It’s Halloween – the hallowed evening before All Saints Day. I recently heard an interview with a Lutheran pastor in Denver, Colorado. The House for All Sinners and Saints, her congregation, began with the intent to minister to those who are marginalized in our society for any number of reasons. Just a handful of people met in living rooms in 2008; today the congregation has grown in size and diversity as nearly 200 people of all ages and walks of life gather to sing the old hymns and chant the liturgy, to receive communion and benediction, to serve one another and deepen their faith. Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber readily admits that her previous life was more on the side of sinner than saint. And, with the same level of honesty, she speaks of her “calling” to serve others as a minister. Not in a new age, feel good, fluffy way but in a deeply grounded theological way bringing law and gospel, confession and absolution, ancient creeds and practices, songs of praise, relevant teachings, and application of the Word to daily living.
Since hearing that interview, I’ve been thinking about saints and sinners. And about those who are marginalized in our society at large and in our churches – who they are, how they are treated and why. And I’m thinking about the “calling” that everyone –every one of us – has. Some give it a different name such as purpose or dream or vision. Most all of us wonder what it is, how we can recognize it, how we will know if we have or will achieve it. I wonder what the old time saints, whose day of recognition is tomorrow, thought about the lives they lived, the tasks they were given or chose, the elusive purpose they may have been seeking. And I have the same wondering about the sinners who have named themselves such or who are named by others. How did/do they struggle with those questions? Who are the saints and sinners of today?
to be continued next time……
Since hearing that interview, I’ve been thinking about saints and sinners. And about those who are marginalized in our society at large and in our churches – who they are, how they are treated and why. And I’m thinking about the “calling” that everyone –every one of us – has. Some give it a different name such as purpose or dream or vision. Most all of us wonder what it is, how we can recognize it, how we will know if we have or will achieve it. I wonder what the old time saints, whose day of recognition is tomorrow, thought about the lives they lived, the tasks they were given or chose, the elusive purpose they may have been seeking. And I have the same wondering about the sinners who have named themselves such or who are named by others. How did/do they struggle with those questions? Who are the saints and sinners of today?
to be continued next time……
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