He who calms the Storm

Father’s Day June 17, 2012 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41 Year B The difference between fathers day and mothers day Bill Cosby captures the difference between mothers day and fathers day perfectly. In a comedy routine some time ago, Bill Cosby related his understanding of the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. He insisted that Mother’s Day is a much bigger deal because mothers are more organized. “Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mother’s Day. You do that for me.” And then he waxed eloquently on Father’s Day: “For Father’s Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a present——a total of $100. They go to the store and buy two packages of underwear, each of which costs $5 and contains three shorts. They tear them open and each kid wraps up one pair, the sixth going to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Father’s Day I am walking around with new underwear and my kids are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets.” Now that’s funny stuff! There are other ways in which father’s day is different from mothers day. Expected church attendance is the third highest on mothers day, right after Christmas and Easter. Attendance on fathers day is the seventh highest, right after 4th of july and friends and family day. Father’s day is the 4th biggest day for sending cards. And here is one that you may not know – father’s day is the biggest day for making collect calls. Mothers day is the busiest day for the phone company. But on father’s day 27% of all calls made on that day are made collect. Even the graphics are different for father’s day – for mother’s day I was able to find a nice bouquet – the only graphic I could find for father’s day was a tie. It seems we get nice gifts for our mothers, and practical gifts for our fathers. Does that mean that we love our fathers any less than our mothers. I would think that we don’t love our fathers less, we love them differently. We depend upon them differently, so we honor them differently. Fathers as superheros When I was younger I would think of the men in my life as superheros. They were the ones who had all of the answers, who could fix anything that was broken, who could tackle any problem, and had the strength to protect me from anything. There was nothing that my dad or my uncles could not handle. On the news one day there was a story of a soldier going off to Afghanistan and leaving his family. His three year old son would not have understood the reality of war – but the son understood that his dad was a superhero- because he was going off to slay dragons and to fight for justice. The things that dads do for us are always amazing, One thing that even Bill Cosby admitted was that everyday was fathers day – because a father is always present. Every day is father’s day, because just as the work of our earthly father is never done, which is why we sometimes take it for granted, the work of our heavenly father is always with is too. A son who paid it all One Summer I was scheduled to speak at Ocean City, New Jersey, and he begged me to go down a day early so we could catch the last day of this huge card show. We got there in time and Doug entered that large hall with all of the money that a little guy could have saved from recent chores and allowances. And as we strolled along the displays together something caught my eye, it was the baseball card I had tried so hard to get as a little boy, and I never could. You see, growing up in Chicago, my hero was the second baseman of the Chicago White Sox, Nelly Fox. He was the hero of a lot of kids. I bought tons of cards. I had the whole team but I could never get Nelly Fox. Well, there on that table was one of those very Nelly Fox cards I could never find as a kid! Doug said, "Are you going to buy it Dad?" I said, "No, it's nice to see it but I'm just going to keep looking around." So we went our separate ways for a few minutes until I felt a tug on my pants. It was Doug looking up at me with eyes I think I'll never forget,"Here Dad, I love you," he said. He reached up and he handed me a piece of cardboard protected in plastic. It was that Nelly Fox baseball card. My son had basically spent everything he had on that gift for me. That card is on my desk right now next to me, in a big plastic protector. There are few times in my life when I have ever felt so loved as I did that moment. Now, I could tell how much my son loved me, he showed it by how much he spent on me that day. Everything he had! You can tell how much God loves you, He spent everything He had on you! No one has ever loved you like this. Why this price tag of the shed blood of God's Son? Well, the Bible reveals the answer in these words, "... without shedding of blood there is no remission." Forgiveness means erasing our sins from God's Book. The penalty is clear, it is death. My sin can only be paid for by dying. If you've ever wondered if God really loves you, here is His overwhelming YES! He sacrificed His Son to die your eternal