October 4, 2009
Who Presides Over Your Life?
Eighteenth Sunday of Pentecost
World Communion Sunday
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16
Year B
As you go through life, it doesn’t take long to discover in life that there are questions – lots of questions for which there is no answer. You can ask the question – but there is never an answer. At least not one which is gonna shed any real light on the the situation. One of those questions – do I look fat in these pants. There is no answer for that. First of all, if ever asked, you know that it is never in your best interest to answer that question. But secondly, if someone was brave enough to answer that question- either yes or no. There is no answer that will satisfy the questioner – they will continue to ask and ask, never quite satisfied enough to just stop asking the question.
But seriously there are serious questions about life that we ask God. We ask ourselves, we ask life – we constantly ask – and there is never a good answer. Questions like why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? When will we finally see justice for all, where we are all treated fairly? If God is totally in control – then why are we allowed to suffer? If God is good, then why does it seem that the devil is allowed to prosper? When the world is so awful and cruel, what is the point of remaining faithful to God?
If you live long enough and you go through life long enough, then you have asked these kinds of questions. And with each crisis, we have to be reminded of God’s answer to us.
The closest you can come to straight answer is a story – about something that happen to someone else – that you can relate to.
Job is not a real person, and the events in the story did not really happen. There is no rich foreigner, who had been greatly blessed and lost everything. There are none of us who are so righteous and upright that we don’t have to take some type of responsibility for what it happening to us. And I would venture to say that there is a point in all of our lives when things can get so bad, that we can get mad and blame God for what we are going through. This story is not intended to be historical truth – it is intended to tell the truth of the human story. The story is intended to teach a lesson – God does not intend to answer all of our questions. Faith is not the answers to life – it is a story of how to remain faithful and trusting and loving in the midst of the questions of life.
I would like to believe that God, the angels, the heavenly beings, and satan don’t have daily staff meetings – where Satan is up there criticizing everything that I am doing. Questioning my life and asking God if he can have permission to test my faith and make me suffer just because. But of course what other explanation is there for horrible things happening to us, when we know that we are being faithful and good. Not even the book of Job can give us a satisfying answer to that question.
Wisdom has been a theme for this year. And Job is a wonderful book of wisdom – it a book of dialogue, between the events of Job’s life, his wife, his friends, himself and finally God. We will be reading this story for the next 4 weeks. This is a wise story because it tells the story very clearly, but in reality gives no answers. The author of Job probably didn’t have any answers to give. But it wanted to give you some tools to think about your own unanswerable questions.
The book of Hebrews also tackles those unanswerable questions – but from a different perspective. It reminds us that God did not give us a direct answer to our suffering, but God did give us a person – who makes our suffering and his meaningful.
Hebrews relates to Job also, because it talks about heavenly beings. It talks about how decisions on earth were started on earth – that that Jesus Christ was there in the midst of creation to make sure that we would have a voice in heaven to talk about what it in our best interest. So that we don’t have to worry about Satan being present to ask God to tempt us.
we celebrate Jesus and what he did for us, for all of us
- in every corner of the world.
We celebrate what Jesus did
-and what by the power of Holy Spirit he still does,
we celebrate the Jesus who considered family unity to be important,
we celebrate the Jesus that welcomed little children into his arms,
we celebrate the Jesus that took time to bless everyone,
- no matter who they were and no matter what others thought of them.
Jesus - our saviour and our Lord,
Jesus - the promised one of God,
Jesus, the son of God - and yet a man:
a man like us....
a man who struggled to be faithful to God,
a man who was called to love his neighbours as himself,
a man who was tempted like we are tempted,
a man who suffered as we suffer.
The letter to the Hebrews, which our first reading came from today, speaks
of Jesus in exalted terms - calling him "the radiance of God's glory" and
"the exact representation of God's being", "superior to the angels";
And this is true - our whole faith speaks of it,
But the letter to the Hebrews also reminds us of something else that our
whole faith speaks of - it reminds us that here, on this earth, Jesus was
made like us - that he was made like us a little lower than the angels,
that Jesus was one with us, born of a woman,
born as our brother
to walk as we walk through this life.
Jesus was one with us,
able to sympathize with us,
able to identify with us,
able to rejoice with us,
able to suffer with us,
and, because of what he suffered and suffered in faithfulness,
he is able to intercede for us before God his Father, God our Father.
Jesus, one with us, Jesus our Saviour. Jesus our Brother. He understands us, he understands our questions.
My favorite aspect of Christ that we are reminded to celebrate in Hebrews about Christ is for a time he for a little while was made a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor. We too as humans are made a little lower than the angels. We too are crowned with glory and honor.
We may never have to answer to why bad things happen to good people. But we can always have the love of God in our lives. No matter what happens, we can look to the heavens for our strength and support – because now, Jesus Christ is up there – rooting for us as his sisters and brothers. He know what we have been through - and through faith – we know what he is going through up in heaven.
Alister McGrath writes a story about her aunt who never married. When she passed away, her relatives were going through her possessions and found a picture of a young man. The young man had been the aunt’s true love. He died tragically, and she never loved another man. And yet she held onto that picture.
Through the years of loneliness and grief, she held onto the that picture. She needed to be reminded that she had a love in life. When people doubted that she ever loved anyone she could hold onto that picture. That picture was a reminder of her life as it could have been. But for some reason the reality of death set in.
Jesus is the image of God. When we want to know what God looks like we have a story to look at. When we want something to depend on, we have the words of Christ to hold onto. When we want to talk with God – when can pray in the name of Jesus and know that we are heard.
And Jesus knew that there would be days when we would have our doubts. There would be days when we would feel disconnected from God, there would be days when we wonder about the story of Jesus. If the story of Job is a fairly tale – then how do we know that Jesus too if not just a fairly tale. The signs before us today -- communion the bread and the wine, they remind us of how he came to be our Saviour, they remind us of what his love and his faithfulness cost him. On the night of his betrayal Jesus took bread and broke it,and gave it to his disciples, saying, This is my body, given for you;and he took the cup and gave it to his disciples, saying, This is my blood, which is poured out for you. The next day, out of love for the world, Jesus died.
Jesus is our brother, jesus is one of us, jesus understand us, jesus knows our questions. While on the cross even he asks God why has he forsaken him.
Communion is our picture – our memory- or crutch to hold onto- our strength to hold onto – in the midst of the answerable questions.
Today we celebrate communion with Christians all over the world. In all types of churches
God has made us his family,
a family that stretches around the world,
a family that is called to love as we have been love,
to forgive as we have been forgiven,
to give as we have been given too.
As we share today in our family meal;
GIVE THANKS to God that we are not alone,
THAT WE HAVE BOTH each other and the Spirit of Christ amongst us,
the Spirit of him who was, who is, and who shall ever be one with us, and
one over us, and one under us, one who truly loves us.
Blessed be God - day by day. Amen
*Portions of this sermon borrowed from a sermon from Rev. Richard J. Fairchild “One with us”
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A tale of Two Types of Wisdom
A tale of two wisdoms
September 20, 2009
Sixteenth Day of Pentecost
Year B
Have you ever had those moments in your life when you know God is there? When you know that in that moment – you know that someone or something had to have come from heaven to help you out of a situation? There had to be some angels from above looking over you and guiding you through the situation?
A colleague of mine tells about the time when he was helping his church prepare for the fair, they were selling cider, and they needed a press for the apples. In hauling it, he dropped it and an important piece of it broke. He tried to fix it but he couldn’t . And he remembered that the repairman that he went to- had recently died. The fair was to start in 3 hours – what would he do. He prayed and he found that indeed he did have to strength to try and fix it. As he started to work – this face appeared in his mind – the face of the repairman – and gave him step by step advice to fix the wine press- in two hours the press was ready and he could go to the fair.
Another colleague speaks of her mother in law who lived with she and her husband. The mother in law loved flowers – so they built her a greenhouse. One day she and her mother in law came home and found the house smelling like flowers. It was a very distinctive smell. The mother in law was particularly excited, because she said the house smelled just like her mothers house. I might add they never identified where the smell was coming from.
I have had one of those moments – when I knew God was near recently – when I asked for a prayer – and it was answered within a day. And when I asked for something expecting to have to wait and search for an answer – and as life unfolded – the answer was in an obvious very close place. I have had one of those times when I knew God was near. What about you – have you had those times in your life? God can sometimes be illusive, but comes to us in short glimpses, and unexpected ways. I am sure if you think about it, we have all had one of those encounters.
James point to us is that there are two kinds of wisdoms in the world – wisdom from above and wisdom from the world. James is making his point to us because we like to believe that all wisdom is the same. That we can play into the values of the world and the values of God at the same time, because they all fit intogether. We can believe both at the same time. James is telling us that they are not the same, and that they don’t fit in together. As a matter of fact, they are opposite kinds of wisdom, and if you will – they have two very different kinds of personalities. And two very different results.
One is self centered – about me- about my safety, my best interest, my concern. One is based on jealousy – which is a fear that I wont get what is coming to me. “those conflicts and disputes among you- where do they come from – do they not come from your own cravings that are at war within you? You want something and you cannot obtain it”
If there are indeed two kinds of wisdoms in the world – one from earth and one from heaven,which one is James speaking of?......
How is that different from the wisdom of God? …….
James goes on to say that we do not have, because we do not ask. And God does not give to us because we ask for the wrong reason. Once again, we ask for personal gain, and not the will of God.
Jesus actually picks up this theme in Mark. They are journeying along to Jerusalem – Jesus first tells of where they are going and why. But the disciples cant handle that conversation. But Jesus notices that they have been arguing. Who is the greatest among them? Is that a conversation using wisdom from above or wisdom from earth?.....
We know because it is a conversation about personal gain. A concern about where am I in the world. So it is an earthly conversation.
Jesus wants them to think about the things of God. So he pulls a little child aside and reminds the disciples the greatest on earth, and the greatest I heaven are different. Whosoever welcomes a little child in my name, welcomes me.
Now what is so cool about this story – is that we think of children very differently then they did 2000 years ago. Today – we do honor our children. We are a congregation which thinks about the best interest of the child. We understand that children need to be loved and cared for. And that they are not able to take care of themselves. We are willing to do what we can to take care of them. No so in Jesus times, children were nothing. They were a burden. You never knew if a child was going to survive into adulthood. Children were not allowed to own property. If they did not have a family – they were left to fend for themselves. In the eyes of the disciples they counted for nothing. They had absolutely no rights. They were essentially a none person. Today, we get a warm fuzzy feeling when Jesus grabs the little children and says let the children come to me. Then – they gasped in horror – how could Jesus even think of such a thing.
And yet he reminds us that these are the people who God loves the most – the people who the world values the least. There are two types of wisdom in the world – that from above and that from the earth. You cant embrace both at the same time – because they are very different – they are opposites. And they take you in two different directions. With two very different outcomes.
Speaking of Jesus loving the little children – did you see the film clip of the man at the Phillies game – who was fortunate enough to catch a foul ball. He was so excited about his souvenir that he gave the ball to his 3 year old daughter. And she does the right thing – she throws it back into the field. The father is looking on in horror as she has just thrown away his ball. But she is so proud of herself for doing the right thing – she runs into daddy’s arms for a hug. What else was there for him to do – but hug her back and tell her he loves her. Someone commented that perhaps he hugged her because he wanted to squeeze the life out of her. I wonder if his reaction would have been different without the camera rolling. But it captured the heart of America – because it was a God moment. A moment when God was truly present.
I think of the times in my life when I have done the very wrong thing – and God embraced me and loved me anyway. There are two kinds of wisdom in the world – wisdom from God and wisdom from the world- which kind of wisdom was present at this moment?....
Whereever gentleness, compassion, humility, and peace making are present – God is always there. Whereever there is an opportunity to do what you know is right – God is there. Wherever there are people like us – Christians, disciples of Christ present who are determined to put the will of God before their own interest. God is present. God will be seen by the world. The lesson for us today is to be those people who bring God into the world. Not by waiting for miracle, but by living out the wisdom from God in everything that we do.
The final words of James says submit yourselves to god. Of you resist wisdom from earth – the devil will flee, if you seek wisdom from above – by drawing near to God – God will draw near to you. Look for God in actions of others- but in the actions of your heart. And finally Mark reminds us that if you humble yourself – God will always raise you up. The Phillies gave the man in the stands another baseball, and signed jersey’s for the whole family for the love he showed to his daughter. How much more is in store for us? Peace.
September 20, 2009
Sixteenth Day of Pentecost
Year B
Have you ever had those moments in your life when you know God is there? When you know that in that moment – you know that someone or something had to have come from heaven to help you out of a situation? There had to be some angels from above looking over you and guiding you through the situation?
A colleague of mine tells about the time when he was helping his church prepare for the fair, they were selling cider, and they needed a press for the apples. In hauling it, he dropped it and an important piece of it broke. He tried to fix it but he couldn’t . And he remembered that the repairman that he went to- had recently died. The fair was to start in 3 hours – what would he do. He prayed and he found that indeed he did have to strength to try and fix it. As he started to work – this face appeared in his mind – the face of the repairman – and gave him step by step advice to fix the wine press- in two hours the press was ready and he could go to the fair.
Another colleague speaks of her mother in law who lived with she and her husband. The mother in law loved flowers – so they built her a greenhouse. One day she and her mother in law came home and found the house smelling like flowers. It was a very distinctive smell. The mother in law was particularly excited, because she said the house smelled just like her mothers house. I might add they never identified where the smell was coming from.
I have had one of those moments – when I knew God was near recently – when I asked for a prayer – and it was answered within a day. And when I asked for something expecting to have to wait and search for an answer – and as life unfolded – the answer was in an obvious very close place. I have had one of those times when I knew God was near. What about you – have you had those times in your life? God can sometimes be illusive, but comes to us in short glimpses, and unexpected ways. I am sure if you think about it, we have all had one of those encounters.
James point to us is that there are two kinds of wisdoms in the world – wisdom from above and wisdom from the world. James is making his point to us because we like to believe that all wisdom is the same. That we can play into the values of the world and the values of God at the same time, because they all fit intogether. We can believe both at the same time. James is telling us that they are not the same, and that they don’t fit in together. As a matter of fact, they are opposite kinds of wisdom, and if you will – they have two very different kinds of personalities. And two very different results.
One is self centered – about me- about my safety, my best interest, my concern. One is based on jealousy – which is a fear that I wont get what is coming to me. “those conflicts and disputes among you- where do they come from – do they not come from your own cravings that are at war within you? You want something and you cannot obtain it”
If there are indeed two kinds of wisdoms in the world – one from earth and one from heaven,which one is James speaking of?......
How is that different from the wisdom of God? …….
James goes on to say that we do not have, because we do not ask. And God does not give to us because we ask for the wrong reason. Once again, we ask for personal gain, and not the will of God.
Jesus actually picks up this theme in Mark. They are journeying along to Jerusalem – Jesus first tells of where they are going and why. But the disciples cant handle that conversation. But Jesus notices that they have been arguing. Who is the greatest among them? Is that a conversation using wisdom from above or wisdom from earth?.....
