March 1, 2013
The temptation of Jesus is always read at the beginning of the Lenten season. Read it in the fourth chapter of Matthew. The story is familiar. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where, after fasting for forty days and forty nights, he is tempted by the devil. Did you ever wonder why the Spirit would lead Jesus into such a place?
Consider this. Jesus is fasting, a traditional Lenten discipline for us, and fasting opens him more fully to the spiritual world–good and evil. So after forty days–a long, long time–of fasting, the devil comes and tempts him. The Spirit did not lead Jesus to be tempted by the devil; the Spirit led Jesus to be more open to God–and in that openness, he becomes more attractive to the evil one. Sirach, an apocraphal book, puts it like this in the second chapter: “My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.” Dear friend, as we desire to serve God, as we enter into the Lenten disciplines, we must also be prepared to be tempted by evil. Why would we be any different from Jesus?
Let us pray: Encourage us, O God, as we enter into this Lenten season, so that we might be more open to your loving presence in our lives. Support us so that when we are tempted, we might remain faithful to you, for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 2, 2013
The first temptation of Jesus is recorded in Matthew like this: The tempter came and said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus was hungry! He had fasted for forty days and forty nights! I’m sure a loaf of bread would have looked very good to him just then. Heavens, a stone might have looked pretty good! So the devil, knowing Jesus had the power, told him to command the stone to become bread. And Jesus, knowing that God’s power is given for love, said, “No.” Jesus said no because he knew that that which satisfies is not bread, but God. Jesus said no because his god was not his stomach, but the One True God. Jesus said no, not because God wouldn’t have wanted him to eat, but because he knew the motivation behind this miracle that the devil was suggesting. Jesus was allowing his power to be used at God’s motivation and not his own.
Let us pray: Encourage us, O God, as we enter into this Lenten season, so that we might be more open to your loving presence in our lives. Support us so that when we are tempted, we might remain faithful to you, for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 3, 2013
Continuing with the second temptation of Jesus that is recorded in the fourth chapter of Matthew: “Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
The nerve of the devil! He not only is trying to trick Jesus into trying God, he is quoting Scripture in order to do it! Fortunately, Jesus does not fall for the trick and quotes the Bible back at him. How often people–people who are doing evil–quote Scripture in order to make others believe them. Oppressive groups quote texts about the authority of the leaders of the church to justify their abusive behavior. Civil war leaders quoted Scripture to justify slavery. People who are not kind and loving not only quote Scripture, but claim the name of Jesus, to try to prove the righteousness of their deeds to others. Beware, dear friend, of those who try to convince you that their way is the only way. Test the spirits so that you may not be tempted and led astray.
Let us pray: Encourage us, O God, as we enter into this Lenten season, so that we might be more open to your loving presence in our lives. Support us so that when we are tempted, we might remain faithful to you, for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 4, 2013
Dear friend, how attached are you to the things of this world? By that I mean, are you able to trust God first, even with the good and wonderful gifts of life like family and friends and love and good food and a beautiful flower? Can you consider all of these things to be gifts to be enjoyed but not ‘owned’?
St. Paul writes in Philippians 3, verse 8, “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ.” St. Paul has the gift of appreciating but not owning (or being owned by) the things of this world. That gift comes from the trust that God is in charge of all that happens in this world that God will provide for us according to our every need. That gift is called faith.
Let us pray: God, allow us to appreciate the joys of this world but to treasure only you and your love 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 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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March 5, 2013
And finally, the third temptation recorded in Matthew: “Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to Jesus, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
Jesus is God. And yet Jesus “did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8. One of the temptations Jesus faced was to act like God and not be fully human as we are. When Peter confessed him as Messiah and then Jesus told Peter that he would suffer and die, Peter rebuked him–and Jesus called Peter Satan. Again it was the temptation to be God and not human. Dear friend, we too face the temptation to make believe we are God–and we aren’t! How gracious of our Lord to stay faithful even in the face of temptation–and acknowledge that only God is God.
