October 1, 2012
“I have decided to follow Jesus” is a popular camp song. That line is repeated three times and then we sing the words, “No turning back, no turning back.” The story is told in Luke 9:57-62, when Jesus tells some who would follow him that the Son of Man will have no place to lay his head and another that he may not first go to his father’s funeral and a third that he may not return home to say farewell to those he loves. The words of Jesus seem harsh to us. Jesus goes on to say that the mission on which he is sending his disciples is dangerous and they must be ready.
Dear friend, Jesus calls us to be his followers as well. We, too–being human–want to make sure our needs are filled before we say we will go. We want to make sure we are ready–physically, emotionally and spiritually. Jesus tells us, as he told those who would follow him on the way to Jerusalem, that we must be willing to make sacrifices. We cannot make such a decision on our own. It is only by relying on God’s grace that we can follow Jesus. Perhaps, for us, the song should be–”By God’s grace I will follow Jesus.” The last line, of course, is the same–”No turning back, no turning back.”
Let us pray: Jesus, give us the grace to follow you; give us the trust to know you will always provide for us; give us the persistence to never turn back. We pray in your name. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 2, 2012
I have always clung to a belief in guardian angels. Guardian angels fit my limited human understanding of the way God is with us and within us, guarding and guiding and protecting and suffering with us. But I wasn’t ever certain of the Biblical basis for this belief.
The text for Guardian Angel’s day, October 2nd, is from Matthew 18. Jesus tells his disciples that they must become like little children and that judgment will be harsh for those who make life difficult for God’s little children and then, in verse 10, “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.”
Dear friend, God does send messengers–angels–who see God face to face and who speak to us of God’s love and desire for us. Take comfort this day in knowing that your angel is watching and caring for you. The God who sent Jesus to suffer, die and be raised again, who sent the Holy Spirit to fill us, also appoints angels to watch over us.
Let us pray: O God who has created and maintained cherubim and seraphim, dominions and choirs, thank you for thinking of us and appointing angels to watch over us. We pray in Jesus’ holy name. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 3, 2012
When I sat in the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph to write this Dial, it was a very foggy Tuesday morning. I could see the tree directly outside of my window–period. But I remember that beyond that tree was the asphalt path to the cemetery. I remember the outbuilding that had a lush green vine overflowing with small white flowers where a myriad of bees were working. I remember the deep deer tracks I spied in the mud up by the grotto. And yet– all I could see was fog.
Perhaps the people of Jesus’ day were living in a kind of fog; perhaps they were forgetful. In Luke 10, Jesus says to the residents of Chorazin and Bethsaida, “If the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago…” Dear friend, God has done and is doing mighty deeds in our lives. God sent the person of Jesus; God gifts us with Word and Sacrament and Christian community; God acts in our lives–daily–through the person of the Holy Spirit; God continues to send us messengers. Do we, too, live in a fog?
Let us pray: God of mighty deeds and wondrous acts, clear our minds and souls that we might be aware of your powerful presence in our lives. Grant us the wisdom to repent of our desire to be God, and allow us to be obedient to you, for Jesus’ sake. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 4, 2012
The beginning of the twenty-first century is a time when we are rediscovering the truth that the world has been created as one world. Not only do events in the Middle East affect our own country, but the existence of small plankton off of the coast of Alaska affects the entire food chain. Our environmental carelessness is threatening the world.
October 4th is St. Francis Day. Eight hundred years ago, this famous saint, who lived such a simple life in service of the Christ, understood the connectedness of all things. In his famous “Canticle of the Sun,” he wrote of Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Wind and Sister Earth, Brother Fire and Sister Death. All of creation was to be embraced as one. Stories abound of his relationships with the wolves and the birds.
Dear friend, we who sing a paraphrase of this famous canticle every time we use the hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King” might also take time this day not only to thank God for the unity of all creation and for Brother Francis who showed us this truth, but also to imitate Francis in his life of faithfulness.
