Living Lord Lutheran Church

06/06/2026

"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts, from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church in Vero Beach, FL

Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy and power, accepting the unacceptable and curing the incurable. Even the dead receive new life.

"Your Faith has made you Well"
The fourteenth-century mystic Julian of Norwich is famous for writing about a vision of Jesus assuring her that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Jesus, in today’s reading, is deeply concerned with the matter of wellness. He uses a metaphor of illness and wellness to defend his decision to keep fellowship with those whom society has rejected, despised, or cast out. Just a few verses later, Jesus performs two intertwined acts of healing, saying to one of the individuals, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22).
Wellness, for Jesus, is a holistic endeavor. Physical health is one part of the equation, but so are spiritual wholeness, mental and emotional well-being, financial stability, and health in relationships and society. Jesus does not limit his work to any one of these areas. Consistently in the gospels, Jesus is concerned with all aspects of life. He recognizes and works to dismantle all kinds of barriers to full, whole, peaceful living.
Too often, our contemporary society exploits the idea of wellness to sell us a product, to market an unattainable lifestyle, or to guilt us into a particular set of behaviors. Jesus, however, is not trying to sell us something. Jesus invokes wellness as a way of assuring us that he cares deeply about our whole being, and that every part of us is worthy of God’s care and keeping. Jesus desires that we be at peace in our bodies, minds, spirits, and relationships.
When our world and our lives are difficult and painful, we can turn again and again to scripture, which witnesses to Jesus’ deep compassion, empathy, and care for us. He is a living sign of God’s power to comfort and heal. He is our living sign and symbol of resurrection and restoration. He is the embodiment of our divine assurance that all manner of things will, one day, be well, and whole, and at peace. Amen? Amen.

05/31/2026

Prayer of the day 5/31/2026

05/30/2026

"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts, from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church

"OK, guys, break it up!"
I vaguely remember my dad, in the late 1950's and early 1960's watching Friday Night Fights. Remember those? Rocky Graziano, and other stars of boxing, fighting live on Friday nights, on network TV, of all places (long before cable, of course.) I can't imagine these things playing on network TV today. My version would be professional wrestling in the mid '60's and early '70's. I do remember these. Bo Bo Brazil; Bruno Sammartino, Killer Kowalski. Remember these early heroes of wrestling?

Anyhow, the two (or four, if a tag team match) would go at it. Boxing or wrestling. And sometimes, the two would sort of come together, almost as if tangled up - but maybe they were just taking a really short break, needing to catch their breath before starting up again. And the referee would somehow get in the middle of these guys, with bow tie and all, and yell something like, "OK, guys, break it up!" And the two would separate, and continue the match. Remember this? The referee's role was to separate the two when they got tangled up.

Our first reading for this Sunday is the first of three creation stories in the bible (can you name the other two???) In Genesis 1, God creates order out of this sort of primordial soup, or chaos, if you will, calling the universe into being. Bringing some sense of order out of the chaos, as we hear in the early verses of this particular passage, which, by the way, is a form of poetry. And reference how often the writer of this creation text in Genesis (written some 2,000 years before Jesus, when Israel was in complete turmoil) uses the word "separates". God separated the light from the darkness. God separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. God separated the land from the waters. God separated the day from the night. And more. You get the picture. God was separating two things, in some weird way, like the referee in the boxing match. So that the match, or creation in this case, could continue.

For years, as a new pastor, on this particular Sunday - Holy Trinity Sunday, when we contemplate the mystery of the three-in-oneness of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), I was always digging for new and creative ways to try to describe this thing (which is completely indescribable.) Water in three forms - water, steam, ice. God as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Until that is, I realized these images were trivial and meaningless in trying to describe the Trinity. Gradually, I came to see this Sunday as one of the relationship between each of these. God being in relationship with Godself, and with all of creation. Including us.

And so, with that in mind, I began to realize that this creation story, and Holy Trinity Sunday, is about God, in relationship with Godself, creation, and us. God begins to sort things out in creation by setting them apart. By separating them one from another. Day and night, waters and the land, domes above and below, and so forth. In short, the chaos that was there at the beginning.

