/NATHAN LYKE/BLOG/

The Wounded Healer I’ve got a cut that ain’t quite healed I’ve got bruises still swollen - black and blue I’ve got scars that you can’t see But I’ll share them each with you I’ve got a cut from whence power wields You’ve got a bruise that matches me I’ve got scars I didn’t ask for We’re both limping from what we received I ain’t got no snake oil to sell you Only an open heart and ear And if you’d care to sit a spell I’ll sit with you - I’ll stay right here Because a man once took his share of cuts They bruised him black and blue From his scars poured blood and water He knows how you feel too To hell with polished brass and boots Don’t join the grand parade Dip out of the ranks and come with me There’s a new army being made And not one of us keeps brisk pace - not a one We step to our slowest afar and afield Because there’s only one way you can serve with us You’ve got to have cuts that ain’t quite healed -By Nathan Lyke based on the book The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen

The first task of the preacher is to be loved as they are by Jesus Christ. Whether the preacher feels superbly saintly or seriously sinful, Jesus has already bought them with his own blood on the cross in as-is condition with no returns or exchanges. So they’d better get used to it. In case of emergency or dark nights of the soul, the preacher can look long and hard at themselves in the mirror and boldly say to the person staring back at them: “Hey buddy. You’re a child of God. You’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Full stop. Deal with it and get comfy because Jesus played for keeps with you.” The next task is for the preacher to approach the text and let the text approach them . Other voices should be consulted in text and conversation. Hunches that crop up should be investigated and rabbit trails should be explored. Then thoughts need to simmer with the Holy Spirit keeping things cooking. Now it’s time to cobble their thoughts together. Fi...

Text: John 3:1-17 (NRSVUE) Let’s time travel. It’s a random Monday evening in 1998, and a slightly shorter and even scrawnier version of the man you see before you is watching what may be the highest form of performing art ever generated in the 20th century. WWF (the… World Wrestling Federation to the.. uninitiated)  Monday Night RAW on cable TV. The hero of that day was “The Rattlesnake” Stone Cold Steve Austin. His signature move was “the Stone Cold stunner.” He would shotgun beers from the corners of the wrestling ring at the end of his matches. HE BROKE INTO THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION’S HOSPITAL ROOM AND HIT THE MAN IN THE HEAD WITH HIS OWN METAL BEDPAN.  As I liked to say in those days, “It’S nOt fAkE! PrO-wReStLiNg iS REAL!” There just happened to be a camera crew present for moments like that. Fans proudly wore “Austin 3:16” t-shirts because, as “The Rattlesnake” Stone Cold Steve Austin once said: “You sit there thumpin’ your bibles saying ‘John 3:1...

It’s the bottom of the ninth. At the homefield the home team is down by 3. The bases are loaded. Two outs already. Full count. The game could tip in either direction. The batter spits in the dust. He looks at the crowd and smiles. He steps up to the plate. The final pitch has been made. The wood makes a CRACK! And it shatters. The trajectory of the game. The series for the world. Some wait with anticipation. Some watch in disbelief. The grand slam homerun flies through the air. It’s nearly landed in the stands. The game isn’t over. The game is over. He’s rounding the bases. And once he returns to home plate, the real party will begin. And it will have no end. Jesus has won. -by Nathan Lyke

I had a few people tell me how much they liked this Children’s Message (and how much they as adults got out of it). One was a retired ELCA pastor, which felt like an extra special theological win. Just trying to shine my light folks. It’s my pleasure and an honor.

  I remember someone once telling me that she picked the home she did in part because of the way the particular trees in the yard rattled in the breeze. Have you stopped to listen to the leaves before they fall?