Let us pray: Creator of all things, create in us the heart of St. Francis that we might live a simple life in praise of you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 5, 2012
In Mark 10, the Pharisees ask Jesus about the lawfulness of divorce. Jesus asks them what Moses taught and they tell him Moses permitted the husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss the wife. Jesus answered, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation ‘God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Moses’ day was awful. In that day, a man could dismiss his wife for burning the dinner! She couldn’t dismiss him for anything! Today is different; either party may divorce the other for any variety of–or no–reason. But Jesus is clear. The promise of committed love to one another in front of God is to be respected. Nineteen ago today my daughter Elizabeth married her fiancé Ron. May the promises they made that day, and any promises we have made to another, be kept.
Dear friend, let us pray: Loving God, bless Ron and Elizabeth and all who have promised in front of you to be faithful to one another. Allow us to respect the gift of covenant love that you have made with us through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 6, 2012
Consider reading the book of Jonah. It is an easy read–4 chapters, about 2 pages. It is the familiar story of the prophet who was swallowed by a whale for three days. The story goes like this: when God asked Jonah to go to Ninevah to tell them to repent, Jonah “set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah immediately ran in the opposite direction!
I’ve always been fond of this line. God says sit; I stand. God says pray; I run. God says speak; I keep silent. How comforting it is to know that my stubborn human reaction is familiar to God. But, dear friend, as you well know, the story does not end with Jonah’s disobedience. Rather, a storm comes up and threatens to capsize the ship on which he is fleeing; Jonah convinces the sailors to throw him overboard; a big fish swallows him for three days; he is spit out whole and well and goes and asks the Ninevites to repent. Much to his dismay, they do.
Dear friend, God calls us to be God’s servants and, in God’s time, God’s will is accomplished.
Let us pray: God of earth and sky, wind and water, help us your often-unwilling servants to listen to and to obey your voice. Guide us that we might be instruments of accomplishing your loving desires for us and all people. We pray in the name of your servant who was obedient unto death, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 7, 2012
Jonah was disobeying God and fleeing towards Tarshish in a big ship when a huge storm threatened to engulf the vessel. The sailors prayed to their gods and threw the cargo into the sea, but nothing helped. The captain awakened Jonah who, by the casting of lots, was found to be responsible for the storm. Jonah told the sailors that he was a Hebrew who worshiped the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. After he told his story of attempting to flee from God, he told them to throw him into the sea. They refused and rowed all the harder to bring the boat back to land. When all else had failed, they prayed to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life….” They picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea. The waters became calm. “The men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”
Isn’t it interesting, dear friend, that God used Jonah’s disobedience to bring about faith. God does have a way of using all of our lives, even the darkest and the most difficult and the disobedient parts, to bring about God’s good.
Let us pray: To You who have created the land and the sea, to You who have the powers of the universe, to You who can work good out of the evils in our lives, to You we offer our praise and ask for faith, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 8, 2012
Nineveh was a big city, three days walk across. Jonah was one day into the city when he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh repented and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth. Even the king donned sackcloth and sat in ashes. He declared that all should fast and be covered with sackcloth and turn from their evil ways and from violence and cry out to God for salvation. For, he said, “Who knows? God may relent and have a change of mind; God may turn from this fierce anger so that we do not perish.” And God did.
I am not sure, dear friend, if God changes God’s mind–or if God is simply delighted to be able to continue on God’s original course of loving us and having us be loving and obedient followers. The difference doesn’t matter much. Either way, God invites us to repent of the evil, the loveless, the bitter, the turning away from God and live once more according to God’s loving grace.
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant that we, who have been redeemed from the old life of sin by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, may be renewed in your Holy Spirit to live in righteousness and true holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 9, 2012
At the end of the story of Jonah, the people of Nineveh have repented and Jonah is sulking– sitting outside of the city, waiting to see what would happen. God causes a bush to grow up and give Jonah shade, and then a worm to kill the bush. Jonah gets so upset he wishes he could die. But God says to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?…You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh…?”
God has made you and all people, dear friend. God labors over us and cares for us. God is concerned about us. And God suffers with us. God loves us so much as to send Jesus who suffered and died and was raised again. God was concerned about the people and even the animals of Nineveh. God is concerned about you.
Let us pray: Creating and Redeeming God, you are concerned about all that you have made. Open our often-hard hearts to see you working in our lives to save and redeem us. Open our often-deaf ears to hear your desire for our repentance. Open our often-dead souls to respond to your love for us and for all people. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 10, 2012
In the story of Jonah, God speaks to Jonah as the word of the Lord. God speaks to the sailors through the casting of lots. God provides a fish to swallow Jonah and speaks to the fish to spew Jonah up on dry land. God appoints a bush to grow up over the disgruntled Jonah and then appoints a worm to attack the bush and prepares a sultry east wind so that the sun beats down on Jonah and makes him very uncomfortable.
