November 1, 2009
All Saint’s Day
Isaiah 25:6-9
John 11:32-44
Year B
Let me start by rereading the Isaiah scripture – it is not very long.
On this mountain the Lord will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well ages wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take way from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he moght save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
God makes a profound promise in this passage – he will swallow up death. Then God will wipe away the tears from all faces. Everything that we are struggling with at the moment will disappear.
This is a profound reversal of the human condition. Living on this earth just naturally causes pain, tears and suffering. It does not matter who we are. Every year – at All Saints day we need to stop and to honor the grief in our lives.
I just returned from a wonderful spiritual experience at the Upper Room in Nashville. Trevor Hudson was our spiritual leader for the week. Trevor is a pastor from South Africa- but he travels all over the world to talk about the spiritual journey. He talked about what it meant to be a minister. He said that it is important to listen to the life of everyone. All of us have a pool of tears next to us in life. There is something that we are struggling with. And it is important in ministry to acknowledge that sadness in every life. We need to give a healthy place for our grief.
Another profound part of the text in Isaiah is that God promises that there is a place for us to go and to meet God – to be fed richly and lavishly by God. The church is that place to come and to feel safe to grieve.
As a child, every year in my grade school we had this haunted house. As we got older and saw the same exhibits year after year – you got use to them, but we still went anyway. The highlight of the haunted house was sticking our hands into the black cardboard box. We were supposed to be grossed out by what was in the box. By the fifth grade, we all knew that the box had cooked spaghetti in it. But we stuck our hand in anyway.
I tell you that cheesy story because in many ways All Saints Day is that black cardboard box. It is the place we come to be in touch with the spirits that have passed on to the other side. We all know that this is just an ordinary candle – but in some way we also know that it contains the spirit of the departed. We are a part of the mystery and the veil between life and death. This is the day to realize that there is a thin line between our world and God’s world. There is a thin line between life and death.
Originally All Saints day was created because it was believed that departed souls had not made it to heaven, they needed the prayers of the faithful to finish their journey.
Today we celebrate the presence of loved ones. They are here with us. I used carpenters tape to keep our pictures of loved ones up and displayed, and they continue to fall down anyway. That is a reminder that this moment is not intended to last forever. Their spirit is with us right now, but wont be here forever.
A saint is a child of God – so they now have a place in God’s world. The sickness, the trouble, the pain, the suffering of this world is no longer present for them. They are at God’s table enjoying the feast. Their spirit is free and they have a new life.
All Saints day is for the living – for those left behind. It is for us to acknowledge that we still live in that world of pain. We are the ones to carry on the legacy of their life lived here on earth. We need to acknowledge our pool of tears. The spirits are here with us for now, but they are now seeking eternity.
John says that Jesus was so touched by the human condition that he wept. What is it that makes Jesus cry? He wept for us, yet reminded us of new life.
In scripture today – Jesus woke Lazarus and told them to unbind him and let him go on with his life. What is is that binds us today? What do we need to let go of in order to move forward to journey to that glorious banquet waiting for us?
We need to acknowledge the abundant feast we have before su everyday as our loved ones join us.
A man’s newborn daughter died recently. She had been sick for her whole life. One night he had a dream about his father and his wife’s father – both of whom had passed on. His wife’s father was holding a baby girl but he did not make the connection. Both men talked to the man and told him that everything was okay. They were both watching over the family from heaven. That their family spanned both heaven and earth. They were taking good care of the baby and she was happy. It was then that he realized that his was his baby girl – and he realized the wonderful connection he had to heaven through his loved ones. He woke up with a feeling of comfort and peace.
We cant have life without death. There are times like these that our friends and family come from heaven to invite us to the feast no matter what. We are all part of God family. We are at those thin places in life were for moments we are reunited.
All will be reconciled by God. We will all one day be at that table of God. But we cannot have the reconciliation of our whole family without hospitality, welcomness, forgiveness, and acknowledgement of our grief.
Tears are a part of life.
Finally I want to leave you with this poem
This is from a book by Edward Hays – called Pray in all ways. He says that our lives are a prayer, and that we can pray in many ways – with our hands, our feet, our hands. Our tears are even a prayer. There are times when we may not have to words to express our pain and request to God – it does not matter – God can read our tears….. This is the prayer of tears
Lord, beloved God,
since all communion with you is prayer,
may even my tears be psalms of petition
and canticles of praise to you.
This is a prayer that you value greatly:
the prayer of my tears;
it is a prayer that you always hear
for you are a compassionate and kind God.
And, Lord, I know you understand
that whan I am overcome by my tears -
unable to speak or form a prayer -
that these very tears voice volumes of verse.
All truly great prayer
rises from deep inside
and springs spontaneously to the surface.
It would then seem
that from among the many beautiful prayers,
the sacred songs and canticles of praise,
my tears may be the best worship of all.
Help me not to be ashamed of them;
show me how I can let go of control
and let this prayer of my heart, my tears,
flow naturally and freely to you,
my blessed Lord and divine Lover.
In times of joy or sorrow,
blessed be my tears,
the holy prayers of my heart.
AMEN.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ten Special Words
Ten Special Words
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50
Sixteenth Day of Pentecost
Year B
A man travelled to Calcutta to learn more about faith, and he had the opportunity to meet with mother Theresa, she said that she would pray for him, but what did she want him to pray for? He said that he came here for clarity – so that was his prayer to see more clearly. She told him that there are a lot of times in life when we wont see very clearly. As a matter of fact, most days we wont see things clearly, and yet we need to go forward. I wont pray for clarity – I will pray for trust. I will pray that in the midst of all of the confusion – you will still decide to trust God anyway I think in life, most of us are like that man. We are waiting for things to finally make sense. For all of the answers to come. We are waiting for God to finally come clean and to tell us what all of life is all about – why we go through all that we go through. And when we don’t get the answers that we have been looking for – then there must be something wrong with God – prayers don’t really work, there is no real reason to have any faith. When we hear those stories about how prayer has worked for others – we take it personal – maybe we are not doing it right. Maybe we don’t know how to pray. Maybe we don’t understand this whole prayer thing.
Well, we are at the end of our study of the book of James. Our book of practical wisdom. And all throughout the book, we have had the same advice. Prayer is an important part of the life of an faithful person. We are to pray in the midst of all circumstances. Pray not for clarity, but for trust. Trust God in all circumstances. Our verse for today begins with a three step process for trusting in God. If you need something pray for it, If you are happy then sing about it and if you are sick go the elders and ask them to pray for you. That is good advice for all of us to remember – when you need something you should do what? When you are happy you should do what? When you are sick what should you do?
That last piece of advice has always got me. I first read this advice as a young adult in a bible study at my cousin’s Pentecostal church. And if you know anything about Pentecostals – they love to pray. The pray about everything. But not always in a positive way if I must say so myself. So I have always had this image of being very dubious about that advice. Who are these elders anyway – and why would they have so much power to pray for me – when I couldn’t pray for myself. I would think that they wold judge me and call me a bad person, which is why my prayers didn’t work. There was a story in the tribune last week of a woman who had members of her church arrested for praying on her front yard. She was sick, and another member of the church did vow that it was because she was a sinner in need of prayer. So she and the pastor came to the front yard and prayed. The police were called, but the lady came back again, and the second time was arrested. Perhaps the lady was following the advice of james to pray – but James doesn’t say that our prayers work because of our judgement of others.
Who is worthy of being called an elder anyway. If you look on the picture in the bulletin – those are the elders – the jewish elders. In the United Methodist Church the pastors are the elders, in other denominations they are lay people who have been entrusted to be leaders of the church. For some reason, in our humanness, we think that James is saying that the elders are special people with special powers. They are people that have been specially trained to do their job. They are people who may have a right to judge us. Theyare people up there somewhere.
But if you read further in James, it does not say that at all. Their power comes not from training or a special connection. Their power comes from being a part of the community of Christ. He says therefore confess you sins to one another, pray or one another. He uses Elijah as an example, that he was a faithful man that prayed that it not rain, and his prayer was answered. He prayed that it rained and the heavens opened up.
