Grace in Which We Stand

Sermon Romans 5:1-8 June 18, 2017 Ordinary Time/Father’s Day/Church Re-dedication NMPC

Grace in Which We Stand

It is June and today here we stand in our sanctuary. We are amazed at the beauty that surrounds us. Both congregations have suffered structural damage and both are now fully functional. It has been a long hard road to get to where we are, but here we are no longer fearful of a leaky roof, swollen pew benches (FMPC), smoke and soot odor (NMPC), damaged furniture, ruined Bibles and hymnals, or of destroyed worship space (F&NMPC).

We have been surrounded by grace through all of this.

We have been humbled about how the people around us notice us and care for us. When they became aware of our needs they reached out as we reached to them.

We have been blessed through the kind offerings of many different people and groups to restore us to where we are able to stand today.

And it is with Paul, as he spoke to the Romans, that I can say we have peace!

We have peace, friends, because we have been given the grace in which we stand today. The power of God has been at work in all of us.

God has moved and pushed our minds to think and hear in creative and constructive ways. We have been renewed and refreshed by the need to work together to arrive at this day.

Perhaps our building woes has brought us into a new relationship in our faith as well as with one another. Paul says to boast in our sorrows.

I must say we were not in any shape to be boasting in our difficulties,

but we were certainly, energetic in not letting our situation get the best of us;

even if it tried to for a minute or two.

Friday night we had a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for both churches to help cover the costs of our expenses for repairs. It was not only the highest amount of funds received from a dinner; it was also the most dinners ever cooked!!! 

We had a kitchen and a dining room over flowing with help.

We had dozens of take-out orders and people sending folks from their work places and their neighborhood.

Perhaps, this is what Paul meant when he said to boast in our sufferings.

Because our external, physical challenges, we came together and worked hard-even enjoying ourselves.

That is something to boast about. We can boast or rejoice, for the endurance we achieved as we put buckets everywhere each week to collect rain, or the set-up and take down of our temporary worship quarters built some muscles too.

It is in moments such as these that we recognize how character is built up. As we face challenges that seem to always be set before us, we discover the character within us. There are so many ways to respond to challenging times. Whether it is a church building or just a rough week or work, or receiving a life changing diagnosis, the character within us comes forth as we seek to work through these times.

Paul, says that the power of God within us through Jesus Christ is what gives us peace. Through Christ we have received all we need for this life.

The faith of God is within us because of Jesus.

We are reconciled, renewed, refreshed.

This is the grace in which we stand!

We have discovered our own character with

one another through these times.

And friends, we’ve discovered how

we are a people full of hope!!

And hope does not disappoint!

Look around.

Hope does not disappoint!!

Here in our little churches we’ve been hoping to grow our relationships with each other. We’ve had the desire to know one another better as we worship together.

It’s been a blessing.

Our hope to grow together as a church family

has shown us that hope does not disappoint.

Our desire to continue grows out of the

love of God poured into our hearts.

May we be willing to be recipients of that love

as we seek to serve in the world beyond these walls.

This grace in which we stand is all we need.

Let the glory of God be shared no and forevermore. Amen. 

God Revealed

Sermon Luke 24:13-35 April 30, 2017 Third Sunday after Easter

God Revealed

When have we experienced God revealed to us in such a way that it changed our thinking, our behavior, and/or our faith? (Taken from Luther Seminary ‘Preach This Week)

The road to Emmaus is seven miles. Now consider the distance between Onancock and Accomac it is four miles; or Accomac and Daughtery it is about three miles. To us today this seems ridiculous to have churches so close together. But, the reason we have churches in all of these towns is that most people used to walk to church. It took more than an hour to walk from Onancock to Accomac. It wasn’t until Henry Ford’s affordable car that the way to church changed. So, in the 19^th century each little town did their best to create an opportunity for worship that was not a hardship.

I’ll never forget the years our family didn’t have a car. We would sometimes complain and say to our father how it would be so nice to get somewhere without walking. My dad would respond with his wonderful wit, “Walking is good for the body. Walking is good for your system. Walking we discover so many things, and even each other.” As children, we would look at him as if he was crazy and looked forward to a day that we would have a little less discovery in our lives.

When the car arrived in our lives everything changed. It was around 1966 or 1967 when we got a car, a telephone, and a TV. Our behaviors, our attitudes, and even our thinking all changed. When we would take the car to go somewhere we would tease our father and ask, ‘whatever happened to the idea that walking is good for the body?’ He laughed and would say the car is now a healthy way to go.

For today’s generation, the greatest change they can attest to is the work of the phone, tablet computers all of which again has changed our thinking, behaviors, and attitudes.

The road to Emmaus was a road that led to change.

It was a road where what was, would never be again.

There was no going back to the way things were before.

