Sunday, June 29, 2014
July 6, 2014 4th Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
“My Yoke Is Easy”
Catchy slogans are not necessarily true - just catchy.
These words of Jesus sound like a catchy slogan - but their not.
Like the slogan - “He ain’t heavy Father, he’s my brother.” they remind us that the yoke which is easy and the burden which is light is so NOT because little is demanded, but because much is first given.
The yoke of Jesus is the commitment to love; it is the call to be kind, loving, good, merciful,
just as we have received mercy. Bearing one another's burdens in love is light! No matter how heavy it gets! To do this we first have to know we are loved. For only the loved can so love.
God first loves us; then God demands much from us. And the much is easy, for it is given in love. This is the yoke which is easy and the burden which is light.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
June 29,’14 Pentecost 3
Matthew 10:40-42 (The Message)
40 "We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. 41 Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger. Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help.
This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. 42 Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."
Most of the time it is the small things which make a big difference.
Unnoticed by most, unheralded by the media, not even posted on Facebook.
Just an anonymous act of kindness which brighteners someone's life and lifts their spirit.
When this happens God smiles and says "way to go! Keep it up. You too will be blessed by your kindness.”
“We do not know the limits of the redeeming power of the small. Perhaps there are none.” Walter Wink
Sunday, June 15, 2014
June 22, 2014 2nd Sunday After Pentecost
Matthew 10:34-39 (The Message)
34 "Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut - 35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law - cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. 36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. 37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me. 38 "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.
Jesus didn’t come just to bless us into complacency, compliance, contentment;
He came to bless us into change. Change which can be disruptive, disturbing, difficult, even destructive on the outside, as it seeks to make more real what is on the inside.
Destructive that is of those systems which are not life giving, just, fair, sensitive, compassionate. Which are not doing good for the least as well as for the most. Even if they are a part of our family.
In the novel " The Invention of Wings" a father, who had been very set in his ways, causing his daughter much anguish as she was not able to live her life free of the shackles placed on her as a white woman In the Deep South in the early 1800's, a white woman who detested slavery and wanted to set her personal slave free, are having their last conversation before he dies. She is caring for him alone, apart from the rest of the family. He awakens from a nap..
‘I held the water glass to his lips and helped him to drink. He said, “We’ve had our quarrels, haven’t we?” I knew what was coming and I wanted to spare him. To spare me. “It doesn’t matter now.” “You’ve always had a strong, separate mind, perhaps even a radical mind, and I was harsh with you at times. You must forgive me.” I couldn’t imagine what it cost him to say these words. “I do,” I said. “And you must forgive me.” “Forgive you for what, Sarah? For following your conscience? Do you think I don’t abhor slavery as you do? Do you think I don’t know it was greed that kept me from following my conscience as you have? The plantation, the house, our entire way of life depended on the slaves.” His face contorted and he clutched at his side a moment before going on. “Or should I forgive you for wanting to give natural expression to your intellect? You were smarter than even Thomas or John, but you’re female, another cruelty I was helpless to change.”
He didn't dare risk change. He died regretting it. Indeed, it is an awesome, challenging, life transforming thing to be open to change! It is at the center of a living faith!
34 "Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut - 35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law - cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. 36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. 37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me. 38 "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.
Jesus didn’t come just to bless us into complacency, compliance, contentment;
He came to bless us into change. Change which can be disruptive, disturbing, difficult, even destructive on the outside, as it seeks to make more real what is on the inside.
Destructive that is of those systems which are not life giving, just, fair, sensitive, compassionate. Which are not doing good for the least as well as for the most. Even if they are a part of our family.
In the novel " The Invention of Wings" a father, who had been very set in his ways, causing his daughter much anguish as she was not able to live her life free of the shackles placed on her as a white woman In the Deep South in the early 1800's, a white woman who detested slavery and wanted to set her personal slave free, are having their last conversation before he dies. She is caring for him alone, apart from the rest of the family. He awakens from a nap..