We tend to think that you have to have some special training for God to answer your prayers. But that it not so. God will answer the prayer of any sincere person. You don’t have to use special words, or have special intentions, or special gifts. Just use the words you have, the thoughts that you have, the faith that you have, the trust that when you pray you are being heard, and your prayers will work.
John Wesley says that everything in life is in answer to someone’s prayer. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Just because they are faithful. Whether you have gone to church everyday of your life – or made a deathbed confession you are the same in the eyes of God. And god responds to us all just the same. It is our faithfulness that is powerful, not our ego. Prayer is not the right words, and it is not even the right spirit, it is the right relationship. And the only relationship that we can ever hope to have with God is a relationship of trust. Prayer is not our clarity about life, it is our willingness to trust the will of God for our lives.
A famous muslim holy woman was once asked how she go to be so holy. How did she come to know God. She replied that she was willing to lose all that she had attained in the will of God. How do you know God – she was asked. You want to know God – I know God without knowing how to know him.
There is nothing that you could ever say to God that will be just the right words. There is no way that you can ever speak for God. There is no way to ever be able to see clearly who God is or what God is exactly doing in the world. But it doesn’t really matter. The prayers of the righteous are still powerful and effective. Because God loves us enough to listen, no matter what we have to say or how we say it.
As we leave the book of James - let us remember his advice. When you need something pray, when we feel joy sing, when you are sick come to the elders.
All of us together are the elders of the church – the faithful. Our strength is in how we work and trust together for ourselves, the church, and the world. Let us pray…..
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50
Sixteenth Day of Pentecost
Year B
A man travelled to Calcutta to learn more about faith, and he had the opportunity to meet with mother Theresa, she said that she would pray for him, but what did she want him to pray for? He said that he came here for clarity – so that was his prayer to see more clearly. She told him that there are a lot of times in life when we wont see very clearly. As a matter of fact, most days we wont see things clearly, and yet we need to go forward. I wont pray for clarity – I will pray for trust. I will pray that in the midst of all of the confusion – you will still decide to trust God anyway I think in life, most of us are like that man. We are waiting for things to finally make sense. For all of the answers to come. We are waiting for God to finally come clean and to tell us what all of life is all about – why we go through all that we go through. And when we don’t get the answers that we have been looking for – then there must be something wrong with God – prayers don’t really work, there is no real reason to have any faith. When we hear those stories about how prayer has worked for others – we take it personal – maybe we are not doing it right. Maybe we don’t know how to pray. Maybe we don’t understand this whole prayer thing.
Well, we are at the end of our study of the book of James. Our book of practical wisdom. And all throughout the book, we have had the same advice. Prayer is an important part of the life of an faithful person. We are to pray in the midst of all circumstances. Pray not for clarity, but for trust. Trust God in all circumstances. Our verse for today begins with a three step process for trusting in God. If you need something pray for it, If you are happy then sing about it and if you are sick go the elders and ask them to pray for you. That is good advice for all of us to remember – when you need something you should do what? When you are happy you should do what? When you are sick what should you do?
That last piece of advice has always got me. I first read this advice as a young adult in a bible study at my cousin’s Pentecostal church. And if you know anything about Pentecostals – they love to pray. The pray about everything. But not always in a positive way if I must say so myself. So I have always had this image of being very dubious about that advice. Who are these elders anyway – and why would they have so much power to pray for me – when I couldn’t pray for myself. I would think that they wold judge me and call me a bad person, which is why my prayers didn’t work. There was a story in the tribune last week of a woman who had members of her church arrested for praying on her front yard. She was sick, and another member of the church did vow that it was because she was a sinner in need of prayer. So she and the pastor came to the front yard and prayed. The police were called, but the lady came back again, and the second time was arrested. Perhaps the lady was following the advice of james to pray – but James doesn’t say that our prayers work because of our judgement of others.
Who is worthy of being called an elder anyway. If you look on the picture in the bulletin – those are the elders – the jewish elders. In the United Methodist Church the pastors are the elders, in other denominations they are lay people who have been entrusted to be leaders of the church. For some reason, in our humanness, we think that James is saying that the elders are special people with special powers. They are people that have been specially trained to do their job. They are people who may have a right to judge us. Theyare people up there somewhere.
But if you read further in James, it does not say that at all. Their power comes not from training or a special connection. Their power comes from being a part of the community of Christ. He says therefore confess you sins to one another, pray or one another. He uses Elijah as an example, that he was a faithful man that prayed that it not rain, and his prayer was answered. He prayed that it rained and the heavens opened up.
We tend to think that you have to have some special training for God to answer your prayers. But that it not so. God will answer the prayer of any sincere person. You don’t have to use special words, or have special intentions, or special gifts. Just use the words you have, the thoughts that you have, the faith that you have, the trust that when you pray you are being heard, and your prayers will work.
John Wesley says that everything in life is in answer to someone’s prayer. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Just because they are faithful. Whether you have gone to church everyday of your life – or made a deathbed confession you are the same in the eyes of God. And god responds to us all just the same. It is our faithfulness that is powerful, not our ego. Prayer is not the right words, and it is not even the right spirit, it is the right relationship. And the only relationship that we can ever hope to have with God is a relationship of trust. Prayer is not our clarity about life, it is our willingness to trust the will of God for our lives.
A famous muslim holy woman was once asked how she go to be so holy. How did she come to know God. She replied that she was willing to lose all that she had attained in the will of God. How do you know God – she was asked. You want to know God – I know God without knowing how to know him.
There is nothing that you could ever say to God that will be just the right words. There is no way that you can ever speak for God. There is no way to ever be able to see clearly who God is or what God is exactly doing in the world. But it doesn’t really matter. The prayers of the righteous are still powerful and effective. Because God loves us enough to listen, no matter what we have to say or how we say it.
As we leave the book of James - let us remember his advice. When you need something pray, when we feel joy sing, when you are sick come to the elders.
All of us together are the elders of the church – the faithful. Our strength is in how we work and trust together for ourselves, the church, and the world. Let us pray…..
The Person in the Mirror
August 30, 2009
James 1:17-27
Mark 7
The person in the mirror
Year B
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Story of mirror woman
There once was a wolf pack – who stuck together to just make a living. There were willing to share with one anther – but also with others. One day this very strange woman came to live with them. And they were willing to share what they had with her. But they could never really see what she looked like because she hid her face with a mirror. They called her mirror woman. She would also show the faces of the wolves in the mirror. Whenever they would try to hold a conversation with her – she would hold up the mirror. And she would point out all of the bad things that she saw in others from this mirror. The wolves saw themselves so much, that they started to believe everything that she said. They started to believe they were the bad behavior in the mirror. Until one say the den mother explained, that they were so much more than the mirror reflected. There was some bad things, but there were also some good things. They actually started to resent mirror woman, and asked her to take the mirror down. But she was afraid and left the pack. She did not want to think about her own bad, it was easier to see that in others. But when she was gone – they started to reflect the love that they wanted to see in others.
I am always amazed at how people quickly the people who don’t go to church like to use that word hypocrite when a talking about Christians.
How many times have I heard that people don’t go to church, because the church is full of hypocrites. What does that mean? And why do you need to say such a thing.
It is just like the woman in the story – who was so busy blaming and accusing others, that she did not take the time to look at her own character. She did not see that what she was doing was even more destructive for the group, then anything that she accused them of doing.
The word hypocrite – comes from greek – it means an actor. In the days of classical theater- an actor would put on one of those masks – either with a happy face or a sad face – to show what character they were playing in a play.
It was very clear that they were not the person they were playing on the stage. They were putting on a persona – taking on a personality that was not really their own.
There are many people today besides actors who have a professional persona and a personal life. That is just a part of the job they have. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing. And most of the time these are really nice people. And their persona is just an exaggeration of their real self.
Hypo – means under - crite means truth – which means under truth or understatement – not overstatement.
Over the years – it seems that the word has taken on a negative connotation that was not intended. Today to word means someone who intentionally takes on a religious or moral persona to hide their true self.
That does not describe the average Christian.
I told you about the workshop on safe sanctuaries. On making the church a safe place for children. The FBI agent warned us that child predators look at life in a totally different way then we would. He also said that many of them intentionally develop a persona of being thought of as a good person. They intentionally go to church, they intentionally try to be a nice guy. So that you don’t question their behavior.
The agent says that usually at the trial of these people, the family members or friends will spit on him, or yell at him. And say that the offender is really a nice guy – look at all of the things he has done in the community. He loves children.
That is the problem – he loves children, that is why he is being prosecuted. To me I would say that is the true definition of a hypocrite.
In Mark 7 as jesus is talking to the Pharisee – he calls them hypocrites.
It is a part of the tradition of the elders – to wash your hands before you eat. Every jews would have known that. The tradition was a set of unspoken rules that everyone would have known and everyone would have obeyed without question.
To jewish tradition to be clean was everything. In order to be close to god you had to be clean. As a Pharisee, you had to be intentional to make sure that you did not do anything that would dirty your hands or your body. That meant you were not fit to worship god. Today, when you enter into a muslim mosue – before you can pray – you have to ceremonially wash your entire body. Even though they are intentional to tell visitors that is only intended for muslims, others are not bound by that custom.
In the Christian church – we don’t have ceremonial cleanings, even though it is still tradition to dress up and look nice when we come to church. We still have the tradition of the elders.
And that was what Jesus was trying to attack when he called the Pharisees hypocrites. The tradition of the elders was not scripture - it was something someone made up. It was something that you just did without question and no one really knew why. Jesus point was that we should stop doing things because they were tradition and to give some thought to what they were doing and why. Maybe the intention of what you were doing was more important than following tradition. And jesus had a mission to fulfill, more important than the way it was always done.
Jesus went on to point out that it was not the tradition of being clean that caused the real evils in the world – it was the condition of the heart – the human heart – to lie, to steal, to criticize, to hurt when we have been hurt.
So we shouldn’t spend so much time worrying about the outside – but concentrate on the inside.
It is not just Christians, or people trying to be good who have those things – but all of us – it is human nature. In some ways we are all hypocrites. Not just Christians, but all people.
The lesson for us as Christians is not that we don’t have those tendencies inside of us, and not that we don’t have an inner self and an outer self. Being a Christian means that we know what is inside of ourselves and we acknowledge that we are sinners and we work to do something about it. We don’t exploit our sin to hurt others, to know that we are sinners, totally dependent on the grace of god to deal with our sinful nature.
For an outsider to be obsesses with calling a Christian a sinner is like the mirror woman finding the faults of the wolf pack – they spend so much time talking about others, that they forget to correct themselves.
Jesus knows that we will always sin, but some of us will look in the mirror and be able to fix what we see is wrong.
James talks about uses mirrors as a metaphor for looking at our selves and our actions too. He says that when we know the will of god and we don’t do it – we are like someone who looks in the mirror and forgets what they look like.
We look like the sons and daughters of God. In the message – Euguene Peterson says that when we know the word of god but we don’t do it – it is like we forget the face we were born with. We forget that we were all born sinners, but we were all born in the image of God. That is the true persona of all people – to reflect the love of god in their lives in some way.
Yesterday, sydaney and ray and I attended the workshop on stewardship. Great speaker, he told a story about a docter who went on a mission trip to Honduras. Before he left, he went to church, but it didn’t mean anything to him. He went through the motions, but it had no meaning. But when he went to help the people of Honduras – he saw the word of god being put into action, and he started to understand why he was really coming to church.
When we returned, he gave more in the offering plate, he volunterred more, he even was able to share his faith with others in a meaningful way.
There was something that was changed in his inner heart – that changed his outer actions. It was the cleansing of his inner heart – that made his outer heart clean. That is all jesus is trying to say to us. Cleansing comes from the inside out – not the outside in.
When we go outside of the sanctuary there are still those who will look on the outside and be critical no matter what. There are still non Christians who need to call Christians hypocrites, there are still neighbors who tell us that they need to see a change in our behavior to really trust us and to believe that we are who we say we are.
I hope you will always be able to admit that you are a sinner saved by the grace of God. Someone who has a heart of jealousy, anger and all kinds of bad things. But a sinner who has been touched in your heart by God, who lives a life not mandated by the mirror of others, but the light of God’s love for you.
James 1:17-27
Mark 7
The person in the mirror
Year B
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Story of mirror woman
There once was a wolf pack – who stuck together to just make a living. There were willing to share with one anther – but also with others. One day this very strange woman came to live with them. And they were willing to share what they had with her. But they could never really see what she looked like because she hid her face with a mirror. They called her mirror woman. She would also show the faces of the wolves in the mirror. Whenever they would try to hold a conversation with her – she would hold up the mirror. And she would point out all of the bad things that she saw in others from this mirror. The wolves saw themselves so much, that they started to believe everything that she said. They started to believe they were the bad behavior in the mirror. Until one say the den mother explained, that they were so much more than the mirror reflected. There was some bad things, but there were also some good things. They actually started to resent mirror woman, and asked her to take the mirror down. But she was afraid and left the pack. She did not want to think about her own bad, it was easier to see that in others. But when she was gone – they started to reflect the love that they wanted to see in others.
I am always amazed at how people quickly the people who don’t go to church like to use that word hypocrite when a talking about Christians.
How many times have I heard that people don’t go to church, because the church is full of hypocrites. What does that mean? And why do you need to say such a thing.
It is just like the woman in the story – who was so busy blaming and accusing others, that she did not take the time to look at her own character. She did not see that what she was doing was even more destructive for the group, then anything that she accused them of doing.
The word hypocrite – comes from greek – it means an actor. In the days of classical theater- an actor would put on one of those masks – either with a happy face or a sad face – to show what character they were playing in a play.
It was very clear that they were not the person they were playing on the stage. They were putting on a persona – taking on a personality that was not really their own.
There are many people today besides actors who have a professional persona and a personal life. That is just a part of the job they have. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing. And most of the time these are really nice people. And their persona is just an exaggeration of their real self.
Hypo – means under - crite means truth – which means under truth or understatement – not overstatement.
Over the years – it seems that the word has taken on a negative connotation that was not intended. Today to word means someone who intentionally takes on a religious or moral persona to hide their true self.
That does not describe the average Christian.
I told you about the workshop on safe sanctuaries. On making the church a safe place for children. The FBI agent warned us that child predators look at life in a totally different way then we would. He also said that many of them intentionally develop a persona of being thought of as a good person. They intentionally go to church, they intentionally try to be a nice guy. So that you don’t question their behavior.
The agent says that usually at the trial of these people, the family members or friends will spit on him, or yell at him. And say that the offender is really a nice guy – look at all of the things he has done in the community. He loves children.
That is the problem – he loves children, that is why he is being prosecuted. To me I would say that is the true definition of a hypocrite.
In Mark 7 as jesus is talking to the Pharisee – he calls them hypocrites.
It is a part of the tradition of the elders – to wash your hands before you eat. Every jews would have known that. The tradition was a set of unspoken rules that everyone would have known and everyone would have obeyed without question.
To jewish tradition to be clean was everything. In order to be close to god you had to be clean. As a Pharisee, you had to be intentional to make sure that you did not do anything that would dirty your hands or your body. That meant you were not fit to worship god. Today, when you enter into a muslim mosue – before you can pray – you have to ceremonially wash your entire body. Even though they are intentional to tell visitors that is only intended for muslims, others are not bound by that custom.
In the Christian church – we don’t have ceremonial cleanings, even though it is still tradition to dress up and look nice when we come to church. We still have the tradition of the elders.
And that was what Jesus was trying to attack when he called the Pharisees hypocrites. The tradition of the elders was not scripture - it was something someone made up. It was something that you just did without question and no one really knew why. Jesus point was that we should stop doing things because they were tradition and to give some thought to what they were doing and why. Maybe the intention of what you were doing was more important than following tradition. And jesus had a mission to fulfill, more important than the way it was always done.
Jesus went on to point out that it was not the tradition of being clean that caused the real evils in the world – it was the condition of the heart – the human heart – to lie, to steal, to criticize, to hurt when we have been hurt.
So we shouldn’t spend so much time worrying about the outside – but concentrate on the inside.
It is not just Christians, or people trying to be good who have those things – but all of us – it is human nature. In some ways we are all hypocrites. Not just Christians, but all people.
The lesson for us as Christians is not that we don’t have those tendencies inside of us, and not that we don’t have an inner self and an outer self. Being a Christian means that we know what is inside of ourselves and we acknowledge that we are sinners and we work to do something about it. We don’t exploit our sin to hurt others, to know that we are sinners, totally dependent on the grace of god to deal with our sinful nature.
For an outsider to be obsesses with calling a Christian a sinner is like the mirror woman finding the faults of the wolf pack – they spend so much time talking about others, that they forget to correct themselves.
Jesus knows that we will always sin, but some of us will look in the mirror and be able to fix what we see is wrong.
James talks about uses mirrors as a metaphor for looking at our selves and our actions too. He says that when we know the will of god and we don’t do it – we are like someone who looks in the mirror and forgets what they look like.
We look like the sons and daughters of God. In the message – Euguene Peterson says that when we know the word of god but we don’t do it – it is like we forget the face we were born with. We forget that we were all born sinners, but we were all born in the image of God. That is the true persona of all people – to reflect the love of god in their lives in some way.
Yesterday, sydaney and ray and I attended the workshop on stewardship. Great speaker, he told a story about a docter who went on a mission trip to Honduras. Before he left, he went to church, but it didn’t mean anything to him. He went through the motions, but it had no meaning. But when he went to help the people of Honduras – he saw the word of god being put into action, and he started to understand why he was really coming to church.
When we returned, he gave more in the offering plate, he volunterred more, he even was able to share his faith with others in a meaningful way.
There was something that was changed in his inner heart – that changed his outer actions. It was the cleansing of his inner heart – that made his outer heart clean. That is all jesus is trying to say to us. Cleansing comes from the inside out – not the outside in.
When we go outside of the sanctuary there are still those who will look on the outside and be critical no matter what. There are still non Christians who need to call Christians hypocrites, there are still neighbors who tell us that they need to see a change in our behavior to really trust us and to believe that we are who we say we are.
I hope you will always be able to admit that you are a sinner saved by the grace of God. Someone who has a heart of jealousy, anger and all kinds of bad things. But a sinner who has been touched in your heart by God, who lives a life not mandated by the mirror of others, but the light of God’s love for you.
Is God the answer to our modern questions?
October 18, 2009
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
Hebrews 5:1-10
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
Is God the answer for our modern questions?
Joe was going to bed when his wife, Susie, informed him he had left the light on in the garden shed; she could see it from the bedroom window. But Joe said he hadn't been in the shed that day. He took a look, and there were people in the shed stealing things.
He called the police, but they told him that no one was in his area, so no one was available to catch the thieves. Joe said okay, hung up, counted to thirty, and called the police again.
"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were thieves in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now; I just shot them all."
Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit-the works. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to Joe, "I thought you said you shot them!"
Joe replied, "I thought you said there were no cops available."[1]
In these days of budget cuts, this story cuts very close to home. As we expect help from others, and get an answer that no help is available. I just recently called the police myself, and was surpised when asked if I was expecting them respond to my call. In many ways I guess that is a sign of the times.
But the call for help in times of need is universal. The concern when those you depend on don’t help is also universal. That is why we have the story of Job. Where is God when I need God – is a universal question that we have all asked at some time or another.
God seems to hear Job asking questions and demanding personal audience, and comes to speak to Job personally. Job is convinced that he is innocent. He has done nothing to deserve all of these horrible things. And he does not intend on changing or doing anything to get out of all of this stuff. God has a responsibility to rescue him and make it all better. But when God does speak to him – God could care less about whether he is innocent or not. Whether he has been faithful, or even whether he deserves all of this bad luck.
Job has some unanswerable questions, but God has God’s own set of Questions. Where were you during creation? Do you know how to make the sun set? Do you know how to call the wind to blow? Job realizes that his ways are not God ways. And that God is always much wiser than we could ever be. God is much more in control of the the world than we could ever be. And we are a part of God’s plan, God is not a part of our plan. God has a reason for doing everything in life. And there is no way to be privy to God’s plan. Faith in tough times is just a matter of trusting that God has a reason for everything. Faith that things turn out for the good of those who believe in God.
Life is full of suffering – we cant do anything about it. Sometimes going through that suffering makes us stronger that we could ever believe. When we think about who we are today – much of what forms our character and personality comes from overcoming adversity and challenge in our lives.
God’s point to Job still applies to our modern day lives and our modern day problems. Today we experience illness, economic problems, accidents, times when we are doing the right thing, yet still suffering, Times when we see loved ones struggling and stand by feeling helpless. All of these things are in the Job story, all of these things are in our story. And yet God wants us to know that when we stop and think about it – God is with us. We can see the presence of God in our lives. We can see the hand of God, when we feel out of control. For me I can see that so clearly. And even when I don’t see that – I still trust in that. God is on control – even in times when I am at loss for what is going on – which is most of the time.
Last Thursday I went to the Borders in Schaumburg – hoping to get Julie Andrews to sign my book. Something told me to call ahead of time – but no, when I got there, they were not allowing anyone else to get in line for her signature. In order to pass the time away – I looked at al l of the bestsellers. One really caught my attention. It is called “The New Atheism”. New atheism – I have enough problem with the old atheism, for there the be a new one. Isnt that why our churches our dying? – because people don’t want to believe in God. When they see the evil of the world – they don’t know what to think, they don’t know how to recognize God’s presence in our lives. So people conclude that there is not God. Our experience tells us that once a person dies, they cant come back to life – so there is no need to take the story of Jesus seriously. When faced with the answerable questions in life – an atheist cant look beyond the questions.
It seems that the new atheism is a movement that has come out of observations of the events of 911. A group of scientist concluded that the events of 911 would never have happen if it wasn’t for religion. Thus it is their task to free the world of ignorance, myth and doctrine. They believe that believing in God has hurt more people than anything else. They take offense that in the aftermath of 911 that our politicians seemed to justify their policies of war and destruction with religious language.
I find it interesting that many of those call themselves new atheist are scientist. Scientist who believe that everything in the natural world can be explained by scientist, so there is no need to explain it by an outdated notion of God.
Yes it is true- science can explain most things in the natural world. Today we know why the sun rises. We know how the sun rises. We even know that heaven not up there in the sky- in the sky is the atmosphere of earth, space, the solar system, the sun and many universes beyond. And yet science has not found anything that resembles a heavenly throne room. As we look at the natural world – we can explain how everything that exist today came into being.
And yet when God talks with Job, he does not ask how creation came into being. Science has a very different answer than faith to that question. God consistently asks Job if he was there when creation came into being. Job says no, we have to say no, and the atheistic scientist have to answer that question no. you can explain the wind, but can you make the wind blow – can you control the weather? We may not understand why God makes the wind blow, but I can assure you that if it were humanly possible to stop a hurricane or to change its course – we would but science cant do that. We can explain nature, but we cant control it. Which is God’s reminder to Job. As much as we want to be in control of our lives – God is still in control. Our ways are not God ways. And and how and why God does anything is still mystery to us. How do we explain the events of 911 – personally I think it goes much beyond the fact that there were a few people zealous for God wanting to hurt us. There was history, there were consequences, there social reality, there was the human spirits desire to move beyond hurt and pain and learn to heal. All things which cant be defined simply be a scientific explanation.
Job came to God because he wanted to prove his innocence. There was no reason for these things to happen to him. God never doubted that Job was innocent. As a matter of fact, God had enough faith for Job to hold onto to his innocence and his faith no matter what happen to him. It was faith that bought him through to this point. Victor Frankl – a jewish man who went throught the holocaust said that as long as you have a why – you can endure any of the hows that life throws at you. As long as you have something to look forward to – all that happens to you is just a means to an end. It is not the end for you.
Job has many chances to become a new atheist and to say that there is no God. We have those same chances – to walk away at any moment and to join others in the world. Yet Job made a choice – to hold onto his faith in God not matter what. To know that God would make things clear if he asked in faith, and to accept whatever answer he received. If I am faithful – then I have to choose obendiance in good times and in bad. The lord giveth, the lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord.
I believe in the sun, even when the sun doesn’t shine. I believe in the daylight, even when it is dark, I believe in God even when God is silent, and out dated. What about you?
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
Hebrews 5:1-10
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
Is God the answer for our modern questions?
Joe was going to bed when his wife, Susie, informed him he had left the light on in the garden shed; she could see it from the bedroom window. But Joe said he hadn't been in the shed that day. He took a look, and there were people in the shed stealing things.
He called the police, but they told him that no one was in his area, so no one was available to catch the thieves. Joe said okay, hung up, counted to thirty, and called the police again.
"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were thieves in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now; I just shot them all."
Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit-the works. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to Joe, "I thought you said you shot them!"
Joe replied, "I thought you said there were no cops available."[1]
In these days of budget cuts, this story cuts very close to home. As we expect help from others, and get an answer that no help is available. I just recently called the police myself, and was surpised when asked if I was expecting them respond to my call. In many ways I guess that is a sign of the times.
But the call for help in times of need is universal. The concern when those you depend on don’t help is also universal. That is why we have the story of Job. Where is God when I need God – is a universal question that we have all asked at some time or another.
God seems to hear Job asking questions and demanding personal audience, and comes to speak to Job personally. Job is convinced that he is innocent. He has done nothing to deserve all of these horrible things. And he does not intend on changing or doing anything to get out of all of this stuff. God has a responsibility to rescue him and make it all better. But when God does speak to him – God could care less about whether he is innocent or not. Whether he has been faithful, or even whether he deserves all of this bad luck.
Job has some unanswerable questions, but God has God’s own set of Questions. Where were you during creation? Do you know how to make the sun set? Do you know how to call the wind to blow? Job realizes that his ways are not God ways. And that God is always much wiser than we could ever be. God is much more in control of the the world than we could ever be. And we are a part of God’s plan, God is not a part of our plan. God has a reason for doing everything in life. And there is no way to be privy to God’s plan. Faith in tough times is just a matter of trusting that God has a reason for everything. Faith that things turn out for the good of those who believe in God.
Life is full of suffering – we cant do anything about it. Sometimes going through that suffering makes us stronger that we could ever believe. When we think about who we are today – much of what forms our character and personality comes from overcoming adversity and challenge in our lives.
God’s point to Job still applies to our modern day lives and our modern day problems. Today we experience illness, economic problems, accidents, times when we are doing the right thing, yet still suffering, Times when we see loved ones struggling and stand by feeling helpless. All of these things are in the Job story, all of these things are in our story. And yet God wants us to know that when we stop and think about it – God is with us. We can see the presence of God in our lives. We can see the hand of God, when we feel out of control. For me I can see that so clearly. And even when I don’t see that – I still trust in that. God is on control – even in times when I am at loss for what is going on – which is most of the time.
Last Thursday I went to the Borders in Schaumburg – hoping to get Julie Andrews to sign my book. Something told me to call ahead of time – but no, when I got there, they were not allowing anyone else to get in line for her signature. In order to pass the time away – I looked at al l of the bestsellers. One really caught my attention. It is called “The New Atheism”. New atheism – I have enough problem with the old atheism, for there the be a new one. Isnt that why our churches our dying? – because people don’t want to believe in God. When they see the evil of the world – they don’t know what to think, they don’t know how to recognize God’s presence in our lives. So people conclude that there is not God. Our experience tells us that once a person dies, they cant come back to life – so there is no need to take the story of Jesus seriously. When faced with the answerable questions in life – an atheist cant look beyond the questions.
It seems that the new atheism is a movement that has come out of observations of the events of 911. A group of scientist concluded that the events of 911 would never have happen if it wasn’t for religion. Thus it is their task to free the world of ignorance, myth and doctrine. They believe that believing in God has hurt more people than anything else. They take offense that in the aftermath of 911 that our politicians seemed to justify their policies of war and destruction with religious language.
I find it interesting that many of those call themselves new atheist are scientist. Scientist who believe that everything in the natural world can be explained by scientist, so there is no need to explain it by an outdated notion of God.
Yes it is true- science can explain most things in the natural world. Today we know why the sun rises. We know how the sun rises. We even know that heaven not up there in the sky- in the sky is the atmosphere of earth, space, the solar system, the sun and many universes beyond. And yet science has not found anything that resembles a heavenly throne room. As we look at the natural world – we can explain how everything that exist today came into being.
And yet when God talks with Job, he does not ask how creation came into being. Science has a very different answer than faith to that question. God consistently asks Job if he was there when creation came into being. Job says no, we have to say no, and the atheistic scientist have to answer that question no. you can explain the wind, but can you make the wind blow – can you control the weather? We may not understand why God makes the wind blow, but I can assure you that if it were humanly possible to stop a hurricane or to change its course – we would but science cant do that. We can explain nature, but we cant control it. Which is God’s reminder to Job. As much as we want to be in control of our lives – God is still in control. Our ways are not God ways. And and how and why God does anything is still mystery to us. How do we explain the events of 911 – personally I think it goes much beyond the fact that there were a few people zealous for God wanting to hurt us. There was history, there were consequences, there social reality, there was the human spirits desire to move beyond hurt and pain and learn to heal. All things which cant be defined simply be a scientific explanation.
Job came to God because he wanted to prove his innocence. There was no reason for these things to happen to him. God never doubted that Job was innocent. As a matter of fact, God had enough faith for Job to hold onto to his innocence and his faith no matter what happen to him. It was faith that bought him through to this point. Victor Frankl – a jewish man who went throught the holocaust said that as long as you have a why – you can endure any of the hows that life throws at you. As long as you have something to look forward to – all that happens to you is just a means to an end. It is not the end for you.
Job has many chances to become a new atheist and to say that there is no God. We have those same chances – to walk away at any moment and to join others in the world. Yet Job made a choice – to hold onto his faith in God not matter what. To know that God would make things clear if he asked in faith, and to accept whatever answer he received. If I am faithful – then I have to choose obendiance in good times and in bad. The lord giveth, the lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord.
I believe in the sun, even when the sun doesn’t shine. I believe in the daylight, even when it is dark, I believe in God even when God is silent, and out dated. What about you?
Prayers answered
“Prayers Answered”
November 15, 2009
Twenty-fifth Sunday of Pentecost
Year B
1 Samuel
Mark 13:38-44
It seems that every few years now there is a different prediction that the end is coming near. Remember all of the hoopla that was made about Y2K. None of the computers were programmed to read the year 2000 – and everything was going to shut down – and life as we know it would end. I am sure that I am missing another one since then.
Well now, it has been decided that the world will come to an end in 2012. The 5000 year old Mayan calendar will end in the year 2012 – And this end is not predicted by Christians waiting for Christ to return – this end is much older and deeper than that, so it must be true. People have been talking about it and preparing for it for years now – and now it is only 2 years away.
The new movie 2012 debuted this Friday – Friday the 13th mind you. That is not my genre of movie, so I didn’t watch it – but I saw the previews. They reviews say that this is the movie of all movies. The director took scenes from every destructive movie ever made and made this one even more destructive. You see all types of icons – the Vatican, Rio De Janero’s statue of Jesus, even the city of Los angeles – totally fall apart in this movie. Signifiying that this is indeed the end of the world as we know it. This is indeed a time of cataclysmic change. This is indeed the end of the world. The end of the world as we know it. That is just it. People have been predicting the end of the world for centuries. People – Christian and non Christian have been asking the same question of Jesus as asked in Mark 13 – when will we know – tell us when will this be, and what will be the signs that all of these things are about to be accomplished? When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, earthquakes and famine – this is but the beginning.
And we take Jesus at his word – and we believe that the end of the world must be total chaos and destruction. We have to feel and witness something big, and painful and worldwide in order for the world to change. In order for the world of Jesus to come into the earth – the earth must be totally destroyed. – right? Wrong? In order for the end of the world to come – we have to be destroyed. Right? Wrong. We got it all wrong.
This verse is called the little apopcalyse – the big apopcalyse is the book of revelation. And yet Jesus is not talking about endings – he says that this is the beginning of birth pangs. The world will not be destroyed – but recreated. Life as we know it does not come to an end- it simply transforms. The mayan prediction of 2012 – has been intentionally distorted by our culture – who seems to love sensationalism and exaggeration. The prediction is not that the world will end after 5000 years – but that after 5000 years a new era of understanding will be ushered in. A time when people are able to let go of old things – and look at life from a brand new perspective.
A time of cataclysmic change and transformation. But the transformation is not about what is going on out there somewhere – the change is about what is going on in here. Jesus constantly reminds us that God is not concerned about outward appearances – God is concerned about the condition of our hearts.
In a world that is in deep pain and groaning. In a culture that is asking itself some serious questions, in a time when life is seriously evaluating itself and its values – we are being asked to have a change of heart. A change in who we are and how we relate to the world.
We have no idea of what events will lead us to our final destiny – we have no idea of what the world will go through within the next two years, we have no control over even what the future holds for us – but what we do know is that the time has come for us to transform.
The thing is – we come to this point in our faith every year. As the old Christian year winds down- and the new year is about to begin – we are taken in scripture to the questions and the tumult of the apopcalypse. We are reminded of the end of the times. But we are never challenged to die – we are always challenged to begin again. To realize that in every ending – there is always a new beginning. It is time for us to start looking for those new beginnings, those unexpected births, those moments of faith.
Every year we relive the circle of life. Every year we relive the birth, life , death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior to be reminded that transformation is a normal occurance. The lesson for us is to be prepared for a catalcymic transformation in every moment of our lives.
If every moment is special, then every person is special. The entrance of every person into the world is a story to tell the began in the hopes and dreams of our ancestors long ago.
There is another theme for our scriptures for this time of year. A reminder that every great man who came into the world to bring about hope and change – was raised and nurtured by a faithful mother. That is an interesting pattern in the bible. In the story of Jesus, we learn about his mother Mary. In the story of David, we learn about his great grandmother Ruth, on the story of John we learn about his mother Elizabeth, and in the story of Samuel – we learn about his mother Hannah.
Samuel was a man who bought great change to the Hebrew culture. He was not a king, he was a kingmaker. HE ushered his people into a new understanding of leadership. He was the last of the judges over the people, and he made Saul and them David a king. He spent his life as a priest in the temple – he realized that even that system was not working – because priest had become corrupt.
Our scripture read is a celebration of his mother’s answered prayer. Where she acknowledges that it is time for a change, and that in God’s answered prayer the world would be shaken up and turned upside down, so that the people on the bottom would now be on the top.
Hannah was a second wife with no children, and she got tired of being mistreated by the other wife, who had plenty of children for her husband. Hannah prayed that if God would just give her a son – she would give that son back to God and raise him as a priest. Well – she got pregnant and after three years she did indeed give her son Samuel to be raised in the temple. It was her faith that gave the world a transformational leader. It was also her willingness to trust God to answer her prayer. How well do we trust God with our prayers?
A man was really sick and needed a very serious surgery. He prayed to God that things would go well for him. But just to sweeten the deal he promised the surgeon that he would donate enough money to build a new wing for the hospital if things turned out. Well the surgery turned out – and the surgeon came to the man a few months later – reminding him of he bargain that he had made with the hospital before the surgery. The man had forgotten about that bargain. He said o gee, I really must have been sick to have made a promise like that. I am better now, - I don’t need to pray anymore.
What would have happen had Hannah had the same attitude – and not kept her promise to God? What bargains do we make with God in our times of need – how are we in maintaining our faithfulness?
We would all agree that we live in some really tough times, and that we all have some really tough challenges ahead. We may not all agree on what it takes to change the circumstances, but we all agree that the circumstances need to be changed. We are all looking for that cataclysmic transformation for things to be different. For the peace that God promised us all to begin and to spread throughout the world.
Some need to see the sensationalism of 2012 in order to realize that things can truly be different. All of us – especially the faithful of God need to realize that every moment and every life is a part of the great change. God uses our lives, our moments, our faith to bring about the greatest change. The toughest jobs in life are given to the faithful who are willing to trust in God and willing to be used by the creative movement of the holy spirit – present and every changing our lives one prayer at a time. Amen.
November 15, 2009
Twenty-fifth Sunday of Pentecost
Year B
1 Samuel
Mark 13:38-44
It seems that every few years now there is a different prediction that the end is coming near. Remember all of the hoopla that was made about Y2K. None of the computers were programmed to read the year 2000 – and everything was going to shut down – and life as we know it would end. I am sure that I am missing another one since then.
Well now, it has been decided that the world will come to an end in 2012. The 5000 year old Mayan calendar will end in the year 2012 – And this end is not predicted by Christians waiting for Christ to return – this end is much older and deeper than that, so it must be true. People have been talking about it and preparing for it for years now – and now it is only 2 years away.
The new movie 2012 debuted this Friday – Friday the 13th mind you. That is not my genre of movie, so I didn’t watch it – but I saw the previews. They reviews say that this is the movie of all movies. The director took scenes from every destructive movie ever made and made this one even more destructive. You see all types of icons – the Vatican, Rio De Janero’s statue of Jesus, even the city of Los angeles – totally fall apart in this movie. Signifiying that this is indeed the end of the world as we know it. This is indeed a time of cataclysmic change. This is indeed the end of the world. The end of the world as we know it. That is just it. People have been predicting the end of the world for centuries. People – Christian and non Christian have been asking the same question of Jesus as asked in Mark 13 – when will we know – tell us when will this be, and what will be the signs that all of these things are about to be accomplished? When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, earthquakes and famine – this is but the beginning.
And we take Jesus at his word – and we believe that the end of the world must be total chaos and destruction. We have to feel and witness something big, and painful and worldwide in order for the world to change. In order for the world of Jesus to come into the earth – the earth must be totally destroyed. – right? Wrong? In order for the end of the world to come – we have to be destroyed. Right? Wrong. We got it all wrong.
This verse is called the little apopcalyse – the big apopcalyse is the book of revelation. And yet Jesus is not talking about endings – he says that this is the beginning of birth pangs. The world will not be destroyed – but recreated. Life as we know it does not come to an end- it simply transforms. The mayan prediction of 2012 – has been intentionally distorted by our culture – who seems to love sensationalism and exaggeration. The prediction is not that the world will end after 5000 years – but that after 5000 years a new era of understanding will be ushered in. A time when people are able to let go of old things – and look at life from a brand new perspective.
A time of cataclysmic change and transformation. But the transformation is not about what is going on out there somewhere – the change is about what is going on in here. Jesus constantly reminds us that God is not concerned about outward appearances – God is concerned about the condition of our hearts.
In a world that is in deep pain and groaning. In a culture that is asking itself some serious questions, in a time when life is seriously evaluating itself and its values – we are being asked to have a change of heart. A change in who we are and how we relate to the world.
We have no idea of what events will lead us to our final destiny – we have no idea of what the world will go through within the next two years, we have no control over even what the future holds for us – but what we do know is that the time has come for us to transform.
The thing is – we come to this point in our faith every year. As the old Christian year winds down- and the new year is about to begin – we are taken in scripture to the questions and the tumult of the apopcalypse. We are reminded of the end of the times. But we are never challenged to die – we are always challenged to begin again. To realize that in every ending – there is always a new beginning. It is time for us to start looking for those new beginnings, those unexpected births, those moments of faith.
