on December 24th and sing our way into the first hour of December 25th.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous message:
Welcome to the Third Sunday of Advent
December 14, 2008

Advent season brings its own unique gifts, another reason why it is good to not rush Christmas but just take in Advent while it is here. We lighted Advent Candle 3 in church today. Messiah has the old Roman Catholic three purple with one pink set of candles. Today is pink, a special splash of color to help us recall angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would bear Jesus, the Holy One of Israel. We sang her song as our sending hymn today, a metric version of her so called Magnificat, “My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord.”

The lectionary in this Year B did not bring us the Gabriel and Mary story. Instead we heard more of John the Baptist. He was part of a sincere though ineffective religious movement that sought to overthrow Roman dominance in the Promised Land through prayer and piety. As well motivated as they were they could not withstand the inexorable might of Roman legions. John’s movement all but expired when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and deported the local Jewish population. We in the United States face an enemy stronger than the Roman army. Our enemy is summarized in that one of seven deadly sins called Avarice. We want too much and so sacrifice too much to get what we want now. We want too much and borrow too much to get it. We want too much and attain it by putting it on a charge card. The ten trillion dollar federal government deficit is a macrocosm of what has been happening far too long in millions of American households. There are no Roman legions on the horizon to signal our undoing but the bill collector may devastate our culture in just a sure and certain way. If I as a clergyperson could put on John’s camelhair cloak and eat his diet of locusts and wild honey I would proclaim in the wilderness, “put away VISA . . . put away Master card . . . put away American Express . . . put away Discover card.” By all means, spend dollars on good and useful things. But save first and spend later.

A year ago this Sunday I produced my first installment of “Pastor Meranda Pages” for the Messiah website. I began the practice of weekly web page updates several years ago at a previous parish; the columns have received thousands of “hits.” People like staying in touch in this separated, fractured culture. These weekly updates facilitate just that, sharing the gospel that unites us in the midst of unfolding historical events, and sharing news and events in the local parish. One of the advantages of this virtual world is that we can keep track of what God is doing at Messiah no matter where we are, no matter what time of day.

These final days of Advent bring us to that vantage point where we can see that for which we have been steeped in hope. Next Sunday at 11:00 both choirs will lead our liturgy of Lessons and Carols readying us for the birth of Jesus. December 24th at 4:00 another cycle of lessons and carols with candlelight will tell those precious stories of shepherds, angels, wise men, and the Holy Family. December 24th at 10:30 p.m. we will carol our way through Christmas Eve on the verge of Christmas Day. December 24th at 11:00 p.m. we will gather for candlelight Holy Eucharist to celebrate the presence of the One born in that Bethlehem manger. By the time we leave the building it will be December 25th and the first full day of Christmas Season.

Sing and celebrate well these sacred days,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous week's message:
Welcome to the Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2008

Advent season brings its own special cast of characters. Today we heard about John the Baptizer crying in the wilderness. John was surprised at societal unraveling around him as we are surprised at societal unraveling around us. In his case it was so strange to see Roman troops garrisoned in the Promised Land, to see geographic points of interest renamed after Roman personalities (Sea of Galilee became Lake Tiberius), to see Roman statuary in Jewish soil (Thou shalt not make any graven images) and to see Jewish clergy collaborating with foreigners in Jerusalem. His response was to gather a community of faithful out in the wilderness and offer a ritual bathing to symbolically clean off the pagan impurity of Rome and to be reminded one is a pure son or daughter of Israel. The changes around us are equally as shocking. It is impossible to imagine life in America without the Big Three. But there is a real possibility that by January 1st GMC or Ford or Chrysler will no longer exist. War debts and the recent Wall Street bail out will make it difficult to fund industrial retooling or revamping infrastructure. We know from history that forming a reclusive survival community is not the answer. The answer is to trust human reason and to wisely temper individual greed in such a way that we can return to creating a more principled and responsible republic. Original Sin wants to get in the way; that is where the church comes in. Now more than ever national leaders need our prayers. Now more than ever citizens need to see the light of God revealed in Christ. Humans will never completely stop doing the bad things we do. But it is possible for us to do less of them. And it is possible for us to generate much more civic good than we have been doing in recent years.

Advent season brings its own weekly gifts. These four Sundays are here not only to generate Hope and engage in preparation for Christmas. The four Sundays bring themes and stories that impact life here and now. Last Sunday we sang that king of chorales “Wake Awake, for Night is Flying.” Lutheran pastor Philip Nicolae wrote this in a 16th century plagued by the plague, war, and internecine strife. In that bleak setting the hymn is a confident expression of the banquet hall to which Christ, triumphant on the cross, is calling all of creation. The hymn sings God has plans far beyond our expectation with “no eye has caught the light / no ear the thundering might / of such glory / there sweet delight will ever flow.” Today we sang “Savior of the Nations Come”, a hymn that goes back to St. Ambrose who, coincidentally, died December 7th in AD 397. His hymn, which Luther liked and expanded, traces the journey of Jesus as God taking flesh in Bethlehem and vanquishing death on the cross. Stanza four rings out with confidence that the “manger, shining bright, hallows night with newborn light that night cannot subdue.”

