Finding Faith ... in God working in His time to restore your life

EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and the deepening of my theological mind. This sermon originally took place on Jan. 5, 2020.

“Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it's breathtakingly beautiful.”

That was written by L.R. Knost, an author most known for her books on parenting, and in this past couple of weeks as I stared down the new year, it was the best description I could find for how I felt about this past year.

Both in my personal life, and here in the life of Faith Lutheran.

There were times during this past year that were amazing for me personally. … And times, here in this church, that I think using the term “amazing” might even be selling them short.

And then there were times that were awful too, both for me personally, and in the life of the church here too.

And, of course, sandwiched in the middle of all the amazing times and the awful times, was so much beautiful ordinary. … Just the everyday living of getting up and taking my kids to school, working a hard day, and crawling into bed with the satisfaction that whatever I didn’t accomplish that day, there was always tomorrow.

Or in the case of the church life here, there were many Sundays that just came and blissfully floated by without a hitch, days where we all felt good just to come together and worship and commune in fellowship. … Maybe no special events, but a good day nonetheless.

And all of this introspection about the past year led me this week to delve into the Old Testament reading of Jeremiah, which, as you know, is a bit of an anomaly for me.

But after a week of dwelling in the texts, Jeremiah spoke to me because I think this scripture talks about the very point L.R. Knost tries to make in her beautiful, short paragraph.

There is going to be time that is awful … and then time that is amazing. … With a whole lot of ordinary in between. … I think Jeremiah writes about the same thing.

A little preface here might be helpful. … In fact, I think it’s important to remember who Jeremiah is.

Jeremiah was Hebrew prophet, reformer and author. Obviously, as he has a book in the Bible named after him.

And he was closely involved in the political and religious events of a crucial era in the history of the Isrealites. His spiritual leadership helped his people survive disasters that included the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the exile of many Judaeans to Babylonia.

But it’s also important to remember that Jeremiah was not a popular man in his time. Because he was the one who told his people of the impending capture of Jerusalem, basically saying, “You see, this is what happens when you turn away from the Lord.”

Well, as we all know, we don’t tend to like people reminding us that we are behaving badly and there might be consequences. Do we?

But that is exactly what Jeremiah is writing about in his 31st chapter, and I think it blends well into the L.R. Knost quote with which we began.

Jeremiah reminds his people that there is going to be a very awful time when Jerusalem is captured, and the Israelites will be flung far and wide by their captors, the Babylonians.

But then, Jeremiah reminds us, there is God’s promise: “See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,

  and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

 among them the blind and the lame,

  those with child and those in labor, together;

  a great company, they shall return here.

 9 With weeping they shall come,

  and with consolations I will lead them back,

 I will let them walk by brooks of water,

  in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

 for I have become a father to Israel,

  and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

First there will be awful times. … And then there will be amazing times. Right? … Just as L.R. Knost has written.

But the key in all of this for us as Christians … and I think this is the most difficult part of our understanding our earthly life that we lead … is that God’s understanding of time … and our understanding of time … are wholly different things.

For instance, Jeremiah was absolutely correct in his prophecy that Jerasulem would fall to the invading Babylonian army from the east. And that happened in 597 B.C. … But then some 60 years later, the Babylons were defeated by another empire, and the Israelites who had been scattered all over the Middle East started to return home.

But it wasn’t until 445 B.C., some 150 years later that the final wave of exiled Israelites returned home. … One hundred and fifty years later before God gathered his people from the farthest parts of the earth and led them back so that they could walk by brooks of water and so that they could walk on straight paths without stumbling.

One hundred and fifty years before, as Jeremiah wrote: “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”

One hundred and fifty years before God redeemed his promise to his people.

Now, some of you right, might be thinking: “Well, thanks for the Old Testament history lesson. … That’s all fine and good, but what does this have to do with me now? … Some 2,500 years later.

My point is this: I don’t know where you are in this life cycle of the awful, the ordinary and the amazing. … If your life is anything like mine, and I suspect it is, you may cycle through each of these stages pretty regularly.

Heck, you might even cycle through them in one day’s time, when really unexpected bad things happen.

At other times, the cycles may take place over longer periods of time.

For instance, I happened to be talking with my sister the other night, and she was discussing how difficult this first holiday season was without her husband Dave. … You may remember that he passed away fairly unexpectedly last March.

My sister said that some moments she feels like her life is finding something like normal again, and then, at other moments, something reminds her of Dave, and all of the emotions hit her like a ton of breaks.

At that point, I reminded her that it’s only been 10 months since Dave’s passing … and I heard a little gasp from the other end of the line. … And my sister said, “Has it really only been 10 months? … It has felt like years.”

And to her … I’m sure it has. … I can’t even imagine what it is like to lose a spouse.

So, as I was dwelling on that conversation with my sister, I was also reminded of the current situation with our mother.

You may remember that at the beginning of November, my mother was unexpectedly hospitalized, which led to the decision that she was no longer able to care for herself properly in her apartment. … And so we had to figure out a safer option, which led to her now residing in a terrific assisted living facility across town.

But I tell you what … everything that transpired in between during that two months -- including the hospitalization and working with Social Security and medical people and county social workers and managers at one apartment and then the new apartment. … All of that, for me, has felt like Israel’s 150 years that Jeremiah wrote about.

And those are just a couple of my own personal stories. … There are infinite examples that all of you sitting right here could share.

I think about the farmers among us, and the unprecedented tough year you’ve all had. … This year must feel like it’s 150 years in the making.

For those of you here who have also lost loved ones in the past year … time for you maybe feels like it is interminably crawling on.

And so for those of you who might find themselves on the wrong end of the awful, ordinary, amazing spectrum right now, I offer you this: … Take heart. … God is still at work in your life, even when you don’t feel it.

I can’t promise you when or how, but God IS working to restore your life back to the ordinary, if not the amazing end of the spectrum.

And one day the rest of Jeremiah’s words will ring true for you:

“For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,

  and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

 12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

  and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,

 over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

  and over the young of the flock and the herd;

 their life shall become like a watered garden,

  and they shall never languish again.

 13Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

  and the young men and the old shall be merry.

 I will turn their mourning into joy,

  I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

 14I will give the priests their fill of fatness,

  and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,” says the Lord.

Wherever you are in that cycle today, Jeremiah reminds us that God has our backs. … If you happen to be living in the amazing end of the spectrum, terrific! Bask in it and praise God for that.

If you find yourself living in a moment of the ordinary, I encourage you to be content, as we often forget that ordinary is a blessing too.

But if you happen to be living in the awful end of life’s spectrum today, remember what Jeremiah tells us: God is working in His time to restore your life … back to ordinary or possibly even amazing.

And that is the good news for this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Christmas. … Amen.