We know because it is a conversation about personal gain. A concern about where am I in the world. So it is an earthly conversation.
Jesus wants them to think about the things of God. So he pulls a little child aside and reminds the disciples the greatest on earth, and the greatest I heaven are different. Whosoever welcomes a little child in my name, welcomes me.
Now what is so cool about this story – is that we think of children very differently then they did 2000 years ago. Today – we do honor our children. We are a congregation which thinks about the best interest of the child. We understand that children need to be loved and cared for. And that they are not able to take care of themselves. We are willing to do what we can to take care of them. No so in Jesus times, children were nothing. They were a burden. You never knew if a child was going to survive into adulthood. Children were not allowed to own property. If they did not have a family – they were left to fend for themselves. In the eyes of the disciples they counted for nothing. They had absolutely no rights. They were essentially a none person. Today, we get a warm fuzzy feeling when Jesus grabs the little children and says let the children come to me. Then – they gasped in horror – how could Jesus even think of such a thing.
And yet he reminds us that these are the people who God loves the most – the people who the world values the least. There are two types of wisdom in the world – that from above and that from the earth. You cant embrace both at the same time – because they are very different – they are opposites. And they take you in two different directions. With two very different outcomes.
Speaking of Jesus loving the little children – did you see the film clip of the man at the Phillies game – who was fortunate enough to catch a foul ball. He was so excited about his souvenir that he gave the ball to his 3 year old daughter. And she does the right thing – she throws it back into the field. The father is looking on in horror as she has just thrown away his ball. But she is so proud of herself for doing the right thing – she runs into daddy’s arms for a hug. What else was there for him to do – but hug her back and tell her he loves her. Someone commented that perhaps he hugged her because he wanted to squeeze the life out of her. I wonder if his reaction would have been different without the camera rolling. But it captured the heart of America – because it was a God moment. A moment when God was truly present.
I think of the times in my life when I have done the very wrong thing – and God embraced me and loved me anyway. There are two kinds of wisdom in the world – wisdom from God and wisdom from the world- which kind of wisdom was present at this moment?....
Whereever gentleness, compassion, humility, and peace making are present – God is always there. Whereever there is an opportunity to do what you know is right – God is there. Wherever there are people like us – Christians, disciples of Christ present who are determined to put the will of God before their own interest. God is present. God will be seen by the world. The lesson for us today is to be those people who bring God into the world. Not by waiting for miracle, but by living out the wisdom from God in everything that we do.
The final words of James says submit yourselves to god. Of you resist wisdom from earth – the devil will flee, if you seek wisdom from above – by drawing near to God – God will draw near to you. Look for God in actions of others- but in the actions of your heart. And finally Mark reminds us that if you humble yourself – God will always raise you up. The Phillies gave the man in the stands another baseball, and signed jersey’s for the whole family for the love he showed to his daughter. How much more is in store for us? Peace.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The Fashionable Christian - August 23, 2009
The Fashionable Christian
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:
Year B
The Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost
The one word that comes to mind as I think of the lessons of Ephesians and John 6 today is propaganda. Propoganda – the telling of facts and figures to a group of people, with an agenda in mind- to get a certain response. Usually this response is more about appealing to the emotions of a group, then it is appealing to the rational sense of a group. The whole point is that propaganda is not intended to be rational – it is usually exaggerated or inflammatory for a reason.
Today we usually associate that term to communication in wartimes. Times when people are trying to rile the crowd up- to get them to take their side and to justify their actions against another group. Truths, that when we look at them seem obviously taken out of perspective.
And yet recently, I have been amazed at how alive and well the concept still is. Propoganda is still very much alive and well in the way we communicate with one another today.
Politics is still a big arena for propaganda. We have all seen on the news the debates over health care reform. Recently I drove to Elkhart In to hear the president speak. Unknowingly discovering that we were put in the middle of a debate between republicans and democrats on this issue.
Propoganda is in our movies – recently I went to see the movie inglorious basterd a very dark comedy – keenly aware that is a movie that would only work in America to a crowd who did not live through the experience. They are the only ones who would laugh at a movie about a group of soliders getting killed.
And yet what strikes me most is how present propaganda is in the way we communicate with one another. Think that it is human nature for us to listen to the emotions of what someone says before we hear the logic. If we like that person, or we care about that person, or we have a connection to the person, then we automatically buy into their perspective – how else would you explain going to the story and getting 20 different scarves in 20 different colors because it is the style. I am sure if you thought about it – you can think of ways that you have been influenced by the emotional communication of those around you. Okay so maybe you are not susciptable to over shopping just because your friend does it – but that is human nature.
When Jesus spoke to the crowd about bread from heaven being the bread of life and giving all those who listen eternal life – that how the crowd took his words – as propaganda. An exaggeration of the truth in order to make himself look more important than he really was. No one is a gift from heaven – god would choose no one to bring the spirit of love into the world. And if you really loved God, certainly you wouldn’t claim such a crazy thing for yourself.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abid in me, and I in them. Just as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that of which your ancestor ate and they died, but the one who eats this bead will live forever.
Even back then when the words came out of Jesus mouth – he knew this would be a difficult saying for his audience. He said it in many ways – to get past their doubts and skepticism. He knew that from what they had heard all of their lives – this would be taken as propaganda.
And it remains so today. We don’t study John very often – because his beliefs are a little strong and hard to defend even for a Christian today. No one knows why he was saying these things. He was Jesus best friend – maybe he just got caught up into what the man was saying and forgot to think.
Propoganda is alive and well in the church today. And sometimes even we as Christians are susceptible to believing what others with an agenda have to say. All of the bible is to some propaganda - because it does encourage us to look at the world from a certain perspective. Paul also likes to use a lot of images of fighting a war in his talking. Ephesians 6 encourages us to put on the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. I have always thought of this as an outdated image – until I actually saw someone selling the armour of god – for children. It looks like a cross between a bad Halloween costume and a tacky pair of pajamas. As I picked up the bright silver and suit – couldn’t help but to think of what cruel and confused parent would actually buy this for their child. And where besides Sunday school class would someone even wear something like that. How far do you get carried away with teaching children bible lessons. Now I cant wait to get one- I hope they make them in my size.
Of course we don’t need a suit of armour to remember Paul’s lesson to us.
We live in a world full of propaganda – others peoples messages, others hidden agandas, others intentions for us, even other gospels of what is in our best interest.
Whether we think of ourselves as soldiers or not, we are all fighting a war. A war for our beliefs, our loyalties, our hearts and souls, a war for what is really right and true. How do we ever really know what it good for us and what and sometimes who is in our best interest to believe.
Even as Jesus talked – he started with a crowd of 5000, and the more that came out of his mouth – the more people walked away. The more people stopped listening. The more they decided that he was just talking propaganda – nothing for them to take seriously. Jesus talked and talked until there were only 12 people left. And he asked them do you also wish to go away? And Peter responds lord to whom can we go? You have the word of eternal life, we have come to believe and know that you are the holy one of God.
Carls Jordon and the church of 4.
With all of the proganda coming at us – how to we determine what is true and what it not, what to believe and what to not? Who is telling us something in our best interest and who is just trying to appeal to our emotions to get us to react to something?
Paul says the the fashionable Christian puts on the armor of God – truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation. But the most important thing that we wear – is prayer. Everything that we do is undergirded in prayer. Every question we have is given to god, every person we know is lifted up in prayer.
There is no way in this world to escape propoganada. And sometimes there is not real test to determine if the words of others are for us or against us. Even the words of the bible can be thought of as proganada – very strong words that can have no meaning. It can even be hard for us to take jesus seriously.
But jesus whole point is that when you do – it is not because of your senses – belief in what jesus is saying is a gift from god. We believe it because God was made it so for us.
John 6 – jesus the flesh and blood of God – jesus bread of life, jesus words being one with the will of God – were meant to be offensive. Meant for us to question, intended not to make any sense of have any meaning.
Words are truly the grace of God. Grace is the only real protection that we have or need.
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:
Year B
The Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost
The one word that comes to mind as I think of the lessons of Ephesians and John 6 today is propaganda. Propoganda – the telling of facts and figures to a group of people, with an agenda in mind- to get a certain response. Usually this response is more about appealing to the emotions of a group, then it is appealing to the rational sense of a group. The whole point is that propaganda is not intended to be rational – it is usually exaggerated or inflammatory for a reason.
Today we usually associate that term to communication in wartimes. Times when people are trying to rile the crowd up- to get them to take their side and to justify their actions against another group. Truths, that when we look at them seem obviously taken out of perspective.
And yet recently, I have been amazed at how alive and well the concept still is. Propoganda is still very much alive and well in the way we communicate with one another today.
Politics is still a big arena for propaganda. We have all seen on the news the debates over health care reform. Recently I drove to Elkhart In to hear the president speak. Unknowingly discovering that we were put in the middle of a debate between republicans and democrats on this issue.
Propoganda is in our movies – recently I went to see the movie inglorious basterd a very dark comedy – keenly aware that is a movie that would only work in America to a crowd who did not live through the experience. They are the only ones who would laugh at a movie about a group of soliders getting killed.
And yet what strikes me most is how present propaganda is in the way we communicate with one another. Think that it is human nature for us to listen to the emotions of what someone says before we hear the logic. If we like that person, or we care about that person, or we have a connection to the person, then we automatically buy into their perspective – how else would you explain going to the story and getting 20 different scarves in 20 different colors because it is the style. I am sure if you thought about it – you can think of ways that you have been influenced by the emotional communication of those around you. Okay so maybe you are not susciptable to over shopping just because your friend does it – but that is human nature.
When Jesus spoke to the crowd about bread from heaven being the bread of life and giving all those who listen eternal life – that how the crowd took his words – as propaganda. An exaggeration of the truth in order to make himself look more important than he really was. No one is a gift from heaven – god would choose no one to bring the spirit of love into the world. And if you really loved God, certainly you wouldn’t claim such a crazy thing for yourself.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abid in me, and I in them. Just as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that of which your ancestor ate and they died, but the one who eats this bead will live forever.
Even back then when the words came out of Jesus mouth – he knew this would be a difficult saying for his audience. He said it in many ways – to get past their doubts and skepticism. He knew that from what they had heard all of their lives – this would be taken as propaganda.
And it remains so today. We don’t study John very often – because his beliefs are a little strong and hard to defend even for a Christian today. No one knows why he was saying these things. He was Jesus best friend – maybe he just got caught up into what the man was saying and forgot to think.
Propoganda is alive and well in the church today. And sometimes even we as Christians are susceptible to believing what others with an agenda have to say. All of the bible is to some propaganda - because it does encourage us to look at the world from a certain perspective. Paul also likes to use a lot of images of fighting a war in his talking. Ephesians 6 encourages us to put on the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. I have always thought of this as an outdated image – until I actually saw someone selling the armour of god – for children. It looks like a cross between a bad Halloween costume and a tacky pair of pajamas. As I picked up the bright silver and suit – couldn’t help but to think of what cruel and confused parent would actually buy this for their child. And where besides Sunday school class would someone even wear something like that. How far do you get carried away with teaching children bible lessons. Now I cant wait to get one- I hope they make them in my size.
Of course we don’t need a suit of armour to remember Paul’s lesson to us.
We live in a world full of propaganda – others peoples messages, others hidden agandas, others intentions for us, even other gospels of what is in our best interest.
Whether we think of ourselves as soldiers or not, we are all fighting a war. A war for our beliefs, our loyalties, our hearts and souls, a war for what is really right and true. How do we ever really know what it good for us and what and sometimes who is in our best interest to believe.
Even as Jesus talked – he started with a crowd of 5000, and the more that came out of his mouth – the more people walked away. The more people stopped listening. The more they decided that he was just talking propaganda – nothing for them to take seriously. Jesus talked and talked until there were only 12 people left. And he asked them do you also wish to go away? And Peter responds lord to whom can we go? You have the word of eternal life, we have come to believe and know that you are the holy one of God.
Carls Jordon and the church of 4.
With all of the proganda coming at us – how to we determine what is true and what it not, what to believe and what to not? Who is telling us something in our best interest and who is just trying to appeal to our emotions to get us to react to something?
Paul says the the fashionable Christian puts on the armor of God – truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation. But the most important thing that we wear – is prayer. Everything that we do is undergirded in prayer. Every question we have is given to god, every person we know is lifted up in prayer.
There is no way in this world to escape propoganada. And sometimes there is not real test to determine if the words of others are for us or against us. Even the words of the bible can be thought of as proganada – very strong words that can have no meaning. It can even be hard for us to take jesus seriously.
But jesus whole point is that when you do – it is not because of your senses – belief in what jesus is saying is a gift from god. We believe it because God was made it so for us.
John 6 – jesus the flesh and blood of God – jesus bread of life, jesus words being one with the will of God – were meant to be offensive. Meant for us to question, intended not to make any sense of have any meaning.
Words are truly the grace of God. Grace is the only real protection that we have or need.
Dreams and Nightmares - August 16, 2009
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
Year B
1 Kings
Ephesians 5:15-20
Dreams and nightmares – what is the difference
This week I watched this really cool video from Honda Corporation of all places, on dreams and nightmares. It talked about why we dream. Dreaming is thinking in an altered state, said one expert on the video. And it showed clips on how we dream, and how the mind can put together thoughts in a dream in really strange ways, for instance they showed a dream of someone cooking a boot on the stove.
The video helped me to realize that there is really no difference between our dreams and nightmares. They are both our minds way of trying to work something out. The difference is our reaction, nightmares play upon our fears that we are usually afraid to face in a waking state.
The difference is in the way we interpret them and the meaning we place on what is happening. A nightmare is a dream.
Solomon found that out the night he talked with God in a dream
He Asked for wisdom to lead his country. and God gave him more. God felt that because his heart was in the right place, that he would also have the things that make life enjoyable, a good life, health, riches, and wives.
Sometimes Nightmare and a dream are the same thing. Solomon was fulfilling the dreams of his father. He built the temple, he built the kingdom, he gained a international reputation.
Solomon started out doing some amazing things
But in the later years not so much. He got cocky and started to tax the people the support his extravagant building projects, he lost the kingdom – what david united, was split apart again. He also married many wives, and at times started to adopt their religions, sometimes giving his own a second seat – breaking to commandment to put no other God before God. What started out at a dream come true, became a nightmare. He even stopped thinking about the wisdom which was so important to his daily rule.
Wisdom is the way we live our lives – and what we do. It is the choices that we make.
Ephesians picks up this theme of wisdom and doing the right thing
Everyone has to be filled with something – some filled with wine – you should be filled with the spirit says Ephesians.
Singing and rejoicing, Righteousness and Wisdom are the three themes of our scripture for today.
Wisdom is Defined as a doing the will of the lord
God has a vested interest in the way we use our time
Just as God had a vested interest in the way Solomon used his wisdom – God has that same interest in us and what we do with our lives.
eksagorazamenoie means buying time in the marketplace. We have a responsibility to buy our time, just as Solomon purchased wisdom and spend it wisely.