Let us pray: Encourage us, O God, as we enter into this Lenten season, so that we might be more open to your loving presence in our lives. Support us so that when we are tempted, we might remain faithful to you, for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 6, 2013
Job speaks words of faith when he says in the 19th chapter, “For I know that my redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God.”
Sometimes, it is hard to hear these words without also hearing the majestic strains of Handel’s “Messiah.” Sometimes, it is hard to hear these words without also seeing the open grave, the casket of a loved one, and remembering those final minutes before the coffin is being lowered into the ground. Dear friend, the intersection of these two images is appropriate. In the midst of death, grief and sorrow come the words of life, hope and resurrection–”I know that my redeemer lives.”
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, by your death you took away the sting of death. Grant to us, your servants, so to follow in faith where you have led the way that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake in your likeness. 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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March 7, 2013
In Luke 9, Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let that person renounce self and take up the cross and follow me.”
There are many crosses in our lives, dear friend. About some, we have no choice–life deals us a crippling disease, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job. About other crosses, we have a choice–do we want to participate in the homelessness of one who has no home, to mourn with the one who is grieving, to actively work for an end to poverty and war? These crosses often make us unpopular with family or friends or even with those within the Church. Yet Jesus clearly calls us to be with the poor, the oppressed, the imprisoned and the homeless. The example Jesus sets is to choose to take up the crosses of our lives–and others–and follow him.
Let us pray: Jesus, you chose to suffer and die for us. Allow us to see clearly the cross you have in mind for us. Give us freedom and courage to pick it up and follow you. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 8, 2013
Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. They celebrated the Passover at Gilgal, ate the produce of the land, “unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5. The next story to be related is Joshua’s interaction with “a commander of the army of the Lord” who, first, orders Joshua to remove his sandals from his feet because he is standing on holy ground and then informs him of the unusual way in which he will take Jericho.
Now, why was Joshua asked to remove his sandals? Barefoot in the presence of the Lord? Receiving news that would confirm victory as God’s servants? Heralding the change from having been clearly dependent on God (manna and quail) to being more personally responsible (eating crops from the land)? Traditionally the answer is God’s presence, but consider today, dear friend, that God is present–and the ground on which you stand is holy–not only when we are in prayer, not only when we are listening to God’s will for us, but also when we are willing to take responsibility for our own lives and yet live as if we were totally dependent upon God. The Israelites continually failed that test and followed other gods. Take off your shoes, stand on holy ground, admit your dependence on the one who loves you.
Let us pray: Commanding God, allow us to be aware of your presence in our lives and to lean fully on you, for the sake of the One who trusted you completely, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 9, 2013
Today I held my coffee mug under the faucet and watched the water fill it, and–bubbling brightly–overflow the sides and cascade down my hands and run into the sink. How cool and comforting the water felt, running down over my hands. How pleasant to experience the abundance of that river. How refreshing the drink, when I brought the cup to my lips and allowed the water to quench my parched mouth and soothe my dry throat. How profuse–how prodigal!–the amount of water that flowed from the faucet, through my cup–with just a little entering my mouth–and the rest flowing freely down the drain.
I thought about God’s love for me. It fills my life. It overflows. I open myself to receive–just a little. And I am renewed. Dear friend, the words of the Psalmist come to me: “My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Rejoice, this day, in the profligate love of God for you.
Let us pray: God, you fill our cup and give us good measure, pressed down and overflowing. Open our lives to receive your love graciously. Open our hands to share it with others for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 10, 2013
In Deuteronomy 26 the Israelites are taught a statement of faith with which they are to present their offerings, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toils and our oppression. The Lord brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders…” and so they present their offerings to God remembering all that God has done for them. Often throughout their history they are reminded to treat the stranger well for they too were once strangers in a foreign land.
Dear friend, our ancestors, too, were once strangers in a foreign land and depended upon the graciousness of God and the kindness of others for our survival. As we offer our gifts to God and for others, rehearse the saving acts of God in your own life–and give thanks.
Let us pray: Saving God, thank you for acting in our lives. Use us to act in the lives of those who feel like strangers, for Jesus’ sake. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 11, 2013
This is the story. It is recorded in the book of Genesis. Abram is very old and has no children, no heirs. God tells him that his reward will be great and he complains–because there is no one who will inherit it except a slave. And God tells Abram to go outside, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So shall your descendents be.”
Abram wanted to have one son, one heir, with his wife Sarai. God says, “No!” and then tells him his heirs will be countless. God also warns Abram that his offspring will live in exile for four hundred years but will return to their own land with great possessions. God also tells Abram he will live to a good, old age and will die in peace. Isn’t that just like God, dear friend. We want what we want when we want it and God says, “No!” and instead gives us so much more, in God’s good time. How long will it take us to trust God and God’s gracious will? How long will it take us to see the connectedness of life and see that God’s good is for the larger us, all the people of God, and not just for the individual? How long will it take us to trust that God also guides and blesses each precious individual person?
Let us pray: God, you asked Abram to believe you when you told him he would have many offspring. You credited his belief to him as righteousness. Help us to believe your gracious will for us and to act in righteous faith. We pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 12, 2013
In Romans 7, St. Paul makes it clear that the Christian is not bound by the law. The law is just and good and was given to us to show us our own sinfulness. But now we have a new spiritual life. St. Paul puts it like this, “But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.” Romans 7:6.
What is new, dear friend, is our priorities. An example is when Jesus healed on the Sabbath because the well-being of a neighbor was more important than exact obedience to the commandment to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. An example is when Jesus ate with tax collectors or sinners and made himself ‘unclean.’ An example is when Jesus healed the leper or the mentally ill and touched them!–disobeying rules of ritual cleanliness. Being Christian does not make us free from the law–it makes us slave to the new, spiritual law of love. The old rules still hold under general circumstances. The new law requires us to, sometimes, take some radical and even controversial action in the name of the love of God.
Let us pray: Keep us faithful, O God, to your commandments. Show us the places you invite us to act in new and unusual ways to obey your radical law of love. Give us sensitivity to listen and courage to act, for the sake of the One who suffered and died for us, 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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March 13, 2013
“Alleluia! How good it is to sing praises to our God! Alleluia! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise God in the heights! Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song! Alleluia! Praise God in God’s holy temple! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Alleluia!”
These excerpts from the last four Psalms emphasize praising God. Alleluia! And yet as we enter the somber season of Lent we put away the word ‘Alleluia’ and we focus instead on our own brokenness with God and with our dear neighbor. This day before Ash Wednesday is traditionally a day of feasting–and praising–for together we will begin a time of fasting and repenting. And for this coming sober time, we too say Alleluia! Praise God for constantly calling us home.
Let us pray: God, we praise your holy name, in good times and in bad. Focus our attention this coming season on ways we may be drawn closer to you. Allow us to die to our selves and be reborn to our true selves which are in complete union with you for Jesus’ sake. AMEN. Jesus says in John 12 verse 23, “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.”
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. Our Ash Wednesday service is February 25th at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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March 14, 2013
The parable of the dishonest steward which Jesus tells in Luke 16 is very difficult to understand–read it and struggle with it. But at the end, Jesus makes it clear. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth.”
Jesus is clear, dear friend, but not easy. True wealth comes from a loving relationship with God and each and every neighbor. We have to decide which kind of wealth is most important to us, which kind of wealth will set the standard for our decision making. The choice is clear; the decision is often painful.
