May 31, 2009
Wind, Fire and Words
Acts 2
Romans 8
Year B
Pentecost
what images do they think of when an insight suddenly strikes You? Some will say a light bulb coming on. Or an electric shock.
Perhaps a billboard, a text message, a whack on the head...
But none of us would think of tongues of fire, or gusts of wind.
These are the images for the story of Pentecost.
The Pentecost story is clearly metaphorical an image. The biblical text
itself says, _like_ a mighty wind; tongues _as of_ fire...
Metaphor is like the sacraments – defined by Augustine of Hippo as
"a visible sign of an invisible reality." Tragically, our society has lost its
sense of the metaphoric. We distrust metaphors and analogies. We expect facts.
Yet we still speak of getting fired up. Burning with passion.
Suffering burnout. We refer to spirited horses, team spirit, blowing out the
cobwebs, feeling a fresh wind, a storm of change...
Those are all metaphors – a way of expressing something that would
otherwise be inexpressible. Because the Holy Spirit was not a thing, to be
measured and dissected. It was a feeling, an attitude.
For the early church, it was a realization that what they had been waiting for all along had finally come to them.
Research says that in the year of the Pentecost, this was the first year that many of the jews who had been in exile were first able to come to Jerusalem for the celebration of the gift of the word of God. They came from Meds, Pamphlyia, Cappodicia – places all over the middle east. They came speaking their own languages, and abiding by their own customs. But some how they all got along, they all understood one another, they all witness the same heavenly event, the presence of the holy spirit.
That is the gift of the holy spirit – unity where there is no unity. It was the beginning of the work of the church.
Like all gifts of the church, this story means different things to different people and traditions. For instance, for some the gift was speaking in tongues, for others it was the gift of speaking in different languages and being able to be heard. But the main point was that they knew that God was with them in a very special way. They did not have the words to describe it, but they had the hearts to feel it.
As a matter of fact, sometimes I think it is our words that get us in trouble. We can speak the same language, and sometimes not be understood. Because even though we use the same words- they don’t mean the same thing.
Sometimes it is words that makes thing worse. One Christian remembers the time she was looking for a parking space, she waited patiently for this couple to leave, and it seemed that a van pulled up in front of her out of nowhere, and took the space. She had a few words for the driver of the van and none of them nice. The van driver was so sorry that he pulled out and gave her the space. At first proud, she had to go home to pray to God. Her words totally betrayed whom she was as a Christian.
That is the point of the babel story – that a group got together for a common cause. They went into the project speaking the same language. They finished speaking different languages and accomplishing nothing.
Imagine how much chaos is present in the world because people misunderstand one another. Sometimes the best way to create an argument is to use words. The more you talk , the more you realize that there is disagreement.
Karl Barth says always preach the gospel sometimes even use words – but more importantly use who are you in Christ.
Romans states that the whole world is in birth pains. I feel that there seems to be chaos on every level of life. Everyone is hurting, and everyone is lashing out. And no one seems to understand what is really going on. Yet we are to hope – hope for things that we cannot see. And not worry if we have the right words to say- to just make sure that we trust in the spirit – who will interpret everything we say. The bible has been interpreted in ever language in the world. In one African village, they were looking for a word for the holy spirit – until the noticed that whenever a group had to carry a heavy load – there was always one man who went with them, but carried nothing himself. They explained that when someone gave out from exhaustion, this was the man who always took his place, so that the journey could continue.
They had their word for the holy spirit - the one who carries our burdens to God for us, when we are too weak to travel. The one who prays on our behalf.
In our obsession with the concrete, we’ve even made the Holy Spirit
a noun. We capitalize it, like a proper name. But in truth, it was more like a
verb – just as “faith” in Hebrew, mn, was a verb, best translated as “to
trust.”
Likewise, God does not describe godself as a noun, as a static thing, but as a verb, to moses God said not I am who I am, But I will be, who I will be. The spirit of God is always on the move in the world, making a difference.
Our greatest witness to the presence of God is to move in a static world. To be who we are and not to get caught up in definitions of who we were just yesterday.
The greatest image of the holy spirit for the world today in chaos in pain, are the be the people who trust in God. No words needed, just our hearts.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Have You Seen Joan
May 24, 2009
Year B
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24: 44-53
For Ascension Sunday
Repreach of “Have You Seen Joan?”
It has been about 19 years ago now. I was a senior at Northwestern University. I had started out in the journalism program, one of the best in the country. Yet it seemed that school was not fulfilling for me. When I looked at my grades, I knew that I could do much better than I was doing. I was at a period of questioning in my life, I was searching for meaning. This had been a very busy time in my life, a lot was going on. In my search for answers, I had even changed my major to religion. But things were still not right, I was still not happy.
I had one quarter left before I would graduate. And looking into the darkness of the future, I had no idea of what I was going to do next. More importantly, I did not have the energy to find out. I was tired of working to pay my tuition, tired of having papers to write, and frankly, just plain tired of dealing with the red tape of life. So, on the day that I had to move out of my rented room for the summer, instead of registering for my last quarter of school, I put my things in storage and checked into a homeless shelter.
