Dec. 30, 2012 First Sunday of Christmas

Luke 2:41-52

41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
    49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
    51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

“Jesus Increased”
 
“Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
Lk 2:52
He had to grow up like any other person.  He grew physically, mentally, spiritually.  He was not a super-boy; he was a human boy.
Development is a part of God’s creation.  We have to become who we were created to be. This does not happen quickly, nor perfectly; it does include faith, and the confession of sin.  Perfection begins with the confession of our inability to be perfect.  And our trust that Jesus was perfect for us.

No one is too bad to be a child of God and no one is too good to not be in need of Christ’s grace and forgiveness.  Luther:  “ I am at the same time sinner and saint.”

As Jesus grew in his consciousness of who he was as the Son of God, we too have to grow in our consciousness of who we are as sons and daughters of God.

“The Child Jesus”

Jesus wasn’t the perfect child if we think of being perfect as always obedient, always predictable, always meeting his parents expectations.

He gave them some anxious moments, fearful moments, bewildering moments.  Something burned within Jesus (God’s plan) which he may not have understood as a child of 12 but which led him in ways which left his family anxious.

He had to find out who he was and what he was here for.  (Don’t we all?)

No one can do this for us - we have to each do it for ourselves and it will create anxious moments for those who love us.  As one writer said of these words,

“There are times when we get caught up in things which scare our parents, not because they are wrong, but because there is danger as well as beauty in what we are doing.”

To parent is to love when we are anxious and let our children grow - in wisdom and stature with God and us.  Even Jesus had to do this!

 “Becoming Who I Am”

Some see this story as evidence that the family is made for conflict.  “Attempting fidelity to the will of God will always bring painful separation; there is no way around it.”  ( Proclamation 3, C,1991, p. 50)

Others hold that this story is an incomplete interlude between the birth account and the baptism by John.  Luke is the only one to include the story.  It hints at what is to come, as do all good stories.

And again, this story is seen as a pronouncement, telling us that this boy is God’s son, called to a unique mission for God -”to become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people”.  As such the boy Jesus “must choose...obedience to the...will of his father over against the claims of his earthly family.”
(Proclamation 2, C, p.40

Jesus was not playing a game with the teachers in the temple, nor was he being indifferent to his parents.  He was discovering who he was.  He was waking up to his calling as the Son of God.  This makes him truly human as well as truly divine.  For all humans have to” become”; struggle to discover and become who I am to be.

Jesus lost himself in the moment and forgot about his parents.
There are times when we are called to loose ourselves in others - “waste time with people” and discover what might happen in their lives and ours when we do.  This too is a part of being merciful and faithful servants in the service of God as we become all we can be.

Dec. 25, 2012 Christmas Day

John 1:1-14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
    3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
    6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.[b]
    10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
    14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Christmas is a love story.  It is a story which has moved hard
people to do beautiful things and cold people to let others warm up in their love.  It has stopped war, inspired great music, and warmed the heart of many a lonely, lost person.  

Christmas is the celebration of the sacred sign given to us in human form, that God is love.  Whoever loves is of God and God is of them.
As John tells us:
“God is love, and the (person) whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in (them).”  I John 4:16 (Phillips)

God isn’t moved by power, prestige, fame, or fortune.
God’s isn’t impressed by what we do to show how holy, righteous, or important we are.  God is moved and impressed by how we love!

As Mother Teresa put it:  “We are not called to do great things for God;
we are called to do small things with great love.”

What we celebrate in Christmas is love, for
“Love came down at Christmas
love all lovely, love diving’
love was born at Christmas,
star and angles gave the sign.”
Therefore:
“Love shall be our token ,
love be yours and love by mine,
love to God and all (people)
love for plea and gift and sign.”


“The Word Became Flesh”

Christmas is here; and will soon be past.  The celebration of Christmas, which begins earlier each year, will soon be over.  Yet Christmas is never over.  It never ends.  It is hidden in every day, every word, every deed of our lives.

As we celebrate the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us, we also celebrate the Word becoming flesh - our flesh - and dwelling still in our midst.

We are to live our words and live The Word so that even our flesh becomes a presence of the God who became human and dwelt among us in Jesus.

God’s Word - God’s best word to us is seen before it is heard. felt before it is known, experienced before it is understood, lived before it can be spoken.
It became flesh and dwelt among us so we could best know it in the most human ways possible.   And that is also how we share it - by living it.

Henri Nouwen:  “The most important question for me is not, ‘How do I touch people?’  but, ‘How do I live the word I am speaking?”

Indeed, Christmas is not just once a year.  It is yesterday, today, and forever, as the Word becomes flesh in us and dwells among us.
Indeed, Christmas is every day!

Dec 23, 2012 Advent 4

Luke 1: 39-55

 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

    46 And Mary said:
   "My soul glorifies the Lord
       47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
    48 for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
       49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
    50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
    51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
    52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
    53 He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
    54 He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
    55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."


There was nothing about Mary to make her stand out among all the maidens of Israel.  In fact, she was one of the lowliest of a downtrodden people.   In all likelihood an orphan, a mere servant, tending the cattle and the house with no more esteem than a maid who does her appointed chores. She was probably between 13 and 15 years old and her name, which in Hebrew form is Miriam reveals something of her life, which was bitter and hard - it means “bitter myrrh”.

