Loving God, both your Son Jesus and his followers met people where they were at, speaking to them in terms that they could understand.  Continue to speak to your people today and always by the power of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           If Paul were preaching in Winnipeg instead of in Athens, I wonder if it might sound something like this:

         People of Winnipeg, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.  For since I have been in your city, I have seen Jets flags flying on vehicles all over the place.  I have seen people all dressed in white congregating and cheering and chanting together.  I have seen your license plates that say “The Winnipeg Jets – Fueled by Passion.”  You follow them religiously, and even when they are not here, you gather, and you watch, and you cheer.  And when you gather, you sing “God keep our land” in your national anthem.

         This God whom you sing about is more than a hockey god.  This God is the one I proclaim to you – the one who made heaven and earth and every living thing.  It is this Creator of heaven and earth who gives life and breath and passion.  This God does not disappear after hockey season, and does not live only in arenas and stadiums and ballparks.  In fact, you can find the one true God in many places, including in churches and in the natural world and in quiet places, and even in other people.

         As you follow your Jets, I have observed that you are excited when they are doing well, and depressed when they are losing.  You chant, “We want the Cup.  We want the Cup.”  Yet, what will happen when they let you down, as all human beings ultimately will?  It may not be this year, and it may not be next year, but ultimately, they will let you down.  What then?

         They will not be able to help you when you are in the midst of a personal crisis or mourning the loss of a loved one.  They will not be able to help when the passion dies down and you are left searching for more.  They will not be able to help when your health fails or when you are facing imminent death.  They will distract you for a while from real life, but then you will wonder where all the excitement went.

         God, who is Lord of heaven and earth, is with us at all times.  He made this clear by sending his Son, Jesus, who lived among us, showing us what God is like and living out God’s love for us.  Jesus showed how God has power over sin and power over illness and power over death.  Jesus also showed how God is love, as he treated people with respect and compassion, healing their ills and welcoming them into God’s community.  This same Jesus, who loves us and who gave himself for us has been appointed by God as judge of both the living and the dead. God proved this by raising Jesus from the dead, even though human jealousy and hatred and narrow-mindedness had put Jesus to death on a cross.

         You think the Jets are fueled by passion?  How much more so God’s people, who are fueled by the Holy Spirit, the giver of life and breath and passion!  The Jets might provide some excitement (and thank God for that!), but they cannot give the breath of life.  And so, turn to Jesus, who lived and served and died for our salvation, and who gives us the bread of life.  His Spirit does not falter or fail, and will fuel our body and soul not only during this life, but into eternity.  Amen.

Easter 5 (NL 4)                                                         Acts 17:16-31

April 29, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved