It was a time of plague. And it had been, off and on, for a while. When plague popped up in Whittenburg in 1527 people knew what was at stake. Two hundred years prior plague had wiped out a third of Europe’s population, possibly more. There was fear, justifiably so, that it could happen again. Many left town, hoping to save themselves. This left fewer healthy people to care for the sick, and a shortage of the frontline healthcare workers of the day.

No matter how people responded it created a moral dilemma. Is it ok to look out for yourself, and close family? Or does the greater good, a good that benefits all of society matter more? Or, could it be possible even, to do both?

It was a time of new tech. The invention of the Guttenberg Press couldn’t help but mix things up. Until then books were copied by hand. Which was slow. And expensive. And inaccessible to most; texts then were in languages only religious, academic, and ruling-class elites could read. So when Martin Luther began publishing inexpensive pamphlets, in German, the language of the people, highlighting how the Church exploited the masses, contrary to scripture, they sold like hotcakes.

Commoners now had access to news that undermined a trusted institution. It created tension, conflict. And a growing awareness something had to change.

It was a time of revolt. Historians debate what caused the Peasant’s War of the 1520s. Some trace its roots to a rising economic imbalance between working-class laborers and the knights, dukes, and princes ruling over them. Others point to Luther’s rhetoric against the Catholic Church being repurposed to address the underlying economic tensions of the time.

Regardless of the cause, the effect is well documented. Hundreds of thousands of everyday Germans were killed, put down by their government. What began as hopes for economic reforms ended in bloodshed. Christian leaders of the day were split. Some supported the peasants. Others, including Luther, were vehemently opposed to their cause. This dark spot in history is a reminder; much-needed reform can be painful. And isn’t always supported by the people you’d expect.

2020
It is a time of plague. And it has been, for a while; soon we’ll be staring into year two. We know what’s at stake; H1N1, Ebola, and Zika all linger in recent memory. There is fear, justifiably so. More have died from COVID-19, globally, than these three combined. The US, sadly, has been impacted most of all.

Many with means isolate, protecting themselves, their families above all else. Some simply don’t care. Others don’t have the luxury to choose their approach. For the sick must be cared for. Grocers must provide food. Buildings must be cleaned.

We know certain groups are more affected by this plague than others:
– People with pre-existing, underlying medical conditions
– Adults over age 65
– Black and brown bodies

Each much more likely to become infected.
Each much more likely to die.

These imbalances raise ethical questions. Are bodies already sick, or aging, or black or brown worth less than others? Or are we called to care for them, just as we care for ourselves? Best medical practices tell us mask wearing in public drastically reduces spread of this particular plague. Should we wear them, helping our neighbor? Or do the personal liberties we hold so dear matter more?

It is a time of new tech. The advent of the internet era couldn’t help but mix things up. Even if it wasn’t invented by Al Gore. Handwritten letters, Blockbuster, physical books, soon replaced by emails, Netflix, Kindles.

Devices and subscriptions accessing this new info superhighway sold like hotcakes, no surprise there.

New tech created access to so much, so fast, for so many. We could zoom over and see our beloved living far away. Participate in commerce with the click of a button. Attend church in our living room, donning our favorite pajamas, coffee cup in hand. During a pandemic new tech arguably has been crucial to our survival. We look at its creation and conclude yes. It was good.

Yet with new toys come new warning labels. Instead of using these new creations to celebrate each other, we instead exploited it, sharing half-truths, mistruths, conspiracy theories with no truth at all. Each fabrication with the potential to be seen by millions, within hours. Real damage has been done.

In our rush to be great, and to win, we sought to expose others. Instead, we’d only exposed ourselves. And found we’d been cast out from a very good garden, once again.

New tech also brought to light unfortunate very real truths we wish weren’t so. Like eight minutes of video uploaded this year from Minneapolis on May 25. It’s difficult to watch the police officer’s knee to the neck of George Floyd, amidst cries of I can’t breathe, as he dies.

Systemic racism in the US is nothing new. We know this. But the technology that showcases it still is. Our connected devices now readily reveal societal flaws more closely, more clearly than ever before. News of this sort can’t help but undermine once trusted occupations, once trusted institutions.

And because of it we seek, once again, solutions to problems that have lingered far too long.

