Sermons

Cast Netters

2012-01-23T10:33:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 22, 2012

You can see them any time of the day of night –in the cool of the morning, in the heat of the afternoon sun, or barely a silhouette in the moonlight. They can be found on any of the thousands of docks, hundreds of bridges, knee to waist deep in the bays and canals, standing on shore, or in boats on the ocean. No matter where you see them or the time of day – they are beautiful to watch. Solitary figures, strong, brown from the sun, silent, intent on their task. I have sat and watched them for hours – mezmerized - as they repeated the same movement over and over again. --- the Cast Netters.
A huge circular net –with weights sewed all around the edges. I was told that 20 foot of netting can hold as many as 30,000 knots. A loop goes around your wrist – the hand line or throw line can be 30 feet long – the longer it is the deeper into the water it will be able to go. Wrap your hand through the loop, gather up the throw line. In the other hand grab the net about 1/3 of the way down, shake out the netting, make sure the lead weights are not tangled but lay flat. Stand with your back to your target – and with a shot putter type action throw out the net...so that – like a jelly fish – it opens and falls gracefully out and over the water. As the weights begin to sink, the netting closes around the fish. And as you pull in the nets, the Braille lines that run from top to bottom, draws the net in, trapping the fish inside the net which now looks more like a pouch. Hand, loop, gather, shake, weights flat, adjust, get ready throw, pull up and in. Hand, loop, gather, shake, weights flat, adjust, get ready throw, pull up and in. Over and over again. This is the picture that comes to mind when I read the passages about the first disciples who cast fishing nets into the Sea of Galilee for a living.
It may be that we are mistaken about the image of disciples fishing for people. It is not comfortably sitting or lazily floating along the banks. It is not baiting a hook and then waiting until you get a nibble, or a bite, and eventually – if the people- fishing is good – catching one.
No, cast netting for fish...and for people - is hard demanding physical labor-intensive work. It requires that the cast netter actually gets up off the shore (or the pew) and heads right into the unpredictable watery depths of life – it’s putting yourself out there, taking risks, searching out the best people-fishing spots. It’s being deliberate, it’s about building some muscle for God, and honing your ‘Come and see’ skills. It’s about casting your nets of faith far and wide – sometimes in familiar and other times in foreign waters. It’s casting over and over again. And there is never a guarantee that you will catch anything at all.
Why does the fisherman continue to throw in a line? Why does the cast netter continue to mend and cast...mend and cast...mend and cast again and again? Because somewhere...someone is hungry...somewhere someone needs to eat and be filled. And it is the fisherman, the cast netter who can provide a meal.
It is the same for Christ’s present day disciples. We cast our nets of faith over and over again – because somewhere...no, because everywhere there is someone who is hungry – for peace, justice, acceptance. Because everywhere there is someone who needs a kind word, a fair shake, an opportunity to be heard, a chance to be included. It doesn’t matter from where we cast our nets...and ya know, maybe it really doesn’t matter if we can throw ‘em like a pro...what matters is that Jesus told us to follow him and he would make us fish for people.
And so with a prayer we lean out and cast whatever kind of net we have into the waters – because we know that there are many who are hungry for good news...and we dare not believe that God will ever give up as long as there is one waiting to hear...as long as there is only one longing to be gathered in.

God Calls Everyone

2012-01-17T08:05:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January , 2012

God calls everyone. Sometimes the call is as obvious as it was for Phillip - and as simple as “Follow me.” Other times God’s call floats around us like a dream – the way it did for young Samuel. In the middle of the day as we sit in the shade of a fig tree; in the darkest of night while we sleep – in our youth or in our more mature days - God’s call on our life is not restricted to a particular method, style, place or time.
Dissatisfied with my job, on the mend from a personal upset, it felt like I needed to do something that mattered. It felt like I wanted people to know that walking with Christ could get a person through anything. I interviewed for a job at a funeral home to help families make arrangements for their loved ones; I volunteered at a homeless shelter and a battered woman’s shelter. I spoke to Girl Scout troops and spent time with people in drug rehabs. I sat on committees at church, volunteered in the nursery, ushered, cooked, put up bulletin boards, went to Sunday school and Wednesday night dinners, belonged to a circle, painted rooms, prepared communion. But nothing. Until one afternoon I heard as clear as day the answer: You could be a minister. Right there in my lounge chair on the lanai at my home in Tampa, Florida …as I stared out into the palmettos and the palms, drinking a pepsi, with Travis on my lap…I heard, You could be minister. No I couldn’t I said to the voice. Why not? came the response. Because, I’m a woman – well women are ministers, yeah but I’m older and need to go to school and there is no money to pay for that, and I have a really good paying job, and a 2 year old…and and and….You could be a minister said the voice… yes, I guess I could I said to the voice.
The conversation continued for weeks and months - “go back to sleep Samuel, it was nothing – you’re hearing things – go on now – lay back down and forget about it. …You could be a minister… Can anything good come out of Nazareth –or a Tampa suburb – One day ‘come and see – follow me’ another day – no one’s calling you – probably the wrong number, the wrong house – your dreaming and delusional ---- get yourself back to the law firm and reality. Cuz you know, I said to the voice…This ‘calling” stuff doesn’t really happen today – only in the Bible.
God’s call is persistent – as Samuel discovered. But, the trouble with humans is we have a hard time believing that voice. Trouble is as it was said in a movie… how do we know it’s God or if we’re just talking to ourselves.?? We’ve fallen into the mindset - that like it was in this Old Testament Scripture passage…these days the word of the Lord is rare and visions are unlikely. Maybe like Eli – our eyesight has grown dim and we don’t want to SEE where God is leading us. Maybe like Nathanael – we’ve become skeptical of the whole thing – or convinced that we have nothing to contribute.
But that can’t be true…Moses killed a man; David was an adulterer and plotted a murder; Rahab was a prostitute; and God called each of them. God called the son of a peasant who worked in the silver and copper mines…named Martin Luther ..and he changed the church and history forever. And God called a 12 year old Albanian girl med Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu…who taught the world the meaning of self-sacrificing love…a woman who we know as Mother Teresa. Luther could have remained a monk in the catholic church and mother Teresa could have continued her vocation as a nun in Ireland – if they had ‘gone back to sleep’ or been indifferent to the urging of that voice.
If we would read to the end of this chapter, we would hear that for the rest of Samuel’s life his words would not fall to the ground. Quite often when something falls to the ground – it breaks. What we understand then, is that the words Samuel speaks will be true – that he will do what he says he will do – that his word is good and will not be broken. This language is also God’s language. When we hear that the Lord has spoken, or thus sayeth the Lord, or that God will see to it that something will come to pass -- what we understand is that God has decreed it – that God’s word is good and it doesn’t matter what we want or what we think – God’s word will not be broken – His words will not fall to the ground.
What words has God spoken to you? What gifts has God decreed are yours, and are you using them to build up the church? Is there a voice trying to get your attention but you have convinced yourself that you are hearing things, or perhaps you have become skeptical, or maybe it is that you like Eli can no longer see or hear how it is you are called to glorify God. God calls everyone. Sometimes the call is obvious -- other times God’s call floats around us like a dream. God’s voice can come to us in the middle of the day or the darkest of night. We should never let god’s call on our life fall to the ground – broken. The gift we receive by God’s hand should never be wasted. God calls everyone --- Our answer:? “Here I am…speak for your servant is listening.

The Rest Of Yes

2012-01-09T13:29:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Doesn’t matter who you are…Everybody wants to be accepted. Everybody wants to be included. Everybody wants to be invited. Everybody wants to hear good news. And Paul is going to give everyone – everything they want.
…Today we hear the same good news that the Ephesians heard 2000 years ago. Good news that says: We are no longer unclean; no longer rejected, no longer left on the outside to fend for ourselves……. quite the opposite actually. WE ARE accepted, included, and invited. /// Accepted, included and invited. Because of Jesus Christ - we have gained the same status as the Jews. We Gentiles are now – children of God – we are the newest members of God’s family. And like the Jews, we Gentiles have become joint heirs, part of the same body, and sharers in God’s promise.
I think back to my legal secretary days. I was thrilled the first time I was invited to a reception and dinner for a district judge. I think I may have even gone out and bought a new dress for that occasion. And because not every secretary was asked, I just knew that I had rose above the crowd….. worked myself into a cushy position with those who counted,, it was clear that my invitation was proof that I was now a part of the in crowd. Oh pity all those other secretaries who weren’t. And very shortly after I arrived – early as I was instructed to do – I was shown a chair behind a table – in the lobby of the hotel – to check names off the guest list and hand out name tags; to pick up empty champagne glasses and dirty plates; and give directions to not only the reception and the dinner, but to pay phones and bathrooms. I realized a little late - that along with the invitation, acceptance and inclusion - came a job. Of course, I was so full of myself at being among the chosen – that I didn’t think about that when I said yes.
Paul makes sure we understand that we are invited, included and accepted… - and he makes sure we know that it comes with a job. Yes, Paul brings the good news of the boundless riches of Jesus Christ to us – but not so we can be self-indulgent and strut our stuff …..but …because we have stuff to do. As Paul says, we have been included and given this new status -- so that through us – who are the church – everyone is made aware of God’s eternal purposes for the world. And what are God’s purposes for the world…and what is it that the church is to do? ? Again, according to Paul the church is to be a sign of God’s redemptive grace.
New Testament scholar, Luke Johnson writes:
It is through the church, and her members that the world is to see what reconciliation looks like. It is the church’s job to make sure that people understand that God’s eternal purposes for humanity have nothing to do with rivalry or boasting, position or worthiness, or earning your way. Rather it is the church’s responsibility to be so grounded in the redemptive grace as exhibited in Jesus Christ – that grace is what the world is to see in everyone of us.
Too often we start feeling pretty impressed with ourselves for being invited, accepted, and included in God’s covenant. After a while = a couple thousand years, we get to thinking this is a pretty cushy place to be = forgetting that to whom much has been given, much is expected…. especially in the form of grace – grace that nurtures and forgives --- mends and makes whole. Grace that includes those who are outcasts just like we used to be ---grace that works toward justice and peace for all people.
Luke Johnson finishes with this: The great tragedy of the church is that we have so thoroughly failed to live up to God’s promise and Christ’s commission.
Lesson learned:
Just because I was invited, accepted and included to be a part of a dinner and reception – didn’t mean I was something special – better than any other secretary – and gloating about my new and improved standing at the law firm. Saying yes to that invitation – meant I had a job to do…meant that there was an expectation put upon me – to do my part, to participate in whatever way I was asked, to make the event successful, and as it turned out -- in my case – to be available and to serve others.
Saying yes to Christ – saying yes to the church – saying yes to discipleship – saying yes to leadership in the church --- doesn’t come without an expectation. The expectation to do our part in accordance with our gifts, and abilities so that the church can carry out God’s purpose for humanity: exhibiting Christ’s redemptive grace through service.

John the Witness

2011-12-12T07:58:00.000-05:00

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Matthew gave him a name and a title and called him John the Baptist.
Mark told us what he did and called him John the baptizer.
Luke told us about his family connections and called him John the son of Zechariah.
But when the gospel writer John introduces him to us – he is just plain ol’ John. The reason behind this less than glorious introduction, is to let us know that the focus here is not and never should be on John – that the focus of this gospel is on something greater…greater than John, greater than any human being. The focus is on God, and what God is doing in the world. The focus is on the Word made flesh. The focus is on the Light. What we are told about plain ol’ John is that, “He came as a witness, to testify to the Light. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify to the Light.”
Now we’ve talked about this before, and so we remember that at this time in history there were lots of changes going on. It is what is called a paradigm shift. Much like what we are experiencing today – it means that there are profound and rapid changes taking place in our world. Changes in our practices, our models, our patterns of living…occur because of advances in science and technology, because of increased amounts of information, because of politics – there are changes in our perceptions, our beliefs, and in the very way we think…and that changes how we live. In times like this the old guard stands firm – not like the changes…because it will upset their power structure and what they perceive to be their importance. And so it was then, that the religious authorities who had that grip on the Jews, were all in a frenzy about what was going on out there at the Jordan River. The wanted to know who he was – this strangely dressed, wilderness-living noisy man…who would not shut up about the Light…who would not stop baptizing people in the hopes that they would come to know that same light…this man who had no license or authority to preach about anything, to tell about a person who would be greater than the religious leaders, no authority to baptize anyone…they want to know who he is…or who is isn’t. And his answer:
I am not the Messiah…I am not Elijah…I am not a prophet…well then – they insisted - who are you?…John would not identify himself as John the Baptist, the baptizer, or the son of Zecheriah. In fact he would not even use his own words to answer that question. Instead he quoted the prophet Isaiah…I am the voice. While we do not minimize John’s role, it is obvious from John’s own responses that he understood his calling. Understood that he, John, existed only to testisfy…understood that his sole purpose for being was to bear witness to someone else. Never once does John take credit for anything more than that.
And that was John’s job – to let us know that even though there are a zillion places of darkness in this world, even there the Light of Christ shines. And do you know how difficult that must have been? Difficult because John was the first witness. When John came on the scene there were no healings, no feeding of the 5,000, no teaching with authority. It could not have been easy to proclaim Jesus, when proclaiming a man who hadn’t even shown up yet.
This man hasn’t shown up yet in a whole lot of people’s lives, and perhaps you will be the first witness. And since we are called to proclaim the Light of Christ, this Advent season of preparing His way, is a perfect time to ask ourselves, what kind of light will they see in us? Will they see small-mindedness or a people with vision and a future? Will they see prejudice or tolerance? Will they see harden hearts or compassion? A people who live strictly by the letter of the Law, or those who live by the Spirit of the Law? When they look at us who stand as witnesses to Christ, will they see love and hope and peace and joy? What kind of light in their darkness will we be?
There are a couple of caverns in the area, and I know over the years we’ve visited many. And if you have ever taken the tour, you know that at some point the guide will turn off the lights. Did you know that without light, without even the smallest speck of light, our eyes are incapable of adjusting to the darkness. We could be in that cave 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 5 years – and never ever be able to see our hands in front of our faces. However, with the very smallest amount of light our eyes would adjust and we would be able to see again.
That is our job now. To be just the smallest speck of light so that others will come to see the Light of Christ in their lives.
And as we go through this Advent season figuring out how we are called to prepare the way of the Lord, let us remember plain ol’ John – John the Testifier, John the Voice, John the Witness.

What Sort Of Persons?

2011-12-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Speak tenderly and tell her that she has served her term. Words that make a body sigh.
Valleys lifted up, mountains made low, level ground, a flock fed, gathered, held in arms, and gently led. Words that erase all that was, words of assurance, words to lean back into like your best pillow, words that let a hurting people trust again, rest again, believe again.
We like these words = because as broken and hurting, wondering and wandering as we are – these are word of comfort and they make us believe that no matter how rough it is now or might be in the future – there is one who will carry the burden, there is a purpose for it all, there is a light of hope at the end of a very long dark tunnel.
And when we go to Scripture for comfort – this is a passage that will deliver the goods – and we are grateful that God said these words … glad that we are the inheritors of them. In times of personal distress, it feels that the words are written in this book …for us.
A woman who I think is in her mid to late 30’s came to the office on Wednesday. Her arms were filled with an overstuffed purse, a dog-eared notebook, a devotional, and a calendar/address book. Her 13 year old daughter was with her. Fleeing from an abusive situation, she had been at the Family Refuge Center for a few months. And just in the last week or so, she was out on her own. Problem was she hadn’t found a job yet, had used all her money for apartment rent and utilities. The food stamps she received in the beginning of the month were gone because this month she had to stock a kitchen and a refrigerator as best she could. December’s food stamps wouldn’t arrive until this coming Wednesday…and she needed money to buy food. Clifton could give her money – and we did,,,but she needed more than money. She and her daughter needed to be invited into our parlor, she needed to be treated not like someone begging for a hand out, but like a human being, like a young woman, like a mother. What she needed was to be heard. She said I probably didn’t have the time, probably didn’t want to hear about her and her problems, but I corrected her and told her that I did – and I really did, because she needed to tell her story – again and again until the ugliness of it and the sting of it went away. She needed an opportunity to realize that she mattered, and that she was included and accepted, and that between the two of us women – there was a bond.
She talked to me about her daughter, who is having trouble in her new school – acting out her anger and fears – in less than a few weeks she has already been suspended twice. This 13 year old child is worried about an upcoming court trial, being away from the all she called home, and living from hand to mouth – a whole lot more than a kid needs to be thinking about.
Mother and daughter had been given a mattress, couch, a coffee table and a lamp. When she looked at the money we gave her she said that beyond groceries, she could now buy a light bulb for her lamp, and the excited look on her face for such a ridiculously simple thing, was enough to make my day worthwhile.
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly and tell her that she has served her term.
God’s words as spoken through the prophet Isaiah – originally heard by Israel. But we would argue that these words are for the church to hear as well, and for the oppressed who live in every country around the world. And yes for us in times of personal distress.
But , as disciples of Christ, that cannot be the end of it. These words don’t just belong to Israel or the church – not even to us. We may have been entrusted with them, ..not just for our own edification, but to share them with others, to spread the good news, to go and tell.
But as disciples of Christ, not even that can be the end of it. We are not here to just tell people about Isaiah’s words…we are here to be Isaiah’s words. Read this passage not only as words to Israel or the church or to us – Read this passage as instructions of what we are to do. Comfort, o Comfort my people.
In his second letter, Peter asks an important question. As he calls people to repentance…as he calls believers to live Christ-like lives of patience and peace…Peter asks: What sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness. In the season of Advent – when love and forgiveness, love and acceptance, love and compassion, love and comfort are coming our way in the person of Jesus Christ… this is the question we ask ourselves…what sort of persons ought you to be…

O Lord, That You Would...

2011-12-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

Sunday, November 27, 2011

This time of year is an odd time of year.
Our secular brains are geared to think of lots of food and gatherings, and glittering things,,,we thrive on busy-ness, store-hopping, and holiday music everywhere we go.
We are hooked by the advertisements that depict joyful homecomings, beautiful homes beautifully decorated, filled with beautiful people…, gathered around bountiful tables, warm fireplaces,… professionally wrapped presents spill out from under the tree, and everyone gets exactly what they want.
And then we come to church. And Sunday mornings don’t jive with all that holiday happiness hoopla… The hymns are in a minor key, and Scripture talks about darkness and judgment and the end times. And we realize that in the church, it’s not Christmas…it’s Advent. And we do it for reason.
When the people were released from exile and returned to Jerusalem, what they saw was gut-wrenching. The Temple - in ruins, the city - in ruins, what families returned were broken and separated, there was no way to make a living, there was no food, the infrastructure of the city was destroyed. No commerce, no faith life, no family life, no community. Think Haiti after the earthquake…think Japan after the tsunami…think Tuscaloosa, Alabama after the tornado. There is no place to begin, no comprehension of where to begin, no means to build or repair or reclaim what was. Clearly, the restoration of Jerusalem and the restoration of Jewish life - which every Jew envisioned while in exile was not going to happen.
And the people begged God to act on their behalf. Isaiah cried out, Lord, remember us, we are the work of your hands, we are your people – yes, we are sinners, – but not this. We cannot live with this, this is more than we can bear. O Lord that you would …tear open the heavens and come down.
This odd time of year, this time called Advent is when we – like the Jews who returned to a devastated Jerusalem – take a time out to see the world for what it really is…
50,000 people die of starvation every day…16,000 of those are children.
A low estimate of 5,000 women and girls ever year…from around the world are murdered by their families in a practice called honor killings.
13.9 million people in the United States are unemployed.
33.3 million men, women, and children in the world suffer with AIDS
Tens of thousands of men are held in over 1,100 forced labor camps in North Korea…some of them are Christians.
Black Friday finds people shot because they would not give what they had just bought to robbers. An angry woman pepper sprays shoppers who ripped into video game equipment 5 minutes before the set hour for Black Friday shopping.
Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other forms of abuse and neglect.
In Advent we pause to see the world – as it really is because we know that not all homecomings are joyful…not everyone has a beautiful homes beautifully decorated, and filled with beautiful people…not everyone will gather round bountiful tables, warm fireplaces – not this season, not even one day this coming year. Not everyone will be able to give or receive a present…and not everyone will get exactly what they want.
Advent – when we see the world for what it is – but not just out there…but in our own homes… in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and in our churches.
Advent is that odd time of year when in the midst of our celebrations we remember the reason why we are so happy about Christmas day…the reason why we are waiting for Jesus.
William Willimon, the well-known minister, professor, lecturer, and author writes:
What the church is saying in this Advent time is this: Our hope is that we are out of hope, and we know it. We know, in our better moments, that all the world is broken, and that every where we look the people are broken, all of us lost and wandering. In Advent we pause for a time, right here, in the darkened church, to admit that more than all that stuff we think we need to do, and have to have this holiday season…more than all the decorations and forced merriment…what we need most is to be saved from ourselves and the horrors we have created. Advent is that time when we say out loud that there is nothing within us that can save us. We’ve tried it all - No president, no bomb, no new car, no bottle, not even a white Christmas can save us. It seems that the church is out of step…again. The world wants visions of dancing sugar plums and Christmas jingle bells,.. and the church hears the lament of Isaiah.
And so it is that in this Advent… we join the ancient Jews and send up our petitions and our wailings toward heaven…
O, Lord that you would….tear open the heavens and come down…and we wait…in Advent…because we must…wait…for that one to come down and save the world. O Lord that you would – tear open the heavens and send us your Son.

Thanksgiving Reflection

2011-12-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Our parents begin teaching it to us at a very early age. Grandpa gives us a wink and a dollar bill. And mom says: ‘Say thank you.’ A few years go by and the nice lady at the bank adds a sucker to the deposit slip and our parents look down at us and ask, “What do you say?” And when we didn’t say the magic words, we’d be sure to hear, “Well, what do you say?”
As we grow, we learn, and we say it all by ourselves. But there are those whose vocabulary doesn’t include those two words. No matter what you do or what they receive, a thank you never crosses their lips.
And have you ever known someone who when you compliment them instead of saying thank you – they say everything else. Compliment a woman on her clothing and there’s a good chance she’ll tell you it was on sale and she got it cheap. Tell someone they look nice and you might hear ‘o, you must need glasses.’ Let someone know they have a beautiful home and they’ll say, ‘yeah, we like it too.”
I suppose there are lots of reasons why, but there are people who find it hard to say thank you.
But..when they do isn’t it great! Don’t you just love it when someone does say thank you. Thank you for helping, supporting, encouraging. Thank you for making me laugh, giving me advice, defending me. Thank you for listening, holding the door, coming to visit, bringing unch, helping me pay a bill. Thank you.
I know that this is not our first thought when we think of Thanksgiving, but while giving thanks is fresh in our minds, maybe we should learn how to say it more often. Not just when someone hands us the salt shaker, or gives us change when we buy something. We should say thank you more often to people who – over the years - have made a difference in our lives, …and to those who make a difference…those who make our lives better every single day.
Jesus was about to enter into a town. And because lepers were unclean they had to remain on the outside of the town proper. So as Jesus approached, the first people he would have seen were the 10 lepers. Hoping to bridge the space between themselves and the man they heard could heal people…they yelled out and asked for mercy.
Jesus never touched them, never asked what they wanted, didn’t tell them they were healed, or that their faith had made them well…didn’t tell them to go and sin no more. What Jesus did was tell them to go and show themselves to the priests. And…as they went they were made clean.
All were healed. All went on to who knows where – except for one. That one never made it to the Temple to show the priests. That one – not a Jew like the 9, but a Samaritan – that one, when he saw that he was healed, turned back. He laid down on the ground, at Jesus feet, and with his face buried in the dirt…(Luke writes) ….he thanked him.
I’ve looked – there is no other place in the New Testament where it is recorded that anyone ever thanked Jesus (praised him, gone away happy and weeping, walking and able to see) but nowhere is it recorded that anyone ever thanked Jesus for anything. This is it – the only place. 500 years ago Martin Luther was asked to describe the nature of true worship. He answered: True worship is the 10th leper turning back to say thank you.
The leper seeing with his own eyes that his encounter with Jesus was physically changing him…every passing minute of his journey bringing him closer and closer to being healed and to being made whole once again…and then --- that signal moment when the leper = no longer a leper = fully understood that now he would be able to go home to his family, now he would be able to hold his children, grow old in the company of his wife, work a job, sit at table and share a meal with friends – that signalmoment when the leper – no longer a leper came to the realization that now he would be regarded as a person, now included, now able to function and contribute to society, now able to have a life – what a day that must have been. And how better to spend that day than thanking the One who blessed him in such an indescribable incredible way.
We can begin this week by looking around us and letting our dear ones know that they are important and appreciated. This week we can begin to see changes in our lives when we make a conscious effort to turn back to the One who has the power to make us whole, come before him with lives filled with blessings and say … thank you.

Amos From Tekoa...Again

2011-12-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

Sunday, November 6, 2011

I took a walk up at the park a few days ago – only to discover that a big truck had gone up there, and torn off a pretty good sized limb from one of the pines that line the driveway. Since – like all of us – I have taken some emotional ownership of that park, when I looked at that tree I felt horrible. The limb was just laying there on the ground blocking the driveway – the tree has a gash in it, the tree flesh is exposed, I could smell sap from that wound …and I was mad that the people driving that truck were so careless and irresponsible, and though it may sound silly, I just felt like a huge injustice had been done to that beautiful tall pine tree. Now I have gone up every day – a couple times a day to enjoy what’s left of the good weather – and yesterday morning I stopped under that tree…and I thought about all of us.
I thought about all our wounds. All the gaping gashes we have suffered. The losses of course; the disappointments of course…and also the times we have been purposely and deliberately hurt and exposed at the hands of another person. The times when harsh words and mean actions have made us vulnerable – the times when we suffered an injustice and were made to feel small and helpless. And right when I started to get really distraught - I thought about the church.
That’s one of the reasons why we come here. Yeah I know we are here to worship, to praise God, and lift up our thanksgivings, but there’s not a soul who sits in a church who isn’t wounded. Not a single soul who isn’t searching or perhaps begging for something.
The hymns, the scripture, the prayers, the promise of forgiveness = even the silence and the smell of this place, the way it looks, the way it feels, the way our spot in the pew has molded around us to make a perfect fit = and the people -- everything here has the power to lift and encourage, to calm and assure, to excite and convince, and sometimes to convict us – and all of it makes for renewal, for a new hope and the possibility of a new life.
And then the harsh and hard to hear words of this Old Testament Scripture passage came to mind.
“If you believe,” Amos said, “that you’re headed for the light – you’re mistaken cuz there’s nothing but darkness for you. If you think the day of the Lord is something to desire – you’ll be shocked to find it’ll be more like meeting a bear and getting bitten by a snake. Furthermore,” Amos continued, “God hates your offerings, your music, your celebrations, and God will no longer accept or be pleased with anything you do in worship”
A few years ago, someone called to tell me about her church experience. This person never attended church, but because of a particular trauma, and because a friend invited her to church – in the hopes that it would help…this personaccepted the invitation. She told me with great excitement – how as she sat in that pew she started to feel better – how halfway through the service a calm came over her and she felt like she had found a sense of peace, and after singing an inspiring hymn she left that church feeling closer to God, like she would be going to heaven, and even felt kind of brand new. And Minister that I am – I said, Great! And when I encouraged her to go back, the answer was, Oh no, I feel good now. There’s no reason anymore, so why would I go back?
One commentator writes, these days people go to church to feel good. If after a while the only reason you go to church is to feel good, to applaud yourself because you and yours are going to heaven, and make sure of your own personal salvation – you’d be better off to stay at home.
That’s God’s complaint – that we focus on all that feel good stuff and put blinders on when it comes to the things of the world that don’t feel very good at all. Truth is, there is nothing at all wrong with our church or our way of doing things on Sunday morning. What Amos is saying, and what God wants us to understand - is that there’s got to be more.
When we get too comfortable in here and tickled pink cuz we think (like my long lost friend) that just being here is our ticket to heaven, Amos tells us we’re wrong. When we come to believe that our Sunday morning worship is all that is required of us. Amos tells us we are wrong. When we are content to have our own wounds healed, but do not feel compelled to go out into the world to help and heal others, Amos tells us we are wrong. When we who have experienced every blessing at God’s hands, continue to close our doors on those who suffer indignity and injustice of every kind – when we are not willing to bless others as God has blessed us - Amos tells us we are wrong.
There’s not a soul in this world who isn’t wounded. Not a single soul who isn’t searching or perhaps begging for something. And every one of those souls are waiting to be lifted and encouraged, calmed and assured, excited and convinced…and we who call ourselves Christ’s disciples – we who say we are here on this earth to love and serve, have a word that makes it possible for people to be renewed, and hopeful, and able to embrace a new life.
Not a priest or a prophet, but a migrant worker; not an educated man of means, but a man who barely eeked out a living doing hard labor; he was a nobody from a place of no account. One hot, parched day, this man named Amos strolled into town, and interrupted the comfortable worship lives of the people of Israel. He carried with him a message from God. A harsh and hard to hear message that said God required them to look beyond the walls of the Temple, that God required them to go out into a world of gaping wounds, to work and serve so that justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. He told them there’s got to be more.
And because they kept forgetting …and because we still forget, at the appropriate time, God sends us the words of Amos of Tekoa – and we hear him again.

Crossing Over

2011-12-05T11:00:00.001-05:00

Sunday, October 30, 2011

What an unsettling time it must have been for the Israelites. An entire generation of God’s people had built their life around the wilderness. Manna, water from rocks, setting up camp, tearing down camp, always traveling. Yet, in spite of the trials they faced in that wilderness, this nomadic tribe managed to arrange marriages, birth children, raise families, and bury their dead. When we see pictures of nomads living in tents in the middle of deserts, that the life looks miserable. But, if you knew nothing other than the nomadic life, then nomadic life would be normal and comfortable.
Now that life was coming to an end. Forty years earlier, the Red Sea stood between the Israelites and their freedom. Now another body of water – the Jordan River - separated them from the promised land. Forty years earlier a man named Moses was at the helm…now God charged another young man to lead them. Now, the entire nation of Israel stood at the waters’ edge –waiting to begin their new life.
Don’t you imagine that a whole lot of questions about their new life would be running through their heads. What would it be like to live on the other side of the Jordan…How would they adjust to living a settled life – would they be happier – would they be able to learn new ways or would they want to return to the old ways - what would the promised land look like – and what kind of a leader would this Joshua fella be?
Ok, God said, everybody gather round – n listen up – here is what I want you to do. Pick one man from each of the 12 tribes. Have them gather round the arc of the covenant and get them to pick it up. Then have them carry the arc of the covenant past all the people n make sure they get up in front of everyone. And finally, and this is most important …have them stand in the water. And the people said…Joshua, you are not Moses – and we are not sure if you’re hearing God correctly…Are you telling us that this is God’s plan? Are you telling us that this is the best God can do?
And I wouldn’t be surprised if – on this note – the Israelites huddled up in little groups – like we do sometimes after a church meeting – and conducted what we call the parking lot meeting. And I wouldn’t be surprised if all throughout the people you could hear them saying to one another: Dumb plan – I’m not God, and I’m not saying I know what God wants us to do right now, but I’m not sure this Joshua fella knows either…personally…I don’t see how a bunch of grown men carrying the arc with their toes in the river has anything at all to do with us getting over there on the other side.
And though the Israelites may have been reluctant to leave the life they knew, the time had come for the Israelites to start walking. And the oddest thing happened, the minute the toes of those twelve priests hit that water – on one side the waters stopped altogether and piled up in a great roaring splashing heap…and on the other side the waters were entirely cut off.
Well, I’ll be--- said the Israelites….God knew what he was doing all along – looks like the plan turned out to be a pretty good one…and then the entire nation of Israel crossed over on dry ground – and every last one of them made it to promised land…every last one of them survived to live a new life.
Can we not see the parallels between our two stories. Because here we are = the church standing at the water’s edge of change – not convinced we like what we think is the promised land of our future…preferring instead to stay safe…right where we are…standing on the ground we have always known because that is more comfortable than looking ahead. And on top of it all, we are not sure our Joshua’s know what they’re talking about. Oh it is an unsettling time for God’s people.
But after reading this passage – we can take heart in knowing that today 2011 is not the first time God’s people have been unsettled. Thousands of years ago and all throughout the history of our faith, God’s people have been unsettled – it happens every time we stand on the edge of something new and unknown. We can take heart knowing that God has a plan – that even though the Israelites were clueless - God was making a way …just like now… God was then…and God is now making a way into our future.
To be sure - just like the Israelites had to get used to a whole lot of new ideas, new ways of looking at things, new ways of doing things…so will we. But let us learn from the Israelites – and consider what they took with them. The treasure hidden in the field…the pearl of great value…
The hidden and valuable thing the Israelites took with them was God. the hidden and valuable thing the Israelites took with them was their community. The hidden and valuable thing the Israelites took with them was their faith and their faith stories – stories about how once upon a time they were nobodies, a bunch of slaves, who were saved and delivered by God. Stories about how they came to know this God, about this God’s miracles, about his mercy and love, about his constant presence. Crossing over into the unknown was not an end…it was a continuation…it was a new chapter. Crossing over the Jordan was the fulfillment of a promise God made to His people very long time ago. When they crossed over to the new and the unknown, God’s people were not alone.
Today 2011 God’s people have arrived at another unsettling time. We are in the process of crossing over into a place we do not know, a place about which we are unsure, unsettled, unfamiliar. As God accompanied the Israelites, let us then trust that God accompanies us.

You Already Know What You Gotta Do

2011-10-25T09:28:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 23, 2011

There is a storm out there. It’s called living. Right now there are those among us who are getting battered by that storm…And there are others of us who at this particular time find that we are standing in the eye of the hurricane, but we know only too well, that the winds on the back wall of this storm called life are sure to come around again.
And so we come into this place – seeking refuge from the storm – a quiet hour away from all of it – and whether we admit it or not, we bring the storm in here with us – in our hearts, and in our heads.
We do our best to gather the Holy Spirit to us. Close our eyes, breath, sigh, adjust and readjust in the pew, attempt to calm our hearts, clear our minds, regroup and focus and focus again… Ah, but the storm whips back up every so often, doesn’t it?
Still and all, we have this place, we have this hour, we have one another. Most of all we have this faith. Can you imagine how bad the storm would be…how bad the storm could get if we didn’t have this place?
And you know, not everyone does…not everyone does. There are so many who have nothing but the storm. Every day, that’s all they know. Children who live in fearful and abusive homes. Teenagers who struggle with acceptance and depression. Single mothers who worry about paying the bills. Men who worry about the paths chosen and the values of their grandchildren. Middle aged adults whose hours are filled with the constant care of their parents. Men women and children of every age who struggle with disease, infirmity, and loss.
But then on the other hand, when we read the paper, click on a news website, or watch the news on television…--learn about the conditions and governments under which people in other countries live, the life-threatening challenges they face, the horrors that define their every day living…… our storms are reduced to a drizzle.
Thinking about all this world stuff makes ya crazy – it’s too much to even imagine…and all we feel is powerless. After all, how much can a handful of people do in light of all the ugliness in the world…and we answer – all things considered – there’s not much we can do.
Do you love me…..yes Lord, you know I love you…Feed my lambs. Do you love me…yes, Lord you know that I love you…Tend my sheep. Do you love me? Lord, you know everything. You’ve got to know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.
That’s all that was left. After three years…After walking through so many crowds… after all the healing & encouraging, all the listening & consoling, the teaching, welcoming, and loving that was poured out upon every searching and lost soul he came across…..after giving up his life to save them all….Jesus knew that the storms of human life would continue. And because none who ever lived would be spared that storm…all that was left for Jesus to do was make sure what he started – would continue.
Early in the morning, Peter was a fisherman. Soon after breakfast , Peter was a shepherd. That’s all that was left for Jesus to do – to make sure that fishers of men understood they were now shepherds of Christ’s flock. All he had left to do was to make sure that these men understood that their ‘jobs as disciples’…their ‘jobs as believers in Jesus as Messiah’ weren’t over, but in reality had just begun. Peter may have thought that his adventures with Jesus had come to an end…that he and the others were going back to fishing for fish for a living….but that day on the beach, Jesus made sure Peter understood that there was much more to this adventure then confessing Jesus Christ as Lord…much more than following him around the countryside. Jesus was turning his ministry over – passing the torch…handing down the shepherd’s crook, so to speak to Peter. And once handed down – Peter must be very clear about what it meant --- the work of feeding and tending Christ’s sheep was for a lifetime.
A lifetime, you say? A whole lifetime of feeding and tending Christ’s sheep. Is that what Jesus expects? And how many excuses can we come up with to get out of that one?...umm probably a whole bunch. But when we are tempted to give reasons why we can’t spend a lifetime feeding and tending a whole bunch of sheep – sheep we barely know…or don’t know at all, or don’t even want to know….before we make our excuses of why we can’t, we had best answer the question…the same question Jesus asked 2000 years ago. Do you love me? Oh we can sing about it, talk about it, and study it, but the question we are asked is: Do you love Jesus the Christ? And if you answer yes, then you already know what you gotta do…cuz the storms of life rage on – in here and out there – and there’s got to be the smallest handful of people to remind us…and to tell them about this place…to remind us…and tell them that the belong to God’s flock.
I will rescue them. I will gather them. I will feed them on rich pastures. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak. I will feed them with justice so says the Lord.