We may yearn for life the way it was and some people try to construct their world in a bubble by going ‘off grid’.

But, we all know that is more living in denial than it is living within the circumstances that our world moves into.

It was along the road that Cleopas and the other were walking and discussing all that had happened when Jesus shows up.

They do not recognize him.

He asks them what has happened and they look dumbfounded that he was unaware of the headline news of the week. Jesus was handed over to die!

“And we had hoped that he would be the one to redeem.”

Their hopes for a future different from the one they had been living had been dashed.

They were utterly devastated and so they did the only thing humans know to do is to go back to what they knew before.

These men were headed home

away from Jerusalem,

away from the dreams they had,

away from the place where it all fell apart.

Jerusalem was the city where all the dreams and hopes of a messiah were to take place and the road they had been traveling on led them all together there.

Now, the only thing to do was to turn

away from the road that led them instead to disaster.

There was no hope and no chance of change.

There was no way to see anything good.

What they had expected did not happen and with the death of Jesus would never happen in their lifetime.

Even if a bunch of women came

and said he was alive

and he was no longer in the tomb

they did not see him.

It cannot be true until they see him.

Jesus must be revealed in the way the disciples expected or else Jesus was not alive.

We are the same way.

God must be revealed in the way we expect-within our own human limitations-or God is not there.

And perhaps that is our need for today as we read this story again this year. Where and when is, has, will God show up. And if so what is, has, will it do for or to me?

This story we hear on the road to Emmaus is the most profound resurrection story for all of us here in the millennium after the resurrection.

Because we, like these disciples walk

away from Jerusalem on the days after Easter

and say to each other, ‘we didn’t see him.’

‘Our hearts are disappointed because we had hoped by coming to church that we would see him, that something in us would change.’

‘We had hoped he would be there and we would be redeemed,

but even in the fanfare, we couldn’t find him.’

There on the Emmaus road, as these disciples walked there became a sense of something familiar. It couldn’t be explained, but there was a ‘burning in their hearts’.

 A memory was stirring in them.

Memories are valuable ways of kindling hope.

Memories of smell, touch, sounds, all stir in us.

They return us to a time we know and can remember as real and true.

These memories are most often built on relationships.

Jesus was real to them and their relationship with him was built on their faith in him and their hope. When he died, they lost every part of their faith and hope. How can lost faith and hope be rekindled?

Here on the road, the sounds, and the voice, the cadence, all begin to stir within and draw back to a time of faith and hope.

Jesus is walking along the road with us today.

This road to Emmaus still exists as each of us travels.

Jesus is talking to us and stirring within us memories that remind us of hope and begin to draw us back to faith.

Jesus is accompanying us even or perhaps especially when we say in our consternation, everyone is a liar, even when we are greatly afflicted.

Jesus is in the midst of it.

God keeps our faith for us when we cannot keep it for ourselves.

The stirrings of what they heard were enough to ignite hospitality-to open the door-to open the heart-to open the possibility to something new or renewed.

When we choose to open the door of grace through welcome we open the door of recognizing all we could not see or believe. What actions have we taken to open our hearts and minds to allow God to be revealed to us?

We only have to let go of telling our minds our expectation of Jesus.

Then we can invite him in to sit at our table and let the conversation lead to the revelation of his love.

When Jesus blessed and broke the bread before the eyes of the disciples, the memory of him brought forward the reality of all of his promises.

When we invite him at table with us the resurrection surprise,

the memory of all we have experienced in faith comes tumbling forward,

we are renewed,

we are filled with hope again.

And this time the revelation moves us to see, think, act, and be different.

Jesus was there present at the table with those two disciples.

There at the table, He became the host and he became the living God fully present, fully revealed.

May our tables wherever they may be, our communion tables at church, with strangers in coffee shops, at home, at the park, may they be moments of Jesus becoming the host, fully present in resurrection glory.

In that moment, for the disciples, their thinking, their behavior, and their faith was changed.

They got up and ran back to Jerusalem. They got back on the road that took them back to where their hopes had led them. Their faith carried their legs as quickly as they could go. The news of Jesus with them gave them what they needed to go and tell the story-the good news.

May we have the gift that each year when we travel this road to Emmaus God is revealed in a way that changes all of who we are so we can change the world for God’s glory. In our heart, Lord, be glorified. Amen.

P.S. Perhaps in Christ’s church today, people are walking home along the road after worship and saying to one another, “Were not our hearts burning as the Word was opened before us?”

Resources: Feasting on the Word. Luther Seminary-Preach This week.

Wave the Palms

Sermon Matthew 21:1-11 April 9, 2017 Palm Sunday

Wave the Palms

Our anthem begins with Wave the Palms and throw the branches at his feet, Wave the Palms.

Palm Sunday is our chance to shout and sing and dance in church.