It is a time of revolt. Response to George Floyd’s murder has been varied. Most often it has taken the form of peaceful protest. Usually with people masked as they march; for we’re still in pandemic, after all. But there has, on occasion, been property destroyed. And riots. And more loss of life too. We wish that weren’t so.

As a result there is tension, there is conflict.
There is growing awareness something must change.

Protesters share issues best told by the signs they wield. Highlights include:
It contains high salt content which is also known for viagra pills from canada enhancing the sexual drive during intimacy. Just have a glance on the major aspects of viagra in kamagra to treat erectile dysfunction Kamagra sildenafil tablets have been remarked as the best solution of men’s erectile dysfunction, just because of its ingredient. I wish you the best and remind you “Believe in yourself -You deserve the best!” So what particularly would be the points of viagra 100mg interest to getting incessant massage therapy and additionally bodywork treatment alternatives? Increases course, allowing the body to pump much more oxygen and supplements into tissues and fundamental organs. Kamagra 100mg pill is rapidly absorbed and should be consumed 30 minutes before having sexual activities so that it can effectively work as an anti-depressant for relieving women of their stress, thereby inducing good sleep to improve their cialis generika 20mg energy and immune system requires fighting against infections. – Why do you hate me?
– No justice, No peace.

And this personal favorite:

The roots of these protests are 400 years in the making. Disparities in access to healthcare, high rates of incarceration, large gaps in wealth, large gaps in opportunity. All contribute to the challenges we face.

When it comes to speaking clearly about whether black lives matter, or not, many Christian leaders don’t say a word. Others speak out.

Our denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, says this:

“We apologize…for our historical complicity in slavery and its enduring legacy of racism. We lament the white church’s failure to work for the abolition of slavery and the perpetuation of racism in this church. We confess, repent and repudiate the times when this church has been silent in the face of racial injustice.”

The Protestant Reformation was rooted in protest. Speaking to and helping solve the injustices God’s children face is our shared, common call. Reform, simply put, is what we do.

Today
Most years Reformation Day in Lutheran churches is a holiday we celebrate. A triumph of much-needed change. Awash in the color of red, reminding us the Holy Spirit is in the midst of it all. Today, against a backdrop of pandemic, empty sanctuaries, and deep societal imbalances becoming painfully clear, I’ve got to be honest with you. I don’t feel much like celebrating. No red balloons will be released here today.

Perhaps this is what it felt like to live through the reformation half a millennia ago. Sure, there was excitement, drama, a growing sense massive tectonic religious and societal shifts were underway. But their ending hadn’t been written. For many years it was a struggle of ideas, possibilities, hopes for a brighter future not yet achieved.

In these uncertain, hopeful times, full of potential, full of anxieties, we turn to scripture for guidance.  Continue in my word, Jesus asks of us in John 8:31-36. For when you do, you are truly my disciples.

When you are Christ’s disciples you will know the truth. And be better prepared to weed out the mistruths, half-truths, and conspiracy theories with no truth at all. Christ’s truth – one that resides within us through the movement of the Spirit – that truth, my friends, will set you free.

These days of plague, new tech, and protests leave us with much to ponder. May we turn to Christ’s truth to better see the world around.

Dear God, reform us. Re-form:
Our hearts,
Our minds,
Our churches,
Our in-groups,
Our economies,
Our courts,
Our governments.

Break down the walls we use that divide. Unite us as one people, loved by our creator. Show us how to care for one another, as you so deeply care for us.

Without exception.
Regardless of age, underlying medical conditions, skin color.
Or anything else.

Help us to right wrongs, hundreds of years in the making. Make us active participants in reforming your world, re-making it your image. Not ours.

Reform us here.
Reform us now.
It is time.  Amen.

Weddings.  To successfully pull off a grand, memorable day, getting the invitation list just so might be the toughest part of all.

Sometimes who makes the cut is driven by venue.  That was the case for Bill and Becky, who found themselves staring down a list of 600 people they hoped to invite, with a reception hall that could only fit a third of that number.

Other times invitation lists evolve for reasons no one could have possibly seen coming.  Of the three weddings I’ve been asked to officiate this year the invite list for each, out of pandemic necessity, was revised down.

