The Journey of a Spiritual Traveler

By Michael Kurtz PhD

The Journey of a Spiritual Traveler reflects the journey of Pastor Michael Kurtz from a boyhood in rural central Florida as a Roman Catholic youth to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland as a Lutheran layman and then pastor. God through the power of His transforming Word changed the trajectory and very purpose of Pastor Kurtzs life. These meditations and sermons explore the manifold and marvelous ways in which Gods grace touches and changes each one of us. We are all spiritual travelers and our journeys are filled with complexity, with struggle, and with joy as well. God, through the angels he sends into our lives, is ever with us. The Journey of a Spiritual Traveler vividly brings to the fore our Lords promise:
I am with you, to the end of the age. (Mt. 28:20).

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512723588

Michael Kurtz PhD

Michael J. Kurtz served as associate pastor of Magothy Chelsea Lutheran Church in Pasadena, Maryland. He is currently Associate Director of the Digital Curation Innovation Center at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies. Prior to this he worked for 37 years as an archivist, manager, and senior executive at the National Archives. He has published extensively in the areas of American history and archival management.

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Copyright © 2016 Michael J. Kurtz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise designated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2011. The ESV text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotation marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2357-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2359-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2358-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number 2015920509

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/20/2016

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

JESUS AND THE KINGDOM

Follow Me

Mark 1:14–20

True Kingship

Luke 23:35–43

Jesus’ Prayer

Luke 11:1–13

DISCIPLESHIP

Jesus Begins

Matthew 4:12–23

A Test of Loyalty

Mark 9:38–50

Who Are the Saints?

Matthew 5:1–12

Jesus’ Battles

Luke 4:1–13

No Sin, No Savior

Luke 17:5–10

Tempting Jesus

Mark 8:27–38

Walking the Walk

Mark 1:1–8

Nonsense!

Luke 24:1–11

He Spoke with Authority

Mark 1:21–28

FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE

Death Surrounded by life

Luke 24:36–48

Jesus is Lord

Matthew 14:22–33

What Blinds Us?

Luke 24:13–35

Mary—The First Christian

Luke 1:39–55

Fighting the Good Fight

Luke 18:9–17

Filling Our Hunger

John 6:51–58

FORGIVENESS

The Loving Father

Luke 15:1–3, 11–32

Forgiveness: The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:25–35

A Day of Reckoning

Luke 16:1–13

God’s Saving Initiative

Luke 7:36–8:3

Had Enough

John 6:35, 41–51

Loving Yourself

Luke 10:1–20

CALLED BY THE SPIRIT

A Herald of the Word

Matthew 16:13–20

Led by the Spirit

John 20:21–23

Dedicated to Rev. John G. Lynch, PhD

Pastor, Theologian, Friend

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am deeply indebted to Reverend John G. Lynch, PhD, for sharing with me, and many others, his deep knowledge of theology and Scripture. John Lynch is my pastor, mentor, and a lifelong friend. His support enabled me to serve with him at Magothy-Chelsea Community Lutheran Church in Pasadena, Maryland, and to have the humbling privilege of proclaiming God’s Holy Word. John Lynch’s example as a pastor continues to inspire me.

The assistance provided by Diana Mathis made this book possible. She spent many hours typing the manuscript and making changes required in several revisions. I very much appreciate her hard work and support. Cherie Loustaunau’s editorial review of the manuscript greatly aided in strengthening the final version. I thank her for this and much else as well.

Of course, any errors are my responsibility.

Mary McKiel’s beautiful illustrations and work have greatly enhanced the message of love, hope, and forgiveness found in the sermons shared in this book. My thanks to Mary for sharing her artistic gifts.

Most profoundly, I am grateful for God’s grace, which has sustained me in the spiritual journey he has had for me.

INTRODUCTION

All of us are on a journey through life. We are travelers, sojourners. We seek meaning, an understanding of who we are, where we have been, and most importantly, where we are going. Purpose, or the lack of it, can make or destroy our lives. We seek meaning and understanding in many different ways and in many different places. Perhaps one shared characteristic of all our journeys is the unexpected directions our travels take us.