Every year we relive the circle of life. Every year we relive the birth, life , death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior to be reminded that transformation is a normal occurance. The lesson for us is to be prepared for a catalcymic transformation in every moment of our lives.
If every moment is special, then every person is special. The entrance of every person into the world is a story to tell the began in the hopes and dreams of our ancestors long ago.
There is another theme for our scriptures for this time of year. A reminder that every great man who came into the world to bring about hope and change – was raised and nurtured by a faithful mother. That is an interesting pattern in the bible. In the story of Jesus, we learn about his mother Mary. In the story of David, we learn about his great grandmother Ruth, on the story of John we learn about his mother Elizabeth, and in the story of Samuel – we learn about his mother Hannah.
Samuel was a man who bought great change to the Hebrew culture. He was not a king, he was a kingmaker. HE ushered his people into a new understanding of leadership. He was the last of the judges over the people, and he made Saul and them David a king. He spent his life as a priest in the temple – he realized that even that system was not working – because priest had become corrupt.
Our scripture read is a celebration of his mother’s answered prayer. Where she acknowledges that it is time for a change, and that in God’s answered prayer the world would be shaken up and turned upside down, so that the people on the bottom would now be on the top.
Hannah was a second wife with no children, and she got tired of being mistreated by the other wife, who had plenty of children for her husband. Hannah prayed that if God would just give her a son – she would give that son back to God and raise him as a priest. Well – she got pregnant and after three years she did indeed give her son Samuel to be raised in the temple. It was her faith that gave the world a transformational leader. It was also her willingness to trust God to answer her prayer. How well do we trust God with our prayers?
A man was really sick and needed a very serious surgery. He prayed to God that things would go well for him. But just to sweeten the deal he promised the surgeon that he would donate enough money to build a new wing for the hospital if things turned out. Well the surgery turned out – and the surgeon came to the man a few months later – reminding him of he bargain that he had made with the hospital before the surgery. The man had forgotten about that bargain. He said o gee, I really must have been sick to have made a promise like that. I am better now, - I don’t need to pray anymore.
What would have happen had Hannah had the same attitude – and not kept her promise to God? What bargains do we make with God in our times of need – how are we in maintaining our faithfulness?
We would all agree that we live in some really tough times, and that we all have some really tough challenges ahead. We may not all agree on what it takes to change the circumstances, but we all agree that the circumstances need to be changed. We are all looking for that cataclysmic transformation for things to be different. For the peace that God promised us all to begin and to spread throughout the world.
Some need to see the sensationalism of 2012 in order to realize that things can truly be different. All of us – especially the faithful of God need to realize that every moment and every life is a part of the great change. God uses our lives, our moments, our faith to bring about the greatest change. The toughest jobs in life are given to the faithful who are willing to trust in God and willing to be used by the creative movement of the holy spirit – present and every changing our lives one prayer at a time. Amen.
Monday, November 09, 2009
The Widow's Club
November 8, 2009
The Widow’s Club
Twenty Fourth Day of Pentecost
Ruth 3-4
Mark 12:38-44
Year B
Why the Widow’s Club
Interestingly enough both of the scriptures for today are tales about widows. I think it is just a coincidence, don’t think it really means anything. A coincidence is just God wanting to remain anonymous.
The Widows in the story
Yet both the old testament and the new testament have a lot to say about widows. In many societies, it is a pretty significant thing to be a widow. So you paid attention to what they did.
A Widow’s condition
Friday night – we had a wonderful young adult group present to speak their poems. And one of the young women did a poem (I can’t remember the title), but her point was that as females we are taught that our whole lives revolve around a man.
Everything we do from a small child to an older woman is geared toward getting married, and even when we get married our lives are defined by that marriage.
Today in modern American society – we as woman can look back at that reflect that maybe that mindset of having a man define us is not all that there is to life. Today there are laws and social norms in place to allow a woman to survive and have an identity after she has lost a husband.
That has not been true for all women in all societies in all times. In biblical times a woman was totally defined by her husband. She was not allowed to speak in public, she was not allowed to hold a job, or to manage a household, or have an income. Without a mate a women was absolutely nothing – a non entity. People knew you were there – but you were nobody. If you did not have a man to take care of you – then you were totally dependent on the charity of others for every means of life.
You notice in the bible, that there is an obsession with taking care of the widows. Paul talks a lot about church being in mission and helping out – his whole point was that the widows of Jerusalem needed some means of support- and if the good people of the churches and synagogues didn’t give it to them – they had nothing.
As a matter of fact, the word for widow in Hebrew means nobody – bereft, to be without, to have a large empty space in life.
To be bereft – empty, left with nothing. I entitled this sermon the widow’s club – because this is a sermon about widows. There are widows in our stories that teach us about life – but in a sense I think that all of us can relate at some place in our lives to feeling like a nobody – like an empty space that longs to be filled, to be acknowledged, to be cared about and loved.
Perhaps that is why thousands of years later, we hear stories of these widows and the lessons in life that they still have to teach not just other widows – but all spiritual beings.
Our first lesson comes from the book of Ruth. Naomi and her husband have moved away to the desert in hopes of a better life. They and their sons and their sons wives have all relocated. But for some reason the men in the story do not survive. And after they have died, the women are left alone. And in the world she lives in, Naomi knows that there is no such thing as fending for themselves. They are widows, they have nothing, and they have now entered into the societies of nobodies. As an act of caring – Naomi sends her daughter in laws home so they can be taken care of by their families. And yet Ruth refuses, she believes that in some way they will survive. Naomi knows that in this world that is not a possibility – but she does have a plan.
Ruth actually does have property that she has inherited from her husband. But she can’t have it – her husband has to inherit it for her. And her new husband has to be a relative of her old husband. Because he has to be willing to carry on the family name for the dead man.
Naomi tells Ruth to lie down next to Boaz on the threshing floor. She is to lay facing his feet, and when he wakes up he will be willing to marry her. I have always thought that part of the story a little strange – there has got to be something missing they they are not telling us.
But is works and Ruth and Boaz get married and have a son – Ruth gives the son to Naomi – so that she can have an heir. The family name continues.
That is the moral of the story – here is a woman who with a husband and two sons had everything – when she lost them she lost everything in life – including a future. And yet through faith and love and relationships she gained it all back. Her grandson became the grandson of the greatest king – king david. When you read the lineage of Jesus – it is the lineage of the males in Jesus family – yet there are 4 women listed one of them is Ruth – a foreign widow
We have to create it
The lesson there for us is that if spiritually we are all widows – person with an empty space in our hearts – we have to means to fill it. When we are hopeless – we have to be hopeful that God does indeed have a plan for our despair , and when we look at the world and see that we have no future – we have to create it. We have to use our faith, our love and our relationships to move forward anyway – and God will do the rest.
Lesson from widow 2
Now I want to shift over to the lessons of our second widow story. The widow in the temple that Jesus notices as she gives everything.
Picture the story
Now the Hebrew Temple was divided into sections – the priest had a section, the men had a section, the women had a section, the gentiles had a section, and foreigners had a section. It was expected that you would bring your money to the temple, and it was collected differently in each section.
This story takes place in the gentile section – there would have been large pots placed to collect money – and as you walked in you through your donation into a pot.
It is not hard to imagine being to hear the clanking of the coins as each person gave their offering. If there were a number of rich people in the temple – you would have been able to hear the coins as each person gave.
What is hard to imagine is why Jesus would have been standing there watching and basically counting and taking account for what each person gave.
He notices the widow as she comes in, he probably talked to her in the street and knows that she has been begging. He hears the clanking of the man before her in line, but when she gives – there is no sound, the coins she tosses in are so light, you cant even hear them.
Only Jesus would recognize that the little she gives, is worth so much more than all of the rich people before her. They gave out of their abundance, she gave out of her need. They have money left over, Jesus seems to believe that she has nothing else. Others wonder is it really appropropriate for her to take what she has been given and give it away to God. Obviously she trusted that God will use the money for a better purpose. We can never beat God giving, no matter how much we give – so she trusted that what she gave would be returned.
