Freed to Love

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


The Green Bible has a study guide that I’ve been using in this sermon series “Creation Care as Justice.” This week I enjoyed the questions in that study guide enough that I wanted to share them with you.

What assumptions do you make that hold you back from acts of justice and mercy?
We could probably start with assumptions about people being valued differently. We know that some corporations seem to believe people are valued lower than profits. We’ve heard stories, for example, about people who die when insurance companies won’t approve treatment because it isn’t cost effective. And about corporate officers who lay off thousands of employees to cut costs while they receive large bonuses. We know about people being valued as less than because of their station in life. Maybe we’ve watched a TV cop shows where a particularly insensitive patrol officer is chastised for characterizing a crime against a prostitute or drug addict or gang member as NHI, no humans involved. We may have seen that poor neighborhoods are the last to get any kind of repairs or city services. All of these assumptions about the relative values of humans can and does get in the way of justice.

How can the idea that we are all part of God’s creation help overcome those assumptions?
According to Paul, as followers of Christ we no longer regard anyone from a human point of view. Now we look at others as God does, loving one another as Christ commanded us to do. In Christ, our prejudices against each other fall away. And perhaps not just our prejudices about people.

Bill Cosby is a very funny fellow, right. Long before he did the voices for the Fat Albert cartoon shows, or starred in any of several TV series, that line was the title of the first of a young stand-up comedian’s record albums, released in 1963. I loved his comedy and I got all of his records. I could recite long bits of his routines, and I still use Cosby-isms sometimes. There’s one routine that has been coming to mind this week, and I don’t quite remember the whole thing, but it had something to do with his girlfriend getting upset when he didn’t swerve to miss a cat in the road and he responded “What? You want me to wreck a $2,500 car for a 25c cat?” (Remember, back then the average cost of a new car was $2,600.) In the 1960s I thought that was really funny. Today, the idea that a car is more valuable than a living creature . . . not as funny as it used to be. I keep remembering that God told us to take care of the earth and everything on it.

Albert Schweitzer is known as one of the great philanthropists of the 20th century. His philosophy was called Reverence for Life and believed all God’s creatures should be equally valued, human and non-human alike. He let ants eat at his dinner table and hand fed his pet pelican Parcival with fish caught especially for that purpose. He treated all who came to his hospital no matter who they were or how much they could pay. He believed that all were equally worthy of care. Like most European men of his time, he held invalid assumptions about the capabilities of women and persons of color which kept him from believing they could be his equals, from true reconciliation. Still his philosophy, his Reverence for Life, has helped many embrace the knowledge that humans are only part of God’s creation and that we are responsible for all of the world.

How might caring for creation be seen as an act of love for our fellow human beings?
Ronald L. Farmer, Dean of the All Faiths Chapel at Chapman University, recently published his first novel, Awakening. An important part of the story is the main character’s first hand education about factory farms. He has inherited the family farm in Oklahoma and travels there from Claremont to decide what to do with the property. He discovers that many of the farms and homesteads around his family’s farm have been purchased by a giant corporation, where everything needed to raise a pig from conception to market is supplied. The big farms have meant an increase in employment, more shopping centers, housing and construction. It all sounds ok until he begins to learn what that means for the pigs and for the people of the community.

I’ve raised pigs and I don’t have any problem eating pork – or at least, I didn’t before I read this book. In my experience, pigs are smart and friendly and clean and live well in community with each other. Mother pigs love their babies. Pig farmers care about their pigs and work to make sure they live in a healthy environment. Healthy pig, healthy people eating that pig.

But the life cycle of the factory pig, as Farmer describes it so graphically, is such that I am seriously considering shopping for non-factory pork. Breeding sows are kept in tiny cages, are kept constantly pregnant or nursing, and the babies are weaned much earlier than nature intends. Once baby pigs are weaned they are kept in overcrowded cages standing on wire mesh above their own waste for their entire lives, which are sadly very short. They are fed hormones and antibiotics to help them grow big enough to butcher faster – which is really unhealthy for people. The work is so nasty that turnover is very high, illness and accident accounting for much of it. Factory housing is set up on a “company store” basis and wages are kept so low the workers can’t get ahead or move away. The stench that comes from the farms fills the air for miles and miles around the farms, and the tanks of pig waste that are being processed for fertilizer leak, within ‘acceptable’ parameters, into the ground water, also not healthy for humans. There’s much more in the novel, and in the back of the novel are recommended source materials if you want to study this more.

This goes way beyond swerving to miss a cat, or hand feeding a pelican. I don’t have any doubt at all but that caring for this part of creation, the pigs and cattle and chickens raised for our consumption on these factory farms, is certainly an act of love for humanity. For the workers who work in horrible conditions for little pay and no medical care. For the people living nearby whose air and water are being polluted. For the people who eat the meat saturated with growth hormones and other chemicals. Once again we see a situation where profit is considered to be more important than people, and much more important than animals or the environment.

Mind you, I don’t reject profit or capitalism. I do reject the notion that profit is more important than humans or animals or the state of our environment.

How does this tie into the ministry of reconciliation?
17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.

One of our greatest trespasses against God has been our disregard for the earth and the creatures sharing it with us. The very first job God gave us was to care for the earth, to be stewards of creation. In Christ, in this new creation, God entrusts the message of reconciliation to us. Even after all we have done, or allowed through our inaction to be done, even then, God doesn’t count our past against us, but reconciles us to him through Christ. Having been forgiven we now must go out and continue the work of carrying the message to reconcile all in the world to each other and to God. As the earth and all its creatures are healed, so too will the people be healed. As the people of the earth are reconciled to each other and to God, they will also be reconciled to all the creatures of the earth.

The call of all Christians is to love one another. Christ frees us from our prejudices and the tendency to see the worst in others, so that we can care for each other as God cares for us. I believe there is good in everyone, that there is a God-spark in everyone, because in creating us God breathed the Spirit of life into us. I believe all people are capable of change, and that even the most hardened sinner, even the most unloving of all God’s children, can be loved until he or she learns how to love. Let us go out from this place today to carry the message of reconciliation, so that all persons might know each other as beloved children of God. Let us go out asking God to help us accept each other, as Christ accepted us.

The water of charity

Isaiah 58: 9-12
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.



It’s the summer for general church assemblies and conferences. The United Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episcopalians and United Church of Christ, just to name a few, have already gathered in solemn assembly to discuss the giant issues of our time. I’ve been following the news from various conferences just to see if there are any real surprises. Not so much. As usual a lot of us are talking about a lot of the same things. How to grow our churches in income and membership. How to handle issues of sexuality. What to recommend to the federal government about health care and care for the earth. The biggest news has been how news has gotten out. Some folks were sending out messages on Twitter, Facebook and their blogs continuously throughout the events, so anyone who was interested could know what was going on as it happened. This has been very cool, as it has meant I didn’t have to wait for the magazines to come out a couple of weeks after each event to know what happened. You may be sure that Disciples, including me, will be doing the same things during our Assembly a few weeks from now. But aside from that, no really new news. But there were a couple of very significant statements made just this week.

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori surprised everyone at the Episcopalian General Convention in Anaheim when rather than speaking to the issues of gay bishops and other matters of sexuality she talked about individual salvation. “She . . . names the sin of rampant individualism as the cause of most of the world’s problems, from environmental disasters to economic meltdown.” 1

When God spoke to Israel through Isaiah and the other prophets, God spoke to Israel as a people, not as individuals. He spoke in particular to the leaders, who represented the people and whose decisions about national policy were binding upon the people. Jesus too rarely spoke to just one person saying “this is what you must do” but to groups. And even when he did seem to address himself to one person it was easy to see that the instructions were meant for all to follow. Like Isaiah and the other prophets, it was the leadership who bore the brunt of his wrath for not putting God and the wellbeing of God’s people ahead of rules and traditions and greed and lust for power.

Anyone who was greedy, who pointed fingers blaming others for their mistakes, who spoke evil of any who opposed them should of course seek to change their behavior in order to be as God wants us to be. But leaders who behaved in this way led all the people into slavery – metaphorically, slavery to sin, and literally, slavery in Babylon. Leaders who behaved unjustly and without mercy brought evil upon the whole of the nation, not just upon themselves.

We know this to be true. In the eyes of some, the German people are still living in the shadow of evil events perpetrated by their national leaders a lifetime ago. There are many today who blame all Americans for the decisions of our leaders, even though according to polls the majority of Americans disagree with some of those decisions. The actions of the leaders always reflect upon the people. The people are blessed or punished depending upon the actions of the leaders. When the leaders of Israel behaved justly, caring for the poor and keeping the greed of the wealthy and powerful in check, the people also prospered. And when they didn’t, the people suffered. This had been seen again and again in the history of the people of Israel. And yet – here they were again, doing all the things the prophets and judges had told them not to do.

We understand these words as individuals, of course We have to, really. It’s kind of hard to take direction of this kind as a group. Remove the yoke. Stop pointing fingers and speaking evil. Offer your food to the hungry. Satisfy the needs of the afflicted. Individually, we do what we can. We support agencies who do what they can with what they are given. We offer our money to Church World Service so that people who’ve lived without may enjoy fresh water, and our labor to Habitat for Humanity so families with little hope may have a home. We rarely speak the word “Charity” these days even though that is what we’re engaged in. I’m not sure why.

Pope Benedict XVI released a statement this week that focuses in part on charity. He said “Charity is love received and given. It is grace. . . Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice. . . [regarding the common good he said] To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. … To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity.. . The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them.”

The Pope went to on to say that charity is required of all Christians, but also that the first responsibility of all governments is to care for its people in this way. To feed the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted. To care for the earth on which their nation is placed. It shouldn’t be any surprise that the leader of the largest Christian church should agree with Jesus and the prophets and hold the leaders of the world responsible to care for their land in every way. For Jesus said “34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ (John 13:34-35)

And if you do these things, Isaiah says, , then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

What does all this charity talk have to do with caring for creation? That is the sermon series, after all, “Creation Care as Justice.” There was a little piece in Pope Benedict’s encyclical that I read as meaning when we give to another, we are not giving something that belongs to us, but rather sharing with him something that God intended for all of us to have. I keep going back in my mind to Genesis where Adam and Eve are told to care for all the earth and its creatures. When we help Church World Service dig a new well so people in an African village can more easily raise crops, we are helping bring life back into earth that has been parched. When we buy seeds or baby chicks through the Heifer Project for a family in South America, we are helping them be self sustaining so they may continue to live on and care for the land where they live. And of course, when any part of the earth is restored to health, that’s good for all the earth.

Even more, moving out of self, ceasing to put ourselves first, becoming aware of ourselves not as individuals but as part of something much bigger than we are, we more fully become part of the body of Christ. When we realize that who we are and what we are is no more or less than one small and critically important piece of the body, then our own desires stop being as important as making sure the entire body is well. Isaiah tells us, and Jesus tells us, that when we act in these ways – feeding the hungry, caring for the afflicted, loving the neighbor – then our light will shine. And everyone will know us by the love that we have for each other, and for all the creatures of the earth.

So let’s do what Isaiah said and Jesus taught us. Let’s listen to Bishop Jefferts Shori and Pope Benedict. Remove the yoke of sin, of being unloving and selfish and self centered. Stop blaming others for the ills of the world. And give of ourselves that water might flow in the desert, and the land everywhere become green and life filled once more. Let us offer ourselves to God, so that everything we are and everything we have might be dedicated to the care of all creation.



1(http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog Candace Chellew Hodge)

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
 CARITAS IN VERITATE Benedict XVI

Is all that social media chatter TMI?

Have you seen the TV commercial about search overload? You know, the one where someone mentions a word and everyone in the vicinity goes into free association mode, babbling everything they have ever heard or read that relates even vaguely to that word. The implication is that the currently available search engines are too general in scope to be really helpful and that everyone should immediately sign up for whatever the newest thing is.

I can kind of relate to that commercial because sometimes it feels like I am constantly inundated with TMI (too much information). On Facebook and Twitter I follow the moment by moment activities of hundreds of my closest friends. Much of that info is kind of random, in the "I don't know what to cook for dinner" category. Some of it is really specific, replies to some specific event that I don't know anything about and thus confuses me. Some is in response to important local and national and global events. There are blogs posted, links added, photos shared, and celebrations lifted up. There is also great pain posted - words and images of tragic personal loss. Just this morning I learned that one friend's cancer returned and another has lost a nephew.

Meanwhile I am writing. I'm writing about what's going on with me and responding to what's going on with my friends. I'm writing newsletter articles and website updates and sermons and notes to parishioners. I'm trying to remember to post blog entries, and trying to figure out if I can maybe find one place to post an entry that will automatically update everyplace. I feel overwhelmed and sometimes I wonder if all this information is really serving anyone.

But y'know, I find that I really don't mind hearing the minutia of people's lives because in between all the "what should I have for dinner" and "I just bought a new pair of red shoes" posts are writings that tell me what is happening in the depths of the soul. Cries of pain and shouts of joy. Commentary that helps me see another perspective. Opinions from people I never would have heard, because my group of friends overlaps with your group of friends which overlaps with someone else's group of friends, and I see all those comments from people I'd have never "met" otherwise.

I have learned over time that I see God most clearly in other peoples' eyes and lives. The more people I connect with and learn about, the more I learn about God. The more I participate in relationship with other people, the more I participate in my relationship with God because God lives within each of us.

Is all that social media chatter TMI? I think not. I think it helps bring me closer to you and him and her and God. And that can only be a good thing.

Why are you afraid? Mark 4:35-41

35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”


“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” I can hear the disciples thinking, “Well hello. Giant storm. We could die. And how exactly were we supposed to know you could make it stop?” Really, what had Jesus done so far that would make the disciples think he could stop a storm?

According to Mark, up to this time, Jesus had shown himself to be an exceptionally talented healer and preacher. After his baptism and temptation he began to select his disciples, and those men had seen him cast out an unclean demon, heal Peter’s mother-in-law and lots of other sick and demon infested people at Peter’s house, cleanse a leper, heal a paralytic, heal a man’s withered hand. So many were coming to him with unclean spirits that he finally gave the Twelve authority to cast out demons. After establishing his bona fides with all this healing, he began to preach God’s healing forgiveness, telling many parables. He was undoubtedly a great preacher and a powerful healer.
In the history of Israel there had been many healers, many who had the God given power to cast out demons and lay healing hands on the sick. But this - power over the wind and the sea – this was way beyond the expectations of even those who followed him most closely. Moses and Elijah could do these things, but the disciples really didn’t know yet just who they were dealing with.

So when Jesus asked, “Why are you afraid?” the Disciples really had no reason to understand why he was asking this. And they were, I think, justified in their fear of the storm. Many of them were fishermen, and knew what the Sea of Galilee was capable of. These were brave men, accustomed to risking their lives as part of their daily work. I suspect the fishermen among them felt a bit superior to the landsmen – the ones who never risked themselves to the storms on the sea, but rather crawled around the edges where it was “safe.” Their fear in the storm was justified and really to be expected. Has anyone here ever been on a fishing boat on a really big body of water? Or been on a deep sea fishing trip and had the weather turn suddenly? Then you’ll know what I mean.

Friday night we went to see the new Star Trek movie. It is supposed to be the story of how James Kirk, Spock, Bones and all the other characters we know so well from the original TV series started out serving on the Enterprise. It’s an exciting movie, and as I watched I began to see some parallels between a well known Star Fleet Academy training exercise and this storm on the sea of Galilee.

In this training exercise, a civilian freighter named the Kobayashi Maru, is badly damaged and has sent out a Mayday. Unfortunately it is sitting in the middle of the Neutral Zone (No Mans Land) and any ship attempting to rescue it will immediately be surrounded by many enemy vessels with significantly greater firepower than the rescuer. To pass the test, the captain must get past the enemy without damage to his/her own vessel and complete the rescue. It was designed to be un-winnable. Its purpose was to cause the cadets to "experience fear in the face of certain death", and to learn to remain in control of themselves and their ship despite that fear.

No one had ever passed this test until Cadet James T. Kirk. He took the test three times, failing as he was intended to by the inflexible rules governing the encounter until he finally changed the rules. He reprogrammed the computer. Simply put, he cheated. Mind you, Kirk agreed that learning to continue despite one’s fear was an admirable and necessary lesson. He simply didn’t believe that there was such a thing as a no-win scenario. So the third time he took the test he sat in the captain’s chair calmly eating an apple while all around him the crew was watching as the danger continued to increase. They knew how the test had to turn out and couldn’t understand his disregard of the danger. But he knew the rules were different this time and was simply waiting for the right time to make his move. When that time came he calmly gave his commands.

Jesus calmly slept in the fishing boat while his disciples became more and more convinced this storm would be the end of them. When the moment was right he awoke and commanded the storm to be still. He was able ask his disciples, "Why are you afraid?" because he knew that the storm was no danger. The rules had changed. Indeed, the usual rules didn't even apply to him. With Jesus in the boat there was no danger.

With Jesus in the boat/our lives we don't have to let fear paralyze us because we know that the rules we are used to don't bind God. Whatever happens, we know we will be ok. As long as we have faith, we can get through whatever danger or turmoil or fears we have in our lives. 


There may be those who think that if God will take care of everything as long as we have faith, then we don’t have to do anything to help ourselves. We can just wait until God rescues us, calms the storm, changes the rules for us. After all, the rules don’t really apply to God, do they?

I should point out here that believing “as long as we have faith, whatever happens we will be ok”, is not exactly the same thing as believing that “if we wait, God will step in and make everything turn out the way we want it to be.” Returning to Star Trek imagery for a moment, at one point in the movie Kirk is marooned on an ice planet. His escape pod tells him there is a Federation outpost some 14 kilometers away but that it is dangerous to walk there and he should stay in the escape waiting to be rescued. Those who know the Star Trek stores will be aware that James Kirk is not very good at waiting to be rescued. He got out of the escape pod, climbed up out of the big hole in the ice it had created, and headed across the ice and snow in the right direction. On the way he was chased by a big animal which was then eaten by another big animal, and was finally saved by a much older Spock who had just returned to his past through a black hole. Kirk and Older Spock made their way safely to the outpost, Kirk returned to the Enterprise and the universe was saved – naturally. It would not have turned out that way, however, if Kirk had simply waited in his escape pod. He wouldn’t have had to face all the danger and fear and difficulty if he’d just waited in his nice safe escape pod for rescue to come, but the outcome would have been very different.

Being a Christian is not about staying safe. It’s not about simply showing up once a week to worship and sing pray and donate money to important causes and have some fellowship time. Being a Christian is much more than being able to recite a list of things we believe about God. Being a Christian is a way of life. It’s a decision made daily to do the right things. To follow Jesus instructions to help the helpless, comfort the comfortless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and visit the prisoner. To step forward on the side of God’s justice and mercy so that the last may be first, even in the face of danger. It’s a decision to do what is right, even if that means we might face ridicule or outright persecution. Being a Christian is a refusal to stay in that nice safe escape pod and walk across snow and ice, through wild animals if need be, so that we can do what is necessary to save the universe.

I know. It sounds so dramatic, doesn’t it? June’s over there asking herself, “How am I going to save the universe? I have trouble just getting around the house.” We save the universe by doing what the Lord requires of us, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God. We don’t go all James Kirk on the world, running roughshod over rules, regulations and people. We act in love. And sometimes acting in love will send us out to participate in demonstrations or to do ministry in gang territories. It will send some of us out to do dangerous things. But mostly it will be in doing things we can do – writing notes, supporting just causes, speaking out against injustice among our friends, teaching our children how to be loving and caring global citizens. God’s love will also send us on interior journeys, seeking out the places in our hearts and souls that are not so loving – pride, greed, ego, fear, anger, hatred and a whole array of other defects in our characters – and rooting them out so God’s love has a bigger place to grow. And that might be the most frightening place of all that God’s love can send us. But if we have faith that whatever happens, we will be ok if we are with Jesus, why then would we be afraid?

When we go from this place today, Let us go out to live as Christians, to live in Christ Jesus, to live without fear, for we know that we belong to God.

One person can change a congregation

As a Disciple minister I was taught to baptize by immersion, in keeping with the Biblical tradition. Typically the candidates for baptism are in junior high or high school and have been part of the congregation since they were born. My biggest "problem" had been in dealing with candidates taller than me in a very shallow baptistry.

Every now and then, however, a situation comes up that requires something different. This particular event was brought to mind recently when @beachtweet asked if we had ever considered the elderly as a mission field. (And BTW @beachtweet, if you are reading this, the lady in the photo was 77 at the time, not 72 as I told you previously.)

Jo had been unchurched for over 40 years when she started attending Sunday worship. But she was looking for something - she'd been attending Unity church, reading the Daily Word and having theological discussions with a nephew who was an ordained minister when she came to an Alternative Christmas event at our church one Sunday. After that first visit she kept coming back because, she said "I was so impressed with how much good the church does for other people. Then the warmth and love from all the people there. . " After a while she asked about joining the church and when I learned she had never been baptized we began meeting to prepare her for this great event which would take place on Easter Sunday.

I knew right away that there would be some physical issues I hadn't had to deal with before. Jo was 77, legally blind and wheelchair bound. To get be baptized by immersion she would have to maneuver through a narrow hallway to change into a robe, go up a steep flight of stairs to get to the baptistry, down three steps into the water - then reverse the process, change out of wet clothes . . . . clearly that wasn't going to work. Equally clearly I could not say 'Oh sorry. If you can't get into the water I can't welcome you into the body of Christ." Love was going to have to trump tradition. Luckily some UMC and UCC friends were able to help me plan a baptism by sprinkling that could take place in the center of the congregation.

Jo wasn't part of our life together for very long - she passed the following August. But she will always be in our hearts and memories. Because Jo's attendance and baptism led to changes in the way we do church here. Jo wouldn't sit in the back where there is room provided for wheelchairs. She sat in her wheelchair in the center aisle about midway down on the "gospel side" of the santuary. And y'know, other wheelchair bound folks followed her example and started parking their chairs where ever they were most comfortable in worship. (We just ask that they leave room for the deacons to get past them during communion and offering time.) Thanks to Jo we realize much more clearly that compliance with ADA isn't enough. Just as I had learned that love was more important than tradition, our congregation learned that although supplying a place where wheelchairs fit is all we need to do be obey the law of the land, it isn't obedient to the Law of God - to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Thanks, @beachtweet, for bringing this to mind so clearly this week.

Here Am I.

Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I;

This is Trinity Sunday, when in many churches around the world preachers are doing their best to define and discuss the Holy Trinity. It’s an intimidating task, and every year when it comes around I flash back to a day in my first student minister position. I was working in a retirement community and spent a good deal of time ministering to the staff. One day one of the housekeepers asked me to join her on coffee break, and then asked if I could please explain exactly how God could be three different people at the same time before she had to go back to work. Well, I knew there was no way in the world I could do this – theologians have been writing books on the subject since about the year 400 and they haven’t been able to make it clear yet. We’re not even really supposed to understand it. As Thomas Acquinas said “We know that God is, not what God is.” Her coffee break lasted just about the same amount of time that a sermon does, and I am no better able to explain this great mystery in 15 minutes now than I was then.
One thing I think I understand about the different persons of God is that we hear God in different ways. God chooses different means to break into our lives, to get our attention, and the way we hear it has something to do with the way each of us understands God.

Look at Isaiah, for example. His focus in life was God, creator and sustainer, law giver and judge, Lord and bridegroom of Israel. So when he heard God speak, he heard from the Lord of the Universe, mighty Yahweh on the throne of heaven, surrounded by the heavenly host.

Isaiah wasn’t always a prophet. He was a priest in Jerusalem. His job was to make sure worship went the way it was supposed to, to preside over the various rituals in the temple, to make sacrifices in the proper way, to make sure the offerings were distributed among the poor fairly – in a lot of ways his job was pretty much like my job.

His job was also to take care that only the worthy came close to God – to protect the Holy of the Holies from anyone who wasn’t supposed to be in there. Only the priests were allowed behind the curtain to the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and then only after rigorous cleansing rituals to make sure they were acceptable. It wasn’t that they believed God lived in the temple, exactly, any more than we believe that God lives in this building. The Holy of the Holies within the temple was more like the place God rested his feet while sitting on the heavenly throne – but even getting near the place where God’s feet touched the earth was too wonderful and holy for ordinary people. Isaiah no doubt expected that his life would keep on going the way it had been, and then, he had this vision. He found himself in the presence of God. He was in God’s actual presence within the temple, surrounded by wonderful beings and heavenly music and the most marvelous incense. And of course he panicked. “I’m not worthy. What am I doing here?” No doubt he thought he was going to die immediately, for scripture told him no one can see the glory of God and live. Even Moses only got a glimpse of the back of God, and that while he was hiding behind a rock. And Isaiah certainly wasn’t Moses. He was just a priest and he knew that he was no better than the people he served. He knew that no matter how many cleansing rituals he went through, the bottom line was that he was just as impure as any other person. But a seraph brought a live coal from the altar, which cleansed his lips and his soul, so that he could not just hear God’s word, but so he would be able to speak it to others. And when God said “Who will go to our people?” Isaiah said “I’m here. I’ll go.”

I wonder if Isaiah would be so anxious to volunteer if he realized just how hard it was going to be to get anyone to listen to him, if he realized how much pain this new job was going to bring into his life. Because what happened here is that Isaiah’s job changed. Isaiah was now a prophet. From now on, instead of making sure everything kept going the nice comfortable way it had been going, he was supposed to bring people to change. He was supposed to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. He was supposed to shake people out of complacency and teach them how to change their world, to shape it according to God’s will rather than according to their own desires. He was supposed to bring God’s word to the people and bring the needs of the people to God. He was to be the conduit between God and Israel. From now on he would fight against the status quo instead of working to maintain it.

I don’t know what Isaiah normally felt walking into the temple before this momentous. Did he see it as “the office” or was it always a special place? I don’t know if he found leading the worship services exhilarating or whether it was just a job. Or whether his response was like mine – varied according to a whole host of causes. Sometimes when I come in on Sunday morning I am just so focused on making sure the sound system is turned on, and checking to see that everything is where it’s supposed to be, and discovering broken things that it just doesn’t feel very worshipful in here. And sometimes, when I wander over in the middle of the week for no particular reason it is as if God is here waiting for me. Sometimes when I pray I’m just kind of going through the motions and sometimes it is an overwhelming experience. Very often during worship I feel like a stage manager, trying to make sure things happen in a timely manner, in the proper order and in such a way that the congregation feels like they have been in worship. And sometimes the prayers and hymns and readings get to me the way I would hope they get to everyone else. And you know that sometimes the sermons take on a life of their own, when the Spirit decides to say what I don’t know how to.

On this occasion, however, Isaiah knew he was in the presence of God. He felt the power, heard the voices, smelled the smoke – all of it was overpowering. He was overwhelmed with awe, realizing that he was in the presence of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He was filled with humility. He was no longer the high-ranking priest of the Temple. In God’s presence he was just a man with all the same failings other people had. And he became willing to offer himself in service, to carry God’s word to God’s children, to do whatever God asked him to do and go where ever God asked him to go. It wouldn’t be for quite some time that God would say to Isaiah ‘Behold, I am about to do a new thing.” But clearly, God was doing a new thing in Isaiah’s life on this day, because from this day forward Isaiah will be an entirely different person.

The thing about God is that we never really know what to expect. God has a way of breaking through, of coming into our lives in amazing ways, unexpected ways. We find ourselves going about our lives in the same old way, expecting to find God in the same old places and suddenly it’s not like that at all. Suddenly God’s presence is real and different and frightening, and we find ourselves compelled to change in ways we would never have considered before. We find ourselves doing things we never would have considered.

God has a way of changing the things that make us most comfortable, and then waiting to see how long it takes us to move on with a new thing. Isaiah was comfortable as a priest. He knew what to do next, he knew all the rituals and the methods of sacrifice and to divide up the lambs and such between the temple and the poor. He figured he’d spend his life doing the same old, same old, just like his father and his father before him.

Yesterday I got a phone call from someone who said, “God’s not there! What do I do?” Just the day before she had told me that God was like a big pillow that she hugged close to herself at night to keep her safe and comfortable. But yesterday when she reached for that pillow it wasn’t there. I know that God didn’t go away, but I think maybe God is letting her know that it’s time for her to give up that safe, comfortable pillow and let God lead her into a new way of being. For many, church is that comfortable pillow. We’re used to things going in a particular way on Sunday mornings. We’re used to the bills getting paid and the office being open and repairs getting done. And when that changes, or looks like it might change, it gets scary. One local congregation had a meeting this week to talk about what to do now that they had lost a substantial portion of their income. Some panicked and said, “God’s not there. Our pillow has disappeared.” And others said “Have faith. God will do a new thing in us. We just don’t know what it is yet.”

We really don’t know what God will ask of us next. We can be fairly certain it will be outside our comfort zone. Isaiah didn’t expect to find himself in God’s actual presence. And he didn’t expect to hear God ask, “Who shall we send?” But when he heard that, he didn’t hesitate. He didn’t dither or worry or start looking for that comfortable pillow. He said “Here am I. I will go.”

When we find ourselves in God’s presence may we respond in the same way that Isaiah did. May we approach with awe, with fear and trembling and love and trust. May we stand before God with humility, knowing that we are no better or worse than anyone else in God’s eyes. And may we offer ourselves to serve God’s people in what ever way God asks. And most of all, let us keep in mind God’s words to us through Isaiah – the priest turned prophet – “Behold, I will do a new thing in you.”



I will do a new thing in you, I will do a new thing in you,
Whatever you ask for, whatever you pray for,
Nothing will be denied,
Says the Lord.

Every Time I Feel the Spirit

Romans 8:18-27
18I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.




Pentecost is my favorite church holiday. It’s the day when the church was really born – the day that 120 disciples were given the ability to speak the good news so that everyone could understand. It is also the anniversary of my first sermon as your pastor. I had spent two weeks carefully crafting a sermon, agonizing over every word. But when I woke up on the morning of Pentecost 2003 I realized that what I really needed to do was throw that sermon away and speak of my hopes for our future together. Every Pentecost since then I’ve had the same experience. I have something prepared and I wake up with something entirely different in my heart – usually something that doesn’t lend itself well to being written into a manuscript. I wonder sometimes why I even go through the motions of writing for this Sunday, when I believe that whatever I write will end up in the trash on the day. Chances are excellent that what is written here is not what will end up being preached.

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples for the first time, opening their hearts and minds, moving and working in them, leading them to do things they’d never considered before. They’d had to wait for 40 days after Jesus ascended into heaven, and they weren’t sure how long they would have to wait or even exactly what they were waiting for. As we all know, people just don’t wait very well. We’re not all that good at being patient and living in the moment. We’re always looking forward to the next thing that’s supposed to happen and anxious for it to get here. If we’re doing something new we want to see results right away, and are disappointed if nothing seems to change when we’ve only been doing the new thing a short time.

According to this portion of the letter Paul wrote to the church in Rome about 25 years later, the entirety of creation was eagerly waiting for change to come. All of the world was groaning in labor pains, heavy with anticipation for the day when everyone and everything will be free from the bondage of our past and ushered into a new way of being in Christ. It had become clear to him that Christ was not returning immediately as they had all believed, and that everyone and everything was going to have to wait for that time to come. And so he spoke of the difficulty of waiting for change to happen, when the change was something as eagerly anticipated as the transformation of the entire world into God’s kingdom on earth. Almost 2,000 years later, we’re still waiting.

On Thursday evening twenty-some church leaders, teachers and theologians from a dozen or so different denominations were gathered at the Claremont School of Theology to discuss Contemporary Theology for Social Action in Churches Today. The audience asked a number of tough questions which the forum participants then addressed.

There were a few things they said that really struck me. Sort of examples of what the Kingdom looks like when it is being lived. One spoke about Incarnational Compassion – not a feeling but action. Compassion that is embodied and acted upon person to person. For example, the Anglicans in Palestine operate schools and hospitals open to all, regardless of religion, culture, language – if someone has a need, they will be served. Another reminded us that we are all related through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to like each other in order to work together as was proven by the many who showed up to help in aftermath of Katrina and every natural disaster. And yet another said that, since we can all work together to serve God’s children in times of crisis then we can work together always. One even quoted Rodney King, asking plaintively, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Another reminded us that laws do not equal justice. True justice is always a result of love.

One challenged us to do ministry in places we do not want to go. She was talking specifically about prison and military chaplaincy, but we each have a place we don’t want to go. What would it mean to us to do ministry in that place?

They spoke about new ways of being church, and of doing church. Ways to reach those who somehow are not drawn to our churches, but want to be. They talked about technology and education and ways of being Christians in a world that seems not to care about other people or the environment, a world that puts laws before justice.

It seems to me that this is the same kind of world Jesus did his ministry in, the same kind of world the disciples preached to, and the same kind of world Paul traveled through and warned the new churches against. And that world is still waiting, groaning in labor pains, for the change that is to come – what ever form that change is going to take. We have hope for the future even though we have no idea what that future is going to look like. We do know that the world will not change, justice will not prevail, because laws are passed, or because the rationale and logic for making change is inescapable. The world can only change as hearts are changed through faith, and that is the work of the Spirit. So we wait, and we pray, and we carry the Good News. We teach about the justice that love brings. We speak of God’s purpose in the world, which is always shalom, peace and care for each other. And we try to act always with love and care, so that we can help make those changes that bring God’s glory into the world.

God is waiting, as patiently as only God can wait, for each of us to hear the words, “Behold, I am about to do a new thing . . . . through you.” God is waiting for each one of us to become open to the Spirit so that we can learn what new thing God is going to do through us. The Spirit shows up at unexpected times and moves us in unexpected ways, and it is up to us to listen for what she has to say, whether those words come as a still small voice or a shout. Let us seek and find the quiet center of our selves that we might hear the Spirit of God telling us about the new thing that God will do . . . through us.

Social Networking – a New Thing?

(This post is my article from the June issue of our church newsletter.)

There is a lot of buzz about the internet phenomenon known as social networking. People with common interests get together on Facebook, My Space, Twitter, etc. to carry on conversations, voice opinions, show off photos, share recipes and do pretty much everything else you do with friends. I’ve heard of long lost friends and family members finding each other on these sites. In fact, a seminary friend I’d lost track of found my blog the other day. (blog: an electronic journal I’m willing to share with the rest of the universe.) I learned how the recent earthquakes affected my friends on Twitter. The biggest difference between these internet friends and my other friends is that I might never meet some of these new friends in person. One of the questions people are asking is “Does our obsession with on-line friendships keep us from forming and/or maintaining close relationships with ‘real’ people?”

When I thought about this question I realized the only thing that makes today’s social networking unique is that it is done electronically. People have been forming long distance friendships, sight unseen, ever since writing was invented.

Paul never met a lot of the people he wrote letters to and yet he considered them beloved friends and family. He spent much of his time concerning himself with them and what they were doing, even though he wouldn’t recognize them if he fell over them in the marketplace. Paul was the “webmaster” of a social network that linked the mostly Gentile church with the church in Jerusalem, with Jesus as the link that brought all these friends together. This first century social network consisting of his letters and the Gospels continue to bring Jesus to life so that we may make and maintain a close relationship with Christ, with God, and with the many friends we gain as members of the Body of Christ– even the ones we’ll never meet.

Inequality Wins

I am so frustrated at the decision the California supreme court handed down. On the one hand, the 18,000 couples who were married in that brief period of time between the last court decision and election day are still married. That's good. I just keep seeing joy on the faces of Linda and Lucina when I pronounced that they were married after over 20 years together and multiplying that 18,000 times.

On the other hand, the court decided to uphold injustice and inequality for some. This is so wrong. I am angry and determined to continue to fight for equal rights (and rites) for all Americans.

There are some ministers who have decided to protest this decision by refusing to sign marriage licenses. They will continue to celebrate the service of Christian Matrimony for all who come - gay or straight - but will advise all brides and grooms that they must have the license signed by an official of the county in which they are being married until such time as all persons may be legally married. After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to do the same.

It is important to me that I keep praying for everyone involved, that God's love might invade every heart.

In the Interim Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, 16“Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

21So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” 23So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

It’s a kind of strange time for Jesus’ disciples. Just a few days ago Jesus ended their 40 days of instruction, told them to go to Jerusalem to wait for the one who would baptize them with fire, and ascended into the clouds. So here they are, 120 of them, waiting. They don’t know how long it will be until the Advocate comes or even really what that means. They’re in a kind of waiting time, like those few days between the end of classes and actually receiving your diploma, or between getting hired and the first real day of work. It’s an uncomfortable time, and since humans really don’t like to wait, we tend to try to fill that time with some constructive action. So while they were waiting, they felt it was important to use this in-between time to get as ready as possible for whatever was to come and part of that preparation was to bring the number of apostles back up to the number Jesus originally selected.

And Peter stands up and says, hey, you know there are only 11 of us apostles right now, and there are supposed to be twelve. So let’s pick someone to replace Judas in the leadership. The only real qualifications for the job was that the person had been one of the followers of Jesus from the beginning, “from the baptism of John.” I found that beginning point a little odd, as none of them began following Jesus quite that early. Remember he went out into the desert for forty days before he began teaching and healing. But I guess that was the simplest way to name when the ministry began. They would all have understood what Peter meant.

So two were named as potential apostles; Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and the selection process began. When we select leaders we automatically think in terms of democracy and we vote. A committee selects the people who they believe are best qualified, and we usually choose our leaders from among their recommendations. Of course we are quite aware that our votes can be swayed by a number of things – gossip and spin, personal likes and dislikes based in the way they look or speak. We like to think that doesn’t happen when we are selecting church leaders, and in reality we usually only have to ratify the suggestions of the nominating committee for church leaders. But the possibility of human ego, prejudice, popularity and politics getting involved in any kind of nomination and election process is pretty high.

Of course Judah was not a democracy. It was a theocracy. God was at the head of the government. They didn’t even think of voting in a situation this important. Rather, they chose the twelfth apostle by lot, which was a lot like throwing dice. Although casting lots sounds very chancy to us, it was the approved way of letting God make the final decision. It was the way Joshua figured out which of his soldiers had disobeyed the instructions not to keep anything of the Canaanites. It was the way Saul was chosen as the first king of Israel. It was even the way the soldiers at the cross decided who should got which of Jesus’ belongings. It seems that there wasn’t much difference between Matthias and Justus. They both fit the qualifications and I imagine everyone respected both of them about equally. So casting lots seemed like the fairest possible way to choose between them, the one way they could be certain that God would be in charge of the selection and not humans. And Matthias won.

I’m not all that sure that being an apostle was such a great job. The apostles would be the most highly visible of the Christ followers and likely the first to be arrested or otherwise persecuted by the powers that be. The apostles would be the ones settling disagreements, dividing the food among the hungry poor, and taking on all the responsibility for leadership in the early days of the church. And they would do all these things without getting any real recognition or compensation at all. We never hear of Matthias again. In fact, we don’t hear much about most of the Twelve. Anyone know anything Bartholomew did after the resurrection? How about the other Judas? I don’t. We know about Peter and James and Thomas. We know about Paul, who wasn’t one of the Twelve. And we’ve heard of Stephen who was the first martyr, but was also not one of the Twelve. In fact, we’re not totally clear on who exactly all the Twelve were – the Gospels don’t even agree on the names.

So it seems that being one of the Twelve didn’t guarantee that you would be well known. It certainly wasn’t a job that paid well, or at all. There were a lot of responsibilities, but none of the kinds of rewards that we typically think of when we select leaders. It was, in fact, a lot like being an elder in our churches today. The elders lead in worship, praying and serving at the table yes, but that’s really the smallest part of their job. They are the spiritual leaders of the congregation. They visit the homebound and the hospitalized. They reach out to the folks who haven’t been around for a while. They are available to any of us when we are in need of prayer or guidance. And when I say any of us, I mean that very literally. Part of the job of the elder in a Disciples congregation is to be available to the professional ministers of the church for prayer, support and spiritual guidance. The elders of Disciples churches are the true leaders of the congregation, as were the Twelve. In many cases they also serve without recognition, as Matthias did.

Think about the people in your lifetime who have given you spiritual guidance. Think back on the people who taught you about the Good News, about God’s acceptance and forgiveness and unconditional love. Yes, hopefully we have learned some of this from the “professionals”, the acknowledged leaders and teachers, ministers and Sunday School teachers. But very often we learned the most from those unexpected, unrecognized, anonymous people in our lives. Very often we learn the most, not from sermons and lesson plans, not from books and conferences and retreats, but from just watching men and women quietly doing necessary work. The ones we all count on to set the tables for a pot luck and bring in cartons of food for the hungry and cook at the picnics and repair things that break. The ones who write the encouraging cards and prepare the coffee and welcome the visitors. None of these do this work for recognition. They do it because it needs to be done and they are able. They do it because it is a way they can serve God and God’s people.

Very often we learn the most from people who just take the time to be with us. A friend of mine still tells everyone about a woman from this congregation who, during fellowship time a couple of Super Bowl Sundays ago, took the time to teach her enough about football that she didn’t feel completely left out at a Super Bowl party later in the day. Did that woman teach her about beliefs or other church stuff? No. But she did teach her hospitality. She did teach her about reaching out to help another feel part of instead of left out. She did teach that it is better to be loved than important.

Consider Matthias again. He was part of the group who had wandered the land with Jesus, sleeping where ever, eating what ever, doing whatever they were asked to do. He would never become well known outside the group, but we know he was respected inside the group. We know that he was and is loved. I came upon a poem this week that I’d like to share with you, written by Erik Doughty (2009).
Matthias, patron saint of
tailors, carpenters, alcoholism, and Gary Indiana--
well, here's the day he gets chosen
to replace Judas the betrayer
and then there's no more
about Matthias, except mystery.

Meanwhile we eavesdrop on your prayer, Lord,
asking protection for your loved ones,
sending them out into the world;
they must have been confused at all this.

Not all of us are the big names
upon which you build your church;
some of us wonder if we're more Judas than not
and others feel like Matthias, fading into
the background. Even so,
Sew us together into one great piece;
One holy, whole home
for sinners and saints alike.

The story of Matthias’ selection to the Twelve doesn’t say, but I suspect he didn’t volunteer for the job. I suspect he was perfectly happy to serve in the background, to be anonymous in his service. Not all of us are the big names, indeed. Hardly any of us are, in fact. And yet each of us through our words and actions serves as an example to someone else’ understanding what it means to be Christian – and it is to be hoped that our example is the kind that attracts. Each of us is or can be that background worker, that Matthias in someone’s life, whose example leads another to better understand God’s love. Each of us is or can be, that one who helps lead another to believe that God loves and accepts each of us, just as we are.

The good news is that we don’t have to be important to be loved. We already have all the name recognition, title and position we need, for we are all God’s children, and God loves us just as we are.

Drawing a Blank

How strange it was this morning to look at my calendar and realize it had nothing on it. No appointments, no meetings, no planned phone calls. Nothing. There are no items on my To-Do list that are overdue, or that I need to catch up with. No one is using the church hall, so it's quiet in my office. Even the construction workers remodeling our education wing didn't show up today.

I can do anything I want to! I can study in preparation for Sunday's sermon, or write the prayers for the afternoon service. I can curl up on the couch in my office and read something from that stack of books waiting for my attention on The Pastor's Bookshelf (posted below). I can call people I really want to talk to but never seem to have time to call. I can blog or twitter or update the church website. I can write some "thinking of you" cards. My day is a tabula rasa, with so many possibilities.

So why did I spend over an hour drawing a blank? I just couldn't decide what to do first. I couldn't decide whether to do what is "most important" or what would bring joy to my heart. Then it came to me that while I really would like to do something that brings joy to my heart I always feel that I am not being "productive" unless I do something that is more easily quantifiable. You know, the kind of thing that sounds like "work" when people ask what I did today.

The fact that I writing this means I have opted for doing the joy-bringing creative things that I usually put off until all the other things are accomplished. Maybe later I'll do something "constructive" but for now I'll spend some time feeding my soul with study, contemplation and writing.

Preaching like Peter

Acts 10:44-48
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

You know the line in “There is a balm in Gilead” where it says “If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul, you can tell the life of Jesus and say he died for all.”?

THIS is the preaching they’re talking about! This is every preachers dream! The Spirit broke in while Peter was preaching, poured out on even the Gentiles and they started speaking in tongues. Everyone was converted and convicted in the Spirit. Everyone in the household wanted to be baptized! So, what is it he said that had such a powerful effect?

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

This is it. This is the entire Gospel – all of the Good News. That God sent Jesus to preach peace, to do good and to heal those oppressed by evil. That Jesus died on the cross and God resurrected him so he could teach those closest to him, who were then sent out to preach that Jesus is judge of the living and the dead, and to testify to the forgiveness available to all who ask it in Jesus’ name.

There’s no complicated list of things people had to believe. No doctrine of the Trinity, no virgin birth, no creed, no statement of required beliefs, behaviors or actions necessary to receive God’s forgiveness. All of those things would become part of Christian belief hundreds of years in the future. In the early days of the church it was just this, that God sent Jesus to teach and to heal and to tell everyone about God’s love and willingness to forgive. The apostles and disciples preached this same thing over and over, in all kinds of places and situations. They began with the assumption that the people they were preaching to knew about God – the creator and sustainer of the universe who had chosen Abraham as his own many centuries before, and who had been guiding the descendents of Abraham through prophets and messengers ever since. The people of Cornelius’ household, although Gentiles, were believers who worshipped in the temple but had not yet been circumcised. Like the Ethiopian eunuch we heard about last Sunday, they weren't allowed all the way into the Temple, they weren’t fully accepted in the Assembly of God, but they did know about God, the Law and the Prophets.

Later Paul and some others would go out to preach among the Gentiles who had no prior knowledge of God, but that won’t happen for a little while yet. This event, the baptism of Cornelius and his household, would pave the way for Paul’s ministry.

Did you notice? Last week the Ethiopian eunuch listened to Philip preach the very same Good News and asked “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” This week Peter preaches the Good News, the listeners are filled with the Holy Spirit, and Peter asks “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” In these two events, separated by time and distance and with entirely different people involved the same thing happened.

So, what is it in this preaching that is so powerful that a houseful of people were filled with the Spirit. It was like Pentecost all over again – powerful preaching and conversion and amazement by those who were listening that God’s word was being spoken so that everyone could understand it. At Pentecost thousands were baptized. Here the number was smaller but what happened was the same. God’s word filled the hearts and souls of everyone who heard Peter speak.

To anyone who took classes in Homiletics (preaching) Peter’s sermon doesn’t sound like all that. For that matter, it probably doesn’t sound all that impressive to folks who have been listening to sermons for years. There are no examples, no stories, no moral instructions. Peter doesn’t tell any jokes suitable for church or pull illustrations from contemporary life. He doesn’t refer to a book or TV show or movie or the internet even once. He doesn’t tell the congregation how they should behave, or what they ought to feel guilty over. He doesn’t tell them what they need to do to make the world a better place, to bring God’s kingdom to earth as it is on heaven. He just talks about God’s power and God’s love. What’s up with that?

Sometimes we really need to just hear a simple message. What Cornelius and his household heard is this:

God loves you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t have to earn God’s love – you can’t earn God’s love. It’s already there, no matter who you are or what you’ve done, whether you believe that or not.

Forgiveness is waiting for you, all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to earn forgiveness – you can’t earn forgiveness. It is available to anyone and everyone who repents and asks to be forgiven.

And we don’t get to judge. We don’t get to judge other people. We don’t even get to judge ourselves. Jesus is the one and only person ordained to be the judge of the living and the dead.

Is it any wonder that Peter’s preaching was so effective? He didn’t depend on rhetoric to persuade his listeners. He didn’t have to. He just spoke the simple, basic truth of our faith. God loves us. God forgives us. God sent Jesus to teach us and heal us, and to show us the way to be faithful. And after his death on the cross, God resurrected Jesus into new life, just as we enter into new life when we give up our old ways.

I remember when I first heard those things. I remember when I began to believe that they were true. I remember how overwhelming it was to realize that God loves me – even me. That I was forgiven by God and because of that I needed to forgive myself for everything I felt guilty about, and forgive those who hurt me. If God forgives me, after all, who am I to withhold forgiveness? I remember when I began to believe that I am good enough just the way I am, because if I am good enough to be loved by God, who can judge me as anything less?

