A Place for Joseph

Sermon Matthew 1:18-25 December 11, 2016 Advent 3A

A Place for Joseph

Often life gets in the way of our perfect dreams.

We hope for order.

We seek peace.

We yearn for love.

We desire joy.

We want a place to call our own.

We want a place that offers us opportunity.

We want a place that provides us space for our perfect dreams to come true.

More often than not our place is found in the unexpected.

Our dreams are met through imperfection.

When we think about Joseph,

the one engaged to Mary,

we wonder what place he had in the story of Jesus our Savior.

Where does he fit into the narrative of Emmanuel, God with us?

We struggle to answer the question of who he is.

When we talk to our children about him as we put the nativity pieces together, we stumble over our words, “He’s, umm, he’s uhh, well, he’s Jesus’ earthly dad.” “He is the one who raised Jesus and taught him all he needed growing up.”

But, there is more to Joseph than this.

There is much more to tell about him as we listen to the words from the gospel of Matthew. Joseph is probably the one in the nativity who is given the least attention. He is the one who we rarely talk about as we go through Advent and Christmas.

And he is the one who does not have much place in our conversations about faith and life and salvation.

Joseph, we read, is a righteous man from the house of David.

He knows his family story and his family name and has lived his life accordingly. He is an upstanding citizen known in the community and is a fine carpenter. He is engaged to a beautiful young woman named Mary. He is a man of faith. He has been raised in the faith, gone to school to learn the Word of God, publicly professed his adherence to the Law of God and has lived a righteous life.

His life has followed the ‘proper order’ and it appears he has a future where his perfect dreams will come true.

And yet, as we learn from scripture the life of Joseph and his perfect dreams, becomes anything less than perfect. There is a huge cloud of trouble that descends on this sweet couple.

Thanks to the artists of old we have a painted picture of perfection in our minds of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Yet, the birth of Jesus was anything but idyllic.

As a matter of fact, Jesus was born into a family that was subject to scandal, gossip and disgrace.

This couple found themselves torn and in turmoil.

Joseph was caught in a crisis!

The relationship of Joseph and Mary was at stake.

His fiancé was with child and he was not the father!

All honor, faith, and righteousness disappeared in the announcement of this impending birth.

Every dream Joseph had was immediately dashed.

Joseph was caught in the midst of a very messy family drama (and we all know what that’s like) and there appeared to be only one way to handle this mess.

Being a righteous and honorable man Joseph realized he only had two choices according to his faith. -He could break the engagement, dismiss Mary and send her away in quiet disgrace.  -Or he could also implement the Law and have her publicly accused of wrong doing and have her stoned to death.

Either way, his choices were honorable, and righteously just. It was crucial for the sake of the family and the a descendant of David to follow the rules, to maintain his place in his family and society.

We still live like that today. (And that’s a good thing) We still want to maintain honor and dignity and follow the rules. We want to live lives of integrity and maintain our places in society and our families.

Yet, we know that life is messy.

Families are anything but perfect.

There is always drama, turmoil and crises.

I find it reassuring that our Savior was born in real life, flesh and blood circumstances. Jesus was born into real and honest family relationship crises.

Can you imagine what the parents of Mary and Joseph were saying?

What I appreciate most about our Father God is that he loved us so much that becoming one of us meant becoming part of the mess! God came into the midst of real life drama, suffering, scandal, gossip, and relationship struggle.

Joseph makes a choice of his place in this salvation story of God by hearing the word of the angel and doing the unthinkable.

Before Jesus turned the tables and the world upside down,

Joseph turns the tables of what doing right is all about.

His actions were the beginning of an upside down world of grace!

Caught in the tension of the Law and the command from God, Joseph moves from doing what is right to doing the right thing.

Sometimes grace is counter to justice.

Sometimes grace is contrary to righteous rules.

Sometimes grace is converse to accepted traditions.

Sometimes grace is clashing the proper order.

And all the time grace breaks through the messy,

the crises,

the tension,

the expectations,

the perfections,

and dumps out love,

pours out compassion, interrupts the norm, offers the unexpected, gathers the lost, unites the lonely, brings together the broken, and lifts up the outcast.

Joseph makes the intentional choice of love to be a husband and a father despite all the oppositions around him. Without this most unusual offering of Joseph, the holy family might not have been as we know it today. Perhaps the words we hear from Jesus about love and grace were first heard while he sat on the knee of his earthly father Joseph.

As we look at our nativities we can look at the place for Joseph as one of great love and grace. May we be as willing in our place to hear the words of the angels and allow God to enter into our messes. May we be willing to be the ones who offer grace all the time. Amen.

Live Like a Shepherd

Sermon Luke 2:8-20 December 4, 2016 Advent 2A

Live Like a Shepherd

The first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word shepherd (esp in church) is an image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. We recall the parable of the lost sheep, the words of Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd, or the phrases, sheep without a shepherd are like those gone astray from God. We are familiar with shepherd language because the Bible is filled with it.

And for good reason.

Sheep were the most important domesticated animal in Palestine. Sheep were used for more than sacrificial purposes. They provided wool, food, milk, fat, skins and horns all important to the textile industry and the food market. Not only were sheep important to the people of Palestine they were important through the then known world. It only makes sense then that the Bible is filled with sheep and shepherd images. If the Bible were to be written today, can you imagine the images the authors would use to be relevant to a vast majority of people? I think it would be using technology instead of sheep, or perhaps, dogs, cats, and other home domesticated animals…who knows.

Yet, as we learn the context of the times and the people, the language of the Bible is as relevant today as it ever has been.

But, today we turn our focus away from the images for a moment and look to the manger scenes;

the crèche where we find all those characters

gathered around the infant king.

We’ve learned about the angels and the power of their presence and the presence of God through them.

What can we learn from these shepherds kneeling at the manger?

Literally shepherds were hard working men, boys, women and girls. They worked in the plains and in the hill country both day and night. They were responsible for small and large flocks of sheep. Sheep are rather docile creatures. They are subject to the elements around them and are quite inadequate of self-defense. They easily wander away and get lost. The shepherd was responsible for maintaining food and water and to move the sheep from one grazing area to another.

One might assume that the work of a shepherd was rather boring.

But it required a great deal of endurance as well as diligence.

It also required an ability to live with simple means.

There were no fast food restaurants close by so they had to rely on their own ability to pack a lunch.

They had to be willing to sleep on hard ground and to travel distances away from home. Two of the tools at the disposal of a shepherd were a staff and a rod. A staff was used to herd the flock and keep them together. A rod was used to ward off enemies. They also carried a sling (as we know from the shepherd king David).

While studying a little bit about shepherds I became aware of the value of looking at their way of life as an example of how we could live our lives today.

1.       1. Live with courageous awareness. A shepherd must live alert. It is impossible to do the job without being fully aware of the surroundings in which a shepherd works and lives. Not only does a shepherd need to be aware of dangers, despair, and disasters, but a shepherd must know the sounds and sights of his/her flock. A shepherd needs to have the patience to listen and know the voices of the flock, to learn of new places and safe places to gather the flock. A shepherd must have enough fear and awe to respond appropriately to the signs around him/her. If we have our noses in an iphone we’ll never know the sounds or sights of those around us and we’ll be completely unaware of danger or wonder if it happens right in front of us.

Courageous awareness gives us the ability to hear sounds and to discern whether they are sounds that bring joy or terror or both. Courageous awareness keeps us from running away but allows us to face what is before us and make an informed decision on how to respond.

Think of people who hunt or fish or paint or sculpt. They cannot do what they do well if they are not willing to sit still, observe, listen, be a little scared, and have the ability to be in awe.

2.     2.  To live like a shepherd is to live with faithful curiosity. “let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place that the Lord has made known to us. So they went in haste.”

Imagine having enough courage to hear the angels and then the discernment to go and check out everything they had been told?

The shepherds had just enough faith to realize they had heard the words of God through the angels. They had just enough curiosity to run and see and witness what they had been told.

If we are not curious about all that is before we will never leave our safe space to go and discover the wonders of God.

If it had not been for the faithful curiosity of the likes of Madam Curie or George Washington Carver we would not have received the healing powers of medicine and the ability of the peanut to create dyes, plastics and gasoline.

We can and we must be people of faith to be encouraged to live with the curiosity to discover the wonders around us.

We must be willing to run to seek out what is new,

have the enthusiasm to rejoice in what is different

and to always desire to be open to God sending us beyond our safe places.

3.     3.  Finally, to live like a shepherd live with Holy Boldness. “The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” These are the words used often by my predecessor (Robert Close). A Holy Boldness is what these shepherds had.

They unabashedly proclaimed God as they returned to their flocks.

They didn’t stay at the feet of Jesus and live their lives on their knees.

They went back to work with a new perspective.

They returned to their lives with a boldness to speak out.

They went back to their sheep and could share the power of God present with them as Emmanuel.

They had the audacity to speak the truth of what they saw without any hesitation and without any worries of what people would think of them.

Perhaps, this is the message of living like a shepherd that means so much to me.

These fellas didn’t decide they had to go and become something else.

They didn’t change their jobs after their encounter with Jesus.

What they did was to receive the power of God to continue in their own backyard the message of God and God’s love with a holy boldness.

Let us go from this day of kneeling at the manger and live like a shepherd with courageous awareness, faithful curiosity and holy boldness. Amen.

Bread of Life

Sermon John 6:25-35 November 20, 2016 Thanksgiving theme

Bread of Life

Proclamation of the Day:

In the first year of the presidency of George Washington in 1789, a Day of National Thanksgiving was set side for the last Thursday of November. Since that time, Americans have celebrated this day in remembrance of all the blessings which God has poured down upon this nation and her citizens.

In the presidential proclamation for Thanksgiving Day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had this to say:

"It is the duty of nations as well as of citizens to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord....

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."

President Lincoln was not a popular president. As a matter of fact, the people at the time thought him inept and had all kinds of names to call him. He was president during a time that this country was torn apart with war. Brothers were fighting brothers. Freedom was for some but not for all. And the meaning of freedom could not be agreed upon by many.  But, Where bread is broken…Healing can begin.

There have been many times in our American history when we can say, “these are troubling times” Some would say that of our history today while others would vehemently disagree. Yet, we are here and we gather together to hear the Word of God for us today.

We come to these words from the gospel of John around the season of Thanksgiving because it talks about bread…and who doesn’t love bread?! I love the commercials about bread. And especially Oprah Winfrey’s commercial for Weight Watchers when she proclaims, “I love bread.” Bread has been a staple for human consumption for as far back as we have history. Bread is what has gathered communities and families. It is only fitting that Jesus uses bread to provide thousands with satisfaction from their hunger.

The crowd followed Jesus around the lake to the other side and wanted more from him. Jesus points out to them that they want more signs because their bellies are full. They just want the earthly feeling of being full. He tells them not to work for this earthly feeling but to seek after that which sustains the heart and the soul for all of life. They remain confused and want to know what kind of work is it they have to do to have that fulfillment. Jesus tells them the ‘work’ to be done is ‘believing’-believing in him who was sent by God. The crowd is still confused and again asks for a sign. They utilize the only reference in their history of faith and ask Jesus if he will send down manna as the sign for them to believe just like God did for their ancestors. Jesus again points out that it is not about bread, it is not about work and it is not about signs-it is about LIFE. What Jesus offers them is life.

 

In him-in Jesus-the embodiment of God himself-is life. It is not in the signs and the wonders, it is not in the works that he has done, it is not in the words that he has said, but the life is in him for those who can believe in him as he has come down from heaven.

Bread is the metaphor. But, Jesus wants the crowd to understand that he is not a metaphor. And so, we find throughout this gospel the desire for Jesus to turn those around who seek after him. To help them see the light of God in him. Jesus is God. Jesus is the feast of joy of God’s love.

As Christians in the church we are often still seeking Jesus like the people in the crowd. We follow after him and wonder and ask the same bewildered question, ‘When did you get here?’

We forget that Jesus is always here.

Jesus is here drawing us together into the one body, the one faith, the one baptism in order to be his people for the world.

“For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

When we gather around the table of Thanksgiving with family and friends this year, let us remember that where bread is broken…healing can begin.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, we are invited to take time to remember the good and abundant life to which we have been blessed.

We are reminded to take time to ask forgiveness of one another and to bless one another.

Yes, this country has been through the best of times and the worst of times.

It will continue to go through many more growing pains along the way.

Yet, this week on Thursday we pause and remember the One who brought us life and as we break bread together we will remember the words of Jesus, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Amen. 

When Food and Words Matter

Sermon John 6:25-35 November 22, 2015 @NMPC Thanksgiving Sunday Originally preached November 24, 2013 Community Thanksgiving Worship

When Food and Words Matter

This is Thanksgiving week and today we are here to worship. We are hoping to be filled with good words, good feelings and good thoughts so we can make it thru Thursday. Some of us are so excited for this day to come that we can’t contain our joy. Some of us are anticipating reunions, with new babies, grown children, happy couples just engaged or wed, grammas, grampas, colleagues and special friends. 

Whether we are filled with joyful or wary anticipation, we sure know we need strength for when all those people descend upon us.

And so here we are today gathered in as people of God reminded of the One who came to us as the Bread from Heaven. The Word made flesh dwells within us, the feast of heaven sustains us.

In the gospel of John Jesus, walks the seashores reciting to those who would hear about the offer of eternal food.

In this gospel it is clearly written that food and words DO matter!

We are hungry people. We are yearning people. Within all of us is the deepest desire and longing for relationship and love.

It is a human desire whether we believe in God or not. It is a hunger to love, to be loved and to move closer to the Source of love.

That’s what the crowd in this story of Jesus is doing. They chased him around the lake asking for more words to fill them. They wanted Jesus to show them more miracles and tell them, one more time, what they had to DO to be satisfied.

Isn’t that what we do too? If God could just DO another miracle or show us another sign or at least give us a clear directive then we’ll believe enough to be confident in his love for us.

But, Jesus didn’t offer the crowd a metaphor and doesn’t offer us one either. Jesus gives a clear statement of who he is. He uses the ‘I AM’ directive-the holiest of holy names for God, I AM the bread of life. Jesus IS the bread of life.

Where there is no bread, life cannot flourish. Nations upon nations have fought over bread and still do. The Dr Suess’ book ‘The Bread and Butter Wars speaks to the power and value of bread-such that there is no end to the battles of power for the sake of who has control of the food.

Food matters! And Jesus makes it clear that he is the food that not only nourishes, but gives new life AND gives it to the world!

Words matter too!

And this could be our highest stressor on Thanksgiving.

We certainly can look up the list of things NOT to say at the table. Things like, ‘gee, I think gramma’s pie was the best’-ah, not smart when the hostess just used gramma’s recipe.

Thanksgiving is not the time for disguising thanks with thoughtless digs, or airing grievances, or picking fights, giving advice, or making bold announcements.

Thanksgiving is just that. A time to give thanks, to gather, to listen, to sing, to speak and to offer ourselves to one another. It is a time for conversation-the opportunity to better understand one another; a time to create an environment of hospitality where each person feels welcome.

Our conversations matter. Conversations are at the core of who we are as humans.  Someone asked, “Are we human beings so immersed in conversation that, like fish in water, conversation is our medium for survival, and we just don’t see it?

Could this be true? That our words are a matter of survival? Could it be true that our one on ones and our group meetings and our family meal conversations all are part of the creative nature that sustains, and transforms the realities in which we live?

If this is true then we have the opportunity to start with this holiday season to pay attention to our words.

We have the moment open to us to maintain eye contact, listen with an open heart, speak with confidence and seek to understand the other in our life.

There are all kinds of books and websites out there filled ways to communicate effectively. There are books about strengthening relationships and building families. There are books about reconciliation and forgiveness.

The main focus of these resources is that words matter!

Its not time to stress.

It’s time to look to the Word-with a capital W-who really matters-in this Word-with a capital W- we find the core of who we are as humans.

In this Word-with a capital W-this Jesus- we find who we need for survival.

From the very beginning of this gospel we understand how powerful that message of Word is-the Word became flesh and lived among us, the glory as of a father’s son, full of grace and truth…from his fullness we have received grace upon grace.

Let us turn our hearts to what matters the Food and Word of our Life in Jesus Christ.

By God’s Word and Bread we are fed and this is what satisfies our hungry hearts.

The words of the Eucharist hymn come to mind:

You satisfy the hungry heart with gifts of finest wheat; come give to us O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat. With joyful lips we sing to you our praise and gratitude that you should count us worthy Lord to share this heavenly food.

Amen.

“Blessed Are You.”

Sermon Luke 6:20-31 November 6, 2013 All Saints Day service

“Blessed Are You.”

Blessed are you! Blessed are you!

As I walk down the aisle and say to each of you, “Blessed are you! When is the last time you’ve heard that said to you? Or that you’ve said it to someone?”

It is a powerful art and an incredible opportunity to offer someone the promise of God through a blessing.

We are all capable of blessing one another each day and perhaps several times a day if we get really excited. It’s an ancient tradition blessing those who come and go from the home. It’s an Old Testament tradition for a father to bless his children just before he passes from this life to the next.

On this day of celebration of All Saints. We think of those in our congregation and in our family who have died this past year. We lift them up and we remember the blessings they brought us.

We remember the holiness within them.

We remember the goodness of their nature and their gifts.

We rejoice in the remembrance of their lives and their witness.

And we whisper in our heart, “Blessed are you!”

For in our memory we can only draw the finest moments.

We can only recall the times that brought joy and the moments that stir our hearts with good thoughts.

And so the hard times and the difficult experiences melt away.

Yes, the one we have lost was a dear saint.

Perhaps a diamond in the rough, but in the promise of God, a saint.

Our churches’ story is filled with curmudgeons turned saints.

None of us is perfect.

But all of us are perfected in Christ.

And it is often their story that inspires us to continue to be the church for the next generation.

Not only does their story inspire us, but it also convicts us to go on and to do and to live out the gospel message.

We receive a message of hope when we think about the hard work done by those who passed away this year.

And thinking of them brings us to the question we face as we read and listen to these from Jesus-as we hear about the blessed and the woes. What is the kind of living that these beatitudes are saying we should have?

Luke’s beatitudes are described as the sermon on the plain and we find the beatitudes in Matthew as well and there they are known as the Sermon on the Mount. Luke, being a physician and a cut to the chase kind of guy, is much more straight forward than Matthew as he shares the words of Jesus for us. A lot more literal and less ‘spiritualizing’ one might say. He doesn’t beat around the bush about what way of life will be blessed and the kind of life that will be a life of woe.

Jesus makes it clear that the poor, the hungry, the outcast, the sad, and the persecuted are rather special to God. God throughout the Old Testament has been proclaiming the freedom of captives and the blind receiving sight and the lame walking.

So, as we hear these proclamations again from Jesus what does it propel in us?

It is to remember those who God loves and for us to love them too.

The kingdom already belongs to those Jesus has just told us about.

And so we wonder where do we fit in the kingdom?

We fit in the kingdom through the way we live our lives.

The foundation for holy living is to have the blessed relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

Holy living begins when we open ourselves up to the opportunities to be led by God to care for those God has placed in our path. We are freed from selfishness and greed when we are willing to put ourselves at risk for the sake of another.

My son in law had a traumatic experience on his way to work this past week. As he was crossing the prairie swamp in Florida a car flew past him at a very high speed. The speed there is 65 and he is one who obeys the speed and even drives under the speed. So he was not surprised for a car to overtake him. The next thing, however, he saw was the car flipping over into the swamp and quickly engulfed in the water.

He pulled over.

Before he could think clearly he was calling 911 and diving into alligator infested waters to try to save this individual from his submerged vehicle. Officers and rescue crew were on the scene in minutes, however despite their efforts they were not able to save this person.

I share this with you this morning because I’m sure that all of us would also without hesitation jump into deep waters to seek to save a life.

The beatitudes are a foundation of faith and life in which we are to seek to live without hesitation.

We are to be willing to dive in to care for the poor and the downtrodden without judgment. Judgment is God’s job. If we’ve been bamboozled, or played, God will take care of it. But, we can know we’ve done the right thing.

We find all kinds of excuses not to live the foundational living that Jesus calls us to live.

We are busy. We really are busy-too busy. We are taking care of our own bills before we get in debt caring for someone else. We have a few dreams to fulfill before we can offer our time to help others.

Jesus gets it. Jesus gets us. Jesus gets it-he really does!

And so he turns out the woes to remind us of the risks of not living in relationship with God. If you are laughing and making fun of others now-you best look out-because you are the ones who will be suffering next.

These are some pretty harsh words coming from Jesus! Jesus is not meek and mild here-he’s telling it like it is!  

He doesn’t stop there either.

He goes on to put in some tougher rules to live by.

“Love your enemies,” he says!

“Pray for those who abuse you,” he says! Jesus should know better than to ask those who’ve been abused to pray for their abusers-but he does! How can this be possible? These prayers are possible when we are absolutely secure in the love of God for us-because nothing can separate us from God’s love.

And when we live in that security-then even the powerful can’t hurt us and we have the strength to pray for them.

Jesus finally finishes his talk, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

No matter what the risk you face-care for others with the kindness and love you expect to receive.

Which brings us back to the powerful gift of blessing others.

Parents can offer their children as they leave home each day, a blessing to send them off with God alongside.

Coworkers, neighbors, care givers, attendants, service workers, all can be recipients of blessings as we offer God’s peace to them.

You will be amazed at how much strength and nourishment comes to you as you offer and as you receive a blessing.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Blessed are you!

Amen.

Resources: Feasting on the Word; NIB 

Standing for Faith

Sermon Romans 3:19-28 October 30, 2016 Reformation Sunday

Standing for Faith

After I submitted this title for my sermon a few months ago, I was fairly certain about my sermon focus. But, as the nation seems to be in turmoil about values, as neighbors are stealing candidate signs out of each other’s yards, as name calling has crossed the line on social media and even among respected reporters, I find myself wondering, what does it really mean to stand for faith?

Today we remember the Reformation. We are known as Protestants-because of those who protested against the then current form of faith expression.

This Scripture from Romans was the power behind Martin Luther’s protest-

we are justified by faith in God given to us in Jesus Christ-

not but any rules of humanity,

not by any organized religious doctrine,

but by the power of the Word of God to transform us

from our human wickedness

into a Godly righteousness.

Paul was pointing to a moment of crisis for those who were listening.

It was a moment of crisis for those of faith

and it was a moment of crisis for the world in which they were living.

It was a moment of crisis for an understanding of faith expression.

For the Jews (of which Paul was one) the Temple had been destroyed.

For the Gentiles they were never accepted in any circle.

And for both groups, the Roman government had taken a violent turn

and placed an even more oppressive hand of rule over the people.

Which leads me to ask today:

What is our current form of faith expression?

What is it that brings our faith to a moment of crisis? Can you remember a time when your faith has been in crisis?

What brings our attention to the matters of the world?

What brings us to a place where we see the world in crisis?

And in this crisis of faith and world, where do we get our understanding of it and where does the possibility of realizing who we are in it come from?

Karl Barth, Jean Calvin, and Martin Luther point out that we return to the origins of our Maker who evokes within us a memory of our habitation with the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Let me repeat these long ago words- we return to the origins of our Maker who evokes within us a memory of our habitation with the Lord of Heaven and Earth. In other words, we are reminded of how we are connected.

We are able to recognize who we are, how the world is, through the power of God who shows us. God places within us the conviction of ourselves as beings who are not perfect; “Beings who look up to the heavens, who look to a time beyond time; who look to an impossible possibility.” (Karl Barth). God places us to where we are able to view the power of God for us for our salvation-for life in death and for eternity in time.

We are the expression of God’s love for the world and we are the expression of the impossible possibility through the power of God in Jesus Christ. 

That said we have a bit of work to do.

We are a people who have fallen and been broken and who have shown emotions to one another that are irreprehensible. We are guilty. We are a people who have sinned.

As you know I am not a fire and brimstone preacher. But we need the reminder of our sin and our brokenness to remember the power of God to re-form us. I am aware of our constant need to look in the mirror and tell ourselves we are a child of God. And with that face to face view in the mirror we also discover our need for reliance our dependence on God. God sees beyond the flaws and beyond the faults and sees the beauty of grace and the wonder of God’s righteousness in us.

That’s why Paul’s “But now” is so important. These two little words, “But now” are really important. “But now” is the hinge on which our faith exists.

It is the remarkable power of God to transform humanity and fling it into a world where faith expression can heal, make whole, restore and rebuild a suffering world and a suffering community and a suffering soul.

We are made whole through the love of God. We are God’s people. We are children of God. We are a broken people bound together as one through the Body of Christ. We are a community of faith united, sealed in the blood of Christ as grace is poured out on us. Our ability to stand for faith is not just our individual faith but the faith we have together as God calls us the Church.

These little words “but now” remind us that we have God’s promise for the impossible to be possible; and that is the great hope for the Church.

We stand in the tension of the now and the not yet.

We live in the tension of what is and what should and could be.

And these two little words “But now” remind us there is no small gesture and no tiny deed-all things are possible.

Years ago I was part of a mission group, an inter-generational group, who went to Russia. We worked together at an orphanage of 400 mentally challenged children; children who were unadoptable and unaccepted in the community. We worked hard for two weeks 

and at the end of our time our emotions had been tested. Our mission was a powerful experience and we were spiritually and emotionally exhausted.  As we waited in the airport of Moscow for our return trip I noticed a woman who was lying across the seats in the waiting area. She was a woman of Turkish descent, dark skin, clothing that defined her ethnicity, a scarf covering her head. She was sound asleep and it was clear she too was exhausted. My attention was drawn to her because a group of women speaking in Dutch surrounding her were calling her names and they were yelling at her to get out of their seats. Now this happened years ago. As I look back I realize my reaction was a knee jerk reaction. I realize I was not quite in control of my temper. But as I watched my heart ached. My gut wrenched. When the women started cursing and kicking this pour soul that could barely raise her head to respond, I lost it. I ran to her side and began to yell back in Dutch that this was a child of God, how dare they seek to harm someone who had a right to be there. I moved the woman from the seats and found her a safe place to rest. I was shaken. I was shocked that one person could be treated so badly in public. My flight home after this reaction was hard. That moment still catches me in a flood of emotion. I realize that this stand for this woman was a stand for faith.

Standing for faith is standing together. It is to protest that which we believe is against the things that tear us apart.

Standing for faith calls us to seek to live united. It calls us to be listeners.

Standing for faith means to get up and speak for those who have no voice.

Standing for faith requires us to see in another value greater than our own.

Standing for faith means to be willing, as Ghandi told his wife, to clean toilets with the untouchables, even when we struggle to bring ourselves to do it.

Standing for faith requires us to respect differences of opinion while at the same time seek justice.

Standing for faith calls us to see in the face of the one who we would deem our enemy-our brother.

This is the constant tension as we live and seek to live for Christ.

The reformers were not seeking to start a new religion. They like many before them were seeking new understanding.

They were seeking to be re-formed in faith.

Those days and hopefully many to come in the future were days when eyes were opened to see faith in a new way. It was the power of God to grant vision through newly cleaned lenses.

May we see the vision God has for us as we stand for faith together. Amen.

Re-formation

Re-formation

As I prepare for another Reformation Sunday, I can't help myself but to trail my thoughts back to a weekend in the Cevennes in the Massif Central of France.

The Cévennes according to Wikipedia are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. The word Cévennes comes from the Gaulish Cebenna, which was Latinized by Julius Caesar to Cevenna.

But, the Cevennes for Protestant Huguenots was a place of hiding and the clandestine continuation of worship. In the caves and rocks of the rugged area, Huguenots kept their Protestant faith alive. The French Reformed Church is the descendant of the efforts of those early 16th century rebels. 

One place in this region is a place of pilgrimage. It is not Mecca, nor Rome, nor Edinburgh, but it is the Musee Du Desert. It is situated in the heart of the lower Cevennes, in the Mas Soubeyran, a hamlet in the commune of Mialet, it retraces a long chapter of Protestant history, which had a great impact on the region : the Desert period. Here, each year the French Reformed Church holds a service of worship. Thousands gather to sit together under the trees to sing hymns, to read freely from Scripture, to be baptized and to remember those in faith who paved the way for religious reform. 

I had the privilege of traveling with my senior pastor and my congregation from Chalon sur Saone to join with congregations from all over France to gather together for worship at the Musee Du Desert. 

There among the trees we spread our blankets and set up our chairs. We laid out elaborate baskets of food to share with one another. We brought our hymnals with us and we began to sing. The Reformation instituted that every family home should have a Bible and a hymnal with the order of worship. Families were to conduct worship in their homes. 
It was a powerful witness to me as a foreigner and not a descendant of the Huguenots to be among the faithful pilgrims. The joy of the voices rising above the trees, and the Word of God resonating over the rocks and hills reclaimed the power of faith within me. 

Touring the museum afterwards to see the tiny Bibles women hid in their hairdos and the barrel converted to a pulpit strengthened my resolve to be faithful to the Word of God and the people of God. 
Religious wars are never right. Religious intolerance is always wrong. And so we do not lift up the injustice on both sides of the Reformation. We lift up the power of God to transform us in our ways and in our thinking. 
The strength of those who hear God paving a new way, being reformed in faith, and seeking to follow God has transformed me. I reminisce on that weekend eleven years ago and my heart is warmed because of the experience and the friendships. 

May God continue to re-form me and transform me to the image of Christ our Lord. 

Public Image

Sermon Luke 18:9-14 October 23, 2016 Parable Series yr C The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Public Image

We just heard the Scriptures read about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Two people with life styles that Jesus sets apart. So here in the congregation let’s set ourselves apart.

Let’s say for example the baptismal side of the congregation-you are the Pharisees. You know the Scriptures, the prayers and the creeds. You have it all together when it comes to knowing how to do it all correctly.

Now you on the choir side, you are the tax collectors. You don’t know all the prayers and you know you’re not perfect. You know you’re not even really welcome in the ‘religious’ group.

And the choir, organist, you are the disciples listening to the words of Jesus.

SO as the Pharisees you can say to the tax collectors, “I am glad I’m not like you.” How easy is that to say? Now the tax collector group, you can say, “I’m not worthy.” And the disciples, you can say, “I’m glad I’m not either of you.”

This story from Jesus is a pretty easy story.

The Pharisee is pompous and has it all together from the point of view of the religious tradition of the Law. He really was doing it all right. He could claim his righteousness by his actions. He could come to God and let God know all the correct ways he has lived out his life. He was setting himself apart from a life of uncleanliness and only associated with the appropriate people of faith. He wanted God to recognize him for his public image and his earthly status.

The tax collector on the other hand did his job, which was a despised career.

He was not a public image that people wanted to even get close to. His circle of friends was also people like himself. He steered clear of those righteous people because he didn’t fit in. He had no earthly status worth recognizing .

The disciples were a band of Jesus followers and sometimes it was cool to be with Jesus (especially when he was followed by tons of people) and other times it was easier not to admit knowing him because he had stones hurled at him.

You, who are the Pharisees, it’s not easy to look at the tax collectors and say, “I’m better than you”, is it? And you who are the tax collectors it’s not hard to say, “God have mercy”, is it?

And you disciples, I bet you’re siding with the tax collector right now. You would be convincing yourself this is the guy you want to be, because you want to get the good grade from Jesus.

You can let Jesus know you have the story figured out and we can all go home now.

The crazy thing about this story though, is the minute we have it figured out who we want to be and who want to avoid being, we get back to judging.

We get back to pointing out our differences and claiming we are better than the other. “Look at me, I know how to be humble.”

We are people that need to have an identity.

We need to know who we are and how we fit in in this world.

So we are grouped by what we do, how we look, or what we believe. And often to make ourselves comfortable with who we are, we say we are glad we are not like those people. We are glad we are not criminals, or bounty hunters, or foreigners, or TV evangelists, or politicians, or movie stars. “We are better than that”, we say.

The hard part about this parable is (as David Lose writes) the minute we claim who is and who is out, we draw a line between us and God. The lines we draw to separate ourselves, to make the distinction of how we are not the other, we separate ourselves from God.

When we throw the moral code on others, we will be required to look in the mirror and wonder how well we too, live in the moral code we hurl at others. When we claim our views are better than another’s without taking the time to listen, we put ourselves on a pedestal and claim our own righteousness. When we refuse to accept differences of opinions or of a person’s choice to make-even in an election-we dismiss them, and diminish them in order to justify who we are to make ourselves feel better. We return to the chant, “We are better than you.” And when we can’t believe people can do those horrific things to another human being, when we claim we cannot say hurtful things, or maim, or cause pain, we once again, draw a line of who we believe we are not. For within all of us there is a dangerous place we must learn to ask God, “In your mercy, forgive us, we have sinned.”

We, the religious, are so quick to judge, so anxious to be right. We have put so many in the other group that no one dares to step over the threshold of the church anymore because they, like the tax collector, do not feel worthy. And yet, none of us are.

And yet, this hard part is also our Good News. There is no separation from God’s love and mercy. All have fallen short and all are made righteous through Christ.

So, anyone can come before God as this tax collector has done. He didn’t use the correct formula for prayer. He couldn’t stand in the special place to pray. He couldn’t claim victory of how wonderful he was. He could only recognize the wonder and the mercy of God. God came first in his prayer.  And that is the good news-God sees us and accepts us as we are.

