Newspaper - Thoughts for Sunday
04/05/26 15:14
Free but Nevertheless Ensnared
The country has followed the suffering of the humpback whale Timmy through TV, radio, newspaper and Social Media. The whale was first stuck near the Timmendorf Beach in the Baltic Sea and then got free again. But instead of swimming towards the open ocean, to live and to swim in freedom, he swam to the Island of Poel and was stuck again. A humpback does not belong in the Baltic Sea nor off of the Island of Poel - nothing against Poel. The island is beautiful and worth a trip but is not for Timmy.
Timmy is a symbol for our society and all humans in general. God made us and gave us boundaries so that we flourish, that we thrive and prosper and that we are in safety. But we want to be “free” - and so we violate these boundaries and land, stuck on a sandbank, miserable, hopeless and unable to save ourselves. Somehow, we mange to get free of the sandbank but instead of returning to the life God wants to give us, we swim to the next sandbank and then to the next one.
God offers us a life with and through Jesus, a fulfilling life, a whole ocean of full life and freedom but we do not want to accept the boundaries. We think freedom means breaching all restraints - but then we end up running a ground and ensnared. God is ready to help us back to His ocean but we are proud and want to do it alone because we do not want to give up our “freedom”. Really? Washed up and stranded is “freedom”? The Apostel Peter said, “They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved (2 Peter 2:19 - ESV). Only in God and within his boundaries can we experience freedom.
Randall Smelser
Preacher of the Christ Community Peine-Stederdorf
For an explanation of the news of Timmy look up:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/world/europe/timmy-whale-germany-released.html?emc=edit_nn_20260503&nl=the-morning&segment_id=219232
Newspaper - Words for Sunday 22 March 2026
24/03/26 17:36
An Anchor in Rough Seas
The anchor, not the cross, was a very beloved symbol for the early Christians. Until 312 AD the cross was only rarely used. So why an anchor? The early Christians were back then a minority - much-hated and persecuted. Even in good times life was for them uncertain and not easy. But their hope in Jesus gave them a hold as it says in the letter to the Hebrews 6:19 in the Bible: We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Currently a lot is happening that can and should be unsettling. Last year I was speaking to a young mother, who lived in fear and had psychological problems because of politics and the world at war in which we live. She no longer believed in God or the church and she went to counselor to somehow regain some trust in the future.
To no avail! In our amiable and intensive conversation about God and the world I could not give her any consolation. I told her only that she had reached the logical conclusion: Without God this world is depressing. We can do and control very little. Many good people give everything to make the world a better place but most just try to suppress everything and make the best of things. Fear permeates our society, people need an anchor, a hold in rough seas, hope that somebody good has control over the future. They clutch at straws instead of clutching an anchor.
The early Christians recognized what we need today - a firm and secure anchor for the soul. An anchor does not make the storms go away so that everything is calm. But it gives us a hold and hope that we will pull through. This anchor is near but one must embrace it and hold on.
Randall Smelser
Preacher of the Christ Community Peine-Stederdorf
Newspaper - Thoughts for Sunday, 18 Feb.2024
16/02/24 10:48
World Champions in Playing the Blame Game
If there is one thing that we humans are good at, then it is putting the blame on others. The world was still young when it started. The forbidden fruit had not yet been digested and Eve pointed at the snake and Adam pointed at Eve. Children do the same thing starting at a young age. A popular target is of course the parents. All my problems come from their wrong way of rearing me. Or maybe it because of society or teachers. The modern psychology does away with guilt and renames Evil as Good. And for the last 50 years we know that our genes are to blame for everything. Politicians have it down to a fine art. Some of them even start wars and claim that they were “forced” into it. The buck gets passed around a lot.
It used to be easier – we put the blame on the devil or God. But nowadays that is more difficult because so many people don’t believe in either one of them. Nevertheless, it can be heard from non-believers and atheist that God is to blame for all the misery of the world or that God made us like we are.
Actually, we should look deep in the mirror to see that we are fault ourselves. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (ESV James 1:13-15)
No question about it: we all have weak points which we are born with or which have developed over time. The question is rather what are we going to do with it. As humans we have the possibility to grow and to say “No” to evil. We can give our guilt to God and with His help, we can become more and more like the people He intended us to be, before Adam and Eve started playing the blame game.
Randall Smelser
Preacher of the Christusgemeinde (Christ Church) Peine-Stederdorf
Newspaper - Words for Sunday 9 July 2023
21/07/23 10:15
Eine Antwort auf die Frage: Warum?
Randall Smelser, Preacher
Christusgemeinde Peine-Stederdorf
Small children love to ask “why”. This question is actually a good question for adults also but quite often we do not ask it anymore and just accept everything that we constantly hear. Sometimes that can be positive and sometimes negative. Racism and intolerance are a world-wide problem. One could say that they are the norm for humanity world-wide. Thus one could ask, “why should we be against racism and intolerance?” Or maybe “Why more than apathetic and passive?”
If someone follows Jesus, one has the answer to this “Why?”. In John 4 we read a story about an encounter between Jesus and a woman. She was socially ostracized and from a hated people-group. And no good Jew would talk with a strange woman. Then there was the question of morality. She had been married 5 times and was at that moment living with another man, who she was not married to. On top of that, she was from the wrong religion. Common sense would have been screaming: “NO, NO, NO, stay away from that woman!” Jesus spoke with her and showed her a way out of her problematic lifestyle. He was not apathetic. He did neither simply accepted nor agreed with everything she believed. Tolerance does not mean apathy nor think everything is just fine; instead it is to approach people, who are problematic, with love.
Why should I listen to someone who thinks differently than I or not just reject them? Because Jesus met these people with love – and I follow Him. Why should I be tolerant and at the same time maintain my own beliefs? Because Jesus did that! Why should I not ignore or overlook people? Because Jesus cherished people! When others are racist, why should I act differently? Because Jesus loved even the hated Samarians! Jesus is my role model and my teacher. He gives me basic principles and the answer to the “Why?”.
Newspaper - Thoughts for Sunday 3 Feb. 2023
14/02/23 16:40
Döstädning = Death Cleaning = Todesputz
A couple of months ago my wife started with Döstädning (Death Cleaning = Todesputz). It is a special Swedish system to rid your household of things and after living 33 years in the same house, we have quite a bit to declutter. In November there was a challenge to throw out 1000 things. It had to be 1000 decisions made, not 1000 things. That meant that a draw of music cassettes counted only as one because we had decided to quit bunkering cassettes. We did not make in November but last week Number 1000 was in the rubbish bin. It gave us a very good feeling. Now we want to start anew with another 1000 things in three months.
Our souls also should be mucked out. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” (from the letter from Paul to the Hebrews 12:15 – ESV). How much poison and bitterness is lodging in our soul? Our attics are overflowing with wounds, misunderstanding, and hurts. We hoard them and won’t let them go. The roots have gone deep. It is no wonder then that we have a screw loose. Through God’s grace and with His help we can declutter. It is so pleasant let go of the hurt because someone forgot your birthday a month or 30 years ago. It is liberating to give up our mistakes from when we were 18 years-old. As we have often prayed in the Lord’s Prayer: “and forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those who trespass against us” (Matthew 6:12). It is good to do some “death cleaning” before it is too late.
Randall Smelser
Preacher of the Christusgemeinde (Christ Church) Peine-Stederdorf
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