God used all of creation to speak to Jonah–and to us; and we dare not forget it. However you look at the very personal hand of God in your life, please remember that God can do whatever God pleases. I used to have a soup can covered with a brightly-covered label that said in bold calligraphy, “God Can.” The can had a slit in the lid and the idea was to put money into the container and give it to those in need–so that God could.
Dear friend, God does use all of creation for God’s purposes, and God also would like to use you as God’s servant. God can do what God pleases. Will you be listening for and obeying God’s call?
Let us pray: Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours. Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 11, 2012
St. Andrew is committed to working with people who are HIV+ and with people who have AIDS. This ministry is a blessing to our congregation and has taught us many things. One is this: a person who believes his or her days on earth are limited often lives life with an intentionality that the rest of us miss. For the person who believes this may be their last day of life, there is no time to allow a cross word to remain between friends; there is no sense to accumulate money or possessions which will soon be stripped away; there is no purpose to achieving hollow honors. We are being taught the lesson that the Psalmist teaches in Psalm 90: “So teach us to number our days, O God, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.”
Dear friend, one of the good things that God works out of the evil of disease is the wisdom of knowing a different set of priorities in life. How would you behave today if you believed your days on earth were numbered?
Let us pray: God of the living and of the dead, so teach us to live each day that we might value that which is important and bear your creative and redeeming love to all the world through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 12, 2012
The writer of Hebrews asserts that Jesus is more worthy of glory than Moses. For a person of that day, this is a HUGE compliment. Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house. But Jesus is greater, is God, and serves over the house as the son of the builder. The author of Hebrews writes in Chapter 3 verse 6, “Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.”
Nikolai Grundvig writes in the hymn “Built On a Rock.” “We are God’s house of living stones built for his own habitation. God fills our hearts, his humble thrones, granting us life and salvation. Were two or three to seek his face, he in their midst would show his grace, blessings upon them bestowing.
Dear friend. it is this Jesus who watches over the church today. It is we who are called to be living stones. As St. Andrew celebrates its 119th anniversary, pray with me that we might be faithful to the One who deserves glory, Jesus the Christ.
Let us pray: Builder God, Watchful Son, Tending Spirit, you have graced us with the gift of being your dwelling place. Continue to bless the congregation of St. Andrew and all who have contact with us that we might bear your Word to the world with hope and confidence. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 13, 2012
The story of the rich man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life is recorded in Mark 10. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments and the rich man replies that he has done that all of his life. Jesus tells him to go and sell what he owns and give it to the poor and the rich man goes away sad. Jesus goes on to say, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God” and then again, “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”
This particular story is told immediately following Jesus’ telling the disciples to allow the children to come to him, “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”
Dear friend, how hard it is for us to trust in God as a child, who is still helpless for survival in this world, trusts a loving parent. How hard it is for us to lean on God’s grace and not to rely on our own works and faith and merit. How hard, in fact how probably impossible, it is for us to understand that it is by grace through faith that we are saved. But, as Jesus concludes, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Let us pray: Dearest, loving God: grant us the grace to rely solely on you. Forgive us when we are so attached to the possessions and relationships of this world that we are unwilling to risk them for your name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at
October 14, 2012
God loves us. That statement is a given. We are saved by grace through faith and not by our works. That statement is a given. Lutherans say it like this: because God loves us, therefore we serve God. (The other option is: if we serve God, then God will love us.) Amos is surely grounded in God’s pre-eminent love for us, but he says it like this, “Seek good and not evil that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of Moses, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Israel.” Amos 5:13-15.
Dear friend, Amos reminds us that we, as God’s beloved children, do have a responsibility for good and justice. God’s love for us is first. We respond to that love. But we must respond in order to know the love of God fully.