Yet it was this one God chose to use to give birth to God’s Son.  When you stop to think about that for a moment, it suddenly becomes clear that the miracle here is not just that God did it, but that Mary believed God and let God do it.

 As Martin Luther said, “The miracle of Christ as Virgin-born, is a trifle for the Almighty God.  That God becomes a man is an even greater miracle.  But the most amazing of them all is that the maiden finds the angel’s message credible and that the Child God promised would be hers.”

The extraordinary occurs in the ordinary...the uncommon in the common...the divine in the human.  This is the mystery we celebrate when we celebrate Christmas, God coming to dwell with us...to take on human form and to touch the ordinary with God’s extraordinary grace.

 It is for this reason that we can say, where ever love is in human form, something of God is there too, in divine form and it is for this reason that we can say that nothing is too insignificant for God and no one counts for nothing.

 Mary reminds us to, as a Norwegian relative put it, trying to deal with our many colloquial phrases, “keep our eyes skinned”(pealed),  open for the miracle which is hidden in the common, and see with the eyes of faith that which Mary saw when she went along with this extraordinary plan God laid on her.

“Journey Into Blessing”

Mary is called “blessed” because she allowed herself to be used as a blessing.  She humbly believed what the Lord said to her and let it be accomplished.

God needed Mary to do God’s will.  God couldn’t have done it, at that time in that way, without Mary.

God needs us to do God’s will in our world.  As unbelievable as it sounds, there are some things God can not do at this time without us.  To follow God’s lead is to discover God’s blessing.  It comes in the doing.  Blessing is a serendipity.  Something which happens in the process of surrendering to God’s will.  There will always be a blessing in doing God’s will.  For that is where it all ends up with God!

Dec 16, 2012 Advent 3

Luke 3:7-18
 7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

“What Then Shall We Do?”

John got their attention.  He broke through their blindness, pricked their conscience, penetrated their hearts so they asked, ”What then shall we do?”

It is a question we must ask too, for it is never enough to talk the talk; we must walk the walk.
We must let God get to our hearts and change our way of being, or at best were just sincere hypocrites, “honoring God with our lips while our hearts are far from God.”

And what is it we are to do?

We are to “bear fruit that befits repentance”.
Repentance means changing from the inside out.
To be authentic from the inside out?  How?

We are to “Share with the one who has none."_
“Collect no more than you are required to".”  That is, be fair.
“Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely- be contented with your pay.”   Be kind

When I share with someone I identify with them; this is how we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The mark of a religious person is that he/she can be trusted to keep their word. Honest!

Being fair is being aware of more then just what is right; it is being aware of what the effects of a given act is on someone else, and not taking advantage of that person.

To live lives which show that our hearts are really changed is the on going task of repentance.  For to repent is to turn around again and again and again, and be opened to change;  open to becoming who we never thought we would be.

Dec 9, 2012 Advent 2

Luke 3:1-6

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
   every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
   the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

“Preparing for Christmas”

Our preparation for Christmas is distracted by the litany of commercialism and the litany of indulgence.  To offset this we need to “discern what is best” about this celebration by going deeper and deeper into the mystery which is Christmas.

This means we do things which enable us to love more, for Christmas is love.

The measure of how successful our Christmas has been is not in how exhausted we are at the end of the celebration,  but how excited we are about living Christmas all year long as we share the mystery of God’s love.

The word repent is an appropriate word for our Christmas preparation.  A careful look inward is a necessary part of “discerning what is best and pure and blameless”,  what is “ filled with righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.”

This is what Advent is all about.  Getting ready!  When I am ready, I am more able to experience, more able to see.  Ironically, I can also be more spontaneous, more open to chance; call it planned spontaneity, prepared enough to be free to be spontaneous.

A song writer once said,  “Tunes simply pop into my head all the time.
But of course, your head has to be arranged to receive them!”

Louis Pasteur,  “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

We celebrate Christmas because something great has happened and something great is going to happen!  Some unexpected things are going to happen, human things, like getting the wrong number and have a visit with a lonely old person, or being touched by a need in someone's life and then doing something to meet that need.

God has some surprises in store for those who are ready to see them.
Are we prepared to see the salvation of God happening in our midst, in with and through us?  Are our hearts and heads “arranged to receive” the love which is Christmas?

Dec. 2, 2012 Advent 1

Luke 21:25-36

 25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
 29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

“In A Celebrating Mood?”

The issue of when Jesus is coming again is mute; it is a dead end street.
What is important today is not the content of our text, but the mood set by the text.  For our mood is vital to our relationships.

And the mood of our text is a “positive, joyful hope of redemption.”
Celebration - the mood of the Gospel!

There is great heresy in correct theology without correct mood.
The power of ”Jesus Christ Super Star” and “Godspell” is the mood they set.

To celebrate life at all times and in all places.  To see the good surrounded by the bad.  To be thankful when all is going wrong.  To be hopeful when all seems lost.  This is the mood of the Gospel.  This is the mood of Jesus.  Celebration of life, for it is good.

“We communicate best when we celebrate most.”

 “The Second Coming”

There is much speculation regarding the return of Jesus Christ, the second advent.  The truth is, IT IS GOING TO BE A SURPRISE!

To try take the surprise out of the second coming by predicting when it is going to happen is the highest form of idolatry known to man.  It is playing God!

The important question for us is not “When will the Kingdom of God come?”, but ”How has it come to us already?” and, “How can it come through us again?”