One of those is Nicole and Emily’s celebration later this year in St. Augustine Florida; they initially invited 84.  When it became clear the pandemic wasn’t going away any time soon, plans naturally evolved, trimming the in-person gathering to 28.  When Nicole, a healthy 28-year-old nurse caught COVID herself, with effects like shortness of breath and dizziness lasting for weeks, they knew their shorter list was the right and safe thing to do.

There’s even been an upside; the two now plan to livestream the ceremony via Zoom, inviting even more friends to celebrate with them than they first planned.

Benjamins

Often decisions of who to invite for the big day come down to money, no surprise there.  The average US wedding in 2019 costs almost $34,000, yikes.

Dave and Kim had a wedding with over 600.  But still, they had to trim invites to keep costs down.  Dave came from a large Irish Catholic family, which means exactly what you think it means.  Kim was from a small, close-knit town, and wanted to invite them all.  Dave says deciding who to take off the list was the worst part of getting married.  They would have invited everyone if they could.

Becky and Clint had $3,000 to spend on their 1997 extravaganza and were on a strict budget.  The two crunched numbers and determined their number:  100.  The approach they used for who made the list was downright precise: 25 people each for the bride, groom, bride’s parents, and groom’s parents.  On paper that seems so clean.  Becky and Clint gave their parents one extra person each to make the count for everyone even.  To maximize the experience Clint asked his single fraternity brothers to bring each other as dates, so more friends could be there, a really nice touch.

Yet for all that precision, and a well-constructed plan, not everyone was pleased.  Some of their family were cheesed children weren’t invited, which created kid-sitting complexities.  Becky remembers crumbling under a family member’s harsh words about it.  And recalls she’s never seen Clint as upset about how his future bride was being treated either before or in the 23 years since.  Fortunately, strained relationships have since healed.  The wedding and reception went off without a hitch, thanks be to God.

These stories are a reminder of the implicit challenges that surround who exactly to invite to the celebration, of what for many of us, represents one of the most important days of our lives.

If you’ve been married at some point take a moment to remember.  Consider how you went about putting together your invitation list.  Who made the cut, who didn’t?  It’s an almost impossible challenge to pull off to keep everyone happy.

The Big Bash

Once upon a time, there was a king, with a son he very much loved.  The king’s son was to be married, with no expense spared.  This wedding may have looked a little different than most.  For when a king plans a wedding you know it’s going to be extravagant in ways most can normally only dream of.

The venue would be grand, the best in all the land.  With the resources of an entire kingdom, there was no limit on what this day could be.  And, while there is no mention of plague in this story, no pandemic on the loose, this particular king would ensure everyone was kept safe.  Because that is, after all, what leaders of lands are called to do.

But still, king or no king, weddings require invitations, lists must be made.  This wedding, initially at least, in this way, would be like any other.  Family were asked, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandkids aplenty.  And the friend’s list?  It was filled with VIPs, people to see and be seen with: kings and queens, princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, diplomats, rabbis, priests, merchants of means.

With the list now complete, invitations were sent out.  The king hoped upon hope that all invited could attend.

The decorations, clothing, music, drink, and food were planned to perfection.  A favored son of the kingdom was to be married, and what a banquet it would be.  This celebration would be legendary, lore passed down from one generation to the next.

Preparations now complete, the king sent messengers out, to let the invited know the joyous celebration would soon begin.  Dinner was ready.  Oxen and calves and the finest of foods, all here for them to enjoy.  And if the wine happened to run out?  No worries, the king joked, my son could whip something up, speedy quick.

But then the strangest thing happened.  The invited did not come.  The friends and family, the dukes and diplomats, the merchants of means instead chose to stay home.  They went about their business like it was any other day.  They ignored the gathering entirely, as if it was of no importance at all.  And worse?  Some mocked the wedding, laughed at the king, mistreated his messengers.

Staring out an empty banquet hall, with invitation list in hand, the king pictured where each person would have sat.  Emotions rushed over him; sadness, disappointment, anger.  The day was nothing he had hoped that it would be.

The dining, drinking, and dancing, so precisely planned, would have to wait.

For without guests, a party simply isn’t.

The king’s soul was crushed.  Looking down at the invitation list, filled with no-shows, the king realized something.  The system he’d relied on, of who’s invited and who isn’t, had yielded disastrous results.

