Michael On The Way

Hebrews 13:1-7 KJV Welcome Angels! Welcome your neighbor! Welcome the Stranger!

Visiting Angel

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:1-2 NIV)

Whenever I read or hear these verses I am reminded of "Michael on The Way." Michael was a visitor to a congregation that I served years ago. I had only been there a couple of months. Michael was homeless, traveling, "on the way," from North Dakota to Florida for the winter. (The northern states are really not good states to be homeless in the winter.) He stopped to worship with us, coming in after the service started with his paper bag and guitar case in hand heading straight for the front pew - definitely not Lutheran. I was a little nervous. No, not because of him. But, because my sermon repeated verse 2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Would we see the sermon lived out by the congregation that day, I wondered. Michael fidgeted a lot during the service.

During the sermon it appeared that he was leaving when he stood up. I stopped and introduced myself and asked him to stay so that we could visit after the service. When he told me his name was Michael, I got even a bit more anxious given the context of the sermon. My first thought on hearing his name was "archangel." He stayed. The congregation had proved to be very welcoming, indeed. He got lots of hugs during the sharing of the peace! He and I went out to breakfast afterwards to a place he had been asked to leave a couple of hours earlier. He had also visited another congregation in town that morning; but, only for a few minutes. He had not been welcomed there. I brought him down to the main highway after breakfast that morning so that he could continue his journey to places much warmer.

I asked the council at our next meeting to pray with me for Michael's journey. They agreed to also add him to our prayer list where he stayed for a few years. Not all of the council had been aware that Michael was really a homeless man. Since, they did not know me that well; they had thought I had set the whole thing up to go with the sermon. But, only God can mastermind events that well! It was a good lesson for me. I learned that day that the congregation I was serving truly did love and respect their neighbors, even the strangers. I also learned (again) that God is truly in charge and works things out for the good of those who love Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Troll Has Received His Promise

Troll with one of the classes he prepared for their first Communion

as they receive their first Communion.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
    he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

                                      Psalm 23 NRSV

No matter how dark the valleys may get, those who believe in Jesus the Christ know that Jesus is with them guiding us; comforting us. My dear friend Troll (Michael) died last night. Troll joined Zion Lutheran Church in Skanee a number of years ago. He quickly became very active; teaching our children in Sunday School and preparing them for their first Communion. The children loved him. We all loved him. I do not recall ever seeing him at the church without his Bible in hand and when I visited him after he fell ill; there was the Bible and the church directory beside his bed. He never left home without them.

Troll's journey through life was not always easy. He suffered even before the strokes with PTSD. He had served as a medic stateside during Vietnam, trying to minister to those who had come back wounded. His retirement came after years of service as a police officer in lower Michigan, which also lends itself to having to experience major traumatic incidents on an ongoing basis. But, through the darkest of valleys, his faith did not leave him. Sometimes, he felt as though his faith was buried too deep within him. After he retired he searched hard for more faith. That more faith came to him as a gift from God. Today, even as I remember him and grieve our loss, I am confident that goodness and mercy has followed his life on earth and he dwells in the house of the Lord for all of eternity.

God's Peace - Pr. J