Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 4:9

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“I feel like I am running in place.”

I hear so many people say it when their lives are just overflowing with stuff to do. There are times when it appears as though you are hiking up a tall mountain with 60-lbs of gear strapped to your back and chain a ball is tied around your ankle. To do lists become your enemy while you try to tick just one item off the list. In the end, it really does feel like you are running in place.

That was my week.

It was not overly busy or stressful time. Oh, there was that head cold I battled, but overall, it just seemed like I was not accomplishing anything. In fact, a lot of what I wanted to get done this week kept being pushed off until later and later in the week in the hope that I would find some time – any time – to tackle those to do’s and check them off. But this didn’t happen. Yes, I promised a congregational letter and yes, it is coming, though it will be sent this coming week. My visits were canceled for a couple of days because of my head cold, so those will be completed this week. And yes, planning for Holy Week got pushed off my calendar this week. Of course, that will be added to next week.

I’ve always wondered if Jesus had one of these types of weeks where He was just walking in place. How would our Lord deal with a growing list that needed to get done? My guess — First, He would probably pray and then, second, He would begin to do the work He needed to get done, all with a glorious joy in His heart.

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Last week in my Pastor’s Note, I took up a lot of space to deal with the issue of the violation of your privacy by a couple people in our neighborhood. As Christians, the life of balance in which we live — while sinners, we’re saints — is an ultimate challenge. There was probably a time when we all wanted to strike out against those who violated our privacy or erected some rather ugly signs against our church, but we didn’t because while we had those sinful impulses, our faith took over and kept us from acting. Instead, our faith pushed us to pray for our enemies. That is as wonderful an example of what is means to live life as Christ would like us to live as we can imagine.

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On our church website, I have  (at least for a good chunk of Lent) uploaded a daily verse of the day. The “Lenten Verse Challenge” is a small way that you use can increase your knowledge of Holy Scripture. Please take a look at it.

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Just a reminder: please review our Holy Week schedule that is found this week here in our SMM section. Yes, we will have services each morning at 7:15, each noontime, and evening at 7:oo. If you have just a little time, please join me for some time of prayer and reflection on God’s Word.

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With all of the heavy rain hitting our area today, we can all be thankful that it isn’t snow. Just imagine how much of that white stuff we would be getting if it was cold enough…

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Revelation 22:3-4

This morning, I woke up feeling ugly, but at least my throat isn’t scratchy.

I will be heading over to the office to complete a number of little projects. Hopefully, my head will clear up a bit today.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:2

Thankfully, my body kept me sleeping until 6:30. My brain also gave me a rather weird dream — a couple of people from my old vicarage church played a starring role. When the time came for my body to awaken from sleepy land, I had an immediate fright when I stared at the digital clock across the room — those red, blaring numbers shocked me to get going.

It is really a rarity to wake up so late during the week. Since my day begins at 7:15am with Morning Prayer in church, those red numbers zapped me and caused me to rush around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. Rushing to the kitchen to make coffee. Speeding into the bathroom for a shower. Bouncing off the wall to get dressed, turn on the radio so I have some semblance of what is happening in the world, flipping through the delivered morning newspapers, and figuring out why people send unimportant text messages at 4am. By 7:11am, coffee in hand, I ran into church ready for Morning Prayer (read through John 6; tomorrow is John 7). I rushed not because of the overwhelming crowd that assembles each morning, but because this set time relaxes my spirit and gets me in touch with the Lord. Following the service, I headed back home.

I should admit, my morning newspaper reading is relegated to three newspapers — the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and the Wall Street Journal. Usually later on in the morning I pick up The Record, the local newspaper that seems to have less and less local news is in it everyday. The papers weren’t very exciting this morning, minus the crazy story on the front cover of the New York Post where a woman defended giving her breast milk to her chef husband to make desserts. Following this rather stomach-churning story, I made breakfast (I didn’t use milk), I came to church and started cleaning off my desk and bookshelf.

Tonight I will be up in Mahwah at Holy Cross Lutheran Church at 6:00pm for midweek Lenten Services. It should be a good night. Due to this evening’s church service, I did have to turn down some primo tickets with parking to tonight’s Rangers-Devils scrum at The Rock in Newark. Not that I didn’t try to give them away, first, to a real Devils’ fan who didn’t return my message then, second, to someone who I know is diehard Rangers fan, but they didn’t have time.

Oh, well.

Going off to finish a letter, fix up my calendar, and then head out on a visit at 11.

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18

An Italian coach in Serie A got the one game boot for using the phrase “porco dio,” essentially calling God a pig.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

This is a fabulous issue, especially in light of the slowly dwindling membership of our Synodical body and of all mainline Christian denominations.

Of course, the most important reason we go out and make disciples is because that’s what Jesus tells us to do! In Matthew 28, right before ascending to heaven, Jesus lovingly instructs His disciples that their one mission was to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Triune God.

And that mission to “Go and baptize all nations,” was not just a temporary instruction to a group of 11 people. It was a most faithful and incredibly powerful expression of the love of God that all believers are to take part in always! In baptism, the Holy Spirit opens a heart and mind to believe, trust, and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, that alone in this faith salvation is yours.

What a great and powerful feeling it is to know that by telling the Gospel to someone, they, too, can become faithful members of the family of God! By the power of the Holy Spirit and through the expression of the Gospel in your life, God works miracles by building faith in the hearts of unbelievers.

Yet, our mission to make disciples is not just to those who don’t have faith. It is a mission to enliven the faith of those who have “let it slide.” How many people do you know consider regular church attendance to be Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve? Or what about those who have, for one reason or another, think that church is not important since they already believe and don’t need to sit in a church on Sunday morning singing dirges and listening to a pastor drone on for 20 minutes?

The mission heart of the Christian is to make disciples and to reach out to those who are disciples but have let their discipleship slide. It is a daily act of a loving church by all members no matter their age, no matter their lots in life.

It should be a fun interview.