Mar 23 2014 Third Sunday in Lent

John 4: 5-42

5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
   7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
   9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
   10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
   11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
   13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
   15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
   16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
   17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
   Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
   19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
   21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind oworshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
   25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
   26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
    27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
   28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
   31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”   32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
   33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
   34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
    39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
   42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world
“Because Of Her Testimony”

The Samaritan woman did not expect Jesus to speak to her.  And especially about something as intimate as life with God.  May it not be that God also encounters us where and when we don't expect it as well as in those we don’t expect God to be.

Jesus didn’t get the woman of Samaria out of anything; he got her into the thrill of faith and discipleship.
It is the same for us.  Faith doesn’t get us out of the tasks of life;  it gets us into the tasks of discipleship, living as a forgiven servant, opening up life to new and amazing challenges and tasks.

She opened the eyes of others to God.  Her testimony was honest, real, and human.
She was personal, brutally honest about herself, and pointed away from herself to Jesus.  Those who heard her went on to believe for themselves; her testimony was successful.
A man from India said when asked why he could not accept Christianity:
“It is not new, it is not true, but most of all, it is not you.”

Her testimony was also life giving for her.
When we are talking about something human -like our own sins - the spiritual isn’t very far away.
When we share our weakness redeeming things begin to happen in us and it is a life giving energy - living water.

Out of the honesty of telling it like it is, comes living water - forgiving grac

Mar 16, 2014 Second Sunday in Lent

John 3:1-17 (The Message)

1 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. 2 Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it." 3 Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to - to God's kingdom." 4 "How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?" 5 Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation - the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life - it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. 6 When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch - the Spirit - and becomes a living spirit. 7 "So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above' - out of this world, so to speak. 8 You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God." 9 Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?" 10 Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basics? 11 Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. 12 If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God? 13 "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. 14 In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up - 15 and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. 16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17 God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
He came by night to ask the question we all ask - only he didn’t know what he was asking and we often don’t either.  It is the question which arises our of our need for a Savior as Dr. Thielicke puts it:

“At root very primitive things play the decisive role in our lives.  Our stomach with its need of nourishment, our conscience with its lack of peace and our death towards which we irresistibly move...these are the forces which decisively constitute life.  The one who can master these, taking away anxiety, consoling the conscience and supporting us in dying is the one for whom we truly look  Nicodemus had an obscure feeling that Jesus might be that person.”    Out Of the Depths, p. 63

How does this happen?  Being born anew?

It happens like falling in love.  It happens not because we figure lit out but because we let the wind of God’s forgiving love and grace blow over us.

God does it.  We just let God do it by surrendering ourselves to God and feeling the power of his grace at work in our lives.

The wind blows - the sun shines- God’s love is real.  Let it happen to you.

Mar 9, 2014  First Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4:1-11 (The Message)

1 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. 2 Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, 3 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread." 4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth." 5 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, 6 "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone." 7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God." 8 For the third test, the Devil took him on the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. 9 Then he said, "They're yours - lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours." 10 Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." 11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs. Teaching and Healing
.

Jesus was tempted.  His temptation was real.  It was not a game he was playing.  He was truly human which means he was temptable.  His temptation was necessary in his human journey as the Son of God.

His temptation was for you and me.  It reminds us that we too will be tempted and we can overcome, with his help.  We too have to struggle with wanting bread more then the bread of life; wanting to have it easy rather then face the difficulties of life; wanting to have it all and even be god rather then live as His children in His Kingdom; as servants not masters.

We live in a fallen world; we are a fallen race.  We are temptable, for we want more then we have. We want to have it all and feel good; not be challenged to live as God would have us live.  C. S. Lewis reminds us that the devil is most pleased with good people who do no good.

God calls us to struggle to be all we can be as we struggle to stay steadfast in
God’s word.  God’s word which always places grace at the center of our living and calls us to be what only grace can enable us to be.

Jesus had limits; his limits were that he was not to use his divine sonship as a way to get out of being human when the going got tough.  Not turn stones to bread - jump off the temple, do what best serves himself even it it means worshipping the devil!

We would like to live without limits, thinking this would be paradise. But would it?

“Imagine a life without the experience of limits.  You could have wild strawberries whenever you wanted them!  Nothing would be inaccessible, nothing forbidden, nothing out of reach, no unfulfilled dreams or wishes, no ‘thus far and no farther!’.  But how could human beings under such conditions ever experience wonder, surprise, or gratitude?”     (Douglas John Hall, “God and Human Suffering, p. 58)

And where would life be without wonder, surprise or gratitude?

