February 22, 2009
Transfiguration Sunday
2 Kings 2:1-12
Mark 9:2-9
Year B
“The Moment when Everything Becomes Clear”
Elijah story
Elijah loves to party. Whenever there was a party – you always knew he would be there. One day while walking down the street he heard a wedding party. Dressed in his street clothes, a drab gown, he walked up to the door and knocked. A man answered, the father of the bride. I see you are having a party said Elijah, can I come in. The man took one look at Elijah and said I am sorry, this is a private party and slammed the door in his face. Elijah was horrified and thought what to do next. He took his gold cane, waved it in the air, and all of a sudden he had a wonderful white tuxedo, hat and of course his gold cane. He wrapped on the door again with his cane. Once again, the father came to the door – I hear that you are having a party. I love to party – can I come in. the man took one look at Elijah and said of course you can come in. Elijah joined the party. He danced and talked for a while. Soon it was time for a very lavish meal. The guest went to different tables to get various types of food. Elijah walked up to the fruit table and grabbed an orange and put it in his pocket. One of the guest saw it, but she did not want to make a big deal of it. He walked up to the dessert table and grabbed a few cakes, and put them into his pocket. People noticed, the even noticed when he started to rub his pockets smashing the cake. People thought he was weird, but no one wanted to say anything out loud, but of course this was a close knit family – so word had spread. Then Elijah went to the meat table, ordered a piece of roast beef and put that in his pocket. Now by this time people were looking and paying attention. So when he went to the drink table and took a cup of fruit punch and poured it all over his white suit – the host could stand it no longer. He confronted Elijah and asked what was going on. I don’t even know you, and I let you into my daughters party, and instead of just fitting in, you are making a nuisance of yourself and ruining my party. How dare you – yelled the host. Elijah yelled even louder – yes you let me into your party. First when I knocked on the door in shabby clothes, you slammed the door in my face. But when I dressed up in this suit – you let me in. So the best I can tell – you invited my clothes, not me. Elijah grabbed an apple, and slammed it into his chest, so I am feeding my clothes – I want to make sure they have a good time at the party. I Elijah have spoken – and he disappeared leaving behind his gold cane.
Elijah is a larger than life figure in the jewish worldview
I am sure that story has a moral – but I tell it to represent the reputation that Elijah holds in tradition. There are many stories of Elijah appearing all throughtout history.
Elijah is one of the few people who did not die – but in our story is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. And it is believed that when the messiah comes back to the world – that Elijah will appear and come back to usher in a new age for God.
Elijah represents the faithfulness to God
The other person who had such a faithful relationship with God was moses. But in the moses story – moses grave was never found, but he did pass on. The story says that when Elijah was taken by god, that they searched for his body, thinking God swept it up but dropped it somewhere. But it was never found. Elijah was so faithful and passionate for God in his life, that God continues to use him.
Story of his passing on his knowledge to Elisha
There are many stories of Elijah works on the earth. 1 and 2 Kings are about his life. But there are many stories like the one I told you. The story for today is about Elisha. They know that Elijah is going to be taken by God. Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit – that he can do many of he works that he has witnessed.
I think Elisha was asking for more than that
Elisha gets it
Elisha mourns for someone – who no one knows if he really died.
The new testament story is another appearance of Elijah. He appears to Jesus in the dark of the night.
Tell story of mark.
This is the transfiguration story. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus takes some time to climb a mountain to pray. He takes three of his disciples with him. The disciples witness Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. Jesus shines in the night, and a voice speaks saying listen to Jesus.
This is not just about Jesus transfiguring, but the symbol of God presence and faithfulness comes to confer with Jesus and his mission to save the world. This moment shows the disciples that Jesus is indeed not just a wonderful teacher, but he is indeed God’s chosen messiah.
It was a cold and dark night.
It would have been hard to see what was going on in the dark on the top of a mountain. But they noticed that they had night vision, and could see what was going on clearly.
They say that when you descend into the ocean – that you enter into different worlds
Each darker and colder than the one before – until you enter into a strange world – where everything glows.
A world of strange animals, and strange plants. You realize that you are in a place where you could never imagine in your everyday life.
This was not something that happens everyday. Not something that anyone would ever believe How did they get to that place?
How do we get to the place where we listen to God, where we see visions clearly, and things that we are struggling all of a sudden start to make sense.
There is no pathway to that place – we all have to find it for ourselves. God speaks in ways that only we can recognize. Our task during lent is to find those places.
Stories to give us the tools to get through the days ahead. Tools we need are imagination and prayer. Time dreaming of what God would have us to do, praying for God to lead us .
Will start to see God in ways we never imagined
Read poem.
"A person whispered," God, speak to me" and a meadowlark sang. But, the person did not hear. So they yelled,"God, speak to me" and the thunder rolled across the sky. But, they did not listen. The person looked around and said, "God, let me see you" and a star shone brightly. But, the person did not notice. Then they shouted, "God show me a miracle" and a life was born. But, the person did not know. So, they cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here." Whereupon God reached down and touched them. But, they brushed the butterfly away, and walked on.
We have come through epiphany season – sort of like scuba diving down into the ocean. Going deeper and deeper into darkness and coldness until we reach the bottom of the ocean. Lent is our journey on the bottom – until Easter when we get to revel in the brightness of daylight.
As you enter into lent – remember the tools for a deeper relationship with God. Your prayers, your imagination, your dreams for the future.
Be present when God reveals the divine to you – in so many ways.
This is an Elijah cup – you use it for maunday Thursday. Whenever you have dinner for Passover, the jews are supposed to set a place for Elijah at the table. When everyone else gets something to drink – you always pour something in the Elijah cup. It is done to remind us that Elijah could come back at anytime. And that when he comes back – he is not just passing on his spirit to his protégé, but to all of us.
That tradition spreads also to Jesus. What would happen this lent, if everytime we set the table, we left a place for Jesus. To come to us, to speak with us , to live with us, to guide us. To be reminded that Jesus is present when we realize it and when we don’t. As we begin our Lenten journey – whatever you plan to do – know that God is with you. Pray for as many things as you can – and look earnestly everywhere for answers.
Finally – a group of middle school girls were talking about inner beauty and the importance of being a Christian. They talked about how they needed to pray for those who needed it and even for those who were mean to them. A teacher asked if prayer changes things – no but prayer does change you and how you look at the situation.
This lent - if you are a faithful follower of jesus – the world may not change, but if you pray – you will. When you change – the world changes with you.
Amen.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
God of Touch, God of healing
February 15, 2009
Year B
God’s Touch, God’s Healing
2 Kings 5:1-27
Mark 1:40-45
Sixth Sunday of Epiphany
The word for today is paradox
A Paradox is a situation where one thing is said or done, but another thing is meant or intended, and even though they may be opposites – they both are things are equally true. This lesson today is about the paradox of life, and more importantly of God.
Jesus as healer
The theme of the epiphany seems to be healing. The book of Mark sets out to prove that Jesus was a healer; he made life better for many people. That healing ministry is still true today.
Comes into the world to being healing
Our paradoxical God sent Jesus into the world to bring healing to his people. He saw that there was a lot of pain and suffering in the world. The world which was created as a place for us to be happy and whole, and he sent someone to help us out – to realize how to rise above our sin and to accept healing.
And yet that is the hardest thing for us to accept. We all say that we want to heal – and yet in reality we do everything that we can to stay away from it. We are all sinners, we all do things that are not quite right, not quite in our best interest, and yet we continue to do them anyway. We want to heal, but it takes so much work on our part – it is just easier to live life the way it is.
Once again, the Hebrew bible gives us a timeless story of human nature in an unlikely place. As we hear the story of Naaman.
He was someone whom God found favor on, and wanted to give him the gift of healing.
Syria – is the country to the north of Israel. When visiting Israel and passing by Syria, our guide told us not to even look that way – don’t appear curious of what it going on
The two countries were enemies, as they were long ago. The relationship was so strained, that they do not even associate with one another.
Naaman was the Commander of Syrian army; he was suffering and told the unthinkable – to go to Israel in search of a cure. His slave girl tells him of a prophet who can help him, and the only one willing to even take on skin diseases.
Causes a scandal when he comes to town, but even more so offended when given a cure – he is told to go and bath in the Jordan river seven times.
Why would he insult him by saying such a thing – when there is a river at home that is just as good, if not better.
That is our response to healing – we want to do things our way, and be in control, rather that listen to the advice of someone else. We want magic instead of medicine. We would rather voice our opinion about what is right then be quiet and do as we are told.
The human condition. Bible says that Naaman has leprosy – a skin condition. Today, Leprosy is called Hanson’s disease. It is a very painful incurable skin condition, where the body become disfigured, and you swell. And eventually you die from the disease. The bible uses that word in the old and new testament, but there is no real proof that that illness existed in that part of the world at that time. Leprosy is mostly found in India. And yet Leviticus spends a lot of time talking about a skin disease called leprosy. It could affect your body, your house, your clothes, even your standing in the community. But Some believe that it was not leprosy that Naaman had, or even a physical condition.
It was disease – a spiritual condition – where things were just not falling into place
Sin is the disease of the spirit. Missing the mark, not complete or whole, needing something to make you feel better.
Sin is the cause of us not wanting to heal – eating the wrong foods, not taking care of ourselves, not being in right relationship, not taking care of our lives, doing things that we know don’t help us – but we don’t want to change to get better.
God always wants us to get better. To heal. To feel whole. That’s what a relationship with God brings, and God is constantly trying to bring us into relationship.
That is the story of the bible – the story of God reaching out to us in unlikely ways – to get us to realize that we are whole. – that we are connected to the divine.
The olden culture was afraid of skin disease because they did not understand it. Were afraid that it made all who came in contact with it impure or polluted.
They Believed that the only way to come in contact with a pure and holy God was to be holy. Disease was a symbol of death.
If you Touched something dead, you were polluted and had to be cleansed. Pure and impure determined your access to God.
The temple was designed so that those who were not cleansed, could not go in to be close to God. We have been designing our societies like that for ages- those who were in and those who were out. Those who were polluted and those who were not. Those we could talk to and those we could not.
That is just the way things were but not the way things should be. Our paradoxical God is available to all people no matter who they are, or what condition they are in. God even loves the Syrians enough to bring them healing. God loves us enough to bring us out of what ever our disease it – to bring us to healing.
Jesus comes in contact with another leper – who is asking to get better. Once again, not the leprosy of modern days – but a social condition, cut off from society, more importantly cut off from yourself. More than like once again the results of our sinfulness. Jesus first reaction is anger –or deep emotion
But eventually he does heal him and sends him back into the world a whole person. Tell no one – he paradox is that he tells everyone. So excited at the gift he has been given.
For us Jesus is a paradox, an unlikely place for healing to occur.
The good news is that Jesus is in the unlikely places of life. Naaman would have never thought in a million years that his healing would have been in Israel. The world never believes that their healing would be in he body of Jesus.
God is always at work in unlikely places and unexpected people. But the only ones who really truly recognize the work of God are those who have been healed by him on some way.
A young monk came to a monastery to study with the grand master – to learn from someone who indeed had that connection to God. On the first day the master told the young monk that his first lesson was to go out into the garden and to stand there with his arms wide open for an hour. The monk stood there vulnerable for an hour- soon it started to rain and not understanding what was going on, he stood there in the rain. After the hour was over with – he went angry to the master – and said I see no point in that exercise – all that it did was make him feel like a fool. The master replied – that was the point – it is an excellent starting point in your relationship with God.
That is what keeps most of us away from a deeper connection with God, from wholeness, from healing. We are not willing to do anything that makes us feel stupid, or like a fool.
The word for today is paradox – The things that we don’t want to feel, are usually the feelings that we most need to deal with in order to heal. The people who we avoid, are the people we need to talk to in order to truly be a whole human being.
The real God – the true God of Israel has never been a god that made any real sense. God is not someone who we can explain or understand, or control, or predict, or even tell what to do.
The God that we worship is a magnificent, mysterious, mischievous God. Our God loves Syrians and Israelites, Our God loves the Steelers and the Cardinals, the Catholics and the Methodist, those who are strong enough to admit their sins, and those who are not even aware that their actions are sinful. God loves us all.
The trick is for us to learn to love us all. Ann Ulanov, a theologian outs it this way.
This task confronts all of us, to deal with what touches us and not avoid it, to collect our missing parts, the neglected and overlooked and banished parts of our inner and outer populations. We are never touched in the abstract, only in the flesh. The marks of our worries, our overweight, our sleepless nights, our neighborhood crime, our neglected land, our polluted air are all a result of our disconnection with God. Our unwillingness to accept our sinfulness. God waits in those parts, waits for us to visit the part left in the prison of repression, waits for us to offer some life-giving water to outcast. All must be gathered in to be one with God. When we are one with our fears, our anger, our frustration and those who cause those emotions, then we are one with God.
What are the things in your life that you need to accept instead of pushing away? Who are the people in your life that you need to tolerate? What are the issues in the back of your mind that you put aside. Become aware of those things, and you will probably also become aware of the sins in your life that you use to deal with those things.
Surrendering those things to God is the first step to being cleansed and being healed and most importantly being whole.
Let us pray…
Year B
God’s Touch, God’s Healing
2 Kings 5:1-27
Mark 1:40-45
Sixth Sunday of Epiphany
The word for today is paradox
A Paradox is a situation where one thing is said or done, but another thing is meant or intended, and even though they may be opposites – they both are things are equally true. This lesson today is about the paradox of life, and more importantly of God.
Jesus as healer
The theme of the epiphany seems to be healing. The book of Mark sets out to prove that Jesus was a healer; he made life better for many people. That healing ministry is still true today.
Comes into the world to being healing
Our paradoxical God sent Jesus into the world to bring healing to his people. He saw that there was a lot of pain and suffering in the world. The world which was created as a place for us to be happy and whole, and he sent someone to help us out – to realize how to rise above our sin and to accept healing.
And yet that is the hardest thing for us to accept. We all say that we want to heal – and yet in reality we do everything that we can to stay away from it. We are all sinners, we all do things that are not quite right, not quite in our best interest, and yet we continue to do them anyway. We want to heal, but it takes so much work on our part – it is just easier to live life the way it is.
Once again, the Hebrew bible gives us a timeless story of human nature in an unlikely place. As we hear the story of Naaman.
He was someone whom God found favor on, and wanted to give him the gift of healing.
Syria – is the country to the north of Israel. When visiting Israel and passing by Syria, our guide told us not to even look that way – don’t appear curious of what it going on
The two countries were enemies, as they were long ago. The relationship was so strained, that they do not even associate with one another.
Naaman was the Commander of Syrian army; he was suffering and told the unthinkable – to go to Israel in search of a cure. His slave girl tells him of a prophet who can help him, and the only one willing to even take on skin diseases.
Causes a scandal when he comes to town, but even more so offended when given a cure – he is told to go and bath in the Jordan river seven times.
Why would he insult him by saying such a thing – when there is a river at home that is just as good, if not better.
That is our response to healing – we want to do things our way, and be in control, rather that listen to the advice of someone else. We want magic instead of medicine. We would rather voice our opinion about what is right then be quiet and do as we are told.
The human condition. Bible says that Naaman has leprosy – a skin condition. Today, Leprosy is called Hanson’s disease. It is a very painful incurable skin condition, where the body become disfigured, and you swell. And eventually you die from the disease. The bible uses that word in the old and new testament, but there is no real proof that that illness existed in that part of the world at that time. Leprosy is mostly found in India. And yet Leviticus spends a lot of time talking about a skin disease called leprosy. It could affect your body, your house, your clothes, even your standing in the community. But Some believe that it was not leprosy that Naaman had, or even a physical condition.
It was disease – a spiritual condition – where things were just not falling into place
Sin is the disease of the spirit. Missing the mark, not complete or whole, needing something to make you feel better.
Sin is the cause of us not wanting to heal – eating the wrong foods, not taking care of ourselves, not being in right relationship, not taking care of our lives, doing things that we know don’t help us – but we don’t want to change to get better.
God always wants us to get better. To heal. To feel whole. That’s what a relationship with God brings, and God is constantly trying to bring us into relationship.
That is the story of the bible – the story of God reaching out to us in unlikely ways – to get us to realize that we are whole. – that we are connected to the divine.
The olden culture was afraid of skin disease because they did not understand it. Were afraid that it made all who came in contact with it impure or polluted.
They Believed that the only way to come in contact with a pure and holy God was to be holy. Disease was a symbol of death.
If you Touched something dead, you were polluted and had to be cleansed. Pure and impure determined your access to God.
The temple was designed so that those who were not cleansed, could not go in to be close to God. We have been designing our societies like that for ages- those who were in and those who were out. Those who were polluted and those who were not. Those we could talk to and those we could not.
That is just the way things were but not the way things should be. Our paradoxical God is available to all people no matter who they are, or what condition they are in. God even loves the Syrians enough to bring them healing. God loves us enough to bring us out of what ever our disease it – to bring us to healing.
Jesus comes in contact with another leper – who is asking to get better. Once again, not the leprosy of modern days – but a social condition, cut off from society, more importantly cut off from yourself. More than like once again the results of our sinfulness. Jesus first reaction is anger –or deep emotion
But eventually he does heal him and sends him back into the world a whole person. Tell no one – he paradox is that he tells everyone. So excited at the gift he has been given.
For us Jesus is a paradox, an unlikely place for healing to occur.
The good news is that Jesus is in the unlikely places of life. Naaman would have never thought in a million years that his healing would have been in Israel. The world never believes that their healing would be in he body of Jesus.
God is always at work in unlikely places and unexpected people. But the only ones who really truly recognize the work of God are those who have been healed by him on some way.
A young monk came to a monastery to study with the grand master – to learn from someone who indeed had that connection to God. On the first day the master told the young monk that his first lesson was to go out into the garden and to stand there with his arms wide open for an hour. The monk stood there vulnerable for an hour- soon it started to rain and not understanding what was going on, he stood there in the rain. After the hour was over with – he went angry to the master – and said I see no point in that exercise – all that it did was make him feel like a fool. The master replied – that was the point – it is an excellent starting point in your relationship with God.
That is what keeps most of us away from a deeper connection with God, from wholeness, from healing. We are not willing to do anything that makes us feel stupid, or like a fool.
The word for today is paradox – The things that we don’t want to feel, are usually the feelings that we most need to deal with in order to heal. The people who we avoid, are the people we need to talk to in order to truly be a whole human being.
The real God – the true God of Israel has never been a god that made any real sense. God is not someone who we can explain or understand, or control, or predict, or even tell what to do.
The God that we worship is a magnificent, mysterious, mischievous God. Our God loves Syrians and Israelites, Our God loves the Steelers and the Cardinals, the Catholics and the Methodist, those who are strong enough to admit their sins, and those who are not even aware that their actions are sinful. God loves us all.
The trick is for us to learn to love us all. Ann Ulanov, a theologian outs it this way.
This task confronts all of us, to deal with what touches us and not avoid it, to collect our missing parts, the neglected and overlooked and banished parts of our inner and outer populations. We are never touched in the abstract, only in the flesh. The marks of our worries, our overweight, our sleepless nights, our neighborhood crime, our neglected land, our polluted air are all a result of our disconnection with God. Our unwillingness to accept our sinfulness. God waits in those parts, waits for us to visit the part left in the prison of repression, waits for us to offer some life-giving water to outcast. All must be gathered in to be one with God. When we are one with our fears, our anger, our frustration and those who cause those emotions, then we are one with God.
What are the things in your life that you need to accept instead of pushing away? Who are the people in your life that you need to tolerate? What are the issues in the back of your mind that you put aside. Become aware of those things, and you will probably also become aware of the sins in your life that you use to deal with those things.
Surrendering those things to God is the first step to being cleansed and being healed and most importantly being whole.
Let us pray…
Sunday, February 08, 2009
An Ending Invitation
November 23, 2008
Christ the King Sunday
Year A
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25:31-46
An invitation
We are given an invitation to be a part of Jesus Kingdom. We are invited to listen to Jesus.
These are the last words of Jesus
This is the last teaching in Matthew before Jesus is brought to trial.
Not as bad as the rest of the talk
We have been talking about Mathew 25 for the last three weeks. And many would like to talk with Jesus personally to understand why he needed to tell these three parables. This one about separating the sheep from the goat is the final one. This is the one where we are given not just an invitation, but a challenge. – to join either be with Jesus by helping others, or literally become destined for hell.
What is Matthew 25 about? Jesus has been working hard to get us to this point to accept this challenge.
Three parables
The first parable is about ten smart bridesmaids and ten dumb bridesmaids. The smart ones are the ones who keep there lamps burning in preparation for the upcoming but unknown wedding. We are always supposed to live as if Christ is coming back, expecting him, ready to dance at the wedding. The next parable is about three servants who are have prepared treasure for the owner to come back. One made a good choice, one made an acceptable choice, the other made a poor choice – which are we in our service to God.
And today Jesus brings our decision to a head. Either you served or you didn’t. Depending on how willing you were to help others as Jesus asked you to.
Why are we separating the sheep from the goat
What they have in common Both groups are Christians, both want to make it to heaven, both follow the teachings of Christ.
How they are different One group goes out of their way to help.
It is Not what we do – but how we choose to do it - that makes a difference. Are we happy and willing to even sacrifice, or are we grudging?
Story of helping someone else
What was the effect?
Never know
But it is the simple things that change the world
We are to think of what the Kingdom will be like when Jesus comes and we show all that we have done – that is kingdom thinking.
What does the end look like?
It Looks like a beginning.
This is the end of the Christian year, but it is time to get ready for the beginning of advent.
Christ the King Sunday
Year A
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25:31-46
An invitation
We are given an invitation to be a part of Jesus Kingdom. We are invited to listen to Jesus.
These are the last words of Jesus
This is the last teaching in Matthew before Jesus is brought to trial.
Not as bad as the rest of the talk
We have been talking about Mathew 25 for the last three weeks. And many would like to talk with Jesus personally to understand why he needed to tell these three parables. This one about separating the sheep from the goat is the final one. This is the one where we are given not just an invitation, but a challenge. – to join either be with Jesus by helping others, or literally become destined for hell.
What is Matthew 25 about? Jesus has been working hard to get us to this point to accept this challenge.
Three parables
The first parable is about ten smart bridesmaids and ten dumb bridesmaids. The smart ones are the ones who keep there lamps burning in preparation for the upcoming but unknown wedding. We are always supposed to live as if Christ is coming back, expecting him, ready to dance at the wedding. The next parable is about three servants who are have prepared treasure for the owner to come back. One made a good choice, one made an acceptable choice, the other made a poor choice – which are we in our service to God.
And today Jesus brings our decision to a head. Either you served or you didn’t. Depending on how willing you were to help others as Jesus asked you to.
Why are we separating the sheep from the goat
What they have in common Both groups are Christians, both want to make it to heaven, both follow the teachings of Christ.
How they are different One group goes out of their way to help.
It is Not what we do – but how we choose to do it - that makes a difference. Are we happy and willing to even sacrifice, or are we grudging?
Story of helping someone else
What was the effect?
Never know
But it is the simple things that change the world
We are to think of what the Kingdom will be like when Jesus comes and we show all that we have done – that is kingdom thinking.
What does the end look like?
It Looks like a beginning.
This is the end of the Christian year, but it is time to get ready for the beginning of advent.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
We Are an Advent People - November 30, 2008
First Sunday of Advent
Year B
November 30, 2008
We are an advent people
Isaiah 64: 1-9
Mark 13: 24:37
The little changes in life are always easy –
We are prepared to change our clocks, know when its time to change our clocks, change the oil in the car
We can even change our minds fairly easily
But it is difficult to know when to change your heart
Advent is time to change your heart and turn it toward the things of God
Advent a time of watching, waiting, working
Advent always starts out backward – with the bad news
But this backward looking is done to prove a point
Advent is not about little baby’s, warm fuzzy moments, and the comfort of families. That is Christmas
Story of a grandfather and his grandson
A grandfather was visiting his daughter’s family. After resting one day, he came downstairs to see his young grandson crying. When he saw him, the young boy immediately started asking his grandfather to come and get him out of the crib. As the grandfather started walking toward the crib – the mother came in and said no- the boy was on punishment and he had to stay in there. But the grandfather saw his grandson’ suffering and he had already said he would do something about it. But he did not want to dismiss the mother’s intention. So instead of taking the boy out of the crib, he climbed into the crib with him.
God comes to us in the midst of our suffering in the life of a baby son.
Advent is a time to get present to the pain, the suffering, the punishment, the pen, life
We look at Life as we live it today
This is to Get present to the reason the world truly needs a change – This is not a campaign slogan
Isaiah a surprising message – Lord will you rend the heavens
The Israelites are asking for a miracle
I have the greatest respect for the Hebrew faith. Because it encourages us to willing to challenge God, to question God
To sometimes even Blame God for everything
So that we can depend on God for everything
We should wait on God in every situation
This has been a strange weekend – the first Sunday of advent is always the Sunday after thanksgiving.
This year I feel like I never really got to enjoy the fall decorations, before realized its time to put out the Christmas decorations.
Things changed literally in the course of one day – literally one night
Ironically in my sermon prep yesterday – talked about not complaining to the congregation about having such a hard weekend. Supposedly not for them to know
This holiday was even stranger than usual because of Bob Hinz’s death. Comforting the family, talking with the family, preparing for the funeral – all in the midst of everything else that needed to be done for the weekend
Death can be an intrusion on life, that reality can be an intrusion in our laid out plans, celebration is always in the face of mourning.
Point Jesus was making to us in Mark – God’s presence in our lives is an intrusion – but that is okay.
Beginning are always endings in disguise, new life is always the other side of death.
Don’t know when the moment will come that will change your life forever – be prepared for that encounter with God. Whether the change is good or bad is all about your perspective.
Be prepared for changes
Don’t need to hold onto the way thing are – hope is always in the things that are to come.
Chapter 13 is about learning the accept the future
In Mark there is no birth narrative
Not Mark’s concern
Matthew concerned about relationships with his people, Mark concerned about the salvations of their souls. Tough words for tough times
This section not a parable or story of life – but apocalyptic. A foretelling of the end times
The people he were talking to, only understood the present, no manyana, no tomorrow – waiting for the day of the lord
Another big word – eschatological - just a fancy word for things to come in our faith.
Kathleen Norris is an author who talks about faith.
Her story…..
I have come to regard the word as life-affirming in ways far more subtle than any dictionary definition could convey. What I mean is this an acquaintance of mine a brilliant young scholar, was stricken with cancer, and over the course of several years came close to dying three times, but after extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, came to a welcome remission. Her prognosis was uncertain at bet, but she was able to teach and write. “I’d never want to go back,” she told her department head, an older woman, “because now I know what each morning means and I am so grateful just to be alive. When the other woman said to her, We’ve been through o much together for the last few years,” the younger woman nodded and smiled, Yes, she said emphatically, Yes, and hasn’t it been a blessing!”
Things to come
Take Christmas from the bible only take away 4 chapters – hear those chapters over and over again.
Take our advent – waiting, watching, working, trusting God, hoping for change, welcoming the coming generation, the promise of a savior who cares – you eliminate the whole rest of the bible.
Advent is like being led to the very edge of a cliff – looking over and realizing that you are in danger of falling, the consequences of falling will be great – only the grace of God that keeps you stable.
This advent may you clearly see the grace that keeps you from falling. Advent is the time to change your heart. Amen.
Year B
November 30, 2008
We are an advent people
Isaiah 64: 1-9
Mark 13: 24:37
The little changes in life are always easy –
We are prepared to change our clocks, know when its time to change our clocks, change the oil in the car
We can even change our minds fairly easily
But it is difficult to know when to change your heart
Advent is time to change your heart and turn it toward the things of God
Advent a time of watching, waiting, working
Advent always starts out backward – with the bad news
But this backward looking is done to prove a point
Advent is not about little baby’s, warm fuzzy moments, and the comfort of families. That is Christmas
Story of a grandfather and his grandson
A grandfather was visiting his daughter’s family. After resting one day, he came downstairs to see his young grandson crying. When he saw him, the young boy immediately started asking his grandfather to come and get him out of the crib. As the grandfather started walking toward the crib – the mother came in and said no- the boy was on punishment and he had to stay in there. But the grandfather saw his grandson’ suffering and he had already said he would do something about it. But he did not want to dismiss the mother’s intention. So instead of taking the boy out of the crib, he climbed into the crib with him.
God comes to us in the midst of our suffering in the life of a baby son.
Advent is a time to get present to the pain, the suffering, the punishment, the pen, life
We look at Life as we live it today
This is to Get present to the reason the world truly needs a change – This is not a campaign slogan
Isaiah a surprising message – Lord will you rend the heavens
The Israelites are asking for a miracle
I have the greatest respect for the Hebrew faith. Because it encourages us to willing to challenge God, to question God
To sometimes even Blame God for everything
So that we can depend on God for everything
We should wait on God in every situation
This has been a strange weekend – the first Sunday of advent is always the Sunday after thanksgiving.
This year I feel like I never really got to enjoy the fall decorations, before realized its time to put out the Christmas decorations.
Things changed literally in the course of one day – literally one night
Ironically in my sermon prep yesterday – talked about not complaining to the congregation about having such a hard weekend. Supposedly not for them to know
This holiday was even stranger than usual because of Bob Hinz’s death. Comforting the family, talking with the family, preparing for the funeral – all in the midst of everything else that needed to be done for the weekend
Death can be an intrusion on life, that reality can be an intrusion in our laid out plans, celebration is always in the face of mourning.
Point Jesus was making to us in Mark – God’s presence in our lives is an intrusion – but that is okay.
Beginning are always endings in disguise, new life is always the other side of death.
Don’t know when the moment will come that will change your life forever – be prepared for that encounter with God. Whether the change is good or bad is all about your perspective.
Be prepared for changes
Don’t need to hold onto the way thing are – hope is always in the things that are to come.
Chapter 13 is about learning the accept the future
In Mark there is no birth narrative
Not Mark’s concern
Matthew concerned about relationships with his people, Mark concerned about the salvations of their souls. Tough words for tough times
This section not a parable or story of life – but apocalyptic. A foretelling of the end times
The people he were talking to, only understood the present, no manyana, no tomorrow – waiting for the day of the lord
Another big word – eschatological - just a fancy word for things to come in our faith.
Kathleen Norris is an author who talks about faith.
Her story…..
I have come to regard the word as life-affirming in ways far more subtle than any dictionary definition could convey. What I mean is this an acquaintance of mine a brilliant young scholar, was stricken with cancer, and over the course of several years came close to dying three times, but after extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, came to a welcome remission. Her prognosis was uncertain at bet, but she was able to teach and write. “I’d never want to go back,” she told her department head, an older woman, “because now I know what each morning means and I am so grateful just to be alive. When the other woman said to her, We’ve been through o much together for the last few years,” the younger woman nodded and smiled, Yes, she said emphatically, Yes, and hasn’t it been a blessing!”
Things to come
Take Christmas from the bible only take away 4 chapters – hear those chapters over and over again.
Take our advent – waiting, watching, working, trusting God, hoping for change, welcoming the coming generation, the promise of a savior who cares – you eliminate the whole rest of the bible.
Advent is like being led to the very edge of a cliff – looking over and realizing that you are in danger of falling, the consequences of falling will be great – only the grace of God that keeps you stable.
This advent may you clearly see the grace that keeps you from falling. Advent is the time to change your heart. Amen.
Our Hearts are calling
I Samuel 3: 1-10 (11-20)
I Corinthians 6:12-20
Year B
The inauguration
This is a big week for our country everyone is preparing themselves for the inauguration of our 44th president. Barack Obama
All of my friends leaving for Washington DC
This inauguration is a big deal for everyone. I can’t speak to any one my friends about anything this week, because they have all left for Washington DC
Wouldn’t it Be nice if 4 millions people came from all over the world to welcome you and I to our first day of work. There is only one person on the world who gets that honor.
But our lesson for today is that all of us get an inauguration. A new day a new start. This is the season of new inaugurations. New days are actually quite common and come in many different ways. Days when our lives unfold like a picture and we realize new things.
For Jesus it was his baptism, the day that God spoke to him and gave him affirmation that he was on the right trail.
This week, we have a new inauguration story - the story of Samuel.
This is the day that Samuel recognized God speaking to him.
Scripture points out that not only did God not speak very often to others, but Samuel did not know God either.
He was a young man, he didn’t know his own greatness, or his destiny, nor the urgings of his own heart.
God calling him was the beginning of his relationship with God
Wayne Dyer story
Wayne Dyer tells the story of a family with two small children. One very rambumcous 4 year old boy – who was always into everything. When his little brother was born, he was a little happy, but he seemed to think he was a toy to play with. There didn’t seem to be any acknowledgment that the younger child was a human, until one day the mother found the 4 year old sitting over the crib talking with the child. He was asking the baby to remind him of what heaven was like because he was beginning to forget. Children have a special connection to God, as we get older we get more attuned to what is happening in front of us, and we forget to look within ourselves to talk with God.
St. Augustine’s quote also
St. Augustine went on the say that God is within us, but for some reason as we get older, we start to step outside of ourselves our hearts in order to please others. This puts us out of touch, with the one thing that we are looking for – our relationship with God.
The point is that Samuel as a young child, was beginning to look within himself – to be quiet to learn to listen to what God was telling him.
Samuel went on to become the greatest prophet God ever knew, leading them into a new era.
His Journey Started with addressing the situation. He Addressed the sinful nature of his life and the world.
Eli was well intentioned, but his sons had forgotten what it meant to serve God and were literally taking advantage of others, by being priest.
We are good at addressing sin in others, but we are not good at identifying the sin in ourselves.
Paul helps us with that. This is not my favorite verse, but I think one of the most important – summarizes our life at a Christian.
As a Christian, I can do whatever I want, there is nothing wrong, but there are some things that are not in my best interest.
Our bodies are a temple of God, honor it. But not just our bodies, but our minds and our souls. It is our thoughts that determine the state of our minds and souls, and it is the state of our minds and souls that determine what we do with our bodies.
Sin, missing the mark, not doing what is in your best interest is what stands in the way of our relationship with God, our call in the world.
Can’t get rid of sin unless we address it honestly and we realize that our bad behavior is only a stand in for good intentions. We all mean well, we just don’t always do well. Why we need to be willing to listen to God’s call to us.
Paul makes one more important point about the Christian life.
Being called by God is not about you- or what you think is right. Being called by God is about God. A lot of us misunderstand that.
If you find that you are the hero to your own story – you are not being called by God. If you are convinced that you have all of the right answers to someone else’s life you are not being called by God. If you are more concerned about taking away the pain of others – not called, if you need to build yourself up by intentionally discrediting others you are not called by God.
Living the Christian life is never about you – it is about the good of the community. Salvation is being reminded that you are absolutely nothing without being connection to the entire body of Christ.
Mother Theresa’s call
Mother Theresa speaks of her call to go out into the streets of India to help people who had literally been thrown away by society. There was a voice who told her that it would be much easier to just go back to her convent and live in peace for the rest of her life. But she listened to the voice which told her these people needed her, and that she needed to be there for them, to help and heal them and make sure that they knew that no matter what their circumstance they were children of God.
Borden’s call story
William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school in the 40’s. as a graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world. He was heir to the borden dairy fortune. While on the trip, he was introduced to the living conditions of others around the world – and he decided that the had to become a missionary. When he went to seminary, he wrote in his bible about his call – no reserves. He had given his life to God. As he graduated, he started bible studies all over America, and still travelled throughout the world – he wrote again in his bible – no retreats. No matter who hard things got, he was not turning around. He served all over the world – in Egypt he acquired spinal mennengiitis. Months before his death at 25 he wrote again in his bible – no regrets. He call led to sacrifice, pain and eventually death- and yet he knew he was willing to follow Christ wherever it led, even to death.
Being called by God is never an easy job.
Called by God there are a lot of days when you don’t have all of the answers, lots of people who are convinced that if they were in your shoes they could do ten times better than you, lots of days when you find that you fail more often then you succeed. All good indications that you are following God.
But through it all – you know that no matter what – you will be faithful and continue to God calling in your heart.
When we live life for others, when we answer their questions, when we take away pain instead of giving them the tools to live for themselves- we deprive them of listening to their call. Of their relationships, and from coming up with the answers for themselves.
God calls us all to be – our best selves, in our best relationship with God. A journey we take together, but we can only take walking on our own two feet.
Final word in this verse is – not said by God or by Samuel – but Eli – the sinner, the one blind and unable to hear
He says: It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.
The Lord is here – doing what seems Good to him –How are we responding.
I Corinthians 6:12-20
Year B
The inauguration
This is a big week for our country everyone is preparing themselves for the inauguration of our 44th president. Barack Obama
All of my friends leaving for Washington DC
This inauguration is a big deal for everyone. I can’t speak to any one my friends about anything this week, because they have all left for Washington DC
Wouldn’t it Be nice if 4 millions people came from all over the world to welcome you and I to our first day of work. There is only one person on the world who gets that honor.
But our lesson for today is that all of us get an inauguration. A new day a new start. This is the season of new inaugurations. New days are actually quite common and come in many different ways. Days when our lives unfold like a picture and we realize new things.
For Jesus it was his baptism, the day that God spoke to him and gave him affirmation that he was on the right trail.
This week, we have a new inauguration story - the story of Samuel.
This is the day that Samuel recognized God speaking to him.
Scripture points out that not only did God not speak very often to others, but Samuel did not know God either.
He was a young man, he didn’t know his own greatness, or his destiny, nor the urgings of his own heart.
God calling him was the beginning of his relationship with God
Wayne Dyer story
Wayne Dyer tells the story of a family with two small children. One very rambumcous 4 year old boy – who was always into everything. When his little brother was born, he was a little happy, but he seemed to think he was a toy to play with. There didn’t seem to be any acknowledgment that the younger child was a human, until one day the mother found the 4 year old sitting over the crib talking with the child. He was asking the baby to remind him of what heaven was like because he was beginning to forget. Children have a special connection to God, as we get older we get more attuned to what is happening in front of us, and we forget to look within ourselves to talk with God.
St. Augustine’s quote also
St. Augustine went on the say that God is within us, but for some reason as we get older, we start to step outside of ourselves our hearts in order to please others. This puts us out of touch, with the one thing that we are looking for – our relationship with God.
The point is that Samuel as a young child, was beginning to look within himself – to be quiet to learn to listen to what God was telling him.
Samuel went on to become the greatest prophet God ever knew, leading them into a new era.
His Journey Started with addressing the situation. He Addressed the sinful nature of his life and the world.
Eli was well intentioned, but his sons had forgotten what it meant to serve God and were literally taking advantage of others, by being priest.
We are good at addressing sin in others, but we are not good at identifying the sin in ourselves.
Paul helps us with that. This is not my favorite verse, but I think one of the most important – summarizes our life at a Christian.
As a Christian, I can do whatever I want, there is nothing wrong, but there are some things that are not in my best interest.
Our bodies are a temple of God, honor it. But not just our bodies, but our minds and our souls. It is our thoughts that determine the state of our minds and souls, and it is the state of our minds and souls that determine what we do with our bodies.
Sin, missing the mark, not doing what is in your best interest is what stands in the way of our relationship with God, our call in the world.
Can’t get rid of sin unless we address it honestly and we realize that our bad behavior is only a stand in for good intentions. We all mean well, we just don’t always do well. Why we need to be willing to listen to God’s call to us.
Paul makes one more important point about the Christian life.
Being called by God is not about you- or what you think is right. Being called by God is about God. A lot of us misunderstand that.
If you find that you are the hero to your own story – you are not being called by God. If you are convinced that you have all of the right answers to someone else’s life you are not being called by God. If you are more concerned about taking away the pain of others – not called, if you need to build yourself up by intentionally discrediting others you are not called by God.
Living the Christian life is never about you – it is about the good of the community. Salvation is being reminded that you are absolutely nothing without being connection to the entire body of Christ.
Mother Theresa’s call
Mother Theresa speaks of her call to go out into the streets of India to help people who had literally been thrown away by society. There was a voice who told her that it would be much easier to just go back to her convent and live in peace for the rest of her life. But she listened to the voice which told her these people needed her, and that she needed to be there for them, to help and heal them and make sure that they knew that no matter what their circumstance they were children of God.
Borden’s call story
William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school in the 40’s. as a graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world. He was heir to the borden dairy fortune. While on the trip, he was introduced to the living conditions of others around the world – and he decided that the had to become a missionary. When he went to seminary, he wrote in his bible about his call – no reserves. He had given his life to God. As he graduated, he started bible studies all over America, and still travelled throughout the world – he wrote again in his bible – no retreats. No matter who hard things got, he was not turning around. He served all over the world – in Egypt he acquired spinal mennengiitis. Months before his death at 25 he wrote again in his bible – no regrets. He call led to sacrifice, pain and eventually death- and yet he knew he was willing to follow Christ wherever it led, even to death.
Being called by God is never an easy job.
Called by God there are a lot of days when you don’t have all of the answers, lots of people who are convinced that if they were in your shoes they could do ten times better than you, lots of days when you find that you fail more often then you succeed. All good indications that you are following God.
But through it all – you know that no matter what – you will be faithful and continue to God calling in your heart.
When we live life for others, when we answer their questions, when we take away pain instead of giving them the tools to live for themselves- we deprive them of listening to their call. Of their relationships, and from coming up with the answers for themselves.
God calls us all to be – our best selves, in our best relationship with God. A journey we take together, but we can only take walking on our own two feet.
Final word in this verse is – not said by God or by Samuel – but Eli – the sinner, the one blind and unable to hear
He says: It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.
The Lord is here – doing what seems Good to him –How are we responding.
Knowledge, Lessons, Teachers - February 1, 2009
We all have those days – days when we question God
We all have those days when what we know to be true is not making sense, and is not fitting into our lives.
We all have those days – when we blame God for all that is happening. When we wish we could punish God for what we are going through
Isaiah 40 was written for those days. It takes raw human pain and turns it into poetry.
The Isrealites are so mad, that they are ready literally to take God to court. To charge God with forgetting about them. To accuse God of having no idea of what is going on in their life, and worst of all not caring about them.
For them, it was being kicked out of their homeland, seeing their homes burned and destroyed, and being forced to live amongst people who don’t seem to understand God at all.
For us it could be living in a world where we see people losing their jobs, their homes, theor lifestyle. Not knowing when things will change, not knowing what things will change to. Or it could be a more personal struggle with health, with a relationship, with a dream.
We all have those days, when we wonder.
In those moments – Isaiah 40 starts with a rhetorical question – Have you not known, have you not heard, has it not been told to you from the very beginning.
That God is a God who is beyond our experience? God is bigger than anything good or bad that could happen to us. God looks at us and sees our lives like a grasshopper, small and inconsistent – yet caring and a part of God creation, thus important.
No matter what our religious background – we all know that beauty of God in the little things in life, the sunsets, the miracles, even on our questions. In good times, we are willing to praise and celebrate.
It is in the bad times that we are to remember that God is our refuge but also our strength. That if we trust in God – things will always change.
The serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
There is a second verse.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen
Serenity is always being reminded where our help comes from. It comes from God, from trusting that God will work things out. It is in trusting in God, not in the world in which we live.
Serenity is being willing to wait on God
The end of Isaiah ends with a promise that those who wait on God will run and not be faint, walk and nor be weary,
Our God will make everything right. If we are only willing to wait.
My colleagues this week got into an interesting conversation about what it means to wait – wait for God to make things better.
Unlike the olden days – waiting is a horrible thing. We don’t know how to do it – we don’t see the importance of doing it. It is easy for us to think that the way things are now, are the way things will always be.
One of them commented that Too often people interpret 'wait' as 'twiddle your thumbs'. I think this 'wait' needs to be a seeking and open time. It's an active wait, not sitting on you bum or sticking your head in the sand. For me, now waiting for my next direction, it means having my antennae out for signals as I try a wide range of things open to my participation. So, for me it includes prayer as a foundation but takes the form of being willing to risk.
Another said prayer-full waiting, and waiting with patience silent waiting, and waiting with song centered waiting, and waiting in a world full of distractions persistent waiting, and waiting with a foot tapping impatiently hands-open waiting, and waiting with an open book eyes-open waiting as the sun begins to rise, and waiting in daydreams sitting-still-as-a-cat waiting, and waiting with one's tail about to wagoff We are simply told, over and over, to wait for the Lord,and I personally think all waiting, every kind of waiting, is appropriate.
I would say that Waiting on God is being willing to live life as a prayer – a devotion to God.
It is understanding that the world we see now – is never God’s final word.
When they isrealites looked at the destruction of their world they could never see the restoration in store. When we look at the economy – today we cannot see recovery. I thought it interesting in a story of how the economy is shrinking and how people are losing their jobs- the it always expands and returns without us realizing it.
When we look at the world – we would never understand resurrection. When we hear of Jesus life and all that he taught us – there is nothing in the world that teaches us that his most important lesson is resurrection.
Nothing comes from waiting, everything comes from waiting on God.
In crisis – when we wait – God delivers us – we mount up with eagles wings
In busy times – when we wait – God delivers us – we run and do not grow weary.
In the routine times of lives when we wait – We will walk and not faint.
Waiting on the Lord is all that we have to do in life. Waiting of God us our lives, our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, Our Christ.
Christ is the human example of what it means to wait on the lord and what difference it makes to us and to the world. Waiting is living the Jesus life in the world.
Phillip Yancy talks of living the Jesus life by practicing an ancient form of prayer called statio
Means being willing to stop one thing before beginning another. Rather than rushing from one taks to the next, take the time to pause and recognize the moment. Before talking on the phone – take the time to think about the person you are calling and the conversation you are about to have. After reading a book take the time to think about what you just read and its impact on you. Even after doing something as mundane as watching television – how did what you just saw contribute to your understanding of life? Reading the bible – ask the spirit for guidance. Do this often enough, and we start to see God in the midst of even the smallest details of our lives.
We learn that waiting is not a idle process of darkness, but a active process- where we see the miracle of life, the magic of God in our experiences.
The flying Roudellas, a group of trapeze artists explain that in a trapeze performance there is the flyer, the one who lets go and the catcher. And a very special relationship must exist between the two to be successful.
As the flyer flys high above the crowd, there is a point in which he or she must let go of the trapeze. But his job is not to reach for the catcher. The job is to let go and remain perfectly still in the air and to wait for the catcher to reach out and catch him or her.
I imagine that must be a very scary moment – to stay still in the air in perfect trust. But our lives are like that, those tough moments in our lives are like that – moments when we are still, serene enough to wait for God to pluck us from the circumstance and bring us to the other side.
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Amen.
We all have those days when what we know to be true is not making sense, and is not fitting into our lives.
We all have those days – when we blame God for all that is happening. When we wish we could punish God for what we are going through
Isaiah 40 was written for those days. It takes raw human pain and turns it into poetry.
The Isrealites are so mad, that they are ready literally to take God to court. To charge God with forgetting about them. To accuse God of having no idea of what is going on in their life, and worst of all not caring about them.
For them, it was being kicked out of their homeland, seeing their homes burned and destroyed, and being forced to live amongst people who don’t seem to understand God at all.
For us it could be living in a world where we see people losing their jobs, their homes, theor lifestyle. Not knowing when things will change, not knowing what things will change to. Or it could be a more personal struggle with health, with a relationship, with a dream.
We all have those days, when we wonder.
In those moments – Isaiah 40 starts with a rhetorical question – Have you not known, have you not heard, has it not been told to you from the very beginning.
That God is a God who is beyond our experience? God is bigger than anything good or bad that could happen to us. God looks at us and sees our lives like a grasshopper, small and inconsistent – yet caring and a part of God creation, thus important.
No matter what our religious background – we all know that beauty of God in the little things in life, the sunsets, the miracles, even on our questions. In good times, we are willing to praise and celebrate.
It is in the bad times that we are to remember that God is our refuge but also our strength. That if we trust in God – things will always change.
The serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
There is a second verse.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen
Serenity is always being reminded where our help comes from. It comes from God, from trusting that God will work things out. It is in trusting in God, not in the world in which we live.
Serenity is being willing to wait on God
The end of Isaiah ends with a promise that those who wait on God will run and not be faint, walk and nor be weary,
Our God will make everything right. If we are only willing to wait.
My colleagues this week got into an interesting conversation about what it means to wait – wait for God to make things better.
Unlike the olden days – waiting is a horrible thing. We don’t know how to do it – we don’t see the importance of doing it. It is easy for us to think that the way things are now, are the way things will always be.
One of them commented that Too often people interpret 'wait' as 'twiddle your thumbs'. I think this 'wait' needs to be a seeking and open time. It's an active wait, not sitting on you bum or sticking your head in the sand. For me, now waiting for my next direction, it means having my antennae out for signals as I try a wide range of things open to my participation. So, for me it includes prayer as a foundation but takes the form of being willing to risk.
Another said prayer-full waiting, and waiting with patience silent waiting, and waiting with song centered waiting, and waiting in a world full of distractions persistent waiting, and waiting with a foot tapping impatiently hands-open waiting, and waiting with an open book eyes-open waiting as the sun begins to rise, and waiting in daydreams sitting-still-as-a-cat waiting, and waiting with one's tail about to wagoff We are simply told, over and over, to wait for the Lord,and I personally think all waiting, every kind of waiting, is appropriate.
I would say that Waiting on God is being willing to live life as a prayer – a devotion to God.
It is understanding that the world we see now – is never God’s final word.
When they isrealites looked at the destruction of their world they could never see the restoration in store. When we look at the economy – today we cannot see recovery. I thought it interesting in a story of how the economy is shrinking and how people are losing their jobs- the it always expands and returns without us realizing it.
When we look at the world – we would never understand resurrection. When we hear of Jesus life and all that he taught us – there is nothing in the world that teaches us that his most important lesson is resurrection.
Nothing comes from waiting, everything comes from waiting on God.
In crisis – when we wait – God delivers us – we mount up with eagles wings
In busy times – when we wait – God delivers us – we run and do not grow weary.
In the routine times of lives when we wait – We will walk and not faint.
Waiting on the Lord is all that we have to do in life. Waiting of God us our lives, our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, Our Christ.
Christ is the human example of what it means to wait on the lord and what difference it makes to us and to the world. Waiting is living the Jesus life in the world.
Phillip Yancy talks of living the Jesus life by practicing an ancient form of prayer called statio
Means being willing to stop one thing before beginning another. Rather than rushing from one taks to the next, take the time to pause and recognize the moment. Before talking on the phone – take the time to think about the person you are calling and the conversation you are about to have. After reading a book take the time to think about what you just read and its impact on you. Even after doing something as mundane as watching television – how did what you just saw contribute to your understanding of life? Reading the bible – ask the spirit for guidance. Do this often enough, and we start to see God in the midst of even the smallest details of our lives.
We learn that waiting is not a idle process of darkness, but a active process- where we see the miracle of life, the magic of God in our experiences.
The flying Roudellas, a group of trapeze artists explain that in a trapeze performance there is the flyer, the one who lets go and the catcher. And a very special relationship must exist between the two to be successful.
As the flyer flys high above the crowd, there is a point in which he or she must let go of the trapeze. But his job is not to reach for the catcher. The job is to let go and remain perfectly still in the air and to wait for the catcher to reach out and catch him or her.
I imagine that must be a very scary moment – to stay still in the air in perfect trust. But our lives are like that, those tough moments in our lives are like that – moments when we are still, serene enough to wait for God to pluck us from the circumstance and bring us to the other side.
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Amen.
What are we Waiting for?
We all have those days – days when we question God
We all have those days when what we know to be true is not making sense, and is not fitting into our lives.
We all have those days – when we blame God for all that is happening. When we wish we could punish God for what we are going through
Isaiah 40 was written for those days. It takes raw human pain and turns it into poetry.
The Isrealites are so mad, that they are ready literally to take God to court. To charge God with forgetting about them. To accuse God of having no idea of what is going on in their life, and worst of all not caring about them.
For them, it was being kicked out of their homeland, seeing their homes burned and destroyed, and being forced to live amongst people who don’t seem to understand God at all.
For us it could be living in a world where we see people losing their jobs, their homes, theor lifestyle. Not knowing when things will change, not knowing what things will change to. Or it could be a more personal struggle with health, with a relationship, with a dream.
We all have those days, when we wonder.
In those moments – Isaiah 40 starts with a rhetorical question – Have you not known, have you not heard, has it not been told to you from the very beginning.
That God is a God who is beyond our experience? God is bigger than anything good or bad that could happen to us. God looks at us and sees our lives like a grasshopper, small and inconsistent – yet caring and a part of God creation, thus important.
No matter what our religious background – we all know that beauty of God in the little things in life, the sunsets, the miracles, even on our questions. In good times, we are willing to praise and celebrate.
It is in the bad times that we are to remember that God is our refuge but also our strength. That if we trust in God – things will always change.
The serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
There is a second verse.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen
Serenity is always being reminded where our help comes from. It comes from God, from trusting that God will work things out. It is in trusting in God, not in the world in which we live.
Serenity is being willing to wait on God
The end of Isaiah ends with a promise that those who wait on God will run and not be faint, walk and nor be weary,
Our God will make everything right. If we are only willing to wait.
My colleagues this week got into an interesting conversation about what it means to wait – wait for God to make things better.
Unlike the olden days – waiting is a horrible thing. We don’t know how to do it – we don’t see the importance of doing it. It is easy for us to think that the way things are now, are the way things will always be.
One of them commented that Too often people interpret 'wait' as 'twiddle your thumbs'. I think this 'wait' needs to be a seeking and open time. It's an active wait, not sitting on you bum or sticking your head in the sand. For me, now waiting for my next direction, it means having my antennae out for signals as I try a wide range of things open to my participation. So, for me it includes prayer as a foundation but takes the form of being willing to risk.
