Do You Have FOMO?

Have you heard of FOMO? This is the acronym for “fear of missing out.” It describes the unsettling and increasingly pervasive feeling that we’re missing out on something.  For some it’s the fear of not being invited to party or social event. For others it might be the fear that their children are going to miss out on something that they perceive will enhance their kid’s development, success, or well-being (and their own vicarious satisfaction). FOMO can also rear its ugly head in the workplace when you see a meeting taking place and you wonder why you weren’t invited. Social media sites like Facebook have only helped to increase the stress and anxiety produced by FOMO because if you’re worried that everyone else is doing something cool without you, there are pictures to prove it!

Our reading this past Sunday about “Doubting” Thomas has got me to thinking about FOMO. As John describes the events that took place when Jesus appeared to his frightened disciples on the evening of his resurrection from the dead, John says this: But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. (John 20:24 NRSV) Where was he? Could it be that Thomas had a case of FOMO? Perhaps Thomas felt the need to be somewhere else, other than with his fellow disciples? Was there another gathering of friends and neighbors he was attending? And then there was his response when he heard that he missed seeing Jesus: ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25 NRSV) He wanted the experience that everyone else had…the one he missed. 

As I see it, one of the real dangers of FOMO is that in our efforts to not miss out on anything, we’re missing out on way too much. Our pursuits only leave us feeling incomplete and unsatisfied. We’re driven to distraction and busyness. I’ve watched way too many families get spread way too thin by everyday demands, let alone the optional activities that have them running themselves ragged. There’s little margin for life. FOMO not only sucks away time, but it also drains resources. Advertisers have mastered the art of FOMO. Can someone say iWatch? 

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." (John 20:26 NRSV) In many ways, this description fits a community gathered for worship. It is in that sacred time and place that the risen Jesus meets us with a word of peace. As the weather gets warmer and lives get busier, remember that it is in the worshiping community that remember who God is and who we are. In our encounter with the risen Jesus in Word and sacrament, we encounter perfect love which casts out all fear. 

Michael Peck, Sr. Pastor

Those John 3:16 Signs

4th Sunday in Lent

I don’t like them. Never have, not sure if I ever will. On the surface, the claim might seem odd, right? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God’s love, God’s love for the world, the sacrificial reality of God the Father and God the Son, eternal life- all sound so good, don’t they?

Until you add in a dash of needing to believe otherwise you perish, and all of a sudden, things don’t sound so good for the whole world, do they? Maybe for those who do believe, but what about those who don’t? That’s what can happen if you pluck a verse out of context, especially a rich, imagery-driven, provocative gospel such as John- a set up for failure.

That’s why I love Micah 6:8-  “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” See, it answers itself within the question! Beautiful! Maybe not good sign material though. So what is Jesus referring to here?

In his weekly devotional, David Lose, the president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, wrote the following:

But there is a second reason this may not be our favorite verse as well, and that’s because of the claim it makes on us. Notice that God doesn’t ask our permission first before sending Jesus to die for us. I know, I know, that may seem like an odd detail to point out. But think of the claim a person- any person- has on us once they’ve saved our life, let alone died doing it. In the face of such love, such sacrifice, we must surrender all of our claims.

Years ago I preached a sermon about the offensive nature of God’s grace, suggesting that we might add four words to the end of our service of baptism, saying, “Child of God, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... like it or not.” A few weeks later, a friend shared a bedtime encounter he’d had with his then six-year-old-son. Upset that his father was putting him to bed earlier than he wanted to go, Benjamin said, “Daddy, I hate you.” Benjamin’s father, exercising the kind of parental wisdom I hope for, replied, “Ben, I’m sorry you feel that way, but I love you.” Benjamin’s response to such gracious words surprised his dad: “Don’t say that!” “I’m sorry Benjamin, but it’s true. I love you.” “Don’t,” his son protested, “Don’t say that again!” At which point Ben’s father, remembering the words of the sermon, said, “Benjamin, I love you… like it or not!”

Why was Benjamin protesting his father’s love? Because he realized he could not control his father’s love and twist it to his advantage. Indeed, in the face of such love there is no bargaining and, ultimately, no control whatsoever. If his dad had said that if he ate all his vegetables he could stay up, or agreed that Ben could stay up later this night if he went to bed earlier the next, then Benjamin would have been a player, he would have exercised some measure of control over the situation and, indeed, over his dad. But in the face of unconditional love we are powerless. Yes, perhaps we can choose to accept it or not, perhaps we can run away from it, but we cannot influence it, manipulate it, or control it. In the face of this kind of love, we are powerless. And only when we’ve died to all of our delusions of actually being in control do we realize that such loss of perceived freedom and power is actually life.

God’s love, you see, is tenacious. And so God’s love will continue to chase after us, seeking to hold onto us and redeem us all the days of our lives, whether we like it or not.

