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. 

At the Crossroads-John

Sermon Matthew 26:36-46 April 2, 2017 5^th Sunday in Lent

At the Crossroads-John

We are at our final week of conversations with people we have met at the crossroads of their life. It has been an interesting journey learning about the different stages people have entered into their decisions to follow Jesus.

Today, we heard the Scripture read from the gospel of Matthew. In these final hours of the life of Jesus he goes once again to pray to his Father in heaven.

It is a most powerful scene.

The tension and the drama of Jesus caught in the struggle of obedience to continue movement toward the cross and his desire to remain on earth demonstrate the real struggle of the power of love.

Jesus shows the depth of his relationship with his disciples as he begs them

           to stay with him,

                     to watch with him,

                                 to remain with him.

Jesus hangs on to his love for them and their love for him.

The scene points to the essential need for relationship especially in dire times.

The Garden of Gethsemane is a place of choice.

It is a place where will and desire are put to the ultimate test.

The Garden is a place where what must be battles with what wants to be.

In the Garden of Eden in Genesis, human will for the ‘want to be’ was great

and it won over

       the will

           to remain with God,

                        to be with God,

                                to watch with God.

The Garden in Eden was the place where relationship and the fullness of life with God was lost.

We recognize sin

             as the willful disobedience of humanity.

Adam and Eve were fully aware and fully in control of their decision to disobey,

            no matter who they tried to blame.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Father brings around the restoration of God’s relationship to the people through the willful obedience of Jesus.

Jesus was fully in control of his decision as he reached the end of his prayers.

Jesus takes Peter, James and John with him as he moves further in the garden to pray. He keeps his closest companions with him. They fall asleep and Jesus wakes them begging them to support him in his efforts to reconcile himself with his fate.

Yet, the hour is late and they still fall asleep.

The human anxiety that Jesus faces because he is fully aware of what is about to happen, contrasts with the sleep of the disciples because they are not yet fully aware of what awaits Jesus. This points again to imperative of relationships of one with another.

It’s really hard to be supportive and present when we still can’t grasp the gravity of a situation.

I know as followers on this side of Easter we judge those disciples for not understanding Jesus and his predictions of his death.

But, I know when I want to deny the truth that is right before me because it brings me too much pain, I am like the disciples and I lack understanding even if the truth is staring me in the face.

We have all had those times.

We do not want to believe a diagnosis;

                                     or a termination notice;

                                                         or a break up, or…

We would rather crawl under the covers,

                                       fall asleep,

                                           turn the other way,

                                                   than witness the struggle before us.

John and his brother James were known as the sons of thunder. They were close to Jesus. These two and Peter are always at Jesus’ side. John is credited with the authorship of the gospel of John, Revelation and the letters that bear his name. John is also praised by the apostle Paul as one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church.

The fourth gospel is written in a way that it draws the reader into the stories as a participant. The prologue identifies the theology of the author. Jesus is more than his death on the cross. For the writer of the fourth gospel the power of God’s love for the world begins with the incarnation.

God’s love and desire for the restoration of creation begins with the birth of Jesus.

The importance of joy and light and life are prominent in this gospel.

In the life of Jesus, the first miracle that takes place is at the wedding of Cana. The abundance of wine demonstrates the abundance of all that God has for God’s people.

In the fourth gospel Jesus proclaims he is sent by the Father more than 100 times. It is essential for John to make clear that Jesus is the one who has completed what is needed for the salvation of the world.

Jesus is the great I AM.

He is the bread of life.

He is the living bread.

He is the light of the world.

He is good shepherd.

He is the resurrection and the life.

He is the way, the truth and the life.

In this fourth gospel, John has sought to clarify that the decisive measure of one’s relationship with God is one’s faith in Jesus. The coming of Jesus into the world is what has given the world access to the light and love of God.

In the fourth gospel, Jesus talks to his disciples about the power of God’s presence with them. He prepares them for the time when he will no longer be with them. He talks to them about the Holy Spirit.

He seeks to prepare them for the comfort of his presence through the presence of the Spirit to come. It is this Spirit that dwells with us at our crossroads of life. Jesus said. “Abide in me, as I abide in you.”

It is his invitation to us to allow the fullness of his presence always.

The Garden of Gethsemane was the place where we witnessed the restoration of God’s relationship with God’s people through the willful obedience of Jesus. Jesus went to the cross, he rose again, he fulfilled the promise of God.

Let us recognize the transforming power of God’s love in us. Let us say yes, to following Jesus. Amen.