The way we use our time affects not just us, but the world. Filled with the spirit – living our lives according to gods will
Story of rubber, metal and glass. Some of our commitments are rubber commitments – it doesn’t matter if we follow them, if we break an appointment, we can just make it up when we realize we have done wrong and there is no love lost. Some of our commitments are metal – they make a lot of noise when we drop them – but the reality is they don’t break the relationship. And other commitments are glass – once broken they cannot be repaired, once the moment passes we cant make it up.
Our priority are glass commitments – time we spend in the will of God – is fragile and will break. God wants us to think about our glass – special time.
Heal and make a difference.
Year B
1 Kings
Ephesians 5:15-20
Dreams and nightmares – what is the difference
This week I watched this really cool video from Honda Corporation of all places, on dreams and nightmares. It talked about why we dream. Dreaming is thinking in an altered state, said one expert on the video. And it showed clips on how we dream, and how the mind can put together thoughts in a dream in really strange ways, for instance they showed a dream of someone cooking a boot on the stove.
The video helped me to realize that there is really no difference between our dreams and nightmares. They are both our minds way of trying to work something out. The difference is our reaction, nightmares play upon our fears that we are usually afraid to face in a waking state.
The difference is in the way we interpret them and the meaning we place on what is happening. A nightmare is a dream.
Solomon found that out the night he talked with God in a dream
He Asked for wisdom to lead his country. and God gave him more. God felt that because his heart was in the right place, that he would also have the things that make life enjoyable, a good life, health, riches, and wives.
Sometimes Nightmare and a dream are the same thing. Solomon was fulfilling the dreams of his father. He built the temple, he built the kingdom, he gained a international reputation.
Solomon started out doing some amazing things
But in the later years not so much. He got cocky and started to tax the people the support his extravagant building projects, he lost the kingdom – what david united, was split apart again. He also married many wives, and at times started to adopt their religions, sometimes giving his own a second seat – breaking to commandment to put no other God before God. What started out at a dream come true, became a nightmare. He even stopped thinking about the wisdom which was so important to his daily rule.
Wisdom is the way we live our lives – and what we do. It is the choices that we make.
Ephesians picks up this theme of wisdom and doing the right thing
Everyone has to be filled with something – some filled with wine – you should be filled with the spirit says Ephesians.
Singing and rejoicing, Righteousness and Wisdom are the three themes of our scripture for today.
Wisdom is Defined as a doing the will of the lord
God has a vested interest in the way we use our time
Just as God had a vested interest in the way Solomon used his wisdom – God has that same interest in us and what we do with our lives.
eksagorazamenoie means buying time in the marketplace. We have a responsibility to buy our time, just as Solomon purchased wisdom and spend it wisely.
The way we use our time affects not just us, but the world. Filled with the spirit – living our lives according to gods will
Story of rubber, metal and glass. Some of our commitments are rubber commitments – it doesn’t matter if we follow them, if we break an appointment, we can just make it up when we realize we have done wrong and there is no love lost. Some of our commitments are metal – they make a lot of noise when we drop them – but the reality is they don’t break the relationship. And other commitments are glass – once broken they cannot be repaired, once the moment passes we cant make it up.
Our priority are glass commitments – time we spend in the will of God – is fragile and will break. God wants us to think about our glass – special time.
Heal and make a difference.
Are you still hungry? - August 9. 2009
Year B
10th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
John 6:35, 41-51
Why do we say a table blessing today?
A group is seminary students asked why do we still say table blessings today. In its original intention, table blessings were said because you never knew the condition of your food. In times without refrigeration, you could only hope that you would not be poisoned by the food you needed so desparately, so you prayed over it.
And of course, you never knew when you were going to eat, so you were grateful for what you received.
Do we still need to?
Today, especially in America, we do not have to worry as much if our food will harm us. More importantly, we tend to take three meals a day for granted, we just assume that we will always have enough to eat. So we really have to bless every meal that we get?
Of course we need to
Today, we may eat much more extravagantly than those before us, but we still need to be thankful for what we receive. We still need to acknowledge the fact that everything that we receive is a gift from God.
Food is still important to us
We may get too much of it, but we can still be grateful to God for the food that we do get.
Bread was considered a staple of life – every culture eats some kind of bread.
Bread has always been considered a staple of the human diet. Every culture in the world eats some kind of bread. (not me, I don’t care for bread, and will not eat it unless I have to.)
Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life
This is the last week of our study of John 6. Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life. That his teachings are our staple as Christians. We need bread, but more importantly, we need Jesus.
Levels
Fed,
Told to read the word of God
He is the bread
This bread is from heaven
Jesus taught this lesson to the people of his times in many ways, but more importantly, on many different levels. First he fed them real bread so that they could pay attention to the teaching. Then he told the them the word of God from heaven. Then he explained that he is the bread of life, and then he explained that what he had to teach was indeed bread from heaven, just like their ancestors received manna from heaven.
Why this offended the jews
This was very offensive to the Jewish population. Why would anyone associate themselves with bread from heaven. It was offensive for them to eat flesh and blood. So they were offended by Jesus message. But Jesus knew this was the case. He knew this would be a hard message and that many would need to fall away – because they could not bear what he had to say. No one should believe that they knew the word of God, only God knew the word of God. And God would never come in human form.
Spiritual practices of life – to truly be able to experience life
Forgot all about the bread – but remember the lesson
For Christians we don’t have to get caught up on the physical reality of what Jesus is saying. Jesus knew that the bread was important, but the bread would pass away. But the point of believing that Jesus us the bread of life should stick withus.
Early church thought of as cannibals- eating flesh and blood
Many people were critical of the early church, they thought they were cannibals, eating the flesh and blood of Jesus.
Not so – gather together in community, praying together, living together helping together, most importantly believing in Jesus together
Life is made up of many struggles, many pressures, many opinions, many decisions – but there is only one Jesus
We Didn’t read Ephesians this morning – in the scripture, Paul tells us to be imitators of Christ –
Imitate the ones we love and admire.
Jesus did he best to imitate God – and succeeded
Story of pastor visiting
There was a pastor who visited a woman in the hospital. She was very close to dying. And when you came to see her, she did not always open her eyes. On the day that pastor visited, she did not immediately open her eyes to greet him. But when she did – she told him that she thought that he was Jesus coming to visit her. He told her that when she did finally reach heaven and talked with Jesus, he hoped that Jesus did indeed look just like him. As Christians we are called to be mistaken for Jesus by many people. And in turn Jesus looks just like us in the face.
But the story – when I get to heaven and see Jesus – as if Jesus saw me – if He looks like me.
The point of bread from heaven – we are the bread of life from heaven, when we imitate Jesus.
Mutual love – we are in a mutual relationship, we look like Jesus and Jesus looks like us.
We will be studying John 6 for two more weeks. Two more weeks of this bread of life. John says that Jesus is bread, light, gate, shepherd, life, vine. All images that he uses in the book of John.
There is no one image that captures the full meaning of Jesus or of God’s love for us.
There is no one person who can be the body of Christ – we are all Jesus in our own way – when we come together and take the bread and believe it is from heaven.
10th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
John 6:35, 41-51
Why do we say a table blessing today?
A group is seminary students asked why do we still say table blessings today. In its original intention, table blessings were said because you never knew the condition of your food. In times without refrigeration, you could only hope that you would not be poisoned by the food you needed so desparately, so you prayed over it.
And of course, you never knew when you were going to eat, so you were grateful for what you received.
Do we still need to?
Today, especially in America, we do not have to worry as much if our food will harm us. More importantly, we tend to take three meals a day for granted, we just assume that we will always have enough to eat. So we really have to bless every meal that we get?
Of course we need to
Today, we may eat much more extravagantly than those before us, but we still need to be thankful for what we receive. We still need to acknowledge the fact that everything that we receive is a gift from God.
Food is still important to us
We may get too much of it, but we can still be grateful to God for the food that we do get.
Bread was considered a staple of life – every culture eats some kind of bread.
Bread has always been considered a staple of the human diet. Every culture in the world eats some kind of bread. (not me, I don’t care for bread, and will not eat it unless I have to.)
Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life
This is the last week of our study of John 6. Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life. That his teachings are our staple as Christians. We need bread, but more importantly, we need Jesus.
Levels
Fed,
Told to read the word of God
He is the bread
This bread is from heaven
Jesus taught this lesson to the people of his times in many ways, but more importantly, on many different levels. First he fed them real bread so that they could pay attention to the teaching. Then he told the them the word of God from heaven. Then he explained that he is the bread of life, and then he explained that what he had to teach was indeed bread from heaven, just like their ancestors received manna from heaven.
Why this offended the jews
This was very offensive to the Jewish population. Why would anyone associate themselves with bread from heaven. It was offensive for them to eat flesh and blood. So they were offended by Jesus message. But Jesus knew this was the case. He knew this would be a hard message and that many would need to fall away – because they could not bear what he had to say. No one should believe that they knew the word of God, only God knew the word of God. And God would never come in human form.
Spiritual practices of life – to truly be able to experience life
Forgot all about the bread – but remember the lesson
For Christians we don’t have to get caught up on the physical reality of what Jesus is saying. Jesus knew that the bread was important, but the bread would pass away. But the point of believing that Jesus us the bread of life should stick withus.
Early church thought of as cannibals- eating flesh and blood
Many people were critical of the early church, they thought they were cannibals, eating the flesh and blood of Jesus.
Not so – gather together in community, praying together, living together helping together, most importantly believing in Jesus together
Life is made up of many struggles, many pressures, many opinions, many decisions – but there is only one Jesus
We Didn’t read Ephesians this morning – in the scripture, Paul tells us to be imitators of Christ –
Imitate the ones we love and admire.
Jesus did he best to imitate God – and succeeded
Story of pastor visiting
There was a pastor who visited a woman in the hospital. She was very close to dying. And when you came to see her, she did not always open her eyes. On the day that pastor visited, she did not immediately open her eyes to greet him. But when she did – she told him that she thought that he was Jesus coming to visit her. He told her that when she did finally reach heaven and talked with Jesus, he hoped that Jesus did indeed look just like him. As Christians we are called to be mistaken for Jesus by many people. And in turn Jesus looks just like us in the face.
But the story – when I get to heaven and see Jesus – as if Jesus saw me – if He looks like me.
The point of bread from heaven – we are the bread of life from heaven, when we imitate Jesus.
Mutual love – we are in a mutual relationship, we look like Jesus and Jesus looks like us.
We will be studying John 6 for two more weeks. Two more weeks of this bread of life. John says that Jesus is bread, light, gate, shepherd, life, vine. All images that he uses in the book of John.
There is no one image that captures the full meaning of Jesus or of God’s love for us.
There is no one person who can be the body of Christ – we are all Jesus in our own way – when we come together and take the bread and believe it is from heaven.
The Person in the Mirror - August 30, 2009
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.
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.
Labor of Love - September 6, 2009
In a village in Africa, a teacher taught her students the meaning of Christmas. Of giving gifts in honor of the new born king. The children were not Christian, but they understood anyway. One little boy was so taken with the idea, that he gave his teacher a gift the next stay. A beautiful stone, she noticed that this kind of stone could only be found in a village by the sea – that was some distance from where they lived. She thanked the little boy and asked where he go the stone – he told her that village. She said that is a little far, you didn’t need to go through that much trouble to give me a gift, you could have gotten me something simpler. No replied the little boy – the trip was a part of the gift to show you that I care.
Often when we get a gift, we are not aware of what the person needed to do to achieve the gift. We don’t know the labor and love that went into acquiring it for us.
Think about the gifts that God has given us – the earth, our food, our well being, our lives, our families and the countless other blessing we have in life – what did it take for God to create those gifts?
What about the gifts that Christ has given us – salvation, understanding, new life, - how much did he have to sacrifice to come to earth and to die on a cross?
Labor Day is our chance to think about our gifts, and the hands that gave them to us. We get to rest, but we also think of theneeds of others. Many who work in order to survive and to help their families – and yet who work tirelessly to give us the gifts of comfort and life, many of which we don’t even think of.
The scriptures for today all have one theme in mind – that is to remember the poor. To remember what we have received from them and to not just say thank you, but to make sure that they are supported and taken care of.
Proverbs is based in the premise that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Not a fear that we will be punished for doing wrong – but an awe, a sense of respect, a sense of mystery that what God does is unknown to us, and yet we see the results of God’s work and we are grateful.
The writer of proverbs believes that we have two choices in life – we can choose wisdom or we can choose death. The difference is in how we live – a good name is better than riches says wisdom. The difference in the way you live is in your willingness to do hard work. It is in your labors of love to the world and to God. When you give a gift – are you focused in the material item or the journey it took to aquire it.
I went to the Brookfield zoo for the first time last week. It was a great experience to see not just the animals – but the relationship that we have with them as people. How we learn to live together. The primate building – starts out like a maze, and you had to choose which way to get in. Making the point that primates are the only animals in the world who are able to make a choice about anything. All other animals don’t really think about what they are doing they just automatically do it. They rely on their instincts to live and survive. Some choices we take for granted – and some we ponder over for months. But are lives are always full of choices. Our faith reminds us that we even have a choice about how we deal with life. When cant control the events of our life – but no matter what we can always choose joy – and the joyful path. We can choose to heal and move on from hurts, or we can stay stuck and constantly remember what someone said or did. Life for humans is full of choices.
James, the new testament book of wisdom also is based on the premise of choice. We can choose what is wise or we can choose what is foolish. The consequensces are different for each choice. James also wants us to know that one is alive and one is dead.
Chapter 2 is also a reminder to treat the poor with respect. How we treat the poor determines the consequences of our faith. How do you treat the poor- like you would anyone else. James says that you don’t make a distinction between the rich and the poor, those we like and those we don’t like. As Christians we should not show partiality to those who are better able to take care of themselves. We don’t have favorites in our lives.
I think we all agree with that in principle – and if asked we would say that we treat everyone the same. But we are not aware of our biases and values that force us to unfairly judge people. And we don’t notice when we are sharing favoritism to others. What is wise and what is foolish about our behavior – we have to constantly pay attention to what we do and why. Who is our nieighbor and who do we extend hospitality to – anyone who is around us. I think it is a very poignant example within itself when James says that when you see someone in need and you wish them well and send them on their way without helping – them your faith is dead. Faith without works is dead.
Its is sort of like two plants – one alive and one dead. The dead one looks beautiful and takes no work but a little dusting. The living one must be waters and sunned and taken care of. Which type of faith do you have – living are artificial?
What labor of love goes into what you do for others. More importantly what labor of love has gone into what others have done for you? Look at the gifts in your live – who gave them? How did you get them? What is your response to those who gave them to you?
This labor day – we all may have many struggles but we also have many gifts- to be grateful for and to remember the journeys of those who gave them. Amen.
Often when we get a gift, we are not aware of what the person needed to do to achieve the gift. We don’t know the labor and love that went into acquiring it for us.
