Have You Seen Joan?

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington July 11, 2021 7th Sunday after Pentecost Have You Seen Joan? John 6: 26-28, 35, 51-58 Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Call to Worship #4 L: Open wide the doorways of our sanctuary! P: May the king of glory come into our midst. L: Who is this king of glory? P: This king of glory is our Savior Jesus Christ. L: Open the doors of our hearts to receive Jesus Christ. P: May our spirits and our hearts receive his blessing now and forever. AMEN. Stewardship Moment Mission Focus: The Ministry of Our Caring Closet Prayer of Thanksgiving God of all life, We pray you will accept these gifts: inherited from you and returned to help accomplish your will in the world. Receive not only this treasure, but also our time and our talents. Bless all who have given. Use this offering and use us, to build up your Realm here on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen Scripture John 6:26-28, 35, 51-58 Bread of life 26 Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One[a] will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.” 28 They asked, “What must we do in order to accomplish what God requires?” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 Then the Jews debated among themselves, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Human One[a] and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Sermon Have you seen Joan? The good news according to John is that Jesus us the anointed one Jesus was sent to our lives by God to help us to understand who God is and why God loves us. Words cannot always express completely who God is, the words have to be demonstrated to you. John gives a series of statements of who the messiah is. The first, Jesus is the bread of life. In John 6 Jesus says that I am the bread of life. Later on he will tell his disciples to feed the 5000 with real bread. But now Jesus says that the bread of life not only feeds the spirit, but also the soul. Once we experience the grace of God’s love in our lives we come to understand what it means to have eternal life in Jesus. We experience a different kind of bread. Today I want to share with you my story of receiving the bread of life. I was not born United Methodist. And even though I attended church off and on all of my life, I was not particularly religious. But I learned the definition of grace through the United Methodist Church, I first learned the definition of the bread of life that leads to eternal life. And I have been here every since. It was about 32 years ago, I had one more quarter of school left. I was exhausted from studying and trying to figure out how to pay for school, worrying about where I was going to live if I was not in school. So when I had to move out of the room that I was renting for the summer, instead of registering for school. I put my things in storage, and went to check into the homeless shelter. All of the churches in Evanston has gotten together to make sure that there was a safety net for anyone who had fallen on hard times. Each church provided a meal so that lunch and dinner was provided 7 days a week. First Baptist church hosted the shelter- we called it Hilda’s place because Hilda was the director. You could stay in the shelter for 3 months as long as you obeyed the rules – you had to check in every night at 10pm, no fighting or stealing, and you had to be ready to leave at 7am. This shelter was just for adults, so they had 30 spaces – 25 men and 5 women. Rarely were there five women- women with children would have gone to another shelter. A few weeks after I moved in, Joan moved in. I slept on the bottom bunk and she slept on the top bunk. I never really learned Joan’s story – but we talked a lot. Joan was about 12 years older than me, she was from Milwaukee and she worked as a journalist to support her two children. Since she was a journalist, she asked the Chicago Tribune if she could write a feature story on homelessness. She spent about a week interviewing people and getting them to tell their stories. One the night before she had to turn the story in, we talked about our experience. Two things come to mind about that conversation. First we both agreed, that if they were to call all of into a meeting one day and say that the shelter was closing and that we all needed to just make up with our families and go home – not one of us would be at a loss of where to go. We all just had a reason for not being there. And second we both agreed that being homeless was not really a search for physical food, or physical shelter, or physical clothes – it was a search for spiritual food, spiritual belonging and spiritual covering. We were looking for something deeper that you could only get from receiving those physical things. When I checked into the shelter, it soon became quite a close community. The first day that I went to the hospitality center after checking out of the shelter – a group said to me – everyone here has their sad story – what is your sad story. I told them of walking away from an abusive relationship, and not really being able to take care of my son or go home. Their response – Wow – that is really sad – you want to play cards. One thing that I noticed about people sad stories – they were not stories or houses burning down and losing everything, or losing a long time job. Most of the stories were of dealing with the grief of losing a significant relationship in their life – a divorce, or the death of a parent or a spouse. Being homeless was a way of dealing with that loss. They told me that telling you sad story was a major part of being on the tramp trail. – you went from church to church telling your sad story – and they gave you money. Most people spent their day going from hospitality center to hospitality center all day until it was time to check back into the shelter. I went to work every day, and I spent my free time on Northwesterns campus which is what I would have done anyway. Even though I was living a normal life, I started to feel like I was living in the twilight zone and I was living in a different plane from the people I was around everyday. Conversations that used to make sense – got really weird. Like the time I was in the Northwestern library and came across a younger student in the same program that I was in. she was putting together some display. I asked her what she was doing – she said she was collecting can foods for the homeless people. She talked about how this was an important mission project for her church. Can foods for homeless people I said to her – that has