At the Crossroads-Peter

Sermon Luke 22:54-62 March 26, 2017 4^th Sunday Lent

At the Crossroads-Peter

As we travel these weeks of Lent we’ve met some interesting people along the way. 

Bourgogne Crossroad

Today we meet Peter. He has been made famous for his many choices documented in Scripture. We feel like we really know him. He made a lot of declarations about Jesus during his ministry. He was rather pushy at times and excited and even a bit childlike in his mannerisms.

What are some things you can remember from your Bible teachings about Peter?

Is there any one story that sticks in your mind?

Peter and Andrew were called to follow Jesus at the same time. Peter was first known as Simon and the Jesus named him Cephus/Peter which means rock. He was from Bethsaida but lived in Capernaum, he was a fisherman.

Peter is the disciple that walked on water just to see Jesus. He has been the one quick to action and quick to fall. Peter was part of the inner circle of Jesus. He was with James and John on several occasions when Jesus took only three disciples with him. Occasions such as the raising of the daughter of Jairus and at the transfiguration. Peter was impulsive and he even sought to rebuke Jesus when Jesus starting talking about his own death. Peter pledged to Jesus that he would never forsake him and that is when Jesus warned him that he would deny Jesus three times.

Perhaps this is why we can all identify with Peter. He seems real to us. We feel that we might be just like him in some situations. Or we are pretty quick to judge him and say that we would not behave like him.

It is so easy for us on this side of Easter to look at Peter and his denial of Jesus in the courtyard and chastise him for his reaction to those gathered around him.

But, Peter had no clue what was to happen. Even though Jesus talked about suffering and death none of the disciples had any idea of how this was going to transpire.

We don’t live our lives with crystal balls in front of us.

We don’t live knowing how things are going to unfold.

Therefore, when we make strong declarations and bold statements of how we will act and how we will be bold, it might not transpire as we hope.

Life gets in the way all too often.

Peter was following closely as Jesus was taken to the High Priest’s house. He wanted to be close but he had no idea what to do next. He had already tried to fight and Jesus didn’t want any of that to happen.

He was probably following close trying to figure out his next move.

When the servant girl and the two servant men identify him as one of Jesus’ disciples. It catches him off guard.

It catches him in the middle of his thoughts about what to do to help Jesus.

These people have messed up his planning.

He needed more time.

They took him by surprise and he wasn’t ready to respond.

He reacted as usual with quick words.

He just wanted them to leave him alone as he followed Jesus and tried again to make plans to rescue him or maybe even prepare a discourse.

And before he realized he had denied knowing Jesus three times and the rooster crowed.

In the gospel of Luke, the poignant moment wasn’t the realization of the denial. But, that Jesus looked at Peter. And with the look of Jesus, Peter was filled with remorse. He was devastated and he ran away and wept bitterly.

Peter’s faith didn’t fail him at this moment. It was his faith in Jesus that responded with regret when he saw the face of Jesus. In the face of Jesus, we experience love, mercy, grace beyond measure. In the face of Jesus our relationship with him is sealed forever. We call that salvation. Salvation, our relationship with God, sealed through the love of Christ.

Fred Rogers had many things to say about relationships. As an ordained Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers chose to spread the message of the gospel through the show, Mr Roger’s Neighborhood. It was a program all about the power of relationships and love for one another.

“Love isn’t a perfect state of caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle’. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now-and to go on caring even through times that might bring us pain.”  

At that is what the look of Jesus upon Peter did. It loved him and showed forgiveness even in the moment of the pain of being denied.

Forgiveness is necessary in all relationships.

We cannot survive without the love and forgiveness of others.

And when we receive forgiveness we have the opportunity to repent, to change, to turn another way. It is our choice point. It is our crossroads.

The power of faith is that repentance flows from faith rather than precedes it. Repentance is actually born of faith. It is the sum of our faith. (Calvin Institutes) When we recognize that we have succumbed to temptation and denied the very One in whom we believe; it is our faith that brings us to our knees in sorrow. For, how could it be that if we were without faith that we could even experience remorse for our sin of denial? 

Dr Orr once said, ‘There is only one thing evil cannot stand, and that is forgiveness.” And forgiveness is born out of love. And love is born from God. For God is love. And we belong to God who loves us. 😃

All of us find a time or place where we should have said a bold word, a good word. We struggle with what we should say. We struggle with how our faith will help us. We struggle if our words will help or hurt our relationships. We may never face a time where our words will put us in danger for our lives, but there are times when we will find ourselves at a crossroads that calls on us to speak boldly.

How do we handle those times?

Have we yet to experience those times?