For me the journey of my life is that of a spiritual traveler: someone guided delicately, and often mysteriously, by the Holy Spirit of God. The journey has been filled with the unexpected, the disconcerting, and the truly blessed. Never in the days of my youth could I have expected to become a Lutheran pastor. I was raised as a Roman Catholic in a small parish in central Florida in the 1950s and 1960s.

By eighth or ninth grade I was actively considering the priesthood as my calling. Even at this early stage I yearned for something or someone more. I was restless and discontented but did not really understand why. The Spirit led me to a small branch of the great Roman Catholic order, the Franciscans, in the mountains of western Pennsylvania.

There my needs as a spiritual traveler were partially filled, but discontent and yearning remained. Over many years the Spirit drew me into new and unexpected directions. I left the Franciscans, drifted spiritually for over a decade and eventually found myself a Lutheran, the home church of my father’s family.

One of my guides and spiritual mentors, Pastor John G. Lynch, offered me the opportunity to preach monthly in his congregation, Magothy-Chelsea Community Lutheran Church in Pasadena, Maryland. In 1991, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, I began the humbling task of proclaiming the Word. These meditations are drawn from the sermons I have been privileged to share with the congregation.

Gradually I really began to understand that the Spirit was truly at work in this congregation. The honesty, deep faith, and compassion I witnessed told me that I had at last found my spiritual home. I was blessed in May 2008 to be called and ordained by my brothers and sisters of the congregation.

In truth, our spiritual journey never really ends until our hearts rest with Him for whom we long. Through God’s Word, His Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of other spiritual travelers we continually experience, ever more profoundly, the transformative power of the Lord as we in his Kingdom encounter the faith, hope, love, and forgiveness which Christ brings to us.

The meditations in this book are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The journey on which God has led me, the love of those I have been privileged to know and serve, and the Word I have faithfully sought to proclaim form the heart and soul of what I share with the readers of this volume.

May we rest assured that God will continue to open our eyes and our hearts to His Revelation as each of us, spiritual travelers, follow the pilgrim’s way to our eternal destiny.

Michael J. Kurtz

April 2014

JESUS AND THE KINGDOM

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MEDITATION

When my heart doubts, I see rising from the mist the shape of one who lived and died for me; surrounded by those who live in his Kingdom, at peace now and forever.

FOLLOW ME

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This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short … For the present form of this world is passing away.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:29–31

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

MARK 1:14–15

L et’s take a few minutes and try to imagine, to visualize, the scene described in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus is just beginning his ministry and he has started to preach. So it is quite likely that Simon, Andrew, James, and John have already heard the new preacher.

Try to see in your mind’s eye Capernaum as it was at the time. It was located on the Sea of Galilee with three hundred to four hundred fishing boats operating out of the port. The town was busy and prosperous. Fishing was the main trade and it was big business. There was no refrigeration to preserve fresh fish and send it to the great cities of the empire, even Rome itself. So salted fish was the product shipped from the town.

These first disciples were what we today call small businessmen. The four disciples named by Mark were in family businesses, common then and today. Though they were ordinary men, they were not impoverished. They were making a good living selling a commodity in great demand. Granted these men had to work hard, but they were rewarded for their efforts. In time, they could look forward to marriage, children, and passing on the family business to their sons. No reason here to make a dramatic change in their lives.

But change in the person of Jesus and the kingdom of God was at hand and nothing would ever again be the same for them. Jesus was new in town. He had just arrived from Nazareth, in mountainous northern Palestine, and was teaching in the synagogue. Like all good Jews, these men attended synagogue services, where they probably heard Jesus preach.

This new man was all the talk of Capernaum. He was magnetic and compelling. We can imagine how he looked and the power in his eyes. But it was his message that was so startling. He told the people: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). His listeners understood these words perhaps even better than we do. Jesus was proclaiming that the wait