So maybe this is a verse, if we took it more seriously, that might terrify us in how it renders us powerless in a world literally hell-bent on accumulating and exercising power. Then again, maybe as we remember God’s tenacious love we might also realize that, precisely because this is the one relationship in our lives over which we have no power, it is also the one relationship we cannot screw up. Because God created it, God maintains it, and God will bring it to a good end, all through the power of God’s vulnerable, sacrificial, and ever so tenacious love.

That’s hard to fit on to poster board sign, isn’t it? Then again, a sign can also be a distinguishing mark by which something is known- so how can YOU be a sign for God’s love to the world?

Jon Wolf, Associate Pastor

Excerpt from David Lose’s blog, “…In The Meantime”- Lent 4B: God’s Offensive Love

Not to Be Contained

3rd Sunday in Lent

This week’s Gospel reading presents us with an image of a whip wielding, table turning, zealous Jesus in the Jerusalem temple (John 2:13-22). Some might find this image unsettling while others relish the thought of a kick-butt and take names kind of Jesus. That’s an issue for another day. I’ve got something else rattling around my head today.

In my sermon on this passage, I suggested that Jesus’ ire was directed at those who were putting up barriers that made it difficult to encounter God. Say what you will about the sacrificial system that existed in the temple, the fact remained that people desired an encounter with the God who was believed to dwell in that sacred structure. The temple had set up an elaborate system that made navigation difficult and expensive for religious pilgrims. Jesus drove out the livestock that was being sold at prices that far exceeded the open market and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers whose fee for service took advantage of the poor.

We can get behind this Jesus, the one who wants no barriers placed in the way of a life-giving encounter with God. But here’s the thing that I’ve been pondering: what about the barriers that we set up to keep God in place?

Whether it’s intentional or not, we have a tendency to localize God’s presence in the church. We bifurcate worship and daily life. In our own way, we establish boundaries that keep God sequestered to that one hour a week when we “go to church,” and then get on with our normal business the other 167 hours of the week.  What if Jesus’ anger was also directed at those ways we try to contain God and compartmentalize our faith? All of a sudden, we find the proverbial foot of Jesus planted firmly on our backside!

During worship, we also read the Ten Commandments as presented in the book of Exodus. God’s introduction is really important to note: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” What follows is not so much a command, but a description of a life that is lived in relationship with God. It is a life in which all of our actions, interactions, and behaviors have at their core one’s relationship with God. There’s no separation.  God is not meant to remain in a box somewhere, accessible when required or desired. God’s desire is to infiltrate our world.

Every Christmas, I’m struck by all of the “Keep Christ in Christmas” language that pops up. While I understand the sentiment, there is a particular hubris that imagines that we can keep Christ anywhere. Christmas celebrates God's desire to enter every season of our lives. John sets up his whole Gospel with these words: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The wonderful and scary reality is that in spite of all of our efforts, God will not be contained.  

Michael Peck, Senior Pastor

Follow the Leader

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:31-38 NRSV)

When I was teaching elementary school, I often talked to my students about making conscious decisions about their behavior. There was a phrase I used to sum up this concept: “Don’t follow a bad leader.” Of course, we had to discuss repeatedly the meaning behind those words. 

Don’t follow a bad leader.

Here’s the point I was trying to make with my students:

It’s way too easy for us flawed humans to take note of people who stand out from the crowd. You know, those people who, through their words, actions or looks make your ears perk up; who make you say “Wow. Look at that guy.”

Often the next step, in our limited brains, is to think, “That’s pretty cool. I wish I could say that/ do that/ look like that.”  Then, without much conscious decision making, we begin to mimic that “stands out in a crowd” guy. We want to stand out, too. We want to be noticed and feel important.

And way too often, we find ourselves following a bad leader. Because it’s tempting. And it’s easy.

What’s much harder is to follow a truly good leader.

Following a good leader means making the decision to deny our first instincts (self-preservation, self-importance, being that eye-catching and stand-out-in-a-crowd guy). It means looking out for the greater good; caring for the needs of others; putting others before ourselves.

Of course, Jesus was the ultimate good leader. But Jesus set the bar pretty darned high, didn’t he? In Mark 8 Jesus uses words like “deny yourself” and “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” As we know, he eventually set an example none of us will ever be able to live up to: He gave his life for the rest of us.

But the good news is that we don’t have to live up to that example. Jesus doesn’t ask us to literally give up our lives. What he asks us to do is to love others the way he loves us; care for others the way he cares for us; recognize that taking care of the little, un-noticeable guy is what we’re here for. And because God loves us so much, he gives us the ability to do these things – with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Don’t follow a bad leader.

So the question is, what can I do to follow the best leader, Jesus? 

Amy Viets, Dir. of Children's Ministry