Saint Matthew's

After church tonight, I came home to change and end my week. It has been a busy one – though not as busy as some people had here at Saint Matthew’s. Tonight I just wanted to veg out and watch hockey. As I sit here typing, I am watching Game 4 hoping that the Pittsburgh Penguins pull this one out.

But as I watch, I couldn’t help but get sad.

See, for years my close friends and I would go out and watch at least one game of the Stanley Cup Finals, mostly on Saturday nights, the only real night in the week when we were all free. Of the five of us, I was the only real hockey fan. But there was something about the Finals that got even the most casual of sports fan interested. And those casual fans were my friends.

They would always ask the dumb questions — “Why do the goalies wear such big pads,” or “Where is the puck? I can’t see it on the screen,” or “What’s the scoring system on fighting?”

Last year, three of us got together over at a bar in New Rochelle and watched the Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators. The jokes centered around the “Mighty Ducks,” the former name of the Anaheim franchise when Disney owned them.  My friend Charlie was a hoot that night, like always. He said his one goal in life was to embarrass himself every chance he could, something that his wife didn’t fully appreciate. And from what I remember, Charlie was Charlie and his wife wasn’t happy. Nate was the normal one — he just tried to keep Charlie in line by bribing him with beer.

But this year…

I sit here alone. I sit here sad.

It is easy to say that I miss my friends, but tonight I find myself really missing them. I could only think what idiotic thing Charlie would say about Sidney Crosby’s facial hair and how Nate would buy him another beer if he wouldn’t talk so loud. They were both taken  to heaven far too early. With another friend, Thom, dying last weekend, I can’t help it. I am in my 30s and yet my good friends from my youth are dead. All of them.

I shouldn’t get this way. But at times I can’t help it.

Ugh.

This morning, I woke to a chirping bird at around 5. This is nothing unusual. It happens a lot as birds sing and chirp to welcome the new day. But today was different. The birdy music wasn’t coming from a bird sitting and singing on a tree in the backyard — it was coming from the sparrow sitting on my television in my bedroom.

Overnight, the kitchen window screen fell in (nobody broke in, it happens sometimes) and the little sparrow flew on in. By 5am, it had reached the bedroom, chirping and flapping its wings.

When I got out of bed, I turned on the light and that dopey bird was staring at me. Every time I moved, the bird flew around the room, always seeming to land back on the TV. He must have gotten bored with the exercise — he ended up darting out the room and flying back down the stairs to the kitchen.

By the time I arrived in the kitchen, the bird was sitting on the fallen-in window screen that rested over the sink. My turning on the  kitchen light caused my little friend to fly back outside.

Now I have to go clean up after the little bugger…you can already guess what I mean.

Funerals provide pastors with the opportunity to preach Christ crucified. We have the opportunity to preach the Gospel amidst the sadness that engulfs families and friends mourning the loss of their loved one. This gives us pastors a chance to proclaim the saving grace of God in the face of tears — all to remind the gathered that God is indeed with them now and always.

The message never changes, no matter who is being buried.

Last February at the funeral of a good friend of mine who died in a car crash, proclaiming the Gospel was easy. It was my emotions that overtook me. Still to this day, the sadness lives within my heart. But the Gospel was proclaimed as I stood there in the funeral home, looking into the eyes of his wife and daughter, reminding them that faith in Christ saves.

Today, when a preaching at a funeral service of a friend who died this weekend of a brain tumor, I was more angry that he never told me and his other friends that he was dying. He kept this news close. He had an inoperable brain tumor; his wife explained that nothing could be done. Thom just wanted to have some fun before being called home.

I’ve lost a lot of friends during the past several years, especially in the past year. Sometimes I can’t fathom the amount of loss I have gone through during this time. Yet, my hope and faith in Christ remains strong.

I thank Him for everything He has given me, whether it is parish of Saint Matthew’s here in New Milford where I can proclaim Him without waver or the friends He has put into my life who are there for me when I am sad. I don’t know why He does it, but He does.