Seeing God’s Back

2011-10-25T09:27:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Take a minute (though it may be that we need a whole lot more time than that) but take a minute and list the things you complain about. Take a minute and recall the things you have complained about already this morning. Might be the traffic in Lewisburg, the poor service in a restaurant, the doctor who keeps you waiting, the cable going out, the weather, or the guy who parked crooked in the parking lot. Might be about politics or the cost of food or a check that doesn’t cover much more than living expenses or the school system or the family who lives next door. Might be we just complain about most anything at all. Even though when we take time to really think about it, we don’t have a whole lot of room or reason to complain.
There’s no way we can even try to imagine being in the wilderness. Traveling through hundreds of square miles of nothingness. Other than sun and stars, there would be no frame of reference. Everything looks the same in every direction. Rock, sand, wind, same old food everyday, water only on occasion, heat in the day, cold in the night – for years. We complain if the sun is in our eyes when we are driving; we complain if we get sand in out sandals, we complain when the wind messes up our hair, we complain if our water doesn’t come in a bottle. So if any group of people had something to complain about it would be the Israelites. We don’t hear Moses complain much – but if there ever was a time for him to start it would be now.
Back when this adventure started, God gave Moses the power to turn water into blood, to divide the sea, and cause fountains of water to gush out of rocks. God told him that his brother Aaron would be there to help him. God also promised to go with them, to lead and protect them in a fiery pillar of a cloud.
Instead, the going was rough, the people complained, his brother Aaron had the people worshiping a golden calf…and now – – as the tablets on which God had written the law, were laying in broken pieces on the ground. God decided to check out. God no longer wanted to accompany this people on their journey, instead he decided to send a couple of angels to do the job. “You can go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
All that is left is for Moses to plead with God to change his mind. “Lord, you’re the one who asked me to do this – you are the one who chose these people – you are the one who said that this nation of people belonged to you. When all of this started Lord, we did not know who we were, we believed we were no people, but you said that you were the God of our ancestors, you said you would bring us into a land flowing with milk and honey. If you leave us now - who will we be? If you leave us now, what these people have said will be true – that you have brought us up out of Egypt for no other reason but to die in what truly will be – a God-forsaken land. And God agreed to continue the journey with the Israelites. But Moses wanted more. He wanted to see God.
And so do we. Every one of us has stood at the bottom of the mountain, hopes and dreams shattered around our feet, disappointed, defeated, wondering how what happened has happened, wondering where God is in the mess, why it seems God has called it quits in the middle of our journey. when we are convinced that God was no longer with us. Isn’t that when we want to see God?
Let us keep in mind that for the Israelites, being abandoned by God was more than a personal crisis, more than fretting over one’s own salvation. The Israelites understood that God called -and God saved -a people. For the Israelite – it’s always about the faith community. Example……
Perhaps more today than in recent history, the church wants to see God. like the Israelites who couldn’t go back to being slaves…we acknowledge that the church cannot go back to what we used to be, but like the Israelites who didn’t know where the were headed, we too are unsure of exactly how to go forward. Who exactly is the church today? What will we become? What are we called to do? Where do we fit? Do we fit? For many it feels like we are stuck in a wilderness – and so yes, like Moses, we say – find favor in us, carry us up from this place, and show us your glory, let us see you face to face….lord tell us we’re doing something right.
God told Moses you will not see my face – and so it is that neither will we see God’s face. But perhaps we’re not looking to see God, perhaps what we’re looking for is to see evidence of God.
Evidence of God that can be found in a kind word, a wise word. An unexpected visit, a $20 bill found in an old jacket pocket, a phone call from someone who has already gone through what you are about to face, when you least expect it - receiving one of those A-HA moments that sheds light and clarity on your situation.
The church that adds to its membership, that watches as a few more children trickle in here and there, members who come to the table with gifts of time, insight, enthusiasm, dedication, members who share their talents to build up the church, serve the church, and her mission. Members who contribute in man ways in order to keep the church door open and ensure that we are equipped to do what we are called to do – and do it relatively well. A church, who despite conflict, can show the world, what is most important-- and that is that we are still one in Jesus Christ. Evidence that sustain and encourage us - as we trust that even though we are a stiff-necked people – God journeys with us.
That God chooses to abide with human beings…that God longs to be with us, chases after us, even bothers to be in relationship with a people like us is an astonishing thing indeed. Think for a minute -- There is no need to complain, but there is a great need to praise, glorify, pray and lift up thanksgiving to a God who allows us to see evidence of God in our lives – even if we are only permitted to see God’s back.

Abundant Persistent Never-Ending Grace

2011-09-27T08:21:00.001-04:00

Sunday, September 18, 2011

In elementary school, I was voted class president three times – which allowed me many privileges. I took the attendance book to the office, and whenever the teacher left the room, I got to write the misbehaved kids’ names on the board. Believing I was forever entitled to be the president of my class…and afforded those special privileges….when on the 4th year my name was never mentioned…I was mad.
I worked very hard for months to be a high school cheerleader, and when I did not make the second cut, I told myself I wasn’t treated fairly.
When as a young working woman I couldn’t afford the clothes and the shoes and the purses I wanted, I was convinced that I was worth more than what was in my paycheck.
When my friends found husbands, bought houses, got new cars every couple years, and took great vacations…and I was still single, I believed I deserved what they had and more.
In whatever ways we can…there is a part of every human being that is driven to assign some kind of value to our lives…something in us that often views life as a contest…and wanting what we want….we compete against one another. Most people can point to a time or event in their lives when they set their sights on having some kind of power or importance… when we enjoyed standing in the lime light.…or basked in attention and approval. And though we may not want to admit it… there are times when …whether loudly or silently…we have complained. It happens when we don’t get what we think we deserve… when we think we are better than someone else….when someone else gets what we think we should have. The thing about parables is that they speak a truth about being human.
And so – of course - we understand the feelings of the laborers who worked all day in the vineyard under the hot sun. Of course, we understand how mad they must have been when they watched the land owner hand over the same amount of money to those undeserving Johnny-come-lately’s. And everyone agrees that it is never good business sense --- not fair in anyone’s book – to give the guy who worked one hour the same pay as the guy who worked 12. Yes, they grumbled,…and if we are honest with ourselves, if we put ourselves in their hot sweaty sandals, we would have felt justified to grumble, too.
Take a look at Jonah. That poor man did everything he could to get out of telling wicked Nineveh that they had 40 days to straighten up or God would destroy them. And when he finally and begrudgingly delivered that message…and when the King of Nineveh ordered sack clothes and a fast for everyone and told them to cry mightily to God and turn from their evil ways…and when they did…and when God was pleased and changed his mind…..ol Jonah was displeased and set his mind on being angry. Because Jonah wanted Nineveh punished, he wanted them overthrown, he wanted them to suffer God’s wrath because Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire – these were the people who were responsible for brutal annihilation of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. A God who relents from punishing Israel’s enemy…an enemy who – according to a very human Jonah – didn’t deserve deliverance.
The thing about parables – and this story of Jonah is that they shine a light on the dark places in our lives. A Jonah who didn’t think the other guy deserved a break. A rather self-righteous Jonah who didn’t think it was fair…who didn’t want God to share his love or extend any kind of grace to people who Jonah believed were unworthy. And grumbling hired men who lived a long time after Jonah – and still felt that it was unfair…and that the other guy didn’t deserve a break…that a spirit of generosity should only be extended to them.
The thing about parables and this story about Jonah is that they are not about what they seem to be about. Jonah is not about Jonah and a whale, and a city named Nineveh. This parable isn’t about hours worked, indignant laborers, or equal pay for equal work. Both stories are about God. Both stories are about God’s abundant, persistent, never-ending grace.
One New Testament scholar writes: Scripture introduces us to God’s world where ‘comfortable expectations are withdrawn – and the unexpected prevails.’ It is God on earth who puts into motion the reversal of the accepted order of things– the toppling of the things of the world. It is God incarnate who reminds us through both words and actions: -- that always in the kingdom of God – there will be a generous grace – a grace that upsets the status quo…a grace that allows for the last to be first and the first to be last.

Never Be Thirsty

2011-09-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 25, 2011

If you want it, you can go to the nearest faucet. Truth be known, you can probably go to a couple faucets in your house, or the ones you have outside. Faucets are in every store, restaurant, gas station, rest area – they are even in RV’s and on airplanes. And every one of them brings us water – fresh clear clean, sparkling drinkable water. Because we are fortunate enough to have water whenever we want it, we may not give much thought – at least not very often – to the millions who do not have faucets – in Latin America, Asia, Africa – and the millions whose faucets bring them water that make them sick – like right here in WV.
The people in the Bible lived in a dry parched land. They understood more than we could ever understand what it meant to be thirsty – to search for and not find water – to worry when cisterns ran dry - to rejoice when the springs of water were sweet. And to grumble and complain when the wilderness provided absolutely nothing – no shelter, no food, and no water.
In his poem, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes
Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
Sailors on a becalmed ship under a hot and copper sky…surrounded by water = water they could not drink – salt water that could not sustain life.
Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink. That’s how it is today. We are a people who wander in an American wilderness - dying of thirst and we don’t even know it.
We drink our fill of television shows that display the worst of humanity – housewives who scream and fight; bachelors and bachelorettes pretending to find a spouse; people supposedly stranded on islands playing games to survive; people who sing or dance – willing to be laughed at and humiliated by a panel of people who are supposed to be famous, and drunk young people from one state or another doing everything no parent ever wants their children to do.
We drink deep from the well of other people’s pain – shows on alcohol treatment centers and interventions, tours through the homes of people who are hoarders, cameras that follow real live cops in real live chases and take downs, and crews who go into prisons and interview men on death row and women who shot their boyfriends.
Wilderness people, thirsting to be important or memorable or valued – and we – by watching them and tweeting them and interviewing them – and we by making them famous for no moral or civil reason, holding them up as some kind of examples – must be as lost and thirsty as they are.
We frequent the nearest oasis – places like Disneyworld, and shopping malls, or perhaps the Mall of America which combines the best and the worst of Disneyworld and a shopping mall. We drink too much of the waters of our addictions – perhaps not drugs and a cocktail or two after 5 – perhaps not gambling or eating – but sitting in front of computers – or spending hours on Facebook or buying things we don’t need on EBay and Home shopping networks.
Yes, there is water water everywhere. We drink and drink from the worldly fountains, hoping that all these other things will refresh, hoping that all these other things will give us what we need to continue another mile or two in the journey - but none of these waters are suitable to drink – not one drop will slake our thirst.
Water water everywhere – especially in our society. We are surrounded by every kind of distraction, every kind of material thing, every kind of anything you can think of – that promises to fulfill us. But in spite of all that the world offers us, the thirst grows worse and our spirits are still parched.
Those in the Bible knew more than we could ever know that there is an intimate connection between water and life. But the Israelites’ journey and the Samaritan woman’s visit to the well are about much more than physical water. And so are our journeys about much more than chasing after, and gratifying our need for attention, applause, recognition, and attaching some kind of false worldly value to our lives.
If we do not know yet, then we need to know now that each of us is valuable. If that were not true, why did God create us in God’s image…why does God continue to pursue us – why does Scripture tell us that God waits for us…and that God cannot let us go? Why would God send a Son to save us or a Holy Spirit to guide us? And why would we settle for less? Why do we, created in God’s image…spiritual creatures breathing with God’s breath…choose to live in a spiritual wilderness? Why do we allow ourselves to be bought off by the things of the world when we know that the water Christ offers us is life
The Samaritan woman came to the well for water. Instead she found Jesus – who offered her water of a different kind. Living water – eternal life water – water to quench a deep human thirst.
As we leave another week behind and begin to step into a new day of our journey, let us take with us the good news given to the Samaritan woman at the well. Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.

Praying With Their Feet

2011-09-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Lord spoke to Moses face to face. Jacob wrestled with God. Isaiah, Job, Abraham, Nathan, Gideon, …why even the man named Cain, who killed his brother – and the slave girl named Hagar – even they had conversations with God. And hundreds of people spoke with Jesus face to face, hundreds ate meals with him, and hundreds more felt his hands on them when he healed them.
We have not been afforded the privilege of seeing God face to face, or being in conversation with God, or being in the physical presence of God’s Son.
But we do have the privilege of hearing and reading these conversations between a people and their God. Within the covers of the Bible we have the privilege of experiencing intimate conversations turned into something like prayer.
We stand right there with Abraham as he pleads with God to spare any who are righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah.
We hear the pain in Moses’ voice as he whispers a five word prayer for his sister, Miriam: “God, heal her now please.”
We are on our knees with Hannah, who with a bitterness of soul, wept in anguish, and prayed that God would give her a son.
We join the Psalmist’s praise of a God who laid the foundation of the earth, and made the heavens with his own hands.
We are humbled when we hear Jesus pray god to protect his disciples who are in the world. And our hearts break as we watch from the shadows as Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And there is the prayer that each and every one of us know – that prayer that has no words, when words are heavy and cannot be found…words that God knows before they are on our tongues…words that are sighs too deep for words…and our prayer becomes a breath.
Moses and the children of Israel have left Egypt and encamped where God told them. And because of where they were encamped, the Egyptian army overtook them. Behind them – the pounding of horses’ hooves and the clattering of chariots pressing down on them. Before them was the sea. The people were trapped…they were helpless. We can imagine them running in different directions trying to find an escape route; mothers carrying screaming babies; the elderly separated from the protection of their families. And the people cried out – “We would rather be slaves to the Egyptians than to die like this.” Moses said, “Stand still, wait for the Lord. God will work for you today – just watch and see.” And so while the people were standing still and waiting to be rescued from what would obviously be a certain and violent death…while they were surely praying any and every kind of prayer, it seems that God did not want them to stand still. “Moses, why are all of these people crying out to me?”…God asked…”They don’t need to stand still in this place…tell them to go forward!” And what was forward…was water.
Water in the Hebrew world represented chaos – Water was the great and deep void. Everything under the sun that could not be tamed – all that was unknown and feared. With self-preservation being the first human instinct – how can people with families willingly and voluntarily agree to walk deeper and deeper into a sea in which they will be drowned? “Tthis is not taking a risk, Lord…this is suicide.”
The answer to the Israelites prayers was not to wait on God to fix it – but to trust God enough to pray with their feet – to take action…to take a first step into the water.
Is there anyone here who has not felt powerless in light of the challenges that threaten to wash over us? Personal issues of health, finances…future and family. Anyone here who does not feel powerless when confronted with the sad reality of our world, the devastation of flood and drought, abuses of power, senseless killings, the general inhuman treatment to which our human family members are subjected.
The Israelites teach us that prayer is not limited to a verbal exercise. The Israelites show us that we need not limit prayer to standing still, and waiting, and hoping that this time God will hear us and decide that this time it’s our turn to be rewarded. I like this comment on this morning’s reading: Prayer is a covenantal exercise in which we work with God to find the answers that we seek. We should not just sit back and wait for God to perform. This story reminds us that there are times when prayer is meant to be the first act in a series of actions.…times when God is calling us to take a risk. Quite often it is the case that logic and the world tell us that the problem we seek to solve is insurmountable. But…wondrous things can happen – the waters of the sea can be turned back; divided, and become dry land --- when we are willing to take a step. And like the Israelites – when we step into the unknown, we are to do so knowing that we are not taking the step alone.
When faced with the challenges of life…it will be good to remember that there are times when we are called to pray with our feet – taking whatever action God calls us to take – always with the faith and confidence that God will be at our side.

Do-Over

2011-09-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Moses has finally surrendered to God’s call on his life. He has talked to his brother Aaron, travelled to Egypt, gathered up all the Israelite slaves. There have been meetings with Pharaoh, threats, signs of wonder, and plagues. And now on the eve of their escape from Egypt, we learn about a special meal.
So many times in our reading and study of the Bible, we get frustrated because there is a lack of information…but that is not the case here. Here we find specific details for the preparation of this meal, as well as the eating of this meal. Such a detailed and specific record can lead us to only one conclusion. This meal is important. This meal will play a significant role in the life of this people. It is intended to not only be a celebration of life and promise, but a ritual that will set God’s chosen people apart – and in time this meal will become a religious tradition that will be passed down to the generations.
You see, there were a bunch of slaves who labored in Egypt for 400 years They knew nothing about themselves but this, and so they believed that they were born into slavery, and destined to live out their lives as slaves. Unbeknownst to them they belonged to God. And the time had come for God’s people to throw down the shackles and step up to their calling. And the thing that would mark this new life that God had planned for them was this meal. It was called Passover and it was important ….because it marked a change. When the enslaved Israelites wipe their mouths and put their napkins down for the last time…Slaves will become the People of God.
God said: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months. As one commentator wrote: It’s a whole new beginning, for a people who needed a do-over. These were the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—they are the inheritors of the Promise, the children of the Covenant—who had been reduced to brick-making-slaves. They needed something to help them begin to break away from everything they knew, and start over.
Life on the other side of the split sea, would be completely different— the old life was to be left behind…time had come to wake from their slavery sleep, and get on with being God’s people in the world
Jump 1500 years to Paul’s letter to the Romans – a church of believers – baptized in the Holy Spirit. As life on the other side of the split sea, would be completely different — it held true that life on the other side of the resurrection was to be different…now God’s adopted people…made new in Christ. Yet, after only 20 short years since Christ walked the earth – already – Paul admonishes the congregation – to wake up… for the Holy Spirit they received in baptism – that spirit that nurtures the flames of faith – equips believers to serve Christ, the church, and neighbor – that holy spirit flame was already flickering out.
The common thread that runs through both of these Scripture passages is that we have a tendency to forget that we are a part of God’s family. And that even when we know that in life and death we belong to Christ – we are human and therefore prone to wander away.
More and more we are slaves to everything but our faith life – we get stuck in habits that keep us away – not just away from church – but away from God. Too busy in the morning, we say prayers in the car. Too exhausted at night, we have little time to sit in God’s presence. We schedule too much, there’s too much noise, pulled in too many directions…too busy, too exhausted, too everything – to find the time to step up to God’s call and claim on our lives.
More and more, we lament that our children do not know the most basic Bible stories… lament = that even as adults we are not familiar with Scripture – that the Bible is confusing, that we get lost in it, that we don’t know where to start, or how to understand it…we lament that we want to wrap our heads around the Word of God, but we don’t have the time.
All of this is to say, that today is Rally Day. A time of celebration as we begin a new year of Bible study. Certainly not as big as a Passover meal, or as significant as a reminder letter from Paul, but still a way of encouraging us to stake a claim in our faith life through the study of God’s word in Sunday school. Think of it as an opportunity for a Do-over…to turn over a new leaf – equipping you as a member of God’s family to firmly stand on the solid ground of faith through the knowledge of Scripture.
Rabbi Abraham Heschel, a great Jewish theologian and scholar had a lot to say about a person’s faith life. “In this modern world, it seems to many people - that our existence and our purpose as God’s people is no longer required. If that is the case, then we must make a choice: we can either surrender to what the world believes… or we can take on the responsibilities God has given us. If we choose to know what it means to be the people of God; then we will consider it a great privilege to learn what God has said to us…and consider it an even greater privilege to teach those things to our children so that they will be equipped to be God’s people tomorrow.
Changing habits does not come easy – the Israelites had to be reminded over and over again of their identity as God’s chosen people; and despite Christ’s example of faithfulness, and Paul’s teachings and encouragement – all of creation and all of us are still groaning, still struggling, still sleeping – comfortable in our ways, resisting the changes that are required of us.
Rabbi Heschel calls for believers to have a change of heart. Acknowledging that change is most difficult, he concludes: that any change in us requires a decision, and then asks us to consider our choices: if we choose to remain ignorant of God’s word, we may well be choosing to be the last and the dying ones of our faith. The alternative is to be the ones who will give new life to our beliefs, our faith, and our traditions, so that the future generations will know what it means to have God’s word written on their hearts.

Let Love Be Genuine

2011-08-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

Sunday, August 28, 2011

What do we do with a letter that is almost 2000 years old? Quite often we think we are far too advanced to relate to Paul’s letters to the early churches, but we have not. For in reality, the Christians in Rome were trying to figure out then - exactly what we are trying to figure out - now. What are we supposed to do…how are we supposed to behave…how are we to be the church in the world?
Christians were quite the scandalous bunch back then. They kept company with undesirables = people of different races and class, women and other sinners; they provided for and cared for the sick, the widows, and the children. They followed a man named Jesus who said he was God’s son – and taught them to turn the other cheek, pray for their enemies, and love their neighbors.
The life these Christian were living was unfamiliar and unheard of. Every sort and kind came together in fellowship and community in a way that ran counter to the norms of their society and the teachings of their culture. They were….the new kids on the block.
Now we are not the new kids on the block – but we might as well be since in this country ...only 30% of the people attend church every Sunday. If less than 1/3 of our population does not regularly attend church or participate in the life of the church then – just like way back then…today, the Christian life is rather unfamiliar to most folks. Which means that most folks don’t really understand very much if anything about the church. In an age that is becoming more and more secular – well, we shouldn’t be surprised to discover that a whole lot of people think that our ideas – like those of the first Christians - run counter to what present day society and culture consider normal.
We recognize that the members of the early church had their work cut out for them, but do we realize that we do, too. When the first Christians were trying to figure out how they were supposed to be the church in the world, …they listened to Paul. What we do with a 2000 year old letter is recognize that we are in much the same boat as the early Christians….what we do with a 2000 year old letter is that we listen to what Paul is telling us to do….just like they did back in Rome. Paul told them that love is the very heart of Jesus’ teachings…that love is the fulfillment of the law…making love the foundation of the Christian faith – and this Christian life.
In these 11 verses that we heard this morning, Paul used more than 30 imperatives – his instructions on how to be the church in the world are not suggestions, they are orders. His first order: Let love be genuine. Love one another with mutual affection; honor one another; serve the Lord with enthusiasm; rejoice, hope, be patient with one another, and pray together.
The thing about of all this understanding, concern, respect and love that we show one another….is that we’re not supposed to keep it to ourselves. We’re ordered to let it flow out = and outside of our circle. To the stranger as we extend hospitality; to the enemy as we bless them; and to the world as we live peaceably with all.
Paul is commanding the church and its members to pattern their life after Jesus Christ. When we do that, then we are like windows. Those who do not know us will be able to look through those windows and see what a life in Christ… and what a gathered community of Christians look like. We’re being watched --- we are on display – we’re not good examples when we have a bumper sticker on our car that says Jesus is my lord and savior and then go into road rage when someone doesn’t drive the way we think they should. It is not good for our image when we have a cross around our neck and then get rude with the clerk in the store. We look like big fat phonies when we sit in the pews on Sunday and then bad mouth everyone during the week. So…. when we do as Paul has ordered us to do, then what the world will see…or what the world is supposed to see… is love.
Notice that Paul’s letters are not written to an individual, but they are addressed to communities of faith. It’s as if Paul is saying, “Don’t try this stuff alone.” Cuz what Christ has asked us to do is not easy. If our love is to be genuine and if we are to love our neighbors AND love our enemies, …then we’re gonna need more than ourselves and our own thinking to accomplish those tasks. What we’re gonna need is a community of faith-filled people to surround us, encourage us, correct us, lead us, teach us, and be examples for us… as we learn how to love – not just our own, but a whole big world full of people.
Never in any one of Paul’s letters does he tell us that in order to get people to believe in Jesus Christ, or get them to join us -- we need to have after school programs or special worship services…building projects or a lecture series. When trying to figure out how to be the church in the 21st century - there is no place where Paul orders us to use a particular curriculum, keep a library, organize circles, or special breakfasts, or have meetings. This is what the church has evolved into (and that’s fine)…but none of those things make us the church – not in that century and not in this one. So when we are stumped…when we rack our brains for new ideas, new programs, new directions…it sounds like – from this passage, that Paul wants Christians to begin at a very basic level….and first look at themselves. Hold ourselves up against the standard Paul has set…and here it is:
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good... love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ... Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ... Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

The Voice Of Mercy

2011-08-15T08:05:00.000-04:00

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Jesus stands between two opposing voices. On one side a Canaanite woman. On the other his Jewish disciples.
“Have mercy on me, Lord.”
“Send her away”
“My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
“Tell her to be quiet.”
Two opposing voices.
On one side the wrong gender – a woman; the wrong nationality – a Canaanite; the wrong side of town - Tyre and Sidon; the wrong religion –a gentile; the wrong everything – and it all adds up to this: She was the unknown, the unsafe, undesirable, unacceptable, unworthy, unequal, the unclean.
And on the other side those who were right – the right gender – men; the right nationality – Israelite; the right faith – Jewish; the right qualifications- disciples. And it all adds up to those who were known and safe, acceptable and worthy, equals ..and clean.
And Jesus stands between them. And probably because Jesus does not acknowledge or answer either one of them… The disciples now order Jesus one more time to be done with her and move on. Don’t know if stopped, looked, actually acknowledged her…or if he just threw the words at her over his shoulder as he kept walking away – but Jesus does respond to her: I’m not here for you, I was not sent for your kind – I was sent only for those who are like me. I came only for Israel.
How pathetic, that Jesus’ answer to her, has forced her to beg. She approached him and adjusted her skirts and robes, and got down on her knees. ‘Lord help me.’ And then Jesus so much as called her a dog – telling her in so many words that simply because she was who she was, she did not deserve what he had to give…that her daughter didn’t deserve to be free of the demons that possessed her…
A humiliated and kneeling woman doesn’t have far to fall, and by all rights that insult should have floored her on the spot. After all, what is a desperate Canaanite to do after such a slap but slink off into the crowd, take her place in the filthy streets among the dogs where she belongs, and go back to the daughter still suffering in a demon’s grip
But she remained and told Jesus she would be happy with a scrap. Acknowledgment of her humanity – her personhood…scrap of concern
Two opposing voices – one begging for mercy…the other insisting that Jesus turn his back. What will Jesus say? Considering that it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person. Considering that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. What will Jesus say?
Will Jesus hold on to what has always been? Will he keep the letter of the law? Will he stand on a tradition which has become a holy fence keeping the unclean gentile on the outside? Or…Will this be a time to break down that old fence…will it be a time when Jesus stands as an example…is this his opportunity to put his own words into action…an opportunity to teach a new and different way to those disciples who believe it would be better to turn her away because they don’t want to be tainted by her unclean state.
We hate this passage, because we don’t like that Jesus ignores the plea of a desperate woman…don’t like it because we expect more from Jesus than insults and rejection…don’t like it because we wouldn’t want Jesus to say these kinds of things to us. And we love this passage because of what Jesus does in fact finally say….love it because it means that in God’s plan, it is and will be that Jesus will show mercy to the unknown, unsafe, undesirable, unacceptable, unworthy, unequal, unclean gentile…and that means you and me!
Jesus stood between two opposing voices. Twelve voices who told him to stay the course…don’t change… pay no attention to the woman…she is not one of us and we are not gonna and we don’t have to deal with her….and one who asked him to put into practice the word he preached: love compassion acceptance, and ….mercy.
Jesus is the voice of mercy. His is the voice everyone longs to hear when we are in trouble, and when we are lost, and when we are scared, and when we are in need. In the end, that voice – was the dearest sweetest voice that Canaanite woman ever heard. “Then Jesus answered her, -Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
We who are Christ’s disciples are now his voice. We have been taught the lesson, he has given us the example, that yes, even those who we may not believe are worthy – yes even those who are not like us – yes even when the voices all around us and the voices in our head tell us to ignore and move on – tell us to keep that holy fence in good repair to keep them out ---- yes even those are to hear Christ’s voice of mercy – through us.

To The Other Side

2011-08-09T10:24:00.001-04:00

Sunday, August 7, 2011

I spent one full day at the hospital last week. And there is nothing like spending one full day at a hospital to get just a glimpse of human suffering. One day in one hospital is nothing when we consider all the hospital and emergency rooms in every hospital in every place...when we consider all those who live with mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges. When we consider the state of the world – and the plain old everyday life stuff. And every congregation, every community has more than their fair share…and the weight …the enormity of human suffering is unfathomable.
How do human beings get through this stuff? Sadly, not everyone does…but is there anything that might help? Some would point to this scripture as the answer, and the thousands of sermons that have been preached that tell us that in order to get through the storms of life, we must………….Keep our eyes on Jesus. Don’t take your eyes off him. No matter how bad the circumstances of life get…as a matter of fact the worse your troubles are, the more important it is to stay focused on the Lord. Don’t doubt, don’t question, don’t worry, don’t fear… don’t be like Peter – fasten your gaze upon the master of wind and wave. Never look away.
Yes, we know that – we already know that we are to trust Jesus = and that is the advice we give to all those who suffer, why it’s what we tell ourselves when we are in the midst of crisis….problem is we are not very good at it. We get distracted, we keep on worrying, we get overwhelmed by all those troubled waters that keep slamming us up against the break wall. We already know what we are supposed to do…blame it on the human condition -- but the honest truth is it’s just not all that easy. One author writes, “Truthfully, having one more cheerleader tell me from the pulpit or from the chair in his or her office to give it to the lord and leave it with the lord…and stop worrying, stop talking about it, and never give my problems a second thought…..well, it just doesn’t help at all – if anything it only makes me feel horribly worse, because I cannot do it. … and that makes me think I’m even a bigger failure and there is something wrong with me and my faith. And what I don’t need when I’m scared and worried and upset and concerned and in the middle of a crises = so big I can’t even think straight – what I don’t need is to feel worse than I already do.”
Peter had it good. When he started to sink, Jesus was right there with him – and he reached out his hand and caught Peter. There are times when every single one of us need to be caught. We’re trying to keep our eyes on Jesus, we’re trying to tread water, we’re trying to be faithful and trusting. But sometimes faith is shaken to its very core. But Jesus isn’t physically here to grab us up out of those rough waters of life.
Ya know what I like best about this passage? It’s likely that this is where the early Christians got the image of a boat to symbolize the church. When Peter was in trouble – it was in the boat with Jesus where he found safety. And so it is that when we are in crisis, this boat of a church is where we find our comfort and safety and hope.
At least that is what the church is supposed to be. A wise woman once told me that the church should be the one place in the world, where everyone is safe – the one place free of gossip and judgment – the one place without plain ol’ meanness – the one place where no one should be ridiculed or made to feel ashamed or less than anyone else in the pews. A place where every sinner can hold his or her head up and do it with dignity = because all have sinned and none is perfect – and that should make all the difference in how we treat one another. Ah yes, Church if only it could always be that safe harbor in any storm. At church we are to be here for one another…and because we are the church that is what we are to be for everyone else out there. If for no other reason, than there is enough human suffering in this world, and the church doesn’t need to cause any more.
Did you notice that our reading this morning started out, ‘immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side.’
Ya know what they did on the other side – they ministered to more people. This boat of a church in which we sit, to which we belong – that’s our job – to minister to the people. To shoot out our hand and catch them so they don’t get swallowed up by life. To sit with them in their suffering, in their fears, and in their pain. To walk with them through the crisis…to get those who are hurting on to the other side – where they are healed and well and whole once again. In this boat of a church, with Christ in our midst, knowing that all things are possible with God…knowing that is our calling…knowing that is our commission…that’s what disciples are called to do.
How do human being get through this stuff? Is there anything we can do to help? Yes, there is – be the church.

The Bread Of Compassion

2011-08-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

Sunday, July 31, 2011

What do we know about deserted places? They are empty and vast. Unforgiving and inhospitable. Harsh in temperature and weather. A place of few if any provisions – where life cannot be sustained for any length of time. For the Israelite – and the Jew of Jesus’ time, talk of deserted places always brought to mind their ancestor’s years in that deserted place called the wilderness. It would always bring to mind wandering and uncertainty, insecurity and loss of identity –and a longing to know what it was that God expected and what it was that God wanted from them….and who God wanted them to be.
After hearing of John the Baptist’s death – Jesus withdrew to a deserted place. And the people followed him there. They did not follow to console or comfort; or give him their condolences. They came because he was near – and this was their opportunity to be with him. They came because they could not get enough of him, and they wanted more. They craved his words, his healing touch, his love, his hope…and his compassion.
Perhaps figuratively, perhaps literally – those who followed Jesus were a starving people. Call it fate or circumstances or status - their lives had been spent in a deserted place….that place of uncertainty and insecurity…that scary place in life where you don’t know which wild animal may devour you before the sun comes up again. Then and now, they come to Jesus – all who are famished - looking for that which they do not have….desperate for that which they need. Hungry for the bread of life…desperate for hope.
And not because he had a lot of money, not because he wanted to make a name for himself, not because he had hundreds of bags of groceries stashed behind a rock….BUT BECAUSE JESUS HAD COMPASSION - A gathering of more than 5,000 – were the recipients of a miracle. Bread and hope … more than enough for everyone.
Enough for everyone – enough bread, water…enough work, opportunities… enough shelter, safety…enough justice, respect, civility, love… enough COMPASSION… that is what we want for this world…enough of these things for everyone.
But that is an awful lot to ask, isn’t it? Last year in this country 49 million people about 15% of our families could not afford to eat on a regular basis. Last year our own Commission on Aging provided more than 50,000 meals to seniors in Greenbrier County alone. Our food lockers, our donations, our school breakfasts, lunches, and snack packs barely scratch the surface when it comes to feeding the hungry.
“This is a deserted place” said the disciples. “It’s too late - Send them away – we don’t know what to do, there’s not enough to share, tell ‘em to find food someplace else, Jesus” Two thousand years later, we are still saying the same thing- not just about feeding the hungry, but about everything that has to do with giving time and talents to serving others. “We don’t have enough to give, we don’t have the time to spend, we don’t have the where with all to get the job done, we can’t figure out what to do.”
Let us not focus on the multiplication of fish and loaves…but, listen --Jesus prayed and blessed…and gave the loaves to the disciples… and the disciples gave the bread to the crowd…and all were filled.
Listen. Every gift you have been given has been given to you by God. Like bread, Christ has prayed over you – and the places where you have been broken – it is in those broken …where you are best qualified to serve. Jesus has handed you – a disciple - the bread – in whatever form that bread takes… to feed people who need the brand of bread you have. Have you lost a loved one – you are qualified like no other to serve those who mourn. Had your heart broken – sit with someone facing divorce or betrayal. Lost a job – be there for the person who got a pink slip last week. Living with an illness, an infirmity – take the time to share your story of acceptance and hope with the guy who’s sitting in the hospital today. Has Christ brought you back from the edge – go share that rescue with someone whose desperate for a little bit of good news.
Been there? Done that? Got the T-shirt? – make yourself available for the ones who are going through it – wandering, uncertain, insecure, lost their identity - living in what feels like a deserted place – and feed them the bread you have been given.
We don’t recognize our gifts. We don’t think we have gifts. We throw our hands up in the air and – like the disciples – we look to the Lord – not to pray, not for discernment and direction, but to say – Lord, we don’t have what it takes…don’t have what we need. But – like the disciples – cuz we are disciples – we have received all we need to tend to the crowds. As Jesus gave the bread to the disciples, so he gives it to us.
When we finally accept the truth that we do have what it takes, the truth that we have gifts in abundance -– and when we are willing to use those gifts for their purpose…which- for a Christian - is to carry on Jesus’ ministry…then we will witness the miracle – and everyone will be fed.

A Spirit Of Wisdom

2011-08-09T10:21:00.002-04:00

Sunday, July 24, 2011

A long time ago, God’s people worshiped at the high places. Any place where they could feel closer to the heavens…mountain tops, hills, anything elevated…and that is where the new king, Solomon went…to the great high place at Gibeon.
And that was pretty much unheard of. Ever since his father, King David had returned the ark to Jerusalem – that is where everyone worshiped. If Solomon was going to make an offering to God, he should have done it in Jerusalem.
So for better or for worse, for good or for bad – we find King Solomon - 8 miles north of Jerusalem in Gibeon -- not to see the Lord, not to have a conversation with the Lord, ….but only to make a burnt offering to the Lord. But oddly enough…– Scripture reads: At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream.
If at that time, the people worshipped in Jerusalem, but Solomon worshiped in Gibeon. And if at that time it was believed that if a person were to have an encounter with God it would most likely occur in Jerusalem, (where God lived) --but God showed up in Gibeon…the text is giving us a hint. Something different is happening here.
And something else is different here… When God met Abraham he told him what to do; and he did the same with Moses, and Joshua, and even David. But when God appeared to Solomon in a dream God asked: As for what it is you want…and you will have it.”
Solomon asked for an understanding mind, the ability to govern fairly, to discern good from evil. And God answered: “I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind.” And when God granted Solomon’s request, we understand that it is an affirmation that Solomon’s request is practical and appropriate for the changing times that will come in Solomon’s reign. A theology professor writes: Solomon does not need a rod and staff like Moses, because the Jews are not in captivity. Nor does he need military resources like his father David. The challenges before Solomon will be establishing political alliances and national policies, his focus will be the economy, uniting the country, and bringing about the centralization of power and religion.
Does it seem to you that Solomon came to Gibeon already a wise man with an understanding mind? ;;;based on what he asked for… I mean, he didn’t ask - like many people might – for long life, or a way out of a personal crisis, for wealth or vengeance. He asked for an understanding mind. He humbly acknowledged a need. Don’t you think it takes wisdom to admit that you don’t know it all, don’t have all the answers, that your best human thoughts are probably not very good at all…? Yeah it takes wisdom to know that you are lacking what it will take to do the job not only well, but honorably… wisdom to admit that you need something more—something you don’t have.
Like Solomon, we find ourselves living in some pretty dramatically changing times. Changing times that don’t always make a whole lot of sense to us, and we understand that yesterday’s tools don’t work anymore. The tasks before us are complicated, overwhelming, seemingly beyond our abilities. Whether it is our personal lives, the state of the world, or the place of the church in that world, … Like Solomon the time has come to acknowledge our weakness, our lack of understanding, our inability to know precisely what we are to do as we face the challenges that are before us. Like Solomon we find ourselves in great need of what the Bible calls the Spirit of Wisdom.

We are in great need of that Spirit of Wisdom, because everything – and I mean everything - around us is signaling CHANGE. Change in our lives, ipads, ipods, smart phones…the experience of browsing for hours in Borders will soon be history… we don’t open a new book and smell the pages, we don’t need the bookmarker our child made for us in the 2nd grade, we don’t need shelves to keep our collection of books cuz we can kindle our books. Changes in our world – why are 90 adults and children dead in Norway…why do governments allow their people to starve to death, while pallets of food rot or get rerouted and leaders live in luxury, why are there between 1 and 5 murders every day in South Philadelphia. Changes in our Church – Biblical literacy, children in church, leadership from the pews, hearts for mission.
The changes call out to us that we are in need of the tools that will help us build what it is God wants us to build in this time and in this place. Our need is so great, we may not even know where to begin…so unfamiliar, that we’re not even sure exactly what we need…so far removed from what we know, that we cannot yet construct a vision.
Paul wrote that when our needs cannot be put into words, but can only be expressed in sighs too deep for words-- the spirit will intercede for us. We pray now for the exact same thing Solomon prayed: Lord, give your servants an understanding mind, and the ability to discern between good and evil.

2011-08-09T10:21:00.001-04:00

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Jacob wasn’t the most likeable person. Actually his unlikability started way before he was born. God told Rebekah that she had two nations struggling inside her – that her twins would be divided against one another, that one would overpower the other. When they were born, Jacob’s fist was holding on tightly to the heel of his brother’s foot. Hebrew thought tells us that the heel is the part of the body that indicates habitual behavior. The Hebrew language tells us that the name Jacob means grabber. So before we get very far in our story, we already know something about this character Jacob. We know that Jacob is going to be the kind of person who will grab what is not his, and he will do it over and over again.
Jacob grabbed his twin’s birthright, his inheritance, and his father’s blessing – the blessing that can be given only once and only to the eldest son – Jacob stole the blessing that should have been Esau’s. Throughout his life, Jacob grabbed everything he thought would make him happy, or make him better than others, make him more successful, more important, more respected, make him always come out on top regardless of how his behavior affected others. But the only thing Jacob’s grabbing made him was …hated. His brother hated him so much that he planned to kill him, which gave Jacob no other choice but to flee.
Alone, no food, no shelter, Jacob ends up in some desolate wilderness place, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing….but a stone for a pillow. When Jacob laid his head on that stone, he must have thought: Man o man, this is a far cry from the blessing my father gave me. >>“May God give you the dew of the heaven, and the fatness of the earth; and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you.” As he nodded off to sleep, his last thoughts might have been …No dew or fatness or plenty or bowing going on now. And though Jacob will fall again into his bad habits, it is here in this place where some changes start to work on Jacob…It is here that Jacob is given new eyes – allowing him a new perspective, and a new awareness.
I remember elementary school. And one thing that I remember so vividly that I can feel the same feeling I felt when I was 8 – were the fire drills. Fire drills demanded that you stand quietly, move into a neat line quietly, walk to the nearest exit quietly, down the halls, down the steps, and away from the building – outside - quietly. And as I stood on that sidewalk by the school, I will never forget my absolute stunned surprise ..that stuff actually went on outside while I was in school. There they were – people – sitting on their porch, or painting the garage, or hosing down the sidewalk in front of their house. And there were smells – food cooking, and freshly mowed grass, and noises like the wind rustling the trees, and the garbage truck a couple of blocks away. It was amazing to me – that the world went on even while I was not ‘in it’ ..amazed that the world went on while I cleaned the chalkboard, or took a test, or was being drilled on my multiplication tables, or standing quietly on a sidewalk beside the school. I hated going back inside, I wanted to stay right there on the sidewalk and like a spy or the invisible man – watch the world go on without me in it. I did all I could to linger as long as possible before the heavy wooden school door slammed shut behind me. And though I would fall again into the habit of thinking there was no world beyond what I knew in room 108 at Almira Elementary School…every fire drill from there on out gave me new eyes and a new perspective, and a new awareness. That there was a whole lot going on in this world that I didn’t know about. Stuff that was hidden from me as long as I stayed shut up in my own little school world. And if I had had a stone I – like Jacob would have set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it – and because that sidewalk beside the school was so special to me, I like Jacob could have given the place a name.
It is in that place …that Jacob named Bethel – house of God… where Jacob learned that God isn’t confined to an altar, or a mountain top, or a rainbow in the sky. He learned that God is everywhere. That God is in this place – wherever that place may be because God will be wherever God’s people will be. “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, I will not leave you.”
It is at Bethel where Jacob learned that God is faithful to his covenant – a covenant which included even a miserable, lost, habitual grabber like himself. “And the Lord stood beside him.”
It is at Bethel where Jacob learned that God lives and moves and acts in every time and place…before time, in creation, with Noah, with his grandfather Abraham, with his father Isaac, and now with him. The promises given 100 years ago, are not just the dusty ol’ promises of the past, but the promises of the present age…the promise for him and future generations. “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Jacob learned that God is not just off in some distant realm, but present in the world. His eyes were opened as he was given a tiny glimpse of the wider workings of God – and he came to realize that yes, there is a whole lot going on in the world that he was not aware of…and that God is present even though that presence is quite often hidden to human beings.
And most of all Jacob learned that he was a part of something greater than himself. Here at Bethel his personal journey with God really begins. With him will go the future of the faith – as God wrestles with him at Jabbok, as God no longer calls him Jacob but Israel, as God blesses him with children who are destined to be the 12 tribes of Israel.
We struggle with our bad habits and how those bad behaviors affect other people. We struggle with where we fit, and where we belong, and who we think we should be. We struggle with our God and our faith, and the journey we are on…and we struggle with the church and our future.
Our life journey and our faith journey are often filled with these Bethel moments – moments of loneliness, fear, despair, moments that offer little comforts, when we are lost in some wilderness, when things like dreams and fire drills cause us to step back and reconsider. And it is then that we are shown how those moments can be transformed by the God who stands beside us. The God who opens our eyes, to new perspectives, new awareness, and through Christ equips us to live as a new creation. And it is then with absolute stunned surprise, we gladly confess: Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.

Even The Good Soil

2011-08-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

Sunday, July 10, 2011

There’s a lot to consider in this parable…and one of them is that people come in four varieties of soil. The sower – who could be God, or Jesus…a teacher, a missionary, or, just for today, let’s say that the sower is you and me.
So, you and me, we go out into the world to sow the seeds of God’s word…and we go by the book (so to speak) ….we come up with all kinds of church programs, go out into the neighborhood, put ads in the paper, call ‘em on the phone…and it is as if we did nothing. As the birds picked off those seeds long before they had a chance to settle into the ground, so the good news we brought to those people meant nothing the second it came out of our mouth. It would be then, according to this parable that those folks didn’t have whatever it took to respond to the good news seeds we dropped on them.
But we keep on going. We bring people to church, get them to come to a Sunday school class, send cards, deliver muffins. And they eat the muffins, thank us for the cards, and lo and behold, here they come every Sunday, not just to worship but to Sunday school. Why, they even show up during the week – taking on a chore here and a responsibility there. We are convinced they are the future movers and shakers of the church…and then you never see them again. They are the rocky ground people, the flashes in the pan who dazzle us – briefly. But it doesn’t take long for the good news seeds in that shallow soil to wither soon after they flourished. And whatever good fruit those seedling might have produced…well, we will never see it.
Not to be put off, we take our seeds out there once again and start sowing. We read books, have meetings, plan a strategy…we invite people to watch a movie, join a book study, a circle or a breakfast, we get them to come to a picnic in the park… And they do..and the promise to get to church. But there’s a lot of other stuff in their lives, and soon it all starts to pile up. Their already over-scheduled lives are now overwhelming…and try as they might…the other stuff takes over…and movies and circles and breakfasts and picnics, and attending church…well none of it every reall got off the drawing board. And the parable reminds us that nothing has a chance to grow where the thorns are so thick they choke out any new possibility.
But all that stuff disappears when we think about the good soil. That’s the soil…where the seeds of faith not only sprout and grow, but where the roots grow deep enough to nourish the leaves and the buds, and the blossoms, and the fruit – and the harvest is great.
I’m pretty sure that’s how we’re supposed to read this parable…and if it is, then it means that 75% of the good-news-seeds have fallen on people who have become disinterested, thought other things were more important, or never paid any attention in the first place. If that is how we read this parable, then it must be that you are the 25% worth of good soil.
But sometimes even the good soil puts their faith way back on the back burner. Sometimes even the good soil pays little or no attention to the programs, needs, and news of the church. Sometimes even the good soil turns away from God’s word. Choked with the stuff of the world…making things like Sunday school, fellowship, bible studies, and circles not very high on the priority list. It’s been known to happen for even the good soil to get all psyched up about a pet project and when it’s done…hide out for months or years before they get involved again. There are times when even the good soil must ask: Lord, have my ears grown dull…because I don’t think God has anything more to say to me? And why does my faith life feel flat? Why do I lack in zeal when it comes to serving you, serving the church, serving others? Why have I become content to sit at home on Sunday mornings, why do I neglect my prayer life, study and avoid fellowship opportunities? How do we find ourselves thinking that everything else is a hundred times more important than our faith…more important than assuming our productive place as members of Christ’s body – the church?
A recent article I read said this: For many these days, the church is not understood theologically as a Christian community, but rather one more club or social group to join or not. Even those who belong to churches, no longer view the church as a sacred community. Even those who call themselves active members do not feel that the church has any more claim over their lives than sports, shopping, jobs, money, or leisure.
Now we all know I am no gardener, no farmer, but I do believe that every so often even the good soil needs a little fertilizer, a little rain, some sunshine and tilling, and a bit of coaxing.
And as I believe that then I have to ask: When Jesus talks about a harvest, one hundred fold, sixty fold, thirty fold. How can that come about when even the good soil forgets to nurture and coax the good-news-seeds that have already been sown in us?.

God Sees Before

2011-06-28T11:14:00.001-04:00

Sunday, June 26, 2011

It began 25 years earlier. That’s when God first spoke to Abraham. That’s when Abraham began his walk to an unknown place. From Ur to Shechem to Bethel to Ai, to the Negev..then on to Egypt back to the Negev to Bethel then Hebron and on to an unknown place…a place that God would show him. When that walk began…when Abraham took that first step in a gazillion steps, he could not imagine the things that would happen to him on his journey with God. How could he know that after all those years of marriage…Sarah would be jealous of an Egyptian slave girl…or that she would insist that girl and Abraham’s son Ishmael be banished to what could have been certain death? Could he have imagined that one day he would negotiate with God over the righteous who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah… or that his nephew’s wife would end up as a pillar of salt? Would it ever cross his mind that in order to protect himself he would give his precious wife Sarah as concubine to a king– not once but twice? Did he ever think he would be a father at 100 or become a father to a nation of people? It is safe to say that Abraham had no idea what a wild, frightening, unpredictable walk he would take when he took the first of a gazillion steps with God.
But here in the middle of the journey, there are steps about to be taken…steps that no man or woman would want to take…not then and not now. “Abraham, go to a mountain I will show you, and when you get there, sacrifice your beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering.”
This story is ugly and tortured…think about it too long and you will squirm. So well known, so notorious is this story that the Hebrew Scriptures have given it a name: the Akidah – the binding – “Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood.” We have questions…but not one single answer that will justify, satisfy or comfort. Something is very wrong…this journey with God has taken a bad turn…a bad turn so bad that we fear it may never get back on track.
I’ve heard that before – as I am sure you have. From others, and perhaps even in your own journey with God, you have experienced that bad turn. No matter how you pray, how many times you turn it over in your head, how many times you say it out loud…tell someone about it…or try to put a new spin on it…when life goes off track… there’s not a single justifying, satisfying, comforting explanation to be found.
And like Abraham, there are times in life when our journey is off track and we can do nothing other than walk on toward our own personal Moriah’s-- whatever they may be. We get up in the morning – like Abraham…we gather up all we think we will need to get us through one day’s journey with God…like Abraham. And like Abraham…we do these things with no idea how our day will unfold, with no clue as to what is in store for us…neither do we know - if -when we arrive back home at the end of the day - we will be the same person who left the house that morning. Perhaps like both Abraham and Isaac, the day’s events will have such a tremendous impact on us, that we will be changed forever.
When Isaac asked, ‘Father, where is the sheep for sacrifice?´ We remember that Abraham told his son – God will provide. And when the day was over, Abraham named that place God Will Provide. The Hebrew word "provide" has its root in the word "to see" A literal translation of the Hebrew would be that God sees to it. The Latin root of the word provide (video) means to see. The prefix pro means before. When we hear that God will provide – what we learn is that God will see to it…or that God sees before. Not in the sense that God sees into the future, but in this context that God sees what is needed before Abraham is able to see it. In short, God knows what we need before we know what we need. Shorter still, God sees what we cannot.
We are most happy with a predictable god…a god who will keep us comfortable…a god who we convince ourselves we have figured out…a god who fits quite neatly into human words of creeds and confessions. And even though logically, we understand that life’s circumstances don’t bend to our will or whim. Even though we know that every day is wide open to risk, that nothing is guaranteed, and that this world and this life is anything but predictable….We still don’t like it. We don’t like a god that works outside of the boundaries and expectations we have put on him. We don’t like a god who disturbs our world or our ideas about how our journey is supposed to go.
Abraham is standing right there with us, teaching us that life is a long and unsettled journey in which God is sure to call us to make unexpected detours from where we thought our walk with God was going to go. Like Abraham who was sent on a journey to an unknown place… So goes our life journey, upon roads we never imagined we would travel…didn’t want to travel…with more roads ahead..roads that will take us to a place that God will show us. And even though we do not know where God will lead us, - when you think of the alternatives… what better traveling companion…who better to trust. Than the God who provides…the God who sees before…the One who sees what we cannot see.

Springs of Water For A Parched Land

2011-06-28T10:57:00.001-04:00

Sunday, June 12, 2011

It is late in September …and it is the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jews from miles away have made their required pilgrimage to Jerusalem to remember when Moses struck a rock and water gushed forth to quench their ancestor’s thirst. For 7 days they have celebrated – not only water from rock, but the rain that that makes the grain harvest possible. The place is packed. People are camped out in the shelters they have built. Leafy branches are cut and assembled to make what they called the tabernacles.
Every day of this festival, a priest will leave the temple and walk to the pool of Siloam where he will take a large pitcher and draw water from the pool. As he walks back to the Temple, the streets would be lined with people and the procession would be accompanied by trumpet blasts and prayers. With great ritual and finesse, the priest would pour the water into a tube which emptied into a bowl – and when the water reached the end of the tube, it would gush and bubble out at the base of the altar.
The last day of the festival was the best – and the busiest. And on that best and busiest day Jesus did something a little bit crazy. If anyone did this in the middle of the mall at Christmas time, or when the state fair was in full swing, we would probably take a detour. John writes, “While Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” Working in downtown Cleveland, hearing the man with the Abe Lincoln Hat, the woman known as Tambourine Mary – I often wondered what voice called them to be like the prophets of old and stand in the crossroads of Euclid and E. 9th Street and yell out their promises and predictions. I imagine some in Jerusalem may have thought the same thing. But in reality, this festival would be the perfect place for Jesus to identify himself. Because:
Everyone there was remembering Moses, the rock, and the gushing water. They had just watched the water poured out in the Temple, understood it symbolized life. They would hear the great prophet Isaiah say ‘they would be like a spring whose waters would not fail…and hear him invite the thirsty to come to the water and drink without cost. And they would understand what Jesus was telling them: If water does not quench your thirst – look to me – and drink. I am the rock, the Temple is in me, my waters do not fail. There is no cost for the waters I offer.
And when Jesus said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water’ – the people would again hear echoes of Isaiah: For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your descendants. Repeat…. Today is Pentecost.
Rivers of living waters…life giving, life preserving, life-saving waters will flow out from us – when we receive the Holy Spirit. And on that first Pentecost day, the church, having the Spirit poured out on them.. the church was able to reach crowds of thirsty people from different cultures, lands, and language – empowered, they began to proclaim the good news.
Pentecost remembers the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church, when the fountains of God were opened and the waters of God came gushing forth. Pentecost remembers the day when the Holy Spirit, like the mighty rivers of God flowed out and over and around and through his people.
Every stream and river has a source. From deep within the earth headwaters gush forth. And as headwaters bound, and bubble, and splash over rocks, Christ’s living waters will always flow toward the parched wilderness, where human needs are the greatest.
Today we pray that through our work and service, the riverbanks that cut through the dark, dry, parched wilderness of human suffering will turn lush and green and teaming with life. Today we remember who are called to be….remembering that when that Holy Spirit comes upon us…When we drink of Christ’s living waters…all that comes from us gives life to others.

So That They May Be One

2011-06-28T10:42:00.001-04:00

June 5, 2011

What if you knew the hour of your death…what if you knew that the next 24 hours would be your last…what would you do if you had begun a ministry that was so controversial, so polarizing, so hated - that you were about to be killed because of it…what would you do about leaving behind your family…leaving behind a whole bunch of people who risked their very life and livelihood and reputation to follow you…to believe in you…to believe that you were something sent from God…what would you do about your 12 closest companions…men who many called fools, but men who trusted that you were the Messiah…what would you do…what could you do…now that you would soon be dead…and they would be left alone among people who hated them as much as they hated you…left to very possibly be killed soon after you. When you’ve done all you can do…and when there is nothing more left to do…you pray.
And you pray fervently, from the heart, from the bottom of the soles of your feet, and with every ounce of life in you…you pray. I can only believe that a man’s last prayer would be the one that lifted up every impassioned, dearly cherished, burning hope that could be held in the human heart. And if that is true…then we are rightly humbled when we hear that Jesus’ final plea was that his disciples…and every disciple that came after….would be one. “Father, you gave these people to me, I have done my best, they will do their best to glorify your name, …and I am not asking for myself, but I am asking for their sakes – that you protect them…so that they may be one, as we are one.”
Though it is quite disconcerting – don’t you think? ….that this final prayer of Jesus has gone unanswered. Has Jesus’ father in heaven decided not to hear his prayer…not to answer his prayer…is it one of those prayers whose answer is - your disciples will be united but not yet… Or maybe we think we are united – because in some heady theological way..we believe that even though we don’t always get along…we do all profess Jesus Christ is Lord – and that is all that counts and the thing that makes us one.
But we are not. We are not one. We are a divided church. But then, that’s no news flash. Our church history is strewn with people of differing opinions, opposing Scripture interpretations, arguments, fights, brawls, kidnappings, even murder. We are no stranger to schisms and splits and denominations. Churches of every stripe claim that their theology, their witness, their brand of salvation, their style of worship is more correct – which of course carries with it the unspoken belief that other churches are inferior. The reality is that the Body of Christ worships in many pieces. The truth is that Christ’s church has suffered division since Peter and Paul disagreed about Jews and Gentiles.
And our disagreements continue. In our more recent past the church has threatened to split or has split over the issues of the observance of Sabbath, prohibition, the use of tobacco, slavery, segregation, divorce and remarriage, the role of women in the church, and now homosexuality.
If ya think about this stuff for too long, you’ll get a headache. And I think that is where the whole church is right about now. Realizing that while every church is fussing and feuding over any number of issues, we have way bigger challenges than the ones we keep carrying on about. There are many voices out there telling us we need to concentrate on doing what Christ told us to do. Work for justice and peace, care for those in need, love our neighbor, welcome the outcast, make disciples, proclaim the good news. We fail at doing those things when we are so focused on ourselves. Neither can we do any one of these things well, until we set aside our egos, our opinions, and our arguments and look out there to see where and how we can best use our gifts to the glory of God.
Jesus prayed for us to be one – and verses 21 and 23 tell us why that is important…so that the world may believe that God sent Jesus to us…so that through Jesus the world may know that God loves us.
How in the world can a bunch of Christians who fuss and feud among themselves stand as witnesses to Christ’s love? When we exclude people from our church life, how can we in good conscience talk about how wonderful it was that Jesus spent time with and shared meals with the most hated people of his time? How are we able to thank God for loving us and saving us and being merciful toward us, when we are not willing to extend those same blessings to other people? How do we proclaim the good news, when we don’t study God’s word…how do we make disciples when we keep so busy we can barely call ourselves Christ’s disciples…can we really lay claim to being the people who work for justice and peace, when we do not exhibit those characteristics in our own life?
In all those things, we are to be one with Christ – one with his teachings and one with his actions. So if we don’t want the world to keep thinking that Christians are hypocrites cuz what we say and do in church doesn’t translate real well out there….And if we want the world to take us seriously when we witness to Christ’s lordship and God’s love, then let us keep Jesus final prayer in mind.

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Time To Love

2011-05-24T10:52:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The world was supposed to end yesterday – according to 60 year-old Robert Fitzpatrick - A great global earthquake was to put an end to all of us.
But here we are and I wonder how Mr. Fitzpatrick is spending his time this morning – since he just spent his life savings on advertising what he believed would be our disastrous end.
But there may still hope for Mr. Fitzpatrick and his followers. Another man in California named Harold Camping leads a loosely organized Christian group who connect with one another on websites and on Mr. Camping’s radio show – they have also set off the alarm – with T-shirts, jackets, caps, driving around in vans plastered with “End of the World” signs and passing out pamphlets. Yesterday –according to them - was Judgment Day. Those who were saved were raptured up yesterday. The rest of us – guess that’s you and me – will according to Mr. Camping…endure 153 days of horror and death. And the world and its people are scheduled to take their last breath on October 21st. And so I guess, perhaps we still have some time.
So, what will we do with our time - and we aren’t necessarily talking about whatever time we have left on this spinning planet – but whatever time we have now. We can watch TV, take long naps; we can go shopping, drown out the world by staying plugged in to our technology – or we can do something else…with our time.
I especially like what Jesus told the disciples toward the end of his life. Surely his words must have bounced around in their heads after Jesus’ resurrection – when they found they had all kinds of time. Jesus words were surprising and encouraging… they carried authority and responsibility – challenging, puzzling words, perhaps even a bit frightening. “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.”
And if that’s the case, then all us believers should be out their healing the blind, and making the sick –well, and walking on water….though I’m afraid I must be one of those who fall into the category: O ye, of little faith – for I cannot do any one of those things that Jesus did – even though he said I could…do what he did ….and more.
And Well, of course we can’t – we don’t have that kind of power – God gave that kind of power to Jesus – God did not give that kind of power to human beings.
But I don’t think that the things Jesus did were about power. I mean do we think Jesus raised up his dead friend Lazarus, or drove out demons, or healed sick children from a distance – to show off ?--- was he trying to impress everyone with the gift of power he had received? From everything we know about Jesus, I’d say that the purpose, reason, and motivation behind Jesus’ good works was …love.
So, then whatever we do, we shouldn’t be carrying on about what little bit of power has fallen into our laps..certainly shouldn’t be using that power to draw attention to ourselves; or make someone feel inferior; or try to impress people. Instead, the one thing we should always do is express the love that Jesus expressed… loving others like he loved us.
Tony Compolo, writer and professor tells this story. While doing missionary work in Haiti, three young teenage girls – the oldest of whom wasn’t more than 15 years old - caught him at the doorway of his hotel and told him that for $10.00 one of them would spend the night with him. Tony asked if he gave them $30.00 if all three of them would spend the night with him. They agreed. Tony called down to the restaurant – and ordered lots of food and banana splits and made sure the concierge brought up every Disney and kids’ movie the hotel had. Tony and his girls stayed up until 1:00 laughing talking eating, and eventually, the girls fell asleep on a clean soft bed. As Tony settled into the chair, he understood that nothing had changed. Tomorrow the girls would be back to business ….but for one night – they were free from the ways of the world…one night to be children. So which do you think Jesus would consider the greater work – Tony Compolo walking atop the blue waters of Haiti or Tony Compolo loving enough to give these children one night to be the little innocent girls God always and forever intended them to be.
And Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.” And we ask – how is that possible? Jesus was one man – touched, spoke with, listened, healed, and loved – but only one person at a time. The Spirit Jesus sends us – fills us – and drives us to do what Jesus has commanded us to do – love one another.
If those of us who are gathered here this morning – and gathered in churches all around the world – go out and perform one act of compassion, kindness, one good loving work in Jesus’ name…then the work we do is greater – thousands/millions of times greater….as through us - thousands and millions are shown Christ’s love.
We baptize this morning…a sign that we are now included in God’s family…and because we remember that we were not always included in God’s family – remember that at one time we were the outsiders, excluded, not good enough, unclean….we come to this font and we witness to God’s grace… remembering that we share this baptism with one another and with our Lord…and we will make a promise to show this child and every one of God’s children – love - Christ’s love.
What will we do with our time? Jesus has already told us: Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength…and love one another as he has loved us.

Lost & Found

2011-05-11T09:10:00.001-04:00

Sunday, May 8, 2011

There was a rather large wooded area near my house in North Olmsted, Ohio. Lorain Road -a main 4 lane road was about 1500 feet to my right. A residential area behind me, and some houses further down the road to my left. It was the middle of summer and I don’t know why…it was just there and summer vacation was becoming a bit boring… for the last few years I wanted to take a walk into that woods… I mean it was North Olmsted – not the jungles of South America. I wasn’t in the middle of nowhere. There were businesses on Lorain Road, children playing in the yards behind me, and I had walked those residential streets hundreds of times. I figured I would venture in a ways – remembering to go straight in so that the residential area would stay at my back – those houses would be my landmark. In I went. So far and then look around – yep the houses were there. A bit more and turn around – yep I could still see them. Climb over a fallen tree, a few more feet and turn around and the houses had disappeared. Hmmm must have strayed off the right or the left a bit…so I turned in a circle – just trees and I couldn’t see through them. I walked – the tree I just jumped over – where did that go? About that time, my breathing got faster, minor panic was setting in. And suddenly I realized how hot it was getting in those woods. I walked and then a little faster, turned into a jog. My sandals got caught in the brush, legs scratched from the thorn bushes, a swampy little puddle area showed up but before I saw it and I was in it. On my hands and knees now looking for the sandal sucked into the mud. And mosquitoes and tears and I was running –in circles I suppose, but running none the less like I was in the movies being chased by zombies. I got out in about an hour – behind a gas station right on that main 4 lane road – a gas station not very far from where I first walked into that woods.
There ain’t nothing like the feeling of being lost, especially when you thought you knew where you were, thought you knew where you were going, and so sure you were on the right path.
Two men were walking on a road that would take them back to Emmaus. Take them back home, back to jobs, and routines, … back to life as it was before, each of them knowing it could never be the same as it was before. Two men walking on a road that would take them away from Jerusalem. Take them away from everything they had come to know… away from every hope they had come to hope…away from a path they were so sure was the right path. There ain’t nothing like the feeling of being lost.
A whole lot of people feel lost these days. The path they’ve walked on for so long slowly or suddenly comes to an end. The check no longer keeps up with the rising cost of living; sickness or death hits home; the boss tells you your services are no longer needed; choices are made between buying the medicine or paying a medical bill; minds are tired and bodies not as limber as they used to be.
A whole lot of people feel lost these days: They work at work and at home; they sit at computers for hours and hours playing games that have no consequence, games that help no one, serve no one, engaged in on line activities that do nothing to make the world a better place; surfing the internet looking for what…they do not know. They buy stuff – not because they need it but because they have grown up being consumers. They live in a world of sound bites – tweeting their thoughts to strangers around the world in 140 characters or less; never hearing the other’s voice, they text their conversations to one another; never really grasping the depth and breadth of current events or history because all they see are the arguing, opinionated talking heads on television.
The lost will drug or drink; eat too much or not enough, cut themselves or become promiscuous; some will walk streets and sleep in alleyways, some will become know it all’s, controllers, bullies, and there are others who become angry, or violent, or withdraw altogether. The lost who walk on any road will search for that thing – whatever that thing may be to soothe the conscious, calm the soul, fill the emptiness, appease their demons, make sense of living. Human beings do all kinds of things when they feel lost.
Two lost men walking the long walk home. Remembering, questioning, disbelief, a flash of hope, shattered as reality crashes in on them, stopping, starting again, then silent, repeating that pattern, repeating the same words, asking the same questions again and again, finding no answers.
Until the mysterious stranger comes out of nowhere and makes their journey his journey. And he walked with them and he talked with them…and he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. And he broke bread with them and eyes were opened, hearts burned within…and the lost were found…hope renewed…purpose restored.

We are a treasure in clay jars – this church …. has much to offer, if we will open our doors to those who are searching…if we will walk and talk with the lost…if we will extend hospitality to those whose clear and certain path has turned into unseen puddles, and thorn bushes…if only we will invite those who have lost hope and future and vision to break bread with us…if only we are willing to be a place where none will ever be hurt again…a place where the lost can be found.

The Duck & The Rabbit Of Faith

2011-05-11T09:08:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 1, 2011

It’s a question often posed to me by well-meaning friends and acquaintances when they learn that occasionally I wake up in the morning unsure if there is a God: Why can't you just have more faith?
With exacerbation in their voice, they urge me to stop reading so much, stop thinking so much, and stop asking so many uncomfortable questions. My doubt, they conclude, reflects a concerted act of rebellion against God that I can start or stop at will. My doubt, they say, would vanish in an instant if I would just pay more attention to all the things God is doing in the world, if I would just have a little more faith.
These conversations can be frustrating for sure, and I'm only now beginning to accept the fact that I can’t drag unwavering believers along on my journey any more than they can drag me along on theirs. Learning to dialog in a loving, affirming way can be tricky, but recently I’ve discovered a rather succinct way of explaining my predicament.
When people ask, Why can’t you just have more faith? I say, Because I’ve seen the rabbit.
Now, before visions of Donnie Darko begin running through your head, let me explain.
You’ve probably seen the famous optical illusion of the duck and rabbit. Well, let’s say that the duck represents a faith-view of the world and the rabbit represents a chance-view.
For most of my life, I could only see the duck. I interpreted everything that happened around me and within me as acts of God. He was the only explanation for how the world came to be, how people managed to be good to one another, how believers had religious experiences, how things always worked together for good, how the Bible spoke to me, how the day after I prayed for this or that I just happened to received this or that.
I looked at the pattern and saw only a duck. How anyone could see anything else was simply beyond me. It was a duck—plain and simple.
Then one day I saw the rabbit. It happened rather suddenly and it startled me. In one shocking moment, just as clearly as I could see the duck, I could see another pattern that explained the world: chance, wishful thinking, self-delusion, self-centeredness, superstition, fear, projection, science, psychology, coincidence, power plays, politics.
It’s not that I stopped seeing the duck. It’s just that once I saw the rabbit, the picture made sense both ways.
So in day-to-day life, I tend to switch between the two. At one moment I see the duck, at another I see the rabbit—two creatures in one pattern, two explanations for whatever just occurred.
It’s an imperfect metaphor of course, (and for those who will flood my inbox with emails about relativism, please note that I’m not saying that both the duck and rabbit are equally true; just saying that I see them both in the pattern).
The point is, telling me that there’s no rabbit isn’t going to help. Telling me to ignore the rabbit isn’t going to help. Telling me that I’m a sinner for seeing the rabbit isn't going to help. It would be like me demanding that you look at the picture above and only see one creature.
I’m not saying that those of us who see the rabbit are better or smarter than those who don’t. I’m just saying that, for me, doubt is not some concerted act of the will that I can suddenly stop. Sure, I can focus on one way of interpreting the world and nurture the side of me that is quick to perceive the spiritual, but the rabbit will always be there, making another picture out of the pattern.