Think about the gifts that God has given us – the earth, our food, our well being, our lives, our families and the countless other blessing we have in life – what did it take for God to create those gifts?
What about the gifts that Christ has given us – salvation, understanding, new life, - how much did he have to sacrifice to come to earth and to die on a cross?
Labor Day is our chance to think about our gifts, and the hands that gave them to us. We get to rest, but we also think of theneeds of others. Many who work in order to survive and to help their families – and yet who work tirelessly to give us the gifts of comfort and life, many of which we don’t even think of.
The scriptures for today all have one theme in mind – that is to remember the poor. To remember what we have received from them and to not just say thank you, but to make sure that they are supported and taken care of.
Proverbs is based in the premise that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Not a fear that we will be punished for doing wrong – but an awe, a sense of respect, a sense of mystery that what God does is unknown to us, and yet we see the results of God’s work and we are grateful.
The writer of proverbs believes that we have two choices in life – we can choose wisdom or we can choose death. The difference is in how we live – a good name is better than riches says wisdom. The difference in the way you live is in your willingness to do hard work. It is in your labors of love to the world and to God. When you give a gift – are you focused in the material item or the journey it took to aquire it.
I went to the Brookfield zoo for the first time last week. It was a great experience to see not just the animals – but the relationship that we have with them as people. How we learn to live together. The primate building – starts out like a maze, and you had to choose which way to get in. Making the point that primates are the only animals in the world who are able to make a choice about anything. All other animals don’t really think about what they are doing they just automatically do it. They rely on their instincts to live and survive. Some choices we take for granted – and some we ponder over for months. But are lives are always full of choices. Our faith reminds us that we even have a choice about how we deal with life. When cant control the events of our life – but no matter what we can always choose joy – and the joyful path. We can choose to heal and move on from hurts, or we can stay stuck and constantly remember what someone said or did. Life for humans is full of choices.
James, the new testament book of wisdom also is based on the premise of choice. We can choose what is wise or we can choose what is foolish. The consequensces are different for each choice. James also wants us to know that one is alive and one is dead.
Chapter 2 is also a reminder to treat the poor with respect. How we treat the poor determines the consequences of our faith. How do you treat the poor- like you would anyone else. James says that you don’t make a distinction between the rich and the poor, those we like and those we don’t like. As Christians we should not show partiality to those who are better able to take care of themselves. We don’t have favorites in our lives.
I think we all agree with that in principle – and if asked we would say that we treat everyone the same. But we are not aware of our biases and values that force us to unfairly judge people. And we don’t notice when we are sharing favoritism to others. What is wise and what is foolish about our behavior – we have to constantly pay attention to what we do and why. Who is our nieighbor and who do we extend hospitality to – anyone who is around us. I think it is a very poignant example within itself when James says that when you see someone in need and you wish them well and send them on their way without helping – them your faith is dead. Faith without works is dead.
Its is sort of like two plants – one alive and one dead. The dead one looks beautiful and takes no work but a little dusting. The living one must be waters and sunned and taken care of. Which type of faith do you have – living are artificial?
What labor of love goes into what you do for others. More importantly what labor of love has gone into what others have done for you? Look at the gifts in your live – who gave them? How did you get them? What is your response to those who gave them to you?
This labor day – we all may have many struggles but we also have many gifts- to be grateful for and to remember the journeys of those who gave them. Amen.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
God's Prestige
2 Samuel 11: 1-15
John 6: 1-23
Year B
The eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Experience at Michael Jackson memorial
I told you a few weeks ago, that I had went to the Michael Jackson Memorial in Gary, IN. No one wanted to go with me, but all of my friends made a point to call afterward to see how it was. Even Theresa (our day care director) asked about it. I told everyone, I was really glad to be there. It is a memory that I will treasure forever, but it was the weirdest thing I ever attended. You weren’t quite sure if you were at a funeral, a celebration, a giant talent show, a concert, or a dance party. And it wasn’t all of those things combined.
The show was very well planned out – but no thought was given to logistics
The stage was positioned so people could not see, the sound went out halfway into the show, and the acts had not performed ahead of time. There was only one person who was professional enough to project her performance for 6500 people. And when Joe Jackson came out- he was booed, so they spent the rest of the night trying to get the crowd to say – We love Joe Jackson. It wasn’t true – so the crowd would not say it.
Logistics a very important part of life – Napoleon
My lesson for the night was that logistics in any event is very important. But particularly when you are dealing with a crowd of people. Napolean made a point that wars follow the course of the men’s stomaches. An army can only fight a war, where they are properly fed. The mightiest warriors of all time, finally lost his battle – because he sent his army to fight in a place where he had not logistically thought through how his men were going to be fed and taken care of.
Jesus speaking to a crowd of 5000 – the important thing logistics
Logistics is important in anything where you are dealing with a large crowd of people. Jesus was good at thinking about the logistics of his message. He always gave a lot of thought to how his message was going to be received, and what he needed to give the people to make sure they would take his message home. In a movie I watched, this is called the prestige – the hook that people will always remember. For Jesus crowd – the hook was food. People were hungry and needed to be fed. Jesus knew that his message involved feeding them – they would listen to him.
There was a crowd of 6500 at the memorial for Michael Jackson. Jesus looked and realized that he was speaking to a crowd of 5000 people. 5000 hungry people.
What are these people going to eat, how are they going to take this message, what will keep them peaceful
Jesus is tired of teaching to the crowds. He tries to take a break and get away. But the papporazi search him out and find him. And the crowd is not far behind. Jesus looks at all of these people and asks the disciples – how are we going to feed all of these people?
We have heard this story before – why are we hearing it again?
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle story which has been featured in all four gospel. We are reading the book of mark, and this is a convenient time to switch gears and listen to John. We have heard this story before – even this year – we have heard this story before. Many of my colleagues have asked why are we reading and preaching in it again. And why are we reading it in John, in the middle of our study of Mark.
John has a very interesting perspective – and an interesting message
Well, it is because Matthew, Mark, and Luke like to tell the human story of Jesus. They want to fit Jesus into our lives, and things we can relate to. John was Jesus best friend – but he wants us to get a deeper understanding of Jesus – who is Jesus for us and why is so special to all of mankind? Jesus is the son of God, he is the messiah, He has the power of God on his side, because he is the power of God. He has the power to feed all of our hungers.
Tell the story.
In John’s feeding of the 5000, the disciples go out into the crowd. Andrew finds a young boy with three fish and five loaves. He brings it to Jesus, jesus blesses it and it is enough to feed 5000, with twelve baskets left over. After it is over with, jesus takes the disciples into a boat and walks on water.
What are we to get out of that story? We have heard it all before?
Jesus is thinking about the logistics – using this as a teaching moment.
Ask Philip – how are we going to find bread for these people?
Asks Andrew the same thing – and goes looking
Not looking for food – looking for opportunity for God to step in
The story is not about bread and fish, but about the miracle of God’s work - For John everything is a symbol.
People wanted Jesus to become their king – a reincarnation of David for their time. They wanted to good days of David to be restored. They wanted peace, stability, and a chance to be taken care of.
Jesus wanted them to know that we cannot eat by bread alone – but by God’s power.
Says I am he – but it is not what you think
Not a physical kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom
The nun and three pennies
There was a nun who got a vision from God to build an orphanage. As she got this idea- she thought of the logistics. How was she going to pay for it? In her search and her prayer, she found three pennies. She grabbed the pennies and ran to her superiors to tell them her vision.
With Three pennies and a dream from God you can do anything
When questioned about the logistics, she showed her superiors the three pennies. They laughed at her and told her there was nothing she could do with three pennies. She explained that with three pennies, and a dream from God you can do anything.
It is not the three pennies, not even the dream – but the power of God that makes it possible.
Jesus is the bread of life
The point of John’s feeding of the 5000 is the Jesus can satisfy all of our hungers. Jesus is the bread of life. Our hope is not in the food we receive, it is in the jesus who gives it to us. This story is so important to us. Jesus knows that we will be talking about the day he created enough food for he crowd out of a little boys lunch for 2000 or more years. All we know is that the people were hungry and they were fed. That’s the prestige, the hook. But this is not a story about loaves and fishes, it is not a story about food, it is not a story about being hungry. It is a story about acknowledging Jesus as our savior. And recognizing that Jesus provides all of that and more for our lives.
We will hear Jesus teaching about this next week
We will hear from John 6 for a few weeks. And after preaching this sermon, Jesus gives his own explanation to this story next week.
But today remember – Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is our lord and savior and king. Jesus is our hope. Jesus takes all of our earthly actions and makes them so much more – through the power of God.
John 6: 1-23
Year B
The eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Experience at Michael Jackson memorial
I told you a few weeks ago, that I had went to the Michael Jackson Memorial in Gary, IN. No one wanted to go with me, but all of my friends made a point to call afterward to see how it was. Even Theresa (our day care director) asked about it. I told everyone, I was really glad to be there. It is a memory that I will treasure forever, but it was the weirdest thing I ever attended. You weren’t quite sure if you were at a funeral, a celebration, a giant talent show, a concert, or a dance party. And it wasn’t all of those things combined.
The show was very well planned out – but no thought was given to logistics
The stage was positioned so people could not see, the sound went out halfway into the show, and the acts had not performed ahead of time. There was only one person who was professional enough to project her performance for 6500 people. And when Joe Jackson came out- he was booed, so they spent the rest of the night trying to get the crowd to say – We love Joe Jackson. It wasn’t true – so the crowd would not say it.
Logistics a very important part of life – Napoleon
My lesson for the night was that logistics in any event is very important. But particularly when you are dealing with a crowd of people. Napolean made a point that wars follow the course of the men’s stomaches. An army can only fight a war, where they are properly fed. The mightiest warriors of all time, finally lost his battle – because he sent his army to fight in a place where he had not logistically thought through how his men were going to be fed and taken care of.
Jesus speaking to a crowd of 5000 – the important thing logistics
Logistics is important in anything where you are dealing with a large crowd of people. Jesus was good at thinking about the logistics of his message. He always gave a lot of thought to how his message was going to be received, and what he needed to give the people to make sure they would take his message home. In a movie I watched, this is called the prestige – the hook that people will always remember. For Jesus crowd – the hook was food. People were hungry and needed to be fed. Jesus knew that his message involved feeding them – they would listen to him.
There was a crowd of 6500 at the memorial for Michael Jackson. Jesus looked and realized that he was speaking to a crowd of 5000 people. 5000 hungry people.
What are these people going to eat, how are they going to take this message, what will keep them peaceful
Jesus is tired of teaching to the crowds. He tries to take a break and get away. But the papporazi search him out and find him. And the crowd is not far behind. Jesus looks at all of these people and asks the disciples – how are we going to feed all of these people?
We have heard this story before – why are we hearing it again?
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle story which has been featured in all four gospel. We are reading the book of mark, and this is a convenient time to switch gears and listen to John. We have heard this story before – even this year – we have heard this story before. Many of my colleagues have asked why are we reading and preaching in it again. And why are we reading it in John, in the middle of our study of Mark.
John has a very interesting perspective – and an interesting message
Well, it is because Matthew, Mark, and Luke like to tell the human story of Jesus. They want to fit Jesus into our lives, and things we can relate to. John was Jesus best friend – but he wants us to get a deeper understanding of Jesus – who is Jesus for us and why is so special to all of mankind? Jesus is the son of God, he is the messiah, He has the power of God on his side, because he is the power of God. He has the power to feed all of our hungers.
Tell the story.
In John’s feeding of the 5000, the disciples go out into the crowd. Andrew finds a young boy with three fish and five loaves. He brings it to Jesus, jesus blesses it and it is enough to feed 5000, with twelve baskets left over. After it is over with, jesus takes the disciples into a boat and walks on water.
What are we to get out of that story? We have heard it all before?
Jesus is thinking about the logistics – using this as a teaching moment.
Ask Philip – how are we going to find bread for these people?
Asks Andrew the same thing – and goes looking
Not looking for food – looking for opportunity for God to step in
The story is not about bread and fish, but about the miracle of God’s work - For John everything is a symbol.
People wanted Jesus to become their king – a reincarnation of David for their time. They wanted to good days of David to be restored. They wanted peace, stability, and a chance to be taken care of.
Jesus wanted them to know that we cannot eat by bread alone – but by God’s power.
Says I am he – but it is not what you think
Not a physical kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom
The nun and three pennies
There was a nun who got a vision from God to build an orphanage. As she got this idea- she thought of the logistics. How was she going to pay for it? In her search and her prayer, she found three pennies. She grabbed the pennies and ran to her superiors to tell them her vision.
With Three pennies and a dream from God you can do anything
When questioned about the logistics, she showed her superiors the three pennies. They laughed at her and told her there was nothing she could do with three pennies. She explained that with three pennies, and a dream from God you can do anything.
It is not the three pennies, not even the dream – but the power of God that makes it possible.
Jesus is the bread of life
The point of John’s feeding of the 5000 is the Jesus can satisfy all of our hungers. Jesus is the bread of life. Our hope is not in the food we receive, it is in the jesus who gives it to us. This story is so important to us. Jesus knows that we will be talking about the day he created enough food for he crowd out of a little boys lunch for 2000 or more years. All we know is that the people were hungry and they were fed. That’s the prestige, the hook. But this is not a story about loaves and fishes, it is not a story about food, it is not a story about being hungry. It is a story about acknowledging Jesus as our savior. And recognizing that Jesus provides all of that and more for our lives.
We will hear Jesus teaching about this next week
We will hear from John 6 for a few weeks. And after preaching this sermon, Jesus gives his own explanation to this story next week.
But today remember – Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is our lord and savior and king. Jesus is our hope. Jesus takes all of our earthly actions and makes them so much more – through the power of God.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The House of God
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Ephesians 2:11-22
Year B
7th Sunday after Pentecost
“The House of God”
July 19, 2009
Walls – why we need them
Walls are an important part of our life. What would we do without them, especially in our climate. They protect us, they help us define ourselves, it separates us from people and things that are not in our best interest. And there are certain walls, in certain buildings with have great meaning for us. They tell our story of who we are and what is important to us.
Houses – beautiful homes
Walls are an important part of our dwellings. They create beautiful homes and buildings.
Beautiful houses of God
Some of the most beautiful buildings in the world are the ones that we build for God. The cathedrals of Europe are amazing. Oak Park has some beautiful churches also, which sanctuaries which truly make you think of the throne room of God. St Edmunds is a truly amazing sanctuary. People constantly compliment our own sanctuary. The stain glass says worship God in a place of beauty.
Long tradition – tradition of all to say thank you
Creating a beautiful place to worship God is a part of our worship experience. So when David decided that he was going to build a beautiful house for God – he was just trying to make sure that his God, had the same respect that all of the others gods of the people around him had. When a national leader came into power, it was expected that you would build a momument for God. What better monument to God could there be besides a house to come and to worship, and say thank you and to acknowledge God as the king of our lives.