We are so quick to condemn Peter for not standing up and being bold at the very moment when we think he should have been. We are so quick to rebuke those who do not take a stand for justice and righteousness in the way we expect it to be done. We especially get angry when those silent have caused harm to us.

The toughest thing for us is to love someone who has hurt us. Someone who has been cruel, mean, and unjust to others. And yet, somehow there is this power that flows from the look of Jesus, the power of love and mercy, that causes us to see Jesus in that person as well.

To find mercy in our heart to offer to them what Jesus has offered to us.

Now the other toughest thing is to love the someone who has been mean to us when that person is our self. Take good care of this person. Offer this person mercy and forgiveness too.

Let us be gentle as we hold expectations before us and recognize our need for courage comes from above.

God is the one who calls us into lives of purpose.

God is the one who calls us to serve with the unique gifts given us. And when we falter, we can look up and see the face of Jesus loving us, forgiving us, and pouring his grace upon us.

Fear not.

Grace will lead you home. Amen.

Who is my neighbor?

Sermon Luke 10: 25- 37  March 22, 2017 Ecumenical Lenten Service @ Gaskins AME Church 

Who is my neighbor?

Years ago, I traveled to seminary from Lynchburg, Virginia to Richmond, Virginia. It was a two-hour drive traveling north on state road 29 to Charlottesville then east on I64 to Richmond. I loved the drive. The trip was easy and it gave me lots of time to think or study or listen to music. I was in my own little world, feeling independent and as if nothing could burden me.

Three days a week I took to the highway and never thought twice about ever needing any help. One day on the return trip I was listening to a great song on the radio in my Chevy Malibu when my right rear tire blew out. At first I wasn’t sure what happened. But, when the car wobbled and the steering shook I realized something was wrong. I pulled off to the side of the busy, crazy part of I64 and saw the damaged tire.

Now you might think it odd that I’ve never changed a flat tire. But there I was not wanting any help and certainly wanting to prove that I could do it ‘all by myself.’ I went to the trunk to find the tire and the jack stand. I went to the glove box and pulled out the owner’s manual. I looked at the jack stand and couldn’t figure out how to use it from first glance so I sat down on the side of the road and starting reading the book.

Cars were zooming past me and some slowed down and then kept on going. I looked up a few times and kept saying when I saw those faces, ‘please don’t stop.’ I’m begging you, please don’t stop.’ I’m not sure if I didn’t want help from those kinds of people or if I was just too stubborn to accept help.

At one point a semi-truck slowed down and then kept going. Whew, I sighed relief because I really didn’t want him to stop, I’ll figure this out. But less than five minutes later the truck had gone and made a U-turn and come back to help me. His first comments were, ‘lady, I saw you sitting there reading the owner’s manual and thought if anyone is reading a book to figure out how to change a tire they need help.’ He changed my tire and sent me on my way. I was truly grateful for the help I received. He was a gentleman and had gone out of his way and interrupted his schedule to help someone who needed it. To this day grateful for this grace lesson.

‘Who is my neighbor’, the lawyer asks Jesus. Jesus shares the Good Samaritan story with him. It is a lesson in Levitical Law. The lawyer knew the Law and didn’t need this lesson. As Christians, we know the lessons of Jesus. We really don’t need a lesson on how to be kind to others. We were raised up on those lessons. We can tell each other how good we are at helping the needy.  

But what about when we are the ones in need?

Have we ever considered how we would respond to a Samaritan coming to our aid?

I ask this today, because I believe ‘how we are willing to receive help and from whom, gets to core of our own prejudice’.

It gets to the heart of our deep feelings about others.

It gets us to realize how far we are willing to go with this command from Jesus.

Who is our neighbor?  The one we fear the most, coming to us with acts of mercy.

There we are on the side of the road, stuck in a ditch and people who are just like us drive by and don’t even stop to look or slow down.

The one we find less desirable takes time to help and makes sure we have everything we need. Can we handle that?                          Can we handle that?

Samaritans, according to the Jews of the day, were ‘stupid’ people.

(And we know a lot of ‘stupid’ people. We might not say it in public. But we sure do say it in the privacy of our homes. Yes, we call people by name frequently and we know it.) They were ‘dirty and unworthy’. They were the ‘less than’ people.

Who are the Samaritans of our day? Who are the people we would beg to not come to help us?

 

Bishop Kevin Dowling-a true Good Samaritan-
Tapologo Hospice, South Africa 

The priest and the Levite who walked past the man in the ditch felt burdened by the idea of having to interrupt their lives to help someone else.

A lot of how we help has to do with our schedule and our agenda.