The answer to the first question is, “Yes, in Jesus .”
Is this not what we celebrate in Christmas!  Emanuel, God with us!

And to the second one, the answer is, “ It comes in the human drama of love and forgiveness; compassion and caring, when ever and where ever it happens.”

That is, it comes as we let Christmas be more then an observation.  Let  Christmas live through us.  For wherever two humans touch in a meaningful way, God is also present.

November 25 2012 Christ the King Sunday

John 18:33-37

 33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

 “Not Of This World”

His Kingdom is not of this world.  It is a Kingdom where things are reversed in a strange yet powerful way.  The first are last and the last first.   The great are the lowly and the masters are the servants.  The little is much and the poor are rich.  The widows mite is much and the rich peoples much is little.

A Kingdom where money is not as important as love and relationships;  where nothing can happen which is beyond becoming a blessing, redeemed by God’s love.  It is a Kingdom which cannot be destroyed and will never end.

“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I (Napoleon Bonaparte) have built great empires.  but upon what did they depend?  They depended on force.  But centuries ago Jesus started an empire that was built on love, and even today, millions will die for him.

“All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as the one who was born to be a king...of another kingdom.”

“Not Of This World”

The Kingdom of God came as and is yet today a surprise.
The disciples missed it...
the people missed it...
the religious leaders missed it...
the church misses it...
and we miss it more then we get it!

It isn’t always the way we see it.  It’s power is weakness; its wealth is poverty; its prestige is meekness.

To be meek is not to be weak (spiritless); it is to be of a gentle spirit.
A meek person is strong enough to not have to be bias, prejudiced, close minded, defensive.  A meek person is strong enough to be open, understanding, compassionate, long suffering, humble, and of such is the Kingdom of Jesus.

In the Kingdom of God we are challenged to hunger and thirst after righteousness - the wealth of the Kingdom.  It is found in right relatedness, right living, right relationship to God and each other.  It dares to forgive rather than condemn; be merciful rather than judgmental; patient rather than demanding. It leaves room for mistakes rather than demanding perfection.

We also are challenged to be poor in spirit...humble minded.  To know that I am spiritually poor is to be open to see what I could never see if l were rich.  It is to hear what I could never hear; to believe what I would never otherwise believe.  It is to be open, alive, looking, questioning, searching, knocking, asking, seeking.  And then discovering the promise given!
Indeed the Kingdom of God comes as a surprise.
The challenge of faith is to not miss it!

“A Kingdom Of Grace”

Jesus answer to Pilate betrays what appears to be happening and reveals a majesty which baffles Pilate and us.  It is a majesty of grace by a King whose Kingdom will never be destroyed.
God is best known as a God of grace and God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace!
In a Kingdom of grace the King is first of all a servant, truly a servant of all!
In a Kingdom of grace the bottom line is not what is cost effective, but what is fitting and appropriate for all - and fair.
In a Kingdom of grace patience is more important than efficiency; faithfulness than merit; truth than dishonesty, deception or expediency.

“Jesus addressed economic questions more frequently than he did violence, sexual morality, or heaven and hell.  The most fundamental principle of biblical economics... is the notion that economic activity is not an end in itself but exists to serve higher purposes.
...The biblical emphasis is not so much on the mechanics of producing and distributing material goods as on how such activities reflect a right relationship to God and one’s neighbors.  ...The primary standard the Bible gives us for judging any economic system is the priority of the poor.  The righteousness of a people is to be seen in how they treat the weakest members of society.”  Sojourner staff person

“We can do things to diminish our humanity and resist God’s sovereignty over us, but we cannot do things that can dethrone God nor stop Him from loving us.  That is invincible.”

November 18, 2012 25th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 13:1-8

1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

   2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

   3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

   5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.


Let me pass on to you these words of Mark E. Wegener which put this text in a healthy perspective.
.
“If you are tempted to decipher Jesus' apocalyptic predictions and discover their fulfillment in current events, remember this: Over thirty years ago a popular volume entitled The Late, Great Planet Earth (1970) was published. It predicted that the end of the world would occur soon. It sold millions of copies and can still be found on the shelves of some fundamentalist, "evangelical" bookstores. Its author made three predictions: (1) things will get a lot worse, (2) the end of the world will come soon, and (3) most people will make fun of these predictions. So, of course, as soon as responsible theologians contradicted the first two predictions, the third one automatically came true! Most amazing was the fact that this book "interpreted" dozens and dozens of biblical passages, except the clearest single statement on the subject, namely, Mark 13:32, where Jesus says, "Concerning that day or hour nobody knows."

All that we know is that Jesus will be there at the end and no matter what, it will be good!  So watch, keep awake, stay alert, and don’t worry about it!

Also these words from David F. Watson, New Testament professor at Union Seminary, Dayton, Ohio.

“These are complex (words), deeply rooted in Old Testament language, history and theology.  Yet, despite the difficulties that they present, they are also powerful (words) that teach us not to follow false messiahs and prophets.  The dangers of overzealous nationalism and reactionary violence are clear in this  passage.  Violence begets violence.  (Amen to that!)  Followers of Jesus are to trust in God’s providential care even if the world around them seems to be falling apart before their eyes.”

And that takes a lot of  faith courage!