The shelter in Evanston had room for 30 people. 25 men and 5 women. This was a shelter for adults, so most women would have to go somewhere with their children. So usually, not all of the women’s beds were filled. We were allowed to stay for three months as long as we followed the rules. We had to check into the shelter every night by 10:30 pm. There was no drinking, smoking or fighting with the other guest. And you had to be ready to leave the shelter by 7 in the morning. We called the shelter, Hilda’s place after the director.
I must have been there about a month and a half, when Joan moved in. She was from Milwaukee. She was 34 years old, with 2 children. As I got to know her, I learned that she had some mental issues, as well as being addicted to cocaine and alcohol
When we would come into the shelter and try to get to know one another, the first question that you would be asked, was so what is your sad story. There was always some sad reason that we were there. Joan was a journalist, very intelligent and very articulate. She lived a very happy life with her two children in their own house. As her life unraveled, she lost everything, and ended up in Chicago.
After three months, Joan and I were given a transitional apartment. We could live for free, but we have to save up our money to be able to make a deposit on an apartment.
During this time, I went on with my daily activities. But I felt that I had gained a whole new perspective on life. Today, we hear and talk a lot about homelessness. And we have an image of who homeless people are and how we should deal with them.
I listened to a lot of conversations on homelessness, and how we as a society should deal with it. Perhaps, if we had enough jobs, or enough people to help, everyone would have a place to go. Or perhaps is we could just raise the self esteem of people and teach them a better way of life, everything would be okay.
But the explanations that we make up, don’t always fit the reality of the people and their stories. There were a lot of times when I felt that I was an alien, listening to the thoughts of others, and just not understanding.
For instance, I remember listening to a speech of a man who was in tears, because he had met a women sitting on a park bench crying. He made up a whole story about the women, and felt so guilty that he never bothered to help her. I remember being so frustrated because I could not help but to wonder why he would just assume she was homeless. Why didn’t he just speak to the woman to say hello, instead of making up a story about her. Like many people, he was willing to feel guilty about doing something big, but he was not even willing to relate to the woman.
And there was the time when I was in the Northwestern library, and a classmate of mine, Heather, had organized a canned food drive for the homeless. I told her that was a nice guesture, but most of the homeless people that I knew did not have can openers in their pockets. And most of us were not as resourceful as Joan, who one day borrowed a hot plate, and cooked her can of soup right there on the street.
I feel that it is important to tell my story, because we get caught up on our impressions. So we give to causes in hopes that they are making a difference. But what is it really that we are giving people and why?
As I said, my roommate Joan was a journalist. So one of the first things that she did when she came to Chicago, was to ask the Chicago Tribune if she could write a story about homelessness. One the night before she had to turn the story in, we talked about it. Her words have stuck with me all of this time. In her interviewing other people in the shelter, she realized that if they were to shut the shelter down and tell us all to go home. Not one of us would be at a lost of where to go. We all had families, and a place to go. Yet there was always a reason that people felt alienated from their families.
Joan went on to note that the search for a homeless shelter is not really a search for a physical bed, or food or clothing. People on the tramp trail (as living in shelters is affectionately called) are really on a spiritual journey. They are in search for a spiritual bed, spiritual covering, and spiritual food.
I was not born a Methodist. The seeds of my decision to devote my life to the Methodist church began in the help that I received during that time in my life. The mystery of God was not in the physical help that I received, it was in the grace that I felt for the first time in my life. I didn’t have to earn my keep, or answer any questions. I was just taken care of.
One day a Methodist minister brought his campus ministry group to worship with us in the shelter. Afterwards, Jack came up to me and told me that I appeared to be such a happy person. I think it was the reflection of the purple sweatshirt that I had on. People have told me that purple makes me glow. Because happy is not a verb that I would ever use to describe myself. But the interesting thing is, that after he said that - I didn’t need to live that life anymore. I joined his campus ministry, went back to school and went on the seminary. All because of one word of kindness from a stranger.
I often wondered if the people who volunteered to help us realized that people go to homeless shelters in search of the same things that people who haven’t lost their patience with society would go to church.
As members of the shelter grew together and shared our stories, they were not stories of houses burning down, or robbers taking everything. They were stories of significant relationships breaking down. They were stories of marriages falling apart, or of alienation from parents, or dealing with the death of a loved one. Even today, when I talk with people who ask for money- I always ask about their family. And I always find some type of alienation.
Some people can get their spiritual fulfillment by going to work or spending time in community. But when they cant find community, many people seek the tramp trail. It is called a trail, because people go from shelter to shelter, church to church telling their sad story over and over again. And once you start to get responses to your story – you get accustomed to that lifestyle. You get accustomed to getting taking care of.
Which is why I am not comfortable with our approaches to homelessness. After awhile, it starts to enable to behavior that it tries to address. Even the walk in ministry here in Oak Park talks about ways to empower those who ask for help, to change their lifestyles in order to needing the services. It is important to give to those in need, but until the spiritual issues are addressed, nothing will ever change.
There were many times in my stay with Joan, where I wondered if I would ever get out of that situation alive. There were many times when she threatened me. There were times when she didn’t say anything, I just woke up with the gas from the stove turned on. My prayer to God was that if I ever got out of the situation alive, my mission would not be to the homeless people I lived with, but with the nice church people that helped me.
I will never forget the first day I went to the community dinner at First Presbyterian Church. The people were so proud that they had given me a meal. Yet I was concerned that this was the worst day of my life. A day when I was totally confused, and had no answers of what was happening and what to do. And yet no one talked to me, no one said anything about their faith, their call to help me.
I wanted to give those nice church people one message – that in the midst of all of your giving – make sure that you give Jesus Christ.
There are people in the world who are really looking for what you have – a relationship with a Lord and savior who cares. And guides.
I think that this is a fitting story for ascension Sunday – because it reminds us of the importance of Jesus in our lives.
Jesus had been in the world- teaching and leading his disciples. When the time came, he went to his destiny the cross. And their destiny was to continue on his work. The ascension is his promise that we are fully equipped to continue this work. To feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, the set the prisoners free. We are to meet the physical needs of those on need. But more importantly we are to meet the spiritual needs – to love one another. We are called to be the church – the place not where we heal, but where we lead others to the healer. So that they can have a relationship with the Jesus we know.
At one point, Joan had as many as seven men living in our house. Whenever they got kicked out of the shelter, Joan would take them in. We only had six months to live in our apartment. Joan was pretty far gone at the end of those six months. She had really gotten in a drug culture, and her illness got much worse. At the end of the six months, Joan’s mother picked her up and she went back home to her family and I went back to school. When I walked around, I would see a lot of the men that lived with us. And we would always end our conversation with the question – Have you seen Joan?
None of us ever saw Joan again. But I think as Jesus ascends to heaven, he asks us all have you seen Joan? If so what was she doing? And how did you respond? With care and understanding, or with continued alienation. Amen.
Year B
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24: 44-53
For Ascension Sunday
Repreach of “Have You Seen Joan?”
It has been about 19 years ago now. I was a senior at Northwestern University. I had started out in the journalism program, one of the best in the country. Yet it seemed that school was not fulfilling for me. When I looked at my grades, I knew that I could do much better than I was doing. I was at a period of questioning in my life, I was searching for meaning. This had been a very busy time in my life, a lot was going on. In my search for answers, I had even changed my major to religion. But things were still not right, I was still not happy.
I had one quarter left before I would graduate. And looking into the darkness of the future, I had no idea of what I was going to do next. More importantly, I did not have the energy to find out. I was tired of working to pay my tuition, tired of having papers to write, and frankly, just plain tired of dealing with the red tape of life. So, on the day that I had to move out of my rented room for the summer, instead of registering for my last quarter of school, I put my things in storage and checked into a homeless shelter.
The shelter in Evanston had room for 30 people. 25 men and 5 women. This was a shelter for adults, so most women would have to go somewhere with their children. So usually, not all of the women’s beds were filled. We were allowed to stay for three months as long as we followed the rules. We had to check into the shelter every night by 10:30 pm. There was no drinking, smoking or fighting with the other guest. And you had to be ready to leave the shelter by 7 in the morning. We called the shelter, Hilda’s place after the director.
I must have been there about a month and a half, when Joan moved in. She was from Milwaukee. She was 34 years old, with 2 children. As I got to know her, I learned that she had some mental issues, as well as being addicted to cocaine and alcohol
When we would come into the shelter and try to get to know one another, the first question that you would be asked, was so what is your sad story. There was always some sad reason that we were there. Joan was a journalist, very intelligent and very articulate. She lived a very happy life with her two children in their own house. As her life unraveled, she lost everything, and ended up in Chicago.
After three months, Joan and I were given a transitional apartment. We could live for free, but we have to save up our money to be able to make a deposit on an apartment.
During this time, I went on with my daily activities. But I felt that I had gained a whole new perspective on life. Today, we hear and talk a lot about homelessness. And we have an image of who homeless people are and how we should deal with them.
I listened to a lot of conversations on homelessness, and how we as a society should deal with it. Perhaps, if we had enough jobs, or enough people to help, everyone would have a place to go. Or perhaps is we could just raise the self esteem of people and teach them a better way of life, everything would be okay.
But the explanations that we make up, don’t always fit the reality of the people and their stories. There were a lot of times when I felt that I was an alien, listening to the thoughts of others, and just not understanding.
For instance, I remember listening to a speech of a man who was in tears, because he had met a women sitting on a park bench crying. He made up a whole story about the women, and felt so guilty that he never bothered to help her. I remember being so frustrated because I could not help but to wonder why he would just assume she was homeless. Why didn’t he just speak to the woman to say hello, instead of making up a story about her. Like many people, he was willing to feel guilty about doing something big, but he was not even willing to relate to the woman.
And there was the time when I was in the Northwestern library, and a classmate of mine, Heather, had organized a canned food drive for the homeless. I told her that was a nice guesture, but most of the homeless people that I knew did not have can openers in their pockets. And most of us were not as resourceful as Joan, who one day borrowed a hot plate, and cooked her can of soup right there on the street.
I feel that it is important to tell my story, because we get caught up on our impressions. So we give to causes in hopes that they are making a difference. But what is it really that we are giving people and why?