We stop to help others when we are not already late to get to somewhere or to do something. When we are on our way to work or school, places where we punch a clock, we have tunnel vision and preoccupation with what matters for us.

A person on the side of the road just can’t fit into that agenda.

This parable is more than a good deed. It has many twists and turns with the outcast caring for the elite and the vulnerable showing hospitality to the less vulnerable. It has the twist that hospitality comes from a willingness to have our vision turned to the side to notice others around us and to disrupt our routine to offer ourselves, our money and our time.

A few years ago, I took a youth group to spent three days working at a homeless shelter in Louisville. The shelter was a hotel and those who lived there were learning all the skills of hotel work. Cooking, cleaning, management and so on. It was an eye-opening experience and a lesson about ‘all God’s creatures’.

I asked myself, ‘would I be willing to be vulnerable and get help from one of these people? I came to serve them, this was my mission to feel good about what I did not what they did for me.’  And yet, my life was altered and my tunnel vision changed.

I think the experience at the homeless shelter was recognizing the dignity restored to the men and women in the hotel.

People, once homeless, were given new life.

The men working in the kitchen were able to teach us how to do their job.

They taught us with pride and

helped me to realize that I wasn’t there just doing something to lift them out of the ditch

but

they were doing something to lift me

out of my short sightedness.

The Samaritan in this story looked beyond the lens of prejudice and could only envision mercy.

It took guts to do what he did.

Everything one could imagine could have kept him from helping.

But, he did it anyway.

You see, To act in love for our Lord in the world demonstrates the power that love gives to discipleship;

pure love and tenderness

wrapped in the package of pure audacity and boldness.

It wasn’t too long ago, that we were unwilling to accept a blood transfusion based on the color of the skin of the donor.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were not willing to be taught by a teacher of a particular sexual orientation.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were not willing to receive a son or daughter in law based on religion.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were unwilling to have a person working for us who had a thick accent.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were unwilling to receive mercy, love, care concern, from anyone different from us.

Who is our neighbor? Jesus doesn’t need to answer us, we already know. Go and live it!

The family of God has many members and they are not all just like me.

Brothers and sisters come in all shapes, sizes, and behaviors.

As we discover how our community is diverse in many ways here on the Eastern Shore, we have the opportunity to discover how to live with shared faith, shared experience, and shared traditions.

Who is our neighbor? The one who showed mercy. Go and do likewise. Amen.

Excerpts from FPC sermon of 7/14/2013 ‘My Flat Tire’

At the Crossroads-Pilate

Sermon Matthew 27:11-26 March 12, 2017 2^nd Sunday Lent

At the Crossroads-Pilate

In this Lent, we travel the crossroads of people who were faced with a difficult choice. Today, we meet Pilate. We heard in the gospel of Matthew, Pilate was faced with a difficult choice. He could choose to do what was right in the eyes of justice, or he could respond to the pressure of the crowds and the religious leaders. He chose to bend to the will of the crowds and the religious leaders. He knew his choice was not a fine one nor was it a fair one. But, despite the turmoil within him, he chose to free Barabbas and send Jesus to his death.

In Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ passion story, God is present and active for the salvation of humanity. Jesus struggles at the face of death just as much as any human has in history. M. Eugene Boring.

Jesus faces the trial that sends him to his death. God is fully present in him and with him.

Pilate asks Jesus the question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is the only question Jesus answers in this Roman trial. The next time we hear Jesus speak, he is speaking from the cross. And Jesus makes the choice to seal his fate at the cross with his answer. Jesus says, “you say so.” That is the same as saying. “Yes, I am.”

Pilate, in an effort to get Jesus to say something that is less condemning, tells him there are a number of accusations against him. Jesus doesn’t budge. Pilate is left with the struggle of his choice. He is the judge of this man. Jesus has verified the charge of treason against Rome with his answer. But, even if he had said something different, the result of his trial would be the same. Yet, Pilate seems to try every turn to set him free.

Imagine being a judge in charge of the fate of another. I don’t think I can-it’s too scary.

I think that’s why I really didn’t like serving on a jury. I was always worried that perhaps we didn’t hear the whole story. Perhaps, my judgment was in error. Perhaps, my decision was based on my prejudice-perhaps even an unconscious prejudice-and that’s the scariest of all to me.

Being a judge takes a lot of discernment and character. It requires being able to do the job without letting emotion take control. Yet, judges are faced with decisions every day that affect the lives of others.

Even though we don’t wear a judge’s robe and sit on a bench each day, we are faced with decisions that impact the lives of others.