November 11, 2012 24th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 12:38-44

  38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

 “But First...Out Of Need”  

The story of the poor widow reminds us that we are called to live and give beyond our means.  We can give even out of our needs and all will be well.

Fear of not having enough makes it hard for us to hear and believe that giving is so important.  We should do it even when we can’t afford to do it.  It is the greatest joy in life, whether we have little or much.  To give much because we have been given much, we have been loved much.

She was in the hospital, dying.  She had lived a simple life; devout wife, faithful church worker, loyal friend.  She hadn’t asked for much and she was happy with what she had.
I stopped to see her and she asked me to get her purse out of the closet.  She opened it and gave me some bills.  Later I discovered that it was over $400, probably close to all she had.

Then I remembered the look of joy in her eye as she gave me the money and said use it in the church.  When she died all she had was auctioned off and added to this as a memorial to spread God’s love in our lives.  It wasn’t much but it was all she had.  And it was given with joy!  Myrtle gave much!  She loved Jesus much!  She loved people much!

She joined company with poor widow in our text for today.


“Try It...You’ll Like It”

This text should disturb us.  It confronts us with giving which comes out of need.
The truth is that what was happening in her and to her by giving her last 2 pennies was greater then anything she could have purchased with them.  They were expressive of her faith, trust, gratitude and there in,  her dignity.

 A dignity no amount of money could buy!

We need to give.  It is basic to our humanity.  We are not happy only to receive; in fact it is more a blessing to us to give then to receive.  We also need to be open to receive.
There is a ministry of receiving as well as giving.  Jesus let the woman put in her last 2 pennies and he received them with praise.

We need to give before we can afford to give, not only when we can afford to give.
We need to give out of our necessities not just out of our surplus.

Giving is a gift to be enjoyed.
Giving is a gift which enriches our lives.
Try it...you’ll like it!



A different way of seeing the widow’s mite.

Tracy Hartman, in New Proclamation, Year B 2012 challenges us to see this story in a different, and I would suggest deeper way.

He suggests that the main point of the story is not money, but Jesus impending “giving of his all”.  

I quote:  “How long would it be before they realize that the widow’s gift of all she had was an example of what Jesus was about to do, give everything he had to redeem a world gone terribly awry?  How long would it be before the disciples realized that following Jesus would mean that they, too, were being asked to give their all as well?  How long will it be before we, too, understand?

A thought worth pondering!

November 4, 2012 All Saints Sunday

John 11: 32-44

 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
 35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
 Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

“The Miracle Of Faith”

Miracles were a part of Jesus ministry.  He demonstrated the power and presence of the Kingdom of God through miracles.

Which miracle is the greatest?  All are great, but the greatest is the miracle of our faith!

 “It is nothing short of a miracle when you and I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as the One through whom we are permitted to see God in all his glory!” Anonymous

Faith is a gift of God.  It is nothing short of a miracle when mortals such as you and I accept it.

“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH; and this is not your own doing (including the faith), it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 3:8,9

With Mary we would like to think that this gift of faith prevents bad things from happening. (“Lord if you had been here this would not have happened.")  It doesn’t!  Faith is not a preventative agent, protecting us from lives harsh realities.  Faith is a penetrating agent, permeating life in the midst of the harsh realities, causing all of life to be lifted up and turned into that which becomes a blessing.

P. T. Forsythe, “Faith is a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life.”

This is no small thing.  This is a miracle!

“See How He Loved Him”

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  His tears at Lazarus grave express that love.

There is nothing phony about tears, when they are expressive of deep feelings within.
Not even our beliefs can stop them; nor should they.  For tears are one of our most human expressions which allow the inner most feels to come out.

It is not a sign of weakness to cry.  It is a sign of strength, love; faith; yes, even hope!
Jesus tears show us how human he was.  He who knew God’s will and who knew that something great was soon to happen - Lazarus would walk out of that tomb! - wept out of love for his friends and for all of us who are often lost in life’s terrible blows.

Then he did what only he could do.  He gave Lazarus back to them (for a while) as a sign of his own resurrection which would give us life not for a while, but for ever!

October 28, 2012 Reformation Sunday

John 8:31-36
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

   33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

   34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

“FREE TO LOVE”

The Reformation is about change.  We don’t like change.  We even use the Bible to keep us from change.  God wants to make a new covenant with us.  We don’t want it.  We want the old covenant where we know what to expect and are more in charge.

God’s Word is an instrument of change and will, if we let it, change the way we look at things. It “is the source of all that is creative in the life of the Church.”  (Luther) It sets us free to be new and different people.
People who put love at the center of life and let nothing keep it from doing its thing.


 “FREE TO LIVE”

Jesus came that we might have live, and that abundantly.
That we might be free to live and drink deeply of this human existence, which is Gods first great  gift to us.

In Christ we are free to be ourselves.
We don’t have to be like someone else.  We don’t have to pretend we are more religious then we are. For God accepts us as we are.
“It’s okay to be me, because me is okay.”  We are free to be!

In Christ we are free to try, to fail, and to try again.  For with God there is forgiveness!
To live with Jesus is to live in forgiveness, full and free. There is no limit to Gods forgiveness.  Once forgiven, we live with grateful hearts which are more powerful then any set of rules.

How great it was to have such a forgiving God!
This is the way God is.  God’s grace is big enough for all our needs, and our goofs.
We are free to live!