March 2, 2014 Transfiguration of Our Lord

Matthew 17:1-9

1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
   4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
   5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
   6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
   9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”


“The Mount Of Transfiguration”

This was a ‘stop the clock’ experience.  An experience to be savored and consumed;
an experience to be lived in and not go on.  But the truth is, this cannot be.  We cannot stay on the mountain.  We have to come down into the real world, the valley.  (Jesus couldn’t either!  He came down to the cross!)

On the Mountain top we see what cannot be seen in the valley;  it is a high point of faith.
The temptation is to want to stay there - escape from life.
The challenge is to take it with us into the rest of life and let it make a difference in who we are.

 We are empowered by the mountain top to live by faith in the rest of life, even the deepest valleys, trusting always in the gracious goodness of a loving God.

We would like to stay on the mountain top.  We would also like to tell everyone about the mountain top.  We cannot do either.

We are to leave the mountain top with its experience hidden in our hearts and  live, listening to Jesus, letting our lives show that we have been transformed.

Feb. 23, 2014 7th Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:38-48

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
    43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Matthew’s use of the word ‘perfect’ sets before us the challenge and invitation to an unlimited human adventure in holiness.  There are no limits with God!

“The command to be as perfect, as whole as God is, becomes the command for uncalculating love, the kind we have all received.”  Proclamation 3A, Epiphany, p. 53

We are to “bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things.”

We are challenged to absorb evil rather than pass it on.
Forget revenge, no mater how just.  It has to stop; why not with me.
Imitate grace, for this is God at God’s best.  Love as we are loved!

Feb. 16, 2014 6th Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:21-37

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
   23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
   25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
    27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.


“Be Real...Choose Life”

Our living, our righteousness, is to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.

We are to go beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the law.
We are to read the Bible looking not for a rule to live by but a hope to live with.
We are to hang in there - practicing a  lot of confession and forgiveness - always choosing the way which has a chance to lead to life - no matter what.

“Blessed are those who are dying in relationships; they can have life.  Blessed are those who feel lonely in marriage;l they need not be lonely.  Blessed are those who are divorced or separated; they can still be part of the community.  And Woe to us who admit no imperfection; sadness is ours.  Woe to us who are church and have no compassion; shame is ours.  Woe to us who think ourselves better; how sad we are...But when you reach out to the hurting, I will reach out, through you.”  Father John J. Bluett of Orlando

“Grace In The Heart”

No one can make it without grace.  There is no righteousness which makes grace unnecessary.

The law has been fulfilled; it no longer means what it says.  It means more then it says!  It is all in a new law - to love as we have been loved.  “Love is the fulfilling of the law” Rom 13:10

The question is, “How is it in the heart?”
The issue is, “How is it in the heart?”

It is dangerous, even evil to hate, to lust, to speak deceptively.  Yet we all do it.
To fight against this we need the grace of God at work in our lives - lots of grace and forgiveness to keep us on course.

It is out of the heart that life springs and good or evil comes.  It is in the heart that God would dwell, so that the good overcomes the evil.
Our challenge is to try love no matter what!  For God is love and love is the closest thing we have to perfect on this side of the grave.  We are to live with love at the center of our lives.

True righteousness seeks reconciliation not revenge; reconciliation means restoration of harmony.

Feb. 9, 2014 5th Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:13-20

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
   14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
    17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.


“The Righteousness of Love”

You can’t just talk it; you have to live it!
We are called to be caring not religious; compassionate not righteous; committed not remote.  Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:8, Amos 5:21-24;Is 58:6-9a

The righteousness which exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisee’s is the righteousness not of obedience to the law and holy ritual but the righteousness born of and expressed in love.

Love which is not just interested in talking about Jesus but is also into living in the spirit of Jesus.  A love which is able to live with uncertainty and still risk for the sake of God’s love at work in and through us.

Feb. 5, 1984   “Be Salt...A light...Real”

With God we always get more then we bargained for.  We get more love, more forgiveness, more acceptance, more grace.
And we are asked to give more then we bargained for.
For God never lets us go, never lets us down, nor does God ever let us OFF!

We are to be salt;  salt brings out the natural flavor; gets lost in the ingredients; and too much of it spoils the taste.  Our love for our God is hidden in our living.  It enhances someone else's living. It dare not be overdone lest it spoil the good we seek to accomplish.

We are to be a light on a hill - so it cannot be missed.  A light which shines in the darkness and the darkness can not overcome it because it comes from He who IS the light of the world.

We are to be salt and light in a real way.  So that what we say and do might be a part of the real world; might be something of God’s grace at work in the real world.