David’s intention -If he was going to be king – God had to be king
David’s intention were very pure. He realized that if he was going to be King, that God had to also be King. God ad brought him from a very long way. God had brought him through some pretty tough times. God had bought his people through some times which questioned the very foundation of who they were and who they were supposed to be. But God had bought David to a good place now, he had bought the country to a stable place. And it was time to make sure that God was in that same place, and taken care of just as well.
God grows with us – David’s relationship with God
In many ways, it seemed that as David’s life changed, God changed with him. There was a time when God was a war God. God was the one who called the Isrealites into war to conquer the land and take it from others. God was the one who supported them in battle, God was the one who strengthened them to survive and to establish a homeland, in the midst of enemies. God protected David when he was a warrior, and God anointed him when he became King.
Isreal’s relationship with God
There was a time when Israel was given strict instructions not to have a King. God was their king. But they realized that as time went on that they needed a king in order to survive as a nation of people. God permitted the change, because as the people changed, their needs and what was best for them changed.
History of God
God is still a God of change. And as we grow as a people – so does our God. It was not that long ago in history that churches used scripture to justify slavery, and the ensuing racism that followed. We still use the bible to justify wars, and killings and all sorts of bad things that hurt other people. And it has taken us years to change the definition of those words – to realize that there are other ways to treat people.
Example of road to freedom
Yesterday, a friend and I went to see the Road to Freedom exhibit with the Chicago Urban League at the field museum. It was a collections of photos from the civil rights era. It was a pretty moving event, but one photo struck my attention. It was a picture of one of the nine young people who first desegrated the school in Little Rock. One of the girls arrived a day early because she did not get word that the event had been postponed a day. This photo was of her walking to school – and there were a large group of girls from the school behind her – they were scowling at her, and her their fist raised. The girls in the picture were 15-16 years old. I would imagine that by now they would be grandmothers. Both my friend and I wondered what conversation would ensue if these women had a conversation with their grandchildren today about that picture. How would they respond when their grandchildren asked them why they were so upset with that little girl just because she was going to school.
Who is God today? Who do we worship as our God
The world which we live in had changed dramatically even in the last 40 years. And so has our view of God. Who is the God which we worship today? What does that God stand for in society? And it is will be interesting what views that we are stuck with and that we use God to defend, will be totally useless in 10 – 15 years, because the world has changed.
David learned an important lesson
Our view of God changes with our understanding of the world. Yet David had to learn an important lesson that day. Just because the world changes, just because our understanding of God changes – God remains the same.
Nathan said no
David was told that he was not the build God’s house. That God was not ready to join him in the mist of his success
God is still king. God lives with the people.God doesn’t live inside of walls.
David could not build a house for God – but God would build a house for David.
God promised David that there would always be a member of his family on the throne. That his son would build the temple That his sons would be blessed, and that his son would have to power to be raised up so that David’s name would be remembered forever.
People are the true house of God.
God doesn’t live within walls, and never will. The true house of God is the hearts of his people. That is where God has always lived and where God will always live. God is free to live with the people.
The real problem are walls of our hearts.
Walls are important to us, they protect us. They define us, they tell our story. But walls can also hold us in, they can keep us trapped in beliefs that no longer serve out best interest, they can keep other people out, they can keep us from really witnesses what god is doing in the world. They do not contain the spirit of God. The real problem is not the walls that we build around us, the real problem is the walls that we build inside of us.
Soldier story
In World War I, there was a soldier who was killed in France. His friends wanted to make sure that he was buried before they had to move on. They went to the nearest cemetery to ask if they could bury their friend. The priest asked if he had been baptized catholic – and he had not. So the priest said that he could not be buried. Distraught they buried their friend right outside of the walls of the cemetery. The next day – the priest feeling guilty for not allowing the soldier to be buried within the walls –went outside and moved the fence, so that the soldiers grave would be inside.
There are barriers that still need to be torn down
People still need to bring them down.
Ephesians talks about the walls of our hearts. The ways that we define ourselves in order to exclude those who are not like us. There were still ways that the congregation was dividing itself. Jews felt that they could not associate with gentiles. Greeks felt they could not talk to barbarians. - Anyone who is not like me is an outsider was the mindset. Ephesians message was that through Christ we are a new people. We are one people. Like to priest of the cemetery. He doesn’t change the rules, he just expands them to include everyone else. He changes definitions. The jews separated themselves as a way to get close to God – Through Christ, we are all bought near to God.
Ephesians – we go from strangers to family
All people, no matter who we are go from strangers and aliens to citizens, saints, members of the household of God. We go from divided, suspicious, self destructive to unified, loving and most importantly hopeful.
There are Changes in language, Changes in understanding,
Changing the way we include people
Kindergarten story
There is a television documentary about a kindergarten teacher who noticed that the thing she heard most on the playground was “No you cant play with us”. So she made a rule that from now on, all children had to play with whomever asked to play. Even in kindergarten, the children protested. How could we play with anyone who asked. We have a right to define who we want to play with. Other kids in the school could not understand this rule either. Why would you play with just anyone? The kindergarten agreed that they would try to go along with the rule for a week. When they say it worked – they agreed to do it all of the time. It helped them to meet new friends. A few years later, the teacher saw one of her former students in the store. Lisa was twelve now. She asked her old teacher if she still used the play with anyone rule. Yes replied the teacher. Lisa told her teacher that she too stuck to the rule – if including anyone who wanted to play with her in her world. It was very difficult. She got a lot of flack from her friends. A lot of people did not understand her, even more criticized her. But it was important for her to carry on with the rule to learn to play with anyone.
How do we play with others?
Walls are beautiful things. They are an important part of our life. But they also keep us locked in, they trap us, they stop us from seeing what God is doing in the world, and they stop us from participating in the real work of God. God inside of our walls, but God is also in the world. God dwells in the homes created for God, but God also lives in the hearts of his people. Those inside and outside.
Who are the outsiders today? Who are the ones asking to play with us, and what are the ways that we tell them no? Today we live in a world that is so global, that we are neighborhood is bigger them we can comprehend. Jesus is calling us to think beyond being a good neighbor – to become a family of brothers and sisters. In spite of our differences, inspite of our different understandings – there is only one God. One god who has been with the people and always will. Where are we?
Ephesians 2:11-22
Year B
7th Sunday after Pentecost
“The House of God”
July 19, 2009
Walls – why we need them
Walls are an important part of our life. What would we do without them, especially in our climate. They protect us, they help us define ourselves, it separates us from people and things that are not in our best interest. And there are certain walls, in certain buildings with have great meaning for us. They tell our story of who we are and what is important to us.
Houses – beautiful homes
Walls are an important part of our dwellings. They create beautiful homes and buildings.
Beautiful houses of God
Some of the most beautiful buildings in the world are the ones that we build for God. The cathedrals of Europe are amazing. Oak Park has some beautiful churches also, which sanctuaries which truly make you think of the throne room of God. St Edmunds is a truly amazing sanctuary. People constantly compliment our own sanctuary. The stain glass says worship God in a place of beauty.
Long tradition – tradition of all to say thank you
Creating a beautiful place to worship God is a part of our worship experience. So when David decided that he was going to build a beautiful house for God – he was just trying to make sure that his God, had the same respect that all of the others gods of the people around him had. When a national leader came into power, it was expected that you would build a momument for God. What better monument to God could there be besides a house to come and to worship, and say thank you and to acknowledge God as the king of our lives.
David’s intention -If he was going to be king – God had to be king
David’s intention were very pure. He realized that if he was going to be King, that God had to also be King. God ad brought him from a very long way. God had brought him through some pretty tough times. God had bought his people through some times which questioned the very foundation of who they were and who they were supposed to be. But God had bought David to a good place now, he had bought the country to a stable place. And it was time to make sure that God was in that same place, and taken care of just as well.
God grows with us – David’s relationship with God
In many ways, it seemed that as David’s life changed, God changed with him. There was a time when God was a war God. God was the one who called the Isrealites into war to conquer the land and take it from others. God was the one who supported them in battle, God was the one who strengthened them to survive and to establish a homeland, in the midst of enemies. God protected David when he was a warrior, and God anointed him when he became King.
Isreal’s relationship with God
There was a time when Israel was given strict instructions not to have a King. God was their king. But they realized that as time went on that they needed a king in order to survive as a nation of people. God permitted the change, because as the people changed, their needs and what was best for them changed.
History of God
God is still a God of change. And as we grow as a people – so does our God. It was not that long ago in history that churches used scripture to justify slavery, and the ensuing racism that followed. We still use the bible to justify wars, and killings and all sorts of bad things that hurt other people. And it has taken us years to change the definition of those words – to realize that there are other ways to treat people.
Example of road to freedom
Yesterday, a friend and I went to see the Road to Freedom exhibit with the Chicago Urban League at the field museum. It was a collections of photos from the civil rights era. It was a pretty moving event, but one photo struck my attention. It was a picture of one of the nine young people who first desegrated the school in Little Rock. One of the girls arrived a day early because she did not get word that the event had been postponed a day. This photo was of her walking to school – and there were a large group of girls from the school behind her – they were scowling at her, and her their fist raised. The girls in the picture were 15-16 years old. I would imagine that by now they would be grandmothers. Both my friend and I wondered what conversation would ensue if these women had a conversation with their grandchildren today about that picture. How would they respond when their grandchildren asked them why they were so upset with that little girl just because she was going to school.
Who is God today? Who do we worship as our God
The world which we live in had changed dramatically even in the last 40 years. And so has our view of God. Who is the God which we worship today? What does that God stand for in society? And it is will be interesting what views that we are stuck with and that we use God to defend, will be totally useless in 10 – 15 years, because the world has changed.
David learned an important lesson
Our view of God changes with our understanding of the world. Yet David had to learn an important lesson that day. Just because the world changes, just because our understanding of God changes – God remains the same.
Nathan said no
David was told that he was not the build God’s house. That God was not ready to join him in the mist of his success
God is still king. God lives with the people.God doesn’t live inside of walls.
David could not build a house for God – but God would build a house for David.
God promised David that there would always be a member of his family on the throne. That his son would build the temple That his sons would be blessed, and that his son would have to power to be raised up so that David’s name would be remembered forever.
People are the true house of God.
God doesn’t live within walls, and never will. The true house of God is the hearts of his people. That is where God has always lived and where God will always live. God is free to live with the people.
The real problem are walls of our hearts.
Walls are important to us, they protect us. They define us, they tell our story. But walls can also hold us in, they can keep us trapped in beliefs that no longer serve out best interest, they can keep other people out, they can keep us from really witnesses what god is doing in the world. They do not contain the spirit of God. The real problem is not the walls that we build around us, the real problem is the walls that we build inside of us.
Soldier story
In World War I, there was a soldier who was killed in France. His friends wanted to make sure that he was buried before they had to move on. They went to the nearest cemetery to ask if they could bury their friend. The priest asked if he had been baptized catholic – and he had not. So the priest said that he could not be buried. Distraught they buried their friend right outside of the walls of the cemetery. The next day – the priest feeling guilty for not allowing the soldier to be buried within the walls –went outside and moved the fence, so that the soldiers grave would be inside.
There are barriers that still need to be torn down
People still need to bring them down.
Ephesians talks about the walls of our hearts. The ways that we define ourselves in order to exclude those who are not like us. There were still ways that the congregation was dividing itself. Jews felt that they could not associate with gentiles. Greeks felt they could not talk to barbarians. - Anyone who is not like me is an outsider was the mindset. Ephesians message was that through Christ we are a new people. We are one people. Like to priest of the cemetery. He doesn’t change the rules, he just expands them to include everyone else. He changes definitions. The jews separated themselves as a way to get close to God – Through Christ, we are all bought near to God.
Ephesians – we go from strangers to family
All people, no matter who we are go from strangers and aliens to citizens, saints, members of the household of God. We go from divided, suspicious, self destructive to unified, loving and most importantly hopeful.
There are Changes in language, Changes in understanding,
Changing the way we include people
Kindergarten story
There is a television documentary about a kindergarten teacher who noticed that the thing she heard most on the playground was “No you cant play with us”. So she made a rule that from now on, all children had to play with whomever asked to play. Even in kindergarten, the children protested. How could we play with anyone who asked. We have a right to define who we want to play with. Other kids in the school could not understand this rule either. Why would you play with just anyone? The kindergarten agreed that they would try to go along with the rule for a week. When they say it worked – they agreed to do it all of the time. It helped them to meet new friends. A few years later, the teacher saw one of her former students in the store. Lisa was twelve now. She asked her old teacher if she still used the play with anyone rule. Yes replied the teacher. Lisa told her teacher that she too stuck to the rule – if including anyone who wanted to play with her in her world. It was very difficult. She got a lot of flack from her friends. A lot of people did not understand her, even more criticized her. But it was important for her to carry on with the rule to learn to play with anyone.
How do we play with others?
Walls are beautiful things. They are an important part of our life. But they also keep us locked in, they trap us, they stop us from seeing what God is doing in the world, and they stop us from participating in the real work of God. God inside of our walls, but God is also in the world. God dwells in the homes created for God, but God also lives in the hearts of his people. Those inside and outside.
Who are the outsiders today? Who are the ones asking to play with us, and what are the ways that we tell them no? Today we live in a world that is so global, that we are neighborhood is bigger them we can comprehend. Jesus is calling us to think beyond being a good neighbor – to become a family of brothers and sisters. In spite of our differences, inspite of our different understandings – there is only one God. One god who has been with the people and always will. Where are we?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dancing for God with all of our might
July 12, 2009
“Dancing for God with all of our might”
2 Samuel 6:1-19
Ephesians 1:3-14
Year B
6th Sunday after Pentecost
The story of David
This summer, we have been following the life of David. We have learned about his anointing as the King. And now we learn more about his life. What is it that makes him so special. Why is it that the people love him so much, that they follow him. We learn about his personal life. His first wife is Saul’s daughter Michal. They grew up together, and eventually got married.
The Story of Michal
In the story, David is the hero. But Michal is depicted as a bitter woman. She didn’t seem to understand David. And may have mourned her father’s role as the first king of Isreal. She scolds david in this story – and later it says that she never had kids because she could not accept David as the king of Isreal.
But I think Michal is getting a bad wrap- as many women in the bible usually do.
Imagine this – you have been sitting home all day cleaning house and waiting for your husband to come home after a long day at work. You hear a commotion outside, and you look out the curtain of the front window to see what is going on. You see your husband dancing – You notice that there is nothing under his outgarment – so his private parts are showing as he is dancing all over the place. If that is not bad enough – you notice that three young girls are standing on the corner - with their eyes glued to his groin area. All of these young girls are from your neighborhood – you have known them all since they were born, and today they are all staring at your husband’s private parts. When he finally comes in the house – what do you say to him? How was your day? Or why were you dancing like that in front of all of the neighborhood? Given the circumstance, that would seem like a very likely question. Not a sign of bitterness at all.
Some even say that Michal was actually a very wise woman, concerned about what others would think of her husband and protective of his reputation.
We will never know – because the story depicts her otherwise.
David’s point – dancing with all of your might
The story is not about Michal, but about David. More importantly about David’s faith, and the point of the story is that David was willing to worship God with all of his might.