October 28, 2012 22nd Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:46-52

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
   So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
   51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
   The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
   52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus hears the interruption of Bartimaeus calling out.  He gives to this blind beggar, whom everyone is seeing as a nuisance, the attention no one else will give him.  And he sees!  And of all the faces in that anonymous crowd, his name is the only one remembered to this day.

This story reminds us how important it is to allow interruptions in our otherwise carefully scheduled lives, for miracles of healing happen when we are open to the cries of others, even at the least opportune times.

It also reminds us of how important it is to be an interruption - when we are hurting - and dare cry out for help - God’s help available to us in human form even today.

 “The Way Of Suffering”

In the passage just preceding these words, the disciples miss what Jesus is saying to them three times.  So he gives them an object lesson.  He heals blind Bartimaeus even as they too needed their eyes opened to see him as the Suffering Servant.

It is not easy to connect suffering with the way we would have it with our God.
We want a God who puts things right and keeps things right, so bad things do not happen to good people.  We don’t want a God who is so human he suffers and we don’’t want to see anything good in suffering.

Yet God came as a suffering servant and God is present even in the silence of suffering.
The cross, and instrument of great suffering, is also a sign of great love.  A love which is greater then all the suffering possible;  a love which nothing can separate us from- a love which is eternal!

October 21, 2012 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:35-45

5 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
 39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

   41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“To Give His Life As A Ransom For Many”

The disciples were good at missing the point.  cf Mk 8:31-33, 9:30-35; 10:32-37,41-45.

It is hard to accept suffering as necessary.  The only way to live without suffering is to not live...not touch anyone, love, hope, care, trust, get close to anyone.

Suffering belongs to the very nature of our world and our lives; it is not something we simply eliminate.  it is something we accept, grow in, and find meaning through.  It is a part of the paradox of life.

Suffering is holy ground. We don’t go looking for it, but we are to let it become redemptive when it comes to us.  It is an integral part of the good that happens in our lives.  It brings out the best in people, it draws us together, it enriches life, it even causes us to discover a deep thankfulness.  It enables us to discover the most enduring love.  And when we discover this we have discovered something of the love of God in Christ, who suffered that we might be saved.


“Not to Be Served But To Serve”

James and John asked Jesus to be given the favorite spots in the Kingdom.  They wanted to know what they were going to get before they gave too much of themselves.
They wanted to be promised a special spot in the Kingdom before then served long and hard, and suffered much.

But God shows no partiality.  God has no favorites.
Grace does not make us favorites with God.  It equips us to be servants of God.

To be great in the Kingdom is to be a servant.
To be first is to be last.
To really live is to lose oneself in life in serving Jesus Christ.
Don’t ask what you can get, but what you can give.

Being a servant is more in step with Jesus then being a mighty one.
Servant means lowly in our world.  In God’s Kingdom it is the highest office one can hold.
A servant is one who “finds grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16b

Greatness, honor, deep meaning and fulfillment in life comes, in Jesus terms, 
”...not in self-seeking, but in solidarity....not in accruing status, but in benefiting others,,,not in hoarding, but in giving...not in ruling, but in serving.”

Mother Teresa:  “Humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of God’s grace in the world.  But it is His work.  I think God wants to show His greatness by using nothingness.”

October 14, 2012 20th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:17-31
 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”


“The Impossible Possibility”

What is going on in this story is a battle of the wills, not just the pocketbook.  A confrontation with addiction and a call to surrender.  It is your story and mine!

The question is sincere for the man is sincere.  But he wanted to be in control.  He wanted to do it his way.  “Just tell me and I’ll do it!” might well be a correct paraphrase of his dialogue with Jesus.

Jesus loved him.  What follows comes out of love not judgment.  He enters the man’s life at the one place where he does not want God to be, the one place he does not want to surrender.

This is always where God seeks entrance into our lives.  For until we surrender where we least want to surrender, we are still in control and doing it our way.  We are still seeking to be saved by good works rather than grace.  We have to reach the place where we know we can do nothing, then God can do everything.

By grace we are saved, not works!  Let go and let God!

“Be Godly, Not Just Good”

We try hard to be good; when we are called to be godly.  We set our sights on the good life; when we are called to live the godly life.  We work hard at being moral, upright citizens; yet our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God.

What ever that means - to find our rest in God - it is more then being good, moral, or even religious.  It means to “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  All things!

A lot of badness results when we measure our godliness by our goodness.  To stand with the Rich Young Ruler is to stand in the presence of our own hypocrisy and start being honest with the goodness which keeps us from being godly.

Jesus words to him (and us) were (are) spoken out of love, not anger.  There was so much in him that was good; yet so much that missed the mark in his life.

We are called to be godly not just good.  What ever that means it does mean not only dreaming the impossible dream but also daring to believe the impossible gift of grace is ours.  Then it is to dare try make a difference in the world we live in , knowing as we do so, in the words of Reinhold Niebuhr:

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.  Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;l therefore we must be saved by faith.  Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;l therefore we are saved by love.  No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint.  Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”

With God all  is possible!

October 7, 2012 19th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:2-16
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.
] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

“Let’s Talk About Marriage”

In dealing with the sticky question of marriage and divorce Jesus goes back to the original intent of marriage as recorded in Gen., 2, before the fall into sin of Gen. 3, and reminds us that it all started out good.  God created all and it was good.