After The Sabbath

2011-05-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 24, 2011 ~ Easter Sunday

I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the House of the Lord. And never are we so glad to come together to worship and praise God than on Easter morning! We gather to celebrate the good news that Jesus Christ is risen today.
And we know the story of that resurrection. The women, the stone rolled away, angels, an empty tomb, disbelief, fear, running, and a message: Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me.
Why? Why in the world would Jesus want to see the disciples? He didn’t have anything to prove to them, that’s for sure. Not after the past couple of days. Falling asleep, running away, lying about knowing him, betraying him, hiding. When friends treat you that way, well, they’re not friends for very long.
And what would Jesus possibly have to say to them? Most folks would give them a piece of their mind. How could you do that to me? You never even bothered to speak up in my defense. You couldn’t stand with me in my darkest hours…You just skulked away into the alleys.
And as far as calling them brothers…(oh brother) . But there it is in black and white – My brothers. With what a great affection Jesus addressed the disciples – those who failed him so miserably on the day of his crucifixion… He called them Brothers. One more indication that what is written in another gospel is true: Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. But even more than all that – the moment that word BROTHERS is spoken…we immediately understand that Jesus has forgiven the disciples for their human frailty and failure…and that the relationship between the Lord and his disciples is strong and intact.
Is it possible that Easter has something to do with reconciliation? Not just reconciliation between God and us…(which we really like) but reconciliation between and among one another>?
Believing in the resurrection isn’t just about believing that a dead body came back to life. It’s believing that this event has the power to heal. It’s about the possibilities that present themselves when relationships are made whole once again. When Jesus sent that message, to meet him in Galilee, when Jesus called them brothers, the disciples learned that it was not too late to begin again.

Easter is about second chances, recapturing a dream, trying again. If within the Easter resurrection there is a message of reconciliation, then the message cannot be lost, but must be made visible in the world.
At the baptismal font…and at the table…we go through motions and speak words of reconciliation. We tell the story; an invitation is sent to all who believe; Dying to what separates us from God and being raised up in the newness of Christ – shedding the old and donning the new clothes of Jesus Christ…so that we can be God’s new people – a new people who attach their very beings to reconciliation and the ideals of justice, peace, and grace. A new people who live in communion with the crucified and risen Lord. Who break bread and drink the cup together as a sign of community and acceptance – just like it was a sign of community and acceptance when Jesus ate with sinners. Gathered around this table we are bound to Christ and one another, we become brothers and sisters in Christ, united with all the faithful, nourished, and renewed. And with both Sacraments we are sent out into the world - commissioned to witness, to serve, and to participate in the ministry of reconciliation.

Earlier this morning I explained that when I was a child Easter was a day of candy filled baskets, bunnies, and a new Easter dress. For me and my family who did not attend church, when the holiday of Easter was over…it was over…and we went about our business as if everything was the same…as if Easter and the resurrection of Christ hadn’t made a difference in the world.
And so my eyes catch on the first three words of this morning’s reading : “After the Sabbath.” And though today is not just another day for Christians, it is after all one day – one 24 hour period of time in which we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. But will the alleluias end here…will talk of resurrection be silenced after we leave her e today…
Brothers and sisters….What will we do with Christ’s message of reconciliation…after the Sabbath?

What To Do About Easter

2011-05-11T09:05:00.001-04:00

Sunday, April 24, 2011 ~ Easter Sunrise

I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the House of the Lord. And never are we so glad to come together to worship and praise God than on this Easter day! After the introspective season of Lent, and the dark week just pas………today, as the sun comes up, we proclaim that God’s divine light shines in the darkness of the world…and we celebrate the good news…that Jesus Christ is risen today.
All of you know that my family did not go to church. Still, Easter was a special day. Colored eggs, a rabbit who delivered baskets of candy, and a new outfit. My mother always bought me new shoes, a new dress, and a hat. Now, I may not have worn my new clothes to church like everyone else, but I made sure I wore those clothes all over the neighborhood and all day long. My mother made sure she took my picture with my Easter basket, and by late afternoon we were sitting around our big dining room table enjoying a nice leg of lamb. And then the day was over. I hung up my dress, put my new shoes in the back of the closet, had my mom put my Easter bonnet on the top shelf for safekeeping…and Easter was over. But here’s the thing…I grew up in a big Catholic neighborhood. And there’s no way you could live where I lived without having some idea that there was a whole lot more to Easter than pastel baskets and bunnies. I really don’t remember exactly what I understood about their Easter, but I knew enough to know that because of Easter, something was supposed to be different in the world. But for me…it was just another holiday…and I went about my business like nothing had happened and nothing had changed.
Which reminds me of the soldiers at the tomb. At the suggestion of the Pharisees and the orders of Pilate they were there – right there guarding the tomb. They were right there when it all happened – felt the earth shake, saw the angel descend from heaven with an appearance like lightning and clothing white as snow – now you could hardly miss something like that – And watching that angel roll away the stone and then sit on top of it….those guards shook in fear and Matthew wrote that they became like dead men.
They were eyewitnesses. They saw exactly the same thing the two women saw. And if seeing is believing….It would be impossible for those guards to go about their tomorrows as if nothing had happened…impossible for hem to think that the world could ever be the same after what they saw that morning. But other than reporting back to their superiors, they never told what they knew…in fact they did everything possible to make sure that the truth was never told. Willing to be paid off, they changed the story, to make sure that the world would go right along as if nothing had happened and nothing had changed. To make sure that anything that had to do with that day was done and over.
What to do about Easter – that was the problem the Romans and the Pharisees had to figure out. But none of their figuring, or lying or denying could put an end to the truth. Because the truth is that --- what happened at that tomb, changed everything that went before and was yet to come. And the women made sure that the world would come to know that.
So what will we do with Easter? Will we keep it to ourself - Change the story - try to explain it away? Celebrate it with a new outfit, some colored eggs, and a basket full of candy …Will we make today just another holiday so that we can go about our tomorrows as if everything is still the same. Or…
Will we have ears to hear the story anew – has hearing it once again this morning been enough to make a difference in how we live and how we serve…
Has hearing it once again emboldened us…enough….so that we will spend our tomorrows telling the truth about this Easter day:
That the chasm of sin that once separated us from God is no more. That Jesus Christ stands in our place. That death is no more and eternal life awaits.
What to do about Easter ---- don’t ever let it be over….but live in its light and in its truth ...for today: Christ is risen…Christ is risen indeed.

Making It Real

2011-04-18T08:03:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 17, 2011 ~ Palm Sunday

People had been making the Passover pilgrimag to Jerusalem for hundreds of years. But this Passover was different. And when we study other historical accounts which were written at that time, in conjunction with Scripture, we gain a fuller understanding into what it was that made this Passover different. And in that process, perhaps we shed a little light on why Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem ended so badly.

Malachi was the last prophet to speak God’s words to God’s people. That was in 397 BC. From Malachi to Jesus was about 400 years. And in that time, the Jews had been ruled by 6 different nations, lived with military invasions, political upheavals, and economic instability. And the anger against their oppressors built up; and the injustice crushed their spirits; the suffering at the hands of greedy leaders ate away at them. Faith was slipping away, the dream of land and prosperity and nationhood was all but dead. And their fear that God had abandoned them grew stronger.

Throughout all those 400 years, an idea grew and grew until people came to believe…and belief turned into a theology…and a theology became an expectation. The Messiah would come during Passover. As Moses freed their ancestors from slavery and celebrated the first Passover meal…It would be only fitting that the Messiah would come at Passover to free them from the oppression of Roman rule and a corrupt priesthood.

And as the rumors from the towns and countryside made their way to Jerusalem…a tiny mustard seed of hope was planted in their hearts. There was this man, the rumors said… who fearlessly spoke out against Rome, confronted the religious leaders, taught with authority, loved the unlovable, performed signs and miracles of healing… and it is so very hard to believe, but they say he called the dead man Lazarus to life. Spiritual fervor ignited, the Messianic hope flared up. For years now the Jews believed they were living in the end times…and on this Passover every sign led them to believe that the time was upon them.
Records were kept for the number of lambs sacrificed at Passover. The historian Josephus wrote that at any given Passover – an average number of pilgrims in Jerusalem would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 ½ million.

Whether their motives were for good or for evil - among that 2 ½ million there would be the curious, the believers, the followers. Zealots, mockers, skeptics, seekers, hopers, detractors, and dreamers. Some were looking for a fight, some waiting for freedom, and others in search of a cause. Throw in Roman soldiers, Pharisees, Sadduces, the Sanhedrin. Matthew wrote that the city was in turmoil – the root of the word turmoil is used to describe the event and the aftermath of an earthquake. Jerusalem was quaking and shaking with an anxious waiting…chaotic, unpredictable… even dangerous.

Who is this they asked? He’s like Moses…a deliverer…the one who will save us from Rome…he’s a prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. No, No, he’s King, Son of David…well, that cannot be because the authorities say he’s a trouble-maker, a scam artist, a sinner, the devil himself, filled with blasphemy and false teachings. Impossible, haven’t you heard, he heals, he raises the dead, gives sight to the blind, – he is the servant Messiah… he is blessed..he is the Lord.

The crowd demanded him to be who they wanted him to be. They had their own ideas, and expectations about who he was and who he should be and who they might become because of him. And when he didn’t come through, didn’t meet those expectations, wasn’t who they wanted him to be. There were feelings of anger, betrayal..despair and a disappointment. It was fuel enough for those in power to fan and ignite a highly emotional crowd into ugly violence.

There is a dark alliance between religion, mean-spirited cruelty, and violence, writes a New Testament professor. Whether it be the Inquisition, the Crusaders, a Koran burning minister in Florida, or a group of Christians who protest at soldier’s funerals..not because they are against war, but because they hate gay people. Whether it is Muslims and Jews in the Middle East, Hindus and Muslims in South Asia, [or] religious communities and tribal factions in Africa, Afghanistan, and Indonesia… Religion in so many ways brings out the worst in us. Because as she points out, we use our religion as a moral justification for ostracizing, hating and killing one another.

You know, as important as it is for us to get a big picture understanding of the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey….perhaps it is not as important as making sure that the dark alliance between religion, mean spirited cruelty, and violence does stop. Perhaps when it comes to Palm Sunday…making it real isn’t as important as making peace real.
When we think about the events of this coming week and all the hatred and wars that have happened from then to now…we can no longer afford to pick and choose who we will love, or how we will treat people, or which of Christ’s teachings we follow.
Lest we forget – The man came in peace. He never turned anyone away. He sought out every reject and hated person in his Middle Eastern world. His love was unconditional. He showed mercy, worked for justice, turned the other cheek, and sacrificed his very life for mean spirited, cruel, violent people like you and me. Now THAT is real. And that is the man who is our example of how God wants us to live in His world.

And The Survey Says

2011-04-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 10, 2001

And the survey says…..
These words will only be familiar to you if you watch a game show called Family Feud. Contestants are given a question or a category. They get points for answers that match the answers given in a national survey. It goes like this: Name something you would eat for breakfast. The contestants answer: Toast, Eggs, Cereal, Orange Juice, Bacon, Ham, Biscuits and Gravy…The game show host points to the hidden answers on the board… And when it’s time to reveal the answers you hear “And the survey says:.
The average age of the members of PCUSA churches is 60. We are an aging and graying church. If membership losses keep their present pace – almost every PCUSA church will close its doors by 2050. (39) Soon thereafter, this denomination will no longer exist. Other mainline denominations won’t be long to follow.
Contestants: Here is your question: Why is the church losing members. Why don’t people come to church anymore. The answers come from the Pew Research Center….And the survey says:
The church is no longer relevant; there is no apparent value in attending or belonging to a church. Here are the top 7 reasons why people think this way…And the survey says:
The church is out of touch with the real world. The people in the church are hypocritical, judgmental, anti-anyone who is not like us, too political; insensitive, and old fashioned.
And the survey says: Many churches are dead…many more are in the process of dying.
Couldn’t help then to read about Lazarus with renewed interest. And I couldn’t help but think about a dead Lazarus being given new life – in the context of the church.
We believe in life after death…we believe in the resurrection…in our own resurrection…in the resurrection of Lazarus, and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But The resurrection of Lazarus and Jesus was in the past…and our resurrection is a hope for the future. What about the present? Might we consider resurrection to be something that can happen here and now? Is it possible to bring together the idea of resurrection with our Christian vocation?
Do the socially, physically, spiritually, and emotionally dead in this broken world need to be lifted up…do the hurting need a light and a hope…aren’t their millions upon millions of people who are longing for a break…for the chance at new life. When we pray for the world, aren’t we really praying that victims of war, genocide, poverty, and oppression would hear Jesus call them by name…Lazarus, come out. People of Darfur, North Korea, Haiti, Japan, Somalia, Ciudad Juarez…come out…Isn’t it our prayer that all people who suffer would be given a way to shed the grave clothes of their circumstances, and be able to live the abundant life in Christ?
It was Jesus who received the power to give the life, but as Lazarus was blindly stumbling out of the tomb, what was it that Jesus said – Unbind him, and let him go. He said that to the crowd. That crowd is us.
What is the most popular way to bring people into the church? The survey said: We invite them. But what we are really saying is ‘Come to us.’ They used to come to us, they don’t anymore. We have to go out to them…just as Jesus logged a few thousand miles on his sandals walking from place to place, it is because things have changed that now, we too have to get out of the pews and log a few miles of our own – going out to meet people in need where they are.
Releasing people and communities from the clutches of death – whatever that death may look like – demands something of us. To bring life to others costs us something of our own comfortable and cushy lives – some things like our time, our gifts, our compassion, our care, and whatever it takes to be a church that open and available to strengthen and nurture those who are outside of the church.
And the survey says: If we keep doing this the same way, the church shall surely die. If we are to be raised up and live again, then empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must do whatever must be done to find a new life.
As the church – and members of the body of Christ, We are called to help remove the trappings of self-doubt and isolation…we are called to free those who are wrapped in fear, anxiety, loss, grief, hunger, despair, poverty…to release those who are captive to the cycles of abuse, violence, tribal warfare, genocide and addictions and offer them what we have so freely received.
If we do not then we are not the church…and we no longer have to wonder why so many believe we are
out of touch hypocritical, judgmental, anti-anyone who is not like us, too political insensitive, and old fashioned
Let us pray:
Lord, send your Spirit upon us. We need to be refreshed. We need to see with new eyes. We need to be safely led into uncharted waters. We need vision for our future. We need courage for the new path we must take if we are to survive. Lord, as we remember we are called to unbind those in bondage…help us to shake off all that keeps us from being Christ’s true church…and grant us new life.

Moving Toward Grace

2011-04-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

March 27, 2011

I want to talk very honestly with you about Lent. Protestants stopped observing Lent when Zwingli and Luther and Calvin came on the scene. Fasting, vigils, ashes and incense smacked of Catholicism – and these kinds of ritual practices did not make it into the practices of those who brought about the Reformation in the 1500’s.
John Calvin the father of Presbyterianism thought that Lent was a superstitious observance…that those who observed lent with its fasting and sacrificing were grossly deluded if they thought anything they did or did not do would somehow earn them a place at Christ’s right or left hand. Calvin wrote that observing lent for 40 days was done under the pretext of imitating Christ – and if anyone believed they could even come close to imitating Christ by fasting for 40 days --- well, they were just not right in the head. Observing Lent for Calvin looked a whole lot like trying to earn our way to heaven.
It was somewhere in the 1960’s and 70’s that Protestant churches thought it would be a good idea to bring back some of the more formal disciplines of Lent. They decided that showing up to church one day and having it be Easter didn’t do justice to the most holy day in the church year. They thought Protestants needed some preparation for that day and what better observance than one that was already a part of the early church - called Lent. For those who are not Catholic, Lent is a bit of everything. Some take on a new practice, or a spiritual discipline, others volunteer in their community, or make a special donation to a particular charity, but the majority of those Protestants who observe Lent give something up.
Now for all of us red-blooded, pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps kind of Americans….Lent means will power. And will power has nothing to do with God, or preparing for the Christ…willpower means we go it alone. We don’t eat chocolate, we stop using our credit cards, or we read scripture every evening, or walk a mile every afternoon, or skip dessert at lunchtime. And we think that because we have exhibited such marvelous restraint, by making such huge sacrifices as not drinking pop, that somehow at the end of these 40 days – the light of heaven will shine on us – we’ll wake up from our stupor…and almost magically – We’ll be ready for Jesus to be crucified and resurrected; that because we have powerfully willed ourselves to read scripture instead of having a second bowl of ice cream – we are cleansed of the old and ready to embrace the new life in Christ. Sorry, but I’m siding with Calvin here – willing myself to exercise for 40 days is far from any sacrifice Christ ever made – and I’d not be right in the head if I thought anything I was able to will myself to do for 40 days was anywhere near an imitation of Jesus Christ…neither will it get me to heaven any faster.
Lent it seems is a bit of a hodge podge of Catholic and Protestant, theological arguments and 16th century schisms, and an 1960’s attempt to have us observe something in preparation for Easter. And I am not suggesting that it would be a good idea to abandon any Lenten practices you may have begun…but ….how about this:
How about in between the confessing and repenting…in between the soul searching and praying…..how about we make room for a little something else. ….how about we start to think of these 40 days of Lent as a time for us to move toward grace.
Moving toward God’s grace as we see it in Jesus Christ. Grace that saves us, hanging up there on the cross. Grace that is the fulfillment of the Law – because no mortal can do that. Grace that stands in our place before God. Grace that sees how very stuck we can get – and gently pulls us out of the ditch. Grace that knows we are broken – doing the best that a broken people can do – Grace that forgives, grace that heals, grace that loves us still…grace that sets us free.
How about we take these 40 days to understand that grace really is a free gift; available to all of God’s children. A gift we get no matter how many things we give up for lent – grace – an amazing gift which we – as Christ’s representatives on earth are called to share with every other human being on this planet.
I believe the good news we are preparing to shout out on Easter day can be summed up in one word: Grace. And according to Paul’s letters to the Romans, this grace is not found in anything or anyone, or through anything we do during Lent…grace is found through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Up To Jerusalem

2011-03-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Psalm 121 is one of 15 that fall under the heading of Psalms of Ascent, or Songs of Ascent, as these verses were sung when ascending or going up to Jerusalem. People went up to Jerusalem because of the elevation of the city. Going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or the Festival of Booths, or Passover. Going up to Jerusalem was a journey that could take several days…weeks perhaps. Psalm 121 is about embarking on that journey.
I remember as a kid, how indescribably exciting it was to plan a journey. I remember my mom and dad, Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob, Uncle Al and Aunt Alma sitting on our front porch, while my cousin Sandy and I played in our front yard in the summer evening. The importance of the journey could be gauged by how late we were allowed to play – sometimes until well past dark. It was vacation time, and there was an excitement deep in my stomach that just wanted to jump out. From the porch we heard laughter, memories of past journeys, expectations for the newest journey, and the plans. What time would we leave, don’t forget the Coleman stove, remember to check the tents, what about the weather, would we stop and get bait before or after we reached the camp grounds…and always the standing good-natured joke and the hope that this year when we journeyed up to Pymatuning Lake, somebody would ‘catch the big one.”
Though family camping trips pale in comparison to a religious pilgrimage, there would be that kind of planning, that kind of excitement about the journey up to Jerusalem. There is a saying that, all roads lead to Rome… but from the scattered villages and towns in Palestine, all roads led to Jerusalem. And as small town roads turned into the main highways, family, friends and neighbors would join up with others. They would talk and gossip, keep an eye on the children, and catch up with one another …and they would sing. Like an army marching in cadence…some believe these Songs of Ascent are perfect for singing responsively: “From where will my help come?” ‘My help comes from the Lord.’ “He who keeps you will not slumber.” ‘He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.’
The songs lifted spirits, kept children occupied, made the journey seem not so long – kind of like our modern day driving game of counting out-of-state license plates……..but more – these songs of ascent prepared the heart; heightened the religious experience, they were, in and of themselves an act of worship.
For those who take them, journeys can be significant. A journey can involve challenges, perhaps even a few frightening moments. A journey can also lead to a new home, a new opportunity, a new beginning.
I love these thought-provoking words from one commentator: For the person who is at least trying to heed the call of God, trying to follow Jesus, and attend to the Spirit’s prompting, our journey begins in God. It is as if God runs slightly ahead of us on the path and waves at us to come and join. This presumes that there is always some distance between where we are standing and where God wants us to be.
Each of us is on our own life and faith journey. When we come together as a faith community, our journeys cross and intersect one another….and like earlier travelers, we who are scattered join up together on our Lenten journey on the road that takes us up to Jerusalem.
As we continue this journey…let us ask ourselves, Where am I standing now, and where might God want me to be?

Set Free

2011-03-15T13:50:00.000-04:00

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Our scripture reading today is very familiar. Adam and Eve in the garden, tempted, disobedient, and fallen. The first sin. The reason we are the way we are today – mortal, willful, rebellious, separated from God by that first transgression – and every transgression committed from then to now.
Listen to these temptation words: good to eat, a delight to the eye, desire, wisdom. But once the transgression is committed: we read: eyes opened, naked, covering up, afraid, hiding from God. That formula sounds familiar, I think.
It’s a vicious circle. We are tempted – by that piece of chocolate cake, we know we shouldn’t eat it, we give in, mmm, so good, and then regret, that inner voice scolding us, and we’re disappointed with ourselves and feeling guilty. And it’s not just chocolate cake, it’s being tempted to fall back into impatience, anger, negativity, laziness, gossip. It’s tobacco, alcohol, drugs, shopping, being stingy, rude, its vanity, and the list of temptations and transgressions, goes on.
And though everyone knows better, and wants to do better…though we pray to be rid of the things about us that we know are harmful to ourselves and others, ask God to remove the burdens, confess our sins every single Sunday morning...and perhaps more often than that… we still fall to our temptations. Slaves to our ways and habits, to our desires, and things that are a delight to the eye.
This past Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent. A season and practice that began with the early churches. These 40 days were spent in confession, fasting, study and prayer. In preparation for converts to be baptized into the faith on Easter morning. After a few hundred years of Christianity, there was a concern that Christians were becoming too lax in their faith….and so Lent wasn’t just for converts anymore – but for everyone. And then came lots of rules – no meat, no fish, no dairy products, one meal a day, days to eat certain things, days when you couldn’t eat, the time of day to eat, days of silence, hours of doing penance.
When we think of Lent we think of soul searching, reflection, looking inward, acknowledgment, assessment, a somber serious time to prepare for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And much of that preparation is focused on confession.
Confession is when we admit the sin, followed by asking forgiveness, believing we are forgiven, turning away from that sin, putting it behind us, and finally we are to move on as a new creation. But I don’t think we do that. I think that sometimes we confess, and then confess again, and confess again, and again…the same ol’ sin. Some sins we committed when we were 12 or 18 or 33 or 60 – we’ve been confessing ever since. We beat ourselves up for so long that we begin to look more like Arthur Dimmsdale in the Scarlet Letter than a Christian whose sins are covered by Christ.
So during this Lenten season, as we focus on our sins and confessing those sins…let us remember that confession is supposed to set us free. Confession is our opportunity to unburden ourselves, to let go of stuff that hurts and accuses…stuff that still feels like an open wound…stuff that just keeps going round and round in our heads. When I look at Lent through those lenses, Lent doesn’t seem so serious and somber, but starts to look like a pretty neat gift I get from God. A gift that’s gonna let me wake up on Easter a whole lot lighter, with a brighter outlook for the days ahead, and most of all – on the other side of Lent …I get to walk with the risen Christ on a whole new path, being a whole new me.
Our scripture reading today is very familiar. Adam and Eve in the garden, tempted, disobedient, and fallen. The first sin. The reason we are the way we are today – mortal, willful, rebellious, separated from God by that first transgression – and every transgression committed from then to now.
But there is another passage in this story to which we pay very little attention. Right after God finds out what has happened, right after God curses the snake and curses the land, condemns the man to toil and sweat, and the woman to painful childbirth….right after that and right before god kicks them out of the garden, it reads, “And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
God did not abandon them. Sinners that they were…God remained faithful to them, showing them compassion in spite of the transgression committed against him. Remember that this Lenten season.

May our Lenten journey be one of searching and finding, asking and receiving, growth and grace. And in God’s infinite mercy may that grace set us free.

A Trail Of Altars

2011-03-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

Sunday, March 6, 2011

There were all kinds of altars. Some that looked like a table, and some that looked like a stage. Some like the one in Megiddo measured 26 feet across and 5 feet high. Some were used for sacrifices…Others were nothing more than a pile of stones along the side of a road. There were temporary altars, permanent altars, altars that were portable. Altars of clay, altars made of stones, rocks, and large boulders. Altars like those in the Temple made with acacia and cedar wood, covered with metal or plated with gold. Every altar was either used for a particular event – like ritual sacrifice…or were built to mark a particular event.
In Moreh, God promised Abraham land and offspring, and he built an altar. East of Bethel is where Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, and he built an altar. At the oaks of Mamre, God showed Abraham the land that would be his forever, and he built an altar. In the land of Moriah, Abraham built an altar upon which God told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac.
These were the places – and these were the particular – meaningful – transforming events that changed Abram – son of Terah, to Abraham, friend of God, patriarch to God’s people, father of many nations.
Today the church celebrates the transfiguration of the Lord. A climb up a mountain, Jesus with dazzling white clothes and a face that shone like the sun, a conversation with Elijah and Moses, a disciple who interrupted with an offer to build a permanent residence, a cloud, a voice from heaven, and an order not to tell. As one commentator writes, “The moment of transfiguring appears in the text out of nowhere, the appearance of Moses and Elijah is equally out of place, it is never referred to again, and has no apparent effect on anyone in Matthew’s story. And he asks…’Aside from a glowing Jesus, what exactly does the transfiguration transfigure?’” An interesting question which I have thought about for a few days now --- and the only answer I can come up with is that perhaps the transfiguration didn’t transfigure anything at all --- except us.
Perhaps, this particular event is supposed to transform you and me. For a brief shining moment, God gave the disciples – and God gives us what we need to believe…what we need to continue on this path…what we need to affirm and strengthen our faith.
Transfiguation – that place in our faith journey which we mark because it is particular, and meaningful, and holds the power to transform those who have eyes to see, and ears to hear.
How many altars have each of us built in our lifetimes? Places where God made his love known to us; places where God’s comfort was the only thing that helped; places of awe and joy, certainty and peace, when we felt grounded and in the exactly right spot in the world…and we knew for however briefly, that God’s hand was right there in the middle of it all.
Those are places in our lives where altars have been built. Those are the places that chart the trail of our lives – these are the touchstones – the places in our lives to which we touch back …and say – that changed me, that made me realize, that made be a better person, that put me on the right track, that gave me faith, that has made all the difference in how I live today.
Transfiguration. Your best friend, the man who called you, the man who teaches you, that man you love, tells you he must go to Jerusalem – it will be for the Passover, but celebration will be bittersweet – for Jerusalem is where your friend tells you he will be killed, and no matter how you protest, he tells there’s no way out, this is how it has to be. The years have been hectic – one healing, one lesson, one discussion, one feeding…one right after the other. There have been times when it was best to hide, to flee…when crowds were too thick and threatening, when authorities pointed too often, stared too long, conspired against you. But no matter, you knew that the Messiah you followed would change their minds…but no, Jerusalem will be the end. So your friend tells you to come away, up a mountain, be afraid, fall to your knees. Because this is gonna be the place where God breaks into your life and you see and hear that which you never thought you would see or hear. Make an altar here…we will call it the transfiguration. This is another way you will know who I am…It is my gift to you before I die.
Transfiguration is the appearance of God’s glory in the midst of our journeys to the cross. Here it is that we mark an event – particular meaningful, powerful – enough so that we believe, enough so that we are strengthen to continue on this path …enough so that we are transformed…and we build yet another altar in our trail of altars.

A Road’s Gonna Raise Up

2011-03-02T12:03:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 27, 2011

The prophet speaks to a new generation. The generation of Jews who were born in exile...who knew nothing of Jerusalem. Fifty years in exile takes a toll – on a community, on a heart, and on a faith. By now there were many Jews who called Babylon home…and there were a scattered few- who only wished for and dreamed of their Jerusalem homeland. Now it was that God’s chosen people gave up – threw their hands up in despair. Their future - according to them -ended at the walls of the city…and God’s chosen people couldn’t see anything beyond Babylon.
But even when you don’t see…or can’t see…or allow yourself to see…even then, God calls. God called them from the north and the west, from the coastlands, and from far away….God called Israel …to be a covenant to the people.
A covenant to the people…to be a promise and a pledge to the people. To see to it that their sons and daughters inherited what was rightfully theirs. And even as God’s people sat in exile…God charged them…gave them a mission and a purpose. Which was to call out those who are imprisoned… to encourage those who live in dark places to be seen. Stop hiding – God says…come out and show yourselves…be among us so you can be known….and then know this: “You are included…you who have been ignored, abandoned, rejected, set aside, kept ignorant, and imprisoned… you too, hold a rightful place in God’s plan.
These are God’s promises…and God’s covenant people have been charged to see to it that God’s promises are realized on earth… that God’s covenant people make sure that all people will feed along the ways…that all will be protected and none struck down…that all will be guided…to the springs of water where they will find refreshment and renewal waiting for them.
I cannot help but think of the church. You know I was at a 24 hour work shop this past week. Learning new ways to reach a new generation. Learning again that they are not wired like us older folks are wired…learning again that we cannot reach them or teach them or even preach to them like we have done in the past. Learning again that the church is never gonna be like it was. Learning again that 50% of our congregations have less than 50 members. Learning again that if we don’t try..if we don’t start doing things differently, we will continue to be a church in exile.
We have become a church that has either sadly settled into ‘the way things are’ assuming we can only watch as our way of life becomes a thing of the past…or we have turned into a church who has thrown her hands up in despair – refusing to or unable to see beyond its walls….refusing to or unable to see that God has something waiting for us on the other side.
Those who sat in Babylonian exile couldn’t see their life being any other way than the way it was at that moment. Couldn’t imagine that God still considered them his covenant people…couldn’t imagine that God was calling them to a mission and a purpose…charging them to bring about the changes necessary to usher in God’s new thing. And perhaps that’s the tricky part – God is always about doing new things – it’s people who are happy with keeping things safe and the same.
So….Like those born in exile, we have lived with this church all of our lives – this is the way we know – the only way we know church to be, and it’s hard for us to imagine the church to be any other way..to be a new way.
God has always let his people know that he has not given up on us…that God is not going to let us falter and flail around for too long. Over and over again God tells us that he has a plan for us – if only we listen long enough and understand----- that most probably –God’s plan isn’t going to be the one we thought it would be.
Do we know where the church is headed? Do we know exactly what we will look like in a year or ten years? Do we even know how to make sure that our sons and daughter will come to inherit this faith that is rightfully theirs? No, but God’s call is going out over these old walls to all kinds of people – to the north and the west, the coastlands, and to places far away…making sure that Christ’s church grows into the church God wants it to be.
Scary – yes. Easy – no. Will the way be made clear – without a doubt. The mountain we face will be turned into a road…and that road’s gonna raise up before us – and we will know where god wants us to go. Our future does not stop at the walls – we just need to see beyond Babylon – for today God reminds us that the future is already paved with possibilities.

The Perfect Predicament

2011-02-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

February 20, 2011

I am not sure if it’s a sign of the times or a sign of our pride, but boy oh boy do we try to be perfect. We go to great lengths – clothes, diets, miracle creams and vitamins, hair transplants…all the way to plastic surgery. There’s a bit of an obsession these days to have the perfect children, the perfect house, the perfect job and car – the perfect life. At some point, the fixation on perfection goes away, and we settle into a comfortable acceptance of being less than perfect. Ah but we’re not lucky enough to stay there. No sooner do we get comfortable with our imperfections than we find ourselves faced with being perfect in a big way.
This command is troublesome to say the least. ‘Be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect.” When I seriously think about that, it makes me feel a heaviness. All I can think of are the laws, ordinances and statutes, all 631 of them, which Jews were required to keep – if of course they wanted to be perfect. Can you imagine the burden…the never ending effort to always be perfect.. only to find that you continually failed.
Recognizing that we have all fallen short of the glory of God,.. When I acknowledge that it is hopeless for mortals to even try to be perfect like God is perfect, I’d like to find a way out of this passage. ..a way to dismiss what Jesus has said to us, to temper it, explain it or explain it away. But we cannot do that. Instead, we are expected to study it and try as best we can to understand what it is Jesus is saying to us.
How about we take the word ‘perfect’ and translate it from the Greek, to discover that perfect doesn’t mean perfect – in the way we understand the word. It doesn’t mean we never make a mistake…Doesn’t mean we live with all our I’s dotted and our T’s crossed…it means more like perfected. It means complete…it means mature…it means undivided…it means being whole – like our father in heaven is whole.
And it is this kind of completeness, maturity, and wholeness …this kind of perfection ….that refers to the subject Jesus has just finished talking about – love.
It’s not good enough Jesus says, to love your neighbor – but love your neighbor and love your enemy, and don’t stop there…pray for those who persecute you. It’s not good enough to take the easy road- loving only those who love you, anyone can do that – how about you love the people who can’t stand you. It’s not good enough to acknowledge only those people who are like you – start paying attention to all those people who are on the other side of your small, safe, comfort zone.
And so it is, that in this context to be perfect like God is perfect has nothing to do with purity or keeping flawless morals. The well-known and distinguished preacher, Fred Craddock writes: The command here, is that Christians are to be perfect in their love… loving others like God loves us …loving others because God loves us…loving others in the ways that Jesus taught us and showed us.
We are Christians who are bound by our faith to live in a perfect predicament: Striving to be perfect like God is perfect, even though we know we will fail. Imperfect humans who because we claim to belong to Christ - strive to love others as God loves - wholly, completely, perfectly.

Still Not Ready

2011-02-15T12:48:00.000-05:00

February 13, 2011

When you grow up in this Christian faith – as we have – the things we do, and the way we think, and live - seems normal. But consider for a minute how difficult it must have been for that first generation of Christians.
Consider how much those first generation Christians had to unlearn. ..and how much they had to learn… About this God who ruled over the life and the history of the Jewish people. About this Messiah named Jesus. Consider all those new and strange ideas they were being taught…and how first generation Christians were expected to incorporate those teachings into their lives. It is clear from all of Paul’s letters that being a Christian didn’t come naturally.
Paul understood that. He understood that the members of the Corinthian church were not a spiritual people, but rather a people of the flesh. He knew that shedding the old ways of thinking was easier said than done… Knew that putting on the new clothes of Christ would take time. Which is why Paul fed them with milk, because they were not ready for solid food.
This past week, I sat in the doctor’s office with Travis. We sat across from a woman…dressed in a well-worn, floor length black cotton skirt, an oversized, stretched out, faded sweater,
and work boots. Her daughter was with her – maybe in her 30’s, in a lavender colored ski jacket that was too small, blue jeans, old tennis shoes. And three babies. A boy about 3, a girl maybe not quite 2, and a baby only a few months old. And….as I sat across from them, I wondered why one of these women had so many babies and why she had them so close together. And I thought to myself, why do women who can’t afford them have so many babies, so close together. And I thought to myself, what kind of a future will these babies have. If mom keeps going, at this rate, they will never be given the chance and the opportunities every child deserves…how do you afford to feed so many babies, so close together, and since we were in a doctor’s office, and I know what my medical bills look like, how do they pay their medical bills for so many babies, so close together? And I thought to myself when will people be educated enough to break the cycle of having so many babies so close together….and though I smiled at the two women and talked to the babies…I couldn’t stop wondering, why so many babies, and why so close together.
And in all of that – you know what I was doing. I was making assumptions…I was stereo-typing…I was demonizing…I was in my them and us mindset….I was being condescending and judgmental. I was being self-righteous, I was keeping them at a distance, making sure those who were different from me – remained different from me.
We were the only ones left in the waiting room…And then God gave me a big pinch. The older woman sat rocking the baby, every few minutes talking to the little boy and girl…and out of the blue, (perhaps she knew) she looked right at me, and said, “You probably think I’m crazy with all these babies, but they aren’t mine. I’m a foster mother. I have two of my own children and these three.” And that pinch God gave me – was much needed, and it hurt, and I was reminded – humbly reminded – ashamedly reminded that I – so much like the Corinthians – am still not ready for solid food.
And then there was my cousin Sandy. As some of you know, my Uncle Bob passed away last Sunday afternoon. When I asked Sandy to tell me how that last week had gone, she had no words to express those days. She stumbled and searched, but was unable to describe how she felt. And then – she began to tell me how wonderful her two grown children had been, how helpful, how caring, how supportive. And then came the list – how wonderful her parents were, how fortunate she was to be their child, the good life they provided her, how they loved each other. And then came the words: I guess what I realized most this week, she said, was how very blessed I am. My Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob and my cousin Sandy never went to church, never talked about such a thing as a blessing, never talked about God, except to say there was no God = at least not a God who anyone could understand, for if God was a good god, there wouldn’t be so much suffering in the world. But that night on the phone, something was different…though she stammered and struggled, the feelings and the thoughts became words. As Sandy confessed that she felt closer to some kind of belief than ever before. As I reflected on our conversation, I understood, that my cousin –had caught a glimpse of something new and different. Whether she had been touched by God, or Christ, or gently brushed with a Holy Spirit breeze is not up to me to say. But I cannot help but think that … not yet ready to eat solid food – my cousin Sandy had tasted the same milk Paul fed to the Corinthians.
It is clear from all of Paul’s letters that being a Christian didn’t --- and doesn’t --- come naturally. Thank the Lord that Paul understood that, because he probably figured out that even after a couple thousand years, the church is filled with people who are not spiritual, but rather a people of the flesh. He knew that shedding the old ways of thinking was easier said than done… Knew that putting on the new clothes of Christ would take a very very very long time.
Whether we have been raised in the faith, or never stepped foot inside a church…whether we know nothing about being a Christian or think we have it all figured out…I am more and more convinced that – from time to time - we are all in need of that spiritual milk.