In this reading, today we learn of Pilate and we also learn about the crowds. Pilate throws the question of which prisoner to release to the crowd. His choice point to throw the decision over to another ended up with an outcome he did not expect. They called for the release of Barabbas! Pilate who thought Jesus could be freed through the voice of the crowd, heard instead, for him to be crucified! How, can it be that people turn against someone so quickly?

How do we fall in love and follow someone for their ideals, only to turn away just as quickly through the influence of voices from the crowd?

The questions we struggle with are the ones that get at the core of our belief.

What are the basic principles that keep us on the way for good?

How do we make a choice point, a judgment that is for the best?

The best for others, and the best for us?

Perhaps, this telling story of Jesus before Pilate and the crowd is a start.

If we were to become members of a crowd, we best be sure we understand the purpose of the crowd.

Whether we were part of the women’s march on Washington,

or the crowd at a Trump support rally,

we should have known the reasons for being there.

If we were caught up in a crowd to chant slogans or campaign cries, we would hope the words that came from our mouths were ones we really believed.

Often when people are gathered in crowds they are swept up with the emotion of the moment. And in the emotion, core principles can somehow be left behind.

The crowds that followed Jesus were perhaps ones who were intrigued by his popularity, and his view on the world and his counter cultural ideals were appealing. Yet, when the crowd was faced with the need to shout out their support, they would not do it. They hid behind the words of a few and then yelled the opposite of how they had behaved over the last few years.

In this season of Lent, we come to the choice point; to choose whom we will follow. Joshua said it so well to his people so long ago. “Now therefore, revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness…now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your ancestors…or the gods …in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

I really believe that the choice of whom we follow becomes the core of our faith. I also believe that this then grants us the basic principles to handle life in the crowds.

It is the center of our judgment seat. Once we know who we put our faith in, we are then able to learn, know, seek to understand, and put into action those principles for life.

Christ’s premise for life was based on grace, love, truth, and service. John 13:34- A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you  Matthew 22:37-40- “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Bob Hoekstra puts it this way: Centuries before the Messiah (Jesus) came into this world, the Psalmist prophesied of the words of grace that would flow from His mouth. "You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips." God's grace guided and poured forth through the words of Jesus and set His speech above that of every other person. Those who listened to Him during His earthly pilgrimage testified of this fact. "All bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22). One of the distinctive aspects of Jesus' words was the unique authority this grace imparted. "Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority"

When we choose that our speech will always be filled with grace, perhaps sometimes also seasoned with salt, we can know we are speaking through the wisdom of God.

We must choose that our purpose for speech is for the edification of others, not to hurt others. We must want our words to be ministering God’s grace in the lives of others as well as in our own.

Pontius Pilate had the opportunity to speak the way for good. The crowd had the same opportunity.

We have choices every day. Let us live remembering the solid rock of faith on which we stand. Let us choose grace, love, truth, and service. Let the power of God’s love flow through us and from us. Amen.

Jesus, Shine in Us

Sermon Matthew 17:1-9 February 26, 2017 Transfiguration

Jesus, Shine in Us

Some of you may have heard me say this week say that I really don’t like preaching about Jesus’ transfiguration. And you may have wondered, “What’s got in to her?”

It’s not that I don’t appreciate the story of Jesus on the mountain with Moses and Elijah. Nor do I refute the story of Peter’s desire to build tents for the three and stay awhile. I do not have a problem with shimmering glory or dazzling whites either. But, I want to think and preach differently today. Listen to this sentence-I’ll read it twice.

The power of the divine mystery in which our faith seems to totter with the practical and pragmatic action of faith keeps us at odds with what we can let go and to what we can hold on.

You see this is a Sunday that we sing the contemporary song (if we think songs from the 80’s is contemporary) Shine Jesus Shine.

We get all caught up in the mountain top experience.

We learn about how we cannot stay on the mountain.

We hear that life is lived in the valley and on the plains.

It’s almost as if we hear this incredible powerful story of God’s ability to transform and we miss the whole point.

We take a story of mystery and power and reduce into a moral lesson.

We chastise Peter once again for ‘not getting it’.

We pride ourselves in being able to understand the story.

We praise God for all our own moments of being on that mountain where we had our all time ‘mountain top’ experience and we ‘got it’.

We preachers preach about how those moments nourish us to get us down the mountain to be able to do the work of God in the world.

It all sounds so wonderful and uplifting.

But, I struggle with all those ways in which we tell this story

because there’s a part of me that doesn’t believe that.

I don’t think we can reduce God to a moral lesson.

I think as preachers we do that because We DON’T understand the mystery.

I’d rather discover the power of God to transform.