The question  of the Pharisees probably was loaded. (Most questions of the self-righteous are!)  An attempt to trap this liberal in his own words.
But Jesus traps them.  They wanted to talk about rights and advantages as under the law,
Jesus reminds them of the responsibilities which follow on those rights and advantages.
They wanted to talk about divorce, Jesus confronts them with the real issue - marriage.

Marriage is a holy estate ordained by God and to be held in honor by all.
It is hard work.  It takes effort, skill, and even training.
It gives energy to life, for as Dr. Eugene Kennedy says, it is to “give life to each other.”

The real question is not, “Is divorce lawful?”
The real question is, “Is marriage life giving?”

Catholic priest:  “:There is one thing worse then divorce; and that is a loveless marriage.”

“Like A Child”
 
To be child like is to be open, willing, receptive.
A child like faith knows a dependable confidence and assurance in the midst of life’s insecurities.  It dares to ask questions and live with a certain creative mystery in the presence of a loving God.  It trusts where there is no other way and rests in the love which is beyond human understanding.

It usually isn’t difficult for a child to accept a gift - it is a natural response, often with joy.  The child doesn’t think about deserving the gift; the child just accepts the gift.

The Kingdom of God is ours as a gift - all we have to do is accept it.
Faith is accepting the gift of God’s Kingdom, openly, freely, confidently, joyfully.

A child also has a great capacity to trust.  When we trust we believe the offer of a gift, and  accept the gift without thought to why or how or why me?  The gift doesn’t depend on me.  It is freely given out of love; like a child I can accept  it, in love.

September 30, 2012, 18th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 9:38-50

 38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
 39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.   47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

"Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us”

First a seeming contradiction:  cf Mt. 12:30 “Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.”

Look to the context in which both words are spoken.  Is Jesus not saying the same thing?

And what is Jesus saying?  - “No one can bottle God up and keep God contained.  God manifests himself in unexpected places and people;  God’s spirit blows where it will and we know not where it comes from or where it goes.”

Any effort on our part to try contain God is futile.  God is with those who know not God as well as those who claim to be for God.  In fact, they may well be some of God’s best servants!

This is part of the mystery and miracle of God’s spirit at work in our world.  We can be astonished by the irregularity of God.  It is not ours to judge others; it is ours to recognize the love of Jesus at work where ever it happens in whom ever it comes.

Our idolatry may well be our blindness to this truth.
For example,  a Christian leader of a large denomination saying: “God does not hear Jewish prayers, because they don’t pray in the name of Jesus.”

The one thing which becomes clear as we struggle with these words is that it is not ours to determine who is in and who is out.  It is ours to be open to the many ways in which something of Jesus is hidden “in, under, and with” the most surprising places and people.

Ours is not to exclude anyone from being a part of God’s Kingdom or even try to test who is a true believer.  Ours is to be open to God working in the strangest ways and the strangest people to do something of his thing - which is always something of love breaking out in our world of hate, pride and greed.

We are not to loose our saltiness - become complacent or indifferent; live our own wasted existence with no love at work in our lives. We are to affirm God’s love at work where ever, how ever, and in whom ever it appears.

Those who are against Jesus are those who would rather have it than share it, keep it than give it away, find it than lose it.  Who would rather be secure, comfortable, and safe, rather than in danger, want or risk.  And this is all of us who profess to love Jesus yet so easily forget that we have been blessed by grace so we can be a blessing.

When we lose sight of our call to discipleship, servant hood, and compassion, we loose the essence (the salt) of our life in Christ - which is worse then loosing a hand, foot or eye for then we are of little good to God no matter how religious we are.

September 23, 2012 17h Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 9:30-37

   30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
   33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
 “Be The Servant Of All”

It isn’t always easy to be a servant of God.  It wasn’t for Jeremiah, the disciples, nor those to whom James wrote.  It didn’t come naturally for them nor does it for us.  It is almost contrary to our basic nature - self-preservation; taking care of #1.

It is easier to condemn and judge than to serve.
We never know enough about God to pronounce judgment on another person.
Our task as servants is to work and pray for forgiveness, understanding, reconciliation, peace.  And to learn to appreciate differentness.

To be a servant is to place oneself last and not worry about what I am going to get out of it.
It is to be like Jesus who “did not regard equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.”  (Phil. 2:6,7)

“Celebrity Or Servant”
 
“Two centuries ago when a great man appeared, people looked for God’s purpose in him; today we look for his press agent.”

“We can make a celebrity, but we can never make a hero.”

“We loose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but who are famous because they are great.”

The hero was distinguished by his achievement; the celebrity by his image or trademark.
The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media.  The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”

“A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness.  He is the human psedo-event.”
Quotes from Daniel Boorstien’ “IMAGE”, pp. 45-76
Chapter “From Hero to Celebrity: the Human Pseudo-Event”

We all have a desire hidden within us to be a celebrity.  We would like to do our thing in a big way.  Yet it is as a servant that we have been called, to do our thing in a small way, often unnoticed but by God, and maybe those who are on the receiving end of our serving.

We are called to be servants and to get lost in doing good, without keeping score.  


September 16, 2012 16th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 8:27-38

 ^{27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.}

^{31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.3 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”}

 ^{34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”}

“What Do We Have In Mind?”  

Peter blew it as soon as he made it.  He didn’t have in mind the things of God.

His vision fell short of what God intended when he sent his Son to call us to live in His Kingdom.