Not An Option

2011-02-15T12:47:00.000-05:00

February 6, 2011

I wonder if you are like me. Every time I read this scripture passage, I feel pretty good about myself. Jesus just told me that I am the salt of the earth. Of course I’m thinking of the contemporary meaning of this saying: which is that I am down to earth, honest, decent, steady, giving, dependable …you know – being the salt of the earth means you are one of the good guys…and I do so like being one of the good guys.
But salt – in Jesus’ day – was used for many things, and had any number of symbolic uses – many of which have little or nothing to do with what we think about what it means to be the salt of the earth.
Salt was used to preserve meat and fish, salt was used to clean wounds, salt was rubbed on new born babies – to get rid of germs…and also to ward off evil spirits, salt was used as a purifying element in Temple sacrifices, it was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, and many a Roman soldier was paid in salt. Any good commentator will sift together all of those ingredients and tell you then that we = who follow Jesus are a valuable, sacrificial people of the covenant, a people of worth - here on earth to put down evil, purify the world, and preserve the Word of God. That’s a pretty impressive description of us Jesus followers – bound - no doubt to reinforce our belief that we really are the good guys.
But reading a bit more, Jesus moves right on to talk about salt being salty and our saltiness. What, then – when you consider all of these ancient ideas about salt – what then…does Jesus mean when he tells his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth?” Well one thing is for sure….Then and now – salt altered the condition of things – Could it be that our salty selves are supposed to alter the condition of the world…and if so, what exactly makes one salty?
A look back on the previous verses – those called the Beatitudes, will help. Perhaps being salty has something to do with comforting, feeding, mercy and peace. Perhaps being salty has something to do with being there for those who mourn, being a person of gentleness and humility; a person of character, who shows mercy when others turn away, a person who always chooses the path that leads to peace, who willingly stands up for Christ, even when Christ is not very popular.
Perhaps has nothing to do with it. These characteristics describe exactly who Christ’s disciples are to be. “You are the salt of the earth.” Not because we are endowed with any better stuff than other people, but because belonging to Christ means we have a purpose – to advance the mission and a ministry and mindset of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not become disciples by only adhering to the letter of the law like the Pharisees. We become disciples when we look to the One who is the fulfillment of the law. And that fulfillment will be found in the way Jesus behaves, in the things he teaches; in the love and compassion he exhibits every time he reaches out to those whom the world rejects. If we say we are his disciples then we respond by doing and speaking and living - as he did, and spoke, and lived. If we do not, then we are not the salt of the earth, and we are not his disciples.
The warning we are given is that we are subject to lose our saltiness. The danger for anyone who considers themselves one of Christ’s disciples is that in our constant seeking to be comfortable, accepted, and one of the good guys…we forget the very mission and ministry of the one we say we follow. We forget - that we – like Christ - are to disorder the status quo…that - like Christ – salty Christians- are to alter the nature of the things of the world
How? – well the same way Jesus did - by valuing those who are dispossessed, caring for those who suffer loss, doing justice, showing mercy, having integrity, being peacemakers, and courageously standing up for the faith.
When we don’t do these things…we have lost our value, and our usefulness. Jesus wants us to know this: If you want to be his true and faithful disciple – then you must live in the way of Christ. Living any other way…is not an option.

An Appeal

2011-01-24T08:03:00.001-05:00

January 23, 2011

The members of the church in Corinth had decided to follow the man who baptized them. Some were loyal to Apollos, others to Cephas, and a few to Paul. Now – much to Paul’s dismay - the congregation was divided.
But in reality, the church was divided on more than this one issue. There were Jews and Greeks, male and female, slave and free. Which caused arguments and people taking sides…did non-Jews need to adopt Jewish ways before they could be Christians; could a Jew by faith and nationality really become a Christian; Christ preached justice and equality and welcome to the outcast, but the rich and privileged in the church fought to keep female, slave, and outcast in their place.
Consider all of those divisions … and now add the fact that Corinth was a very unique place. The Romans destroyed the city 146 BC. It sat empty and in ruins for close to 100 years. Then Julius Caesar re-founded the city – populating it with freed slaves from all over the Mediterranean -- people from different cultures, with different upbringings, and customs. Situated on the water, Corinth was a place of trade…sailors, tradesmen, merchants from different ports - all sharing and exchanging information. Word travelled and entrepreneurs landed in Corinth, they opened new businesses, hired workers, who made things, sold things, imported and exported, all which drew in thousands of more people who recognized that opportunity awaited them in this up and coming city. And while all this obvious stuff was happening, something was stirring underneath, something that would mark a change. In time different people and different cultures began to blend, and a new people and culture came into being. In time, these new people broke away from their past. They realized that they didn’t have to be what their parents and grandparents had been… didn’t have to think like them, behave like them, or hold to the same values and traditions they did.
To be sure, some of these people went to church. And if the church in Corinth was as diverse as some scholars believe, we can be sure that their diversity made for any number of divisions . So often we want to hearken back to a day when - we believe - unity prevailed in the church – but we’d be hard-pressed to find it. And the church in our time is no different. We know the divisions…we know the present-day issues: strict bible interpretation vs. listening for the Holy Spirit speaking to us in this time and place… taking care of our own and our own personal salvation vs. a mission that looks out into the world…and there’s the sexuality issue …the contemporary vs. traditional issue… the old ways vs. a new age.
And today, more than any other age, there is something else which divides us. Something perhaps we have overlooked. It is …the generation gap – unlike any other generation gap. The church has never before been like it is today. For one …medical science has tacked 30 more years on our lives. The Apostle Paul could not have imagined a congregation whose ages spanned from 80 and 90 year olds to young children. Now 25 years ago – even that gap would not have been so great as it is today – if it weren’t for technology.
Every piece of information about any subject is a few key strokes and clicks away. I can go to a real estate website and take a virtual tour through a house I want to buy in southern Italy; I can admire the paintings in most any museum in the world; while I sit in Maxwelton, I can click on a live web cam that shows me what’s going on in Time Square, or Red Square, or Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio.
It’s like Corinth…our last couple of generations have embraced everything about this brave new world. And because they have, because they have so much more information at their fingertips than most of us ever dreamed of…these younger generations think differently, see the world differently. And, they see their faith, and the church differently. How they express that faith and how they choose to be the church, well, that will be different, too.
Even so, Paul calls us to be united. But note, united does not meant the same. Paul doesn’t call us to be the same, think the same, or hold to the same traditions… he calls us to be united……in Christ.
By design, God made us each unique, in our passions, our gifts, our abilities. And Christ calls each of us – all different…from different generations, backgrounds, experiences, viewpoints - for a purpose…to be his church.
A Presbyterian minister in Texas writes, -- our true unity is not found in the personalities of our leadership, not in the ways individual members think, has nothing to do with whose circle or Sunday school class we belong to, – not even with our denominational label. Our true unity comes only from Christ. As long as we hold Christ in the center, we will be richer for our differences. He goes on to say: These new things coming our way…will challenge us, but if we are not up for the task, we will be ignored and become irrelevant. This new generation, will certainly challenge us, but if we are not up for the task, they will leave us.
Paul - called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, asked the Corinthian church, ‘Has Christ been divided…who was crucified for you (was it me or Apollos or Cephas)….. and in whose name were you baptized? Paul wanted that church to wake up – to look to the big picture so that the cross of Christ would not be emptied of its power.
And so he made an appeal to the Corinthians and to us: that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind (the mind of Christ)……and united in the same purpose – to proclaim a gospel.

What Are You Looking For?

2011-01-18T07:58:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 16, 2011

What do you want? That’s a question we get asked all the time. What do you want to do when you grow up? What do you want for your birthday, your anniversary, for Christmas? What do you want out of your relationships? What do you want from your job? What do you want to achieve, to accomplish, to prove.
What do you want? That is the question I would have asked if some strangers were following me. I would have turned, a bit leary, and perhaps not very friendly, and I would have said, “What do you want?” What do you want from me? Do you want directions, do you want help; do you want some spare change, do you want my purse, do you want to know the time, do you want to hurt me? What do you want?
But that is not the question Jesus asked when strangers were following him. When Jesus realized he was being followed, he turned to the two men, and asked them – not what do you want, but “What are you looking for?” /////////////////////////
Two of John’s disciples heard John say that the Lamb of God was walking by. For a Jew the phrase Lamb of God would be like secret code words. What would immediately come to mind was the lamb eaten at every Passover meal; it’s blood smeared on doorposts, so their lives would be spared when God promised to deliver them out of Egypt. And Isaiah’s words describing God’s servant as a lamb led to slaughter. They would think of the sacrifices at the Temple, those that required a lamb without blemish. A perfect lamb offered to God for sins for which there was no restitution.
And when in a matter of seconds, their brains brought those Lamb of God images together, they would know - that the man who was walking by was someone quite special. One second later, they realized it would be a mistake to let him walk by, and so they followed him.
Odd, the question they asked him. It might have been more appropriate if their first words to Jesus would have been an introduction…or as they trotted along behind him, to ask if he minded company. Seems rather bold to inquire about his living arrangements … Where are you staying?
There’s a lot going on in that question. It presumes that Jesus will tell them, and wants them to know. The question carries with it the assumption that Jesus will invite them and welcome them to stay with him. And in the asking, there is even a sense that these two men were hinting that they wanted to be invited, hoped they could stay with him, if they were not already hatching a plan to make that happen.
From their question, we can presume that once they saw Jesus, they wanted to know more about him; that they believed he could teach them or show them things they had not been taught or shown before. We can presume that they were so taken, so captivated – that right away they knew that what they wanted more than anything was to stay with him…that right away they knew they had found what they were looking for. What are you looking for? We are looking for the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
This is not a story about what people want – even though it is the question the world asks us every day. This is a story that asks human beings a most fundamental question about their existence. What are you looking for?
And what we are looking for – perhaps without even admitting it – is that place called home. It is not the home of this world, but the home we find in Jesus Christ. Where we are safe and loved, where we are shown mercy and find forgiveness. Home where we don’t have to be so very special and outstanding; where we can be flawed and imperfect. A place of welcome, and acceptance and peace, Home in Jesus Christ, where we belong.
Whatever Jesus saw on the faces of those two men who were running to catch up with him, out of breath and wide-eyed, stumbling over themselves and their words…He knew exactly what they were looking for –
He invited them – and he invites us. To learn things we have never been taught, to see things we have never been shown. To follow him. To walk with him. To stay with him. To Come and See what life is like when we live with Jesus Christ.

Servant Ministry

2011-01-18T07:56:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The world has always been about power. Where there is money, there is power. Where there is social status, there is power. A well-recognized name, a well-placed position, high rank in the military, a seat in the government – all will make you powerful according to the world. Jesus had nothing of worldly power. No money, no social status, no famous name, or high position in any company, army, or government.
Isaiah introduces us to the servant. God will choose and uphold him; God will delight in him and put his spirit upon him. And centuries later, as god’s Spirit came upon Jesus, those words were repeated, “This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” The Magi worshiped Jesus as who they thought he would be – a powerful, successful, king. Today God baptizes Jesus as lowly Servant. And today we hear Isaiah, tell us the peculiar and particular way God’s servant will behave.
The servant will not cry (out) or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. With this servant there will be no voices raised in argument, or accusation, or demand. Nor will he insist on drawing attention to himself.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. This servant will not take pleasure in humiliating or hurting. He will champion the vulnerable; listen to young dreams, imperfect ideas, and encourage the smallest of efforts. This servant will protect what is weak until it is strong enough to stand on its own, and fan every flame until it burns brightly.
Unlike those who take their power from the world, the one who receives power from God …will not push or insist, will not use force, or fear or threats. Power, position, prowess will not be the way of this servant. This servant will go about his work, humbly, diligently, quietly, and tenderly.
We’ve just heard God’s plan for the world – he’s going to send a servant. And we just learned how that servant will serve. And now the focus shifts from God and God’s chosen one …to us. Verse 6: I have called you in righteousness. I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations. Apparently, we play a part in God’s plan, too.
Christ is God’s servant. Christ came to serve. We are Christ’s church. Christ is our example. We are here to serve. And we are to serve how? To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, to bring out those who sit in darkness.
As we move into a New Year, ordain and install officers of the church, remember our own ordination, our baptismal vows, and membership promises, …let us take with us on our discipleship journey….words from our Book of Order: “All forms of ministry shall be understood not in terms of power, but in terms of service, after the manner of the servant ministry of Jesus Christ.

Go And Search Diligently

2011-01-07T12:21:00.002-05:00

Sunday, January 2, 2011

What do we know about these wise men? We think we know that there were three of them because of the three gifts, but Scripture never gives us a number. Early writing has the number of wise men at 12 – some have written that an entire army of wise men came to greet the child who would be king.
Popular thought claims that the wise men were from Babylon, Persia, or Yemen. A long time ago, some circles believed they were from the British Isles, Africa, and India…and there are ancient texts that have these wise men travelling from the farthest known inhabited regions – a place called Shir – which would be China.
Their names Melcior, Gaspar, and Balthasar are not in Scripture, but showed up in 500 AD. Interestingly enough, the Syrian Christians have given them different names. Chinese Christians call them something else, Armenian Christians call them something else again, and so do Ethiopian Christians.
At one time it was believed that the wise men were kings, later it was thought they were nobles. The Greek text does not call them wise men, or kings, or nobles, but refers to them as magos …magi – from the word magic or magician.
What we do know for sure about Magi is this. They belonged to a religious caste, and part of their religion, was studying the stars. At the time astrology was considered a science, and so these magi were well-respected in all parts of the world. Because they looked for signs that foretold events…and because there was a long line of magi, who would hand down what they had learned, they would be considered keepers of history and seekers of knowledge. By nature and training, they would have to be open to possibilities, excited to think that they could be the discoverers of something new, and eager to figure out how it all came together to shape the world and the future.
Not willing to stay put; not willing to let the opportunity pass them by; when they saw the star and the vision for the world that it foretold, they followed it. They had no way of knowing how far they would travel, or where it would lead them, or what they would find when they finally got there. Their exuberance for seeking and discovering drove them into the unknown.
Now some would think their chasing after a star to be foolish…that their cross-country trek a waste of time. We don’t think so now, but back then if word got out about what they were up to, their reputations would be at stake, and their credentials would be in question. Because these learned respected men – these scholars and sages – bowed down before a child – and children as we know, were of no account. They paid him homage, worshiped and adored him. Were overwhelmed with joy and brought him gifts….and believed some unknown child to be ……..some kind of king? Even more shocking would be that they went to all this trouble for a Jewish kid, who would be king of the Jews – oh boy, king of somewhere between 120 and 200,00 people…who weren’t particularly respected, who had no land, but lived under the Roman thumb.
Theology and ethics professor Ronald Goetz writes that with the thought of this new thing, these serious stoic scholars were willing to lose their composure. When it came to the possibilities that awaited – they were willing to be irrational. When it came to the change that was the sign of the star said was inevitable, they were willing to forfeit their long-standing place in the world as wise men and appear foolish.
Who were these wise men…and can we be more like them? Can we take a page from the Magi’s play book?

Whoever they were, and however many of them there were…the Magi didn’t travel great distances to see the same old thing. They travelled because Jesus’ birth meant that God was ushering in something so different from what the world knew…that they couldn’t wait to meet it. They way people lived, they way they were treated, the chasm between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, the prejudice, judgment, injustice and war….It’s no wonder the wise men couldn’t wait to follow that star. They knew that Jesus ushered in change, ushered in the new, ushered in a more excellent way, and they were daring enough and bold enough to recognize it and embrace it.
Is the church ready to go and search diligently for our future? Are we ready for the adventure that is…being the church in the world…. to look beyond what we know to be comfortable…. And open ourselves up to embrace what is to come? When we dream dreams and when we see visions, will we ignore them, or like the Magi will we take the risk….. willing to forfeit our long-standing place in the world and appear foolish?

God With Us

2011-01-07T12:21:00.001-05:00

Sunday, December 26, 2010

It wasn’t but a few hours ago that we were here praising and celebrating the birth of the Messiah. And since but a day has passed, we may still be humming a verse or two of our favorite Christmas carol.
Christmas is still in the air. I notice people greeting one another in the stores, smiling and nodding at strangers, opening doors, and generally seeming to be in good spirits. We’re still feeling warm inside about God loving us, and sharing that love in the person of Jesus. Visions of sugar plums still dance in our heads, and so do thoughts of a sweet baby lying in a pile of hay – images of shepherds amazed, angels glorifying, Mary cradling, Joseph hovering. Now the world is made different, now we are made different…because of this child…because with him, the hope, peace, joy, and love of the Advent season has been made evident in the world.
Which is why = so soon after our Messiah’s birth - the reading from Matthew is so disheartening. Why today do we hear about Herod? A man obsessed with position and power, now obsessed with finding a child who threatened to take it all away. Why today do we learn about a man so vile that in an effort to keep that power he ordered the murder of so many babies?
And take a minute to think about Joseph. I realized that I don’t do that when I read this passage. Instead I tend to focus on the angels --- isn’t it good, I think - that the angels were able to keep them all safe. But like I said…what about Joseph? Imagine how scared he must have been. Vulnerable wife, newborn helpless baby. Run they said…go now…go quickly…flee…to Egypt. How fast can a man woman and baby go – by foot? On one donkey? Do you know how many miles it is from Bethlehem to be safe inside Egypt…about 350 miles. Take a minute to think about that…what did they eat – where did the food come from. Where did they hide? Did they walk the main road, or take the back way? Not able to jump in a car and arrive in a few hours, a plane to get there is 45 minutes….this urgent life-preserving journey took about 2 months. And then another angelic message to go to Judea – and another - get out of that place – and go again = this time to Galilee. Years spent – all filled with worry and running…homeless, hiding, pretending, dodging authority. Years spent - never feeling settled or rested. Why today do we have to hear about that?
We like moving through this Christmas fantasy land that our culture has created. We protest…It’s too soon to get back to the real world- too soon to think about corrupt leaders, innocent children, homelessness, alienation, fear and worry. Actually, we’d like it better if we could remain totally oblivious to the pain and heartache of the world – it’s too uncomfortable, and we don’t want that! – especially when it’s still our Christmas-tide.
What we take away from this passage is that – as much as we wish it was different ---Jesus’ birth does not put an immediate end to the ways of the world…Jesus’ birth does not put an end to human tragedy. We can all testify to that. So what might we do with this passage that shocks us back into life’s reality so immediately soon after Christmas?
We remember …Jesus = Immanuel =/// God with us. That’s part of the promise isn’t it? God with us… wherever human kind hurts…God with us… through a life that experiences both the wonder of a miraculous birth and the terror inflicted by the Herods of the world.
We remember God with us, who in spite of…or perhaps because of people like Herod….taught us to welcome those we would prefer to exclude…taught us to live in peace with those we’d rather fight…to listen when we’d rather not…to keep silent when we’re sure people need to hear what we have to say…to see beyond the faces and search a heart.
Why today do we hear this story…Why in this Christmas tide do we hear about the ugly reality of our world…? So that we do not loose heart…so that we live life fully aware that hope, peace, joy and love are now in our midst…..Jesus….Immanuel…God with us.

Who Are You Expecting?

2010-12-13T08:30:00.002-05:00

Sunday, December 12, 2010

He knew him…They were somehow related to one another…He told people about him….Recognized him from a distance…Talked to him...Baptized him in the Jordan River.
And now ???? ……John sends his messengers to Jesus and asks, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" Of all people – why is it John the Baptizer who asks this question? Why is it that the preparer of the way has doubts? How is it that the one who was ordained from birth to be the prophet of the Most High is uncertain enough to say it out loud?
We are used to the idea that the disciples were confused about Jesus’ identity. We get it when people in the crowds shake their heads in disbelief. And it’s no mystery why the Pharisees wouldn’t accept Jesus. But John – well that’s perplexing.
But here’s what happened. Verse 2: When John – who was locked inside a prison cell - heard what the Messiah was doing on the outside – he sent his messengers.

And what Jesus was doing on the outside was returning sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf…giving the lame the ability to walk, cleansing lepers, and raising the dead! Now wait a minute, John probably said to himself…that’s not how it’s supposed to go. Wasn’t all that long ago that John told all those people at the river that the one who was coming had a winnowing fork in his hand… that he couldn’t wait to clear the threshing floor of the chaff and burn it up with an unquenchable fire. John told people to look out – to bear good fruit or be cut down; to repent or get ready for the wrath of God to come down upon them. No wonder John questioned Jesus’ identity…from all accounts it appeared that Jesus was more interested in healing than torching…more interested in raising the dead than smiting the wicked.
We always say, that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that the people expected. Perhaps the truer statement would be that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah the people wanted.
Some of us still want a Jesus who breaths fire and brimstone – accusations and harsh judgments. Hard to reckon that with “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Some are expecting Jesus to share our opinions – expecting Jesus to be on our side when it comes to every political, social, and economic issue. Is he a Democrat, a Libertarian or a Republican? maybe he’s a Socialist! Is he an advocate of gun control or a member of the NRA? Is he on the side of my country or another country? Does he prefer cigarette smokers or non-smokers, healthy people to overweight people, straight people to gay people, married people to people who live together, smart people over not so smart people? Of course, my causes are Jesus’ causes…until we figure in that Jesus came for His father in Heaven’s causes.
And there are many who figure that Jesus is pretty laid back and easy going – doesn’t really demand anything much of us, understands how busy we are in 2010, so has given us a pass on expecting much out of us --- and that He just keeps loving us - loving us- loving us anyway. Until you hear Jesus say, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Jesus goes out and asks the crowds – “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” Of course he was talking about John, but it’s a pretty good question to ask ourselves about Jesus.
What are you looking for in this Messiah? Who do you want him to be? What are you expecting of him? What kind of Messiah have you turned him into?
The Messiah for whom we wait and prepare in this Advent season – cannot be put in a box. He cannot be contained, controlled, dictated to, or be on our side. He cannot be limited by - quite honestly – our very shallow human ways of thinking. Advent is a time to ask ourselves who it is we want to follow….the living Christ - or simply our idea of who we want and think Christ should be.
Let’s take this Advent time to put away the popular notion of “What would Jesus Do?” – cuz you know every time we ask that, we’re gonna think that Jesus would fall on our side of the fence and do what we would do….or do what we want him to do.
When we receive this Messiah – and everyone here has said that they do….then we must understand that His birth ushers in a new age, a new creation, with new ways of living, and new visions. If we believe that, if that’s what we want – and everyone here has said that they do…. then it’s time to let go of every preconception about who we think the He is. --- so that we are able to see the Lord as if for the very first time.
If we do not, then we will simply continue to create a Christ on our own image --- and we will be worshipping ourselves.

The course of Jesus was so different from what John himself, in common with other Jews, expected of the Messiah,

There Is This Voice

2010-12-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

Sunday, December 5, 2010

There is this voice. It breaks into history. It cuts through the wild and wilderness places, and rises up from the Jordan Valley.
Somewhere in time the Jordan Valley was formed by a number of earthquakes. The rolling and violent shaking caused the earth to shift and buckle - forming what geologists call the deepest ditch in the world. It is an inhospitable place. Temperatures on the valley floor can reach 118 degrees. Hot dry winds can gust up to 50 miles an hour. There are areas of overgrown jungles of willow, bamboo, oleander, acacia, and thorn bushes. At one time hippos, rhinos, lions, and elephants thrived in this place. In the first century it was overpopulated with jackals, hyenas, and fox. The Jordan’s deep waters were swift. Whirlpools and rocky ledges made it impossible to navigate. The river acted as a barrier between two regions – a dreaded barrier, whose crossing could be deadly.
It was here on the banks of this wilderness river that John became a human bridge. The bridge over which all people could cross,,, from the old to the new…from what was -to what was to be…from waiting for an ancient promise -to its fulfillment…a bridge that would take us from sin to repentance. At the Jordan, lives were forever changed – as people left the old life behind them on one bank, and climbed up the other – a new creation. For those who had waited …and taken the time to prepare for the Messiah…this river was the perfect place. A barrier river that marked the crossing of Joshua and the Israelites into the promised land…a potentially deadly river that now gave life to all who heeded this voice’s call to repentance, and entered its baptismal waters.
Talk of repentance doesn’t sit well with us at this time of year. We prefer the merrier festive kind of season – over this season of Advent which steers us in a more serious direction. We don’t want to be bothered, certainly we don’t want to be reminded – that part of our preparation for Christ’s arrival has to do with repentance. Just the word repentance makes us uncomfortable. First off, to repent one would have to list all those sins. And when we think about all those sins they only manage to make us feel things we don’t want to feel - like guilt, sorrow, shame and remorse.
I suppose all that twisting and turning and wringing of hands is normal human behavior. But whatever it is it’s not repentance. Repentance is turning away from sinful things and turning toward Godly things. As Advent invites us to wait and prepare, so John invites us to repent.
Here and now in this Advent season, we have received a very gracious invitation to align our will more closely with God’s will…to live more fully in Christ’s light. An invitation …to be made new…to be rid of the things that tie us to this world…so that we can be open and ready to receive the transforming power of God.
There is this voice. Still today, it breaks into our history. It cuts through the wild, wilderness, inhospitable places of our lives, and echoes down over the ages…inviting us to prepare our hearts for that which is coming…for so wonderous a gift that we cannot even begin to imagine. Here and now we are invited to share in the promise = of life - abundant, redeemed, eternal.

Choosing Advent

2010-12-13T08:29:00.001-05:00

Sunday, November 28, 2010

So…what are you doing for Advent? You know that season of the church that leads us to Jesus’ birth…the one we prefer to jump right over so we can hurry up and get to Christmas…You know that Advent season…the one we’ve turned into a countdown of shopping days.
So…what are you doing for the season of Advent….that will be different from what you’ve done in the past? Perhaps, we could think about doing what we are supposed to do during Advent === which is to wait and prepare. Wait for Jesus’ birth and prepare for His return.
And on this very first day of Advent, when the sanctuary smells like pine, the candle of hope has been lit, and the Chrismon tree is all lit up, we’re thinking pretty positively about that waiting and preparing thing. Yes, (we say) this year while I wait for Jesus to be born, I’ll actually think about lowly shepherds and messenger angels. While I wait, I’ll ponder – like Mary pondered - all the things she was told about her soon-to-be-born son. I’ll try to imagine the things that filled the hearts of a teenage mom and a silent Joseph. I’ll reflect on a manger and a Messiah, and wonder what a multitude of heavenly hosts sound like.
And this Advent Season I will prepare. I’ll give myself a discipline – like reading scripture or a devotional…and, I’ll do that every day…or, I could keep a journal, see to it that I set aside time for prayer. I’ll ask myself that hard question – am I prepared for the unexpected hour when the Son of Man returns.
This year, I’ll do something different ….I’ll actually take time to contemplate Advent’s wonder, its mystery, and the message it holds for me.
We say…until waiting and preparing are forgotten and we get into the rush. Through stores and on-line catalogs…drive thru windows at banks and Burger Kings… wrapping paper…address books…cookie tins, and strands of twinkling lights. Our pace gets ever quicker – more stores, more lists, one more gift, one more stocking stuffer. We run at break neck speed right up to the final days of the season. And then …we wonder why the days of Advent haven’t made us feel any differently than we feel on any other day of the year.
But…isn’t Advent, -- the waiting for the birth of the Messiah, the promise fulfilled, the light in the darkness, the second coming of Christ supposed to have some kind of affect on us and our lives? Isn’t the waiting and preparing supposed to make us feel differently? Does anyone feel deep down inside that instead of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of this season….we’d like to feel different? Is there any thought at all that what we’d really like to be is…transformed? Of course there is, we share that sentiment with others all the time.
I want to know God better. I want to feel closer to Him. I want to model Christ for my children. I want my children to know the Bible. I want to know the Bible. I want to pray. I want to share my gifts. I want to let go of the hard feelings and judgments….and replace them with joy, kindness, and tolerance. I want to feel forgiven and loved. I want to feel accepted, healed, and whole. Yes, this advent season I want to be transformed…I want to spend enough time waiting and preparing that God will transform me into what God wants me to be…..but
Advent has arrived…and it is here for all of us. We can choose to experience it…or choose to do the same thing we’ve done every year before. Like this table to which we are invited – so we are invited to Advent. The table is open to all who believe - Advent is open to all who believe. No one is forced to come to this table - No one is forced to wonder, or wait or prepare in this Advent time. But …We choose to come to this table……so, perhaps we should choose to come to Advent.
New Testament teacher Mary Schertz writes: In the life of the church and its seasons…The only exclusions are self-exclusions. There will always be those who choose to remain in the crush of the world’s season…always be those who choose the trip to the mall over this journey to Bethlehem ...always those who choose to keep safe and unchanged rather than risk being made new and different by the mystery of this sacred season.
But …by the grace of God…there will be those who choose to come along. Though perhaps only a few, there will be those who choose to wait and prepare …those who choose to ponder first days and last days and unexpected hours…who choose to envision peace among nations and peace within themselves…
For those who choose Advent…there will surely be transformation.

This Versus That

2010-12-13T08:28:00.001-05:00

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Sadduces had a question. …about marriage….or maybe it was about having many marriages. Well, now that we think about it, maybe the question was about the eternal soul of a woman who was passed from brother to brother, or it could be that the Sadduces wanted to make sure a 7-time widow would have a place in heaven.
No. What the Sadduces did was concoct an unlikely situation and ask a ridiculous question…in an attempt to discredit and humiliate Jesus, so that the crowds would doubt his understanding and authority on the subject. What the Sadduces pretended to want to know was which marriage will be considered valid in the resurrection – which one of the 7 husbands will this woman belong to in the resurrection. But, in truth, the Sadduces had absolutely no interest in an answer.
And Jesus knew that …because – the Sadduces didn’t even believe in resurrection. Whatever answer they may have been waiting for …Jesus refused to play into their little game of words, and never bothered to give them an answer.

Throughout all the gospels, Jesus’ concern is not with earthly things, but with heavenly things. Here, Jesus is not interested in delving into the Levitical laws concerning marriage. Instead, Jesus turns the tables and uses this opportunity to teach. – Not about laws or rules, not about marriages or widows, not about life in this age, but about life in that age.
The bigger message we take away from this passage can be found in our reading from Isaiah. ‘For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.’ Neither the prophet nor Jesus is talking about the world we know, or the rules we live by, or the laws of government, society, or religion. Jesus and Isaiah are talking about things of another world, another time. Not in this age, but in that age – which is to come – the things of man and earth will disappear…and in its place there will be joy and delight, long life, shelter, food, work, blessing, the presence of God, answered prayers, harmony, and peace. And the Messiah wants us to know that none of these things has to do with our status - like being married or not. This new heaven and new earth includes all of God’s creation.
Just think…all the scrapping and scolding that go on in this age…all the jockeying for position, every attempt to put someone down, or leave someone out…or discriminate against…will be in vain. Every time we manipulate God’s holy word to justify our beliefs, or promote our personal agenda …every time we, like the Sadduces, cling to the letter of the law, instead of living by the spirit of the law… we can rest assured that … ultimately.. our efforts will be futile.
The thought of this may bring great distress to some people – those who - like the priestly, aristocratic Sadduces, believe that only they have the right reading of scripture… that they - more than others - know the heart and the mind of God…having convinced themselves that their ways and their thoughts are right up there with the God who is sovereign over all things.
But for others, the mere thought that all the horror and injustice in this age – would not be remembered or brought to mind…the thought that earthly things like greed and prejudice, incivility and disrespect would be considered ‘former things”… the promise of a new heaven and a new earth = where God’s children are His delight --are the things that keep us looking forward to that age.

Are These Stones Shouting?

2010-11-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Solomon’s Temple – about 100 feet long, 30 feet wide, built on a 10 foot tall platform, made of polished white limestone, inlaid with gold, cypress floors, cedar beams, an altar – 17 feet high, a bath for ceremonial washings, made of brass and able to hold 10,000 gallons of water perched atop 12 molded metal bulls, gardens and 30 foot doors, courts and porticos, stairways and pillars. Solomon’s Temple …..destroyed.
It is highly unlikely that those who returned to Jerusalem ever actually saw Solomon’s temple, but it is likely that they heard stories about it. Those stories would be the memories their grandparents and parents handed down to them – in the hopes of keeping them connected to their history and traditions..and their faith.
And upon their return, these exiles looked for the lovely dwelling place of the Lord…and saw the charred crumbling rubble, so utterly destroyed that Isaiah referred to what was left as a wilderness of thorns and briars. They stared at the outline of what was left of the Temple, stared at it every day, and believed they were powerless to do anything about it. And so they didn’t.
This people who were sent into exile because they put themselves and their personal desires before God – this people who were given yet another chance to come home and live as God’s chosen people – were doing it again. Focusing on themselves, and ignoring God.
But in fairness, it would be normal that at first they would want to put their households back together…normal to search for work, return to their business or craft…normal to look for family or friends who had remained in Jerusalem. But it went on for too long.
The Babylonian exile had been over for years, and still the Lord’s house lay in pieces. Were they overwhelmed with the enormity of the job of rebuilding…were they disinterested…did they believe that the Temple was a thing of the past…had they lost their faith…were they too busy with other things to be bothered?
Those are the very same questions the Church asks today. Are churches closing their doors because the enormity of the task of reclaiming, rethinking, retooling, and rebuilding the church is too overwhelming? Church membership continues to decline, so are the people disinterested… have they lost their faith? Are the pews looking emptier with every passing week because the people believe the church is a thing of the past…or because they are too busy with everything else to be bothered.
And so what happened – Haggai rallies the people and they set about to rebuild the temple. They get all excited, they assign tasks, make lists, go over the building plans, the women get together and cook up hearty he-man meals, and everyone stays up late to review the day’s progress and plan for tomorrow. And after a time, they stand back to appraise their hard work. Oh, it is a very far cry from the former glory of the Temple that once stood. Actually, it’s pitiful. Not much more than mudbricks and straw – it seems as nothing in their sight. Like the church, we try to figure out how to be mainstream. We have bunches of meetings, make up new logos, and slogans, we call ourselves welcoming, missional, inclusive, confessional, liberal, conservative, reformed. We get excited about new hymnals and curriculum, new staff members and new leaders, new volunteers and new programs. We go on-line, advertise, encourage, promote. And we stand back only to find that the response is not what we had hoped it would be, or it isn’t working out like we wanted it to, or like it was when we were kids…We step back and see enthusiasm turn to disinterest. And we see mudbricks and straw. And it does feel futile, and it does feel like we are not producing good fruit, and we don’t feel like we are making any progress, or being anything like what the world calls successful. And so with drooping hands and weak knees we are overwhelmed with the task of rebuilding the church to its former glory.
And much like those returning exiles, the vision of what the church could be again escapes us. And when it gets like that, we’ll agree with the exiles, it easier to stare at the pile of stone that once was the Temple – eventually getting used to the scenery – eventually just walking right on past…it’s easier than taking up the work that needs to be done to reclaim, retool, rethink, and rebuild Christ’s church.
Then Haggai looked out and spoke God’s words to this disheartened people, “Take courage all you people of the land. Work, for I am with you. My spirit abides among you, do not fear. There will be a day, when many will come, and I will fill this house, and you will be grand once more.
But in the meantime, we are called to be a people with faith believing that with God all things are possible, a people whose faith has proven that through the Holy Spirit we will do far greater things than have already been done.
Haggai’s call for the people to physically rebuild the Temple, represents more than just a construction project. It is Haggai’s call for the people to reorient their lives…to put God above all things…to witness to God’s grace and goodness…his blessings, his constant presence, and their deliverance.
It may be that we do sit in the midst of a smaller fellowship of believers than we did a few years back…maybe that we worry over the dwindling number of laborers for so great a harvest…may be that we don’t understand how we got to this place, or how to get out of it. But… Regardless of the mudbricks and straw we may see today, we are the church, called to witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Gathered to commit time, talent and resources to Christ’s church. Commissioned to be conscious and intentional about serving the world.
It was Haggai who rallied the people to rebuild a Temple made of stone. And it was Jesus who told the established order, that if the disciples stopped praising God’s powerful deeds, the very stones would shout out. Now the question we ask ourselves today is, Are these stones shouting?