There are days when I forget the simple stuff – the basics of faith. There are days when preaching like Peter becomes really important because I let everything get all complicated. I forget to keep it simple and let the Spirit in. I let the business of the church take precedence over God’s business. I start giving more attention to theology – to the study of God – than I give to God. I start letting my education in pastoral counseling and preaching and church history and Bible and theology and hymnody and worship design get in the way of remembering to tell folks “God loves you. No matter what.”

God didn’t care that Cornelius and his household weren’t circumcised, that they hadn’t undergone all the rituals that would grant them full membership in the Temple. God filled them with the Holy Spirit, giving them full membership in the family of God in Christ.
And Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer, of course, was no. Cornelius and his household were baptized immediately.

Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place, and just as surely it is present whenever we pray and worship our God with simple faith in God’s forgiveness and God’s love. Let us go out from this place, remembering keep it simple in our faith and in our study of God’s Word so that there may always be room for the Spirit in our lives, in whatever place we may be.

A Pastor's Bookshelf

I don't know for sure about the bookshelves in other pastors' offices, but I have to admit that quite a few of the books I have purchased over the 6 years I have been serving as pastor here have never actually been read. It's embarrassing, but there it is. There are even some that I bought in seminary which I have not yet read. In case any of my professors should see this, I hasten to assure you that none of these are texts required for any of my classes.

No, these are all books that I purchased because they excited me when I saw them in the store. "Ooh. I want to learn about that! I need another book about . . . " prayer, evangelism, pastoral care, spirituality, preaching, relationship, Jesus, the Bible . . . the list goes on ad infinitum. Sometimes I buy a book because I know the author or I met him/her once at a conference. In many cases I opened them right after I bought them, read the introduction, scanned some sections with interesting titles, and set them down to read later. When the "to read later" pile next to the living room couch gets too tall, I move them either to a bookshelf in the house or a bookshelf in the Pastor's Study. Some I carry around in my laptop case for a while to remind myself I really really want to read them soon. Moving them to the Pastor's Study is pretty much the kiss of death. I have a few that I consistently go back to for reference, but most of them gather dust . . . sigh.

And Bibles - oh my. I think I have lost count, and I'm sure I have lost track. I have Recovery Bibles, a Green Bible, several Study Bibles, a Women's Bible, a multicultural Bible, a Kwanzaa edition Bible and I don't know what all else. I have NRSV, NIV, KJV, NKJV, Life Application, Message, CEV, Good News and JPS. I have Bibles on actual paper from pulpit sized down to one so small I keep a magnifier in it. I have Bibles on CD and MP3 to listen to and I even have 7 different translations of the Bible (some with apocrypha) downloaded to my iPhone. I have Bibles in English, Greek, Spanish and Korean, the last one in case a Korean speaking person comes to church and forgets his/her Bible. And if you are wondering, yes, I have actually used most of these in sermon prep and my own devotions.

Every now and then, though, I decide I really should see what one of those books says. And when that happens I am nearly always astounded at how much good stuff is in that book! I almost always say to myself, "Self, why didn't you read that years ago when you first bought it? You could have been using this information all along!" Right now I am trying to read three of Peter Gomes' books at the same time, because they are all fascinating. I've had them for what seems like ages, but they have just sat collecting dust on the Pastor's Bookshelf.

I suspect I am not the only one with a bunch of books that have never had the spine cracked. And I do know better than to say anything like, "I vow I am going to read every one of these books in the next year! I will select one every week and read it through." That might last a few weeks, but then life will get in the way. No, the best I will be able to do is just what I am doing now - grab one off the shelf whenever a title catches my eye and read while I'm eating my lunch. At least I can be assured that I won't run out of lunchtime reading material any time soon.

My new obsession

It's Twitter. I kept hearing about it, and then I noticed that DisciplesWorld and Christian Century and Songbird and other people I like were Twittering. So I signed up, and it's a whole new world! It's like texting to everyone at once, or blogging really short posts. But with the benefit that it doesn't matter if anyone answers my text, or comments on my blog. I know people are reading my stuff, no matter how trivial.

See, the thing about blogging is that I always feel like I have to write something substantial - an article, with some length and some meat to it. Somehow I feel that if I write a blog entry it should be a sermon or a meditation, or at least something spiritual. If I have just a sentence to share, it doesn't feel right to blog about it.

For instance, a few weeks ago while working out with my virtual trainer on wii Fit, keeping track of calories burned on an app in my iPhone, and keeping an eye on the robot vacuuming the bedroom, I realized that I'm really dependent on technology. I wanted to blog about it, but y'know, that's all I had. Seems to me that this kind of reflection is perfect for Twitter, but not so much for a blog. A blog should be a substantial meal, whereas Twitter is a 90 calorie snack pack.

And yes, I'm obsessing on food because I'm watching calories, cholesterol and carbs and because I quit smoking 4 days ago. Twittering is taking the place of the cigarette or the food substitution for the cigarette. It's helping me not smoke, and not eat. Justification of spending so much time checking MacBook and/or iPhone every few minutes? Certainly. Denial that I have a new addiction? Nah. I'm perfectly happy to admit that I'm powerless over Twittering, and that it could make my life unmanageable if I'm not careful. I'll just hope nobody starts a Twitters Anonymous anytime soon.

Friday Five - A bug's life

This week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!

1. Ladybugs or ladybirds? Pillbugs or roly-polys? Jesus bugs or water skeeters? Any other interesting regional or familial name variations?
Ladybug, as in "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home." I was blown away to learn that what we called Locusts where I grew up are called cicadas pretty much every where else, and that locusts are really big, bright colored grasshoppers.

2. Stomp on spiders, carry them outside, or peacefully co-exist?
It depends on the variety. Black widows die on sight. Housekeepers (Grove spiders?) can stay in the house as long as they stay out of my sight - it's just that they're so darn big! Most others I can co-exist with.

3. Favorite insect?
Crickets. They sing beautifully and they're considered to be good luck in some cultures. Besides, who doesn't love Jiminy?

4. Least favorite?
Anything buzzy-bitey like bees. I'm Allergic. But when I find one in the house I catch it in a glass or jar and take it outside. It's not the bee's fault I'm allergic.

5. Got any good bug stories to share?
I went to seminary in Indiana. Indiana Farmers had imported some South American ladybugs to help control whatever it is ladybugs eat, not realizing that this variety of ladybug hibernates in caves in the winter. There aren't a lot of caves in Indiana. But our apartment had 20 foot cathedral ceilings and ladybugs thought it was a cave. Ladybugs found their way in through the teeniest cracks and crevices until there were thousands attempting to hibernate on the ceiling. Over the next few weeks ladybugs were constantly dropping dead from the ceiling, landing in everything - coffee cups, dinner plates, hair . . . and no way to get rid of them or keep them out. I know it's not their fault, but today I can live without anything that has a ladybug design on it.

Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.
When I was little, my mother used to always tuck the blankets tight around me, so I would be "as snug as a bug in a rug."

Kingdom Come Psalm 133, Acts 4:32-35

Scripture:
Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.

Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.


How very good and pleasant it is indeed, when kindred live together in unity! It is like an extravagant pouring out of expensive oil in anointment, it is like the dew in the morning. No one is needy. Everyone is of one heart and soul. It is God’s Kingdom, come on earth as it is in heaven. When we are all working and caring together it is as if we have all the material gifts we could possibly want, because we are without fear for the present or the future or for our own personal wellbeing. In a world where God truly ruled, there would be no needy persons, because any who had more than enough would always share with those who had nothing. No one would be left out of the good things of life, no one would be treated as less than in any way. Just like it was in the early church.

If only the church today could be like that early church, where everyone was of one heart and soul, and everyone was willing to share everything they had with everybody else, and everyone trusted the leaders to share out everything fairly with no one being shown preference! That perfect state of affairs lasted for . . . about 5 minutes, I think.

For when we read just a few lines further we find that one man, Annanias, did not share all the proceeds from the sale of his land but lied about how much he received, and that he fell down dead after being caught in the lie. And then his wife, Sapphira also lied and also fell down dead. Struck down by Greed and Dishonesty.

And a little beyond that, the Greek speaking Christians complained that their widows were being neglected, and that the Hebrew speaking Christian widows were getting more than their fair share of the food being distributed by the apostles. And the apostles decided that they had more important things to do than the distribution of food and had seven others elected by the people to make sure food was distributed fairly.