David was not the best of persons, did some pretty bad things.
The bible is a very vulnerable story about David. It doesn’t depict him in a very good light. David did some pretty bad things. And the bible even admits that he did not pay as much attention to his family as he should have. Not only did he not listen to Michal, he never seemed to care about his wives, and he let his children do whatever they wanted. With no discipline.
This was a political story – he claimed the kinghood, not only over the past, but also the future.
There is also the fair accusation that the only thing David really cared about was becoming King. Marrying Saul’s daughter in the first place could have been a political move. He united Israel and Judah, and established Jerusalem as his capital. He did not want anyone to question him – or his ancestors behind them.
But he loved God – he devoted his life to God both the good and the bad.
But the one thing the Bible wants to make clear – David was not the best of persons – but he loved God. He worshipped God and he devoted his life to God. He was not the best of persons – but he bought God with him wherever he went.
The center of the story is not David, but the presence of God – the ark of convenant.
As a matter of fact, the center of this story is not Michal of David, it is the presence of God in the Ark of Covenent. The isrealites took the ark with them in every battle. It helped them to win.
What was in the ark of convanent?
The ark was a wooden box with angels on top of it. It was believed to have to tablets of the ten commandements inside, along with a lot of others things, which contained the power of God. Today there is a legend that the ark is in South Africa. A group of people who say there were descendents of the keepers of the ark, took it there and they keep it inside of a church – no one is allowed to come near them inside of the church so there is no way to verify if it is really the ark.
The presence of God represented both promise and danger - Uzzah was killed for touching the Ark, but Obed prospered.
The point is that the ark is thought to be very powerful presence. On the one hand, Uzzah was killed just for touching the ark to save it from falling. David asked another family to keep the ark for safekeeping. David noticed that for three months Obed and his family did very well while keeping the ark. One the one hand the presence of God is dangerous to handle, something to be feared, and yet on the other hand God is wonderful and someone to depend on. God is promise and danger – isn’t that a lot like our thought s on God. Someone to fear, yet someone to depend on?
David had reached a point in his life when he realized that he could not serve without God – He realized that he needed God in his life.
Weighing both sides of God – promise ad danger, David realized that he could not go forward as King, without the blessing of God. There was no way he could serve the people – without God’s presence.
We all have to reach the point in our lives – when we see that God’s power never serves us and our person power and plans – We come to understand that our power and our plansis to to serve God and God’s purpose.
Ephesians speaks to that point
Ephesians is a Lots of words – but basically it makes three points: God adopts us; God redeems us; God unites us
We are given a purpose in life – to praise God
We should Praise God in everything
Dancing on the chips
A friend of mine tells a story of a day in her life. She had had a long week at work, and she was having friends over for the weekend. Of course on Saturday morning, she had a lot that needed to be done before her friends arrived. She went to the bank – and the teller made a mistake. She went to the store and realized that she had forgot half of what was on her list. She had 45 minutes to fix lunch for her friends. She thought of soup – but realized she had forgot milk. She thought of leftover bake beans only to see they had been in the refrigerator too long and had molded. She thought she would have potato chips and hot dogs. She went to open the bag of potato chips that she had just bought. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open them, when she got them opened them, she did not realize that she opened the wrong side. All of the potato chips fell on the ground. That was the last straw. She started to scream and cry. Her husband immediately came in to see what was wrong. She expected that he would at least help her clean them up. Instead he laughed at her, and then started to dance on the chips – grinding them into her floor. All she could do was laugh – laugh at herself, laugh at the situation. She had expected her husband to clean up her mess and make it all better, instead, he have her the moment of gladness that broke her mood and helped her to take her day in stride and keep on going forward.
How many times in life does God do that for us. We are waiting for God to come in an clean things up and make things better, and instead God comes into our lives and dances. Giving us a moment to stop and to think about the important things in life, and to realize that messes come and go, but we have to take it all into perspective. And just dance along with the situation. And with God.
Our purpose is not only to be aware of the presence, but to also respond to it – to dance to the rhythm of life.
Life flows, life comes and goes, there are ups and downs. Seasons of life
Question to you – what dance do you do? Foxtrot, the moon walk Just dance Where is your ark of convenant – the presence of God to keep you centered? What is God’s purpose for your life?
Lee Ann Womacks song – I hope you dance is one of my favorite songs – because it reminds us to dance like full out, without no regard for who is watching or what they think, no matter what.
She says….I hope you never lose your sense of wonder You get your fill to eat But always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted God forbid love ever leave you empty handed I hope you still feel small When you stand by the ocean Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance
Live, love, serve, cry, pray with all of your might.
“Dancing for God with all of our might”
2 Samuel 6:1-19
Ephesians 1:3-14
Year B
6th Sunday after Pentecost
The story of David
This summer, we have been following the life of David. We have learned about his anointing as the King. And now we learn more about his life. What is it that makes him so special. Why is it that the people love him so much, that they follow him. We learn about his personal life. His first wife is Saul’s daughter Michal. They grew up together, and eventually got married.
The Story of Michal
In the story, David is the hero. But Michal is depicted as a bitter woman. She didn’t seem to understand David. And may have mourned her father’s role as the first king of Isreal. She scolds david in this story – and later it says that she never had kids because she could not accept David as the king of Isreal.
But I think Michal is getting a bad wrap- as many women in the bible usually do.
Imagine this – you have been sitting home all day cleaning house and waiting for your husband to come home after a long day at work. You hear a commotion outside, and you look out the curtain of the front window to see what is going on. You see your husband dancing – You notice that there is nothing under his outgarment – so his private parts are showing as he is dancing all over the place. If that is not bad enough – you notice that three young girls are standing on the corner - with their eyes glued to his groin area. All of these young girls are from your neighborhood – you have known them all since they were born, and today they are all staring at your husband’s private parts. When he finally comes in the house – what do you say to him? How was your day? Or why were you dancing like that in front of all of the neighborhood? Given the circumstance, that would seem like a very likely question. Not a sign of bitterness at all.
Some even say that Michal was actually a very wise woman, concerned about what others would think of her husband and protective of his reputation.
We will never know – because the story depicts her otherwise.
David’s point – dancing with all of your might
The story is not about Michal, but about David. More importantly about David’s faith, and the point of the story is that David was willing to worship God with all of his might.
David was not the best of persons, did some pretty bad things.
The bible is a very vulnerable story about David. It doesn’t depict him in a very good light. David did some pretty bad things. And the bible even admits that he did not pay as much attention to his family as he should have. Not only did he not listen to Michal, he never seemed to care about his wives, and he let his children do whatever they wanted. With no discipline.
This was a political story – he claimed the kinghood, not only over the past, but also the future.
There is also the fair accusation that the only thing David really cared about was becoming King. Marrying Saul’s daughter in the first place could have been a political move. He united Israel and Judah, and established Jerusalem as his capital. He did not want anyone to question him – or his ancestors behind them.
But he loved God – he devoted his life to God both the good and the bad.
But the one thing the Bible wants to make clear – David was not the best of persons – but he loved God. He worshipped God and he devoted his life to God. He was not the best of persons – but he bought God with him wherever he went.
The center of the story is not David, but the presence of God – the ark of convenant.
As a matter of fact, the center of this story is not Michal of David, it is the presence of God in the Ark of Covenent. The isrealites took the ark with them in every battle. It helped them to win.
What was in the ark of convanent?
The ark was a wooden box with angels on top of it. It was believed to have to tablets of the ten commandements inside, along with a lot of others things, which contained the power of God. Today there is a legend that the ark is in South Africa. A group of people who say there were descendents of the keepers of the ark, took it there and they keep it inside of a church – no one is allowed to come near them inside of the church so there is no way to verify if it is really the ark.
The presence of God represented both promise and danger - Uzzah was killed for touching the Ark, but Obed prospered.
The point is that the ark is thought to be very powerful presence. On the one hand, Uzzah was killed just for touching the ark to save it from falling. David asked another family to keep the ark for safekeeping. David noticed that for three months Obed and his family did very well while keeping the ark. One the one hand the presence of God is dangerous to handle, something to be feared, and yet on the other hand God is wonderful and someone to depend on. God is promise and danger – isn’t that a lot like our thought s on God. Someone to fear, yet someone to depend on?
David had reached a point in his life when he realized that he could not serve without God – He realized that he needed God in his life.
Weighing both sides of God – promise ad danger, David realized that he could not go forward as King, without the blessing of God. There was no way he could serve the people – without God’s presence.
We all have to reach the point in our lives – when we see that God’s power never serves us and our person power and plans – We come to understand that our power and our plansis to to serve God and God’s purpose.
Ephesians speaks to that point
Ephesians is a Lots of words – but basically it makes three points: God adopts us; God redeems us; God unites us
We are given a purpose in life – to praise God
We should Praise God in everything
Dancing on the chips
A friend of mine tells a story of a day in her life. She had had a long week at work, and she was having friends over for the weekend. Of course on Saturday morning, she had a lot that needed to be done before her friends arrived. She went to the bank – and the teller made a mistake. She went to the store and realized that she had forgot half of what was on her list. She had 45 minutes to fix lunch for her friends. She thought of soup – but realized she had forgot milk. She thought of leftover bake beans only to see they had been in the refrigerator too long and had molded. She thought she would have potato chips and hot dogs. She went to open the bag of potato chips that she had just bought. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open them, when she got them opened them, she did not realize that she opened the wrong side. All of the potato chips fell on the ground. That was the last straw. She started to scream and cry. Her husband immediately came in to see what was wrong. She expected that he would at least help her clean them up. Instead he laughed at her, and then started to dance on the chips – grinding them into her floor. All she could do was laugh – laugh at herself, laugh at the situation. She had expected her husband to clean up her mess and make it all better, instead, he have her the moment of gladness that broke her mood and helped her to take her day in stride and keep on going forward.
How many times in life does God do that for us. We are waiting for God to come in an clean things up and make things better, and instead God comes into our lives and dances. Giving us a moment to stop and to think about the important things in life, and to realize that messes come and go, but we have to take it all into perspective. And just dance along with the situation. And with God.
Our purpose is not only to be aware of the presence, but to also respond to it – to dance to the rhythm of life.
Life flows, life comes and goes, there are ups and downs. Seasons of life
Question to you – what dance do you do? Foxtrot, the moon walk Just dance Where is your ark of convenant – the presence of God to keep you centered? What is God’s purpose for your life?
Lee Ann Womacks song – I hope you dance is one of my favorite songs – because it reminds us to dance like full out, without no regard for who is watching or what they think, no matter what.
She says….I hope you never lose your sense of wonder You get your fill to eat But always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted God forbid love ever leave you empty handed I hope you still feel small When you stand by the ocean Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance
Live, love, serve, cry, pray with all of your might.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Is this Jesus' Hometown?
July 5, 2009
“Is this Jesus’ hometown?”
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Year B
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
William Willamon – difference between experienced traveler and a new traveler. When you first take a trip you pack all sorts of things, you take your time to pack and make sure you have everything you need and everything you think you will need. But you soon realize – that it really doesn’t matter what you take. You learn to travel lighter.
Jesus sends us all on a journey – faith is a journey
With this message – Jesus sends us all out on that journey with this message: Travel Light, Stick together, and trust the wonders of God.
Independence day – celebrate the freedom of our country.
Yet reminder that independence is dependendence. Part of the paradox of life.
There is no where that the bible says that God takes care of those who take care of themselves.
Bible reminds us that we need each other, that we are to help one another. The message is all about living in community.
But Jesus takes it one step further and calls us to be a witness – to tell people who don’t want to hear you – the power of God.
The key phrase to witnessing is that you are to talk to people who don’t want to hear what you have to say. And will go through great lengths to tell you so.
Jesus learned about that , when his faith journey called him to go home.
We have been following Jesus journey around Israel, he has done some great things – he healed a crippled man, he healed a woman who has been suffering all of her life, he even bought a young girl back to life.
He found that his greatest challenge was witnessing to those in his hometown. He walks in the synagogue and speaks with authority, helping them to understand the scripture. And instead of listening to what he has to say – all they can think of is who is this talking to him. Isnt this Mary’s son? What does he know?
Isnt this the carpenter’s family what does he know about spiritual issues?
For us, it would be like our local plumber – deciding to teach a philosophy class at the community college. What does he can he possibility teach us about philosophy, when he has not spent the time studying?
It turns out that Jesus had a lot to teach them and us about our faith. His whole message was to look beyond what we know, what we study, what we have learned to be true all of our lives.
Jesus went against the grain, and he taught us to do the same. Tradition is a wonderful thing – but it is also something the gets us comfortable with the way things are. When we see pain, and suffering and violence, we get comfortable and don’t say anything, because every one else is comfortable with it too.
It takes a special person, with a special authority to talk to us and tell us that we need to listen to life in a different way.
Jesus was training his disciples and us to go against the grain – that is what it means to witness- to get comfortable with telling people things that they really don’t want to hear. And to stay the course.
The is the foundation of our independence – to tell England things they didn’t want to hear – and to be prepared to fight to make a change.
The three gifts of success in that process
Stick together
Travel light
And to trust God that if you are doing the right thing you don’t need to defend yourself. Trust in God that if you work for what is right – look for the wonders on your journey.
Witnesses for Christ is never an easy thing. Paul has to defend himself in Corinthians.
There are people who are questioning Pauls ministry. They think they are so much better than Paul. They think they have a better relationship with God. Paul uses Jesus advice – and says that he knows that he is right, and that he has a relationship with God, and that he trust in God to take care of him as he is persecuted. God’s grace is sufficient to take care of anything.
Bishop Romero in El Salvoador was certainly a witness for justice in the 1980’s He spoke out against the government, telling them they were not being fair to their peasants. That they were unfairly killing and oppressing them. He found that the more he spoke out against the status quo – it seemed the less people were willing to stand with him. Eventually, one Sunday morning the government killed him – while celebrating mass. But his witness lives on even today – he is honored for his words of justice to a country who was not willing to hear.
We are all called to be witnesses – but my question to you is not about your witness – but about the times when you hear a hard truth – when someone tells you something you don’t want to hear – how do you respond? Do you think? Do you pray? Are you willing to change? Do yo speak out?
Or do you remain silent in order to maintain the status quo? Are you in the forfront or in the background? Where does your faith in Jesus call you to be?
The same thing that prevents us from listening to others – is often the same thing that prevents us from speaking out ourselves.
Jesus tells his disciples that if people don’t accept them –to shake the dust off your feet and move on. Jesus finds that he has to walk away from his hometown – and notes that he was not able to do a a lot of work. Jesus has worked miracles in other places healing and renewing, but was only able to do a little work in his hometown. So he moves on.
There are lots of majc in wonder in Jesus words, the power of god is an amazing thing. But is is not the majic that matters – it is the witness. Our willingness to listen and to speak what we know.
They say that when Jesus returned to heaven, he was questioned by the angels – they were looking at how he was treated , how he was crucified, how he was criciticized. They saw that work that he had done with the disciples, how he talked with them and how they seemed to not quite understand what was going on. They saw how Paul had been treated, how bishop romero had been killed, and saw that the world was a force to be reckoned with. And they were afraid. Take nothing for the journey, travel light and trust God- is that all that it took. They told Jesus that was a pretty good thought – but did he have a backup plan for spreading the good news of love to the world. Perhaps he shouldn’t put so much faith in humans – maybe he should have a back up plan, a group of miracles to make things better when people fail. Jesus told the angels there was no backup plan – just the teaching to those who believe in him – travel light, stick together, and trust God
Travel light, stick together, trust god to work miracles.- Jesus is depending on you to get that and to witness to the world. You are the Lord’s only hope. Amen.
“Is this Jesus’ hometown?”
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Year B
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
William Willamon – difference between experienced traveler and a new traveler. When you first take a trip you pack all sorts of things, you take your time to pack and make sure you have everything you need and everything you think you will need. But you soon realize – that it really doesn’t matter what you take. You learn to travel lighter.
Jesus sends us all on a journey – faith is a journey
With this message – Jesus sends us all out on that journey with this message: Travel Light, Stick together, and trust the wonders of God.
Independence day – celebrate the freedom of our country.
Yet reminder that independence is dependendence. Part of the paradox of life.
There is no where that the bible says that God takes care of those who take care of themselves.
Bible reminds us that we need each other, that we are to help one another. The message is all about living in community.
But Jesus takes it one step further and calls us to be a witness – to tell people who don’t want to hear you – the power of God.
The key phrase to witnessing is that you are to talk to people who don’t want to hear what you have to say. And will go through great lengths to tell you so.
Jesus learned about that , when his faith journey called him to go home.
We have been following Jesus journey around Israel, he has done some great things – he healed a crippled man, he healed a woman who has been suffering all of her life, he even bought a young girl back to life.
He found that his greatest challenge was witnessing to those in his hometown. He walks in the synagogue and speaks with authority, helping them to understand the scripture. And instead of listening to what he has to say – all they can think of is who is this talking to him. Isnt this Mary’s son? What does he know?
Isnt this the carpenter’s family what does he know about spiritual issues?
For us, it would be like our local plumber – deciding to teach a philosophy class at the community college. What does he can he possibility teach us about philosophy, when he has not spent the time studying?
It turns out that Jesus had a lot to teach them and us about our faith. His whole message was to look beyond what we know, what we study, what we have learned to be true all of our lives.
Jesus went against the grain, and he taught us to do the same. Tradition is a wonderful thing – but it is also something the gets us comfortable with the way things are. When we see pain, and suffering and violence, we get comfortable and don’t say anything, because every one else is comfortable with it too.
It takes a special person, with a special authority to talk to us and tell us that we need to listen to life in a different way.
Jesus was training his disciples and us to go against the grain – that is what it means to witness- to get comfortable with telling people things that they really don’t want to hear. And to stay the course.
The is the foundation of our independence – to tell England things they didn’t want to hear – and to be prepared to fight to make a change.
The three gifts of success in that process
Stick together
Travel light
And to trust God that if you are doing the right thing you don’t need to defend yourself. Trust in God that if you work for what is right – look for the wonders on your journey.
Witnesses for Christ is never an easy thing. Paul has to defend himself in Corinthians.
There are people who are questioning Pauls ministry. They think they are so much better than Paul. They think they have a better relationship with God. Paul uses Jesus advice – and says that he knows that he is right, and that he has a relationship with God, and that he trust in God to take care of him as he is persecuted. God’s grace is sufficient to take care of anything.
Bishop Romero in El Salvoador was certainly a witness for justice in the 1980’s He spoke out against the government, telling them they were not being fair to their peasants. That they were unfairly killing and oppressing them. He found that the more he spoke out against the status quo – it seemed the less people were willing to stand with him. Eventually, one Sunday morning the government killed him – while celebrating mass. But his witness lives on even today – he is honored for his words of justice to a country who was not willing to hear.
We are all called to be witnesses – but my question to you is not about your witness – but about the times when you hear a hard truth – when someone tells you something you don’t want to hear – how do you respond? Do you think? Do you pray? Are you willing to change? Do yo speak out?
Or do you remain silent in order to maintain the status quo? Are you in the forfront or in the background? Where does your faith in Jesus call you to be?
The same thing that prevents us from listening to others – is often the same thing that prevents us from speaking out ourselves.
Jesus tells his disciples that if people don’t accept them –to shake the dust off your feet and move on. Jesus finds that he has to walk away from his hometown – and notes that he was not able to do a a lot of work. Jesus has worked miracles in other places healing and renewing, but was only able to do a little work in his hometown. So he moves on.
There are lots of majc in wonder in Jesus words, the power of god is an amazing thing. But is is not the majic that matters – it is the witness. Our willingness to listen and to speak what we know.
They say that when Jesus returned to heaven, he was questioned by the angels – they were looking at how he was treated , how he was crucified, how he was criciticized. They saw that work that he had done with the disciples, how he talked with them and how they seemed to not quite understand what was going on. They saw how Paul had been treated, how bishop romero had been killed, and saw that the world was a force to be reckoned with. And they were afraid. Take nothing for the journey, travel light and trust God- is that all that it took. They told Jesus that was a pretty good thought – but did he have a backup plan for spreading the good news of love to the world. Perhaps he shouldn’t put so much faith in humans – maybe he should have a back up plan, a group of miracles to make things better when people fail. Jesus told the angels there was no backup plan – just the teaching to those who believe in him – travel light, stick together, and trust God
Travel light, stick together, trust god to work miracles.- Jesus is depending on you to get that and to witness to the world. You are the Lord’s only hope. Amen.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
What do you have to Give?
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
4th Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
What do you have to Give?
The more things change, human nature does not change. The story of humanity is always the same story.
The headlines remind us that the fights in the holy land continue – character have changed, but the conflict stays the same.
David uses the words
The mighty have fallen – David uses those words about Saul and Jonathon. But it describes the events of today – death of many mighty. Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson.
All who made great contributions to the culture, all very human. Have had their ups and downs in life, and their ups and downs in the media. And yet, no matter how great their contributions to life - the day will always come when they wil fall, and their life will end.
Many will grow tired of the stories that we will hear about Michael Jackson in the coming weeks to come. The autopsy results will not come out for six weeks. And we will go through this media attention for just as long. But It is the worlds way of mourning such a huge loss to the world. The only person in the world who has touched the entire world. No matter what we might have thought of him, we have to remember his contribution to us. That is the message David was giving to the world as he wrote this dirge acknowledging his former enemy, with the song of the bow.
I am struck with the way we remember people in death, different than what we hold against them in life. In life it would have been very difficult for Jackson to be portrayed in a positive light. Everything thing he did was wrong. But in death, we have put that all aside, and choose to remember the good things that he gave us.
David had a very rough time with Saul in reality. Jonathon his best friend, but Saul his worst enemy. Trying to kill him and is attacked and in exile.
Messenger thought bringing good news – but you killed the Lord’s anointed.
The story of David, is the story of his anointing. How he becomes King. Asked if it is really true – that events would pit them against one another, and David would win. David would rise and fall, make mistakes and become a hero.
But he remembers Saul and orders others to remember the greatness of Saul also
What does it mean to be anointed?
As we remember Michael Jackson, remember what he did for our culture and out time, and acknowledge that in his humanness he was called to be special. His presence made a difference to us all. Truly anointed – called himself the king of pop. Events of his death – a reminder that death comes to us all.
Reminder that life is a paradox – take the good with the bad. Paul talks about a thorn in his side – and we never know how it affects him, or how far he has to overcome it to do what he is called to do.
Important message on stewardhip – what it means to give. New testament concept of giving – is there is no amount of money that you have to give. But in how you give it.
Give out of what you have and not of what you don’t have. Giving is not intended to be a sacrifice – but a gift.
In spite of Paul’s suffering, he has a mission very close to his heart. He travels throughout the world – asking for money for widows in Jerusalem
A way to united the gentile Christians the jewish Christians. Show that we are in solidarity.
But he reminds those that the day will come that one day those in need will be able to give in return.
As he teaches churches the lessons of Christianity – his most important lesson is how they respond to giving.
Macadonians a small church like cornerstone – who did not have much money – but had a heart of gold and able to give to help.
Corinthian church a much larger church – an active dynamic church. You excel in everything you do – excel in this request. Excel in giving.
Reminded that what you have, intended to be used. The use of manna – everyone had enough for the day. Paul says that those who had much never had too much, and those who had little never had too little. They resources were just for the day and were balanced out and shared.
Our faith determined in the way we give to others.
Two brothers – There were two brothers who shared a room with each other. In the early years they shared everything. Each of them had free reign of everything that was there. They played with each other’s toys and got along perfectly. Until the day one of them got a play station for Christmas. And the brother decided that he didn’t want to share – it was his for his benefit. This started each of them as defining their property. And putting stipulations on using their stuff. At one time they got along, but this caused them to distrust one another and to constantly bicker. One day, they agreed to put a line down the middle of the room. And each were instructed to stay on their side of the room. Soon these two brothers became enamies, who not only refused to share, who not only fought constantly, but who eventually stopped speaking, and lived separate lives, even though they lived in the same room. They each were forced to fend for themselves, and faced life all alone. Both lost sight of what it meant to give and to help others.
The Christian faith means to be able to share what we have – so that we all can have just enough to live.
Pride as a church always judged by what we are able to give to others, not by anything else that we have accomplished. As a church, if we have not given to others, there is nothing that we have really accomplished.
There is a saying that we each have Two hands – one to give and one to receive. Like the two brothers, the Two are never intended to be independent of one another. Faith is one of balance – in this case Paul says to balance your abundance with those in need.
Read that Michael was one of the most altruistic stars of all times. Supported as many as 39 charities at one time. He went into the Guiness book of World Records as the star who has given more than any one else. Even in times of financial troubles, he still gave to others.
Teaches us it really doesn’t matter how much of how little you give. There is no set formula of how much to help others. Don’t have to go into bankrucpty to help others. Don’t have to go without, in order so that others will have. Give out of your heart.
Sharing with others changes the world, and is what we are called to do. If you can afford to share do so.
All in your attitude about what you have. About your attitude about your possessions. Did you earn them, or were they a gift from God. Was it given to you for your beneft, or was it given to you to empower you to benefit others.
Share with others, think of others, love others, serve others, help others, heal others.
That is the work of the Lord’s anointed – to make a difference in the world.
In the ends, it all goes back in the box. Even the anointed are human- and will experience the human fate. Only that in which we have given to others will outlive us.
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
4th Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
What do you have to Give?
The more things change, human nature does not change. The story of humanity is always the same story.
The headlines remind us that the fights in the holy land continue – character have changed, but the conflict stays the same.
David uses the words
The mighty have fallen – David uses those words about Saul and Jonathon. But it describes the events of today – death of many mighty. Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson.
All who made great contributions to the culture, all very human. Have had their ups and downs in life, and their ups and downs in the media. And yet, no matter how great their contributions to life - the day will always come when they wil fall, and their life will end.
Many will grow tired of the stories that we will hear about Michael Jackson in the coming weeks to come. The autopsy results will not come out for six weeks. And we will go through this media attention for just as long. But It is the worlds way of mourning such a huge loss to the world. The only person in the world who has touched the entire world. No matter what we might have thought of him, we have to remember his contribution to us. That is the message David was giving to the world as he wrote this dirge acknowledging his former enemy, with the song of the bow.
I am struck with the way we remember people in death, different than what we hold against them in life. In life it would have been very difficult for Jackson to be portrayed in a positive light. Everything thing he did was wrong. But in death, we have put that all aside, and choose to remember the good things that he gave us.
David had a very rough time with Saul in reality. Jonathon his best friend, but Saul his worst enemy. Trying to kill him and is attacked and in exile.
Messenger thought bringing good news – but you killed the Lord’s anointed.
The story of David, is the story of his anointing. How he becomes King. Asked if it is really true – that events would pit them against one another, and David would win. David would rise and fall, make mistakes and become a hero.
But he remembers Saul and orders others to remember the greatness of Saul also
What does it mean to be anointed?
As we remember Michael Jackson, remember what he did for our culture and out time, and acknowledge that in his humanness he was called to be special. His presence made a difference to us all. Truly anointed – called himself the king of pop. Events of his death – a reminder that death comes to us all.
Reminder that life is a paradox – take the good with the bad. Paul talks about a thorn in his side – and we never know how it affects him, or how far he has to overcome it to do what he is called to do.
Important message on stewardhip – what it means to give. New testament concept of giving – is there is no amount of money that you have to give. But in how you give it.
Give out of what you have and not of what you don’t have. Giving is not intended to be a sacrifice – but a gift.
In spite of Paul’s suffering, he has a mission very close to his heart. He travels throughout the world – asking for money for widows in Jerusalem
A way to united the gentile Christians the jewish Christians. Show that we are in solidarity.
But he reminds those that the day will come that one day those in need will be able to give in return.
As he teaches churches the lessons of Christianity – his most important lesson is how they respond to giving.
Macadonians a small church like cornerstone – who did not have much money – but had a heart of gold and able to give to help.
Corinthian church a much larger church – an active dynamic church. You excel in everything you do – excel in this request. Excel in giving.
Reminded that what you have, intended to be used. The use of manna – everyone had enough for the day. Paul says that those who had much never had too much, and those who had little never had too little. They resources were just for the day and were balanced out and shared.
Our faith determined in the way we give to others.
Two brothers – There were two brothers who shared a room with each other. In the early years they shared everything. Each of them had free reign of everything that was there. They played with each other’s toys and got along perfectly. Until the day one of them got a play station for Christmas. And the brother decided that he didn’t want to share – it was his for his benefit. This started each of them as defining their property. And putting stipulations on using their stuff. At one time they got along, but this caused them to distrust one another and to constantly bicker. One day, they agreed to put a line down the middle of the room. And each were instructed to stay on their side of the room. Soon these two brothers became enamies, who not only refused to share, who not only fought constantly, but who eventually stopped speaking, and lived separate lives, even though they lived in the same room. They each were forced to fend for themselves, and faced life all alone. Both lost sight of what it meant to give and to help others.
The Christian faith means to be able to share what we have – so that we all can have just enough to live.
Pride as a church always judged by what we are able to give to others, not by anything else that we have accomplished. As a church, if we have not given to others, there is nothing that we have really accomplished.
There is a saying that we each have Two hands – one to give and one to receive. Like the two brothers, the Two are never intended to be independent of one another. Faith is one of balance – in this case Paul says to balance your abundance with those in need.
Read that Michael was one of the most altruistic stars of all times. Supported as many as 39 charities at one time. He went into the Guiness book of World Records as the star who has given more than any one else. Even in times of financial troubles, he still gave to others.
Teaches us it really doesn’t matter how much of how little you give. There is no set formula of how much to help others. Don’t have to go into bankrucpty to help others. Don’t have to go without, in order so that others will have. Give out of your heart.