Let us pray: O God, you have created and sustained us and all things. Grant us wisdom to act in your everlasting love for all. 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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March 15, 2013
One summer, on a gray, drizzly day, I climbed a very tall mountain in North Carolina. First, we drove up long, winding roads until we reached the parking lots. Then we got out of the car, paid our admission, of course, and began climbing the trail. The paths were narrow and steep. The wooden railings of originally rough-hewn logs had been worn smooth and shiny by the passing of hundreds of thousands of hands which held on to assist in the climb. By the time we reached the top of the trail, we were standing on an outcropping of rock. It was like being in an airplane! We were so high above the clouds that, although it was stormy beneath us, the sun was shining on us!
That is the kind of experience which the Psalmist is describing in the 27th Psalm verses 7 and 8: “For in the day of trouble God shall keep me safe in God’s shelter and will hide me in the secrecy of God’s dwelling and set me high upon a rock.” Dear friend, the storms of life will not go away because we believe in God. However, God sets us high on a rock and gives us a very different perspective–safe in God’s loving arms.
Let us pray: Rock of Ages, let us hide in you and trust that you always keep us safe in every situation. We pray in the name of the One who suffered and died, and was raised again, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 16, 2013
Tough and tender. That’s how Jesus responds in Luke 13 when he is told that Herod wants to kill him. Jesus says, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.” And then, so tenderly, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
Jesus speaks the truth as he sees it, dear friend. And calling Herod an old fox is not exactly a gentle term of endearment. Jesus could certainly be tough. And yet he goes right on to long for his people and yearn for them as a lover, reminding them quietly how he loves them–and yet they would not respond to his love. Jesus longs for us too, and desires to gather us in his arms. He speaks the truth to us and still, tenderly, calls us to him Will we respond?
Let us pray: Jesus, you speak to us, gently telling us the truth of our lives and our own brokenness and calling us back to you. Allow us to respond to your faithful love. We pray in your Name. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 17, 2013
Psalm 51 verse 6: “Since you love sincerity of heart, teach me the secrets of wisdom.” and then in verse 10: “God, create a clean heart in me, put into me a new and constant spirit.”
When I first had children, three of which I inherited when they were 12, 9, and 6, I thought that they would create messes I could never clean up. “Ma, look at what I’m baking!” The whole kitchen? “Ma, look at the mud facial I’m giving Allison” All over the bathroom floors and walls? “Ma, I’m dirty–help!” Always they would ask for help cleaning up the messes they made. And, even in my fear of never succeeding, I always worked with them to make their world (and mine) clean again.
God is like that, dear friend. God waits for us to ask for forgiveness, waits for our request to create clean hearts within us and then, dear friend, God makes our world (and God’s) clean once more.
Let us pray: Wash us from our sins, loving God, and make us pure and clean indeed 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 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
March 18, 2013
‘Steady. Steady!’ I remember when I would ride horses as a young woman. JoJo (the horse I rode) and I would enter jumping competitions. JoJo had been trained in England as a steeplechaser and was always ready to run–fast–over every jump. I would remind him–’Steady. Steady!’ that form mattered in this contest, not speed.
Sometimes I too need to be reminded of the purpose of the race that we are running; the purpose is union with God and each dear neighbor. And as I am being reminded I need to hear the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 51, verse 12–”Be my savior again, renew my joy, keep my spirit steady and willing.” ‘Easy there, dear friend. Steady. Steady! We are not alone in this competition. We are accompanied by the God who loves us and speaks to us and who steadies us in the midst of the difficulties of everyday life.
Let us pray: Ride us gently, O God. Saddle us with your spirit, reign us in with your love and steady us with the gentle voice of your constant presence. AMEN.
My name is Pastor Janet Grill of St. Andrew Lutheran Church at 304 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We worship on Sundays 11 AM and Tuesdays at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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March 19, 2013
Lent is a time when we often think of being tested or tempted. St. Joseph’s day, March 19th, usually falls within the Lenten season as it does this year. I suspect it is not a coincidence! Because Joseph was certainly tempted. Here he was, engaged to be married but never having slept with his betrothed, and he finds out she’s pregnant. In his day such behavior was responded to by stoning the woman to death! And yet he, being a kind man, resolved to divorce her quietly. The story is recorded in Matthew, chapter 1. But then the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, told him not to be afraid, told him the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit–right!–and that they should name the baby Jesus because this child would save his people from their sins.
