Message for October 2008

Last month, Ralph and Ella Theis celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the church. They kicked things off by renewing their vows inside the sanctuary. The bride and groom each wore a traditional square-dancing outfit – because square-dancing is something that has brought them even closer together over the years. Ella secretly edited Ralph’s vows, so he ended up promising “to take you (Ella) square-dancing as often as possible!” The party then moved to the Fellowship Hall, where the guests enjoyed food, games, jokes, and other forms of entertainment. A wonderful time was had by all.

Ralph and Ella had been planning this party for at least one year – maybe more. What some guests may not have known is that the party didn’t go exactly as planned. The Theises were going to renew their vows in the garden, but the weather prevented that from happening. The storm also prevented their friend, Joe Chiles, from coming to the party – Joe had planned to sing a solo and be a caller for the scheduled square dance.

Sometimes our celebrations don’t always turn out the way we had planned. We plan meticulously for a Thanksgiving dinner, but we burn the stuffing. We plan a lovely Valentine’s dinner with our sweetheart, and end up in a stupid argument before the salad course has finished. We throw a baby shower, only the guest of honor doesn’t show because she is in early labor! Try as we may, our celebrations and parties often are ‘crashed’ by minor or major details that are usually beyond our control.

We’re going to celebrate our 150th anniversary as a church this month. 150 years! But I can’t help but wonder if our celebration will be ‘crashed’ in some small way. Maybe the kids will be bored with our activities. Maybe our guest preacher, Bishop Lohrmann, will be unable to come at the last minute (and the Pastor prays: Preserve us from this, heavenly Father!”). Maybe the balloons will get all tangled up in the launch. Maybe the Power-Point presentation won’t work right. Maybe after the celebrations have ended and everyone has gone home, one of our volunteers will say to themselves, “You know what we should have done differently…”

But we must remember that our source of true joy comes not from the celebration itself, but our joy comes from that which we are celebrating. We are celebrating 150 years of God’s faithful presence in this congregation. We are celebrating the Holy Spirit’s work in this community. Thousands of individuals have been baptized here, brought to faith here, have heard of God’s love for them here, have received God’s forgiveness here, have been empowered to go and serve their neighbor through the word – here. Here, God has brought people together in marriage – and here, we have said goodbye to loved ones who have gone to their eternal home.

That is something to be joyful about. That is something to celebrate. How we celebrate is much less important. Ralph and Ella ultimately knew that, and cherished their special day even though things did not go exactly as planned. Why was it such a special day to them? Because of what they were celebrating – a beautiful love that has sustained them across the years. We will take a cue from them and be thankful for what we are celebrating – while trusting that the celebration itself will also be enjoyable. Thanks be to God for God’s faithful presence among us throughout many generations. May God’s name be hallowed and God’s will be done among us for many more years to come. Amen.