When we are able to put God first in our prayers and receive God’s mercy; when we are able to put God first in our relationship to God; we are then able to recognize who we are to one another. The divide of Pharisees, tax collectors, and disciples melts away.

So now that we have been told that all of us are justified in God’s eyes we can reach out to each other and shake hands. We can see each other for the uniqueness of God’s image expressed in us.

We can say. “I’m glad you are who you are, for there is no better than the gift of God in you.”

God places a love song within each of us.

A song that defines us and makes us who we are.

God works within us so that we can see the beauty of creation in our souls.

This is where we find ourselves in humble prayer.

This is where we discover the grace that makes us unique and sets us apart, not apart from one another, but as a part of the whole, the Body of Christ.

The joy for us in this parable is that we don’t have to have an earthly status or a public image to the world’s standards.

We only need the grace of God to carry us as we go.

The Pharisee and the tax collector, the disciples and Jesus are in each of us.

We can remove the sides we are on and we can recognize the power of God at work within each of us drawing us closer as we learn from one another.

With Christ there is no division, we are all friends. Amen.

Resources: NIB, Feasting on the Word, David Lose: Working Preacher

Stubborn Prayer

Sermon Luke 18: 1-8 October 16, 2016 Parable Series

Stubborn Prayer

We can no longer sit silent.

This text from Luke is a pivot point for us. It reveals the Word of God powerful, strong, and unrelenting.

The widow can no longer be dismissed.

She can no longer be pushed aside.

Work for the Kingdom of God is challenging, confusing, frustrating and ongoing. We find ourselves at a place where we can no longer sit at the feet of Jesus and pray prayers with flowery platitudes.

We stand shaking our fist and we scream and we yell and we demand, “When are you coming to straighten out this mess?”

“How long do we have to wait for you Jesus, to return to us with your justice, love and reconcile the world to yourself?”

We plead with feeble voices, “Where are you?”

There are times we are angry, we are bitter, we are hurt in many ways by words, by feelings of those who think and act differently from us.

We have lost loved ones, we have lost parts of our own selves.

In the midst of crisis around the world we watch and wonder, “where is God?”

In helpless voices we ask, “Where do we step in and stop being afraid and where do we stand before those who block the way of doing what is right?”

There are many reasons why believers have lost hope and trust.

There are many reasons among believers (and those who don’t believe for that matter) where faith feels dismantled.

Can you name where your faith seems dismantled? For those around you, Do you where faith has disintegrated?

For places in your heart where has faith been disrupted?

Is there something burning to burst forth from your heart that must be spoken?

Each of us has a widow voice within us.

We come before God with persistent cries for the young woman who has lost yet another child and has empty arms and an empty womb.

We are angered at yet another death in the streets of police officers and unarmed men. We are bitter at another factory closing and people without work.

We are hurt by the public officials who fling words as if they are immune to retribution. We hide behind social media and witness accusations hurled across invisible wires by those who refuse to come face to face.

We are infuriated at rebels who take the lives of children and have no remorse.

