Last Sunday at Bethany

Rev. Arlyn Tolzmann - Sunday, October 9, 2011

Being one in faith, baptism, and one in the Lord with you, I write this will and testament for Bethany Lutheran Church.

To the children, I leave you the gift you already have, you are a child of God. I remind you Jesus says yours is the kingdom of God and that those who believe in him have power to become children of God. I leave you the gift of believing the Lord and I love you as you are and you do not have to be in a hurry to grow up. I leave children the knowledge that your faith, innocence, energy, imagination, curiosity, and eagerness are a gift to us all. Before meals I will you the desire to not always use memorized prayers but to wing it and give thanks for the plates and silverware, the farmers who made the food possible, and that you are not having liver or Brussels sprouts that meal. I leave you the courage to color outside the lines, because outside the lines is where Jesus lived and taught.

To all teens I will some sort of failure, so that you will learn that failure is not a measure of your worth, but an opportunity for learning. I leave you the picture of 12 year old Jesus wandering away from his family, but finding God’s house a place of learning and prayer. If you ever wander away from your Heavenly Parent, I leave you the faith to trust that God leaves the door open for you, no matter what you have done or how far you have strayed. I leave you the courage to stand up for Christ and for what is right, when others are sitting down; to speak up for justice when others are silent; to see the new student in your midst who needs a friend. I will to you the courage to ask tough questions, to live with uncertainty, to pound on God’s door in prayer until you receive some sort of answer. In this day of text-messaging, cell phones, social networking sites; I will to you the thirst to talk to God and parents about your struggles, fears, and hopes. In addition I will you the ears to listen to Jesus who is God’s text-message in the flesh. You, too, are children of God and I will you the wings to flee whatever is holding you back from life in the fullest and wings to soar to the heights where dreams can come true. I also will you anchors to ground you in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

To adults I leave the wisdom to know what is in God’s hands, what is in your hands, and ultimately to realize that all is in God’s hands. To parents of children, I will to you the wisdom to let your children be children and to model the importance of Sunday worship over all other activities, including sports. I leave you the insight that taking summer off from worship tells your children God is God, but at your convenience. Remember whatever it is you put before worship will likely be of little or no help when you face a spiritual, health, or other crisis. I leave you the desire to live out the mission stated in Bethany’s Ministry Site Profile in the call process: Community outreach and service, evangelism, and spiritual growth based on the foundation of scripture and theology. To those who have never attended a Bible study, or invited an unchurched person here, or have never given sacrificially of your money or self, or have never gone beyond your comfort zone in ministry, then I will you the desire to change that in the next six months.

To those who sit stone-faced Sunday after Sunday in worship, I ask God to relieve your pain and to give you the joy seen in the faces of children. I will you hearts to embrace a new pastor and her family; the joy in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; ears to hear the good news of Jesus Christ; voices to lift in song; and happy feet to tap along with peppy hymns, anthem, organ, and piano. I leave you worship’s rainbow of emotions: from laughter to tears and everything between.

To the elders here I leave the continued resolve to get up and come here Sunday after Sunday, when your legs, arms, back, or head say, “Stay home.” You are faith incarnate by your presence. Claim your place as wise elders in this village of faith for you have experienced the Great Depression, wars, deaths of many loved ones, illness, and crises in the church. To you goes the wisdom to know when to step in and when to step aside. I leave you the hearts of children because you are the closest to them in many ways. When others here are impatient or when conflict occurs, clear your voice and say, “This, too will pass; God will see us through this as we pray and listen to God and one another.”

Lastly, I leave you my gratitude and love for accepting me and loving me as I am. You put up with my dramatizations of the devil, the street sweeper of Jerusalem, my poems, joke Sunday, my sometimes wackiness preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, and my mantra, “Let them blame me, I’m going away.” You have graciously affirmed me verbally, in emails, and in notes. You have been special lights sent by God to me. Time after time I found my cup running over. I will to you the heart to continue such for your new pastor. As you hear, “Our call-God’s Work Our Hands,” remember that you are the “Downtown church with a world view!”

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