It is our loudest Sunday of the year.

No other Sunday in our church calendar calls for as much festivity as this one.

So, let us get together and begin our celebration, our joy, and our party!

Let’s see what do we need for a parade and for a celebration?

Oh, I know we need noise makers,

and we need decorations,

and we need lots of color,

and we need a reason to celebrate.

For two years now our churches have marched in the St Patrick’s Day parade as the Makemie Marchers. It has been our purpose to march for fun. We like being part of the parade and we like being together to celebrate the day with the other parade goers.

We also march to let others know about us.We want people to know about our church and to join in the fun we have together. Think about what those things are for you, should someone ask you. 😊

There is something very special about a parade.

It has a special energy that seems to build among those in the parade and with the parade watchers. It begins slowly and then as the event gets closer the excitement grows and the enthusiasm is contagious! And everywhere you look you see a smile on people’s faces.

And isn’t that what we hope for, strive for, live for?

We seek a life of smiles and joy.

We seek a life where trouble does not exist.

We seek a life where peace is at every turn,

where the hungry are fed,

where disease is a myth,

where war and hatred are long gone,

and the world is in full bloom.

That’s why we have this Sunday of celebration.

So, we do not forget what we hope for.

When around the world children are dying a horrible death

and in our own neighborhood houses are being robbed,

and where disease is at our doorstep,

and discord is in our homes-

                                    we need a moment like this to find our hope again.

Some might get angry at us for taking a day to rejoice.

Some might say to us, “but there are poor around us how can we pause and shout, sing and dance?”

And our response is to say, “we have not forgotten the suffering that surrounds us. The suffering is here and we are well aware.”  “Yet, this day is for us to receive our strength for the journey of the week ahead. That is why we wave palms today.”

You see, if we fully invest ourselves in the events of Holy Week

we cannot go through it unless we have gained the strength

that comes from the rejoicing together today.

Today, we recall the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The crowds were crying out to him, “Save Us!” They were recalling the words of the prophet Zechariah. Jesus was to be the new king!

The crowds were filled with hope

for a new beginning,

a new way of life,

one without oppression.

They were seeking freedom from the realities of the harshness of their lives.

Jesus was the one to make that happen.

As we raise our voices in song today, we still believe that.

Jesus is the one who must save,

who must bring peace to all.

Jesus is the one who has filled our hearts with promise and with hope

                                                    and today we expect those dreams to become real!

But, what about tomorrow,

when the streets have been

 swept clean from all the

confetti and the banners?

Will we still be chasing

after Jesus with hope?

Or will the reality of

his journey through Jerusalem

dash our dreams and

our expectations of who he really is?

Why didn’t Jesus accept a political crown and fix the problems and heal everyone?

Why did Jesus let things keep happening?

Why didn’t Jesus fight?

Why didn’t Jesus do what I expected him to do?

Isn’t he my Lord and shouldn’t he fulfill what I believe are his promises?

This is where the faith of the crowd suffered. When Jesus no longer acted like the king they expected, they lost hope and they not only turned away but turned against him.

Maybe, just maybe, we do that to Jesus too?

When Jesus doesn’t get the job done that I expect: Jesus, you were supposed to get my best friend the job of her dreams and you didn’t do that. I prayed every day, three times a day, and I gave you plenty of advance notice of when she would be interviewing, and you blew it Jesus!

 You didn’t answer my prayer like you promised you would.

I’m done!

I’m walking away from this believing in Jesus stuff!

I’m walking away from this church stuff!

It’s all fake!

None of it is real!

How can anybody believe that junk anyway?

We cannot remake Jesus into the God we want him to be. 

We can only share the news of the God he is. 

He is not a super star. He is not an earthly king. 

He is not a money tree. He is not a magic man. 

He is not a genie in a bottle or a fairy godmother fulfilling all our wishes. 

And if this is the Jesus to whom we wave our palms today, 

then we will be like the crowd and we will turn away from him and also against him tomorrow.

Today, we wave the palms and lay the branches at his feet and we see his face.

Today we recognize the Jesus who has saved us and has given us new life. Today we feel his touch as he reaches out to us and calls our name. We hear him say we belong. We hear him say we are his children. We are claimed as children of God and he does not let us go-ever! Today we recognize his voice and at the sound of his voice we believe.

We believe because somewhere along the path of our life the miracle of faith has been born.

We believe because even though the one we call Lord and Savior

goes down to the grave, we witness his rising in the end.

We believe because we know that even if we

go down to the grave, we too will rise.

We believe this because this is our hope and this is our promise.

The one whom God sent to walk this world walks with us today. Friends, his words are true-“My peace I leave you, my peace I give you…do not let your hearts be troubled, do not let them be afraid.” “I am with you always even unto the end of the age.”