got to be one of the most Christian things I have ever heard in my life. thank you for the thought. All the time I am wondering in my head, what person do you know, homeless or otherwise walking down the street with a can opener. Of course the next day I passed by the ACORN hospitality center. Joan is stooped in the middle of the sidewalk. She had found a hotplate and plugged it in to the side of the building. She was cooking a pot of pork and beans. But Joan was a little weird, not your average homeless person. Or the time that I went to our toastmasters meeting and the assignment was to give a compassionate speech convincing people to do something. And one guy gave this compassionate speech about seeing this homeless woman in the park and feeling guilty that he did not stop to help her and get her into a shelter. During the evaluation time I said to him – I am listening to this overly dramatic speech about how you could have made a difference in this woman’s life. Perhaps I missed it, but I didn’t hear where you actually spoke to the woman. He said that he never said anything to her. So I said so you just made up a drama about some random woman in the park. If you didn’t speak to her, you don’t know whether she was homeless or not. And if you are talking about who I think you are talking about – she lives on the park bench because that is the only place in the world where she feels safe. It takes a very high tolerance for humanity to live in the shelter, not everyone wants to put up with that. My suggestion to his speech was that his just taking to time to acknowledge whomever the lady was and speak to her and say hi – would have done more for her spirit than that overly dramatic speech that he had just given. My Assistant Pastor actually interned in one of the hospitality centers. His job was to interact with us and to pray with us if needed. I spent weeks trying to get the confidence to talk to him about where I thought God was leading me. One day I finally got the confidence to talk with him about my call. I felt that there was a reason that I was going through this experience and I wanted to work out with my pastor what this meant. His response was not to worry about my call, or what God was saying to me. I had fallen through the cracks of society and I needed to focus on getting my life together. I stood looking at the table trying to find the crack that I must have fallen into for me to ask this man a direct question and he totally refused to answer or engage me. You could only stay in the shelter for 3 months. Toward our end point, Joan went to ACORN and asked them to let her be a part of a program where they provided an apartment for 6 months. During that time you had to work and turn all of your money over to ACORN so that you had enough money to your own apartment. They told her that the only way they would give her the apartment was if her roommate came too. So we moved in. I went to work everyday – Joan did whatever Joan did. It was a pretty eventful 6 months. At one point I realized that we had 7 other men living in the apartment with us. Joan was always a sucker for someone’s sad story. Joan was not only addicted to cocaine and alcohol, she also had a mental illness. At the end of the six months Joan’s parents and children came from Milwaukee to pick her up. I moved back on campus to finish my last quarter of school. As Joan was leaving the last thing I said to her was that I was happy for her that her family had come to take care of her, and I hoped that it was the happy ending she was hoping for. But I told her that if I ever saw her again in life it would be way too soon. She was visibly hurt. I told her that she had been trying to kill me every since the first night that I moved in, and did she really think that I liked her. It was in those nights when I slept with the dresser pulled up to the door that I bargained with God. If there was ever day when I could put this experience behind me, I would be something in service to homeless people. I was so grateful for all of the people who helped me when I could not help myself – food, clothing, medical care, counseling, it was all available. I decided that instead of being an advocate, or a social worker, that the area of greatest need was the church. I needed to try to tell my story and try and save all of those nice church people. Of all of my experiences I remember the people of First Presbyterian church. They were the nicest church people that I had ever met. They fed us a meal and really made us feel like guest. But they didn’t say one word about Jesus. I was in tears, when I went to their dinner, it was the worst day of my life, if they had said some of that Jesus stuff I would have listened. I felt that God had put me through all of that to try to go and save the nice church people. And to tell them that in the midst of all of your giving – it is important to give people Jesus. I can get a bowl of soup at home. Giving people Jesus is not about a bible verse, or a prayer, or a sermon. It is about understanding what your faith means to you. People are looking for the same thing on the tramp trail that you find in church – peace, community, meaning, a sense of belonging, a reason to give. John 6 says that I am the bread of life. He says this to his disciples just before he tells them to find food for 5000 people. Which is why he says that the bread that he gives, not only gives physical food, but also feeds the spirit and leads to eternal life. One day when Jack bought his campus ministry group to worship with us at the shelter. I have always been a sucker for a good church service, so I participated. After the service Jack and I started to talk. And he said you look like a happy person. Happy is not a word that I would ever use to describe myself, but something clicked in me and I didn’t need to be in the shelter anymore. Since I was going back to campus, Jack invited me to participate in his campus ministry group. I kept going, he took me to every campus ministry activity that he sponsored, eventually I even became the substitute secretary for the summer. I finished my degree in religion and Jack was the only person to turn in my recommendation for seminary. My pastor at Second Baptist didn’t bother to turn his in. University Christian Ministry was a joint ministry between the Presbyterian and Methodist church. Jack (who has since passed) was a United Methodist minister. I decided that I needed to be whatever faith Jack was. If Jack sung those corny songs in that hymnal, I was going to sing those corny songs too. Whatever faith that Jack had that