This Little Light Of Mine

2010-11-10T10:18:00.001-05:00

Sunday, October 24, 2010

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. But it was not my light, it was the lights of the church.
Lights on in the hallway, the kitchen, the office, upstairs, and the outside middle door. Our Bible study had just ended when the doors opened and slammed shut and we heard a distant hello, hello. We yelled out, We’re upstairs. And again we heard Hello, Hello.
Now who is it that keeps saying hello hello, when we just told them that we were upstairs? Exasperated with whoever it was who couldn’t find us, I went downstairs. And there she was – on this 40 degree evening – with a sweater and jeans and flip-flops, shivering and out of breath from carrying a 30 pound duffle bag – filled with every belonging she had. She asked if she could call a person she knew in White Sulphur Springs. But there was no answer, and so she left a message. And I was so aggravated. It was already 8:00, I was ready to end my day, and I still needed to make supper. And supper was going to be my favorite comfort food – hamburgers, mashed potatoes, corn and lots of gravy. Now that wasn’t going to happen, cuz I had this woman in my office, and what was I to do with her? Deep breath, you’re the church, I said to myself, it’s dark out and she saw our lights on. Deep breath, she’s here obviously and only because there is no place else for her to go. And you are the church.
She had left an abusive husband in Ohio a few weeks earlier; a stay at a friend’s house wasn’t working out. She walked to Vago Road and then to 219…to the Clifton lights. And now here she was, pale and still out of breath, and looking a thousand times more exasperated and frustrated than me. She squatted down on the floor of my office –tried to make herself small, so as not to take up too much room. She finally accepted my offer to sit on a chair. And we talked. I asked her questions, she answered with a yes ma’am and a no ma’am. She was born and raised in Texas, an only child, her dad died young and her mother moved to White Sulphur Springs, but mom had died a year ago. There were no children, no relatives, abusive husbands keep their wives isolated and under their control – she had no real friends - not in Texas or Ohio..and here she only had acquaintances through her now deceased mother. But she said…she was glad to be warm, glad to be off the road and safe, glad that the lights were on at the church. I made phone calls and we found a place for her to stay. I went to get my car, and told her to stay safe inside. She said that if I didn’t trust her, I could lock her outside; she said if I didn’t want to take her down the road, she could walk, or I could drop her off at the ramp to I-64. We got in the car and I asked her when was the last time she ate – it was more than 24 hours – her favorite was Arby’s – a Junior roast beef, curly fries and a medium coke - $4.69, she apologized because it was too much money for me to spend on her. I gave her my phone number, I wanted to know what tomorrow would bring.
The next day the folks at the agency who helped us out told me she had left. That she didn’t take them up on any of their offers of help and so they dropped her off where she told them to and left her there. When I asked where that was, I was told they really didn’t know. Another local agency told me these kind people don’t want to stay in one place, they want to roam around, they knew how to find places to sleep outside, told me that it was cheaper to give these people a bus ticket instead of a motel room. Told me it was a nice sunny day and rain was not in the forecast for two more days, and she’d be fine to walk wherever it was she was going. Another agency told me she was probably schizophrenic or bipolar. I was told I was probably just trying to feel good about myself, that perhaps I saw myself as this woman’s rescuing angel, that I needed to understand I was trying to fulfill some kind of Christian conscience thing.
I didn’t want to believe any of that, but well, maybe those who dealt with ‘these kind of people” knew best. It didn’t feel like it, but maybe I was trying to make this person different that all those others. And then my phone rang. It was her – and not much of anything any of those agencies had told me was true. She had taken them up on their offer, and another agency was able to help. The most exciting news ever, she said was that she had be given two nights in a local motel.
I took her food that didn’t need to be refrigerated, shampoo and conditioner, and winter clothes I had grown out of. And we sat in her room and talked. Two years at Lamar College in Texas, a young first marriage that didn’t work out, jobs as a waitress, and the second husband and now this. She told me she really was a normal person, she confessed that she did take some medicine so she doesn’t have panic attacks, and then reminded me that even Paula Dean had been diagnosed with panic attacks. She told me about her close relationship with her mom, how she read the bible and understood it and prayed and when she did pray, things turned out alright. She promised to call me the next day.
And she did. So excited, she was able to stay in the hotel room a whole week, and had a couple of appointments with people who might be able to help her. I brought her some baked chicken and scalloped potatoes for supper. She opened the door and I had to look twice. It was her, but it wasn’t her. Well it wasn’t the pale cold tired scared woman who squatted on the floor of my office 48 hours before. She had taken full advantage of the shower. She had taken her hair down from the knot on the top of her head, washed and blown dry, she had the most beautiful curly deep auburn hair, and blue eyes like ice, make up and lip stick and she was… very pretty. She was clean and rested and looked like a million bucks. She was animated and laughing and quite full of herself. She had a good day. And we talked some more. And she thanked me for being her friend.
And I read Joel’s words to a people who will be delivered from exile, delivered from a life of alienation and sadness, delivered from a life of broken hearts and desperation. I heard Joel tell a people whose lives had turned sour that God’s promise for a good life was still alive, despite what it felt like and looked like today. I heard Joel speak of a good harvest, food to eat, and the Spirit of God poured out, splashing down, forming puddles at our feet and soaking us through to our skin. I heard God speak to us of a hope and a future…and I think of Kelly. And how three days, a mere 72 hours had changed her appearance, her attitude, her outlook, and gave her hope for something other than walking up Vago Road in the dark with 30 pounds of luggage on her back. A bit of care and attention, and she was no longer one of those people, but a person with a story and a sense of humor and a hope…she is God’s child, a person, a woman - just like me. I know God delivered a whole nation, but I believe I have witnessed God’s deliverance of a single hurting human being.
God instructed Moses to designate six cities for those seeking refuge. Churches were known to be places of refuge, protection, and safety. From Christianity’s beginnings through today, churches have provided sanctuary to soldiers on enemy territory, criminals, run-away slaves, and immigrants. More and more in this age, churches believe themselves to be called to a mission of sanctuary – establishing soup kitchens, providing meals for the hungry. Some churches have opened up their floor space and bathrooms to the transients and the homeless; some provide adult day care; medical care, counseling, and some provide a safe place for battered and abused women.
Like the bridesmaids who remembered to bring oil for their lamps, who in the middle of the night, were able to greet and lead the bridegroom to the wedding banquet, so on Wednesday night Clifton’s lights were burning, they signaled an invitation, they offered the hope of refuge and safety….and a bit of sanctuary was provided for one in need. This little light, we’re gonna let it shine.

But We Keep On

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The widow cried out for justice. We are not told the nature of the injustice, or how long she suffered. What we are told is that the widow cried out for a long time….long enough to be a real source of annoyance to a judge…long enough to wear him down.
The image that comes to mind is that of our modern day court room, where those seeking justice stand before the bench to await the verdict. We might imagine this poor and beaten down widow repeatedly asking for an audience before the judge, and every time she appeared before him, crying out her case, crying out against her oppressor; crying out for the retribution she believed she deserved, crying out to the man who had the power to grant her request.
But our imagination would be wrong. If she were to appear before anyone, it would be the lesser court of the Sanhedrin – consisting of 23 priests and judges. That is - if she were to appear, but she wouldn’t, because the widow was a widow and a woman, she would not be allowed in public without a man, not be allowed in a public forum, not be allowed to speak to a man – surely not a man of authority, truthfully, she wouldn’t even be allowed in a courtroom. It would be more likely that the widow called out from behind the lattice work of a window in her home. Perhaps when the judge was walking by…and he was probably not even able to see the widow. But after days, maybe months, or more - of her yelling out into the street, in front of all the passers-by, the judge who didn’t want to be bothered or worn out, finally granted her justice.
Some say that the parable is about praying. About praying so hard, and so long, so loud, and so continuously - that you will be able to change the outcome of something, that you will change God’s mind. That if you are faithful enough – or annoying enough - to keep the praying going for as long as it takes - that you will get what you want. That is not always true. We all know, there are times when no matter the number of prayers, things don’t go the way we want them to.
Well, – that opens up a whole new can of worms - cuz when prayers don’t get the results you want, – someone will say – you’re not praying rightly. Your prayer isn’t good enough, the prayer isn’t said correctly, the prayer doesn’t take on the proper form, the prayer isn’t from the heart, the prayer won’t work because you’re distracted, not in tune with God, not living the life God wants you to live – cuz everyone know that if you were living rightly, you’d know how to pray rightly. But we keep on praying.
I wonder if the practice of prayer hasn’t become a bit tainted by our culture. We like the quick fix, the drive-through experience – have it your way - place your order at one window and pick it up at the next. We get upset when our prayer order isn’t filled correctly. We get impatient when we have to wait too long at the prayer pick-up window. What we do like, are success stories, wishes come true, and happy endings. And our culture has brainwashed us into thinking that even in prayer, we deserve nothing but the best …of everything...right now. But we keep on praying.
Prayer can be baffling. Sometimes you know God is right there with you. Other times, our prayers seem to get stuck on the ceiling. Prayer has the power to bring us relief, courage, resolve, or confusion, emptiness, and surrender.
But here’s the thing – we keep on praying, yelling them, whispering them, singing them, thinking them. Crying out our case, crying out against life’s injustice, crying out for the answer we believe we deserve, crying out to the One who we believe has the power to grant our request.
Some say the parable is about praying. But I believe it’s about persistence. Not persistence in prayer – but the persistence of the human heart. Hearts, though broken, keep on believing that all things are possible with God. Hearts, though surrounded by the ugliness of the world, keep on believing there is a better way to live, and live with one another. The human heart whose hopes are dashed so many times in this life, discovers that no matter the darkness, it will continually seek the light. The human heart, created in the image of God’s heart…will forever hope, and hope courageously, and persistently.
Jesus said, never lose heart…and so…we keep on…….praying .

Living On The Edge

2010-10-20T07:59:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 10, 2010

In 597 BC, the city of Jerusalem fell to King Nebuchadnezzar. Eleven years later, his army returned to destroy what was left.
Both times, Israelites were taken into captivity. And that captivity set into motion a major change in how the Israelites understood their participation in God’s plan…that captivity shed a bit more light on the nature of God.
God was the God of Israel – God’s home was in the Temple in Jerusalem. And they were in Babylon. And according to their belief, God could not be found in a foreign land. It was pretty clear to the Israelites that God had abandoned them, and they came to the conclusion that they were no longer God’s people; that God was no longer their God.
But good news - the Prophet Hananiah brought them good news. Babylon is about to collapse…You’ll be out of this place in two years – guaranteed. Pretty soon you’ll be back home in Jerusalem…and not only that, all the stuff from the Temple, the great columns, the holy vessels, the lamp stands and basins…all will be returned. Trust me. When you get home – everything will be just the way it was.
Now that’s a prophecy we can live with -- said the Israelites. And, of course it was. When times are tough, when you can’t see God’s hand in God’s plan, when what you knew about your world is turned upside down …the prophecy we can live with is the one that brings us good news. The one that promised the Israelites that very soon, everything would be back to normal.
Enter Jeremiah. The prophet who they wanted to shut up. The prophet who they wished would leave town. The prophet who they called a false prophet…because the prophecy he told was anything but good news. You are not going to get out of here alive. 70 years is how long you will remain in exile... a generation or two will pass away before you return home. // //// And if that hope-smashing news wasn’t enough, Jeremiah told them to do the unthinkable. He told them to stop holding on to a memory…told them to get a grip on reality…cuz they weren’t going anywhere, and they certainly weren’t going back…instead of reminiscing…it was time to look to the future…to build houses, plant gardens, get married, have children…. and worship God. Yeah that’s right - worship God – right there in Babylon. Because you see, Jeremiah told them, God isn’t bound by the borders that you human beings have put in place. God is not limited to Jerusalem – in truth, God is with you in this foreign land just as he was back home. And then there was this: the false prophet Jeremiah told them to seek the welfare of the place where they were exiled, and to pray for Babylon! Impossible, out of the question - said the Israelites. Put down roots in foreign Babylon…pray for the enemy? If we were foolish enough to listen to Jeremiah, that would mean…we’d have to think differently – about ourselves, and others, and the world. And that would mean we’d have to think differently about God – about who God is -- and who God wants us to be in the world. And that would mean we’d have to change.
Fast forward a few thousand years… The church is living on the edge – of change. Feels sometimes like we’re sitting in a foreign land, wondering if we’ve been abandoned, hoping that all those rumors and statistics about the decline of the church are the words of some false Presbyterian prophet. I recently read that in some respects the church is living in a sort of exile. We are no longer mainstream, our values are questioned, our beliefs are ridiculed, we worry about our future and right now we just can’t figure out how to be who we are supposed to be in the world. Like the Israelites, it is with great reluctance that we realize we cannot return to the way it used to be. And like them, it is with great trepidation that we grapple with some new and unknown direction in which God is leading us.
Now the prophecy we can live with is the one that brings us good news – the one that tells us soon everything will go back to the way it used to be.
But since we believe that Scripture speaks to us in all places and throughout all of time, it is not good-news-Hananiah to whom we listen, but Jeremiah. For good or for bad, he is God’s true prophet.
So, we let go of what once was, and reckon with the changes that confront us. We live with open eyes and enough wiggle room to see the possibilities that come with God’s promise to do a new thing. We trust that Christ’s church will be what Christ wants her to be, despite our best efforts to make her in our own image. And then we lay aside every fear, anxiety, and discomfort about where we are headed, for truly as God was with his people in both Jerusalem and Babylon, God will be with us and with Christ’s church, guiding us – even as we live on the edge…of change.

The Word Is . . .

2010-10-20T07:58:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The word is compassion. When we have sympathy for another person’s suffering….but more than having sympathy – compassion is when we are aware of their suffering and feel that we want to relieve it.
The Hebrew word for compassion has its roots in the word womb – expressing a mother’s devotion to her helpless newborn...where that devotion is witnessed through acts of love. It is a desire to bring security to another person’s life. It is very interesting – that in the Old Testament – the word compassion never expresses a human emotion. In the Old Testament it is only God who is capable of feeling and showing compassion – and always for his people
The Greeks didn’t really have a word for compassion. They did have a word for when the audience was able to relate to the emotions of an actor in a play…and another word for the feeling a lawyer could evoke from a judge when arguing his case. The closest the Greeks could come to the word compassion – was courage – not very close at all. It is not known exactly when the Greek culture began to think that compassion was something akin to mercy – but we do know that it happened around the time Jesus was preaching and teaching.
Compassion was something the rich man did not have. The exaggerated descriptions in the parable only stress the chasm that existed between the two men. The rich man - Dressed in purple – a royal color; and fine linen; eating sumptuously every day; safely behind the gate that surrounded his home. //// If we read the verb correctly, the other man in the parable - Lazarus did not lay at the gate, but was dumped off at the gate, not once but over and over again, where stray dogs licked his wounds, while he longed to eat what the rich man threw under the table – as it was the custom at that time to use a chunk of bread to wipe the grease off your hands and throw it under the table like trash. And even though the two men’s lives were connected in this way for all these days ….. the rich man never paid Lazarus the least bit of attention – never, not even one time.
Still and all, Scripture does not list a number of charges against the rich man. We are not told that he was evil or a criminal, not a bully, or a horrible mean person. The rich man is not condemned because of the things he did...quite the contrary, he is condemned for doing absolutely nothing. He is condemned for being aloof…for being self-absorbed – so much so that he didn’t notice another man’s suffering. Concerned only with his own comforts, the rich man was never able to see Lazarus as a human being – and surely not one who was worth his time or attention. But then few - if any who lived at that time -= would think someone like Lazarus was worth their time either. Until Jesus told the parable.
A parable is more than a story with a lesson – a parable has the power to open our eyes to new possibilities. The possibility that the Greeks would come to understand something called compassion. The possibility that over the centuries, compassion would no longer be an emotion belonging to God alone, but that through Christ, a people could lay claim to it. The possibility that this people would share their understanding of compassion with others….the possibility that all people would possess and extend compassion.
Today compassion extends beyond the acknowledgement and feeding of a diseased beggar thrown at our door. Because the Word was made flesh in Jesus Christ, we are called to be compassionate in all our living… compassionate in our service to all manner of people, to show that compassion in our words and our actions. Do we believe ourselves to be compassionate when we give our money to others, to organizations, or causes – when =at the same time = we cannot exchange a civil word with our neighbor, cannot allow someone to have a different opinion than ours? Do we believe we are being compassionate when we serve others, but mistreat our families, judge the person in the next pew, or contribute to gossip that demeans another human being.
Every page of Scripture speaks to us about relationships. With parents, children, employees, employers, spouse, foreigner, enemy, neighbor, relationships with leaders, the lost, the runaway, the sojourner, our church family….and our relationship with God. And it is our relationship with a compassionate God that must inform the nature of our relationships with every other person on the face of the planet. More than sympathy from a distance…we are claimed and called and commissioned by Christ to love one another. This is how they will come to know that we are his disciples … The word is compassion.

A Leap Or A Walk

2010-09-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 19

We’ve heard it said a lot over the years. Seems like there are times when we hear it more frequently. From members and friends of the church:
They say ‘I don‘t know what I’d do without my church…Don’t know how I’d get by without these people in this congregation….And it makes me wonder…how do other people – who don’t belong to a church - get through the tough times?
And then the person names that thing in their life that makes them grateful for their church family.
Health problems, nursing homes, operations… caring for aging parents, divorce, worries about children and grandchildren…job loss, finances, the death of a loved one….
Probably true that we don’t think about it much when times are good…but when our emotions are stretched past what is comfortable…when we endure physical challenges…when mind and spirit are tested in ways we never dreamed of…when things happen to us that we couldn’t imagine happening to us – in those times – we come to realize how important it is to have the support of our faith community.
Sometimes they bring us meals, sometimes they sit with us, sometimes they give us a break from family responsibilities, or a pep talk, a reality check, a hug, or much needed advice – sometimes they guide us through life’s torrential storms because they’ve already navigated those waters – other times they are just there with us, quietly knowing exactly what we are feeling. In times of crisis, heartbreak, fear, and despair – in those times when our faith waivers, it is our church family who sees us through. And more often than not, it is not even our faith, but the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ which holds us up, keeps us going, strengthens and heals us.
We’ve all heard that some circumstances in life call for a leap of faith. When we let people know that we’re running on empty, and they stand by us, encourage us, and do everything they can to get our faith motors chugging along once again…I have found that it’s never my faith at work – it’s theirs. I have also discovered that if I want to get moving again on my faith journey, I’d be wise to gather up the faith of all those other people, and hold on to what they give me…trusting that though I may be weak in the knees – they are not….trusting that they know what they are talking about when I am stuck in the dark...and when I trust all of that enough ……then I trust enough o take that big leap.
But just the other day – I read this: Faith is not so much about a big leap…Faith is more about taking one more step…When the distance between you and God feels too far to travel…then Faith is more about putting one faithless foot in front of the other… over and over and over again.
We think a lot of the Bible patriarchs; think that they, as well as the disciples, and especially Paul were somehow made of stronger stuff than us. But we need to listen as the Psalmist describes his plight – encompassed by the snares of death; Sheol had laid hold of him; distressed and filled with anguish, feet stumbling, tears running down his face, brought so very low that he had nothing left but to pray – O Lord, save my life. And the Letter to the Hebrews tell us that it took faith for Noah to build an ark for an event as yet unseen; took faith for Abraham to leave home and travel to a foreign land; faith to expect a son; and faith to sacrifice him; took faith for Moses to go against the most powerful man on earth in order to free a few slaves and wander a wilderness. And we know that everyone of them struggled mightily with that faith. Not made of stronger stuff than us – made of the same stuff as us. Noah waited a long time to find dry land; Abraham spent many years worrying about an heir; and Moses – after all his work and sacrifice and struggle – never did see the fruit of his labors – as he died on this side of the promised land. But every day – when they had no idea of what that day would bring - they put one faithless foot in front of the other.
Thirty years ago I found what I thought was a saying. The words were very beautifully printed on a 4x6 card. The words were so meaningful to me at that time, that I put that card on my apartment door – and read it every single time I went out the door. Not being particularly familiar with Scripture….imagine my surprise when I read those words in the Bible. The verse sustained me then…and I believe in tough times, it has the power to sustain us all. Because faith is not so much a leap, but a walk of one more step…..the end of our verses in Hebrews reads: Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed. May it always be so.

Philemon’s Dilemma

2010-09-15T10:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Onesimus has run away. And it is likely that he fled to Rome. And somehow in that city, Onesimus met the apostle Paul. There are any number of possibilities for the circumstances of their meeting, but it seems likely that these two met in prison, where they became friends. But more than friends - for Paul writes that Onesimus had become like a son to him. Because of their friendship and because Onesimus could be a help to Paul…it was necessary for Paul to write a letter.
And he wrote a letter unlike any of his other letters, this one was a personal correspondence to a man named Philemon, who Paul knew, converted, and called a dear friend and co-worker. A man who lived in Colossae, who owned the house where the church met, who most likely was the leader of that church…and was the man - who most definitely – owned the run away slave, Onesimus.
The nature of Paul’s letter was this: Onesimus was a slave – now a believer in Jesus Christ – or as Paul put it – a brother in Christ – to Paul…and every other believer…which meant that the run away slave was also a brother in Christ to the very man who owned him. And that made all the difference in the world – for it Paul who said there is no longer Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave nor free. Now Paul had the authority to command his friend Philemon to free the slave, but instead Paul appealed to his friend’s Christian convictions – for Philemon -to not only free Onesimus, but to welcome him in the same way he would welcome Paul himself.
Paul is asking the slave owner to change his ways. Not only his ways, but his thinking, his acting, his way of seeing the world, and his way of living in the world. Paul is asking Philemon to have a change of heart. Paul is asking Philemon to put his faith into action.
Slavery was perfectly acceptable and legal in Philemon’s lifetime – so would the slave owner hold on to the long-standing customs of his culture, or would he risk stepping out and away from them?
Beating, maiming, or even killing was the appropriate and expected punishment for a returned run-away slave – would Philemon have the decency to depart from that practice?
A man who must have been of some means, could Philemon lower himself enough to forgive Onesimus for running away…could he overlook the fact that Onesimus made him look bad in front of his community…
and would the slave-owner suddenly be able to muster up enough love and care for a slave – that he could actually welcome him back home?
Philemon may have heard it, may have said it, but did he honestly believe that in Christ there is no longer, slave nor free? Believe it so that he could actually act upon it and live it? We do not know if Philemon’s belief in Jesus Christ was enough to change his heart.
In his defense…and perhaps in ours….Some things a person just can’t do by themselves. Some things need the heavy guiding hand of God – or so says the prophet Jeremiah. “Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand” says the Lord.
If you have ever worked with clay on a potter’s wheel, you will know that it is hard work.
you pick up a chunk of clay and throw it down really hard. You keep picking up the clay and slamming it down on the wheel for a good while in an attempt to get all the air bubbles out of the clay.
And you cup your hands together really tightly and push down on the hunk of clay until it becomes a nice round dome.
While the wheel is spinning – your thumbs are pressing down and out gouging out the middle of the clay and your hands are pushing in to form the walls of your vase or a cup or a bowl, while at the same time your hands are pulling up on the clay for height
Too much pressure on one side or another and the vase is crooked; a thumb gouging too deeply goes through the bottom of the bowl; hands pressing in too hard or not pressing hard enough makes for the wall of your tea cup to be too thin or not thin enough. If the clay is too wet or too dry and the piece you are making will fall apart in your hands.
You press and pull and pinch and squeeze – you literally force the clay to become something it could never be if it weren’t for your hands.
And when it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to – you smash it down, fold it over on itself, scrape it off the wheel…throw it back down…and the potter begins again.
“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. And God asks “Can I not do with you, just as this potter has done?”
How very difficult it is for us to walk in the ways of righteousness…how difficult it is to truly live Christ’s commandment to love one another as He has loved us. Who are the groups of people that we are afraid of…which ones aren’t good enough for us…not welcome in our home, our place of work, our church…who are the ones who we ridicule, ignore, refuse to tolerate? Do we continue to build walls, continue to patch up the ones we’ve been told to destroy? What prejudices have found a good and comfortable home in our hearts? And why, as Christians, haven’t we cleaned house?
Philemon’s dilemma is our dilemma. Because… we believe in the God who talks about being a light to the nations, releasing the captives, restoring the sight to the blind, and freeing the oppressed. Philemon’s dilemma is our dilemma. Because we follow a Messiah who came to make those things happen…and has asked us to help. Philemon’s dilemma is our dilemma. Because the call to truly live as a Christian challenges us on every level.
Because Christ introduces a new way of being in the world….the questions Philemon was forced to ask himself, are the same questions we must ask ourselves.
Are we willing to let go of those things that stand in direct opposition to the radical teachings of the gospel?
Are we open and ready to have the heavy and guiding hand of God push and pull and pound and mold us until we are the reworked vessel that seems good to God?
Can we do what Paul asked of Philemon – can we be the ones who extend our hands in Christian love to all manner of people…
And if we are open willing and ready for the changes required …might we be just a tiny bit closer to the image and glory of God.

The Great Disconnect

2010-08-09T09:57:00.001-04:00

Sunday, August 8, 2010

We get upset when people make fun of our religion. We get especially upset when people call us hypocrites. When they say we confess all our sins, so that we can start sinning all over again by the time we go to lunch. When they say that we worship only to make nice with God and then the minute we walk out of church we are as violent and hateful and miserable as all those people who sleep in on Sunday morning.
But all those journalists, and talk show hosts, and authors are standing way way way at the back of the line of critics. You see, God got there first. In the very first chapter of Isaiah, what does God do – but criticize all those people who worship him…and accuse them of being hypocrites.
The hundreds of animals sacrificed on a daily basis do no good; the burnt offerings mean nothing; the incense, the gatherings, the festivals are detestable. The ceremonies have become tedious; God won’t tolerate them any longer. Because the way God saw it, the people were just going through the motions.
They showed up to worship because they thought it’s what they were supposed to do; because they were afraid that God would punish them if they didn’t; because it was their weekly responsibility; because they were trying to impress the next guy with their piety. Isaiah says, If that’s why your showing up …well you’re doing something,,,,but whatever it is you are doing…it ain’t worshiping God.
Worshiping God wasn’t about how many animal sacrifices you could afford, or how many times a year you were able to afford them. It wasn’t about how much incense made its way to heaven. It wasn’t about the elaborate festivals, or how loudly and enthusiastically you prayed.
There was a mother daughter team who were members of church I once attended. Every Sunday it was a total new ensemble, and mother and daughter dressed to the nines. From the elaborate hats; the hair and make-up and expensive smelling perfumes; the furs in the winter, shoes from their latest trip to Italy or Spain, the clothes bought mostly in New York, and diamonds everywhere. They paraded in, the drama was all around them, they talked loudly, drew attention to themselves, made it known that they were in the house…and then sat down in the most prominent spot in the sanctuary. And though they did periodically seem to be worshiping, ---because I sat behind them I can tell you that I was always distracted by their chatter, their moving around to get something out of their purse or readjust their dress, their giggles, their pointing to this one or that one. Obviously, I was paying too much attention to them myself, so I confess I wasn’t worshiping either. That experience is a good reminder that the focus of worship is not you and me.
But God has still more to say. God is not only complaining about his people merely going through the motions of worship…God throws in a few more grievances. How - God asks- can you come into my House, hear my word and my teachings – and then go out into the world and continue doing evil? Do you seek justice – no…have you spent any time at all standing up for those among you who are oppressed – no…when is the last time you defended the weak and defenseless…the outcast and the powerless. Have you even thought about those people? And if not – why not? Wasn’t it part of my covenant with Abraham, that you - who are blessed - are to be a blessing to others?
This is the Great Disconnect. That we feel good about ourselves coming to church to worship God – but the motive and the reason is wrong if the motive and the reason is about us. That we are pleased with ourselves when we say we believe, say we are Christians, say we are active church goers and doers – and then we go and do nothing for anyone else. The great disconnect comes when during this hour we proclaim justice and love and peace and tolerance, and we pray for these things, and still walk out of here with our personal prejudices in tact….refusing then…. to act upon the proclamation and the prayer. Then, according to Isaiah – worship has been reduced to nothing more than lip service.
What we hear today is that if we are to glorify God, and be Christ’s disciples, then worship and how we live our lives before God are connected. It might even be that this one hour of worship in here amounts to very little when compared to how we speak, and act, and love out there.

Making Room For The Other

2010-08-04T09:35:00.001-04:00

August 1, 2010

I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord. Oh, if only the Israelites had taken those words and written them on their hearts so that they would never forget them But they didn’t. Instead, of trusting that their help would come from the Lord, they put their trust in politicians, empty promises, and military alliances with the likes of Assyria and Egypt. Instead they worshiped worthless false idols. Again Israel forgot that it was God who delivered, promised, loved, protected, and remained faithful to them. Through the prophet Hosea, God looks back over his relationship with Israel and remembers.

The male child named Ephraim who God loved. The special child who God delivered out of Egypt. The chosen child who God taught to walk, who God fed, who God bent down and picked up, and held close to his cheek.
God looked back over his relationship with Israel and remembered…but it was so long ago. /// We don’t remember our mothers holding us close while she fed us; we don’t remember the nights our fathers rocked us to sleep, or the times our parents stood over our cribs and watched us breathe. All that is lost in our subconscious somewhere – and so it was true for Israel…God’s chosen child had not been taught, the elders hadn’t bothered to hand down the faith of their fathers…and so Israel had no recollection of those early days. Because for some time now, they had become captivated by the things of the world. They ran after all that which didn’t matter – money, status, power; they became vain, threw away their moral compass, forgot that they were called to be a light to the nations and a blessing to others. Hosea writes that the people had forgotten the Law…that there was no knowledge of the Lord in the land. And the more God went after his child, the more that child went away.
God’s recourse? Every false thing that God’s people trusted – leaders, governments, foreign alliances, idols – those things would be their demise. God’s recourse for His much-loved son Ephraim -- was utter and complete destruction. And that would make utter and complete sense…. according to the law. We know that Hosea is speaking metaphorically when he refers to Israel as God’s son Ephraim , but what we don’t know is how that would be understood by those who actually heard Hosea speak. Any Jew who knew Scripture would immediately make the connection to Deuteronomy 21: which says that a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his parent’s voice, would be taken out to the elders of his city, where the men of the city shall stone him to death. So, everyone who heard Hosea’s prophesy understood that Israel’s days were numbered. But surprise…Hosea continues:
Yes, the law is clear – the son Ephraim is to be stoned to death…Israel is to be destroyed. But God is heartsick. And God struggles with the life or death decision that is before him. In utter despair God cries out, “How can I give you up…How can I hand you over?” And the God of the Old Testament breaks his own law. No, I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not destroy this child Ephraim. ….and you know why? Hosea, Verse 9 ---for I am God and not man. And I - God choose life for this rebellious and stubborn people.

There is a Hebrew idea – zimzum. It means …to make room for the other. And this idea is reserved for God. We say that God is the all in all, and as such – does not need any other. But the idea zimzum is first recognized in the creation story….when God chose to give up a piece of himself (chose to put a bit of himself on the back burner, so to speak) …to make room for the other to exist. And of course we are the other, because we are not God. This idea of God making room for the other is carried throughout the Hebrew Bible. Like in Hosea.
The example of God as parent and chosen people as children – children with whom God will keep his covenant - is a perfect example of zimzum. And if we can take the idea of zimzum and put it on a human level…then zimzum is what we do when we marry, make a friend, work with a partner, when we go to the animal shelter and bring home a dog or a cat, or name the goldfish in the bowl. We make room for the other in our lives. Zimzum is what we do when we help someone, listen to someone, wait with someone, encourage someone. We make room for the other in our busy day. Zimzum is what we do when we give our time to a principle, or a cause, or and organization, or a church, or our faith. We empty ourselves to make room in our lives for something or someone other than our own selfish little self.

We are not God – we are mortals – making room for the other in our lives, our communities, and in our churches, doesn’t come so easy for us. How do we learn zimzum…but to look to Jesus Christ. The one who emptied himself for us, relinquished divinity to take on mortality, was rejected by others so that we would know how that felt and so learn by his example to accept the other, humiliated so we would learn how that affected a person,,,and understand the importance of treating others with dignity, shamed by death on a cross so that all those who were other than him….could have life.
Room to be and to become what God wants us to be is God’s gift to us – may we make room for God in our lives…, and then let us be imitators of Christ – making room for other.