God was there on the mountain with six figures-Peter, James, John, Jesus, Elijah and Moses. We discover the miracle of the story is that: God spoke. Jesus reached out and touched. The disciples changed.

We are moving into the season of Lent.

It makes sense that we have this story of Jesus the Sunday before we open our hearts to God for examination.

We move into Lent every year with a bit of trepidation.

We wonder how much navel gazing God will demand of us as we learn about ourselves. We are a bit afraid of what we might discover.

We don’t necessarily like this season.

We’d prefer to be in Advent in that hopeful waiting for the baby to appear.

Yet, in Lent we are in a hopeful waiting to witness God’s power at work to bring life to death and death to life.

In this season, God is at work within us.

God is in the transformation business.

God is in the change business.

God will not let us stay the way we are.

God is forever at work drawing us near and shining within us.

Karoline Lewis says, “The transfiguration is the threshold moment between what was and what is to come. You get a glimpse of what could be, when actually it was there all along.” This transfiguration story is an ongoing story of God’s power to change us and move us.

It is not a morality story but a miracle story.

One way God’s power changes us is into salvation. God speaks. Our salvation story is the mystery of God incarnate present with us to engage us into a life lived through mercy, justice and humbly walking with God.

Salvation is God’s grabbing us and not letting go. It’s the part of our life where we turn in every which way to wonder who God is and why God is. And then in a moment in which we cannot explain God becomes fully present shining in us.

Like Peter, we are full of questions and full of a need for explanation and reason.

Like Peter, we need to hold on to what we know and we are afraid to let go of what we do not know.

We need God to show us and have it make sense. Part of confirmation that matters to me most is the freedom to ask questions. For we find our faith is not about answers but is all in our questions. In the truth of seeking God, we God is revealed in us.

The glory of God’s incarnation, God’s transformation of our relationship with God is one we cannot fully explain. We are continuously drawn to God in our desire for God.

We are on a path of being awakened to the joy of salvation as we enter and engage in those moments where we catch a glimpse of the Divine.

The mountain figuratively is where we catch that glimpse and it changes us forever.

Another way God changes us is through God’s presence. Christmas is the celebration of our faith that God came to live among us in Jesus the Christ. Jesus reaches out and touches. Lent is the time we move to allow the work of Christ to be fully present in us.

It is a time of transformation.

It is a time of change of who we are. And that friends can be exciting.

Yet, change can also bring grief.

Because as we look to life in the possibility of becoming new, we must let go of some of the ways which have become familiar to us.

Sometimes we need to be in a place we do not wish to be. In this place God is mightily at work. God’s presence in us stirs us, comforts us, and provides for us. We look to one another and realize we are the body of Christ transformed as a community built up together with the foundation of God’s love for us.

This power of the presence of Jesus begins to shine even brighter within us.

And then the thought of change is an anticipation of joy rather than sorrow.

Imagine what God can do over the next several weeks as we open our hearts in new ways!

Finally, God’s transformation moves us into action. We, the disciples are changed.

This year on Ash Wednesday when we recognize our messy lives and messy world and our mortality we will say to God we are ready.

We are ready to know we are finite. We are ready to know this life is but a moment.

We are ready to know that in God’s hands dust lives.

And in the power of God all things are possible.

We will embrace the mystery of our salvation.

We sense the presence of Jesus with us always.

We will be changed.

We can and will become the change agents God wants for this world.

We will receive courage where we were once afraid.

We will receive joy where we once had sorrow.

We will show mercy where we once had anger.

We will work for justice where we once had apathy.

Because we have seen his glory. We can say, ‘Jesus, shine us’; even sing it in that 80’s version.

In dazzling glory Jesus resides in us.

And we can and will be transformed. Always transforming and drawing nearer and nearer to God. Amen.

Resources:  Feasting on the Word; Working Preacher Karoline Lewis

God first, Us Second

Sermon 1 Corinthians 3: 1-9 February 12, 2017 Ordinary time

God first, Us Second

When we hear the words of Paul we wonder which words gets our attention? He says so much in each of his phrases.

Going back to chapter one of First Corinthians, and all the way here to chapter three, he talks about allegiance and the cross and babies and plants and buildings and servants. It can be a challenge to keep up with him.

There are a few things to keep in mind when we read this letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

One: the letter is directed to the believers in the church.

Two: the letter is in response to the reports he has received about the behavior of the believers and the way they worship.

Three: he is none too happy with how they are representing the Way of Christ.

The letter however, is more than a reprimand, it is an encouragement for the believers. Paul, shares with them the purpose of the church, the order of worship, and how to prioritize everyday living.

