Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

Good morning, thank you for receiving us today, for opening the doors of your church and being willing to listen to a strange accent in English. Thank you for lifting up our church in prayer every Sunday.  Thank you for your faithful testimony sharing God´s work in Guatemala.  Thank you for your support.

We bring you greetings from the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala – ILAG-  we bring you greetings from the MILAGRO young women’s educational center,  we bring you greetings from the Lutheran Elementary School teachers and students, and we bring you greetings from your partner congregation El Divino Salvador del Mundo in El Mirador community.

When we shared with El Divino Salvador del Mundo in El Mirador, and the teachers and students at the elementary School, that we were going to be at Gloria Dei in the Saint Paul Area synod, visiting different congregations and having these gatherings, they asked us to share with you that they are very grateful with you for the opportunity you are giving them to achieve their dreams and change their own lives.

And from your other partnership, the CLAG Elementary School–the children and the teachers are so grateful for this partnership we share, as they have gotten the opportunity to have hope, and be able to dream of a different life.

Through these two partnerships, we all can reflect on today’s readings, as they are related to the relationships you have developed through the years between Gloria Dei and Guatemala.

Today’s readings offer us a profound reflection on two themes that are deeply interconnected: wisdom and greatness. Both James and Jesus confront us with a challenging question: What does it mean to be truly great in the eyes of God?

In the letter from James, we are invited to reflect on two kinds of wisdom. James tells us that there is a “wisdom” that is earthly, unspiritual, and even demonic. This is the kind of wisdom that seeks self-advancement, is marked by bitter envy, and is obsessed with selfish ambition. This wisdom, James says, leads to disorder, conflict, and destruction.

But there is another wisdom — the wisdom that comes from above. This wisdom is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. James highlights that this heavenly wisdom is not about self-promotion or gaining power; it is about peace, humility, inclusivity and service to others.

I have known your church for a few years, as a church of service, here in your neighborhood, and in Guatemala, traveling, working side by side with Guatemalan people, preaching a gospel of Grace, inclusion, peace and love.

You may know in Guatemala we have 22 different languages, and lifting up leaders from local Churches in the villages is very important. These leaders speak the Mayan language and know the Mayan traditions–they know the culture in their own community.

We meet every other month to discern and read the Bible, to compare the Queqchí Bible with the Spanish Bible, to learn together what God is leading us to preach and showing us how to serve.  We share tools with the leaders so they can preach the good news of Grace, love and inclusion in a context where we still hear a lot about a God of punishment and requirements, instead of a God of grace.

In our world today, the temptation to follow earthly wisdom is great. We are constantly pressured to climb the ladder of success, to accumulate wealth, to be seen as powerful, or to outdo others. But this often leaves us feeling empty, restless, and in conflict, both within ourselves and with those around us.

James calls us to choose a different path: to humble ourselves before God, to resist the temptations of the world, and to draw near to God so that He may draw near to us. This is the wisdom that brings peace — a peace that only comes from aligning our hearts with God’s will, rather than with our own ambitions.

In today’s Gospel from Mark, we see the disciples struggling with this very issue. As they travel with Jesus, He teaches them, once again, that He is going to be handed over to suffer, to die, and to rise again. But they don’t understand what He means. Instead, they fall into an argument about which of them is the greatest.

How often do we, like the disciples, miss the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words because we are caught up in our own concerns? While Jesus speaks of sacrifice, suffering, and humility, the disciples are busy discussing who will have the highest status in His kingdom.

Going back to our religious culture in Guatemala, where punishment and pushing others aside to be first to please God are very normal, I would like to give you an example.

I was invited to lead a worship service for a family celebration in one of our church members.  We traveled with don Pedro who is from El Divino, to celebrate his parents´55-year anniversary.  During communion, I stood there and only about 5 people came to take communion, and that was it.

At the end of the worship service, I was curious as I was thinking, is it because I am a female pastor? So, I decided to ask, I am a grandmother, so I use it as an excuse to ask questions .

Then I asked them why didn’t you take communion? They answered oh I haven’t confessed my sins, then another older lady of 75 years told me, I have not taken my first communion.  Then another lady said oh– well, I haven’t gotten married.  Another 75-year old lady got super concerned, and told me, oh–I didn’t get married either and my husband is dead!

Can you imagine that for most of her life she hasn’t taken communion?  For this reason, we try every Sunday to remember our baptism by doing a blessing with water at the end of every worship service, to remind people we are God´s people, we are forgiven, we are loved and accepted just the way we are. No requirements needed except to love our neighbor.

We read the gospel where Jesus responds with a powerful teaching that turns the world’s values upside down. He says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” And to drive the point home, He takes a child — a symbol of vulnerability and powerlessness in the ancient world — and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Jesus is telling us that true greatness is not about status or power, but about humility and service. To be great in the Kingdom of God is to be like a servant, caring for the least and the lowly, and welcoming those who can offer us nothing in return.

This is radical. In our culture, greatness is often defined by influence, prestige, and accomplishment, but Jesus redefines greatness as a life of humility and service. The greatest in the Kingdom are not those who climb the highest, but those who bow the lowest to serve others.

As we reflect on these readings, we are invited to consider how we might live out this call to true greatness. Are we chasing after the wisdom of the world, with its promises of power, wealth, and prestige? Or are we seeking the wisdom that comes from above, which calls us to humility, mercy, and peace?

To be a follower of Christ is to walk a path that often goes against the grain of society. It is to recognize that our true worth is not measured by our achievements, but by our capacity to love and serve others, especially those who are most vulnerable, just as the testimony you give as Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.

Jesus shows us that the path to greatness leads to the cross. It is a path of sacrifice and self-giving. But it is also a path that leads to resurrection, to new life, and to the kind of greatness that lasts forever — the greatness of being united with God in love.

Let us pray for the grace to choose this path every day. Let us humble ourselves before God, so that He may fill us with His peace and wisdom. And let us strive to be servants to one another, knowing that in doing so, we are welcoming Christ Himself into our lives.

May God bless us as we seek to live out His wisdom and His love in the world. Amén