death penalty on the cross. He spent it all on you. A father who paid it all Our heavenly father sacrificed all that he had so that we could know him and his love, through the love of his son Jesus Christ. This summer, as we come back to the gospel of mark, we will be looking at the miracles of Jesus. Mark wants us to realize that just as dads can be superheros because of who they are for us – that they get their real power from Jesus Christ. They are dads, because whether they believe it or not, Jesus supplies all of our needs. As we look at the miracles of Jesus – Mark wants us to realize – not so much that Jesus has superpowers, but that every things that he did and every miracle that he performs points us to – the power of God in our lives. God is the superhero in all of our lives. Jesus calms the storm Jesus has taken the disciples out to sea in order to travel on and to get away from the people. His disciples were the fisherman – familiar with the sea. Jesus was a carpenter – with no knowledge of how to sail a boat. Ironically, it is the fishermen who are afraid of the sea. And feel that they have to awaken Jesus in order to be saved. Perhaps they are remembering the words of psalm 44 – which say awake Lord, why do you sleep, rouse yourself, do not reject yourself forever. They are not asking Jesus to control the boat, they can do that themselves – they are asking Jesus to calm the sea. We often do that when we are in trouble. Not so much ask God to take away the trouble – but to give us peace in the midst of the situation so that we can get through it. The disciples ask Jesus a question of faith – don’t you care about us – if you did you would do something. He not only calms the sea, but he calms their fears. The real miracle in all of this is that they come to understand jesus and they calm down enough to realize that as long as Jesus is with them, everything will be okay. And they ask the question who is this that even the wind and the rain obey. – they come to realize that the teacher that they are following is the son of God. That he has power and authority which can only come from God. He has power and authority to not only make the storm go away – but to give us peace in the midst of the storm. He gives us peace in the storm of sorrow – reminding us that we have nothing to worry about, that God will take care of what is important and give us the strength to do our part. Nik Wallenda gets peace in the midst of anxiety He gives us peace when there is doubt all around us. Friday I watched the television show – where Nik Wallenda walked across Niagra Falls on a tight rope. He came from a family of 7 generations of tight rope walkers, many who like his grandfather fell to their death on a tight rope. I watched with interest as he talked about his preparation for the trip. He needed to be perfectly quiet, to stop listening to all of the fear talk of what would happen if he fell. He said that if for one minute, if he believed that he was going to fall all was lost. In the face of wind, rain, and the constant rush of gallons of water calling him down, he was able to walk on and complete his task. I could imagine Peter in heaven, being totally jealous of the calmness he showed in walking across the water. He was an inspiration to me, because I felt that he showed what living in the peace of God can do. It can get us through any storm. Before he walked – he gathered his team in prayer, and after the walk he gathered the first thing he did when he made it was to praise God. His dad was in the control room talking him through each moment- but he knew that the one who calmed the sea for the disciples was able to calm his mind to complete his task. Jesus calms us whenever there is anxiety in our lives. He reminds us that as long as we put our hope in God- that eventually everything will be okay. The greatest miracle of God is not in what he does in our lives, but what he does in our spirits in order to handle to storms of life. One young woman said of her dad, He can’t climb buildings. He can’t read minds. And he can’t fly. Frankly, I think there were many times in my life I wished he was invisible, so I didn’t have to see him and be frustrated or hurt. But he lacked that superhero quality, too. But superhuman strength? Now we’re talking. He’s not a body builder, or even athletic. His strength comes from the inside. Unfathomable strength. Strength to change. Strength to fight for life. Strength to truly live. Strength that is, without a doubt, inhuman. That strength makes my dad my superhero. What is it that makes your dad a superhero to you? The greatest gift that a father can give is the give of faith. A faith in God and a willingness to obey the example that Jesus Christ gave to all is us – that the real power in life comes from the Father above. Father stands for one is forever faithful, always there, the only one who loves us , hero to an end, encouraging, and really truly there for us. Let us honor our fathers that God has sent into our lives. Let us pray this father’s day prayer…..