As I said, my roommate Joan was a journalist. So one of the first things that she did when she came to Chicago, was to ask the Chicago Tribune if she could write a story about homelessness. One the night before she had to turn the story in, we talked about it. Her words have stuck with me all of this time. In her interviewing other people in the shelter, she realized that if they were to shut the shelter down and tell us all to go home. Not one of us would be at a lost of where to go. We all had families, and a place to go. Yet there was always a reason that people felt alienated from their families.
Joan went on to note that the search for a homeless shelter is not really a search for a physical bed, or food or clothing. People on the tramp trail (as living in shelters is affectionately called) are really on a spiritual journey. They are in search for a spiritual bed, spiritual covering, and spiritual food.
I was not born a Methodist. The seeds of my decision to devote my life to the Methodist church began in the help that I received during that time in my life. The mystery of God was not in the physical help that I received, it was in the grace that I felt for the first time in my life. I didn’t have to earn my keep, or answer any questions. I was just taken care of.
One day a Methodist minister brought his campus ministry group to worship with us in the shelter. Afterwards, Jack came up to me and told me that I appeared to be such a happy person. I think it was the reflection of the purple sweatshirt that I had on. People have told me that purple makes me glow. Because happy is not a verb that I would ever use to describe myself. But the interesting thing is, that after he said that - I didn’t need to live that life anymore. I joined his campus ministry, went back to school and went on the seminary. All because of one word of kindness from a stranger.
I often wondered if the people who volunteered to help us realized that people go to homeless shelters in search of the same things that people who haven’t lost their patience with society would go to church.
As members of the shelter grew together and shared our stories, they were not stories of houses burning down, or robbers taking everything. They were stories of significant relationships breaking down. They were stories of marriages falling apart, or of alienation from parents, or dealing with the death of a loved one. Even today, when I talk with people who ask for money- I always ask about their family. And I always find some type of alienation.
Some people can get their spiritual fulfillment by going to work or spending time in community. But when they cant find community, many people seek the tramp trail. It is called a trail, because people go from shelter to shelter, church to church telling their sad story over and over again. And once you start to get responses to your story – you get accustomed to that lifestyle. You get accustomed to getting taking care of.
Which is why I am not comfortable with our approaches to homelessness. After awhile, it starts to enable to behavior that it tries to address. Even the walk in ministry here in Oak Park talks about ways to empower those who ask for help, to change their lifestyles in order to needing the services. It is important to give to those in need, but until the spiritual issues are addressed, nothing will ever change.
There were many times in my stay with Joan, where I wondered if I would ever get out of that situation alive. There were many times when she threatened me. There were times when she didn’t say anything, I just woke up with the gas from the stove turned on. My prayer to God was that if I ever got out of the situation alive, my mission would not be to the homeless people I lived with, but with the nice church people that helped me.
I will never forget the first day I went to the community dinner at First Presbyterian Church. The people were so proud that they had given me a meal. Yet I was concerned that this was the worst day of my life. A day when I was totally confused, and had no answers of what was happening and what to do. And yet no one talked to me, no one said anything about their faith, their call to help me.
I wanted to give those nice church people one message – that in the midst of all of your giving – make sure that you give Jesus Christ.
There are people in the world who are really looking for what you have – a relationship with a Lord and savior who cares. And guides.
I think that this is a fitting story for ascension Sunday – because it reminds us of the importance of Jesus in our lives.
Jesus had been in the world- teaching and leading his disciples. When the time came, he went to his destiny the cross. And their destiny was to continue on his work. The ascension is his promise that we are fully equipped to continue this work. To feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, the set the prisoners free. We are to meet the physical needs of those on need. But more importantly we are to meet the spiritual needs – to love one another. We are called to be the church – the place not where we heal, but where we lead others to the healer. So that they can have a relationship with the Jesus we know.
At one point, Joan had as many as seven men living in our house. Whenever they got kicked out of the shelter, Joan would take them in. We only had six months to live in our apartment. Joan was pretty far gone at the end of those six months. She had really gotten in a drug culture, and her illness got much worse. At the end of the six months, Joan’s mother picked her up and she went back home to her family and I went back to school. When I walked around, I would see a lot of the men that lived with us. And we would always end our conversation with the question – Have you seen Joan?
None of us ever saw Joan again. But I think as Jesus ascends to heaven, he asks us all have you seen Joan? If so what was she doing? And how did you respond? With care and understanding, or with continued alienation. Amen.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
What is so Special about Today?
“What’s so different about Today?”
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:12-17
May 17, 2009
Repeat these words after me: Abide, love, joy, commandment, friends.
These are the important lessons to remember about the scripture today. Abide in Jesus Christ, Love one another, find your joy within the love of God, obey God’s commandments, and remember Jesus is always your friend.
I am a lectionary preacher, which means that there are certain scriptures that we preach from, based on a three year cycle. For the last few weeks after Easter, we have been studying scriptures from Acts, 1 John, and the book of John. Every week it seems that it is the same old thing – love, love, love love. It is the same thing love one another, love God , love Jesus. I am beginning to wonder, just how many sermons can one person preach on the subject of love. The word love is actually mentioned 8 different times in the gospel lesson.
And it doesn’t stop there. Jesus likes to teach this lesson over and over.
He said, the two great commandments are this: that you love God with
everything that you have, your heart, soul, mind and strength (or as another
translation puts it - your passion, prayer and intelligence 2) and love your
neighbour, each other, as you love yourself.
Elsewhere he told his disciples to love their enemies as well as their
friends. It is this inclusiveness of Jesus, which is often so hard to
follow. Our friends are often hard to love, let alone those we don’t think
of as our friends. Most of us have people we find hard to get on with,
people we find unattractive, those who outwardly oppose us, or make our
lives difficult.
But Jesus wants us to be as loving and concerned for one another as he is
for us. There is so much that we can do which will enable us to remain
abiding in God’s love by reaching out to those around us.
Respect, generosity, kindness, gentleness, compassion, encouragement are all
precursors for love. They are the things which build up a person and give
them confidence.
As church we are called to live lives which reflect our Lord and Master.
You have to notice, that Jesus didn’t make his teachings about love a friendly suggestion, or a helpful hint, but a commandment - We are commanded to Love one another as I have loved you.
We all know that it is not possible to love everybody. Not everybody is like us, not everybody proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord. And I don’t know about you, but loving people that I don’t know is not my struggle. It is harder to show love to the people that you come in contact with all of the time. Our family members, our coworkers, our neighbors, people whom you have to deal with, but you don’t understand. And you don’t see eye to eye with – how are you to get along with them? That is the challenge.
John 15 is all about the vine – and being connected to the vine. If we commit to live our life in the love of God – we have to power to love any one in any situation. Jesus says that if you abide in me , and my word abides in you – then you can ask and it shall be given. Prayer – is the only way to love others.
But in this scripture, Jesus gives us another powerful secret weapon to get through life.
Back in the day – There were people who had special status – they were known as friends of the king. They were allowed into the kings chamber the first thing in the morning. They knew all about the kings life and all about the kings decisions. Before the king would discuss politics with their advisors, he would discuss his plans with his friends. When the friends were in the street, and they were about to get robbed, or stopped by a soldier, or in the market with no money – they had this little card that they could pull out that was signed by the king. That card read that this was a friend of the emporer – and that absolutely no harm was to come of him or her. Everyone knew not to mess with a friend of the king – thy lived their lives in peace.
Jesus gives us all that same ticket. He says no one has greater love than this, to lay down his life for one’s friend. You are my friends if you do what I command. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father.
Jesus was a master amongst the masters. Jesus teachings are considered the greatest in the world – right up there with muhammed, Buddha, confuscios, Moses, Elijah. But the one thing about all of those great teachers, - they were always in control. They didn’t have no friends, they would never stoop down to the level of their students.
Jesus is a friend to everyone who listens to his words and obeys. He not only tells us to love – he loves us. He makes us a part of the most precious love affair in the world – the love of God the father and Jesus the son. If you are connected to that love you can love anybody. Love one another as I have loved you.
Love is how we feel about others, love is not whether we like people. Love is how we live and what we do.
What makes this scripture any different today then yesterday. How many times do we listen to a sermon on love – every day. Love is how we chose to take the next step, it how we respond to people, it is how we treat one another. Every day we need to be reminded of how important is it to love.
Amen.
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:12-17
May 17, 2009
Repeat these words after me: Abide, love, joy, commandment, friends.
These are the important lessons to remember about the scripture today. Abide in Jesus Christ, Love one another, find your joy within the love of God, obey God’s commandments, and remember Jesus is always your friend.
I am a lectionary preacher, which means that there are certain scriptures that we preach from, based on a three year cycle. For the last few weeks after Easter, we have been studying scriptures from Acts, 1 John, and the book of John. Every week it seems that it is the same old thing – love, love, love love. It is the same thing love one another, love God , love Jesus. I am beginning to wonder, just how many sermons can one person preach on the subject of love. The word love is actually mentioned 8 different times in the gospel lesson.
And it doesn’t stop there. Jesus likes to teach this lesson over and over.
He said, the two great commandments are this: that you love God with
everything that you have, your heart, soul, mind and strength (or as another
translation puts it - your passion, prayer and intelligence 2) and love your
neighbour, each other, as you love yourself.
Elsewhere he told his disciples to love their enemies as well as their
friends. It is this inclusiveness of Jesus, which is often so hard to
follow. Our friends are often hard to love, let alone those we don’t think
of as our friends. Most of us have people we find hard to get on with,
people we find unattractive, those who outwardly oppose us, or make our
lives difficult.
But Jesus wants us to be as loving and concerned for one another as he is
for us. There is so much that we can do which will enable us to remain
abiding in God’s love by reaching out to those around us.
Respect, generosity, kindness, gentleness, compassion, encouragement are all
precursors for love. They are the things which build up a person and give
them confidence.
As church we are called to live lives which reflect our Lord and Master.
You have to notice, that Jesus didn’t make his teachings about love a friendly suggestion, or a helpful hint, but a commandment - We are commanded to Love one another as I have loved you.