The Martha & Marry Message

2010-08-04T09:34:00.001-04:00

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Why is it that most of the time, when people read the story about Martha and Mary – they will side with Mary?
Mary wanted to be with Jesus. Mary wanted to learn. Mary sat at Jesus feet. Mary made the better choice. Be like Mary.
Martha banged around in the kitchen. Martha complained to Jesus. Martha whined about her sister. Martha was clueless. Martha made a bad choice. Don’t be like Martha.
Some have even conjured up mental pictures of these two sisters. Once I asked a group how they would describe them. It wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that many of them pictured Mary as sweet and quiet, pretty and attentive, obedient and demure. Martha took on the persona of a larger, bossy, jealous, controlling, nagging, not so pretty older sister.
For years Martha’s gotten a bad rap. In fact, I read that it was way back in 350 AD, when one theologian applauded Martha for being the perfect servant to the one who came to serve. But when you think about it… isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?
Immediately before this story, is the story of the good Samaritan. As we considered that story just last Sunday, didn’t Jesus tell us to GO AND DO? ….And, wasn’t that what Martha was doing? Wasn’t she looking out for and taking care of her guest. And, wasn’t she doing exactly what her culture expected her to do? - preparing for and serving her guest?
The surprise for us is that 2000 years ago, it would have been Mary’s behavior that would be considered the bad choice. Back then and for many years after, it was men who were disciples, men had the privilege of learning, men sat at the feet of their teachers, men participated in those deep teachings and conversations. Not women! Mary sat alone in the same room with a man who was not a close relative – she sat there with no male family member to supervise; and she sat on the floor at his feet – way too close and inappropriate for polite company. So then, it was Mary who was bumping up against the status quo.
And, if we take a very close look at this reading, we will discover that Jesus was not scolding Martha for doing what society expected of her; for making a meal, for serving, for her frustration at her sister or the work she needed to do. What he said to her was “you are worried and distracted by many things.” Looks to me, like Jesus was showing Martha more care and respect than most men of his day. Might he have been telling her that things were changing – that with him the old life was passing away, and a new life coming into view. That through him there was no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female? So, it was ok to stop; ok to let the dishes sit in the sink, ok to sit at his feet and learn, and ask questions, and think about things other than how best to sweep a floor, or schedule a trip to the market around laundry. I believe Jesus was telling her that it was ok to give her attention to something else...something so wonderful that it would change her life in a very profound way. Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. Sounds like us… We are so distracted by so many things. So many things that aren’t important…so many things that are soon forgotten…so many things that can wait…so many things that will not satisfy, or sustain, or nurture, or give you life.
Life in Christ is a balancing act – that -- I believe is the Martha and Mary message. Clearly, we cannot avoid being in this world – we work, we socialize, we make up the political and economic arena in which we function; we are exposed to the demands and expectations of society and culture. Jesus never asked us to disengage from everyday living. He did, however, warn us about getting so wrapped up in it - that we become worried and distracted by all its many things. So much so, that we forget about our faith life. We know that in this day and age, keeping up with our work life, our personal life, our family life is overwhelming. And it will continue to overwhelm us if we - like Martha are clueless about our need to develop a prayer life, a study life, and as well - seize opportunities to serve others.
Amos speaks to a people who have filled their life with all the things of the world…a people who cannot wait for the Sabbath day to be over so they can get right back to their own plans and agendas, get right back to making money, and making themselves comfortable. And then Amos gives them notice – that as they have ignored their covenant with God – so God will now ignore them. They will suffer – not a famine of bread, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. They will wander, they will look, they will search, they will panic – but they will not find it…God will remain silent.
What a horrible state in which to be – cut off from the still small voice of God. As Jesus invites Martha to hear and share that word – as he invites her to feed on His word – and so receive strength for the day, so Jesus invites us. Jesus knows that we are all saddled with the mundane tasks of everyday living, but when he comes to visit, he brings with him the opportunity and the invitation to leave all that busy-ness aside – so that we could hear his words of life. Jesus just wanted Martha – and now us to take the time.

On Being A Troubler

2010-07-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Boston – teenagers beat up retarded boy – others watch and do nothing.
Baltimore - students beat up teacher in school room - classmates watch and do nothing.
Hartford – hit and run victim critically injured – cars drive around body laying in road and do nothing
Houston – teenager accused of being gay - beat with metal pipe on school bus – bus driver does nothing.
New York – man lies shot on street – passer by takes pictures with cell phone – people walk around dying man – and do nothing.
The Jericho Road – man robbed, beaten, and thrown in ditch – passers-by cross to other side of road - and do nothing.
Because they are too busy to stop…because they don’t care about the other guy …because they don’t want to get involved…because they are afraid… suspicious…indifferent to human suffering…because it doesn’t affect them…because the man in the ditch is unknown and unclean …because the man in the ditch is different and a threat …because family, or society or custom, or tradition or history says you better mind your own business.
But when someone is being hurt…when someone is being taken advantage of…when someone is headed for trouble…when someone is lying in the ditch and left for dead…maybe what works for society, custom, tradition and history ain’t gonna work for Jesus. Maybe Jesus has higher expectations of those who represent him on earth…maybe Jesus wants his disciples to stop using words like mercy and grace and compassion and actually be merciful, gracious and compassionate…maybe Jesus is tired of us keeping to our side the road – and actually wants us to cross the street. But even in Jesus’ world – merely crossing the street won’t cut it. What was it that Jesus told that tricky lawyer?.... Go and do. Get across that street and then do – bandage those wounds, use your resources, put your gifts to work, go the extra mile…push yourself, and give it a better than best shot. //// The Samaritan was traveling somewhere – he must have had other plans, been on a schedule, had people waiting for him, had an appointment to make, or a deadline to meet. Do we imagine it was no big deal for him to be bothered and burdened with some bloody half-dead strange man…do we think he wanted that extra responsibility… do we think he wanted to be late or wanted to miss whatever engagement he was headed toward, do we think that somehow his goodness was better than ours…do we think his time was not as important then, as ours is today….(or do we think it really doesn’t matter cuz after all, it’s just some 2000 year old story that Jesus made up to put that tricky lawyer in his place … doesn’t really have much to do with us…these days… right?)
You know why the priest Amaziah got mad at the prophet Amos? Know why he told Amos to get out of town and do his talking somewhere else? It wasn’t because of the threat of exile, or because God said he would destroy their places of worship --- the priest wanted the prophet to get lost because he was rocking the boat…because he spoke out against a corrupt and incompetent king and a crooked government, and self-serving religious leaders who found it beneficial to keep the power to themselves, and to keep the people under their thumbs. That way no boats are rocked, and the system which serves the powerful few – is kept intact.
The prophets used to be called troublers. Amos was a troubler. Jesus was a troubler. The Samaritan was a troubler. Troublers rock boats…troublers question the status quo. Troublers speak out against anything that jeopardizes or diminishes the image of God in another human being. They stand in between the abuser and the abused; they stand with those who are wrongly accused and judged; they stand up for the disenfranchised. Troublers are risk-takers because they not only speak our but - act on the universal truths of justice, equality, integrity, fair-dealing, tolerance, generosity, and peace.
San Francisco – St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church – woman fights with church elders and members – insists on starting food pantry – today hundreds are fed every week.
Massachusetts – seminary professor – starts Straight Ahead Ministries – to save youth from joining or staying in gangs – crime rate in town drops dramatically.
Oklahoma, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Christian Relief Services starts Running Strong for American Indian Youth, supplements food banks, food pantries, youth and elderly programs with more than 2 million pounds of food distributed for the year. 36,800 holiday turkeys were distributed; 2,896 new winter coats; 2,836 new blankets; 5,473 pairs of new shoes; 9,480 new toys and schools supplies to 2,925 children and their families. Help build needed food pantries, maintains a program that feeds children during the summer; and a backpack food program on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Over 140,000 individuals assisted in one year.
Mississippi – PCUSA Synod of Living Waters – establishes Living Waters for the World – brings clean, fresh, healthy water and water systems to people in 21 countries – including the people in Appalachia.
The Jericho Road – unknown man comes to aid of man in ditch – Samaritan binds up wounds, transports to safe place, pays for care.
Teacher, he said, what must I do to inherit eternal life> Jesus answered: Go and do…

The Parking Lot Dance

2010-07-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

Sunday, July 4, 2010

I was looking out my office window and into our front parking lot. It was about 5:00 in the evening. In came a van-full of teenagers from our visiting work camp. They were slow moving as they gathered up their stuff and got out. They were dirty and sweaty, and at the end of their week – they looked pretty well done in. I went back to work…until
I heard music – loud music – reggae music to be exact – Bob Marley reggae music to be more exact. It sounded like celebration music – a tribute perhaps to the work crew’s finishing the job they started on Monday. And not to be beaten back by tired muscles and a few new blisters – the rhythm of the music proved to be too much And the song overtook them, and young bodies started to dance. A parking lot dance the likes of which I have not seen….but which I thoroughly enjoyed. I sat back and watched for quite some time and smiled - and my heart remembered. What it was like to be young and undaunted. Tanned arms swaying above their heads and then bending over hanging loose almost touching the ground. Trim hips swayed and heads bobbed and numerous pairs of feet moved them in circles and forward and backward, with a kick and a couple of jumps thrown in. And they came together – to high five and bump chests and challenge each other’s dance moves. It didn’t just sound like a celebration = it was a celebration. And from around the back of the van came the other one. White legs, white socks slopped around his ankles, a pot belly, gray hair adorned with a bandana – celebrating right along with them – celebrating because his bad back could finally get a rest…because home and a tub for his arthritic joints was just around the next bend…celebrating because he was being fed by them - filled with the simple joy of watching the young men and women in his charge. And he danced his version of the parking lot dance. Not as agile, not as energetic…not as free, but dancing just the same. They were full of themselves – proud of what they had accomplished. A long drive to a place they didn’t know; sleeping in cramped quarters; taking turns in the bathroom; kp; learning to get along, surprising themselves as they realized they did more than what they thought possible just 7 days earlier.
Jesus sent his disciples out = told them they’d be like lambs among wolves – to take nothing with them but the shirt on their back – told them they’d be rejected. The disciples were to go out into the towns and villages before Jesus did – testing the waters so to speak - proclaiming the good news, given the power to heal. And yet, with all the obstacles they faced, the disciples were successful… ‘Lord, in your name - even the demons submit to us!’ And they did the parking lot dance.
But long before their celebration, when Jesus was giving them their assignment, he told them something very important, and he told it to them twice. When you enter into a house eat and drink what they provide….whenever you enter into a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. There is a minister who takes his members on mission trips. But they don’t fix anything or build anything. What they fix are their attitudes and preconceptions…what they build are bridges. They go on mission trips to be among people who are different from them. To stay in their homes, to listen to them, learn from them, go to work with them, laugh and eat with them. And when they eat with them, they eat what is set before them. Sometimes the people are so poor, that what is set before them is a cup of weak tea, a thin soup, and a portion of rice. But the minister said, there is more than one way to be fed. And one of the things the mission trip members feast on is their host’s faith. Faith quite often that is stronger and richer and deeper than ours. Because theirs is a faith that sustains them, as they eke out a life in the most wretched of conditions – living in homes constructed from discarded sheets of metal, canvas tarps, and cheap ply board, food – not nearly enough to keep a family healthy, dirty water, open sewer and drainage ditches, political unrest, genocide, war. How many of us watched from the comfort of our couches as the Haitian people stood to worship and praise God in what was left of church sanctuaries within 24 hours of the earthquake last January? Could we not learn from and be fed by that?
The minister calls his mission trips – reverse mission trips – because it is his group – the guests who are enriched by those less fortunate than themselves. It is the visitors who are surprised when they come away with more than they had when they first arrived. And that I believe is what happened to our visiting work camp. What they really learned is that they received far more than they gave. They received it from the people for whom they were working. They gave away their time, worked as a team, were challenged by the skills necessary to accomplish their task, listened to someone else’s stories, heard what it was like to grow up here, what it was like to grow up in a different time…they learned and laughed and shared… and grew…because they were fed.
We already know this stuff. Every time we put to the side all that false busy-ness we think is so important….every time we give our time to another person - we are the ones who come away feeling better. It is we who come away with a renewed appreciation of God’s grace and Christ’s mercy, it is we who feel that they have made a difference in our life, it is we who have been fed. Let us remember that the next time we go into a situation thinking we are going to be the grantor of great things, the bestower of blessings, the person who imparts words of wisdom and dazzles those poor helpless ones with our extraordinary faith.
When Jesus said take no purse, no bag, no sandals – I think he’s telling us to leave our personal baggage behind. If your gonna preach my gospel, heal my people, and represent me – then drop your pre-conceived notions, and expectations. Before you hit those towns and cities, check your culture, your training, your prejudices, your “I’m right” attitude, and your sure-fired faith at the door. Instead be open and teachable, free and willing to see with new eyes, and get ready to be changed. Because the only way we can move forward in the ways God wants us to go, to have our eyes opened to what God wants us to see, and be among those with whom God wants us to be - is if we get rid of some of the old junk and make room for the Holy Spirit to move us.
Eat and drink what is put before you…and ….then get ready to do the parking lot dance.

Paul's Community Of Faith

2010-07-06T08:21:00.001-04:00

Sunday, June 27, 2010

At the time Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, there was no such thing as Christianity. Those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah were called people or followers of the Way. And these followers of the Way were thought to be a misguided bunch whose membership in a cult proved that they were out of touch with reality.
Paul and the followers of the Way did not think they were any of these things – but believed that they were living in the age of God’s promise being fulfilled. God promised Israel a Messiah – and the people of the Way believed they were participants in the continuing story of the Jewish faith. The Messiah was expected – and the churches in Galatia believed he had arrived.
At the time Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, things had started to get off track. People who believed differently had come into the churches and preached things other than what Paul had taught them. Some were Jews who didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah; some were Gnostics who believed that seeking knowledge of God was far more important than any rules or particular set of beliefs; and there were the Greeks who held that how you behaved outwardly had nothing to do with what you believed inwardly.
But none of these teachings reflected what Paul believed to be the truth of the gospel. First off, Jesus was the Messiah; second, there was a need for a fixed set of rules and beliefs; and finally, and what Paul speaks to in this scripture passage - outward behavior does indeed reflect one’s inner faith and beliefs.
In that regard, Paul insisted that the Galatians living and behavior should be guided by the Spirit – the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit in which they were baptized. In baptism we die to sin – we die to the works of the flesh – and washed clean by the Holy Spirit. When we come up out of those baptismal waters – we are dead to sin and alive to all that is good – we are re-born – we are a new creation. Why, Paul asks -would the Galatians – or anyone else for that matter - want to return to their old life…why would anyone willingly submit again to the yoke of slavery that is sin? Now that Christ had set believers free from that past fruitless life – Paul expected the lives of the Galatians to bear witness to the fruits of the Spirit.
Our behavior is how we are identified both inside and outside of the church. Others will identify us as believers in Jesus Christ and a people who live by the fruits of the spirit….every single time we exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…..and if we say we are Christians….and don’t do those things….what is it we are telling people about our Christian faith?.
And the world is watching. When a member of the clergy is charged with sexual abuse… when a man or a woman of the cloth embezzles money… when we gossip about the person in the next pew, yell at the waitress in the local restaurant; keep quiet when we know something is wrong… when we fight among ourselves instead of ministering to the stranger …then at best….the whole church gets a black eye; its members are called hypocrites; …and at worst….people don’t want to be associated with us; no longer see the need of church …and consequently…more and more the church becomes a thing of the past.
What threatened the churches in Galatia – still threatens the church today. There are those who do not believe that Jesus was anyone’s Messiah; those who prefer their own spirituality over the church with its rules and beliefs; and many more who look at us Christians and fail to see a connection between what we profess are our inward beliefs and what they witness in our outward behavior.
And the world is watching….just like it was 2000 years ago…to see who we are, to see how we live, who see what we believe…to see how we behave. Before it was too late, Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians. Before it is too late, perhaps it would be wise for us to read it as well. There is such a thing as Christianity today, and in order to go forward, we must know who we are called to be as descendents and inheritors of Paul’s Community of Faith.

The Widow and The Woman

2010-06-10T08:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday, June 6, 2010

We are told that King Ahab did more to anger the Lord than any other king. So, God told the prophet Elijah to proclaim a drought. Now, King Ahab’s wife Jezebel had it out for all of God’s prophets – and the prophet Elijah had just become the newest name on her hit list. Elijah needed to get out of town fast. God had a plan. From Samaria to the Wadi Cherith is about 30 miles – and that is where God told Elijah to hide. Unfortunately, the Wadi Cherith is not much more than a stream – a stream that usually dries up with a drought...and so it did...and with a drought, came a famine. And God had a plan.
Ravens. Now ravens eat the usual things like grain and berries – but they also eat rodents, insects...and meat – dead meat from dead animals – dead animals upon which other animals eat – dead animals that lay under the Middle Eastern sun. Ravens are scavengers --- and it’s really no surprise that Jewish law claims them to be unclean. Nevertheless...ravens were to be Elijah’s providers.. bringing him chunks of old dead meat they had torn off one carcass or another. Washed down of course by the water in the wadi – which as we know – dried up because of the drought.

And God had a plan. Elijah was to go to Zaraphath – another 50 miles north....to a widow. Now the widow didn’t know Elijah was on his way. Truth is, even if she did, it wouldn’t much matter to her. Because the widow had something else on her mind. Actually it was the only thing on her mind – and it was ---how she and her son could live. Let me correct that – what the widow had on her mind was how she and her son would die. No widow’s pension, no social security, no food stamps, no property to sell, no rich relatives. Once the husband died – the wife, now widow – who amounted to nothing in that society – was on her own. When it comes to economics...the widow is the poorest of the poor...fated to live in dire poverty until the very end. And on this day, the widow was gathering sticks – enough to build a small fire – to turn the last bit of grain she had into something that resembled bread.
And here comes Elijah – who was left with nothing else to do = but what the widow had been doing for years – begging. Elijah took advantage of the Middle Eastern laws of hospitality and begged the widow for food and drink. And she did. Broke open that jar of meal to make sure every last grain of that handful of meal was available to make something resembling bread for her and her son – and the stranger.
Thousands of years later in a town called Bethany – which oddly enough means House of Poverty – sat Jesus. Bethany, as we know -was where Jesus sought rest and refreshment – time away to be spent with his friends. On this day we find him in the home of another poverty-stricken person – a leper - named Simon. When in walked a woman carrying a jar of costly ointment. And she broke open that jar – to make sure every last drop of ointment was spilled out to anoint her Lord.
An unnamed widow...an unnamed woman = the least likely of characters to be called a blessing. Too often I imagine, the majority of people think that a boss or a person of power...a rich person or a person with connections... a popular, handsome, pretty person would be the ones who are best equipped to bless us. Scripture however, asks us to look in a new direction – toward those who appear to be the least likely to be a blessing to anyone or anything. Scripture challenges us to look differently at those in our midst whom we barely spare a second glance. A list given by one writer suggests that it is quite possible for us to be blessed by an immigrant, a homeless person, a person from a different country, religion, race, culture, political affiliation, a different educational level, class, and lifestyle.
I was a camp counsellor one summer. Camp Hope was a camp for the inner city underprivileged children in Cleveland, Ohio. I had most of my Social Work degree under my belt and set out – foolishly – to not only change the world, but save the poor and huddled masses who lived in the ghetto. Bebe was 9 – and we didn’t get on very well. I thought she needed to listen and do what I told her to do – she knew that in my wildest imagination I was not prepared to deal with her. And she knew how to push my buttons – every one of them. It was a 2 week camp – and so counsellors had one day off in those 14 days. When I returned from my day off, my supervisor had given her a punishment – which I was supposed to carry out upon my return. She was to spend the day at the camp office, and her parents were to be called and notified about her behavior. Bebe and I set out for the office. Half way up the hill, she refused to go any further and then I took her by the hand to get her going...and she pulled in the opposite direction. Push and pull, drag and fall down, and back up again, the two of us were a sight to behold. The phone call was made, and the parents showed up to talk to her. Bebe was scared – like most kids would be when mom and dad showed up –but this was more – this was real fear. Her father told me when she got out of line to hit her – and if I couldn’t a phone call would get him to camp and he would take care of it. She kept pulling at her fingers, backed away from dad, her lip buckled, her eyes pleaded with me, and I put my arm around her and assured her father, all would be ok and how important it was for Bebe to stay at camp. Bebe, a poor, and powerless child...a virtual nobody in society..not even in her home... was a blessing to me – taught me more social work in a few short minutes than any professor ever could...and more...never to judge, never to push or force my views, opinions, or agendas or my will on another human being. Bebe taught me the invaluable lesson of humility...and in a very wonderful way, Bebe and I became buddies. Blessed me and changed me and 35 years later I remember her.
The widow and the woman – two with the least amount of anything to give; two who possessed no power whatsoever; two who were absolute nobodies in society; yet two who were a blessing to someone else. God has a plan...and it seems, God chooses to use the least likely suspects to accomplish those plans – just up to us to keep open to the possibilities... the lessons... the blessings in disguise.

So Much To Learn

2010-06-02T08:49:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 30, 2010

This morning I want to talk to you about wisdom. I want to talk about wisdom because I am captivated by this Old Testament passage. Its poetry, its mystery, and how it lets the imagination run wild. Wisdom – is personified as a woman. The great lady wisdom was God’s first creation. She was present when God created heaven and earth, water and sky. Standing at God’s side – working and watching as mountains and springs came into being…as the fields were etched upon the earth…and the seas were put in their place. Wisdom continually rejoices in God, in creation, and humankind.
Wisdom is a woman – who knows all the mysteries of the universe – but she does not keep her secrets to herself. Instead, we find her standing in the most public of places – at the crossroads, the city gates, and doorways - where traffic is backed up for miles, where business is conducted, where merchants and laborers, students and families, where the homeless and the beggars, the lost and the unwanted gather and live out pieces of their lives. You cannot miss her; she makes herself known – she calls out loudly – “I’m talking to you”…and she will not be silenced. Her teachings – her thoughts – her wisdom – God’s wisdom - is not for a chosen few --- not only for the rich, and cultured, and privileged, not only for people of a certain nation or color or religion…not only for people whose lifestyles are like ours – no… wisdom – according to Proverbs - is for all who live.
Wisdom is for all who live. That’s us. And for us - wisdom – is to be found in Scripture. We’re not talking about knowledge here – we’re talking about something completely different – and much harder to come by. Wisdom is spoken by prophets, kings, and apostles. Wisdom is made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ, as Paul writes that Jesus is the wisdom of God. Wisdom cries out from these pages – with stories of deeds accomplished through faith. Stories of people – like you and me - who suffered pain and sorrow, loss and grief, fear and waiting. Stories whose lessons are h perseverance and strength, hope and peace…stories about how the blessings of every good thing settled upon a people who trusted God’s spirit of power and might to sustain them. How else then, can we gain in wisdom if we do not study Scripture. If we do not sit with the Word… long enough…for God’s wisdom to become a part of us?
In ancient Hebrew thought – wisdom had to do with success – a person with knowledge, a man who was able to effectively negotiate with political rivals and make profitable trade alliances which made him favored and wealthy. In later writings we see wisdom including things like honesty, sobriety, hard work, and virtue. And with Jesus, wisdom is revealed to be even more – something new altogether. For one to be wise…for one to act and live wisely – we are to be imitators of Christ – extending his love, his compassion, his understanding, tolerance, humility, and justice to all who live.
Jesus told the disciples – and through them tells us “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now….the spirit of truth will guide you …and declare to you the things that are to come.” A Methodist minister writes this: It is nothing less than human arrogance to claim that our opinion or life experience is the last word on any subject – let alone the subject of wisdom. For a wise person knows God’s word – words of promise and life…words that tell us that God’s love for us has not run its course. He writes: There is still much to learn. The Spirit of Truth and Wisdom still calls from every street corner, in every place and time, to all who live – telling us -- there is more to come – even better to come. Whatever it is that God is calling us to – let us trust that the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth, the spirit of power and might, the spirit of gentleness will guide us and remain with us.
Let us pray.
The Rabbi wrote ‘Silence is a fence around wisdom’ For it is in the silence that we watch and learn…it is in silence that we hear and consider…it is in the silence of studying your word…that we hear your voice speaking to us. Lord, when we are too busy, cause us to be still; when days are filled with worry, send us moments of calm; when the doing of things does not satisfy, grant us silence and peace…and there may we find wisdom.
Every person in every church carries a heaviness of heart – for friend or loved one, for the circumstances of their life or a hope for a future….and we ask that you hear their prayers. We pray for all who are gathered here today – and for those who are absent. Especially we pray for Harry and Sally McFarlane, Murk Murchison, Rosalee Ross. We pray for the people in Louisiana whose lives, livelihoods, and economy are being changed by the oil spill. And on this Memorial Day we remember all the fallen soldiers – and we pray for those who grieve their loss.
Merciful God, we pray for a world and a church in great need of your wisdom. – that all who live would yield to the guidance of your Holy Spirit. We pray these things in the name of your Son, who taught us to pray… Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The Jailer

2010-06-02T08:48:00.001-04:00

Sunday, May 16, 2010

During his ministry, Jesus echoed the words of the prophets…declaring that he was sent to proclaim release to the prisoners, and freedom to the oppressed. Taken literally, I suppose our immediate thoughts run to the millions of prisoners behind bars, the millions of people who live under the thumb of oppressive governments….and to the hope of a future time when God’s justice will roll down like waters.
But here in this morning’s reading – being oppressed and a prisoner can take on deeper meaning. The young girl is not free – a slave to her owners, and a slave to the spirit of divination that possessed her. Her owners are not free – slaves to their own greed, and oppressors who believe they can own another human being. The people in the crowd are hostages of a society that feared and persecuted believers. The magistrates whose superiors held them accountable for their rulings and verdicts. The jailer who believed that death was preferable to the punishment which awaited him at the hands of the Roman government. Each one held prisoner by some personal failure, shortcoming, or affliction. Each one oppressed by another because of their status and circumstance in life.
This is not a story that pertains only to some long-forgotten biblical time – but a story that speaks to every generation. Slavery doesn’t necessarily pertain to the state of one person being owned by another. Slavery can be a personal slavery – a self-inflicted slavery. We can be enslaved by our work, our addictions, our lies, our past mistakes. We can be enslaved by denial, stubbornness, greed, power, and any number of selfish motives. In the same way, oppression continues – and not only by political and religious leaders. Many people are oppressed -= dominated and controlled by employers, parents, spouses, and even their own children. Our need for approval, acceptance, our need to be liked by others can also be forces that control and oppress us. We can be controlled by our need to be right, our emptiness, disappointments, and by the expectations other people put upon our lives.
The jailer asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” What must I do to be saved from the people, the things, and the circumstances that I have allowed to enslave and oppress me? What must I do to be free from the people, and the things, and the circumstances over which I have no control?…Believe in the Lord Jesus – and you and your family will be saved …from feelings of self-hate – because you will learn that God loves you. Believe in the Lord Jesus – and you and your family will be saved from the sting of prejudice and injustice – because in Christ there is no Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free, no male or female. Believe in the Lord Jesus – and you and your family will be saved from what seems at times to be a life with no purpose – for the Holy Spirit will breathe life into your God-given gifts and use you in His Holy service. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will receive mercy and welcome, redemption and life. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will become an adopted member in God’s family and live in community…and if you search, you will find a sense of peace, the likes of which you could never imagine.
The slave girl was freed from the bondage of the spirit that possessed her, unable to make money, useless now to her owners, Scripture never speaks of her again and we imagine she chose to go her own way. The owners -never recognizing the injustice of owning and profiting off another human being – became resentful and malicious – and sought revenge. The magistrates – afraid to lose whatever power they had been given – and even more afraid of the power of the Roman Empire ….quietly apologized to Paul and Silas and secretly begged them to leave the city, so as not to cause a problem… for them… The magistrates remained in their self-made prisons.
And the jailer- the one who witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit in an earthquake…the one who heard the voice of compassion and care, love and mercy, understanding and forgiveness in the voice of the apostle Paul, as he begged him not to harm himself...the jailer, the one who recognized that he was in fact made and held prisoner by the ways of the world… the only one who recognized the Truth, trembling and falling at the feet of the men who brought Good news…the jailer who said yes to the Lord Jesus. May we strive to become the jailer.

Holy Spirit GPS

2010-05-14T08:06:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 9, 2010

How do you build a church without a blue print? If you had absolutely no frame of reference….if this thing we call the church did not yet exist…didn’t yet have a name, or an identity, – would you know what to do?
That was Paul’s challenge. As the good news moved beyond the Jews to now include Gentiles – Paul took to the road….and it was wide open. So many people who had not yet heard of Jesus…so many cities and towns and villages to reach…so many possibilities…so many uncertainties.
But Filled with a sense of call, determination, and enthusiasm, Paul set out. He practiced his sermons – and prepared speeches to defend the faith. Armed with a plan, a map, and knowledge of Scripture, Paul was ready to meet anyone and overcome anything that crossed his path. But Paul was no match for the Holy Spirit.
We learn in this passage that the Holy Spirit forbid Paul to speak the word in Asia Minor…it was the Spirit of Jesus who did not allow him to go into Bi-thyn-ia. Not able to go to those places - where people certainly needed to hear the Good news = must have been frustrating for Paul. He was on fire for Christ – and here it was, that at every turn the flames were being doused. Paul was forced to stop. Passing by every region, city, and village, Paul was forced to stop at the seaport city of Troas. Clearly, not a place circled on Paul’s map as a spot where he believed the Lord wanted him to go.
Funny thing about that first night in Troas, that city that wasn’t on Paul’s map…when Paul settled in for the night – he had a vision – of a man of Macedonia who pleaded with Paul to come over and help them. Funny thing about that seaport of Troas – it was a seaport – on the Aege’an – and right across the water was a region called Macedonia…and guess what they had === ferry service. Well, probably not ferry service – more than likely Paul had to hitch a boat ride with a local fisherman, or a tradesman. But there he was = on the road - that put him exactly where he needed to be to get to Macedonia…a road made wide open by the Holy Spirit. And Paul set sail on the most direct route, stopped in Sam’ o-thrace, Ne-a’ polis, and Philippi, where they spent several days. Since this was not a place where Paul wanted to go or expected to go – but the place where the Holy Spirit sent him – now you’d think the Holy Spirit would have made it possible for Paul to be welcomed into the city – at least - welcomed inside the city gates. But it was against the law to allow any unknown/ unauthorized/unacceptable religion to be preached within the gates…so Paul = on a holy hunch - went looking for and found a prayer group down by the river…it was a women’s prayer group…and it was to these very second class citizens that Paul spoke. Preaching his faith to a little group of praying women all huddled together on the banks of some river, was probably not exactly what Paul had in mind when it came to his ministry…not exactly the blockbuster experience he supposed it would be. But then, it was after all - the voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit that brought Paul to that river and to Lydia – who he converted, who became a woman of strong faith, dedicating her life to serving Christ…and a woman we are still talking about today.
Does any of this sound familiar -- Having life and life’s circumstances put you in places you never wanted or expected to be. Like Paul, we had our plan, and our map – we were armed with determination, and we knew where we were going, and what we were going to do when we got there. When you don’t find yourself where you thought you’d be – it’s frustrating. Maybe we can attribute that to society – a society that praises people for their sheer determination to achieve whatever it is they want. A society who lives by mottos like: “Don’t let anything get in your way…don’t let anyone stop you from getting exactly what you want…you can do it…you can overcome any obstacle.” But that’s not always the case, is it? Then again, maybe it’s just the way we human beings are made. We get something in our heads about how things are supposed to be – at work or school, with our families, in our country, or in the church – and we just hang on for dear life – bound and determined to get it just exactly the way it’s supposed to be – according to us.
How difficult it is for all of us to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, products of our culture or our nature – wanting to do things our way… rarely entertaining the idea that God may have a different plan. How difficult for us to consider that the Holy Spirit is leading us into uncharted waters when we are busy fighting against the current of the Holy Spirit.
GPS – global positioning system – a number of satellites in space send signals to receivers, which then calculate longitude, latitude, altitude, and time. Used by the military, cartographers, geologists – used for banking transactions, mobile phones, air and sea navigation, to name a only a few = and used by us in our cars = to help us find our way on the road. We’re more than happy to hear that voice come out of our dashboard saying, “Turn right; take the freeway; make a u-turn; recalculating.” Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop long enough to listen to the Holy Spirit GPS: encouraging us to keep on going – when we were ready to give up – telling us our destination was only 500 feet ahead; telling us that our life was moving in the wrong direction; that we had passed the road God wanted us to take; announcing that a u turn was in order.
Paul was on his way to persecute Christians. Holy Spirit GPS told him he was going in the wrong direction. Paul did his best to land in any number of places, Holy Spirit GPS landed him in Troas…where he had a holy vision; that took him to a river in Philippi, met and converted Lydia – and there established a church. A church he didn’t know how to build. In a place and time where no church had ever existed before. In our personal life, and at work or school, in our country, or in the church – let us trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us exactly where God wants us to be, to the place where we can best serve Jesus Christ.

The Emergent Church

2010-05-14T08:05:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 2, 2010

There’s a lot of talk these days about the emergent church. Actually, the church has been talking about emerging for at least 10 years. And for all of those years we’ve been asking each other …What are we going to be, how will the church change, who is God calling us to be as we emerge into the 21st century. We ask because the world has changed in the last 50 years – and changed dramatically in the last 10 years…and because the world has changed, the model of the church that most of us knew as children isn’t working very well in 2010. We can panic…or we can consider this morning’s reading.

It is generally accepted that the Book of the Acts of the Apostles was written somewhere between 70 and 100 AD. At that late date, followers of the WAY, began to question Jesus’ return – many had given up on that idea and went on their way. Those who were too young to remember Jesus and the impact he made during his ministry were reluctant to take on the rigors, responsibilities, and risks that came with discipleship. And the leaders in the church worried because as more and more fell away, they didn’t know what to do….didn’t know how to be the church in a changing world. The church was facing an identity crisis….and they asked each other – what does it mean to be the people of God in the world…who is God calling us to be in this time and place?

And as that first century church struggled with those questions…Peter decided to eat with Gentiles….which means he went into their home, sat in their chairs, slept in the guest bedroom, used their dishes and utensils, ate food that was not blessed by the priest, went along with their customs, conversed with them, accepted them as equals…and allowed himself to be accepted by them. Peter was treading on a slippery slope – toward a possible friendship???? Peter even admits that it was unlawful for him – a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile.” But Scripture tells us that Peter baptized them, and stayed with them for several days. And every single one of those indiscretions made Peter unclean 10 times over.

Oh people were not happy – not the leaders, not the people in the church. How dare this happen? How dare one of our own ---not only went to those people, spent time with them, but converted them, and baptized them? Could he do that? And if he could, did that mean we would have to accept them, include them, tolerate them…What authority did he have to mingle them with us? Someone would have to remind Peter that Jesus was the Jewish messiah – and that had nothing to do with Gentiles.

Somewhere in the first century AD – the church faced its single most crucial crisis. That being – extending Christ’s good news to the unclean. Extending Christ’s promises of forgiveness and life to a shunned and hated people. Extending the gift of adoption into God’s family to people who were different – people who were beneath them, people whose life and lifestyles were so unacceptable, so foreign, so far from anything even close to Judaism. This was the single most crucial crises in the early church because whatever decision was made – would forever define the nature of the church….and what it meant to be a community of faithful Christians.

After hearing Peter’s testimony, the Church in Jerusalem said yes – If then God gave the Gentiles the same gifts that he gave the Jews when they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was anyone in Jerusalem…who was anyone who called themselves a disciple…who were they, that they should hinder God’s plan.

Theologian Walter Brueggeman writes, -We are the "outsiders" who have been accepted, who have been allowed in by the grace of God.
We forget that sometimes. Forget that for a long time – we had no part with the chosen people of God…forget that Jesus came for the Jews.

There is much talk these days about the emergent church – but it appears that from the 1st century to now, the church has been emerging – the church has been emerging and moving and changing through the power of the Holy Spirit. For a couple thousand years now, the church has grappled mightily with the difficult question – who are we – how are we - called to be the church in an ever changing world? How is God calling us to witness Christ’s love and mercy in this time and in this place? You know, There was a time in the church, when only the priests were worthy enough to eat the bread and drink the cup – the lay people were given the privilege of watching….that changed. There was a time when only the church was allowed to have a Bible – and if one was found in an ordinary person’s home – death or very close to it – was the punishment…that changed. Not so long ago the church was ready to split over tobacco – could one chew and still be a Christian…could one drink spirits and still be a Christian – could a woman be an elder, or a minister – could an African American sit in the same pew as a white person…could they enter the same door…could a person be divorced and still be a Christian…all that changed. We forget that the church has changed hundreds of times over since Peter baptized a houseful of Gentiles. But we should not…because we are them.

There is much talk and study about what the church will become in the future – much talk and study about how we are to be a witness for Jesus Christ in an ever-changing world….we can panic – or we can read Chapter 11:1-18 in the Book of Acts – and trust that God’s plan for Christ’s church is unfolding and emerging – and remember that God’s plans shall not be hindered.