made him reach out and treat me like a person of value – I needed to have that faith too. That is the beginning of the story of why I am United Methodist – it was the church that helped me to understand Jesus as the bread of life. 31 years now and I am still in the United Methodist church, still homeless and still dependent on those nice church people. I have told this story many times now. And I get many responses from those who have heard my story. For instance, when I first told this story as my compelling toastmaster speech, one women said that it made her more likely to give to those panhandlers who asked for money – Jesus said to help those in need, he didn’t say to judge their story. Many people have come to me and told me that maybe it is time for me to forgive Joan. I have thought about it, forever is not quite here yet. I really don’t care where Joan is. When I got back in school I would go downtown Evanston and run into all of my 5 former roommates and for that matter many of the people that I was in the shelter with. We would always talk and our conversation would always end with – So Have you seen Joan? None of us every saw Joan again. I am not sure if Joan or any of those people are still alive. But the need for people to show them Jesus is still there. People are still in the streets looking for community, meaning and peace. There are still people who need to know that Jesus cares. So I will ask you – Have you seen Joan? PRAYER OF CONFESSION In the midst of our "summer" lives, O Lord, so many things have claimed our attention. We worked hard this year to earn a little rest and recreation, to break away from the stresses of our everyday living. But in the midst of all this change, we have too often pushed our worship of you aside. We have focused so much on our needs for physical change and peace that we have neglected our spiritual hungers and thirst. Forgive us when we are tempted to stray from our worship of you and focus entirely on ourselves and our own needs. As we celebrate this day, help us to remember all the wondrous things you continue to do for us. Let us look at the world as a place of delight. And when we encounter situations in which sorrow and hurt abound, help us to be ready to bring hope and peace. Be with us in this warm days of summer, preparing us for ministry and mission, in your holy name. AMEN. WORDS OF ASSURANCE God is merciful and pours God’s love on us abundantly. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Hallelujah! AMEN. Prayer of the Day Every moment, we have the chance to breathe in your goodness and grace; every hour, we have opportunities to share your love and hope; every day, we have occasions to rest in the comfort of your heart. In you, we discover the fullness of time, Delight of the Ages. In every challenge we face, we can find the strength to persevere; in every person we meet, we can find the blessing you have sent; in every need we encounter, we can find the help you would have us offer. In you, we discover the fullness of life, Companion of our days. In every conflict of our lives, there is your healing we can offer; in every brokenness we experience, there is that reconciliation we can receive; in every difficulty which makes us stumble, there is that dance of hope you would teach us. In you, we discover the fullness of faith, Promised Spirit. God in Community, Holy in One, in you we discover the fullness we long for, even as we pray as we are taught, saying, (The Lord’s Prayer) Song Blessed Assurance - UMH 369 Announcements BENEDICTION, BLESSING God’s love for you is real and alive in your hearts today. Go in peace, knowing that the Lord of Love and Life is with you. Bring God’s peace to all you meet, this day and all your days. AMEN. Children’s Sermon I see them every day as I drive to and from work. Dirty people in ragged clothes standing on a busy street corner holding up a sign like this one that says, "Will Work for Food." You've seen them, haven't you? What do you think when you see them? I must be honest and admit that some of the things that come to my mind are, "I wonder if they would really be willing to work, or are they just looking for a handout?" Or I might think to myself, "If I gave them money, would they buy food, or would they just spend it on drugs and alcohol?" What do you think Jesus might want us to do when we see these people? Perhaps he might want us to pull into the McDonald's across the street and buy them a Big Mac® and a Coke.® Jesus was always concerned about the physical needs of people. That is why he spent so much of his time healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and feeding the hungry. Don't you think he wants us to do the same? Jesus wasn't just concerned about empty stomachs -- he was even more concerned about empty hearts. One day, after filling the empty stomachs of over 5,000 people, Jesus said to them, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." Jesus was telling them that he came to give his life so that they could have everlasting life -- if they would believe and trust in him. Jesus wants us to be concerned about empty stomachs, but he also wants us to be concerned about empty hearts. As we share our bread with the hungry, let us also share the story of Jesus, the Bread of Life, so that they may eat and never die. Dear Father, we thank you for sending Jesus, the Bread of Life, so that we may eat and never die. Help us to share the story of Jesus with others. Amen. Additional points not included in sermon: Tramp trail – standing in line at the Episcopal church to talk with the priest in order to get a CTA token – having to tell sad story. You also spread the word to others about what it is that you need. Before moving into our apartment Hilda told us to go into the pantry of things that nice people give that she really couldn’t use. She told us to take what we wanted, because otherwise it was just going to sit there. We had a lot of canned food to eat. We had 7 men staying with us at one time. 5 regulars. Everyone waited until I got home from work one night to there were 2 men from Michigan who had been kicked out of Hilda’s place. Joan’s boyfriend was from Michigan, so he wanted to help them. I said that they had gotten kicked out, wasn’t that the definition of being homeless, you got kicked out of your house and you didn’t have anyplace to go. How was that my problem. We got the apartment, it was initially a program for men. The men who participated in the program were in jail busted for selling drugs in the apartment. Joan went to ACORN and asked them to give women a chance.