Another said prayer-full waiting, and waiting with patience silent waiting, and waiting with song centered waiting, and waiting in a world full of distractions persistent waiting, and waiting with a foot tapping impatiently hands-open waiting, and waiting with an open book eyes-open waiting as the sun begins to rise, and waiting in daydreams sitting-still-as-a-cat waiting, and waiting with one's tail about to wagoff We are simply told, over and over, to wait for the Lord,and I personally think all waiting, every kind of waiting, is appropriate.
I would say that Waiting on God is being willing to live life as a prayer – a devotion to God.
It is understanding that the world we see now – is never God’s final word.
When they isrealites looked at the destruction of their world they could never see the restoration in store. When we look at the economy – today we cannot see recovery. I thought it interesting in a story of how the economy is shrinking and how people are losing their jobs- the it always expands and returns without us realizing it.
When we look at the world – we would never understand resurrection. When we hear of Jesus life and all that he taught us – there is nothing in the world that teaches us that his most important lesson is resurrection.
Nothing comes from waiting, everything comes from waiting on God.
In crisis – when we wait – God delivers us – we mount up with eagles wings
In busy times – when we wait – God delivers us – we run and do not grow weary.
In the routine times of lives when we wait – We will walk and not faint.
Waiting on the Lord is all that we have to do in life. Waiting of God us our lives, our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, Our Christ.
Christ is the human example of what it means to wait on the lord and what difference it makes to us and to the world. Waiting is living the Jesus life in the world.
Phillip Yancy talks of living the Jesus life by practicing an ancient form of prayer called statio
Means being willing to stop one thing before beginning another. Rather than rushing from one taks to the next, take the time to pause and recognize the moment. Before talking on the phone – take the time to think about the person you are calling and the conversation you are about to have. After reading a book take the time to think about what you just read and its impact on you. Even after doing something as mundane as watching television – how did what you just saw contribute to your understanding of life? Reading the bible – ask the spirit for guidance. Do this often enough, and we start to see God in the midst of even the smallest details of our lives.
We learn that waiting is not a idle process of darkness, but a active process- where we see the miracle of life, the magic of God in our experiences.
The flying Roudellas, a group of trapeze artists explain that in a trapeze performance there is the flyer, the one who lets go and the catcher. And a very special relationship must exist between the two to be successful.
As the flyer flys high above the crowd, there is a point in which he or she must let go of the trapeze. But his job is not to reach for the catcher. The job is to let go and remain perfectly still in the air and to wait for the catcher to reach out and catch him or her.
I imagine that must be a very scary moment – to stay still in the air in perfect trust. But our lives are like that, those tough moments in our lives are like that – moments when we are still, serene enough to wait for God to pluck us from the circumstance and bring us to the other side.
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Amen.
We all have those days when what we know to be true is not making sense, and is not fitting into our lives.
We all have those days – when we blame God for all that is happening. When we wish we could punish God for what we are going through
Isaiah 40 was written for those days. It takes raw human pain and turns it into poetry.
The Isrealites are so mad, that they are ready literally to take God to court. To charge God with forgetting about them. To accuse God of having no idea of what is going on in their life, and worst of all not caring about them.
For them, it was being kicked out of their homeland, seeing their homes burned and destroyed, and being forced to live amongst people who don’t seem to understand God at all.
For us it could be living in a world where we see people losing their jobs, their homes, theor lifestyle. Not knowing when things will change, not knowing what things will change to. Or it could be a more personal struggle with health, with a relationship, with a dream.
We all have those days, when we wonder.
In those moments – Isaiah 40 starts with a rhetorical question – Have you not known, have you not heard, has it not been told to you from the very beginning.
That God is a God who is beyond our experience? God is bigger than anything good or bad that could happen to us. God looks at us and sees our lives like a grasshopper, small and inconsistent – yet caring and a part of God creation, thus important.
No matter what our religious background – we all know that beauty of God in the little things in life, the sunsets, the miracles, even on our questions. In good times, we are willing to praise and celebrate.
It is in the bad times that we are to remember that God is our refuge but also our strength. That if we trust in God – things will always change.
The serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
There is a second verse.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen
Serenity is always being reminded where our help comes from. It comes from God, from trusting that God will work things out. It is in trusting in God, not in the world in which we live.
Serenity is being willing to wait on God
The end of Isaiah ends with a promise that those who wait on God will run and not be faint, walk and nor be weary,
Our God will make everything right. If we are only willing to wait.
My colleagues this week got into an interesting conversation about what it means to wait – wait for God to make things better.
Unlike the olden days – waiting is a horrible thing. We don’t know how to do it – we don’t see the importance of doing it. It is easy for us to think that the way things are now, are the way things will always be.
One of them commented that Too often people interpret 'wait' as 'twiddle your thumbs'. I think this 'wait' needs to be a seeking and open time. It's an active wait, not sitting on you bum or sticking your head in the sand. For me, now waiting for my next direction, it means having my antennae out for signals as I try a wide range of things open to my participation. So, for me it includes prayer as a foundation but takes the form of being willing to risk.
Another said prayer-full waiting, and waiting with patience silent waiting, and waiting with song centered waiting, and waiting in a world full of distractions persistent waiting, and waiting with a foot tapping impatiently hands-open waiting, and waiting with an open book eyes-open waiting as the sun begins to rise, and waiting in daydreams sitting-still-as-a-cat waiting, and waiting with one's tail about to wagoff We are simply told, over and over, to wait for the Lord,and I personally think all waiting, every kind of waiting, is appropriate.
I would say that Waiting on God is being willing to live life as a prayer – a devotion to God.
It is understanding that the world we see now – is never God’s final word.
When they isrealites looked at the destruction of their world they could never see the restoration in store. When we look at the economy – today we cannot see recovery. I thought it interesting in a story of how the economy is shrinking and how people are losing their jobs- the it always expands and returns without us realizing it.
When we look at the world – we would never understand resurrection. When we hear of Jesus life and all that he taught us – there is nothing in the world that teaches us that his most important lesson is resurrection.
Nothing comes from waiting, everything comes from waiting on God.
In crisis – when we wait – God delivers us – we mount up with eagles wings
In busy times – when we wait – God delivers us – we run and do not grow weary.
In the routine times of lives when we wait – We will walk and not faint.
Waiting on the Lord is all that we have to do in life. Waiting of God us our lives, our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, Our Christ.
Christ is the human example of what it means to wait on the lord and what difference it makes to us and to the world. Waiting is living the Jesus life in the world.
Phillip Yancy talks of living the Jesus life by practicing an ancient form of prayer called statio
Means being willing to stop one thing before beginning another. Rather than rushing from one taks to the next, take the time to pause and recognize the moment. Before talking on the phone – take the time to think about the person you are calling and the conversation you are about to have. After reading a book take the time to think about what you just read and its impact on you. Even after doing something as mundane as watching television – how did what you just saw contribute to your understanding of life? Reading the bible – ask the spirit for guidance. Do this often enough, and we start to see God in the midst of even the smallest details of our lives.
We learn that waiting is not a idle process of darkness, but a active process- where we see the miracle of life, the magic of God in our experiences.
The flying Roudellas, a group of trapeze artists explain that in a trapeze performance there is the flyer, the one who lets go and the catcher. And a very special relationship must exist between the two to be successful.
As the flyer flys high above the crowd, there is a point in which he or she must let go of the trapeze. But his job is not to reach for the catcher. The job is to let go and remain perfectly still in the air and to wait for the catcher to reach out and catch him or her.
I imagine that must be a very scary moment – to stay still in the air in perfect trust. But our lives are like that, those tough moments in our lives are like that – moments when we are still, serene enough to wait for God to pluck us from the circumstance and bring us to the other side.
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)