She gave everything that she had
She trusted God for everything
She didn’t just give her best to God, she gave her all to God. She took seriously that command to love to lord your god with all of your mind, all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your pocket book. That is not written in the but it is implied.
2 lessons – have hope in the future and trust for in our darkest hour
That is the second lesson for us widows in spirit – to trust god – trust God with everything.
Two lessons for us today – have hope in the future to create it, and to trust God in our darkest hour.
3rd story of a widow
I want to tell you the story of a 3rd widow.
Agnes lives on a farm in Iowa. She is very astute and together, but kind of strange. Her clothes are always clean, but a little outdated. Clothes from the 1920’s and 30’s. when you meet Agnes she is always complaining about something in life. She attends a lot of funeral these days, not to show her sympathies, but to get the free lunches. She doesn’t waste her time coming to church – but loves fellowship hour, she takes the leftover cookies. Her pastor came to her son one day and asked how the church could help her financially, since like so many older people, she was struggling. Her son revealed that Agnes was doing quite well financially – she has enough stocks and bonds to be comfortable well into her life. And yet she was not willing to give to others. Agnes was a poor widow – but not poor economically – but poor in spirit. Poor in love, poor in relationship, poor in faith.
Three widows stories for us today – three lessons.
Have hope to create the future
Trust God with all that you have – God is good for it,
Fill our empty spaces with joy and the love of God.
The Widow’s Club
Twenty Fourth Day of Pentecost
Ruth 3-4
Mark 12:38-44
Year B
Why the Widow’s Club
Interestingly enough both of the scriptures for today are tales about widows. I think it is just a coincidence, don’t think it really means anything. A coincidence is just God wanting to remain anonymous.
The Widows in the story
Yet both the old testament and the new testament have a lot to say about widows. In many societies, it is a pretty significant thing to be a widow. So you paid attention to what they did.
A Widow’s condition
Friday night – we had a wonderful young adult group present to speak their poems. And one of the young women did a poem (I can’t remember the title), but her point was that as females we are taught that our whole lives revolve around a man.
Everything we do from a small child to an older woman is geared toward getting married, and even when we get married our lives are defined by that marriage.
Today in modern American society – we as woman can look back at that reflect that maybe that mindset of having a man define us is not all that there is to life. Today there are laws and social norms in place to allow a woman to survive and have an identity after she has lost a husband.
That has not been true for all women in all societies in all times. In biblical times a woman was totally defined by her husband. She was not allowed to speak in public, she was not allowed to hold a job, or to manage a household, or have an income. Without a mate a women was absolutely nothing – a non entity. People knew you were there – but you were nobody. If you did not have a man to take care of you – then you were totally dependent on the charity of others for every means of life.
You notice in the bible, that there is an obsession with taking care of the widows. Paul talks a lot about church being in mission and helping out – his whole point was that the widows of Jerusalem needed some means of support- and if the good people of the churches and synagogues didn’t give it to them – they had nothing.
As a matter of fact, the word for widow in Hebrew means nobody – bereft, to be without, to have a large empty space in life.
To be bereft – empty, left with nothing. I entitled this sermon the widow’s club – because this is a sermon about widows. There are widows in our stories that teach us about life – but in a sense I think that all of us can relate at some place in our lives to feeling like a nobody – like an empty space that longs to be filled, to be acknowledged, to be cared about and loved.
Perhaps that is why thousands of years later, we hear stories of these widows and the lessons in life that they still have to teach not just other widows – but all spiritual beings.
Our first lesson comes from the book of Ruth. Naomi and her husband have moved away to the desert in hopes of a better life. They and their sons and their sons wives have all relocated. But for some reason the men in the story do not survive. And after they have died, the women are left alone. And in the world she lives in, Naomi knows that there is no such thing as fending for themselves. They are widows, they have nothing, and they have now entered into the societies of nobodies. As an act of caring – Naomi sends her daughter in laws home so they can be taken care of by their families. And yet Ruth refuses, she believes that in some way they will survive. Naomi knows that in this world that is not a possibility – but she does have a plan.
Ruth actually does have property that she has inherited from her husband. But she can’t have it – her husband has to inherit it for her. And her new husband has to be a relative of her old husband. Because he has to be willing to carry on the family name for the dead man.
Naomi tells Ruth to lie down next to Boaz on the threshing floor. She is to lay facing his feet, and when he wakes up he will be willing to marry her. I have always thought that part of the story a little strange – there has got to be something missing they they are not telling us.
But is works and Ruth and Boaz get married and have a son – Ruth gives the son to Naomi – so that she can have an heir. The family name continues.
That is the moral of the story – here is a woman who with a husband and two sons had everything – when she lost them she lost everything in life – including a future. And yet through faith and love and relationships she gained it all back. Her grandson became the grandson of the greatest king – king david. When you read the lineage of Jesus – it is the lineage of the males in Jesus family – yet there are 4 women listed one of them is Ruth – a foreign widow
We have to create it
The lesson there for us is that if spiritually we are all widows – person with an empty space in our hearts – we have to means to fill it. When we are hopeless – we have to be hopeful that God does indeed have a plan for our despair , and when we look at the world and see that we have no future – we have to create it. We have to use our faith, our love and our relationships to move forward anyway – and God will do the rest.
Lesson from widow 2
Now I want to shift over to the lessons of our second widow story. The widow in the temple that Jesus notices as she gives everything.
Picture the story
Now the Hebrew Temple was divided into sections – the priest had a section, the men had a section, the women had a section, the gentiles had a section, and foreigners had a section. It was expected that you would bring your money to the temple, and it was collected differently in each section.
This story takes place in the gentile section – there would have been large pots placed to collect money – and as you walked in you through your donation into a pot.
It is not hard to imagine being to hear the clanking of the coins as each person gave their offering. If there were a number of rich people in the temple – you would have been able to hear the coins as each person gave.
What is hard to imagine is why Jesus would have been standing there watching and basically counting and taking account for what each person gave.
He notices the widow as she comes in, he probably talked to her in the street and knows that she has been begging. He hears the clanking of the man before her in line, but when she gives – there is no sound, the coins she tosses in are so light, you cant even hear them.
Only Jesus would recognize that the little she gives, is worth so much more than all of the rich people before her. They gave out of their abundance, she gave out of her need. They have money left over, Jesus seems to believe that she has nothing else. Others wonder is it really appropropriate for her to take what she has been given and give it away to God. Obviously she trusted that God will use the money for a better purpose. We can never beat God giving, no matter how much we give – so she trusted that what she gave would be returned.
She gave everything that she had
She trusted God for everything
She didn’t just give her best to God, she gave her all to God. She took seriously that command to love to lord your god with all of your mind, all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your pocket book. That is not written in the but it is implied.
2 lessons – have hope in the future and trust for in our darkest hour
That is the second lesson for us widows in spirit – to trust god – trust God with everything.
Two lessons for us today – have hope in the future to create it, and to trust God in our darkest hour.
3rd story of a widow
I want to tell you the story of a 3rd widow.
Agnes lives on a farm in Iowa. She is very astute and together, but kind of strange. Her clothes are always clean, but a little outdated. Clothes from the 1920’s and 30’s. when you meet Agnes she is always complaining about something in life. She attends a lot of funeral these days, not to show her sympathies, but to get the free lunches. She doesn’t waste her time coming to church – but loves fellowship hour, she takes the leftover cookies. Her pastor came to her son one day and asked how the church could help her financially, since like so many older people, she was struggling. Her son revealed that Agnes was doing quite well financially – she has enough stocks and bonds to be comfortable well into her life. And yet she was not willing to give to others. Agnes was a poor widow – but not poor economically – but poor in spirit. Poor in love, poor in relationship, poor in faith.
Three widows stories for us today – three lessons.
Have hope to create the future
Trust God with all that you have – God is good for it,
Fill our empty spaces with joy and the love of God.
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