Friday, July 20, 2012

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.

July 29, 2012 9th Sunday After Pentecost


John 6:1-21

   1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”   6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.  7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”  8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”  10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.  12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.   14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.



It is impossible to feed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish unless a miracle happens.
Either the miracle of multiplication or the miracle of sharing - or both - and both are signs of  the Kingdom of God in our midst.
However it happened, it is a sign that indeed the Kingdom of God has broken into our world.  God is for us not against us - always!

The food given is not the main point.  The presence of God’s love and grace is.  Bread alone is never enough.

Jewish proverb:  “When you have too much something is missing.”

The human spirit is too great to be satisfied by trinkets - even expensive trinkets.  It can only be satisfied by love.  When there is love we can never be poor again.  This is why Jesus fed the 5000 - as a sign of that love which will not let us go; which will not let us down; which will not let us off.  As we have been loved we are to let God work through us, “upbuilding our world in love.”



Jesus was trying to get away because he was exhausted.  Dare we believe he was that human?  Exhausted by their demands on Him and exhausted by their continual failure to see and believe who He really was - “The Prophet who is to come into the world.”

They were following him for the wrong reason.  He will make life easy for them - just snap His fingers and say His magic words and all will be provided, all will be well.  What an illusion!

We want this of God too!  We want God to be a co-dependent, taking care of us so we won’t have to take care of ourselves.  By repeating the miracles of Jesus.

This is not want the miracles are about - to be repeated.  In fact, a miracle is probably most clearly a miracle when it never happens again.  And the point of the miracles is to spark the miracle of faith which dares to believe that God is for us - no matter what!

The boy with the loaves and fish - Jesus needed him to perform the miracle of feeding 5000.  God needs a human vessel to do God’s thing in this world.  It is the miracle of Christmas repeated over and over and over again as God comes “ in under and with” the actions of our lives.

And remember, it doesn’t have to be big. Whatsoever we do for the least, we do for God!

Monday, July 16, 2012

July 22, 2012 8th Sunday After Pentecost



Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

What do you suppose Jesus said to them?  
We can be safe to say it would be a word of encouragement, not a word of judgment or guilt.  Like his words in the Sermon on the Mount...or his parables.

They were ‘like sheep without a shepherd..  He would speak to them as a Shepherd.
On behalf of a God who cares.  And a people who care.

To know that there is a God who cares we need a people who care. As a poor tenant once said. “If your God doesn’t care about the rats in my apartment; I don’t care about your God.”

The Church is people who care, share, and congregate - come together to be the people of God and to do together what we could never do alone.

There is a shepherd and there is a flock.
There is a God who cares and a people who care. - and they are us!

“And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while."

There is a tension between “being alone” and “being compassionate”.
We can try to live with no compassion or we can try to live never saying no.
The first can be cold and indifferent; the second can be exhausting and draining of all energy.  Both extremes are dangerous; both ways have their strengths and weaknesses.

In either we need to get away and be recharged for living as God would have us live - compassionate and responsible.

We need to spend time alone so we can truly be with others in compassion.
Alone time feeds our souls; energizes us; fills us; renews us.
If I don’t take time for myself; I don’t have much to give you either.

To be compassionate is to be with someone; it is to help them so they can do what only they can do to make life what God meant it to be.

For as Henri Nouwen writes, 
“Compassion is the fruit of solitude and the basis of all ministry. ...
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate.  It is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others where they hurt, were they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken.  But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering.  What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure." . 

“What becomes visible here is that solitude molds self-righteous persons into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own sinfulness and so fully aware of God's even greater mercy that their whole lives become ministry.  In such a ministry there is hardly any difference left between doing and being...our whole being witnesses to the light that came into the darkness."   The Way Of The Heart, pp. 20,22


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

July 15, 2012 7th Sunday After Pentecost




Amos 7:7-15

 7...behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; 9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jerobo'am with the sword." 10 Then Amazi'ah the priest of Bethel sent to Jerobo'am king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, 'Jerobo'am shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'" 12 And Amazi'ah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom." 14 Then Amos answered Amazi'ah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' 


Amos’ words had a bite to them which left him less than popular. 

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Sama'ria, who oppress the poor, who crush the  4:1  

21 "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 5:21-24;

4 "Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall; 5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David invent for themselves instruments of music; 6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those to go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves shall pass away."  6:4-7


Amos was certainly not very popular in his day.  He spoke the truth no matter how much it hurt.  He didn’t do it to get rich; he had a sense of calling and mission.  He did it because the Spirit of God compelled him to do it!  And he was asked to “go away to the land of Judah” so as to not disturb the comfortable life of Israel.

God interrupted his life - as God does ours - and compels us to speak a word of truth.
When we do we will not be popular; but we will be speaking a word God wants said.

We need a prophet like Amos today, lest we are lulled to sleep in our idolatries and injustices!  We need to be confronted with the evil in our midst - even in our lives - lest we are deceived into thinking that we know God’s will for all things and know what is best for all people.  

It hurts - to face the truth of our own prejudices, hypocrisy, self-righteousness.  Yet it is only as we do that the Word of God transforms our lives and turns us into instruments of grace in a world of hate.

Monday, July 2, 2012

July 8, 2012 6th Sunday After Pentecost



Mark 8:1-13

1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.


We need to hear what we don’t want to hear; see what we don’t want to see; believe what we don’t want to believe.  We can become too comfortable in our faith and then we lose the cutting edge.  We are called to follow Jesus which means we are to proclaim liberty to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.  That is, we are to speak and be a word of hope to those who have no hope!  This is our mission!


It’s hard to be a prophet among those you grew up with; those who remember the pranks you pulled and find it hard to believe you could amount to much of anything.
Who did Jesus think he was?  GOD!
God can’t be this human, this close, this real!

When God comes to us in too human a way and challenges us to change our ways, we too “take offense at Him”.  We like to keep God boxed up in our rituals where we are in control.
But God will not let us do that.  God is not a rabbits foot, a good luck charm, an easy way out of the difficulties of life.  God desires to enter into the changes and chances of life with us, and there make a difference not by offering new power or easy answers which eliminates all the bad and protects us from suffering, but offering a power make perfect in weakness - the power of love…of grace which is sufficient for all our needs.

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humility to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things,  that I might enjoy life,
I was given lie, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for--but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, most richly blessed.”
Anonymous Civil War Soldier