Welcome Home family of God

June 10, 2012 Friends and Family Day Jeremiah 31:6-17 Luke 15:1-9 A World with no home We live in a world today, where most of the world lives away from their home. In our understanding of the world – home is the place where you grow up, it is the place where you feel safe, it is the place where things make sense, it is the place where your family and friends live, and oftentimes it is the place where we will defend with our lives, in order to keep it as our home. Something is happening in our world – where people are no longer living in their homeland. They have had to move elsewhere. In 1990 there were 154 million people who lived outside of there homeland. In the year 2000 there were 175 million people outside of home, in 2006 that number grew to over 200 million, today it is 214 million – and it continues to grow. There are one in 30 people who have been displaced from their homes. If the number of immigrants in the world had their own country- the population would be the fifth largest company in the world. We live in a diaspora Something is definitely happening in the world. The world is changing. As as the world changes, our definition of what it means to be at home has to change with it. The words of the prophet Jeremiah become not just a story of the jews- but a story of all of us. all of us who ask the question – how can I sing the songs of God in a strange land – how can I celebrate home – when I am not at home? Jeremiah wrote words of hope for his people in a difficult situation. Today, thousands of years later, diaspora is not just a reality for the jews, but for most of the world. Learning how to be at home- in a strange place. Learning to make new friends and to claim new family. Jeremiah reminded the people that in the midst of being uprooted that God would be with them. That God would be their friend. God would take care of them. How can I sing a song in a strange land – by knowing that where ever I am – god will take care of me. Jeremiah’s message of hope But God also wanted to give them a message that they were not alone. That home is not just about a place, and a time, it is about those whom god sends to be with us, with whom we go through the events of life with. Friends and family day is a special day, a sacred day for us to remember what it means to be at home. Some of us know what it means to live in the diaspora - home away from home and some of us not. Being at home is more than a place it is a feeling. We all know what it means to live in adversity, turmoil. We all know what it means to live in changing circumstances. I don’t think that there is one area of our lives, where we don’t have uncertainty in a place that used to make sense.- it may be our health, our jobs, our family, the neighborhood, just in the world itself. Jeremiah’s promise to the people- is that things will get better. The day will come when you will be able to go home again. That means in most cases that we will have to redefine what and sometimes where home is. Jeremiah’s promise of friends But the thing I want to point out to you today – in the midst of that promise. That Jeremiah made another promise. He made the promise of friends and family to go along with you in the journey. He said that people will come from the North, from all over to make this journey together. Sometimes we can be sure that God sends us people in the world to help us along that leg of the journey. A young boy was asked if he would rather have a million dollars or a million friends, he said that he would rather have a million friends. Because if I ever needed money- than I could ask each one for a dollar – and have all of the money I need. An old man was among those who were in the jewish concentration camps – he made friends with many of the people there. They were all in the same boat, going the same place. One their way to death, one little girl came up to him to ask if he would hold her hand. I am not scared, she said, but it makes me a little stronger. I tell that story because she told he man that she believed that god had sent him into her life – for that moment. To walk along side of her in a difficult time. The good news is that as long as we have jesus in our lives – no matter how bad the circumstances, we are never headed toward death – but God does send people in our lives to make things easier. It is our friends and our family that is our greatest asset in life and in church. James S. Hewett tells of a neighbor he had who was trying to put a TV antenna on his roof, but was having a terrible time. Hewett decided to give him a hand. He went over and took with him his best tools and soon had the antenna up. His neighbor asked him what he made with such fancy tools. Hewett replied, “Friends, mostly.” This is a sacred day for us – because the greatest tool that we have is the ability to make friends. Friends are wonderful for what they can do to help us, to support us, to walk with us. But friends are also important in helping in the mission of building the kingdom for God. The more friends we have, the more we can do for one another and for God. Friends are important for who they are During the reign of Queen Victoria, a London doctor visited a 72-year-old lady named Martha Vincent. Her husband had abandoned her some years earlier. She was poor and lived in very humble surroundings. She was undernourished and had neither warm clothes or wood for a fire. The doctor couldn’t believe her friends would allow her to live like that. When asked about it, Maria said she had no friends. Later in the discussion she corrected herself. She admitted that there might be one, but was sure that she had forgotten about her. The doctor pressed her for the identity of the friend. And finally Maria told him that it was the Queen herself. She said that the two of them had been childhood friends. The doctor left, not sure that he believed Maria, but when he got home he wrote the Queen a letter relating the incident. A few days later he received a letter from the Queen. The story was true. The Queen had not forgotten. Enclosed in the letter was enough money to provide for all of Maria’s needs. For the remaining years of her life, Maria Vincent lived comfortably as a friend of the Queen. Wouldn’t we all like to say that we have a famous friend, a friend with lots of money that will take care of us – the good news is that we do. Friends are important for what they do. One of the ancient