Perhaps the most comforting thing to notice is that the earliest churches were not perfect. All the letters in the New Testament provide a glimpse into the churches of the first centuries. They had so many concerns with how to be a church and how to manage life as faithful followers.

They didn’t start out perfect and so when we look back to what might have been in our imagination as the ‘glory days’ of the church, we can read today’s lesson and know that every age has had its issues.

Here in Corinth, the church had become divided.

People were taking sides.

They had chosen a person who they felt was the best leader and they were standing behind that person.

Worse yet, they were claiming themselves better than the others.

They began spouting off at how their way was best and their leader had more qualifications than the other.

It was getting rather ugly to the point that the people outside the church witnessed the division within it.

I think all of us have experienced a time either in the church or in the workplace or in the neighborhood, where one person began to have the idea that they were of superior wisdom about something

and a group stood behind them

and then before you can blink

everyone is divided over something rather simple

(or at least you thought it was simple).

You can think of things, such as carpet

or curtain color,

or where to put the staff water cooler,

or how many chickens can you have in the neighborhood,

or whether skateboards can be on the sidewalk.

Paul does not say that the people should not have opinions

or should not have the ability to make difficult decisions.

However, he points out their way of going about it removes God from the equation.

By lifting up someone other than to whom we belong we place ourselves in idol worship. It happens so easily.

By claiming that Apollos had superior wisdom than Paul the believers were not putting God first. They were putting themselves first.

It is the presence of the Spirit in our lives that gives way to Christ-like living.

Holding our allegiance firmly in Christ we allow the Spirit to fill our lives with those special gifts of kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control.

In this manner, we are able to have a determined focus of our heart, soul and mind.

And in so doing when the desire to call someone out or to seek to divide for one’s own self-promotion-our hearts are quickly called to task.  

(I am Second videos-these videos can be found online as famous people share how they have learned to put themselves second and God first)

I watched a 60 Minutes episode about the Pope’s Choir.

It was a wonderful story describing how boys and men are selected for this choir that songs for the Vatican events and for the pope.

The choir director talked about how the choir was before he became the director. He said the choir had a poor reputation. It was considered a cacophony of sound. He remarked many of the members were present to promote their own wonderful voice. He said they sang over each other, they were loud and most of all they did not harmonize. With his determination to move the choir from self-promotion to realizing who they were truly singing for, he began to hear the difference.

The choir today is known for its beauty, its angelic sound. The members are very proud of their ability to work together to create the most magnificent sound to reach the very heights of heaven.

Putting Christ first in our everyday life does not mean we are “amening” or “praise Jesusing” at every breath.  

Putting Christ first unifies our heart, soul and mind with the will of God. And in so doing we can trust our conscience, our gut, in our decisions as we wake for the day.

What I appreciate when Paul gives us the example of planting, watering, and God giving the growth, is that hard work by individuals is still honored. Paul and Apollos and many other saints down through the ages have been hard at work planting and watering and we honor them and remember them for all they have done to bring us to where we are today. So, as we continue the legacy of planting and watering we can be assured that God is with us bringing about growth.

Part of the purpose of the church is the common purpose of planting and watering. We are in the business of sharing the love of God and allowing for opportunities to grow in faith and love.

Within these walls in worship we gather, we pray and support, we fellowship, we strengthen each other’s faith, we teach, we serve, all in the spirit of the love of Christ. Whether we are working together within this church or in the community with several churches we serve a common purpose.

Sanctuary French Reformed Church Autun, France

A few years ago, around 130-202 AD there lived a man. Ok, so it was a little more than a few years ago. Irenaeus was a Bishop in Lyon, France. It was during the time of the martyrdom taking place in the amphitheaters there. Christians in this city really did suffer persecution. Irenaeus of Lyon was a source of strength and courage for the believers. He counseled believers saying, “take refuge in the church; drink its milk, be fed by the Scriptures of the Lord.” He said, “the church has been planted in the world as a paradise.” The church was an oasis for the believers. A place where they could gather in security and sacredness from a dark and chaotic world. The church in the early century in Lyon was a haven and believers were eager to there.

May the churches in this current world be a refuge, a paradise, an oasis, a sacred safe space for all of God’s people.

May we be filled with the Spirit as God’s servants, working together as God’s field, God’s building. Amen.

Resources: Feasting on the Word. 

More Salt, Please

Sermon Matthew 5:13-20 February 5, 2017 Ordinary Time-communion at NMPC

More Salt, Please

As you heard in the children’s sermon, salt does a lot more than make our French fries taste great.

Salt makes colors pop, softens hide to make leather and is an essential ingredient in the production of plastics.