Sharing with others changes the world, and is what we are called to do. If you can afford to share do so.
All in your attitude about what you have. About your attitude about your possessions. Did you earn them, or were they a gift from God. Was it given to you for your beneft, or was it given to you to empower you to benefit others.
Share with others, think of others, love others, serve others, help others, heal others.
That is the work of the Lord’s anointed – to make a difference in the world.
In the ends, it all goes back in the box. Even the anointed are human- and will experience the human fate. Only that in which we have given to others will outlive us.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Big Daddy: Big problems, a big solution
June 21, 2009
Father’s Day
Bid Daddy: Big Solutions for a Big Problems
Year B
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:34-43
Story of brave boy
Norman Ollestad grew up with a father
whom most of us would describe as unconventional at best,
maybe crazy at the worst.
Norman’s dad had involved him, as a little child,
in what we would now call “extreme sports.”
He surfed before he could walk,
and learned to downhill ski on slopes with names like “Avalanche.”
In 1979, Norman, who was 11 years old,
was a passenger in a private plane,
traveling with his father and his father’s girlfriend.
The pilot, unused to flying in the San Gabriel mountains,
and not rated for instrument flight,
crashed the plane into the side of a mountain.
Norman’s father and the pilot died instantly.
Sandra had a dislocated shoulder and was in extreme shock.
Norman coaxed Sandra into attempting to walk down the icy slope with him.
Sandra didn’t make it, but Norman did.
With only his wits and courage to hold on to,
Norman faced what may have been the biggest challenge of his life.
If he stayed on the mountain, he reasoned, he would die.
So he began to make his way down.
After hours spent inching down the slope,
around frozen waterfalls,
using toeholds in the rock face,
skirting icy chutes that would send him sliding to his death,
Norman made it down off the mountain, alone.
Norman’s memoir of his father is called Crazy for the Storm:
He says: “My father had cultivated this idea of trusting my instincts,
going through the exercise of being afraid,
fighting through the fear,
and then realizing that it worked –
you were better off than you thought.
It gave me a lot of self-confidence…
it wasn’t my first time facing fear and [a] seemingly indomitable situation.”
What troubles me about the story of Norman Ollestad, Jr.
is not that he was able to overcome his situation
because his father had repeatedly put him in challenging situations.
That is uplifting.
What troubles me is that he was there alone in the mountains
because of his dad’s failure to research or plan,
and because of his dad’s failure to learn
that the pilot was inexperienced and not instrument rated.
Norman Ollestad had to climb down off that mountain alone
because his father didn’t try to protect him in the first place.
A loving father doesn’t keep every challenge from a child,
but a loving father also does not put his children in danger.
I saw this story I think on Good Morning America. And was fascinated as the now adult held on to the lessons that his father taught him. His father was not perfect, their relationship was not perfect. And yet he used his story to shape his relationship with his son. He did not need to be so daring, but he needed to be present with his son to show him the lessons that he needed to learn, so that he did not have to learn them alone.
Story of Bill Hybels
Bill Hybels is the pastor of Willow Creek. He too fondly remembers the challenges of his dad. And credits who he is today to who his dad was. Even today, one of Rev. Hybels favorite pastimes is to go sailing. When he was a child, he had a sailboat and he would go out on the lake, his dad would always tell him to be careful and to never go out alone. Whenever he went out on the lake with a teenage friend, the lake was very rocky and scary. He would be nervous and glad to get back dry land. But when he went out with his dad, there was always a calm assurance that everything would be okay. His dad had survived, and could handle anything that would happen to him.
Lake Michigan is a very big lake. Fun to visit the beach on a calm day, but wouldn’t want to be in a sailboat in a storm. Especially if I could not see dry land.
We have the Great Lakes, Disciples had the see of Galliee. More like Lake Geneva at Wesley woods. But susceptible to great storms.
Disciples had Jesus with them
Jesus had encouraged the disciples to go out on the lake. Who knows, maybe it started out as a pretty mild day. Several boats started out on the lake. But soon there was a bad storm and they were no where near the shore.
Jesus was asleep and apparently unconcerned when all of this came to be. And even though the small boat tossed to and fro – he did not wake up. The poor disciples must have been fighting for their lives, and Jesus did nothing. They had to wake him up and let him know how bad things were.
I don’t know about you, but there are lot of times in my life where I feel that Jesus would be reacting to my problems, and I feel that I have to wake Jesus up and remind him of how bad things really are. And I have to remind Jesus that anytime he wants to step in and make things better that he certainly can do that.
Present with us – but not in our worry
The thing is, just like Jesus was there with the disciples. It was his idea that they take this trip in the first place. He was there all along. Which proves that Jesus is always with us wherever we are and whatever we do. Jesus is with us in our struggles, our suffering, our pain, our difficulties, our unanswered questions. But one place Jesus does not go with us is in our worrying. When has worrying about a problem ever given us any solutions. When had complaining about how bad things are made it any better. It didn’t help the disciples on the night of the storm and it doesn’t help us either. Fretting over the storm did not make it go away – so maybe there was a reason Jesus was able to sleep.
Offer words of wisdom – When he wakes up – all he says is Peace be still. Was he talking to the storm or was he talking to the disciples?
Story of struggling 2 year old - A father looked out the window at his 3 year old son playing in his sandbox. Playing for a while – but there was a huge rock in the middle of the sandbox, and the little boy wanted to get it out. He tugged and he pulled and exerted all of his energy, and the rock wouldn’t bulge. After more tugging, the boy sat down on the edge of the sandbox exhausted and frustrated. The father came out to talk with him, you tried everything you could the father said. You look pretty tired, did you use all of your energy to do all that you could. Frustrated –the boy confessed yes I did all that I could. I tried as hard as could to life that rock, and nothing seemed to work. Once again, the father asked if he had done all that he could. Yes the boy replied. Did you come and ask me for help?
Don’t tell God your problems, tell your problems about God.
A word of wisdom that I heard this week. Don’t waste your time telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is. When we look at the world, when we look at our lives, even when we look at our church- we all know that we have some big problems. What makes them so big, is that we look at them and see that they are bigger then our solutions. Problems are not a bad thing as long as we have the means to deal with them. It is when we are overwhelmed, when we feel that there is nothing that we can do, when we feel that the problem is going to get the best of us – that it becomes a big problem. And we sit at the edge of the sandbox, and put our heads in our hands and declare that there is nothing that we can do, and we start to do nothing. We stop responding - That the problem becomes big.
Word of wisdom for us – we get caught up in our problems start to think there is no solution, no one cares. When we stop responding. The ultimate atheism – is that God does not care about me. Our first response Don’t you care?
The next step to not responding to the problem is to assume that God does not care about us or about the world. Obviously if there was something that God could do, it would have been done. Or like the disciples, we start to assume that we are not important enough for God to care. We stop praying to God, we stop expecting God to act in our lives. That is the true definition of an atheist. Not someone who doesn’t believe in God. But someone who believes that it does not matter whether there is a God or not – because it does not change the situation. When in reality – God is always there, God is always present, God always cares. But sometimes we have to wake God up. We have to wake God up within our own souls – to know God is with us, but God does not join us in worrying about the big problems of the world. Worrying does not change a thing. But faith does.
Question back to you – where is your faith
The disciples asked Jesus don’t you care about us. Jesus asked the disciples why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? What about you? Where is your faith? Stuck in big problems, or imbedded in an even bigger God?
Questions in response – who is this that even the wind and the elements obey? In the end, the disciples saw the power of God at work. The storm ended, and they asked who is this that even the wind and the rain obey? A pretty big God.
A very big God – able to care and handle it all. Look for the signs and look for the words of Peace. When Jesus says, Peace be still was he talking to the storm, or to the hearts of the disciples? When Jesus says those words of wisdom to us, is he talking to our big problems, or our big faith, or both? Listen to those words of wisdom in your life this week. Let us Pray….
Father’s Day
Bid Daddy: Big Solutions for a Big Problems
Year B
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:34-43
Story of brave boy
Norman Ollestad grew up with a father
whom most of us would describe as unconventional at best,
maybe crazy at the worst.
Norman’s dad had involved him, as a little child,
in what we would now call “extreme sports.”
He surfed before he could walk,
and learned to downhill ski on slopes with names like “Avalanche.”
In 1979, Norman, who was 11 years old,
was a passenger in a private plane,
traveling with his father and his father’s girlfriend.
The pilot, unused to flying in the San Gabriel mountains,
and not rated for instrument flight,
crashed the plane into the side of a mountain.
Norman’s father and the pilot died instantly.
Sandra had a dislocated shoulder and was in extreme shock.
Norman coaxed Sandra into attempting to walk down the icy slope with him.
Sandra didn’t make it, but Norman did.
With only his wits and courage to hold on to,
Norman faced what may have been the biggest challenge of his life.
If he stayed on the mountain, he reasoned, he would die.
So he began to make his way down.
After hours spent inching down the slope,
around frozen waterfalls,
using toeholds in the rock face,
skirting icy chutes that would send him sliding to his death,
Norman made it down off the mountain, alone.
Norman’s memoir of his father is called Crazy for the Storm:
He says: “My father had cultivated this idea of trusting my instincts,
going through the exercise of being afraid,
fighting through the fear,
and then realizing that it worked –
you were better off than you thought.
It gave me a lot of self-confidence…
it wasn’t my first time facing fear and [a] seemingly indomitable situation.”
What troubles me about the story of Norman Ollestad, Jr.
is not that he was able to overcome his situation
because his father had repeatedly put him in challenging situations.
That is uplifting.
What troubles me is that he was there alone in the mountains
because of his dad’s failure to research or plan,
and because of his dad’s failure to learn
that the pilot was inexperienced and not instrument rated.
Norman Ollestad had to climb down off that mountain alone
because his father didn’t try to protect him in the first place.
A loving father doesn’t keep every challenge from a child,
but a loving father also does not put his children in danger.
I saw this story I think on Good Morning America. And was fascinated as the now adult held on to the lessons that his father taught him. His father was not perfect, their relationship was not perfect. And yet he used his story to shape his relationship with his son. He did not need to be so daring, but he needed to be present with his son to show him the lessons that he needed to learn, so that he did not have to learn them alone.
Story of Bill Hybels
Bill Hybels is the pastor of Willow Creek. He too fondly remembers the challenges of his dad. And credits who he is today to who his dad was. Even today, one of Rev. Hybels favorite pastimes is to go sailing. When he was a child, he had a sailboat and he would go out on the lake, his dad would always tell him to be careful and to never go out alone. Whenever he went out on the lake with a teenage friend, the lake was very rocky and scary. He would be nervous and glad to get back dry land. But when he went out with his dad, there was always a calm assurance that everything would be okay. His dad had survived, and could handle anything that would happen to him.
Lake Michigan is a very big lake. Fun to visit the beach on a calm day, but wouldn’t want to be in a sailboat in a storm. Especially if I could not see dry land.
We have the Great Lakes, Disciples had the see of Galliee. More like Lake Geneva at Wesley woods. But susceptible to great storms.
Disciples had Jesus with them
Jesus had encouraged the disciples to go out on the lake. Who knows, maybe it started out as a pretty mild day. Several boats started out on the lake. But soon there was a bad storm and they were no where near the shore.
Jesus was asleep and apparently unconcerned when all of this came to be. And even though the small boat tossed to and fro – he did not wake up. The poor disciples must have been fighting for their lives, and Jesus did nothing. They had to wake him up and let him know how bad things were.
I don’t know about you, but there are lot of times in my life where I feel that Jesus would be reacting to my problems, and I feel that I have to wake Jesus up and remind him of how bad things really are. And I have to remind Jesus that anytime he wants to step in and make things better that he certainly can do that.
Present with us – but not in our worry
The thing is, just like Jesus was there with the disciples. It was his idea that they take this trip in the first place. He was there all along. Which proves that Jesus is always with us wherever we are and whatever we do. Jesus is with us in our struggles, our suffering, our pain, our difficulties, our unanswered questions. But one place Jesus does not go with us is in our worrying. When has worrying about a problem ever given us any solutions. When had complaining about how bad things are made it any better. It didn’t help the disciples on the night of the storm and it doesn’t help us either. Fretting over the storm did not make it go away – so maybe there was a reason Jesus was able to sleep.
Offer words of wisdom – When he wakes up – all he says is Peace be still. Was he talking to the storm or was he talking to the disciples?
Story of struggling 2 year old - A father looked out the window at his 3 year old son playing in his sandbox. Playing for a while – but there was a huge rock in the middle of the sandbox, and the little boy wanted to get it out. He tugged and he pulled and exerted all of his energy, and the rock wouldn’t bulge. After more tugging, the boy sat down on the edge of the sandbox exhausted and frustrated. The father came out to talk with him, you tried everything you could the father said. You look pretty tired, did you use all of your energy to do all that you could. Frustrated –the boy confessed yes I did all that I could. I tried as hard as could to life that rock, and nothing seemed to work. Once again, the father asked if he had done all that he could. Yes the boy replied. Did you come and ask me for help?
Don’t tell God your problems, tell your problems about God.
A word of wisdom that I heard this week. Don’t waste your time telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is. When we look at the world, when we look at our lives, even when we look at our church- we all know that we have some big problems. What makes them so big, is that we look at them and see that they are bigger then our solutions. Problems are not a bad thing as long as we have the means to deal with them. It is when we are overwhelmed, when we feel that there is nothing that we can do, when we feel that the problem is going to get the best of us – that it becomes a big problem. And we sit at the edge of the sandbox, and put our heads in our hands and declare that there is nothing that we can do, and we start to do nothing. We stop responding - That the problem becomes big.
Word of wisdom for us – we get caught up in our problems start to think there is no solution, no one cares. When we stop responding. The ultimate atheism – is that God does not care about me. Our first response Don’t you care?
The next step to not responding to the problem is to assume that God does not care about us or about the world. Obviously if there was something that God could do, it would have been done. Or like the disciples, we start to assume that we are not important enough for God to care. We stop praying to God, we stop expecting God to act in our lives. That is the true definition of an atheist. Not someone who doesn’t believe in God. But someone who believes that it does not matter whether there is a God or not – because it does not change the situation. When in reality – God is always there, God is always present, God always cares. But sometimes we have to wake God up. We have to wake God up within our own souls – to know God is with us, but God does not join us in worrying about the big problems of the world. Worrying does not change a thing. But faith does.
Question back to you – where is your faith
The disciples asked Jesus don’t you care about us. Jesus asked the disciples why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? What about you? Where is your faith? Stuck in big problems, or imbedded in an even bigger God?
Questions in response – who is this that even the wind and the elements obey? In the end, the disciples saw the power of God at work. The storm ended, and they asked who is this that even the wind and the rain obey? A pretty big God.
A very big God – able to care and handle it all. Look for the signs and look for the words of Peace. When Jesus says, Peace be still was he talking to the storm, or to the hearts of the disciples? When Jesus says those words of wisdom to us, is he talking to our big problems, or our big faith, or both? Listen to those words of wisdom in your life this week. Let us Pray….
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