"Homes"

There is an old adage, adopted from the title of a 1940 Thomas Wolfe novel, that states, ‘You can never go home again.” Actually, the title is “You Can’t Go Home Again,” but it’s very close and you can probably catch the drift. The saying is meant to infer how nostalgia causes us to view the past in an overly positive light, and how people tend to remember places and people from their upbringing in static terms.

Last weekend Jami and I had the chance to return to Christ Lutheran, Norfolk, Nebraska, for their sesquicentennial celebration. I could easily have said their 150th anniversary, but how often do you get to use “sesquicentennial”? I was a vicar in Texas during their sesquicentennial, so I’m partial to the word, to boot.

In any event, it was a wonderful time to (1) see our family in Omaha on the way there, (2) reconnect with dear, dear friends from our 15 years in Norfolk, and (3) see how both Christ Lutheran and Norfolk, itself, were moving forward. Norfolk is on the cusp of the eastern third of Nebraska where two thirds of the population lives. Its downtown is thriving, the hospital is expanding, and the new construction is impressive. Christ Lutheran is undergoing some modifications and its Child Care and School are growing. Thanks be to God!

We did not see our old house and the trip was too brief to go into depth. So, we really didn’t go “home”. But then again, the truth is that Peoria IS our home, and we are most thankful to be blessed in this place! Still, it was good to see the “old stomping grounds,” to see such dear friends, and to know that God continues to work in all the corners of His vineyard in a variety of ways.

Back to Normal

I recently took part in a webinar wherein a corrective was given. Instead of saying “everything has changed” vis-à-vis the recent pandemic the presenter maintained that everything is always changing. What was so startling with the response to COVID-19, he said, was the rate of change. It was accelerated.

Well, now we are getting back to a more normal schedule. We once again have an associate pastor in Pastor Aaron Hickey! We will be removing the blue tape from the pews, as far as worship is concerned. We are also resuming more of our publications, since the transmission of the coronavirus does not appear to be through contact with exposed surfaces. We are also planning a single worship service weekend at the end of August, complete with a picnic on campus afterwards, so that we can enjoy the fellowship we have in this family in Christ.

Thank you for all the encouragement that you shared with the Redeemer staff over the past year and a half. Christ Jesus’ love was always a reassuring presence, and for that we are most grateful.

Good advice from a wise colleague

Here are some words shared by Dr. Dale Meyer in this morning’s Meyer Minutes.

The author of Psalm 30 gave thanks to God for his recovery from illness, as should we, now that we’re entering a new normal, but there’s more to the psalm than that. The writer traces both good times and bad to God, and his analysis is worthy of our reflection. “As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong” (Psalm 30:6-7a). When he had good times, he thanked God but being thankful to God didn’t lock in the good times. “You hid your face; I was dismayed” (7b).

Questions and debates about the source of Covid show that, at least in the public talk that comes to us through media, God is out of the question. This is true not only of the origin of the pandemic but of many other doings in our daily life. We get along without God, or so we imagine. The psalmist may have taken some ancient medicine or procedure to help get better, we don’t know, but he framed the experiences of his life, good and bad, in conversation with God. “To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy” (8). He prayed without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Meditating on the psalm invites questions. Why does God let bad things come? Why does He sometimes hide His face? Why do we sometimes feel the Law more than the Gospel? However God deals with us, there are some truths. Repentance should become deeper, as in Luke 13:1-5, although I honestly don’t find that alone comforting. More and more I see this psalm pointing me to Christ. We see our lives in Him. He was the Man of Sorrows, He did go all the way down into death, but “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness” (11-12). That will be the final word on your life because you are in Christ. He is ascended, intercedes for you, gives you His Spirit, and soon will come. Don’t count on the news to tell you that. Seek it out in His Word.