Now I’m sure when Jesus was sitting on the hillside sharing his thoughts with the crowd the idea of plastic toys and products was nowhere in his imagination.

But, truly salt is an essential component of life.

In the times before refrigeration salt preserved meats and lengthened the shelf life of many products.

Salt was so valuable that some people were even paid with it.

But, today, who cares about salt and light and the Law anyway?

Perhaps what’s most intriguing is that Jesus isn’t just having a nice conversation with the people on the hill to make them feel good.

His words are quite provocative.

His words were more than words of instruction;

                                                                they were and still are today a challenge, a call!

Dare we get up today and take God’s Law seriously enough that we will enact it in our every breath?

For Jesus says, “whoever does the Law and teaches others to do the same, they will be called great in heaven.”

So, then do we even know the Law to teach it?

Perhaps some of us still remember the ten commandments which we were taught in grade school Sunday school. Hmmm…let’s see if we can recite a few?

Oh yes,

1) I am the Lord thy god, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

2) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5) Honor thy father and thy mother.

6) Thou shalt not murder.

7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8) Thou shalt not steal.

9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10) Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to thy neighbor.

These were the first ten of 613 laws of Judaism. But Jesus also said this about the commandments: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. — Matthew 22:35-40.

The easy way to remember this commandment from Jesus is to think of the cross. The cross has a vertical bar and a horizontal bar. The vertical bar relates to our relationship with God. It our understanding that we are to love God with our heart, soul and mind. The horizontal bar reminds us of our relationship with others and the world. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. SO, if we can’t remember the ten, we can easily remember the two.

In order to fulfill the fullness of the Law it appears, according to Jesus, that we have to begin with loving God and end with loving our neighbor.

That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?

Well, if only I knew your neighbor, you might be thinking.

Especially today being the Super Bowl you might have a split household on which team you will be rooting for-this could be a great challenge in living out the love your neighbor rule…

And isn’t it a gift to know that we can share the couch with friends of different teams and at the end of the game have our friendships intact. We can certainly be the same in our differences in many more things.

The greatest challenge I see with this call of Jesus in today’s terms,

is

how do I live a life that has the powerful, penetrating, preserving, and particular flavor of God’s kingdom’s good news?

Since salt is a penetrating, preserving, and has a particular flavor-how is God calling us to live our salty lives?

It makes me question what living like that looks like for me.

Does it mean marching in the streets,

or does it mean being at home knitting prayer shawls,

does it mean sending cards to soldiers overseas,

does it mean going to town council meetings,

does it mean volunteering in the schools?

I believe that God has a unique call on each of us.

God know who and how we are

and in that context God gives a job to do for the kingdom.

God might be asking us to just be present with someone who needs love.

And that is quite a heavenly task,

to join hands with someone and give them all your love.

Yes, God has something for each us in the midst of what we are already doing to bring a ‘pop’ of color to it and a ray of light.

Perhaps, all of these begins with a basic knowledge of what Jesus teaches us in the Bible. I would like to suggest that the good news that Jesus preaches is the news we should take some time to learn in the form of Bible study and reading of Scripture.

Old and New Testament.

In doing so we can get the flavor of God’s Word into our system and then shine forth with the light of the God we worship.

A second way that we can become the zesty salty folks (no not salty dogs-although some of you may prefer that), is to open our hearts to the practice of prayer. 

The more read and learn about Jesus,

the more we realize he was in communication with God as often as possible.

If we could begin our day and end it in prayer that would be a good start.

One of the joys of being around the elders of this church is their ability to pray without fear. They have provide an example of simple words spoken from the heart to God.

In choir we ask that someone say a prayer before we leave.

In the moment we hear such things as, “Lord thank you for getting us to hit the right notes in practice and help us do the same on Sunday.”

 Practice praying at mealtime if you don’t already do so.

Being grateful for the food before us helps us to then carry a grateful attitude toward other areas of our life.

As we pray for our meals we set an example for those who join us at the table of our home. This act is a simple way to share the good news of the kingdom.

Finally becoming salt and light and living the fullness of the Law in this day and time means answering the call of God for each of us.

The challenge is not for each us to be alike.

The challenge and the call is to be aware of God’s claim on us as God’s own and to live as God’s has uniquely called each of us.

Listen to your heart, for God is speaking to you there.

Listen to your neighbor for God is calling you to serve there.

Listen to your world for God is calling you to shine bright in it.

We are Christ’s body, his call to us is to be nourished by his Word,

to be strengthened by his love in prayer,

and to be made strong by his truth in service.

SO, in my prayer to Jesus, I’m asking him for more salt please.

Amen.