The New Plan

Oh, the celebration must go on, the king realized, but filling the empty seats would require a different approach.  Something must change.

For it was a new day.
Which called for a new way.
A John 3:16 moment through and through.

The king, a creator at heart, was determined to make something out of nothing.   He’d done it before.  He’d do it, again.

So he sent out his messengers, this time with a different assignment.  Invite everyone you meet to the banquet.  For this king so loved the whole world.  There would be no exceptions.  No lists made that exclude.

Not this time.

So the messengers went.
The messengers found.
Trust me, this will strengthen your orgasm viagra stores even more. Forzest pill is considered to be a life saver pill for buy generic cialis http://appalachianmagazine.com/2016/11/28/why-journalism-is-dead-in-modern-america-2016/ the people who have been facing this particular issue in their life since a longer period of time. viagra uk without prescription This may seem far removed from traditional article writing but if you like writing controversial op ed pieces then this may be a subsidiary income stream whilst showcasing your original writing. The benefit to buy kamagra 100mg online for a quick relief from ED issues.Mild Side Effects of Kamagra: There can be some mild minor side effects which can last for few hours or few days depending on the person’s health condition. viagra online mastercard The messengers invited.

On their journeys, they encountered all kinds of people not on that first list.

Some were sick, too ill to celebrate much of anything.  Get them the finest doctors, the best treatments in the land.  Heal them, the king decreed.  Send the bill to me.  Make sure you invite them too, the king reminded.  And when they show up?  Let them in.

Some were hungry, living from meal to meal.  That’s easy, the king thought.  There’s plenty of food at the banquet.  Tell them their stomachs will be filled.  And they can take as much as they like home with them.  When they show up open the doors.  Let them in.

Looking at the first guest list with new eyes, the king realized entire swaths of people had been left off.  We didn’t invite the gays and the lesbians the first time around?  The king was embarrassed.  They’re fabulous, he thought, the life of any good party.  Go find them, invite them, and let them in!

A messenger then came back with some troubling news.  The king learned, at the border of his land, there were kids in cages, with no parents in sight.  What?  The king’s face became flush.  He was downright furious at this injustice.  How did this happen?  Let them out!  Reunite them with their parents!  Invite them to the banquet.  Let them in!

And all the others, with lives that definitely mattered, yet weren’t initially invited?  Find them, the king said.  Tell them of the grand celebration.  Make sure they know they are wanted.  That we hope and pray they attend.  And when they show up?  You know what to do, the king told the messengers.  Roll out the red carpet.  Open the palace doors wide.

Let them in.
Let them in.
Let them in.

The messengers did.
The people came.
The doors were opened wide.

And before long the wedding hall was filled with guests, each there to celebrate a favored son.  He was, after all, what drew them together.

For it was then, and only then, that the grand banquet, complete with dining, drinking, dancing, unending joy, unending laughter, could begin.

Hereafter

The kingdom of heaven is like that wedding, Jesus reminds.

Filled with people, filled with surprises.  Each person there filled with backstories our fallen human selves might initially judge.  Therein lies the beauty of God’s kingdom.  It is a judgment-free zone, designed for all.

No matter our age, race, ethnicity, orientation or national origin.  Or any other label we might seek to use that divides.

Our own wedding celebrations, by nature, have limits.  There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, halls that fit only so many.  We recognize the challenges these limits create.  And understand, on some level at least, that it’s better to celebrate the most special of days without restriction, without limit, without exception.

Yet to successfully marry the earthly and the divine, as has always been the plan, getting the invitation list just so might be the toughest part of all.

God knows.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until the heavenly hereafter to experience this grand banquet as originally designed.  In fact, we’re called to take part in bringing about this kingdom.  Right here.  On earth.  Right now.

Close

We are called to help unify a colorful, eclectic, diverse creation.  Called to live in perfect harmony with the Creator.  All made possible thanks to the life, death, and resurrection of the Son.  Guided daily by the winds of the Spirit, pointing us wherever the Creator leads.

So rip up your lists that separate, fellow messengers.
Head out, tell everyone you find.
Share the good news of a grand celebration.

One we so hope all attend.
And when God’s beloved show up at the palace door,
You know what to do.

Heed the words of the King.

Throw wide the doors. And –
Let them in.
Let them in.
Let them in.

Amen.