I will be out of town most of Wednesday, attending a funeral down in the Philadelphia area. I should be back later on in the afternoon. Yes, there will be church and Bible study tomorrow night.

Sad. My friend, Thom, had an inoperable brain tumor, but he didn’t want anyone to know. I received a call on Sunday afternoon that he had died. Just another heart breaking event in my life.

…I think this may have something to do with why the Penguins are stumbling against the Detroit Red Wings.

And this is just funny…the Spokane Chiefs won the Memorial Cup, but it ain’t solidly built.

…will the Pittsburgh Penguins score at least one goal in the Stanely Cup Finals? They were shut out again last night, 3-0 while looking like they were being bullied around the ice.

I spoke with a friend this morning who just so happens to be a Mets fan. Oh, my!! All he did was whine about Mets manager Willie Randolph. I actually told him to shut his jaw and refocus his anger at the real problem on the Mets — the person who put together this collection of baseball misfits, General Manager Omar Minaya.

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For the next couple of days at church, our upper hallway and our bathrooms are being painted. Under a program offered by the Bergen County Jail, non-violent prisoners will be here at church painting these areas. Last year, we contracted under this program to have our church sanctuary painted. As you all know, the prisoners did a wonderful job. We will forever be thankful for all of their hard work.

As most of you are well aware, when I arrived at Saint Matthew’s in the summer of 2005, I was not happy about the Blue laws – rules mandating that non-food stores stay closed on Sundays. To me, as someone who grew up in New York, shopping on Sundays after church was as American as apple pie and Yankee world championships (sorry, eventually you knew I would bring up the Yankees in some post).

But as time went on, I started to like those archaic laws. It was nice to actually say that I was going to rest on Sunday. I took time to visit with family and friends. Without the tug to go shopping, my Sundays became enjoyable. Honestly, I kind of like the Blue Laws here in Bergen County and, if they ever came up to a vote again, to would vote to keep them.

However, businesses aren’t thrilled with the laws, claiming it cuts into their profits. Orthodox Jews complain that since they cannot shop on Saturday (by religious rule) when the stores are open, having the stores closed on Sunday is discriminatory. From town to town, enforcement of the laws varies.

So the obvious question was raised today in a front page article in The Record: do we need the Blue laws?

My opinion? I like them. For at least one day in the week, it gives everyone a time to relax and reflect. Too bad the Blue Laws don’t convince people to come to a place that is actually open on Sunday — church. Maybe if we offer designer coffee …

This week, I found myself up in Closter at the A&P Supermarket to pick a few things. Standing outside the store was a Korean War veteran who was selling poppies for a dollar. Of course, I bought a couple, to which I received a hearty “thank you.”

The gentlemen made an interesting comment regarding this weekend — he said it is a time to remember our fallen vets, not Aunt Millie’s skirt steak marinade. I laughed and came home.

This morning as I read the Wall Street Journal, a recipe for skirt steak and Greek salad was printed in the Weekend Edition. And I thought about the nice veteran I met this past week.

This is Memorial Day weekend. Tonight and tomorrow in church, we will remember our fallen veterans who sacrificed their lives so we can live in freedom. Our nation is free because of them. We can worship our God because they shed their blood to protect the liberties we many times take for granted.

A 2006 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary (my seminary alma mater) has announced that he is leaving the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and is joining the Orthodox church. This has happened several times in recent history. To be honest, these men struggled and internally debated whether or not the “Lutheran way” was the right road in which to travel upon. And yes, in the end, these men decided that the Orthodox church (think Greek and Russian) provided a better and more solid theological foundation.

I have had no problems with them.

Until this week.

It was learned that a pastor in Brooklyn, who graduated less than 2 years ago, was leaving the church for the comforts of the Orthodox church. I know this “pastor” from seminary; even engaged in group conversations with him from time to time. He always seemed to be down on Lutheranism; but at the seminary, I was down on Lutheranism at times just to get a rise out of people and get them to think.

But this man seemed more serious.

If you don’t believe in the Lutheran Church and its theological foundation, there is no way in the world you should continue to study at a Lutheran seminary, complete course work, graduate, get ordained, and serve in a Lutheran parish. You essential show yourself to either be a liar or a snake, trying to lead God’s people who are Lutherans away from the church.

To be ordained and serve a congregation for less than two years and then decide to leave the church for the blessedness of the Orthodox church, I don’t care if people get angry at me — to me it shows this “pastor” to be a rat.

If I had a problem with Lutheran teachings or the unaltered Book of Concord, I would have been honest enough with myself and would have never been ordained as a Lutheran pastor. I would have never sworn before God that I would uphold Lutheran teachings and serve Him. A pastor cannot just divorce himself from his ordination vows after less than 2 years. It is wrong, plain and simple.

My prayers go out to Trinity Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Last night, our Bible study group continued our study of the Small Catechism. Our focus last night was on the Second Commandment – You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

We tend to do that more and more in our lives. It has become so simple that when we do violate this commandment, we just don’t seem to care. This isn’t just the use of that hideous vulgarity calling on God to damn people, though this word has become so commonplace in our society, very few people seem to bat their eyes when they hear it anymore.

However, what about those times when we use His name in inappropriate ways — do we even know when we are doing it?

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The Yankees converted baseball’s highest cathedral into the world’s largest commode last night.

The opening line of George King’s article in this morning’s New York Post. Ouch.

Guess that’s what the last-place Yankees deserve when they lose 13-2 to the Orioles.

I fell asleep last night at around midnight.

My body was tired after a long Tuesday. However, my body would not stay asleep. I woke up following a deeply vivid dream at 1:40am. This type of vivid dream is coming all too often for me lately. Recently, one of my dreams dealt with me being mauled by a German shepherd while other people watched. This morning, I dreamt that was in an airplane that was crashing. People I knew were in the dream with me (wait till I tell them about this one). The good thing is that airplane didn’t crash.

Yet, I woke up from the dream with my heart pounding. I wasn’t sweating, but my mind was racing. Feeling a little energized, I sat up in bed for a few minutes after trying to figure out why in the world I would dream about being in a crashing airplane that ended up not crashing. Gently I laid my head back down onto my pillow to return to sleep land.

Sleep didn’t come.

At 3am, I decided to get out of bed and “do something.” That something ended up being trying to figure out why the wireless router connected to my Tivo was blinking. At least solving this one was easy — I changed my home network yesterday when I disconnected one of my Apple Airport Express routers and brought it to the church to set up the church network. Last night I reconfigured the home network, but I didn’t change the network on my Tivo. As I sit here at 3:18am, my Tivo is loading the latest info. Good thing this worked.

I can’t fall back to sleep.

I looked for my cell phone, but it hit me that I left it in the docking cradle connected to my computer in church. Right now, I have no gumption to get up and go over to church to pick it up. And you know what? This will be the night when I will receive either a phone call or a text message that needs a response.

My Wednesday is going to be busy. I will start out with a breakfast meeting at 5:30am at the Northvale Diner, which will be followed by Morning Prayer at church at 7:15, and then another meeting at 8am at church. Both meetings are with prospective members. At 10am, I have to meet someone at the New Milford Library. Come noon time, I am meeting a friend who works in Paramus for lunch. Then at 2:30pm, I have two visits that will end sometime around 5. Afterwards, I have to get back to church and prepare for our Midweek Divine Service and for our Bible study that follows. This starts at 7:30pm. A two-hour window to prepare a bible study and a Midweek homily is really cutting it close.

Sometime between 9:30 and 10pm I will stumble back into the house for rest. But my work will not be done. Tomorrow I have to finalize our announcements section and prayer list for our weekend bulletins. That means I have to start organizing these announcements tonight.

And to think – my day started at 1:40am when I dreamt that I was in a crashing airplane…

I’ve been in church from 8am until a little before 9pm. Yes, a lot of work got done and Cablevision installed Optimum Online and Voice (and yes, it all works). But 11 hours is just too much. I am now sitting down and trying to rest. Too bad I only have 16 hours of work tomorrow.

Yes, you read that right — 16 hours of work. On a Wednesday.