What do we have in mind when we go to church?

To be comforted or disturbed?

sedated or shaken?

assured or challenged?

Are we open to what God wants for us or just what we want?

Church is no place to come if we don’t want to be changed - in our thinking, attitudes, believing, understanding, accepting, and our living so that we are more Christ like - more compassionate, forgiving, loving, and instep with the One we call Lord.

For the truth of the matter is, there is no crown without a cross; no faith without works; no having life without loosing life in something bigger than ourselves.  We are to die to self - take up the Cross - and let Christ live through us!  This is a great risk.  It is also a great blessing.

Jesus calls us to a life of servitude not self satisfaction; sacrifice not comfort.

Happiness comes as we serve and even sacrifice.

Life is not found in consumption; it is found in denying oneself, taking up the cross and following Jesus.

A good example: Mother Teresa

“...the man of heaven must suffer many things.”

Suffer.  This is the word Peter stumbled over and we do to.  Yet it is at the heart of life, of Christ’s mission in our world, and even at the heart of God’s love.  Remember Phil 1:6-8.

To be on the side of God in this world is to suffer.  To follow Jesus is to come to terms with suffering, to take it up, to enter into it, to not deny it.

Suffering is not OF God; it breaks God’s heart.   It is overcome by God so even it becomes a blessing.  Overcome by the power of love.

Power cannot eliminate suffering; love can and does!

William Sloane Coffin... “The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is, ‘It is the will of God.’  Never do we know enough to say that.  My own consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, God’s heart was the first of all our hearts to brake.”

“And, finally I know that when Alex beat me to the grave, the finish line was not Boston Harbor in the middle of the night.  If a lamp went out, it was because, for him at lest, the Dawn had come.  So I shall - so let us all - seek consolation in that love which never dies and find peace in the dazzling grace that always is.”

September 9 2012 15th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 7:31-37

 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis] 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

   33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

   36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

“The Power To Open”  

Life is full of interesting and exciting possibilities.  We have to be motivated or inspired to seek them.  Our spiritual lives also need to be opened to all the possibilities God has in store for us.  

Faith opens our hearts and minds to the love of God at work for  and in us.

Faith in Jesus Christ opens our senses to the deep stimuli of life.  We see what we could never otherwise see; hear what we could never hear; speak what we never dared utter.

Jesus words of forgiveness and love open us up to all the possibilities of life.

Faith is giving God permission to have at us.

“Be Open”  

They couldn’t keep quiet about it; but they didn’t say all there was to say about it.

They missed the most important point - that these miracles, as with all miracles, means that salvation has come to our earth!  God has come to dwell with us in human from, in the man Jesus to heal ALL our infirmities, not just of the body but of the spirit as well!

There is a healing and a wholeness which is deeper then the physical.  He has come that all might be saved (be made whole from within) and come to the knowledge of the truth.

To be so saved is to be open to God’s love moving in our lives and through our lives into our world.  It  is to be able to smile, no matter what, and to be a beautiful, healing person for others.  Physical handicaps cannot keep a ‘whole person’ down.  They simply radiate joy and love, and bring healing into living.  This is Christ in us, the love of God making us whole!

Sept. 2, 2012 14th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

¹ The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

   ⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

   ⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’

   ⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

 “Living From the Heart”

Words can be cheap and deceiving.  We often sound different then we are inside.  This is what makes communication so difficult and hypocrisy so easy, for all of us!

No one sets out to be a hypocrite.  We too easily become one when we let our greed, jealousy, pride, folly keep us from being congruent from the inside out.

When our hearts are right with God, our words and deeds are going to be right for others.  Such is the Kingdom of God in our midst.

Hypocrisy is anything in our lives which is not right for others, but only for us, no matter how we try to cover up what is in our hearts by words and pious platitudes.  

This is not pleasing to God, nor is it of the Kingdom of God.

“A Call For Deep Things”

 “The most apparent meaning of this (text) could be summarized as a criticism of surface things and a call for deep things.” (Source unknown)

Religion is not meant to be something we play at; it is not meant to be superficial, mechanical, ritualistic. It is meant to be something which comes from the heart - a heart touched by the love and grace of God.

Observing the traditions of the elders is not what is important.  Living as one who has been touched by the love of God is.

This means we need to see the spiritual quality of everything we do and I mean everything!

God is in the business of changing us and deepening us.  Opening us up and making us real. To be truly religious is to let God have my heart.  When God has my heart, God is going to change things and rearrange my priorities and cause me to do things I otherwise would never do.

A man once said to Mother Teresa,“I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.”   To which she replied, “Neither would I. But I will for the love of God!”

To worship is to open our hearts to change from the inside out.  It is to be challenged to be sensitized over and over again as to what it is God really desires - justice rolling down like waters and human kind truly loving one another, seeking to understand, accept differences, and live in peace.

August 26, 2012 13th Sunday After Pentecost

John 6:59-69

59 He (Jesus) said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.  60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?  62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[a] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
“Too Offensive To Be Believed”

The story in John 6 gets worse before it gets better.  It is not always soft words which help us break through the animation of our lives and become real.  Sometimes it takes hard words, offensive words, strong words to break the crust which keeps us pretending we are who we are not.

Jesus did not let them nor does he let us off the hook with just sweet words.  He pushes us to the wall and makes us face the games we play with ourselves and with God, for therein lies life.