Let us pray: Loving and beloved God, you love us unconditionally. Allow us to respond to your love fully–we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 15, 2012
John 2: “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
People needed to change money and to buy animals for sacrifice. The problem was not in the action itself as much as in the potential for abuse. Those who sold in the temple were much like the company store in a coal town; they had a corner on the market and they used (or more accurately abused) it. And at such abuse, Jesus was angry. The church has long claimed the “corner on the market” of Word and Sacraments. The potential for abuse–and the reality of abuse–is as real as it was for the moneychangers and the animal sellers. The church, as well as individuals, must ask the question, “Are we being faithful to the love of God which we know in Christ Jesus?”
Dear friend, let us pray: Gracious Father, we pray for your church. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where it is divided, reunite it for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
October 16, 2012
The Corinthians thought that St. Paul should offer miracles or wisdom about the universe to “prove” his ministry. Paul responds in the first chapter of First Corinthians by saying, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but to those who are called, Jews and Gentiles alike, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
Much of the gospel seems foolish. “You must lose your life to save it.” “You must die to live.” “You must love your enemies.” It is clear that the wisdom of God passes human understanding. And yet, when we live by the wisdom of God, even though we may not understand it, we know it.
Dear friend, we who not only bear the sign of Christ on our foreheads but also in our lives know the power and the wisdom of God.
Let us pray: God, you alone are power and wisdom. Allow us to share in your strength through Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 17, 2012
The day will come, dear friend, when we will be held accountable for our actions. I am often uncomfortable with the concept of judgment. I want to act in response to God’s love–not out of fear of God’s wrath. Scripture makes it clear, however, that God will judge us. Even St. Paul, famous for proclaiming salvation by faith and not by works alone, writes in Romans 2, “We know that God condemns that sort of behavior impartially and when you judge those who behave like this while you are doing exactly the same, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or are you abusing God’s abundant goodness, patience, and toleration not realizing that this goodness of God is meant to lead you to repentance? Your stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God will have towards you on that day of anger when his just judgments will be made known.”
Gospel love is freely given. The law (and perhaps the judgment) are guides to help us when we don’t feel like acting in love. Look at your actions today. Then present them to your loving God.
Let us pray: Faithful God, keep us faithful to you in all of our words and actions; we pray in the name of the faithful one, Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 18, 2012
October 18th is St. Luke’s Day, a day when we often have services of healing. Luke was known as the great physician, is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, and was Timothy’s traveling companion. His Gospel is marked by his faithful recording of Jesus’ loving-kindness–his love of sinners, his acts of forgiveness, his tenderness towards the lowly and the poor and his severity towards the proud and those who are wealthy. Luke has an emphasis on the necessity of prayer and the prominent role of the Holy Spirit.
Dear friend, today is a good day to look at our own lives, to ask for the healing we need, and to ask for the grace to mirror the love of Jesus which we see so warmly reflected in the writings of St. Luke.
Let us pray: Almighty God, you inspired your servant Luke the physician to reveal in his gospel the love and healing power of your Son. Give your Church the same love and power to heal to the glory of your name and the name of Jesus. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 19, 2012
Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 10, “Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves so be as cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.”
There are times, dear friend, even in the life of a loving congregation, when people ask us a question and try to trap us. Jesus tells us to be aware of the trap but to answer in love. There are certainly times in the life of the Christian in the world where our compassion is tested, where it is difficult to choose the loving act, where we feel trapped between two not-very-good choices. Again, Jesus is reminding us–look and see what is really happening, suspect the danger, look for the snare but continue to respond in the innocence of the love of Christ.
Let us pray: Jesus, you came as an innocent child, a loving man. You saw the traps the Pharisees set for you in their questions, and yet you continued to respond in love. Grant us, like you, the wisdom of serpents and the harmlessness of doves, we pray in your name, AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 20, 2012
St. Paul reports in II Corinthians 12 that he has been given a thorn in the flesh. We have no idea what it is, but three times he pleaded with God that he be relieved of it–and he is not. So he declares that he believes that God’s grace is sufficient for his needs and that when he is weak, he is strong in God.
Sometimes, dear friend, such an attitude seems like Pollyanna–especially when I am pleading with God to extract the thorns in my life. But when I finally–honestly–say “your will and not mine, O God,” I learn the wisdom of St. Paul’s words for I see how God uses my weakness for strength. One small example. A number of years ago, I became quite ill and was impossibly fatigued for over a year. I begged for my strength to return to its full vitality. It never did. But God uses my weakness to teach me to rely on others and their strength. God sent members and students to St. Andrew who have richly blessed us and our ministry. God did not make me sick. God does use my illness for strength.
