tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22007366461349155362024-03-12T23:25:46.479-07:00Licorice Tea LutheranAimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.comBlogger492125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-58634874563107980212023-11-28T11:18:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:18:49.081-08:00Christ the King 2023<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> People seek a King: Help wanted. Must
be strong and handsome, able to win wars and secure land, bring prosperity,
help us to grow strong families, bring us through trouble, feed us good food,
heal all our maladies, organize all the people and govern with wisdom.
Must be healthy, have a great wardrobe, eat the most luscious food every day,
live in a fancy castle, and live a life among the rich and famous. Must
make us the envy of our neighbors, destroy all who stand in our way, allow us
to amass wealth, and reward the rich with power while the poor get what they
deserve for being lazy. This King should be somewhat distant, letting us
govern ourselves and make decisions that benefit us, staying out of our way and
not changing us. We are a people who easily forget. So don’t make
us remember that we were ever slaves in Egypt or that we ever wandered the
wilderness, lost. Make of us a great nation, better than other nations,
and then let us defeat them and take everything that is theirs. We like
wealth and shiny things. We like to be powerful and we like to win.
Give us those things, and you can be our King.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
King seeking people: Help wanted. King seeks people who have been
mistreated and scorned, enslaved and beaten. Must want to be free and
willing to learn that freedom means caring for one another and complete focus
on Kingdom values of sharing and not hoarding, of being willing to wander and
seek rather than know all the answers, of learning to trust the King rather
than themselves, of treating one another with equity regardless of social
status, of commitment to each other and the kingdom. The people must be
poor and lost, the underdogs, weak and scrappy, faithful and focused, generous
and thankful. Give me some people who are open to this kind of King and I
will shape them into my people. I will bring my Kingdom among them.
We will learn to be King and people together. Through them I will bring
my blessing to all the earth. Through them the world will know me and
learn my Kingdom values and find peace, cooperation, love, and abundance.
My gifts include being willing to live among my people, working side by side
with them, not compelling them to do things my way but allowing them to make
decisions for themselves. In addition, I am a hard-worker, have been
around since the beginning of time, and have a vision of a peaceful and
equitable world that I will carry out with or without the people’s help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a vision of bringing heaven to
earth in which all tears are dried, everyone has enough to eat, where all wars
cease, then please respond quickly to this ad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Christ the King Sunday: What does it mean to us, whose main concept of a king
comes from fairy tales? What does it mean to a congregation serving this
King? What is King in our lives? What matters most to us?
What are our priorities? In a religion that has been so misused to
intimidate and take away power from people who are suffering, in a religion
that has been used to point to people on the margins, who are sick or in prison
or in the way of a hurricane, and say, “You deserve what you get!” how does our
view of our King make a difference in our response to our neighbors?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In our reading from Ezekiel today, we get an image of a King who is seeking us
out, all who have been scattered, who have been hurt and betrayed and damaged
by the value system of this world—the greed, the blaming of the poor and weak,
the favoritism of the powerful. We are a people who don’t know what we’re
looking for. We might not even know we’re looking. But we are aware
that we are afraid, overwhelmed by the powers of this world. We have hurt
our neighbors, trampled them as we fled for safety. We had been betrayed
by shepherds, abandoned and left alone for the wolves. Our own ways have
not been serving us. They are not working well. They are not
bringing about life for us or anyone else. Did you see the news story of the sheep that had been stuck on a shoreline over a cliff. It was so burdened with wool, could not take care of itself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Into our woundedness and
pain, comes a king like none we’ve ever encountered. This King is
muddy. He’s been searching. He’s covered in scratches from the
thorns along the path. He's pulling the rope to get us up over the cliff and back into the fold. He’s desperate and calling to us. He’s
gathering us together. He helps us up. He’s not afraid to touch
us. He notices our wounds and binds them up. He lies down at the
gate of the sheepfold to protect us. He learns our names. He knows
our fears and our habits. He leads us to abundant pastures and keeps our
hooves from polluting the waters of life. He is a king we follow because he is
reliable, he is there, and we are slowly learning to trust. When we get
out of line, when we start to think we are better than others, this shepherd
King puts us in our place. We realize that we are in his presence, not
because we deserve to be, but because our King is one of life and love.
