Working Together So That All Experience Gracious Invitation Into Life-giving Christian Community |
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Welcome to the Gethsemane Lutheran Church Newsletter. As 2023 unfolds, and we continue to bring you information virtually, we welcome all who are members of Gethsemane, as well as those who are discovering us for the first time, to join us in our mission journey. We hope to keep you up-to-date in these times of amazing change for our church community. Feel free to forward the newsletter to others and give us the emails of those you think my wish to connect with us and see what great things God is doing with our church each week! |
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To contact staff: Please click email links on names to the right!
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Who's Who At Gethsemane
Minister of Music: Beverly Timpton-Hammond
Food Shelf Volunteer Coordinator: Jean Bailey
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The Importance of Ash Wednesday |
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Every year Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter. Christians of many backgrounds go to church and walk out with a black smudge on their head. So, what’s the deal?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season known as Lent. Historically, Lent was a time when new Christians prepared themselves for baptism on Easter Sunday. Today, Lent more often is a time when Christians prepare themselves for Easter and are invited to deeper faith, stronger community, and a closer connection to God. This preparation happens through an emphasis on a few basic faith practices: worship, prayer, generosity, self-denial, and service to others.
Lent is season for changing your life, for turning things around, for getting back on the right path – what we sometimes call, in church-speak, “repentance.” It lasts for 40 days (not counting Sundays); reminding us of the flooding rains of Noah’s time (Genesis 7:17-19), Israel wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 32:13), and of Jesus’ temptation in the desert (John 4:1-11).
The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of our mortality. God created humankind from the dust of the earth, and it is to dust that we shall all return. “Remember you dust, and to dust you shall return” we are told. Our time on this earth is short – are we living the life to which God has called us? Are we prepared to give an account for how we have spent our days?
Ash Wednesday isn’t a cheerful celebration. But if we take it seriously, Ash Wednesday can be the beginning of a changed life. Are you ready for more? Deeper faith, stronger community, and a closer relationship with God? Let this time be the first in many steps we take to grow as a community and grow closer to God.
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The Camden Shop is now open! After a short prayer of blessing, we opened the doors and shoppers found clothing and housewares that they needed. We are so excited about how this place will help our friends in the Camden neighborhood! Spread the word, and come say hello!
We are open every Saturday of the month at Gethsemane from 12-3pm
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Gospel Reading: Matthew 4:1-7 |
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1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.
2 After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.
3 Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 But He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
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Writer's Corner: An Apple by Any Other Name
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And so, in the Garden we lived. God created us, in His own image, to live with Him in this special place. To live side-by-side in communion with Him, in the most beautiful and bountiful and blessed of homes. God provided everything we needed, and told us so. God’s creation was magnificent—picture all the different colors over the land, and the different fragrances in the wind. And, God was so very generous. We’d never go hungry, we knew this, we trusted our Creator. We were given free rein of God’s Garden to eat of any plant, bush, and tree we saw, touched, and smelled—all the luscious and nutritious and tasty fruits and vegetables we could imagine. All except one. God only forbade one. The fruit of the most appealing tree in the center of the Garden. Just that one, alone. Remember this.
Now think of how you were as children when you were told not to touch something: don’t touch the outlet, the hot stove, don’t eat plastic that fell on the floor even if it looks like a piece of candy. But what if the plastic looks so much like our favorite Halloween candy (maybe a Tootsie Roll or piece of strawberry taffy)? Or if the outlet called out to be touched, no cord was in it— we think maybe it needs a finger to go inside the emptiness of the wall. Or the fire on the gas stove looked so very beautiful, and all the adults seemed to love spending time making food with it…could it really be all that bad? As children, new to the world, we do not have much in the way of reasoning skills. We have not experienced enough to know better. We often think we are invincible; and are born questioning the world and those around us, learning who to trust and who to listen to. Scientists have shown that we have a pretty big desire to please ourselves as children—we cry when we are hungry, need attention, are afraid. We want to make sure we are taken care of, it is for our own preservation, self-survival.