‘I held the water glass to his lips and helped him to drink. He said, “We’ve had our quarrels, haven’t we?” I knew what was coming and I wanted to spare him. To spare me. “It doesn’t matter now.” “You’ve always had a strong, separate mind, perhaps even a radical mind, and I was harsh with you at times. You must forgive me.” I couldn’t imagine what it cost him to say these words. “I do,” I said. “And you must forgive me.” “Forgive you for what, Sarah? For following your conscience? Do you think I don’t abhor slavery as you do? Do you think I don’t know it was greed that kept me from following my conscience as you have? The plantation, the house, our entire way of life depended on the slaves.” His face contorted and he clutched at his side a moment before going on. “Or should I forgive you for wanting to give natural expression to your intellect? You were smarter than even Thomas or John, but you’re female, another cruelty I was helpless to change.”
He didn't dare risk change. He died regretting it. Indeed, it is an awesome, challenging, life transforming thing to be open to change! It is at the center of a living faith!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
June 15, 2014 The Holy Trinity
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“Commissioned As Servants”
With these words we are called to accept a way of life which runs contrary to our way of thinking. We are called to believe something we can’t help doubting. We are called to live as if someone has died for us so we can no longer do it our way no matter how much we would like to live as if we were the only ones who counted. We are called to dare believe that servant hood is the essence of discipleship..
We simply cannot go through life acting as if nothing has happened for us which changes dramatically how we live and move and have our being. The Cross and Open Tomb stand as constant reminders of the sacrifice paid and the call made which forever changes the way we live. We are servants not masters!
“:You were brought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” I Cor 6:20
“A Great Mystery”
Without mystery life looses something deep and beautiful.
Without mystery God becomes something less then God.
The Trinity is a mystery. After all is said and done to help us know God,
the mystery still remains.
On Holy Trinity Sunday we celebrate that mystery even as we worship God the Father, creator of all things; God the Son, Redeemer of all humankind, and God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of all who believe. (And maybe even those who don’t.)
“Great indeed”, we confess, “is the mystery of our religion.” I Tim 3:16
Sunday, June 1, 2014
June 8, 2014 Day of Pentecost
John 20:19-23
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
“Empowered to Forgive”
“Love implies forgiveness. It is hard for us to realize, but actually the only requirement the loving Father places on us, once we come to know Him...is that we forgive as we have been forgiven.” “The Other Side of Silence”, Morton Kelsey, p. 68
Forgiveness is a gift of God’s spirit. It is central to ALL that Jesus said and did.
It is central to what the Church is ALL about. It is a powerful, renewing, uplifting, hope filling, smile producing, releasing gift which in no way is meant to control or dominate the lives of others. It is meant to set one free to really live, with new choices and chances, and renewed vigor. We are to work at being forgiving until forgiveness works!
It can also be a powerful, loving thing to not forgive - to retain someone in their sins - when the grace of forgiveness will only be used to continue irresponsible and even evil action.
There are times to be tough, unforgiving, to practice tough love, which is love which wants to forgive but can’t - yet!
The goal of not forgiving is not to not be forgiving. The goal of not forgiving is to help the process get to the placed where we can forgive. For that is what love always wants to do, and must be ready to do. For we have been forgiven much!
These words are not permission to give up on forgiveness. They are a stern reminder
that without forgiveness there is no tomorrow! Our call is to work at giving away the gift of forgiveness as much and as often as we can, so that no one in our reach needs remain “fastened in their sins”, needs live without the life giving gift of forgiveness
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
“Empowered to Forgive”
“Love implies forgiveness. It is hard for us to realize, but actually the only requirement the loving Father places on us, once we come to know Him...is that we forgive as we have been forgiven.” “The Other Side of Silence”, Morton Kelsey, p. 68
Forgiveness is a gift of God’s spirit. It is central to ALL that Jesus said and did.
