Trinity Lutheran Church

Lately there has been lots of talks about walls, about barriers.  Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has proposed building a wall between the United States and Mexico to keep illegal immigrants from coming to the United States.  For centuries, people have built barriers to keep people out, from the Great Wall of China to walls around cities like Jerusalem or Italian City states, and even the Berlin Wall.  These walls, these barriers, are meant to separate people from one another, to keep them apart.

Why all the talk about barriers?  Well, in our reading from Hebrews, the writer is describing the barriers that existed between God, who resided in the holy of holies, and the people.  In the ancient tent of the tabernacle and later the temple, God was walled off from the people.  The reason?  The majesty of God was too much for the sinfulness of humanity.  It was to protect the people, which is why only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies and only after offering sacrifice.

But what the writer of Hebrews is getting at is that the barrier between God and humanity has been destroyed.  Jesus, the great high priest, has come not with the blood of goats or lambs but with his own blood.  By sacrificing himself for the sins of humanity, the Son of God has destroyed the barrier between God and all people.  Now, we can approach God with boldness because we have been cleansed and redeemed by Jesus Christ.  Our sin had closed the door between us and God, but through the saving work of Christ, that door, that wall, that barrier has been destroyed.

I was in middle school when the Berlin wall started to fall and I remember the joy that I watched on TV as people gained their freedom and a barrier was brought down.  We have joy because our great barrier, sin, has been destroyed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  WE are free from the bondage of sin and death and so we can live freely, boldly, lovingly, and for our neighbors.

Some believe Barriers will always exist between humans, whether man made with concrete and steel or through thoughts and actions.  But, by the grace of God, there is no barrier between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Maybe, being freed from all things, we might work to tear down the barriers that separate us and together give thanks for the love we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  Amen

Last Friday, I went with our group from Trinity to Wakanda Waterpark in Menomonie. It was a great day for this as it was hotter than the surface of the sun. However, I was looking forward to getting just a little wet and then, frankly, taking a nap on a lounge chair. I love naps.

Anyways, when I thought this might happen I started getting pestered by Isabella Feeney. She kept saying to me, “When are you going to come and play Pastor Brad?” “Come play with me,” she was say and give me the puppy dog eyes. Well, you can’t resist those eyes, so I went out into the water with her.

What was interesting about it was that it wasn’t even that I was doing anything. I was just standing with her as she dove under water, went down a couple small slides, and jumped around. She would take her mask on and off her head every 35 seconds. It was a lot of fun. But I never would have gone out there if she hadn’s kept nagging me. And, I also realized, that it wasn’t about doing anything, it was just about being there. To be present.

Sometimes I think God in Jesus Christ is doing that to us. God just wants us to play, to get out into the world, to come out of our comfort zones or the things we want to do and be present in the world. The only way to change the world, or even to change a person’s life, is to actually be there. The only way to see the world as a blessing and to see the blessings in our own lives is to willing to be a part of it, to not shut ourselves away. It is like God is pulling on us and saying, “Come play.”

One of the things I am excited about for this upcoming fall is the ways in which we, as a congregation, will be present in the our community and the wider world. I’m excited for the school backpack program that we are a part of with the Boyceville Ministerial Assocation and WestCAP as we try to help kids with food needs when they are not at school. I look forward to our new ministry, “The Crew,” as we look to connect with youth 3^rd-6^th grade in an intentional way. We will be getting high schoolers together to start thinking about another trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation next summer.

Come and play. Come and play in the wonder of God’s creation, come and play in the blessings of life, come and play and be a part of what God in Christ Jesus is doing through you. It is going to be fun!