We find ourselves banging on the door of God’s Kingdom begging and begging for action on the part of God. (1) Our prayers, like the widow’s, are persistent and stubborn-do something God! Show up for Pete’s sake God-we are here! We beat ourselves against the gates of heaven to get God’s attention.

~~~

This week we hosted a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for the Coalition Against domestic violence. We seek to be light to the women of abuse to find a way to leave the life that holds them hostage. We seek to speak out so they can find their voice to speak out against their abuser. We have made a choice to reconsider our silence (2) and as a church speak openly in the community that words matter and that violence against women is NOT ok.

The world seems out of our control and so the widow voice is all we have.

We come as she does before God-vulnerable, alone, without a crowd to support us. The Old Testament and during the times of Jesus the faith community was responsible for the care of widows and orphans. They had a mandate from God to provide widows with all that they needed. And so here we read about a widow before a judge, an unjust one to boot, who comes alone-no faith community is present with her-no one has taken responsibility to care for her and to remain at her side. And yet, she goes forth with audacity and unashamedly before the judge to stubbornly make her request.  

We come willing and with audacity and with stubbornness before the One who can make a change, we come persistently and consistently.

The widow voice within us cannot let go.

This is the hopeful courage that resists the injustice in our lives and in our world.

The Spirit fills the heart and bubbles it up with strength to act when there is no strength. The Spirit acts within us to go beyond ourselves.

And perhaps, that is the Good News for us today.

It is in our daily persistent prayers-“give us this day our daily bread”-our stubborn faith that God will provide-that God’s amazing love for us is a promise that brings it all around-even if we have to wait-we will not give up. For the Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. The Scriptures remind us, “For the Kingdom of God is within you.” 17:20-21

That’s all well and good you say to me, that’s only half of the story, what about this unjust judge?

Is this judge an image of God?

How can we imagine such a capricious being? How can God be so frivolous?

This judge says he has no fear of God or respect for others. What does that mean?

Is he granting to this widow the answer to her request just to keep her quiet;

to protect his reputation?

Is he giving her what she wants to keep himself from being publicly embarrassed? Is it that she won’t leave him alone that people are beginning to wonder about his ethics? How can God be compared to this judge?

What have we learned about God as we’ve grown up? Nothing like this guy, for sure! We’ve learned that God is faithful and loving.

God claims us as his children.

God’s love is so persistent for us that God chases after us continuously with love for us even though we keep running away. Hosea.

God is relentless in love to the point that Jesus was among us-God incarnate-persistent-stubborn-fully present.

Jesus who gave his life for us so we in turn can have the fullness of life.

There is no doubt of God’s unfailing and sacrificial love for us as we have been taught.

Perhaps then this judge who has no fear for God and no respect for others

is how

we see God in relation to our unanswered prayers and our frustration in a broken world.

Perhaps this

is how

we see the lives of the faithful who pray and one prayer is answered and another goes unanswered.

Perhaps our witness of God, our experience of God is of a being who has no respect and no fear.

Perhaps we feel that God is just NOT fair.

That is exactly where the gospel writer Luke wants us to be with this parable of Jesus. He provides us with the definition of justice that Jesus proclaims: respect for others and the fear of God.

Which brings us back to stubborn prayer.

An unjust judge grants the request of a widow who puts herself at great risk to receive a measure of justice.

Her stubborn persistence brought about change, no matter how she felt about the judge.

No matter how we feel about God: just or unjust; we can have the widow’s voice and come to God over and over again.

We have a widow’s voice within us.

Let us act with stubborn prayer, with unrelenting faith (the faith that Jesus will find on earth) and publicly come before God seeking justice for all. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Amen.

Resources: Karoline Lewis (2); Feasting on the Word (1).

It is NEVER OK-KNOW THE SIGNS:Domestic Violence

KNOW THE SIGNS:Domestic Violence
THIS is more important today than ever before.

We must read and know that abuse is still prevalent and very much in the public conversation today. So we are very pleased to be sponsoring the Spaghetti Dinner to raise awareness for the Coalition.

This week we will hold a spaghetti dinner to help raise funds for the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence at Naomi Makemie Presbyterian Church on Friday October 14 from 5-7 pm.

It is an honor to serve a congregation that puts the issue of domestic violence as an important and necessary mission of the church.

So as we approach our dinner tomorrow night let's review the signs and symptoms of domestic violence. Let's understand the destructive patterns of violence against women. What is abuse against women? 

Abuse against women is physical and emotional. Physical abuse occurs in unwanted sexual advances, rape, assault, and many other forms of touching a woman's body without her permission.
The book "The Emotionally Abused Woman" by Beverly Engel MFCC is an excellent resource for women, men and anyone in relationships with other human beings.This article is filled with information from her book.

Here is a quick list of some types emotional abuse that women suffer:

• Domination-men who dominate women need to be in charge, and they seek to control every detail of a person's life actions. They often resort to threats to get their way.
• Verbal assaults-this behavior involves berating, belittling, criticizing, screaming, blaming and using sarcasm and humiliation. This is particularly dangerous because these assaults demean and diminish the woman or any human being for that matter. It is dangerous because it is difficult for women to heal from this abuse. 
• Abusive expectations-unreasonable demands placed on a woman and no matter what the woman does it is never good enough. She is subjected to constant criticism.
• Emotional blackmail-this is a powerful form of manipulation. It is the conscious or unconscious coercion of a person to have them do what this person (man) wants by playing on fear, guilt, or compassion. 
• Unpredictable responses-the abuser has unpredictable outbursts and inconsistent responses. Mixed signals are continuously sent and the abused is never sure of what triggers the outbursts.
• Constant criticism-the insidious nature of consistent, continuous criticism that cumulates and eats away at the persons self worth and self confidence. 
• Character assassination-mistakes are blown out of proportion. There does not seem to be a level of severity-burnt toast is as bad as a burnt house; past failures are always brought to light. Humiliation is the constant game that is played.
• Gaslighting-purposely creating an atmosphere through a variety of insidious techniques to make a person doubt herself, her memory, her perceptions, even her very sanity. This person denies what he has said or done. He will tell her that she is lying. He will avoid responsibility for his actions and tell her she is exaggerating. 
• Constant chaos-continuous chaos is the norm. The abuser seems to have an addiction to drama. Arguments are started for what appears to be no reason. It seems the person is adept of keeping the relationship and all that is around him in constant crisis. 
• Sexual harassment-unwelcome, unwanted, sexual advances, or physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature. 

Friends NONE of this is OK!!

These predators have behaviors and women need to be informed how to spot them:

Check out this list on "How to Spot an Abuser"

• Poor impulse control
• Low self-esteem
• Selfishness and narcissism
• Needy and demanding
• Poor social skills
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• history of being abusive
• history of mental illness
• emotionally dependent
• antisocial behavior
• need for power and control
• conspiracy theorists 

We can spot the abuser and we can learn the M.O. of the abuser: 

• Victor: abusive expectations, and domination
• The Napoleon complex:the need to ridicule, and behave in anyway necessary to shame, blame and put the other down in order to make themselves look good.
• The Bulldozer: these people mow over everyone in their path. they will tear others down and take them down with them. These people are power hungry and will do and say anything to get ahead. 
• The controllers: these people have much of the above combined in order to have and maintain the control they have over another. Threatening to the point that others are afraid is real and again also very dangerous.
• Sex addiction: this person pleads or demands sexual contact frequently and becomes angry, hostile and manipulative in order to get what he wants. 
• The anti-social personality: these people do not live by the same set of rules and values as anyone else lives by. They create their own desires, their own agenda and they blame everyone around them for their behavior. They are incapable of loyalty to others. 
• The Misogynist: complete lack of respect for anyone other than they are. Hatefulness towards women by men, This hatefulness permeates throughout all interactions with women by making fun of them, by seeing them as sex objects, even to the point of becoming sexually violent towards them.
• The Blamer: they are NEVER wrong. they are incapable of apology. 
• The Destroyer: The goal to destroy their victims.
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: This person is gentle and kind and in an instant turn to rude, crude, angry, hurtful behavior.

If any of you have ever experienced behavior towards you in this way then you have been a victim of abuse. Know the signs and know it is NEVER OK! And the abuser must be stopped.