First And Last - There’s Forgiveness

2010-04-15T08:10:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 11, 2010

It was impossible to know what the mood and temperament of the city would be on that day. Yesterday’s crucifixion, the unpredictable crowd that made their way through the streets…and now – Simon Peter told them that the tomb was empty. ..and Mary told them that she had seen a dead man alive. Something just didn’t feel right about that day. And so the disciples stayed together, in one place, behind locked doors, fearful and in hiding. Hiding from Jews who might accuse them of blasphemy…hiding from Roman soldiers who may want to arrest them…hiding from anyone who might recognize them.
And hiding perhaps from Jesus? If the reports were true = that somehow the tomb was empty…that somehow Jesus escaped death…that somehow he really was alive…would he be looking for them? Looking to confront them? Looking to ask some hard questions?
I remember high school. And I remember the daily gossip that burned its way through the hallways. Not a day went by when someone wasn’t telling something about someone. Who was going steady…who broke up…who got in trouble for staying out too late with their boyfriend…who got in trouble with the police...and worse = gossip that was filled with lies, and hurtful accusations, and name-calling. And, I admit, I wasn’t above any of it. But there is nothing worse than having people turn on you because of it. It was a Friday night dance – the last of the year before prom and graduation and going off to college…and 5 young women – the ones I had worked so hard to make my friends – blocked my path…and surrounded me. And proceeded to tell me that I was no longer their friend, for the gossip had made it full circle, and I was one of those who had participated in that gossip…about them. Now it’s not that they hadn’t gossiped about the same thing I had gossiped…….but this time it was 5 against 1. And after about 10 minutes of telling me what a horrible person I was, and how they wanted nothing more to do with me….they turned and left me alone in the middle of the dance floor.
Oh what a horrible feeling – to be caught, to be confronted, to be rightly accused of betraying their friendship, to be told how they had once trusted me, and how they would never forgive me, and hoped I would be happy spending the last of my high school days without any friends.
A whole roomful of disciples who had remained silent in the face of lies, accusations and false witnesses. A whole roomful of disciples who had watched from a distance, as someone who they said they loved was helpless and in deep trouble, and sentenced to death on a cross. A whole roomful of disciples who were afraid to stand by him, afraid to stand up for him, and one who was afraid to stand and say he knew him.
If we were in that room – knowing what we had done and not done – thinking that perhaps Jesus was alive – thinking that perhaps he would come through that door to confront them, ask them why they abandoned him, ask them why they didn’t do more to help him – if we were in that room we might be hiding from Jesus, too.
But there were no reprimands, no insistence that they explain their bad behavior, no yelling. Jesus did not try to teach them a good lesson, shame them, or make them pay. He didn’t wait for those disciples to admit their guilt or ask his forgiveness. But true to the nature of Christ – true to God who loves us with a steadfast love…true to the last words he spoke – Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing….” The first word of greeting which the disciples heard was…. PEACE.
Jesus forgives – from the agony of the cross… on the day of resurrection… in the locked and hiding place of men and women who have broken every promise they made to follow him to the end. Jesus forgives despite knowing our every pathetic human failing.
The former dean of the Chapel at Duke University writes this:
We forgive because God in Christ forgives us. We cross no bridge that God has not crossed before us. Jesus has paid a heavy price to come close to us, to rebuild and to restore the relationship we could never have repaired ourselves. And so it is that forgiveness is not just something Christians engage in from time to time – if we have the energy and inclination. Forgiveness is at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian. The God who made his way toward us - is the God who expects us to find a way toward others. Forgiveness is therefore not optional equipment for the Christian life. Quite the contrary…forgiveness is the normal habit of the Christian life.
As we move through these days of Eastertide – let us keep the example of Christ fresh before us – continually reminding ourselves that - in him – the beginning and the end…the first and last – there is forgiveness.

They Told . . . (11:00 AM Worship)

2010-04-15T08:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Mary Magdalene did not see him. Joanna did not see him. Mary the mother of James and the other women did not see him. They didn’t expect to see him. He was dead and in the tomb. Their task now on this early morning was to complete the burial ritual by anointing his body with spices. When they were finished, they would return home – to a routine and the life they knew - before they knew Jesus. God’s promise of a Messiah remained unfulfilled, the commotion would die down, the crowds would disperse, the stories about Jesus would eventually subside, hope would have to wait for another day. And life would go on as it always had.
A stone rolled away…an empty tomb. As the mind reels in disbelief, and the human brain tries to catch up with the message that early morning eyes are sending to it…trying desperately to make sense of something that makes no sense…there comes shock and fear, confusion…looking, looking again…and panic and there are no words, no way, nothing in the human experience to account for what this is…and all is at a loss.
Momentarily stunned by the brilliance that suddenly stands before them,…the women make out two men in dazzling clothes…who ask but one question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here…but has risen. Remember what he told you....
Then they remembered his words…that on the third day the crucified Son of man will rise again. And they told. They told the eleven and all the rest.
But the real telling is in the tense of the verb. When we read that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women told the apostles what they remembered…told them who they saw and who they didn’t see at the tomb……our English ears hear that the women told them one time. But they didn’t tell it one time…they told it over and over and over again. It all in the tense of the verb -- the telling of this Easter good news is an ongoing action – the telling is repeated time and time again – the telling is continual.
We like the women at the tomb have not seen the risen Lord. When one has not seen for themselves, not stood among the eye-witnesses, it is not always easy to believe – in fact if seeing is believing, then some might consider the events of Easter morning to be nothing more than an idle tale. And that would make it convenient for many…and that would make it safe for everyone – for nothing would change – most importantly….we would not have to change….anything at all…and life could go on just the same as every other day.
But for those of us who have been told…those of us who have heard and believed without seeing…we know that Easter changes everything. Mercy is extended. Sins are forgiven. Repentance is at hand. Death brings life. Joy overcomes Sorrow. Light shatters the darkness. Easter changes minds and hearts. Easter changes perception and vision. Easter changes the world – and how we see it, and how we live in it, and how we treat each other, and how we love one another – just like he loves us.
Because they told…it should now be impossible for us to return home – the same as we were. Impossible because Easter changes everything…but only if it’s told…over and over, continually.

The Lingering (6:30 AM Worship)

2010-04-15T08:07:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Mary went to the tomb – the first day of the week – when it was still dark. Mary went to the tomb scared, as any woman would be who walked alone through the city. Mary went to the tomb with a heavy heart. Mary went to the tomb to grieve quietly and privately….and found instead a sense of foreboding.
For the stone had been removed. Panic set in – stunned at what she saw, unable to comprehend…her mind reeling…then running… And Simon Peter and the other disciple jumping up, more running, searching, inspecting, looking everywhere… heads ducking in and out of the tomb, and discovering it empty …and then …..they went back home.
Except for Mary- Mary stayed behind and wept. Scared now for different reasons – not knowing where they had laid Jesus’ body – not knowing if Roman guards had desecrated his final resting place. Now more than ever Mary wanted to be near her Lord, if only the gardener would tell her where to find him. Then she could take the body away and care for it properly, but since there was no reply, perhaps it was time to make her way back home, perhaps walking and thinking would help. Feeling helpless and alone…Mary knew home and walking and thinking would do her no good. Because….there was no other place she wanted to be. And so, Mary lingered near the tomb.
And in the silence of that morning, she heard her name – it was a voice so familiar, so loved, a voice unlike any other, but she knew it and welcomed the sound of it. Jesus – raised from the dead…standing there in front of her…calling her name…assuring her, all was as it should be…and telling her what to do next.
But if Mary – like the two disciples would have went back home – she would have never seen the resurrected Christ – never would have been able to carry that message to the others. It was in the lingering that Mary found her Lord.
We know we are too busy. We know our habit is to be on the go all the time. We know we have filled every empty hour with something to do. We know we are running our children and our grandchildren to every event, lesson, and social gathering they can get their hands on. We have come to a place where we know less and less about the concept of taking a break…and more and more we are quite incapable of stopping and allowing ourselves to just be quiet. We know…we know…that we have no time for Jesus. Guess I shouldn’t say that we have no time– because truth be known we do have the time – a whole lifetime of time. Thing is most of us don’t take the time – to stay back and wait for the Lord. But when we – like Mary find that hopes have been dashed, that life has disappointed and confused us – when we like Mary feel lost and heartbroken – scared and not sure what we should do next. …there is only one place to be – with the Lord…only one thing to do – linger there with him.
Jesus Christ is Risen Today – and we – who are far from deserving - have received a most merciful and miraculous gift. The everlasting presence of the living God is the treasure we have been given on this day. But it will be difficult for us to receive it, if we do not stay behind every once in a while and wait upon the Lord. So let us say alleluia for the Good news we have received from Mary on this early morning, then let us remember that this is a new day – the sun is coming up….But it’s not just any new day – it’s Easter and Easter is bringing us new things, and new ideas, and new possibilities, and new vision, and a new way of life. A life that includes lingering.

Does It Matter?

2010-04-15T08:06:00.001-04:00

Thursday, April 1, 2010

How can we keep the commandment Jesus gave us. …to, Love one another as he has loved us
We can remember that everyone is human – that everyone makes mistakes – that we are not to judge, or slander another person. We can keep in mind that not everyone is as privileged as we are – that not everyone has had the opportunities we have been given, the money to take advantage of them…or the knowledge or ability to access them. We can keep reminding ourselves that everyone is different, with different gifts, ideas, beliefs and ways of living. We can remember to treat people fairly, without prejudice, or pre-conceived notions. We can work and serve to bring about just societies, where everyone is able to thrive, and grow, and live in peace. This is a lot to do and remember…but then, loving one another as Jesus has loved us is an ongoing, never ending labor…which takes vigilant effort…open hearts, and much prayer.
Jesus went to great lengths to show us how far we must go to be his disciples, …when he washed everyone’s feet. The feet of Peter who would deny him; the feet of Judas who would betray him; the feet of those who slept instead of keeping watch, the feet of those who kept silent when he was convicted, the feet of those who ran away and hid.
Both Jesus’ words and actions make it clear that the only way to be counted among his disciples is to love and serve others. Even when those others aren’t much to our liking…even when they don’t understand us…even when they don’t have our best interest in heart….even when they are determined to hurt and destroy us.
If we know Jesus … claim to know his teachings … then we have no choice but to live a life in keeping with this scripture passage. Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem, willing to die, ready to pay the ultimate price for every human sin ever and yet to be committed. On this night, Jesus sacrifice begs us to ask ourselves this life-changing question: Does it matter? Does Jesus’ death on the cross matter to the world…does that horrible death matter to me? Does Easter make any difference in the way I see the world and it people. Does the resurrection make any difference at all in my life…and the life of my children and their children. And if we answer yes…then again, we have no choice, but to go forward – a people made different through Jesus Christ…seeing with new eyes, living a new life…washing everyone’s feet.

Bright Hope For Tomorrow

2010-03-26T12:54:00.002-04:00

Sunday, March 21, 2010

“What do you think about those Galileans who were killed? Pilate took their blood and mixed it with other blood used for sacrifices. And what about that horrible accident in Siloam where that tower fell and killed a bunch of people.” It is the telling of a news item. Real people sharing information with each other. Just like what we would hear today - all that has changed is the content. “What do you think about all those people who were killed in that earthquake in Haiti? And what about those guards who were shot at the Pentagon, and the people who were killed in that bus accident in Arizona?”
These kinds of conversations come about because of some crime committed against humanity. We have them every time we see the chaos caused by natural disasters. Wherever innocent victims suffer and die, we get talking. About how short life is…and how you never know when your time is up. And that kind of talking gets us thinking. About how much more we want to do…and what we want to stop doing. We call these events wake up calls. The nature of a wake-up call – is that it gets us up and out of the rut, and causes us to make promises about changing.
But Jesus is going to push us beyond promising to change…Jesus is going to insist on the most radical change of all - Repentance.
Some will tell you that repentance means to feel sorry about or regret something. Guess what…I feel sorry about and regret a lot of somethings. And I’ll tell you, if that’s all there is to repentance, then I’m doing good – cuz I can feel sorry about all kinds of stuff every day of the week.
But you see, for us Christians there is more… repentance is when we turn away from sin…and turn toward God. Repentance is more than thinking and talking and promising to change… repentance is actually making the change. Repentance doesn’t happen in our heads. Repentance happens in our hearts. True repentance is a complete and total change of heart. And since the heart in Jewish thought was not just a muscle in our chest – but the quality and character and nature of a person = true repentance encompasses the total of all we are. Keeping that in mind then, there can be no such thing as selective repentance. We can’t repent of some things – but justify and hold on to grudges, hatred, fears, and prejudices about other things.
One New Testament scholar writes this: People think repentance is either moral uprightness or they reduce repentance to a two-minute apology. Quite the contrary…he says…True repentance is when everything about us is changed – our thinking, our talking, our doing, our living. In true repentance nothing is held back…but we stand open to embracing new perspectives on every thing and every person. True repentance is when we are changed from the inside out. It’s when every fiber of body mind and soul are re-oriented toward Christ. It’s when our whole heart…our whole being is one with God.
A big order…a scary order…a risky order…one we may not be exactly comfortable with. But then again, I don’t imagine that true repentance is supposed to make us comfortable. True repentance makes us as uncomfortable as we can be. Do you think the Jews with all their food laws, and clean and unclean laws, were comfortable sharing food with the pagans…think the men in a patriarchal society where women were nothing more than property to be bought, sold, traded or killed, were comfortable with women being considered their equal…think the rich elite with all their perfume and oils and expensive clothing and jewelry were comfortable sitting in worship next to a stinky ‘ol barefoot beggar in rags? I think not.
But if you were claiming Christ to be your Savior, if you were following him, and calling yourself one of his disciples…then eating with unclean pagans, and standing on equal ground with lowly women, and sitting in worship with someone who absolutely disgusted you and insulted your sensibilities… was precisely what Jesus expected of you.
True repentance is the uncomfortable risk we take – opening our minds and our hearts to the newness of Christ…and allowing ourselves to be transformed into that which we are called to be – faithful disciples who glorify God in every thought, word, and deed. True repentance is the most radical change of all.

A Better Song

2010-03-26T12:54:00.001-04:00

Sunday, March 14, 2010

A long time ago, there was a movie called “Educating Rita.” It was about a woman who through a series of events and bad choices found herself far away from the hopes and dreams she held as a young woman. Now approaching middle age, Rita wanted to change all that. She wanted to return to school. But, she was afraid and thought she was too old, and so decided against school, resigning herself to her present lot in life. Until she and some friends and family members were sitting around listening to some music. Some sad melancholy tune came on the radio – one which everyone knew and began to sing. Rita looked over at her mother – only to find her crying. Mother – overwhelmed with her own life, now watching her daughter on the same path..looked at Rita and said. There must be a better song to sing than this.
We are the church. The word used in the New Testament to describe us is ecclesia. It means ‘called out’. We are a people who are called out of the world to be God’s people – We are a people who are then called back out into the world to be agents of reconciliation. Agents of reconciliation – for no other reason than …Christ has made impossible for us to be reconciled to God. And since we have received this gift of reconciliation freely and through grace, and not because of anything we have done…..we are then compelled to share, and encourage, and foster reconciliation wherever we are, and with everyone we meet.
The church has not always done such a good job in the reconciliation department. We continue to judge, continue to discriminate, continue to regard others from our human point of view. We continue to believe that we are the only ones who deserve Christ’s mercy, even though we just heard that Jesus died for all. We continue to count a person’s trespasses against them – despite Paul telling us that not even Jesus Christ is in the business of counting a person’s trespasses = but in the business of reconciling the whole world to himself.
Reconciliation is when people stop doing whatever it is that keeps them at each other’s throats…it’s when we stop long enough to have a conversation, in the hopes of getting to know and understand one another …its when we care enough to compromise…Reconciliation is when we value and respect one another.
Please listen to what one New Testament scholar has written>>>
Copy from interpreter’s bible HERE…………….
Lent is our time for personal reflection. It is our attempt to grow in our faith as we grow closer to God. Lent is also a time for all the members of the Body of Christ to reflect on who we are as a people…and as disciples. Who we are out there, and how others see and respond to us - the church in the world. No doubt, we will all confess that there is room for improvement.
Lent is a time for each of us individually and as a community of faith – to see the world and the people through Christ’s eyes – to see those many places in us and in the church that are in need of reconciliation. I agree with Rita‘s mother: there is a better song to sing than this. On the other side of Easter, let us remember to sing that new song unto the Lord.

Who Are You?

2010-03-05T10:14:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 28, 2010

“Who Are You?”

Wasn’t that the question Satan wanted Jesus to answer when they were in the wilderness? If you are the Son of God – prove it. If you are the Son of God - do something to identify yourself. Jesus identified himself by his knowledge of Scripture; by his refusal to be tricked by Satan’s false promises; by his strength to overcome temptation. Jesus identified himself, all right…as the faithful and obedient Son of God.
Herod was power-hungry, vengeful, rich, greedy, self-absorbed, cruel, corrupt, deceitful. In the New Testament Herod symbolizes the ways of the world. The Herod’s of the world wanted Jesus to stop – he was upsetting the usual order of things. People who had always been pushed out of sight and ignored, were now coming out of the wood work and being seen and heard. Jesus was making a mockery of the way things were supposed to be and had always been…with his unwanted babble about love and respect, compassion and forgiveness, acceptance and justice and peace. The world wanted Jesus to quit… “Stop doing what you’re doing…the Pharisee’s told him. Stop being who you are…stop being true to yourself… and get out of here.” This time Jesus was being tempted to deny his identity. But Jesus would not abandon the mission and purpose of his life – even though he was told that his life was in danger. “I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow = and the third day I finish my course.” Jesus knew exactly who he was – Beloved, Son of God-- and no matter what the temptation… no matter what he could have gotten away with…no matter how much easier his life might have been - Jesus would never deny that.
Jesus knew what Jerusalem was meant to be. Jesus knew who God’s people were meant to be. And he knew how far they had fallen away. The world had crept into the Temple and brought with it - corruption, entitlement, greed, power. A chosen people, set apart and holy had become very familiar and comfortable with the ways of Roman and Greek culture and the worship of many gods. Holy city and holy people had fallen to the temptations of the world.
O Jerusalem – how I have longed for you to recognize me as the one who loves you – longed to gather your broken and hurting people up in my arms – but you would not have me. Jesus tried to tell Jerusalem and her people who they were – but neither would believe in him. It is – you see – easier to believe in and live with the lies of the world…because – other than their pound of flesh – the Herod’s of the world don’t expect much from us. Where God holds us to our covenant with him, the world will look the other way; where Christ expects us to live with him as our example, the world says it’s ok to make excuses for any kind of behavior; where discipleship calls us to take the focus off of ourselves and toward others, the world says hoorah for me. Where the Holy Spirit is to guide us into God’s will, the world says do whatever makes you happy, and don’t worry about anyone else.
Jesus is preparing to die for us…preparing himself to be crucified for our sins. In this Lenten season, it is our task to take time to prepare for that death…to consider our sins and temptations. In the time we have, let us think about who we are….as Christians…as a church in Maxwelton, WV…a community of believers in the 21st century. Let us think about who we are…as individuals,,, and in our relationships…at work and at play…in the dark and frightened places of our hearts and in the harsh glare of the world… Do you know who you are? More importantly, do you know whose you are?

Walking Before The Lord

2010-02-22T08:07:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 21, 2010

While many Christians are observing the season of Lent – there are countless others who are not. Countless other Christians who - don’t really know the what’s and they why’s and the wherefore’s about Lent – and so they have no reason to observe it.
The Season of Lent is the 40 days from Ash Wednesday (which was this past week) to the Saturday before Easter. Sundays are not included in the 40 days – tradition holds that Sundays - the Day of the Lord – are feast days. Lent is a time set apart from the rest of the church year so that we can prepare – for the passion of Christ…and his resurrection…so that we recognize the risen Lord and….are ready to live the new life He offers us. Our preparations usually come in the form of a spiritual discipline – like daily prayer… daily scripture reading, letting go of some negative behavior, or taking on more Christ-like behavior.
But, we are an enlightened people who can’t be bothered with some foggy ol’ ancient ritual…and we are a busy people. And we are an independent people. And we are a people who only do what we want to do. So, it works out that there are any number of good excuses for why we choose not to “do” Lent.
God said to Abraham: I will be your God and you and your descendents will be my people…only walk before me and be blameless. That’s what we read…but the Hebrew reads: walk habitually before me. Make walking with me a habit…make it what you do consistently…make walking with me your routine…and do it until…it feels NORMAL…until it is your habit. From the days in the garden when God walked habitually with Adam and Eve, to Abraham, Moses, kings, and prophets….this one thing – walking with the Lord - is the foundation for all else required of us.
Lent gets to our foundation. Lent has always been about the ways and the habits that shape our lives. First century converts spent years studying, and learning about Jesus and his teachings, years being trained in the Christian faith and changing how they thought and acted and lived. As converts who were preparing to be baptized on Easter morning, this Lenten season was spent in serious repentance and reflection. Were they ready to make the changes necessary to be a member of the Body of Christ…were they ready to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger…were they ready to serve, to share their gifts, to suffer persecution …were they ready to proclaim and teach and evangelize…were they ready to make a very radical change? Were they prepared – to let go of the old life and take on the new life Christ offered them? Were they willing to walk habitually before God?
These of course are the very same questions we ask ourselves throughout these 40 days. With the hope that our answers will bring us to make the changes God requires of us…so that we to walk habitually with the Lord.

A Fish Story

2010-02-15T10:48:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 14

There’s an ongoing documentary on television called Deadliest Catch. It follows a dozen or so men, who fish the waters of the Bering Sea. They suffer every kind of injury, and battle icy storms in the dead of night…all to bring us Alaskan crab legs. If you watch the show, you know these commercial fishermen are a rough and tumble lot. They argue and fight, smoke and curse. And yet …despite their differences, when the going gets tough they are fiercely loyal to each other, because once they are out at sea, their very lives depend on one another. I imagine that Simon, James, and John = being commercial fishermen = had much in common with the crew on Deadliest Catch. Fiercely loyal to one another, opinionated and argumentative…and rough around the edges. Skin leathered from the Mediterranean sun; hands scarred from hooks and ropes, nets and mending needles. Battling the storms that come up so quickly on the Galilee Sea, hours spent setting and guarding the fishing nets, working through the night….hoping for a net full of fish in the morning.
But not every time you let your nets down will you be lucky enough to haul in a big catch. That was the case for Simon and his partners. They had been out all night. Fished their usual spots…even tried a few unpopular and unfamiliar spots. But when the sun came up – the nets came up empty. //////////////
Now == it is true that no matter what job you do, there is always someone who has never done your job, but likes to tell you how you could do it better. A person just like that climbed into Simon’s boat – and told him to push out into deeper waters. “My partners and I have worked all night…we’ll try again…but for now we’ve had enough” ….Push out into the deeper waters and let down your nets for a catch. “You can see for yourself, we’ve done what we could, and still we have caught nothing.’ And Jesus insisted.
And when the nets came up….It was unlike anything those fishermen had ever seen before. Fish in the hundreds – straining the nets to almost breaking. Filling the boat in which Peter stood and filling a second boat --- to the point where men and boats were about to sink. /////////// And before another night was over, Simon, James and John left the only job they ever knew and followed Jesus.
And just think – When the bossy stranger got into Simon’s boat and started telling him what to do – a tired and frustrated Simon could have just as easily told Jesus ‘I don’t know who your are, or who you think you are, but get out of my boat, mind your own business – and leave fishing to fishermen.”
That kind of response sounds more believable to me. Because most people prefer to do things their own way….and most people aren’t particularly eager to take other people’s advice. If I’m going to be honest with myself, I’d have to admit that if Jesus would have told me to keep on fishing after a long frustrating and disappointing night, I would have walked right past him and gone on home.
And that makes me wonder….how many times – unbeknownst to me – has Jesus stood before me, waited for me to pay attention, only to watch me walk away. How many times has the Lord called me to speak to someone, to go somewhere, to help someone…how many times has the Lord wanted me to make a change, or rethink my position on some issue – only to have me say NO… and stubbornly keep on doing things my way.
What might be possible…how many lives could be positively affected… if we took the time to seek God’s will? What might the church accomplish in the world… if we invited Jesus to be a part of our decision making process? How much closer would our walk with Jesus be, if we stopped being so stubborn, clinging to ways that no longer bear fruit?

When we – like Simon - are tired and frustrated, weary and worried… when we feel like we are stuck….when we feel that the world has given us a good thrashing, and the possibilities are few and far between….it will do us good to remember this fish story. A story about trusting the Lord; A story about believing that God’s plans for us are greater than the plans we have for ourselves. A story about Jesus getting in the boat with us when times are tough. A story that promises surprising abundance ..if only we would let go of our own ways, and make a space for Christ to enter in.

It's Only The Beginning

2010-02-01T08:42:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 31, 2010

God’s prophets are rarely welcomed…rarely liked or appreciated…most often their message is ignored. But when Jeremiah became a prophet – not only was he unwelcome, disliked, and ignored, but the people believed he was unnecessary. Their enemy Assyria was in decline; surrounding nations were off feuding among themselves, and Josiah was king. During his reign, the lost Book of the Law was found, repairs were made to the Temple, and religious reforms were established. They had found their faith again, the land was secure, the king was honorable, life was good. Who needed a prophet?
And Jeremiah agreed! No, I don’t want to do that. I’m too young. No I don’t want to do that, I’m afraid. No, I can’t do that, I don’t know what to say.
But God assured him. I will be with you. No. I will put my words in your mouth. No. And I will deliver you. No. But I formed you…and I know you…and I consecrate you…and I appoint. No. No. No. No.

Every single person here has been called by God = not just to believe in God or be a member of the church – but each and every person is called to bring glory to God. Every single person has a gift – whether it is a gift for teaching, or mentoring, or encouraging…whether you have the gift of music, or planning, or organizing…the gift of compassion or the gift of working with your hands, the gift of leadership or envisioning new possibilities for our future. Each of you has something needed and necessary for the church to grow and be a strong witness for Christ…which in turn will glorify God. But too often we – like Jeremiah – make excuses for not using that gift for the glory of God.
Why do we resist God’s call? The answer is easy enough according to one old testament scholar. It’s because after a couple thousand years, we are so used to the Christian faith that we have become bored with it. Living in a free country, where we can do what we want…we have chosen other things besides church. Living in a rich country where we can afford to choose – we have chosen to believe that all that calling stuff happened way back in biblical times. Living in a time when the church’s beliefs are challenged, and often ridiculed – we have moved away from all that hocus pocus stuff. Living in a world where we are very busy – we have made church and her teachings optional. Our religion she says – has been rendered harmless. We don’t know what we believe anymore, we don’t know what our church believes, we don’t bother to study Scripture anymore, we don’t much pay attention to the church’s rituals, the special days, their sacred meaning, or the church’s purpose in the world. She says, the church has been reduced to baptizing our blessings, confirming our comforts, and letting someone else carry the water for Christ’s ministry.
She goes on to say, that iIf we took Christ’s church seriously, if we bothered to ground ourself in the faith, then answering God’s call might call us to risk. And if we choose that, it might mean that a harmless religion could be transformed into a scary religion.
You know the kind of religion I’m talking about: the one where we welcome and serve the stranger; the one where we put ourselves out for the next guy and for the common good. The kind of religion where we stop judging and start understanding; the kind where we stop ignoring and start listening; the kind where we put our own comfort on hold so the guy down the road receives a blessing. You know the kind of religion I’m talking about – the kind where the crowd wants to hurl you off the nearest cliff – because you believe you have been called to bring good news to the poor. Because you believe that it’s your call to risk your reputation and your position to proclaim release to the captives, to recover the sight of the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Because you believe with no reservations – that God really does expect you to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. Because you believe that the Holy Spirit has equipped you to do far greater things than what you have done so far.
This morning we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. It was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry…It is for us the beginning of a new life in Christ, our rebirth and adoption into the covenant family of the church, the beginning of our being united with one another in every time and place. Baptism is the beginning of our response to God’s grace – But it is only the beginning …of a life of discipleship, a life of service, a life of participation in Christ’s church and her work in the world.

The Life Giving Word

2010-01-25T08:07:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 24, 2010

The spoils of war. Anything and everything that will profit the victor. When Babylon defeated the Israelites, they did what armies do…they pillaged and looted the conquered city – taking everything profitable. Food, fuel, cooking vessels, water - for the long march back home. Clothing, blankets, handmade goods, furnishings – as proof of their conquest to those back home. Jewelry, silver, gold, art work, religious items – security for their families, and treasures for their country’s coffers… And people – the rich and influential, the educated, the businessmen, the talented, the young, handsome and healthy.
Because if you leave behind nothing ---except the crippled, the old, the sick, and the helpless – you leave behind a neighborhood, a city, and a nation that has absolutely no resources and no possible chance of surviving.
150 years had passed. There were attempts to reconstruct Jerusalem, but no real progress was ever made. The word came to Nehemiah that the Jewish remnant who had survived the exile and returned to Jerusalem were in trouble…were in danger…were disgraced.
The memories of the old Jerusalem were handed down. About the ancestral homes; the layout of the city, the Temple, the rows of merchants with their goods --- all described and painted like pictures in the minds of the next generation. Those whose eyes had seen the old Jerusalem were long dead, and those whose eyes had never seen the place, arrived with those hand me down memories. But none of it turned out to be what they thought – when they finally returned to Jerusalem. The Temple was still in ruins, the buildings that remained were crumbling, the walls that once surrounded and protected the city lay collapsed and deteriorating in the Middle Eastern sun. They had lost their roots, their ties to the land, lost their sense of family connectedness, lost a sense of who they were in history and who they were as a people. Living in a foreign land for so long, they had lost just about everything that was unique to their Jewish culture. So now they were home…but what did that mean? Who were they now…how did they fit…what was their place in the world? They were a lost people. And when you feel lost, when everything about your existence tells you that you are lost – there comes an emptiness inside. In time, the remnant began to rebuild – their homes, the city wall and the Temple. There were marriages, and children, the marketplace began to bustle, and a destroyed city showed signs of life once again. But something was missing…the empty void remained – hope was fleeting, and any sense of security or inner peace was hard to fine. The Book of the Law of Moses had been found, now the people asked Ezra to read it out loud to them.
A people exiled from their land and their culture had never heard God’s words to them. Never knew God’s promises, never knew they were chosen, never knew how to be God’s people, never knew they were called to be different, never knew that God wanted them to live. When they heard God’s word to them for the very first time – Scripture tells us that they mourned and wept. But Nehemiah told them to stop. They had wept and mourned for too long now. It was time to leave behind the trouble, the danger, and the disgrace. Time to leave behind the losses and what might have been. No more grieving, for the words you have heard this day will be your strength – and the Lord rejoices that you – his chosen people – have heard the hope he has for you. This day has become a day holy to the Lord your God. Go and eat the fat - the richest part of the meat….and drink sweet wine – the very best of the harvest. No more denying yourself the goodness of the Lord and the life he has given you.
Unknown to those who attended this spontaneous celebration and feast – in years to come this day in the seventh month of the Hebrew year would become the Feast of the Trumpets – or what we know as Rosh Hashanah – the beginning of a new year. As God’s word was received and understood by God’s people – it marked a new beginning – with God, with one another, and within the faith community. Here was how they could let go of the past…here was how they would move forward into their future – equipped with the Word of God. Hearing it, studying it, interpreting it, finding in it the guidance, and comfort, and peace for which they longed, but never knew where to find.
Unlike the returning exiles, we have known the Word of God since childhood. Unlike the returning exiles, all we have to do is open the book. Unlike the returning exiles, it’s at our disposal to read in the privacy of our homes, to study with others, to hear the words proclaimed, to use it in prayer, in song, or in teaching. I do believe that there are circumstances, and seasons in our lives, when nothing serves us better…wiser… richer… or sweeter than words of Scripture. Nothing in this world that can fill our human emptiness and longing so fully as God’s words to you and me.
In this season of Epiphany – when the divine was revealed to us in the form of a human child – when God’s word became flesh and dwelt among us, let us eat and drink the best that is offered…..the rich fat and the sweet wine…of Scripture ---for the renewing, releasing, comforting, sustaining, life-giving word of God….is ours.

If Not Now...When?

2010-01-20T08:02:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 17

It was a big wedding. A whole week’s worth of celebrating…with relatives and friends; lots of congratulations and gifts, and good humor all around. The young, the old, memories shared, memories being made; music, dancing, food and drink.
And parents who stretched their family budget as far and as tightly as they could. All to make this wedding week wonderful – an occasion that people would talk about long after everyone went home. The festivities were winding down – but the guests were still coming. As Middle Eastern hospitality demanded – when you come to my home – especially on such an occasion as this – a variety of good food and good wine was always available. It was a matter of honor that every guest was heartily welcomed and heartily fed. And it was that matter of honor which was suddenly at stake….when they ran out of wine.
I believe that if I wrote this gospel, I wouldn’t have been quite so honest. I would have written something like this. “Jesus –as usual – was paying close attention to all that was going on around him. As he watched the servants he noticed a look of panic on their faces. Everyone else was so busy with the wedding celebration that they were oblivious to anything else that might be going on. But Immediately Jesus knew that something was wrong. In short order he figured out the problem and because he didn’t want this family to be embarrassed or ridiculed, he took pity on them. Jesus politely excused himself from the conversation he was having with his mother and the disciples. He quickly went to the servants and spoke to them quietly so as not to cause suspicion. And without another word being spoken, the water jars were filled with the best wine.
But that’s not what John wrote. It was Jesus’ mother who was paying attention…and Jesus’ mother who figured out that the family ran out of wine. And it was Jesus’ mother who connected the dots to realize what a horrible embarrassment this would be to the groom’s family – if someone didn’t do something – and quickly. Mary – knowing her son better than anyone else gave him a nudge in the side – like all good mothers would do. And told him of the unforgiveable social blunder that is about to come upon this family. Whereupon Jesus turned and said to her: Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” (At that moment, any mother – other of course than Mary would have done like this::::::

Once again Jesus does something that catches us by surprise…something out of character…and we don’t understand it. Some have called Jesus’ initial and rather rude dismissal of his mother’s implied request…::: The scandal of divine reluctance. If I was clever enough to have come up with that saying, I think I would have named it something like: The Scandal of who cares…or The scandal of I’m busy with other things and I don’t have time to be bothered by you…or perhaps The scandal of it doesn’t affect me, so let someone else deal with it.
There’s nothing like an earthquake in Haiti to make you realize how absolutely blessed you are. Nothing like the picture of a child pinned under a block of concrete to make you promise yourself that you’ll never complain about another thing ever. Nothing like the sounds made by desperate, hungry, and scared people running in the deep darkness of night for fear that the tsunami wave is coming, to make you get a sick feeling in your stomach. Nothing like the stories of a rescue after four days, or the birth of a baby boy in the midst of the rubble, or the sight of people praying near the pile of stone that used to be their church – to make you smile for the undying spirit of hope and love that dwells in each of us. . Nothing like any of it…to make you want to do something good and positive and helpful for another human being. That’s when The Scandal of who cares…becomes, Yes I do care…and The scandal of I’m busy and I don’t have time…becomes I’ll be right there…and The scandal of let someone else deal with it becomes Jesus taught me the greatest commandment to love …and that means that with his help, I’ll deal with it.
Jesus told his mother that his hour had not yet come, but when the need was made clear, and he trusted that God had mightily equipped him for whatever task that lie ahead, our Lord put aside his divine reluctance…and turned water into wine.
What will be your hour? In what hour will you say yes - when asked to proclaim, when asked to live in the ways of discipleship, when asked to share your gifts…when asked to serve. Has that hour arrived yet, or is there something more important to do?
It is already the 17th day of the new year – and we all know how quickly time goes by. We all know how quickly the picture of Haiti will stop and some frivolous Hollywood scandal will take us away from the Human need that stares back at us from colored television screens. Before too much time gets away from us. Let us consider the hour. If it is not now…then when?