Now, dear friend, if you were in Joseph’s position, wouldn’t you be tempted not to believe that angel? Wouldn’t you be tempted to go on your way and do what you were going to do in the first place? Wouldn’t the thought occur to you that God doesn’t really do things like get virgins pregnant? And yet Joseph being a righteous man, took Mary as his wife, raised their child, and cared tenderly for his family.
Let us pray: Almighty God, you are the father of Jesus, and yet you asked Joseph to believe in you and to take Mary as his wife, Jesus as his son, and care and provide for them. Allow us to listen carefully to your Word to us, to resist the temptation of believing you couldn’t possibly act this way in our lives, and to faithfully obey you. We pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 20, 2013
How great is God’s love for us! We certainly know this love in the person of Jesus who suffered, died and was raised again for us. And we know this love from some of the Bible stories about people who reflect the magnitude of God’s love. One example is the story of David and his son Absalom which is recounted in II Samuel. Absalom is working for his father’s overthrow. He is riding into enemy territory and gets his head stuck in a tree. One of David’s men stabs him to death and sends word back to David that the leader of the insurrection is dead. He is sure this is news in which David will delight.
Instead, David weeps. “O my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son.” God’s love for us is like that. dear friend. Even when we turn away from God, even when we are actively working against the kingdom, God longs for us and calls to us and weeps over our being lost. God loves you–and longs not for your death, but for your full life and your return to God. Lent is a season for listening carefully, repenting of our brokenness, and being called back to the God who loves us so much.
Let us pray: Father of mercies and God of all consolation, come to the aid of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may attend to your Word, confess our sins, receive your forgiveness and grow into the fullness of your love which we know best through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 21, 2013
An invitation. “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!” That invitation at the beginning of the 55th chapter of Isaiah sounds silly. It’s a little like saying, “Hey, you who have no money, come to the fanciest restaurant and have a fine meal.” It sounds a little foolish–and absolutely delightful. It sounds a little like the words of Jesus in John 4:13 when he says to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I give them will never be thirsty.”
Both Isaiah and Jesus are speaking in two dimensions. The first is our everyday life, an economy which is based on that which we do and that which we physically eat and drink. The second, more powerful, dimension is our spiritual life, an economy which affects our everyday life and yet is much more influential than what we eat or drink. Isaiah and Jesus speak to our longings–our hungering and thirsting–for love, for meaning and for satisfaction. They suggest that our desires can be filled, without using any coins of this realm, at the hand of God.
Dear friend, let us pray: Call us to your table, provident God, and fill us until our cup overflows, our needs are satisfied and we find our rest in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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March 22, 2013
I have a friend who works with people who are dying. She says that they often bring up questions about the meaning of life. Why was I born? What is the purpose of my life? Did I do what I was supposed to do while I was here?
The prophet Isaiah raises similar questions in the 55th chapter. “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” The questions are valid for us, too, dear friend, even if we are not immediately approaching death. On what do we spend our time and money? What is our god? What have we been or done that makes us feel like our time on this earth has been worthwhile? Isaiah suggests that the answer to this question is found by listening to God, by trusting in the covenant of love that God is making with us, and by witnessing to that love in the world. Such behavior is possible whether we are rich or poor, young or old, in physical health or ill. I think Isaiah is right.
Let us pray: O God who gives purpose to our living, grant that we might listen carefully to you, trust in your love for us and share your saving love with all the world, for the sake of Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 23, 2013
Luke 15 begins with tax collectors and sinners coming near to Jesus to listen to him and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbling and complaining that “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” In response, Jesus tells three parables. The first is about a man who has one hundred sheep and loses one of them. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to fend for themselves and goes out and finds the lost sheep and calls his friends and neighbors to come and rejoice over the finding of that lost one. Jesus concludes, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
The second is about a woman who has ten silver coins, loses one of them, and lights the lamp and carefully sweeps the house until she finds that lost coin and then calls her neighbors to rejoice. Jesus concludes, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus talks to, and eats with, tax collectors and sinners because he especially wants to tell them about the reign of God and to invite them to repent and to return to the God who loves them. Jesus talks to, and eats with, us, dear friend, because he especially wants to tell us about the reign of God and to invite us to repent and to return to the God who loves us.