It is central to what the Church is ALL about. It is a powerful, renewing, uplifting, hope filling, smile producing, releasing gift which in no way is meant to control or dominate the lives of others. It is meant to set one free to really live, with new choices and chances, and renewed vigor. We are to work at being forgiving until forgiveness works!
It can also be a powerful, loving thing to not forgive - to retain someone in their sins - when the grace of forgiveness will only be used to continue irresponsible and even evil action.
There are times to be tough, unforgiving, to practice tough love, which is love which wants to forgive but can’t - yet!
The goal of not forgiving is not to not be forgiving. The goal of not forgiving is to help the process get to the placed where we can forgive. For that is what love always wants to do, and must be ready to do. For we have been forgiven much!
These words are not permission to give up on forgiveness. They are a stern reminder
that without forgiveness there is no tomorrow! Our call is to work at giving away the gift of forgiveness as much and as often as we can, so that no one in our reach needs remain “fastened in their sins”, needs live without the life giving gift of forgiveness
Sunday, May 25, 2014
June 1, 2014 Seventh Sunday of Easter
John 17: 1-11
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
“Living In Love ”
“The petition that this community of believes be kept in God’s name is in effect a petition that love be the sign and seal of their common life. Just as love marks the unity of the Father with his Son, and of the Son with his followers, so love shall mark the unity of God’s people and provide the power for their mission.” From Proclamation
Living in love is the mark of unity - not sameness.
In the church we have had difficulty with differentness.
Our unity lies not in our sameness but in our love which transcends, embraces, encourages, applauds differentness!
To encourage differentness is healthy.
Love encourages differentness and is the power needed to live in unity with differentness.
There is only ONE holy, apostolic, catholic Church. Only one!
Yet, the Church has never been ONE. There have always been differences, disagreements and dissension within the body of believers.
“If Puritans had been, in part, driven by the haunting fear that someone, somewhere might be happy, Lutherans (have) been driven in part by the fear that someone, somewhere else might be right.” The Cresset, May 1984, p.10
These words of our text are beyond our doing; but not beyond God’s doing!
Our task is not to create the oneness, the unity; our task is to discover it, affirm it, and share it with one another.
The irony is, unity can be discovered in places of division, even places of tension.
There is room for differentness in our oneness and sometimes it takes tension to discover it.
The unity of the Church is deeper then our differentness; the oneness is a great mystery born of God’s love at work ink our hearts and lives.
“Now They Know”
Jesus Christ came to make God’ knowable’; so we might know the one true God.
No one is prevented from knowing God by God. God does not predestine anyone to blindness and disbelief.
Knowing begins with trust; trusting the person who has the word; trusting Jesus Christ.
Then knowing becomes a matter of obeying; acting on his word.
To know is to trust; to trust is to act, to act is to discover - now we know!
“And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings ( and we can add the joys) which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.”
Albert Schweitzer, “The Search For The Historical Jesus”
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
“Living In Love ”
“The petition that this community of believes be kept in God’s name is in effect a petition that love be the sign and seal of their common life. Just as love marks the unity of the Father with his Son, and of the Son with his followers, so love shall mark the unity of God’s people and provide the power for their mission.” From Proclamation
Living in love is the mark of unity - not sameness.
In the church we have had difficulty with differentness.
Our unity lies not in our sameness but in our love which transcends, embraces, encourages, applauds differentness!
To encourage differentness is healthy.
Love encourages differentness and is the power needed to live in unity with differentness.
There is only ONE holy, apostolic, catholic Church. Only one!
Yet, the Church has never been ONE. There have always been differences, disagreements and dissension within the body of believers.
“If Puritans had been, in part, driven by the haunting fear that someone, somewhere might be happy, Lutherans (have) been driven in part by the fear that someone, somewhere else might be right.” The Cresset, May 1984, p.10
These words of our text are beyond our doing; but not beyond God’s doing!
Our task is not to create the oneness, the unity; our task is to discover it, affirm it, and share it with one another.
The irony is, unity can be discovered in places of division, even places of tension.