We all know that it is not possible to love everybody. Not everybody is like us, not everybody proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord. And I don’t know about you, but loving people that I don’t know is not my struggle. It is harder to show love to the people that you come in contact with all of the time. Our family members, our coworkers, our neighbors, people whom you have to deal with, but you don’t understand. And you don’t see eye to eye with – how are you to get along with them? That is the challenge.
John 15 is all about the vine – and being connected to the vine. If we commit to live our life in the love of God – we have to power to love any one in any situation. Jesus says that if you abide in me , and my word abides in you – then you can ask and it shall be given. Prayer – is the only way to love others.
But in this scripture, Jesus gives us another powerful secret weapon to get through life.
Back in the day – There were people who had special status – they were known as friends of the king. They were allowed into the kings chamber the first thing in the morning. They knew all about the kings life and all about the kings decisions. Before the king would discuss politics with their advisors, he would discuss his plans with his friends. When the friends were in the street, and they were about to get robbed, or stopped by a soldier, or in the market with no money – they had this little card that they could pull out that was signed by the king. That card read that this was a friend of the emporer – and that absolutely no harm was to come of him or her. Everyone knew not to mess with a friend of the king – thy lived their lives in peace.
Jesus gives us all that same ticket. He says no one has greater love than this, to lay down his life for one’s friend. You are my friends if you do what I command. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father.
Jesus was a master amongst the masters. Jesus teachings are considered the greatest in the world – right up there with muhammed, Buddha, confuscios, Moses, Elijah. But the one thing about all of those great teachers, - they were always in control. They didn’t have no friends, they would never stoop down to the level of their students.
Jesus is a friend to everyone who listens to his words and obeys. He not only tells us to love – he loves us. He makes us a part of the most precious love affair in the world – the love of God the father and Jesus the son. If you are connected to that love you can love anybody. Love one another as I have loved you.
Love is how we feel about others, love is not whether we like people. Love is how we live and what we do.
What makes this scripture any different today then yesterday. How many times do we listen to a sermon on love – every day. Love is how we chose to take the next step, it how we respond to people, it is how we treat one another. Every day we need to be reminded of how important is it to love.
Amen.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Fruit doesn't fall far from the Tree
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 10, 2009
Mother’s Day
Year B
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
Fruit doesn’t fall far from the Tree
The relationship between a mother and child is the most basic, primary relationship of human kind. It is the relationship that forms who we are, the relationship that teaches us to love ourselves and others, it the relationship which tells who we should be in the world. There is no other relationship that is considered to as important as sacred as the relationship of mother and child.
Which is why I was surprised when the view decided to feature a woman who wrote a book on how she hated her mother for Mother’s Day. Friday – they featured the book Who do you think are by Alysa Meyers. In the book and in life, Myers relates that she always felt that her mother never loved her, and that she frankly never really cared for her mother. It was not necessarily an abusive relationship, but it was a relationship absent of love and care. After the book was published the author says that she has received lots of hate mail – people who could not accept the concept of someone admitting that they hated their mother. But in reading the reviews of the book, there were many others who praised her for her honesty.
You see the book was an attempt to get beyond her image of her mother and to get to know her mother as a human being. As she was able to uncover the details of her mothers life, she came to understand her mother and she came to understand their relationship. She discovered many things that she wished she had known when her mother was alive.
In her book she had the courage to do what many of us find that we have to do with all of our human relationships, especially if we want to be able to heal – to step aside and get to know the real person behind our perceptions and our feelings.
In her book, Alyssa Meyers talks about a box that she knew was in the back of her mothers closet. A box that she always felt held the clues to her mother and to their relationship. Of course in reading the reviews, they never tell what is in the box. But it helped her understand her mother.
Whatever our relationship, whatever our circumstance, whatever stage we are in our lives, there is someone in our lives – who is our mother, our primary relationship in the world.
And even for those of us who speak fondly of our mother, and who will say that we have or had a good relationship- if we think about it there were those rough times. Those times when we did not always see eye to eye.
Some elementary school students answered these questions about mothers. Why did God make mothers – she is the only one who knows where the scotch tape is, to help us out when we are being born. How did God make mothers - by magic plus superpowers and a whole lot of stirring. And why did God give you your mother and not some other mom – God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me. I think that answer has the deepest sense of wisdom in it. Somehow we are special, more special than anyone else to the one we call mother.
The deeper truth in that statement is the fact that God knew that was the person for us. We came into that person’s life for a reason. They are the person who would show us the definition of love.
The lesson of 1 John is that God is the ultimate source of all love. There is no way in life that we could ever know love, if it wasn’t for God. God and love are one and the same thing. God is the source of love, but God is also the essence of what love is all about. To know that we are loved is to know that there is a God in the world.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of the book why bad things happen to good people says that in Hebrew God is referred to as a He, but that is just a function of language. Not a function of who God is. Kushner explains that he would never call God an it – so he uses the language to personalize and honor god by saying he. But The essence of God is thought of as both a mother and father. In Hebrew the male words for God refer to a God out there in heaven. The God which is present here with us on earth, the God we experience, know and understand, is referred to in female terms – as a caring and mothering God.
Isnt that the whole point of Jesus Christ coming into the world – so that we can know that God is here with us – in many forms and in many ways.