We realize that there is more than enough of that love and pasture to go
around, so we can stop being anxious and afraid and get on to the task of
living, not just for ourselves but in community, in the flock.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The King we believe in is described in our reading from Ephesians. This
is a King who showed his power in his willingness to let go of power, one who
drew all kinds of people to himself, not just the right kind of people.
This is a King who gives hope to us not in the temporary, material things of
this world, but a permanent relationship of love, adoption into a family,
responsibilities, powers, and a new vision of what really matters. This
is a King who, because of the people he talked to and empowered, and because of
the Kings he defied, the values he was not willing to live under, was handed
over to death. He was so threatening to the values that rule this world,
that he was put to death. People thought they could kill his vision, that
they could kill those values, that they could kill the hope that people had in
a new and refreshing value system. But that vision had already been
passed on to a small, scrappy group of disciples, who were forever changed by
their encounter with this King.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
found that King was still with them, and that the spirit of the King was
stronger than ever, giving them courage to go forth and tell the good news, the
vision, the love, the community, the empowerment available, the alternative
view, the vision of truth that turned the world upside down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In our world, kings and law makers are far away, rich, inaccessible. They
seek to serve the very rich, the ones who line their pockets with
donations. They make rules that benefit themselves. They don’t know
us and they don’t care about us, except that we make them look good. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So here is the
alternative view—that we have access to our King, we can be in his presence,
seek it out and we are constantly being heard. The cries of the
hungry reach the ears of this King. He knows their stories. He
knows their names. He sits at their tables. He feels their wants.
Here is a king who went about having dinner with people who didn’t matter to
any King or even mayor before him, who knew the pain of hunger himself.
Here is a King who was a stranger, born a bastard child, with nowhere to lay
his head, in an occupied country, a refugee in Egypt, a wanted man from
boyhood, who has known scorn, an enigma to his own disciples, rejected and
hated. Here is a King who was stripped of his clothing, naked upon the
cross. Here is a King who said on the cross, “I thirst.” Here is a
King was sick and imprisoned, betrayed, arrested, denied, mocked, and killed.
This is a King we can meet everyday, everywhere people are hungry or thirsty,
naked, alone, afraid, sick, or imprisoned. This is a King of all of
us. When we are doing well, our own desires become our King. We
make King the value system of this world that says we get what we
deserve. But we all find ourselves in need and that does not mean our
King has abandoned us, but that he loves us and is with us. How do we
serve this King, even when we’re doing ok, when we are tempted by the gods of
prosperity and belief that we can do it ourselves? How do we get in the
sheep line rather than the goat line? How do we make Christ our King?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
truth is we are both sheep and goats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have at times turned our backs on people who needed help and other times have
responded with compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We fail to
see the opportunity to meet Jesus when we encounter someone on need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we not waste this opportunity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we make our encounter with Jesus in
the sick and hungry the priority? How do we change our priorities to make
this vision in the Gospel the focus? This is what we are each here to do:
visit the sick and imprisoned, give clothing food and water, meet Jesus in the
poor and lonely, welcome the stranger. How do we open our eyes to see
Jesus? How do we make room in our lives to meet him in people around us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Thankfully Jesus offers love and grace and many opportunities to meet him.