We march onward through Advent and this juncture in history. We pray for those seeking work and we are grateful for the jobs we have. We spend dollars meaningfully. We conserve resources frugally. We give of ourselves generously.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous week's message:
Welcome to the First Week in Advent
November 30, 2008

We made it. On this first Sunday in Advent we have just entered a new year on the Church calendar. We began today another cycle of entering more deeply into the mystery of the world’s redemption, the news that God rescues us by becoming one of us, dying ahead of us, and then defeating death through the resurrection. For some the year 2008 was the final time to take that journey through the Church year. They are now in the Church Triumphant. The rest of us still paying mortgages, raising children, dealing with health issues, enjoying retirement, et cetera are here together for another Advent / Christmas, Lent / Easter / Pentecost cycle of learning God’s ways until we see Him face to face.

There is a lot of talk about Judgment Day and the Last Things during Advent. Those texts are not here to make us feel bad and gloom and doom. Those texts are here to remind us we are graced with a destiny beyond this good life and there is a transcendent referent (Jesus) to keep things in perspective. Judgment Day is really every day. In any human moment there is opportunity to hear God calling us to separation and realignment. Judgment is separating from and designating for. To experience judgment from God is to know from what one has been called and to what one has been called. This is a gift God has for us all through life stages and episodes. We pray for an open mind and heart to hear and respond to that Living Voice.

In church today we did something I have never had to do in 28years of ministry; we prayed for successful commercialism during this shopping season. The intercessions read, “we pray for the merchants in Ashtabula, that they will find good profits this shopping season to sustain their lives and the quality of our life.” I wince at that because we’ve never linked materialism with quality of life and we have typically viewed Christmas carols in the malls as a great distraction from this holy season. But with trillion dollar bail outs, the collapse of the Big Three auto makers, and a sinking housing market, these are different times. The troubled economy is doing one good thing, it is at least helping us see how interdependent we are (and have been all along). When I buy a book for myself or flowers for my wife I do so much more gratefully these days, I am grateful those merchants are still there to sell books and flowers. Maybe when we come through this national turmoil we will all bump into each other on a busy Friday night in a thriving uptown Ashtabula as glad to be with each other as we are with our bags of goods.

This first Sunday of Advent is the day to sing that great Lutheran chorale, “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying.” This fast food music culture needs the classic musical heritage of the church. “Wake, Awake” is not just another little holiday diddy running through our minds like mall Muzak. When we hear it we hear its grand orchestration, rhythm, rests, and contrapuntal undercarriage. It is a hymn that depicts the grand finale to the end of this age and as such is a fitting artistic rendering of the human destiny won by Christ. It has been said that the hymns in the Advent section of the hymnal are the Church’s best. I’ve always agreed. “Wake, Awake” is one example.

So the journey into a new year has begun. We start with rich Advent blue, sing wonderful hymns such as “Wake, Awake”, view unique symbols such as the Jesse tree and Advent wreath, and meet interesting people like John the Baptist, Elizabeth, and Zechariah. Soon we will meet shepherds, angels, Joseph and Mary. Then we will meet Jesus. We soon will see the One worthy of all our Advent Hope.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous message:
Welcome to Lectionary Week 34
Festival of Christ the King
November 23, 2008

It’s over. Well, just before Sundown Saturday November 29th it’s over. The current church year is over. Christ the King Sunday, today, is the final Sunday in the current church year. Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of another year in the way the Church marks time.

We’ve had another year of grace, blessing, and gifts at Messiah. We began last Advent, starting a new year in well placed hope that God will bring about all the promises God makes. We matriculated from Advent hope into 12-days of Christmas joy, celebrating the mystery of the incarnation of God in Christ. In the season after the Epiphany we celebrated the ways in which the newborn Christ grew and manifested God’s healing ways to the world. During the 40 days of Lent we prepared to celebrate God’s victory on the most unlikely of places, the cross of Jesus. During the 50 days of Easter we celebrated the resurrected Christ alive among us. In the five months after Pentecost we noted the ways in which the Church grows in wisdom and service. Such is the church year, the one climaxing today on this Christ the King Sunday. What we have just finished we shall begin anew next Sunday. And this cycle of living Advent through Sundays after Pentecost will be our cycle of meeting God until God calls us home.

About 13-years ago Messiah began a great tradition of serving a Thanks-For-Giving dinner on this Sunday in the church year. Right after church, 163 of us assembled in the fellowship for thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. The crew that set up, cooked, carved, served, and cleaned up was quite efficient. It was so good to have the Eucharistic feast during church knowing that right after church we would continue with Thanksgiving feast. A banquet is the image the bible gives us for what heaven is going to be. We live in confidence now that there will be a place at the table and fullness for all then.