The bible says that the primary way that we know that God loves us, is that God sent God’s only son into the world. Jesus is the spirit of God with flesh – so that we could have that person to teach us the ways of God.
The presence of the holy spirit in our lives is even further proof that God loves us and cares for us. The presence of God is our assurance that no matter where we are and what we go through the unconditional love of God is always present. The gospel promises that if you abide in God, that God will abide in you. God is always with you no matter what.
Unfortunately in life, we just don’t know it. Things are so intense that we are sure God is not there. I talked with a woman this week, who in tears confessed that there is no way God could love her. Every day there was a different thing going wrong. And she was sure that god was punishing her, because she didn’t like to go to church. I had to assure her that God might want her to go to church, but god would never punish her for not going. No matter who we are – we are children of God – a God who cares. Just like this woman – we get so caught up in the details of our life that we lose sight of God’s abiding presence. We are so caught up in our pain, our unwillingness to understand that we forget to see the obvious. That God is there all of the time. It is like we are standing on a big x – we are looking all around for something that looks like God, and miss that fact that God is with us all of the time. X marks the spot. The place where we are standing or sitting is holy ground. The life that we are living is a holy expression of god‘s love for us and for the world. God is present in the air that we breathe, the thoughts that we think, the actions that we take. God is everywhere around us. God is leading every action that happens to us in life. After Jacob went through is struggle with God – it was only after it was over that he realized that surely God was in this place – and we didn’t even see it.
Jesus says I am the vine and your are the branches. We are always connected. If you abide in me, and I in you, ask for whatever you wish and it shall be granted. God is always there and God always care.
Sometimes we need someone to point out the presence of God for us. Where ever the presence is – there is the love of God. For many of us – that person was like a mother to us. The one who cared for us, the one who pointed out the x of life and showed us the way forward. We can be grateful for that person whomever they were.
Because what strikes me, is how many people there are in the world who don’t believe that God loves them. They don’t believe that they are children of God, and they don’t see God’s presence in their situation. God is ever blessing them – and all they see are the bad things. Sort of like the author and her mother. She saw the bad things about her mother- but she never saw the obvious that her mother loved her the best way that she could – with what she had to give. Sort of like the women I talked to who saw all of the bad things in her life, but never stopped to see her blessings in the midst of it. Do you know how many people there are in the world who are asking if God really loves them? Who don’t know that they are loved children of God?
In order to witness God’s presence, you have to know God. The only way to know God - is to know that you are loved. The only way to know love is to be loved. To have someone who mothered you , cared for you and pointed out the presence for you.
Today is mothers day – the day we point out the love in our lives. The day we acknowledge that we have been loved in some way. And we honor the presence of love in our lives. In that sense every day is mothers day. But every day we are also called to perfect our love. Perfect not in being without blame. But in being complete. Where there is woundedness to bring forgiveness, where there is lack of understanding to bring clarity, where there is hatred to bring love. Where there is someone who asks the question does someone love me, to pull them aside and show them the x – which proves that we all stand in holy ground and that the love of God abides in us all.
I leave you with this poem…
in the secret places, where fears and doubts litter the floor of my heart, you come along sweeping them into your broom and dustpan, exposing the bright foundation of faith; you sit me on your lap, placing your hand over mine, stretching out my finger, so, together, we trace the words in the stories of grace and hope told (and lived out) in each generation; you could roam all the ends of creation, but choose to hang out with me (!) grabbing me by the hand when i am about to dart out into the traffic on Sin Street; lifting me into the air to reach the highest branch so i can swing back-and-forth on the Arm of your love. Mother . . . . . .may i always lose my heart to you.
Today, may you not only know that- but also be that.
Amen.
May 10, 2009
Mother’s Day
Year B
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
Fruit doesn’t fall far from the Tree
The relationship between a mother and child is the most basic, primary relationship of human kind. It is the relationship that forms who we are, the relationship that teaches us to love ourselves and others, it the relationship which tells who we should be in the world. There is no other relationship that is considered to as important as sacred as the relationship of mother and child.
Which is why I was surprised when the view decided to feature a woman who wrote a book on how she hated her mother for Mother’s Day. Friday – they featured the book Who do you think are by Alysa Meyers. In the book and in life, Myers relates that she always felt that her mother never loved her, and that she frankly never really cared for her mother. It was not necessarily an abusive relationship, but it was a relationship absent of love and care. After the book was published the author says that she has received lots of hate mail – people who could not accept the concept of someone admitting that they hated their mother. But in reading the reviews of the book, there were many others who praised her for her honesty.
You see the book was an attempt to get beyond her image of her mother and to get to know her mother as a human being. As she was able to uncover the details of her mothers life, she came to understand her mother and she came to understand their relationship. She discovered many things that she wished she had known when her mother was alive.
In her book she had the courage to do what many of us find that we have to do with all of our human relationships, especially if we want to be able to heal – to step aside and get to know the real person behind our perceptions and our feelings.
In her book, Alyssa Meyers talks about a box that she knew was in the back of her mothers closet. A box that she always felt held the clues to her mother and to their relationship. Of course in reading the reviews, they never tell what is in the box. But it helped her understand her mother.