Now think about if you are in God’s Garden, not as a child, but as an adult (albeit still innocent to the world), and are told not to eat the apple from a certain tree, by someone that loved you, took care of you, who you had a solid relationship with, and you trusted. Don’t touch that one kind of apple, or you might die. Just that one. And then a crafty, but interesting serpent—who seemed to be full of knowledge (or full of himself)—challenges everything you were told, putting additional thoughts into your head: God doesn’t want you to eat of the apple not because God cares for your safety, but because He doesn’t want you to be as smart as God. He’s lying to you. And, you question who to trust: this serpent or the God who created and cared for you.
Of course, it doesn’t help that you are very curious, and know you really want to eat the apple, just to try it. So, is it the serpent’s trickery speaking to you or your own desires, your childlike wants, your innocence. Or, maybe you try to reckon with this juxtaposition. You might justify it all in your mind. Perhaps, God really didn’t mean to single out that one apple, because God is so very generous and protective. Maybe it’s just God’s very favorite fruit and He wants to keep it and its knowledge for himself; after all why would God put that apple anywhere in the Garden —especially smack dab in the middle, in plain view— if it wasn’t safe to eat? Or even the thought might run through your head, a self-serving thought, a thought based on your inexperience in any such situation before—just this one time it should be okay, right? How could just one time, one bite (if God doesn’t see me), make a difference. I could take an itty bitty bite, ever so small, and then hide it back in the tree, perched on a branch, among all the other apples, turned the right way so God would never know it had been bitten. And maybe, just for safe measure, you can get your companion to take a bite too, so that just in case, you are in it together. Safety in numbers. Or better yet, if you both take a bite, God can’t get mad at both of you—He can’t be mad at everyone in the Garden...
Oh, so many scenarios. But in the end, an apple by any other name is still just an apple…right? So who do you choose to believe, the sly serpent that gets you some immediate gratification or a gracious God who has always provided for you? Or more importantly, which decision (to eat or not to eat) gives you what you want the most in life? And what are its consequences? Do you trust God or not?
Now think of two more things:
- Is there anything in your life that is a forbidden apple for you? You know you shouldn’t eat of it, but you still do. Maybe not always, or maybe you don’t do it alone. Maybe you convince yourself so many things that the apple looks like something else…
- Now make a list of all the things you do to hide the apple away once it has been bitten. Maybe you don’t tell anyone, or maybe you believe that you can take a bite, put it away, and then you will never touch it again. Everything is okay.
But here is the deal. And it is not meant to scare you or me, to make us feel ashamed. It’s just the same situation that happened in the Garden, oh so long ago. Remember, we were there. Even though we hid, God found us. Remember this too. God was upset, we were punished (as was right to do)—we needed to learn. But then, God came back to us in promises and in Jesus, who died for us on the cross for the very sins that we were ashamed of, and hid from. The very sins that we ARE ashamed of, and still hide from.
Yes, the Garden was magnificent, God provided everything we needed. We were tempted, we sinned, and we hid. But what is more amazing is that God is still providing for us in a more profound way than ever. With God’s covenant to us, God’s grace, God’s forgiveness. God sought us out, from the shadows, and loved us so much that He taught us how to live better lives, how to repent, and be better versions of ourselves. But most of all, He taught us about how to love unconditionally, and how to forgive, as He did and continues to do for us. Yes, an apple by any other name might still seem to be just an apple to us. But in God we will always know the true difference, through Jesus.
Amen.
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The Camden Promise: Weekly Food shelf Schedule |
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Food Giveaway Schedule into 2022:
The Camden Promise Food Shelf feeds boxes of food to community families 6 days a week at noon: Monday through Saturday.
All are welcome!
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Gospel Reading: Matthew 4: 8-11 |
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8 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.”
11 Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.
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Sermon Notes: The Devil Gets a Bad Rap |
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Today is temptation Sunday, where we get to understand the anatomy of what makes up temptation and what makes us tempted. Often, we try to make sense of temptation and play the victims ourselves. We say things like, “the devil made me do it”, or we act like there is a little devil and angle on our shoulders waging war to decide who we listen to. When we point blame at something else for our own choices, in a weird way, the devil gets a bad rap. See, we know what we are doing when we are taking poor choices. We know what is right and wrong, yet we do it anyway. Since it seems we are continuously convincing ourselves of our own innocence in relationship to our wrong actions, we must look at what makes up the truth of those actions: what is the anatomy that makes up temptation?
The first and most important principle of falling to temptation is this; you must believe a lie. While God tells us to be strong, faithful, and follow His word, crafty snakes, crafty people, people with agendas, tell us something else: a lie that scratches our sinful itch. This false truth, if given and received with open arms, seeds the roots of temptation so that we become tempted. One must believe the lie they are told rather than the truth. If people are willing to believe in a lie, then they can rationalize themselves into any behavior, any action, any temptation.
Put that in the front of your head. What things tempt you? Who are you when someone gives you a lie? Do you really deserve that drink? Is it really going to hurt anyone if I relapse because I am struggling? Once you have permission, you can rationalize any evil.
In this week’s Gospel, the snake, one of the craftiest animals God has ever made, finds itself in the dessert testing Jesus. Jesus has been in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, without anything to eat. How many of us have gone 3 hours even without something to eat? How many of us have gone 40 nights without a roof over their heads, or a blanket and company to keep you warm? We cannot take this situation lightly, especially as the snake recognized the opportunity that it had on its hands; tempt Jesus at His weakest.
This is the second principle that temptation follows. Temptation rarely never targets us when we are strong or in a good place; when we are happy in our homes or life is treating us well. Temptation comes when we are lonely, hungry, angry, or at our least able ability to fight. It comes at us like it came at Jesus.
The devil is smart and tosses a soft ball at Jesus. He says, “Jesus, you are the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread.” Easy task, right? If Jesus is hungry, and no doubt He is, then He could easily feed His Hunger. However, Jesus quotes the word. Jesus knows what is written and does not give into lies.
That is the third piece of the anatomy of temptation; rationalization. Once given a lie to believe, and the opportunity to allow such a lie to affect us, the power of rationalizing takes over. It does not take mush to justify an action. It is very easy to make excuses or reasons why one should make the wrong choice. In the face of temptation, instead of rationalizing yourself, one must say what Jesus quotes, it is written, the answer to those temptations is written in the Bible. These lessons are written as commandments; thou shalt not lie, cheat, steal, or kill. Do not look to rationalize our temptations, look to the word that is written, just as Jesus did.
The devil then throws a faster pitch at Jesus. He says, "it is written that if you jump from a place of height, your angels will catch you, so that your feet won’t be cast against a stone". However, Jesus says, "it is written, do not put the Lord to test". Yet even then, the snake tests again, throwing the fastest pitch. The snake shows Jesus the grandest kingdoms on earth. “Wouldn’t you like them Jesus?” He asks. “You could have the house, the cars, the money, and all the world’s wealth if you just bend a knee and follow me.
That is the hardest part of the anatomy of temptation; it exposes what we do when we succumb to the lies we are told. There is a change of allegiances when we give into the sin of this world. When we bow and confide in things that are not God, we lose the truth of what is more important. We may have everything we think we want when we cast aside God, but it is all bound in sin and to the devil. Temptation is a tricky business, and as disciples, we must understand the anatomy of being tempted so that we avoid temptation, especially since we are not good at navigating our own temptations. We must have clear eyes on temptation so that we may boldly confess who we are in relationship to sin. We are in bondage to sin, and we cannot free ourselves; we need God for the things we do and the things we leave undone. With the power of God, we avoid the lies of the snake, and we keep ourselves from temptation.
To be open and honest about who we are protects us from the anatomy of temptation. We do not need to hide who we are. We are broken. We are sinful. We are fallen, and we need help. Therefore, confide in Jesus. When we trust in Him, we can walk into a new life as a forgiven people.
Amen
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A Prayer for Ash Wednesday |
Merciful God, you called us forth from the dust of the earth; you claimed us for Christ in the waters of baptism. Look upon us as we enter these Forty Days bearing the mark of ashes, and bless the journey through the desert of Lent to the font of rebirth.
Amen
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Please join us every Sunday for our Virtual Zoom Worship Service. Online "fellowship starts at 10:00 am and Worship Service Starts at 10:30 am. |
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Gethsemane Lutheran
Building Hope Together
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4656 Colfax Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412
612-521-3575
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