Let us pray: God you turn our understanding of the world and of our lives upside down. Give us faith to believe in your wisdom, we pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 21, 2012
Family life in the twentieth century is a different thing. Women don’t have to get married to be considered fulfilled. Couples may choose not to have children but to share their love with the world in different ways. The ideal family is no longer considered to be a “Leave It to Beaver” group of a husband a wife and two children. So sometimes, dear friend, we miss the blessing of Psalm 128.
“Happy are they all who fear the Lord and who follow in God’s ways. You shall eat the fruit of your labor; happiness and prosperity shall be yours. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive shoots round about your table. The one who fears the Lord shall thus indeed be blessed.”
God blesses us with family life and with love. The participants change according to the century, the culture, and our needs, but the promise remains the same. Blessed is the one who fears God and follows in God’s ways.
Let us pray: Loving God, keep us faithful and in awe of you for Jesus’ sake. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 22, 2012
Lutherans believe in salvation by grace through faith and not by works alone. That confession is the cornerstone of what it is to be a Lutheran. And it is true. God’s free gift of love and salvation through Jesus the Christ is so wonderful that there is nothing that we can do to earn it. We are humbled by God’s magnanimity. But James speaks to us clearly that faith without works is dead. In Chapter 1, verse 22, he writes, “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
Dear friend, if we say “I love you” to our children but are too busy to spend time with them, they will not believe us. If we say “I love you” to a hungry person but do not help them to obtain food, they will not believe us. If we say “I love you” to a world longing for meaning and peace and do not tell people about God’s love for them and work for justice and an end to oppression, the world will not believe us. The fruit of faith is the work of love.
Let us pray: In response to your generous love, O God, allow us to act in love to the world. We pray in the name of the perfect love, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 23, 2012
Listen to Psalm 131 from the Jerusalem Bible: “Yahweh, my heart has no lofty ambitions, my eyes do not look too high; I am not concerned with great affairs or marvels beyond my scope. Enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet like a child in its mother’s arms.”
Dear friend, in a world where we are worried about drug busts and drop-outs, warring countries and revolutionary coups, global warming and terrifying weather, in a time when earning a living wage sometimes obsesses us and paying for hospitalization seems like an impossible task–in such times it is a comfort to keep our soul tranquil and quiet in God’s loving arms. Instead of focusing on things that are too high for us, look closely into the loving eyes of the God who shelters you in loving arms and cares for you as a loving mother. When we seek God first, our soul can be at peace.
Let us pray: Loving God, you shelter us throughout our lives. Help us to find rest in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 24, 2012
In Matthew 9, Jesus calls Matthew, a despised tax collector, to follow him and be a disciple. Then he eats with other tax collectors and sinners. Jesus’ disciples are asked why their master would do such a thing. Jesus, overhearing the question, replies, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘What I want is mercy and not sacrifice.’ And, indeed, I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.”
Look at your congregation, dear friend. Look closely at your own life. Who is there? Be grateful that God has called each of us in our brokenness and sinfulness. On that model, Jesus invites us as the people of God to understand that God prefers the inward quality of genuine compassion for all people to any outward observance of the rules or the Law. Each week, in the sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus sits at table with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus sits at table with us! Thank God.
Let us pray: Compassionate God, may we be so strengthened by your feeding us that we may see and love you in all others. Give us compassionate hearts through Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 25, 2012
These questions are often asked. Can this political system be saved? Is it time for reformation or revolution? What form can best contain these particular ideals? Jesus answers those questions, for his particular and unique time and place in Matthew 9. He is answering the question, “Why did John’s disciples fast and yours do not?” Jesus responds, “People do not put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out and the wine and the skins are lost. No, they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.”
Jesus brings a new spirit to the dominion of God. The old forms in exact observance cannot contain this new spirit. If they are forced to attempt to contain it, both will be lost. Rather, new forms are required. This need for new forms has not stopped, for the work of the Holy Spirit has not stopped. And so, we continue to change. We worship in English, not German or Latin. We minister to people with AIDS, not lepers. We include the poor and the different, not Gentiles. We are still being gifted with newly-effervescent wine. God will provide the new wineskins.