Let us pray: Thank you, Jesus, because even in our brokenness and separateness from you, you continue to call us home. Let us rejoice with you as we return to your loving arms. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 24, 2013
The third parable in Luke 15, told in response to the Pharisees complaining that Jesus talks to tax collectors and sinners, is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The story is familiar. A man has two sons; the younger asks for his inheritance and goes and squanders it, lives in poverty until he comes to his senses and realizes that he could return home and be his father’s servant. On his return, his father welcomes him back with a party and the elder son pouts.
“Prodigal” means lavish, or wasteful. This parable got its name because the younger son wastes all his money in loose living. Theologians have suggested, however, that the story be called the Parable of the Prodigal Father. Why? Because isn’t it terribly wasteful to have a party for the son who squandered his entire inheritance? Wasn’t the elder brother right to be upset that he had been faithful always, and didn’t get any special treatment? And yet the loving father “wasted” his money by giving the younger son a robe and a ring and sandals and killing the fatted calf which was being saved for a special occasion. Dear friend, God loves us prodigally, that is, God spends love on us in a manner that would certainly be considered wasteful in human economy. Let us have a party and rejoice!
Let us pray: Prodigal Father, you lavish your love and the gifts of your Spirit on us. You invite us closer and closer to you and to each dear neighbor and you celebrate our returning. Help us to welcome others into your community with the same extravagance that you have heaped upon us, for Jesus’ sake. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 25, 2013
Annunciation
Precisely nine months before the western church celebrates Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. It is the day when the angel Gabriel tells young Mary that 1) she should not be afraid, 2) she was pregnant with a boy whom she was to name Jesus, and 3) this child was going to be great, being called the Son of the Most High and reigning over the house of Jacob forever. Mary’s response: How can this be? She was, of course, a virgin. And the angel tells her the confirming sign of her old relative Elizabeth also being pregnant. The angel’s punch line is “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
The angel, of course, must have been right because Mary’s response is, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” The story is recorded in the first chapter of Luke. The angel must have been correct because who in her right mind would accept not only the frightening verdict that she was pregnant out of wedlock but that this baby was going to be a great religious leader? God does ask God’s people to do and accept and believe the strangest things. And God also asks us to trust that God is working good out of them. We need to believe that nothing is impossible for God, and then, of course, to accept the situation with a grace as beautiful as Mary’s.
Dear friend, let us pray: Let it be to me, dear God, according to your gracious will. We pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 26, 2013
Do you know what God wants, dear friend? He want us to be one with God and one with each dear neighbor. It’s so simple, although it is not easy at all. Perhaps it is not even possible this side of heaven. But the request, and our responding desire, is the same. Jesus put it like this, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Others, like St. Paul, put it in a more-complicated manner. In II Corinthians 5:18 he writes, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We have a job to do. First, open ourselves to God’s magnificent love so that we might respond to God’s drawing us to God and second, bear that reconciling love to all the world.
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 our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 27, 2013
We are a funny people. We pray and pray and pray because we want something so badly and then, when we get it, we don’t believe it! I had a friend who needed a new car badly and entered a contest to win a Ford Mustang. When they called her name she said, “Pinch me to wake me up! I must be dreaming!” The people of Israel were like that too. The Psalmist writes in the beginning of the 126th Psalm, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream.”