Jesus welcomes us, feeds and clothes us, leads us beside still waters, puts us
back in the sheep line when we wander off, makes a community of us, encourages
us, loves us, and reigns as our King. We don’t need to be afraid that
we’ll end up in the goat line, but only trusting Jesus to keep seeking us
out. And we don’t need to look at others and decide they are among the
goats, because Christ is King, and this King keeps seeking us until all are in
the sheep line, safe in the fold. Just keep looking to the King and
listening for his voice, accept his healing, and tend to him among the wounded
and weak. This vision of an abundant pasture with a shepherd leading us
is assured. And we shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-3361237972994620442023-11-28T11:16:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:16:52.927-08:00November 19, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">These Gospel readings are hard to
grapple with, especially when we consider that by and large most of us are
heavily invested in the world as it is.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We benefit from it and it gives us comfort.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But we’re allowing ourselves to listen to
Jesus, a materially poor man who identified with the destitute.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">How you hear the Gospel reading today depends
on how you relate to the systems of wealth, built on the labor of the poor that
reward the rich and powerful.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you
benefit from the system of wealth that rewards those who are already rich and
powerful, then you might see this story as one in which God is the wealthy
landowner and in which the rich are rewarded with even more riches.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But if you’ve ever stood in line at the food
stamp office, been evicted or had your car repossessed, or wondered how you
would pay your bills, you might see a picture of a system of wealth that is
imposed by human beings to improve a few lives and keep the poor miserable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once again, I caution against making
the rich landowner into God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially
since it seems he is doing some ungodly things, like being willing to charge
interest, which was completely against the Torah, and being harsh, reaping
where he did not sew, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The time in which Jesus said these
things, the wealthy were happy to exploit the labor of poor people to work the
land to enrich the landowner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As time
went on, the landowners were very happy to extend loans to poor farmers at
40-60% interest, so they could foreclose on that land and enrich
themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wealthy did not concern
themselves with whether the poor would starve to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long before Jesus, prophets rose up to
condemn these actions and remind people that they have a responsibility to
their neighbor, that God shared this land with them as stewards, and it all was
meant to be a blessing for everyone to have abundant life, not hoarded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have similar problems today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have laws and customs that make it so that
the more you have, the more will be given to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CEO pay has no limit, it seems, while
teachers can’t even afford to live in the neighborhood of the school where they
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray in gratefulness everyday
that I was able to buy a house almost 20 years ago so that I can afford to live
near enough to my workplace and friends and the places I love to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hurt for others who are always on edge
about whether their rent will be raised, because that could be me and it is the
case for people I love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So we have this story about a
wealthy man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to be careful not
to automatically cheer him on as our culture has trained us to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We think he must have deserved it, that he is
much to be admired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not necessarily,
according to God’s values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
rich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know, because he can afford to
travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He can afford to have servants
watch over his land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has liquid
assets in no small amount, like 20 years’ wages, that he distributes to his
servants for them to do his dirty work for him of exploiting others to increase
his wealth. And they do, in two cases, because they know their proximity to him
could mean life or death, prosperity and comfort, or poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But there is one who won’t play the
game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead he tells the truth to the
rich man about who he is—that he doesn’t do the work, but drives others to do
it, that he is harsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This truth teller
is not about to participate in this system of oppression and he will face the
consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can’t help but think of Jesus
before Pilate, being grilled about who he thinks he is, not participating in
the system that honors Pilate, that increases Pilates’ wealth and standing and
power, how Jesus challenged that power, and mocked it, riding in on a donkey
with no military display.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I can’t
help but think of Jesus being thrown out into Gethsemane, where he surely
gnashed his teeth in suffering on the cross.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have so many unjust systems—of wealth,
of imprisonment, of eviction, of healthcare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The world tells us if people don’t have access it is a character
flaw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find this infuriating, because I
was a child on food stamps and my dad worked just as hard as any other dad and
my mom did daycare to support us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were motivated and engaged and yet we were poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people are born into poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t about character at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t deserve to be in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t deserve not to go to the dentist on
a schedule that might mean healthier teeth now. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
live a very different life, now, as does my child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had privileges that other people didn’t
have which allowed me to get out of poverty, including the color of my dad’s
skin—which allowed him to get a VA loan not available to Black service members
at the time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also had access to a
congregation of educated people that gave me hand-me-down clothes and work
babysitting and picking blueberries, housesitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave me college scholarships and paid
for my books in seminary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had access
to people with wealth and connections who knew the story of a God who isn’t
tolerant of people accumulating wealth and congratulating themselves for their
moral superiority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew a God who
shared with them and inspired them to share with others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to be a recipient of that sharing and
now I get to also share with people in need from my plenty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As for those of us who have found
ourselves richly blessed, with money, time, abilities, I hope we won’t bury
them in fear of an angry God or in fear of misusing it in a messed up
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when we find our talents
used to prop up systems of oppression we will withhold them in resistance. John