There is room for differentness in our oneness and sometimes it takes tension to discover it.
The unity of the Church is deeper then our differentness; the oneness is a great mystery born of God’s love at work ink our hearts and lives.
“Now They Know”
Jesus Christ came to make God’ knowable’; so we might know the one true God.
No one is prevented from knowing God by God. God does not predestine anyone to blindness and disbelief.
Knowing begins with trust; trusting the person who has the word; trusting Jesus Christ.
Then knowing becomes a matter of obeying; acting on his word.
To know is to trust; to trust is to act, to act is to discover - now we know!
“And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings ( and we can add the joys) which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.”
Albert Schweitzer, “The Search For The Historical Jesus”
Sunday, May 18, 2014
May 25 2014, Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14:15-21
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
“Love...As Struggle Together”
“Love is, as much as it is anything, a struggle together that is always seeded with new possibilities and challenges...even in old age.” Eugene Kennedy
Jesus is talking about such a struggle in our text for today.
He is not talking about a comfortable system for getting into heaven.
He is talking about the struggle inherent in loving one’s neighbor as one’s self!
Jesus can be very demanding. To know of his amazing grace is also to learn of his demanding love. For once we are loved and know lit, we have to love so others know it.
To say that God loves me is to say something not only life giving, but also something life demanding. This means we are to be about the task of healing where ever it is needed.
As Sam Keen says, “The task of the lover is to be an agent of healing.“
This is the struggle to be human in the image of Jesus.
This is the bottom line with Jesus: to love God and live it by showing love to others.
This is no extra curricular activity we are called to do. This is the heart of it all.
We have been loved with a great love! We are to love with a great love!
“Unlike The World”
“The disciplesare utterly unlike the world. (They) live under a different command, are given a different spirit, serve a different God, and engage in a different love. (this) community-defininlg command...is new and unexpected....the command is an invitation to live a different life together, unlike the sways of the world. The practice of love makes the church staggeringly unlike the world.” Walter Brueggemann
We are called to be different. Not perfect, not sanctimonious, not judgmental, but different! Different because of the role love plays in our lives and relationships.
“All gestures of love however small they be in favor of the poor and the unwanted, are important to Jesus.” Mother Teresa:
“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa:
“Let them say, ‘He tried to love somebody.’” Martin Luther King:
We are called to be different in how we love. This is the all consuming task of following Jesus.
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
“Love...As Struggle Together”
“Love is, as much as it is anything, a struggle together that is always seeded with new possibilities and challenges...even in old age.” Eugene Kennedy
Jesus is talking about such a struggle in our text for today.
He is not talking about a comfortable system for getting into heaven.
He is talking about the struggle inherent in loving one’s neighbor as one’s self!
Jesus can be very demanding. To know of his amazing grace is also to learn of his demanding love. For once we are loved and know lit, we have to love so others know it.
To say that God loves me is to say something not only life giving, but also something life demanding. This means we are to be about the task of healing where ever it is needed.
As Sam Keen says, “The task of the lover is to be an agent of healing.“
This is the struggle to be human in the image of Jesus.
This is the bottom line with Jesus: to love God and live it by showing love to others.
This is no extra curricular activity we are called to do. This is the heart of it all.
We have been loved with a great love! We are to love with a great love!
“Unlike The World”
“The disciplesare utterly unlike the world. (They) live under a different command, are given a different spirit, serve a different God, and engage in a different love. (this) community-defininlg command...is new and unexpected....the command is an invitation to live a different life together, unlike the sways of the world. The practice of love makes the church staggeringly unlike the world.” Walter Brueggemann
We are called to be different. Not perfect, not sanctimonious, not judgmental, but different! Different because of the role love plays in our lives and relationships.
“All gestures of love however small they be in favor of the poor and the unwanted, are important to Jesus.” Mother Teresa:
“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa:
“Let them say, ‘He tried to love somebody.’” Martin Luther King:
We are called to be different in how we love. This is the all consuming task of following Jesus.
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