Dear friend, God acts in our lives in loving and saving ways. God continues to be with us through thick and thin. And God is working to restore us. So why do we think we are dreaming when we recognize God’s action in our lives? Because we believe that happiness only happens in a fantasy world? Perhaps. But another suggestion is that, in truth, we do not trust God enough to believe that God will always be present with us and will see us through every situation. Today, when something good happens, thank God and remember how God always acts in your life.
Let us pray: Wake us up, O God, to the reality of your saving presence in our lives which we know best through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
March 28, 2013
Psalm 126 ends like this: “Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy shouldering their sheaves.”
God’s Holy Word is full of great reversals. The barren old woman becomes pregnant. The sinners and outcasts are respected. The blind see. In Luke 6, Jesus not only tells the “Blesseds,” for example, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.” He also goes on to the woes–”But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
Dear friend, Scripture is full of reversals–and so are our lives. Trust God–and not your wealth and satisfactions and laughter and reputation. Woe to us when we foolishly think that the ways of this world are the ways of God.
Let us pray: Forgive us, loving God, when we put our trust in things and not in you. Allow us to be blessed, happy, in this life by following you and loving others, for the sake of the One who died and rose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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Marrch 29, 2013
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The words of the psalmist in Psalm 22. “Eli, eli, lama sabachtani.” The same words are the words of Jesus as he hangs on the cross, just before he dies. In Matthew, this piercing cry is recorded in the 27th chapter. “When some who stood there heard this, they said, ‘The man is calling on Elijah’ and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. ‘Wait,’ said the rest of them, ‘and see if Elijah will come to save him.’ But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.”
On this Good Friday, we think of Jesus experiencing the abandonment, the feelings of being forsaken, which made him truly human. We identify with those feelings.
Dear friend, let us pray: God, thank you for allowing Jesus to experience the suffering and abandonment which we know only too well. For, because he too has felt this way, we know we are never really alone. Forgive our sins that we might be more like Jesus. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. Good Friday service is April 6th at noon, prayer vigil until 3 PM and Tenebrae at 7 PM. We invite you to join us.
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March 30, 2013
Holy Saturday is a quiet day. Good Jews, Jesus’ disciples, were observing the sabbath and doing no work. But I’m sure the minds of the women were active–’First thing in the morning, we must gather up the spices and hurry to the tomb to prepare our Jesus for a proper burial.’ We, too, spend the day in quiet (or frantic) preparations. ‘Are the lilies on the altar? Are the white paraments out? Is the Christ Candle ready to be lit and lead the way through the darkness with the light of Christ?’
On this quiet, holy day, dear friend, set aside some time to ponder the quiet of the tomb, the quiet of the disciples’ saddened hearts, the quiet of the Sabbath. In this quietness, remember that, although each year we reenact the suffering and death of Jesus, we never wonder or worry–we know that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Trust that God works this quiet miracle for the deaths in your lives as well.
Let us pray: God, thank you for the sure knowledge of the resurrection which casts its ray of light into the dark and quiet of this holy day. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. . Easter Dinner is Easter Day at 4 PM. We invite you to join us.
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March 31, 2013
Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Do you realize, dear friend, that today is a day of greatest joy? A day when we remember that God’s great love for us–for all of us–has saved us? A day when we remember that God loved us so much that Jesus suffered and died for us–and was raised again for us? A day to recall that no matter how gloomy or unhopeful our lives seem to be, God puts new life there–in our lives–in the midst of death..
One of my favorite Easter carols is called “Now the Green Blade Rises.” The refrain is “Love is come again like wheat arising green.” My favorite verse goes like this:
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Your touch can call us back to life again.
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been;
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
God loves you so much that God places newness in the dead places of our lives. Rejoice! Rejoice!
Let us pray: Almighty God, you who have raised your Son from death and promise to raise us as well: fill us with your hope; allow us to hold onto the new life you give; use us to bring this new life to others for the sake of the Risen One, Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
This is Pastor Janet Grill from St. Andrew Lutheran Church at the corner of Centre and Morewood in Shadyside. We worship on Sundays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm. We invite you to join us.
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