Whatever our relationship, whatever our circumstance, whatever stage we are in our lives, there is someone in our lives – who is our mother, our primary relationship in the world.
And even for those of us who speak fondly of our mother, and who will say that we have or had a good relationship- if we think about it there were those rough times. Those times when we did not always see eye to eye.
Some elementary school students answered these questions about mothers. Why did God make mothers – she is the only one who knows where the scotch tape is, to help us out when we are being born. How did God make mothers - by magic plus superpowers and a whole lot of stirring. And why did God give you your mother and not some other mom – God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me. I think that answer has the deepest sense of wisdom in it. Somehow we are special, more special than anyone else to the one we call mother.
The deeper truth in that statement is the fact that God knew that was the person for us. We came into that person’s life for a reason. They are the person who would show us the definition of love.
The lesson of 1 John is that God is the ultimate source of all love. There is no way in life that we could ever know love, if it wasn’t for God. God and love are one and the same thing. God is the source of love, but God is also the essence of what love is all about. To know that we are loved is to know that there is a God in the world.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of the book why bad things happen to good people says that in Hebrew God is referred to as a He, but that is just a function of language. Not a function of who God is. Kushner explains that he would never call God an it – so he uses the language to personalize and honor god by saying he. But The essence of God is thought of as both a mother and father. In Hebrew the male words for God refer to a God out there in heaven. The God which is present here with us on earth, the God we experience, know and understand, is referred to in female terms – as a caring and mothering God.
Isnt that the whole point of Jesus Christ coming into the world – so that we can know that God is here with us – in many forms and in many ways.
The bible says that the primary way that we know that God loves us, is that God sent God’s only son into the world. Jesus is the spirit of God with flesh – so that we could have that person to teach us the ways of God.
The presence of the holy spirit in our lives is even further proof that God loves us and cares for us. The presence of God is our assurance that no matter where we are and what we go through the unconditional love of God is always present. The gospel promises that if you abide in God, that God will abide in you. God is always with you no matter what.
Unfortunately in life, we just don’t know it. Things are so intense that we are sure God is not there. I talked with a woman this week, who in tears confessed that there is no way God could love her. Every day there was a different thing going wrong. And she was sure that god was punishing her, because she didn’t like to go to church. I had to assure her that God might want her to go to church, but god would never punish her for not going. No matter who we are – we are children of God – a God who cares. Just like this woman – we get so caught up in the details of our life that we lose sight of God’s abiding presence. We are so caught up in our pain, our unwillingness to understand that we forget to see the obvious. That God is there all of the time. It is like we are standing on a big x – we are looking all around for something that looks like God, and miss that fact that God is with us all of the time. X marks the spot. The place where we are standing or sitting is holy ground. The life that we are living is a holy expression of god‘s love for us and for the world. God is present in the air that we breathe, the thoughts that we think, the actions that we take. God is everywhere around us. God is leading every action that happens to us in life. After Jacob went through is struggle with God – it was only after it was over that he realized that surely God was in this place – and we didn’t even see it.
Jesus says I am the vine and your are the branches. We are always connected. If you abide in me, and I in you, ask for whatever you wish and it shall be granted. God is always there and God always care.
Sometimes we need someone to point out the presence of God for us. Where ever the presence is – there is the love of God. For many of us – that person was like a mother to us. The one who cared for us, the one who pointed out the x of life and showed us the way forward. We can be grateful for that person whomever they were.
Because what strikes me, is how many people there are in the world who don’t believe that God loves them. They don’t believe that they are children of God, and they don’t see God’s presence in their situation. God is ever blessing them – and all they see are the bad things. Sort of like the author and her mother. She saw the bad things about her mother- but she never saw the obvious that her mother loved her the best way that she could – with what she had to give. Sort of like the women I talked to who saw all of the bad things in her life, but never stopped to see her blessings in the midst of it. Do you know how many people there are in the world who are asking if God really loves them? Who don’t know that they are loved children of God?
In order to witness God’s presence, you have to know God. The only way to know God - is to know that you are loved. The only way to know love is to be loved. To have someone who mothered you , cared for you and pointed out the presence for you.
Today is mothers day – the day we point out the love in our lives. The day we acknowledge that we have been loved in some way. And we honor the presence of love in our lives. In that sense every day is mothers day. But every day we are also called to perfect our love. Perfect not in being without blame. But in being complete. Where there is woundedness to bring forgiveness, where there is lack of understanding to bring clarity, where there is hatred to bring love. Where there is someone who asks the question does someone love me, to pull them aside and show them the x – which proves that we all stand in holy ground and that the love of God abides in us all.
I leave you with this poem…
in the secret places, where fears and doubts litter the floor of my heart, you come along sweeping them into your broom and dustpan, exposing the bright foundation of faith; you sit me on your lap, placing your hand over mine, stretching out my finger, so, together, we trace the words in the stories of grace and hope told (and lived out) in each generation; you could roam all the ends of creation, but choose to hang out with me (!) grabbing me by the hand when i am about to dart out into the traffic on Sin Street; lifting me into the air to reach the highest branch so i can swing back-and-forth on the Arm of your love. Mother . . . . . .may i always lose my heart to you.
Today, may you not only know that- but also be that.
Amen.
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