Dear friend, let us pray: Creative God, give us hearts and lives to keep up with the surprising forms of your compassion. Give us strength in your unchanging love which we know best through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 26, 2012
“God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea….The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken. God has spoken and the earth shall melt away….Come now and look upon the works of the Lord. What awesome things God has done on earth.” Psalm 46
The kingdoms of the earth are shaken. Look, dear friend, at the events of the past few decades. Two Germanys have become one. The USSR has been dismantled. In South Africa, apartheid, as a political system has been dismantled. Hong Kong is Chinese. Weather patterns are frightening. What is it then, that can give us and all the peoples of the world, comfort in the middle of these radical changes? The knowledge that God is in charge, that the Lord of hosts is with us, that the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Let us pray: God you are a mighty fortress and a safe haven for us. Let us trust you through Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 27, 2012
I was talking to my husband, Keith, the other day and he showed me a song that he would like to have sung at his funeral. The words are a reflection of the 91st Psalm. “For God shall give the angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you in their hands lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet. Because you are bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver you. I will protect you because you know my name.”
Although I was fairly uncomfortable and unhappy hypothesizing about Keith’s death, I was comforted by the knowledge that he knows God’s angels will accompany him to God and will accompany me on my continued journey on earth. Dear friend, we are not alone in life–or in death.
Let us pray: God of power and might, you send your angels to watch over us. Guide us along life’s way until we see you face-to-face in the company of Jesus. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 28, 2012
October would have been my brother Bill’s birthday. Had he lived, he would be 69 years old. My brother died of AIDS 22 years ago. I miss my brother, and I continue to be troubled by the disease that killed him, the dishonesty that he felt must surround his illness and death, and the separation from the church that marked his last years of life on earth. And so it is with great comfort that I recall the words of St. Paul in the 8th chapter of Romans. “For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Dear friend, let us pray: God of all grace, you sent your Son, our savior Jesus Christ, to bring life and immortality to light. We give you thanks because by his death, Jesus destroyed the power of death and by his resurrection has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Make us certain that because he lives, we shall live also and that neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from your love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 29, 2012
Jeremiah writes in the 31st chapter, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah…, I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people.”
Dear friend, we are the blessed recipients of this new covenant, written on our hearts. Jesus the Christ lives within us through the gift of baptism. We are called to listen quietly to that spirit of God which is given to us as a gift. We are called to trust that spirit. Then we test what we hear in the presence of the Word, the Sacraments, and the Christian community. You have been given a new heart. Listen to it, remembering always God’s great love for you.
Let us pray: God of faithful promises, you have planted in each of us a new heart. Give us the grace to trust you for growth in faith for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 30, 2012
In John 8, Jesus is telling the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
I remember when our former organist quoted this scripture at his good-bye party–and then told us that he was a gay man! Jesus is talking about the truth. The truth about which Jesus is talking was that Jesus was God and that only Jesus could set us free from sin. But that truth also requires that we acknowledge our own humanity, our own finitude, our own incarnation and our own limits. Our former organist was telling us that day–this is who I am, this is the truth. Essentially he was asking us, “Can you love me in the name of Christ knowing who I really am?” The answer, dear friend, is yes.
Let us pray: God of all love, you love us in our human condition and ask that we accept you–and you only–as God. Grant that we may be comfortable knowing your perfect love for us imperfect beings. Grant us the willingness to share that love with all others for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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October 31, 2012
To the world October 31st is Halloween–a day filled with ghosts and goblins. To the Christian, October 31st is All Hallow’s Eve, the day before All Saints’ Day, the day we remember the faithful departed. To the Lutheran, October 31st is Reformation Day, the day when Martin Luther tacked 95 theses protesting the abuse of indulgences on the church door in Wittenburg.
Dear friend, there is a common theme that runs through all of these celebrations: God is present in our lives in every circumstance. We do not need to fear ghosts or goblins or the tangible evils of this world–because we know that God is present in our lives. We do not need to fear death, because we know that God gives us the gift of the resurrection and we will celebrate the gift of eternal life with all the saints. We do not need to fear change in the church, because God is in charge. In Romans 8, St. Paul puts it like this: “For I am certain that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which we know best through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Let us pray: Thank you faithful God, that you are so constant in your love for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays at 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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