The fall cycle of instruction for junior high confirmation has ended. The students are on break now until January 4th. I admire them and their families for gathering each Sunday when schedules are so busy and activities draw energy in so many different directions. With the confirmation students on break we hope to teach a First Communion course in that same time slot after the 11:00 liturgy.

Recently I had welcomed the twice-per-week reduction in gasoline prices. As of this writing it has gone down to $1.75 where I live in the Harbor. I know now that declining gasoline prices means declining world economy. As a Christian I know that rampant consumerism is not a good thing. At the same time I know that if people would just get out and buy more stuff that we would all be in better straights. Maybe there is an opportunity here for all the world to learn some wisdom. As we buy, buy quality and things of value. And help our neighbor that we ourselves as neighbors will find help.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous message.
Welcome to Lectionary Week 32
November 9, 2008

I did not preach the lectionary texts today. That is sad because, as usual, the lectionary readings were so good and helpful. The Amos reading brought the voice of God excoriating the people for their economic injustice. The Holy Gospel brought that parable from Jesus about the ten bridesmaids, five of whom brought ample oil for their lamps and five of whom did not bring enough oil to fire their lamps. The message is be prepared. On the one hand, none of us can be totally and adequately prepared; this is why we live under God’s forgiveness. On the other hand, do be prepared for the in breaking of grace. The groom arrived and the wedding banquet did begin. We never know exactly when God will gracefully break into our lives with a new insight, a new perspective, a new relationship, or a new blessing. Be prepared, for life changing grace can happen any instant.

I did not preach those lectionary texts because I preached the scheduled stewardship sermon. I followed teaching from St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. He told them: set aside a regular amount, give joyfully because God loves a cheerful giver, and when they give do so confidently as God will make sure needs are met. Responsive, joyful, and confident giving are the hallmarks of good offerings. Christians all over the world have been doing this for centuries. It is good that we remind ourselves of that basic stewardship method that has been in use since A.D. 48 when Paul collected famine relief offering from the Corinthians to send back to Jerusalem.

Messiah Lutheran Church was a polling station for the first time ever on Election Day. Poll workers were here at 5:45 a.m. to set up. The polls opened at 7:00 and there was a constant opening of the door all through the day as voter after voter arrived. Exactly at 7:30 p.m. the election supervisors closed the polls and another day of democracy was done. It was a privilege to be in the building and see freedom in action. This was yet another way in which Messiah serves our community.

We turned another page in congregational history this week, literally, when we ordered new baptismal forms for the Parish Register. That is the large book with four prongs that hold unusually long pieces of paper that hold the parish records: marriages, burials, confirmations, new members, and baptisms. If you are a member at Messiah, you are in that book. We had filled up the available forms for baptisms and had to order ten new ones. That will hold us for the next 100 baptisms at Messiah. We have been following Jesus’ command to teach and baptize since 1921 in this neighborhood. We pray that we will fill up those next 100 spaces very quickly.

Late last summer it seemed as though it was taking forever to get the 7th grade confirmation class up and running. Today we just finished lesson number nine in our Old Testament study series, next week is week ten, and then the students are on break through Christmas. What seemed to take a long time to begin has zipped by so quickly. I was surprised at how quickly the nine weeks have sped, as surprised as those five bridesmaids without enough oil to trim their lamps.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda

Archive of previous week's message:
Welcome to Lectionary Week 31
November 2, 2008

The Festival of All Saints is always set on November 1st. In recent centuries churches have moved that festival to a near Sunday. So, Sunday November 2nd, we observed the Festival of All Saints. This was an opportunity to remind ourselves that a saint is a forgiven sinner so all of us there assembled are saints of God. Holy Baptism joins us to the death and resurrection of Christ who won our forgiveness. On All Saints Sunday we were privileged to baptize three toddlers into the Church, more saints of a younger variety.

All Saints celebration is also a time to remember those from the congregation who have died in Christ the previous year. Votive lights on our baptismal font reminded us of Charlotte Johnson, Walter Higgins, Aili Young, Viola Riley, Betty Meier, and Sue Calogero. Their votive lights, beneath the larger Paschal Light, proclaimed for us their place in the communion of saints and their destiny on the Last Day. We offered up their names in the Proper Preface where we weekly remember all the hosts of heaven.

On November 4th, Messiah is a polling place for the first time in our history. The stations have been delivered and the electronic ballot counting device has been locked away here. Thrifty Messiah members have thought to provide baked goods for sale. Voters can leave satisfied having casted their ballot and satisfied they get to take home a home baked treat.

In late summer it seems to take forever to get the fall schedule up and running. Once it starts it rolls on with a momentum all its own. Here we are having finished Reformation and All Saints and this next Sunday is time for the annual stewardship sermon. The Thanks-For-Giving Dinner on November 23rd is right after that. And then it will be Advent and the four week countdown before Christmas.

Faithfully,
Pr. Meranda