We wave the palms and we celebrate for today we rejoice in our king

and tomorrow we will continue to sing.

Hosanna, Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen. 

Hope Forever

Sermon Jeremiah 33:14-16 November 29, 2015 Advent 1 yr C

Hope Forever

God’s promises are new every morning!

Those words stare me in the face from the side of my mug as I sip my coffee during the awakening of the day.

I turn the mug- not ready to see or believe these words-as I wait for the effects of the caffeine to kick in. But, slowly reality comes alive-this is a new day, there is a new dawn, and there is opportunity on the horizon.

The prophet Jeremiah is telling the people who are now living in captivity in a foreign land that there is a new day coming!

There is a day when war will be no more, a day when everyone will be able to return to their homes, and a day when righteousness will rule the earth. There is a day when no one will go hungry and all people will find shelter and there will be enough for the whole world. The days are surely coming says the Lord.

We enter into this Advent season as we do every year, on the heels of Thanksgiving.

The entrance is abrupt as if we aren’t prepared for it.

It jolts us out of our complacency

and throws us into a whirlwind of activity

that we knew was coming

but thought we had more time.

It happens every year like this-year after year-we say

                                    we’ll do better next year and be more prepared.

But, here we are again this year,

           and for young families there is more to do than the year before

                                                                     and we wonder how it will all get done.

We are jolted into the season set aside to reflect and wait and wonder about the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He comes to us incarnate-God with us-as a babe all over again every year.

God’s promises are new every morning!

This season;

        let’s give ourselves the chance to witness the newness of the birth of the Christ child.

Let us allow this birth to take form in our hearts.

A newness, a new birth within us as God’s promises are fulfilled in the new day.

You might decide that I need a check with reality because the world around us is still living in fear. Our brothers and sisters of various colors of skin and ways of living are still under attack in a world where freedom is supposed to ring for all people. Little girls are still denied an education. Men are afraid to go out at night for fear of being arrested. There is no longer a place to call safe space.

You might decide to tell me that my words are foolishness because I haven’t recently visited the hospitals or the jails where suffering and pain, death and injustice are still occurring every day.

It is true that for thousands of years it appears the world has not changed. It is true that humans continue to wreak havoc upon one another.

Yet, it is also true that goodness keeps coming forth. It is also true that people are relentless in random acts of kindness. It is also true that wherever we turn there are hardworking people seeking to provide light and happiness and wonder for others.

·         And this is where we find ourselves on the heels of Thanksgiving as we are launched into Advent; hardworking people seeking to bring a little light into a world of darkness through many acts of kindness, love, and care. !!

Today is the Sunday of hope.

Hope is an active way of being.

Hope is more than a desire for a future outcome.

It is a way of living in the present.

Hope provides the reality that we can live to our fullest as each new day dawns despite what rules the world and despite those who seek to diminish us.

There are many people out there who can only make themselves feel good about who they are by discrediting and diminishing everyone around them. If you meet someone like that it is time to turn and go the other way.

Our goal as faithful believers of Jesus is to spend our time talking about the good we see in each other.

This is how we live out an active hope.

Emily Dickenson wrote this short poem about hope:

Hope is the thing with feathers-

that perches in the soul-

and sings the tune without words-

and never stops at all.

As we are launched into the season today, do not despair.

Live into hope.

Live with the faith we have been given through God with us. God, as we witness in Scripture and history, has been faithful throughout all the generations.

Let’s discover together how we can live this Advent season filled with hope and encouragement-not just for each other but for everyone we meet.

Let us make this Jesus we believe in real! The love of God coming to us all brand new, wrapped in swaddling cloths, ready to offer all the love we are able to receive.

Let us share the news of God’s love in a way that people not only hear this but they desire this love too.

Let us reach out with sincerity to our neighbors and our friends and invite them to experience life together.

·         We may be retired but that doesn’t mean we have stopped living and being active and filled with a life of hope for today and tomorrow. God is calling us to share the love of Jesus in every new day that dawns.

·         We may be working full time scrambling to make ends meet, but that doesn’t stop us from smiling as we pass people on the sidewalk or the grocery store or the highway.

·         We may be alone but that doesn’t stop us from proclaiming the truth of God present with us in all of our ways and days.

·         We may be young and wonder where life is leading us. We may be worried about a future we know nothing about. But, that doesn’t stop us from trusting God and being faithful. It doesn’t stop us from actively seeking to show God’s love in our decisions.

·         Getting up every morning is not an option. It is a call of God to get up, receive, and give.

Yes, Advent has snuck up on us again this year.

It is here whether we are ready or not.

And so it was with the coming of our Lord then and now.

His birth, his return, comes without warning.

It comes without fanfare.

It comes as Advent should, as a new day dawning.

Let our hearts be open to receive, ready or not.

Amen.