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Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
The verse I’ve chosen for this month’s reflection is one that has been often misinterpreted to mean people should not reminisce over the past, but always look to the future with faith. While the sentiment is true, we should always be looking in faith toward our gaining the kingdom of God. But it goes without saying that often our memories bring with them feelings of love, warmth, and peace through the lasting visions of those whom we love, or have loved in the past.
As your pastor, I often find myself steeped in memories of those whom I have had the pleasure of knowing, and also the joy of being included in so many milestone moments for celebration. Along with those are the moments when faith plays a profound role in the lives of people whose hearts are broken or perhaps filled with great joy. Given the collection of memories God has blessed me to make through my years of pastoral ministry, it has taken quite some time to write my column this month. Even as my hand has been “to the plow,” I’ve been looking back and remembering the joys and sorrows I’ve shared with so many.
It might seem strange to hear a pastor say, but I thank God for Facebook, Instagram, and other forms of electronic media. It is through these instruments that I have been able to remain connected to so many of the people I love and continue to enjoy the pastoral relationship once shared in person but now shared through social media. I enjoy seeing the photographs of children I had the pleasure to baptize as they have grown over the years. Some have recently graduated high school and will be off to college later this year.
Several of the “little ones” from previous congregations have now taken their place among the workforce. Youth whom I have confirmed in the Carolinas now live in places such as Alaska, North Dakota, and California. Two have become registered nurses. One has become a doctor, and yet another is now an award winning TV news investigative reporter. I love it when these “kids” drop me a quick note, tag me in a photo, or send an instant message just to say “hi.” I’ve even had the pleasure and honor of having former youth group members ask me to preside at their wedding. It is such a joy to see “our children” grow in faith and to see their life unfold.
All of this makes me wonder what the youth of St. Jacob’s will be up to in about ten years or so. The children I’ve been blessed to baptize will be preparing for confirmation. The ones confirmed will be preparing for life after college or will have begun their careers. And our middle school and high school youth might even be enjoying moments and making memories with their spouses and children. Who knows what blessings from God await us all as we continue to grow in faithfulness and in our relationship together.
So as we reflect on our verse for this month, don’t take it to say you should not look back on fond memories. God provides us with recollection so we can relive the moments of joy they bring. Memories play a central role in preparing us for those milestone moments we will experience in the future, but memories are not that which we are to look to for promise in our lives yet to come.
Using Jesus’s metaphor, in plowing a field, a farmer keeps the rows straight by focusing on an immovable object in front and in the distance. If the farmer started to plow and kept looking back, he would never make straight rows and do a good job plowing. In following Jesus, he is to be the immovable object of our focus. Never take your eyes off Him. Our memories bring us pleasure, but they are in the past. No plowman ever plowed a straight furrow looking back over his shoulder.
Plowmen also do something else of great importance: they hold on. A plowman who lets go is no plowman at all. Jesus teaches us to hold on to him. Grasp hold of him through faith and know that through the love of God, a life of blessing awaits. This life may not be of this world but will last for all eternity in the kingdom of heaven.
Watching our children grow, living through the emotional moments of life together as pastor and people. Enjoying all the splendid blessings God pours out upon us all. This is what is on your pastor’s heart this summer.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Isaiah 57:15
In 1990, country music singer/songwriter Garth Brooks scored a big hit with a song titled “Friends in Low Places.” While his song was just a bit on the unsavory side, Brooks did manage to address how he felt about those who may be seen by others as living on the wrong side of life. Truly, no one can count themselves as being better than their neighbor. In fact, the Bible is filled with examples of people who had friends in low places, whose desire it was to live in a much higher place.
As students of God’s Word, we understand that our God dwells in the highest most holy place, the kingdom of Heaven. Such goes without saying, but even still, God himself reminds us of his majesty and the truth of his sovereignty when he says, “I dwell in the high and holy place” (Isaiah 57:15).
Of course, the Most High God dwells in a high place. He is the Holy One, so naturally he dwells in the Holy Place. But what follows comes as good news. Not only does the Lord say he dwells in the highest place, but God follows that with these words; “But also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” And just in case you’re not sure who God is speaking of, he means sinners.
The Most High God, the almighty and glorious One chooses, out of divine love, to dwell with those who are among the most low. As Martin Luther once said, “The farther one is beneath God, the better does God see him.” How low will God go to have compassion upon sinners? Well, remember Jesus touched lepers, he counseled and restored prostitutes, he cast demons out of the possessed, he welcomed the poor and neglected. Our Lord Jesus even promised paradise to a thief who was crucified next to him. No place and no one is too low for God.
And not only does our Lord see us clearly the lower we are, but he comes alongside us when we are at the lowest points in life. God is always with us when we find ourselves in the pit of wilderness. He is with us in the cemetery and in the hospital room. God is with us when we are lonely, heartbroken, or simply broken by our own fault. God is with the contrite adulterer, the sorrowful alcoholic, the shameful addict. Our Loving God sees us clearly and is willing to dwell with us even in our most shameful times. Why, because Jesus has overcome all of these and promises mercy to those who are repentant.
For those who call upon the Lord for help, there is the One who is Most High. In our loneliness and especially in our lowliness, Jesus comes with arms open wide to show his compassion and love. Christ reminds us that through his life, death and resurrection, his love endures forever. The love God pours out upon sinners through his Son Jesus of Nazareth proclaims that God is for us and with us, in good times as well as bad. His is the love that we are to share with others when they are in need of hearing the good news of the Gospel.
No, Garth Brooks was not speaking prophetically, but what he said of himself and his friends is most certainly true of God and sinners. Through the saving work of Christ Jesus, God surely has friends in low places.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David