kings of Persia loved to mingle with his people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace.. The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse black bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank. The king went away but returned again and again for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. They became very good friends as time passed. At last the king thought, “I’ll tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.” So he did, but the fireman didn’t ask for a thing. The king was astonished and said, “Don’t you realize that I can give you anything—a city, a throne?” The man gently replied, “I understand your Majesty. You have already given the greatest gift a man could receive. You left your palace to sit with me here in this dark and lonely place. You could give nothing more precious. You have given yourself and that is far more than I could ever deserve.” I visited Mrs. Jackson of Englewood church for the last two Sundays. She always gets mad at me, because I cant understand what she is telling me, but lately, she just wants me to hold her hand – for an hours at a time. But it means that in the midst of our misunderstandings, we are still friends, still connected. But friends are most important for what they give in return. The best friend that we can ever have is God. But we always have to ask ourselves are we a friend to God. Who is a friend of God?  Someone who know Him personally  Someone who loves Him  Someone who shares His interests  Someone who enjoys being with Him  Someone who is loyal to His cause A man went to lunch one day with a friend who was a delivery man. After lunch he went to the store, and bought pototo chips based on what his friend delivered. Being on relationship with a friend was a deciding factor in the choices he made. The more time we spend with god – the more god affects our choices. It is in recognizing God as our friend, that we learn to be friends. We celebrate today – because we have to remember that the greatest celebration of our lives is the day that we realize that we have true friends. The greatest celebration of God – is the day he finds us a friend. My last story is the story from the gospel. Jesus tells the story – of how a woman celebrates when she finds a lost coin, she calls everyone together and has a party. And he asks the question, if a woman can celebrate because of a lost coin, then surely God can celebrate because of a found friend. When Jeremiah says that the people will gather together – what do they do – they sing and praise god and celebrate. Today is a special day – a day to acknowledge our friends, today is a special day – a day to praise god for our blessing. But most importantly – you know that you always have a friend in Jesus – but how are you truly being a friend to Jesus? Loving God is the only true way to go home. – wherever we may be in life. We learn that home is wherever our friends are, and the best friend that we can ever have is God. Let us pray….

Truly Free

June 3, 2012 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17 Truly Free Trinity Sunday Year B The Queen’s Jubilee In case you have not heard, 60 years ago yesterday – the queen of England took the throne. She assumed the duties of queen when her father died in February. But she was officially anointed as queen on June 2nd. Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Is the second longest monarch of England. Her grandmother, Queen Victoria being the longest and oldest. Trinity Sunday Since it seems the June is the month to celebrate things. We may as well celebrate something also. This is Trinity Sunday. Normally, it is just another Sunday. As a matter of fact, for the last few years, as pastor I never even preached on this Sunday because it was always the beginning of annual conference. But the Sunday after Pentecost is the Sunday that we are to remember the fullness of the trinity. With Pentecost the promise of the coming of the holy spirit has come. We have a chance to look at God in all of his glory. And all of his fullness. We understand God – as the father, the son and the holy spirit. And we realize that the more we understand about God, the less we know. Explaining God is a mystery St. Augustine, one of the most astute thinkers the Christian Church has ever produced, was walking along the seashore one day while pondering the doctrine of the Trinity - Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. He seemed to hear a voice saying, "Pick up one of the large sea shells there by the shore." So he picked it up. Then the voice said, "Now pour the ocean into the shell." And he said, "Lord, I can't do that." And the voice answered, "Of course not. In the same way, how can your small, finite mind ever hold and understand the mystery of the eternal, infinite, triune God?" Many Christian churches will be celebrating today the doctrine of the Trinity. It is one of the most prized truths of the Christian faith. "God in three persons, blessed Trinity...." Some explanations of the trinity Some explain the trinity as like a tree – the root, the trunk and the branches – three parts of the same whole. Or some say that the trinity is like a egg – the shell, the egg white, and the yolk. Some say that the trinity is like time – the past, the present and the future. Some say that the trinity is the creator, the sustainer, and the redeemer. There are a lot of other fancy names for the trinity – but the most important to remember is that God is at work in the world and in our lives in many forms and in many ways. There is a God that is so holy that he resides in heaven. There is a God so much a part of us – the he came into the world to speak our language so that we could understand love. Our God is so big, so powerful, so wonderful that we cannot use one set of words to explain what he is doing in the world – we have to use three. Some people believe that The trinity is just one person, others believe they are three separate persons. Whatever we believe about our God – if we have an experience of God – Romans 8 tells us that we should have an assurance of God’s love. Father as example • I read about a small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. • At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father’s full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. • The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy’s plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew to be a man, he said, “All my life I’ve known what God is like by what my father did that night.” We know what God is like by what he did for us, in the bible, but most importantly by what he did for us in our lives. Romans 8: 14 -15 says for all who are led by the spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. Anyone can be a child of God by birth, but it is only when we experience the presence of God’s holy spirit in our lives for ourselves that we are truly adopted into the family of God. Paul says that when we take on this spirit inside of our lives – then we become equal to the son of God – Jesus. We can truly call God our brother, because through adoption we have become just like him. Worthy of the same inheritance that he has. Patria Potesta – The Father has complete control Roman adoption was always rendered more serious and more difficult by the Roman patria potestas. The patria potestas was the father’s power over his family; that power was absolute; it was actually the power of absolute disposal and control, and in the early days it was actually the power of life and death. In regard to his father a Roman son never came of age. No matter how old he was, he was still under the patria potestas, in the absolute possession, and under the absolute control, of his father. Obviously this made adoption into another family very difficult and a very serious step. In adoption a person had to pass from one patria potestas to another. He had to pass out of the possession and control of one father into the equally absolute control and possession of another. There were two steps. The first was known as mancipatio, and it was carried out by a symbolic sale, in which copper and scales were symbolically used. Three times the symbolism of sale was carried out. Twice the father symbolically sold his son, and twice he bought him back; and the third time he did not buy him back and thus the patria potestas was held to be broken. After the sale there followed a ceremony called vindicatio. The adopting father went to the praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, and presented a legal case for the transference of the person to be adopted into his patria potestas. When all this was completed the adoption was complete. Clearly this was a serious and impressive step. But it is the consequences of adoption which are most significant for the picture that is in Paul’s mind. There were four main consequences. (1) The adopted person lost all rights to his old family, and gained all the rights of a fully legitimate son in his new family. In the most literal sense, and in the most legally binding way, he got a new father. (2) It followed that he became heir to his new father’s estate. Even if other sons were afterwards born, who were real blood relations, it did not affect his rights. He was inalienably co-heir with them. (3) In law, the old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out. For instance, legally all debts were cancelled; they were wiped out as though they had never been. The adopted person was regarded as a new person entering into a new life with which the past had nothing to do. (4) In the eyes of the law the adopted person was literally and absolutely the son of the new father. Adoption into the family of God is a big deal, not to be taken lightly. As a matter of fact Pauls says that when we are adopted we not only take on the joy – but we also take on the suffering. If we suffer with Christ, then we will share in his glory and resurrection. My wife and I waited 15 years for a child that never came by the natural way. However we were approached one day with a lead of a newborn not yet born. I remember standing in front of the judge on our day of adoption. He pointed his finger and asked of me, “Is anyone coercing you to adopt this little boy?” After we had assured him that we were doing so out of love for our sin, he made this statement. “From today on, he is your son. He may disappoint you, even grieve you but he is your son. Everything you own one day will be his and he will bear your name.” Then he looked to the clerk and gave this command. “So order a change in this child’s birth certificate The process through which a person who does not belong to a given family is formally brought into it and made a full, legal family member with the rights and responsibilities of that position. The practice of adoption was not common among the Jews, but was more widespread in the Greek and Roman world. The apostle Paul used the term to illustrate the truth that believers have been given the status of “sonship” in the heavenly family; they can call God “Father” (Rom. 3:15; Gal. 4:6). Adoption makes it clear that our sonship is conferred on us, in distinction from Christ’s, which is inherent.It was then that I realized that my Heavenly Father loved me so much that, without coercion, He loved me and gave His all to me. On that day, He changed my name and I gladly bear His name and His image. A princess of the King I took this opportunity to wear my tiara today. I had to go an buy a new one, when I realized that I had given my old one away. I take being a princess pretty serious. I have this card in my living room, which says Barbie is a Princess, and you are a princess too. In my garage, I have a sign which days Princess parking only – all others will be toad. And my favorite sign – yes I am a princess – my father is king of kings. Theologically that in incorrect – the title of King of Kings goes to my brother Jesus, not to the father. But the important thing to remember, especially about the trinity – is that if you have seen one, you have seen the other. And it is only with the help of the holy spirit that we see and experience them at all. We all have royal titles and royal responsibilities You are supposed to refer to the queen as her majesty, her children and heirs to the throne are his/her royal highness. Other people of noble birth as my lord. If jesus is the king of kings, your lord and savior – then you are just a royal and special as the queen or anyone else., and you get all of the royal priviledges. We have a right to call on God as the father. And know that he will provide for all of our needs. God’s love for us is bigger than we will ever know or understand. God’s deeds are much more than we can ever talk about. God’s being will always be a big mystery. You are a child of the King – wear your crown of faith well. Let us pray…