And while God sort of acts as the boxing match referee, separating one thing from another, it's not as though God was breaking up the fight, if you will, but instead, is enabling each of them to be in relationship with the other. Day isn't just separate from the night, but is in relationship with it. The dry land and the waters aren't separated for separation's sake, but so that each could be in relationship with the other. And each has a role to play in the big thing we call creation. The dome above, isn't just by itself, but is in relationship with the dome below. Creatures all, aren't separate, but are in relationship with one another. Just like humankind is supposed to be. In relationship. Not one at a time, but in pairs. In community. So that they may relate to each other.

And so, when God's people later on, receive commandments about setting themselves apart, it isn't so much about separating themselves from others, but in relationship with others, and with the God who created them all.

In a time of such division in our world, on this Holy Trinity Sunday, maybe we can re-examine our relationships with both God and with one another. Maybe we can see that we were meant to be in relationship, and that we have more in common than we do our differences. In fact, it is precisely these differences, that we can lift up, giving thanks to God for both our similarities (created by the same God), as well as our unique differences. Maybe we can begin to see in others not like us, a little part of the beauty of God, each of us contributing to the whole of creation itself. Maybe we can, as individuals created by a loving God, see that it is in our differences that we can come to love and celebrate all that God has created. And that this is the very essence of God, himself. Amen? Amen.

05/30/2026

05/25/2026

Today we pause to honor and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation. On this Memorial Day, we give thanks for their courage, sacrifice, and love of neighbor.

As Christians, we remember the words of our Lord:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

We pray for the families who carry both pride and grief, for all who serve, and for peace in our world. May God’s comfort and hope surround all who mourn, and may we live each day with gratitude for the freedoms secured through such sacrifice.

Lord God, be with us this Memorial Day. Teach us to be people of peace, compassion, and service, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Blessings from all of us at Living Lord Lutheran Church.

05/24/2026

New Member Sunday! Welcome!!!

05/24/2026

Prayer of the day:

O God, on this day you open the hearts of your faithful people by sending into us your Holy Spirit. Direct us by the light of that Spirit, that we may have a right judgment in all things and rejoice at all times in your peace, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

05/23/2026

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

3b No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
  4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5 and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

  12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

05/23/2026

"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts, from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

3b No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5 and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Here's Wishing You a...Happy Pentecost?
Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the LORD Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, May 24th, is Pentecost Sunday. It derives its name from the Jewish festival celebrating the harvest, and the giving of the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the Jewish Passover. So, fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the coming and going out of the Holy Spirit, as God's presence among us. It arrives with a rushing wind, people acting like they've been at the bar too long, and a flame bringing God's presence to all people. All people.

It's a time for awe...for wonder...for celebration maybe...and I think, a time for going out. Not to dinner...but for engaging in the world. Again, or maybe for the first time. Pentecost is the end of the Easter season that we've come to celebrate these last seven Sundays (ah...it's good to shout our Alleluias again, isn't it?) But it's also the beginning of something else. Something new. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, it's a time to engage in the world. A time to, in our own way, proclaim God's redeeming love to all the world. Sounds daunting doesn't it?

But what if "going out" meant "going out" in your own setting. Where you are. Where you live. In your community. In familiar surroundings. And not in some far off land amidst strange looking people. Yes, there are those of us who are called to "go out" into all the world. But maybe your calling to "go out" is in Vero Beach. Or in your own gated community. Or in your own zip code. Faithful witness doesn't require leaving behind everything you knew, like the early disciples. We can do it right here...in our community. Think about that.

Second, faithful witness means for us mortals, responding to the needs and issues we see around us. An aging population with elderly people seeking help with lifestyle changes. With advice on senior living alternatives. With nursing home selection. I do that now, and I'll bet you do, too. With financial advice.With advice on using your smartphone or computer. Yes, these are faithful witness opportunities in the 21st century.

And third, even the best witness in your own community bears unpredictable results. Just think of St. Paul's three journeys around the Mediterranean. His presence was a blessing to some, and a nuisance to others. Expect results that will surprise you, and some that will disappoint you. Faithful witness isn't always found in those rare "mountaintop" experiences, or in those grand times when major change takes place in someone else. But faithful witness, in this time after Pentecost, will take place in often mundane, ordinary, but important ways. And in each case, whether we are "successful" or not (how do you even measure this?) faithful witness persists, leaving the results in God's hands. My seminary professors always used to tell us, to "let God be God." We are, after all, God's hands, doing God's work in the world. Whatever that may look like in your own lives.
Amen? Amen.

05/17/2026