We pretend so hard.  We pretend we are good, righteous, religious, pious.  Only God is good and only God’s love can make us good.  Really good!

We do have to let go and let God!  It is the only way to life abundant!
For we live by grace and grace is a gift of God’s love; undeserved by any and all, lest even the best of us should boast.

“Will You Also Go Away?”

Jesus Christ was an offensive person.  He had a way of getting under peoples skin and either turning them on or off...mostly off.

“Many of his followers turned back and would not go with him any more.”  Jn. 6:66

“Even though he had done all these mighty works before their very eyes they did not believe in him.”  Jn. 12:37

He ate with tax collectors and sinners.
He healed on the sabbath.
He refused to condemn a woman caught in the act of adultery.
He claimed to be the son of God.

Jesus Christ was an offensive person.  For he came to create change in our lives;  changing us from living for ourselves to living for others - living a life of the Spirit, a life full of compassion that produces a harvest of good deeds; “without a trace of partiality or  hypocrisy...” as James says. (3:17)

This is no easy task!  Especially if we are religious!
Jesus was not religious enough for those who left him.
Life is change, yet we often don’t want it.  We even fight against it.  We want to keep our prejudices and self-serving attitudes, rather then be led into places where love is at the heart of it all.  Faith in Jesus Christ is trusting Him and following, no matter how much we have to change to do so.

Will we also go away?

August 19 2012 12th Sunday After Pentecost

John 6:51-58

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

   ⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

   ⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

This is a troublesome text.  As one theologian said of it - 

“The language in this text is raw and probably ought to shock our sensibilities.”  

Because of these words more then one person has accused the church of advocating cannibalism.  And nothing could be further from the truth!

What ever we do with these words, we dare not take them literal - for then we will miss the point of what Jesus is saying - as is often the case when the Bible is take literally.  We end up with a distorted, disconnected message which leads to distorted and disconnected living.

Perhaps this is why Karl Barth said, ”I love the Bible too much to take it literal.”

These words have to be taken in context and they have to be understood in  a deeper way - a way which goes beyond our rational capacity to understand and grasps mystery.

So what is it Jesus is trying to say to us today?

Robert Kyser, a Biblical scholar of today makes a good point as to what Jesus might be getting at here. in his book, “Preaching John”.  He suggests that Jesus is telling the hearers that they literally need to take Jesus into themselves, make him “part of their essence”

“No arm’s-length relationship here, no safe distance between us.  As (those) who long for the abundant life, we have no other way to such a life except by taking Jesus in, having him become so intermingled with our own being that we cannot separate one from the other. “  Adele Resmer, Proc. B,’06,p.179

Then, in the words of the great preacher of the past, P.T. Forsythe, faith will become “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life” - our lives.

We will no longer be able to live indifferent to callings of the spirit to place faith, hope, and love at the center of our living and let nothing take its place.

August 12, 2012 11th Sunday After Pentecost

August 12, 2012 11th Sunday After Pentecost

John 6:35, 41-51

35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst...

 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

“The Offense Of The Incarnation  

Jesus was too human for the people of his day.  He was Joseph’s son who lived in their midst.  He was too human, too real, too common for them to believe he was God’s son.

We want God to be something other then human.  We are not inclined to see God in the common.  We don’t think of God being  “ in, under, and with”  everyday activities.

We want God to be a miracle worker who does things in unnatural ways.  

Who takes care of the tough stuff so we don’t have to deal with it.

This is a subtle form of idolatry.  

One writer called it “the offense of the Incarnation.”

We believe Jesus was spiritual; we struggle with him being human.  The truth is, as a friend often said, ”To be spiritual is to be human; to be human is to be spiritual.”  The most spiritual things we can do are also the most human.  We dare not be afraid to be human for that is the essence of what it means to eat of the Bread of Life - it is to be humanly open, honest, compassionate, intimate.

God became so human we can’t separate God from that which is human.  Every time we touch intimately, lovingly, compassionately in the midst of the pain and joy of being human, God is there with life giving bread to impart eternal life.  This is a miracle beyond all miracles!

Aug. 5 2012 10th Sunday After Pentecost

24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a]”

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.


"When People Seek Jesus”

The people in our text were looking for the easy way out.  They wanted a free meal;  a life without difficulty, pain, suffering.  They came to Jesus for the wrong thing.

For Jesus came to give life a fulness;  to open life up to all its greatness as we discover the dynamic of creative living, nourished by His presence and His spirit,  nourished by the Bread of Life.

Jesus didn’t come just to give us answers; Jesus came to give us himself, a living, dynamic, creative presence with us which enables us to live abundantly no matter what.


They wanted Jesus “Not because (they) saw signs, but because (they) ate their fill of the loaves.”

They wanted Jesus for the wrong reason - and so do we.

We want Jesus as an insurance policy against bad things happening to us.

Even if we are careless, greedy, indifferent.  It isn’t that we want to be “renewed in the spirit of our minds”  We want to have our bases covered.

But this is not how it is with God.  God did not send Jesus to dwell among us so life could be a bed of roses.  God sent Jesus to dwell among us so that life could be different - strangely, powerfully, eternally different!

Faith doesn’t change anything in our world.  It changes something in here (heart) and here and here and here!  ((eyes, ears, head)  Then everything takes on a new meaning and purpose.  Nothing is left untouched by this new and different perspective, which makes a new and different person.