How sad. People were people in the early church, too. With the same prejudices and failings and character defects as people have today. “Our folks aren’t getting as much of the good stuff as your folks are.” “I don’t want to share everything! I worked hard for what I have and I want to keep some of it.” “I am too important to do this work so we need someone else to do it.”

I suspect it wasn’t long before the apostles realized that, if everyone sold their houses and property there would be no where for the members to meet and eat and sleep. At any rate, from here on in the Acts of the Apostles and all through Paul’s letters we don’t hear any more about everyone sharing everything. Instead we hear about people, mostly women, who opened their homes to the church, housing the other widows and holding worship at their homes. We hear about congregations and individuals being asked to share generously of what they have, but no more about giving everything away.

Even Jesus only asked that when a man’s money was more important to him than his faith – he certainly accepted the hospitality and help of his followers who were well off, like Joseph of Arimethea. He said it was difficult for a rich man to enter heaven, not impossible.

We begin to see that the church leaders came to understand that people were imperfect, and that simply being baptized and deciding to change their lives didn’t mean that everything about them would change magically and immediately. That it would take hard work and dedication and deep faith to become the kind of people God intended for them to be.

That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Being a Christian is much more than just showing up for worship and reading the Bible and singing Christian songs, just as being in recovery is much more than just not using and showing up at meetings. It requires a change of life-style and attitude. It requires a desire to become a better person every day in every way, not because the world says we should, but because we want to please God. To cast off character defects and embrace virtues, not perfectly, but to the best of our ability on any given day. To search our souls daily to see where we did well and where we could do better. So far, there’s not much difference between being a Christian and being in recovery, huh?

But being a Christian goes further than personal spirituality. Being a Christian means being part of a community and working through that community to change the world into the kingdom of God. The early church worked to change the world around them by sharing their funds so that they might care for the poor and the sick – and not just their own Christian poor and sick, but everyone who lived nearby no matter what their religion was. They worked to change the world by welcoming into the church all who came regardless of gender or class or economic status – and that indiscriminate welcome was unheard of in their world; it was against every cultural and religious norm. These things attracted many to them, for everyone could see that these were people who loved so extravagantly that their love was like expensive oil pouring down over the beard and collar, like dew on the mountains. Even though they couldn’t keep the church perfect for more than a few minutes, still, the example of what they strove toward is there for us to follow, so that we too might be people who love extravagantly.

People who love extravagantly will share generously and joyfully with those who have less than we do. Generously. Not just giving the things we don’t want for ourselves anymore, or a couple of dollars that we don’t have earmarked for something else, but the best of what we have. Joyfully, knowing that our gifts will help change the world in some small way. Here we become frustrated because the hungry keep showing up at our door, and we keep running out of food and money to buy food. Or we need to repair the building, or replace something that wore out, broke or disappeared, and we just don’t have enough money coming in to do what’s needed so we can keep serving the neighborhood. Or we see that more money and medical supplies are needed someplace because of a natural disaster or something, and our General Church is sending out the money as quickly as it comes in, but there simply isn’t enough coming in to care for everyone who needs our help. And it’s funny, but it often seems that those who can afford the least are the ones who give the most. In our extravagant love, we will share the best we have so that our neighbors will be loved and cared for as God would have it.

People who love extravagantly will reach out in love to everyone who suffers injustice. We will be dedicated to seeking equality for the outcaste and the rejected, as Jesus did. To making sure the poor and helpless are cared for. And each of us will find injustice in different places and find our own way to combat it. Some will fight racism, some will fight sexism or heterosexism. Some will fight for equality in education or health care. Some will fight for peace in a world filled with war. Some will fight for the improvement of our environment. Christians cannot say “you can’t fight city hall,” because Jesus and the apostles and all the early Christians opposed the established way of life with everything they did. As part of the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of Churches, and the California Council of Churches, we have access to many ways to help bring God’s justice into the world. In our extravagant love, we reach out to bring God’s justice and mercy into the world so that all persons may know God’s love.

As people who love extravagantly, we welcome all who come to this place to worship, to share in community, to find hope, to be healed of spiritual and emotional pain. We place no conditions on this welcome, just as there are no conditions placed on the love God pours out on us. We open our arms to all who come, to pour out extravagant love upon them, which we receive from God in such great quantities that we cannot possibly keep it to ourselves. This love is the one thing that we cannot keep for ourselves, for there is enough and more to share with all the world. Let us go out from this place today prepared to love extravagantly, to share God’s love with everyone we meet.

Is it possible to be too high tech?

A week or so ago as I was working out in my living room with my WiiFit virtual trainer and keeping track of calories burned on my iPhone while my iRobot was vacuuming the bedroom, I realized that I had become perhaps a little too comfortable with the new technologies.

Consider - my electronic calendar is set to alarm when it's time to prepare for an appointment or take medications. I have 7 different translations of the Bible with Acpocrypha at my fingertips, so I don't actually have to carry a "real" Bible any more. I can keep my journal and write my gratitude lists electronically, never having to pick up an actual pen or using one of the beautiful journals I keep buying for myself. I have even discovered that I can download entire books in any genre you care to name directly to my phone, so I never have to spend time browsing the aisles of Barnes and Noble again. Most of my friends and even some parishioners are easier to reach by text than phone or email. Of course, the danger with that, u c, is I tnd 2 rite in txt instd of "real" English.

I almost wish I had a Prayer Counter application like my Calorie Counter one. Instead of showing a red line when I go over my daily budget of calories, the line wouldn't turn green until I had spent at least 30 minutes in prayer, meditation or journalling.

But no. Prayer is still a communication between me and God with nothing in the way - no App Store, no webmaster, no "server isn't responding." It is a time away from all that, from all the noise and bells and whistles and bongs and chimes. I'm grateful that tomorrow I have to stop using all the electronics for an hour when it is my turn to pick up the Good Friday Prayer Vigil. That I will get to spend one hour in silent prayer, alone with myself and God, to contemplate the sorrow of those who witnessed the crucifixion and to remember God's grace that is so lovingly given in the resurrection of the Christ.

Holy Week already?

Clearly my pre-Christmas promise to self and others that I would be more faithful about blogging has not been kept. Here it is Holy Week already!

I miss the Holy Week observances of my youth. The daily trek to church for some observance or other, rosaries and walking the Stations of the Cross, confession . . all of that. In the Disciples tradition we don't do that so much. To make up for this we have turned Palm Sunday into Palm/Passion Sunday, and gallop through all the emotions of the week all in one hour. Some read the entire scripture and let it stand on its own, some have pageants or choir concerts.

Oh, here at Delhaven there is a Maundy Thursday supper, sometimes with Tennebrae, once with foot-washing (nobody wanted to let me wash their feet, so it turned into a hand-washing and was never repeated). And a Good Friday noon-midnite prayer vigil, which used to be in the sanctuary but now people keep at home.

And of course, the regular administrative stuff never ends. I spent an hour on the phone Monday with the phone company trying for the 6th month in a row to straighten out our bill. I'm planning for 2 weeks at once as I go on vacation immediately after the 2nd service on Easter.

So I pray - Holy One, help me to focus on you, on the journey to the cross that you son is making this week, and on where my own journey is taking me. May I approach my own cross as obediently and with as much grace as he did. Amen.

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on this blog since August! Maybe it's because I stay so busy keeping the church website up to date, posting my sermons and adding new photos constantly. And maybe it's because I just have so much else to do that personal writing keeps taking a backseat. I'm not even showing up at RevGalBlogPals as often as I used to, not even on Saturdays for the 11th hour preacher party!

I would blame it on Christmas busy-ness, except I definitely wasn't working on Christmas stuff way back in August. And yet, here I am, wondering where I've been all these months. Oh, yeah, I've been starting a new congregation at my church - a recovery oriented congregation meeting on Saturdays. That is what's been taking up so much of my time. Silly me. And here I thought I wasn't spending much time with the new congregation.

I've made new friends in this new journey - transgendered folks and lots of people involved in the Anti-Prop 8 movement here in California. My new friends aren't coming to the new church as they are all already involved with one congregation or another, but they are encouraging me and helping me to know that nothing is impossible with God.

Time to get ready for this afternoon's Bible study. I hereby make a promise to myself and anyone who's been looking for me: I will at least cross-post my sermons, and try to post here at least once a week.

Blessings on all in this Christmas Season.