the Baptist was likely from the community of Essenes who renounced wealth and
lived in the desert to avoid participating in the oppressive system and being
drawn into hurting their neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is certainly one way to respond to an oppressive system.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I witnessed another response in
Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People there live on $2 a day
on average.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that is just what can be
recorded in the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them
live free on the land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They cultivate
that land to feed themselves and their community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wealth of what they grow is shared rather
than monetized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they bought and sold
all that food it would be worth a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead they share it, with God providing rain almost daily, rich soil
that they can keep rich by growing shade-grown gardens so that bird droppings
act as fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope you’re getting
the idea that the people we met in Nicaragua knew their blessings came from God
and so many of them lived outside the system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were left out of the system because they were not seen as having
anything to contribute, and yet God knows their value and their neighbor knows
their value.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another example of resisting and
influencing the systems of injustice is participating in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interfaith Advocacy Day in February.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all gather to talk about our values and
find our talking points and stories, then we meet with our state senator and
representative and share our perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anne Nesse, one of our new members testifies at the capitol all the
time—you should ask her about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is
advocating for the environment—not to be exploited for money until it can’t
recover, but to continue to be a blessing to future generations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decide when and how to act about the
injustices and inequalities in our systems and we get to decide whether we are
willing to benefit from them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
see an example of withholding and temporarily burying talents in response to an
unjust system in the teacher and nurse strikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who suffers from the large class sizes and aging buildings?—our kids!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not their moral failure—but they
suffered for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So my son is out every
day on the picket line and he knows a lot about unions and chants and the
reasons why the teachers strike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the rich and powerful distribute and withhold wealth or talents to get their
way, no one bats an eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when a poor
person does, for some reason people balk at that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It may seem convenient to blame
systems, but systems are set up by people often with good intentions, but they
benefit some and not others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all
systems are harmful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some systems work
to break the cycle of poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some work
to benefit the workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance,
farmer’s markets are a way to support local farmers and businesses,
directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also churches ideally bring
together people of all different socioeconomic situations so that people build
relationships and share with each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus went about the Judea and
Samaria challenging the systems which kept men and women separate, which kept
lepers isolated, which kept the priests in power and the poor blamed and
ignored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus refused to ignore the
injustices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just talking to people
outside his circle and giving them healing and dignity of telling their story
so we even know them today, helps us be brave to hear the stories of people on
the margins in our midst and to know that when we are in debt and poverty, it
isn’t a moral failure. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let us use our voices, our talents,
our gifts to point out where we could all do better and change our systems to
benefit those on the margins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can
remember that everything is a blessing from God to be shared and
distributed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was thrown out,
killed, in this world’s systems and values, but we have different values as
citizens of God’s Kingdom even now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have a choice to live differently, relate differently, and to resist, because
we have a different vision where no one has to be afraid of losing everything
but there is enough for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-65975990208758430192023-11-28T11:16:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:16:18.315-08:00November 12, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I don't think anyone is wise in
this Gospel reading! The bridegroom isn't wise in taking so long to show
up. The bridesmaids aren't wise not knowing how any of this works, to be ready.
And certainly the bridesmaids aren't wise who send the others off to the store
in the middle of the night instead of sharing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I like to pretend to be wise,
but I am in fact foolish, something I confessed the moment worship started this
morning. If I say I am not foolish, I deceive myself and the truth is not
in me, but if I confess my foolishness, God who is faithful and merciful will
forgive my foolishness and cleanse me from all disconnect with God and my
neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am unprepared, I am overprepared,
I am self-centered, I am arrogant, I have a hard heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am foolish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The truth is everyone is
foolish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The bridegroom is
foolish. I don’t think Jesus would be mad that I said that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is delayed and we don't know why. Maybe
he has a perfectly good reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe
he's partying with his homeys. Maybe he's got cold feet or he's
nervous or his suit got something spilled on it and has to be changed or
he lost the ring (which actually happened at a wedding I did, but was found
thankfully in time). We don't know why he is delayed. That is the
same with the coming of the Kingdom of God. It is delayed and we are
waiting. We can't change that circumstance, but we do have control
over our response.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe we fall asleep. No
one can stay awake forever. No one is expected to, wise or foolish.
But then a shout comes, a heads up, a hint that things are about to
change. In that moment, some of the bridesmaids find they are not
prepared. They don't want anyone to know they weren't ready. They
could have asked to walk with the other bridesmaids. Certainly one lamp
is sufficient for two people, but then everyone would know they were unprepared
and they don't want to look foolish, so they ask to use some oil. Are we
prepared for change or do we dig in and try to keep everything the same?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I worry about people with ADHD
or who are neurodivergent. Our brains don't all work alike. Some of
us get overwhelmed trying to organize and prepare. This Gospel story doesn't
seem fair to people whose brains are wired differently. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is the oil and what is it
they don't have enough of? What don't we have enough of as we wait for
Jesus? Oil sometimes symbolized good works. You'll be wanting to
store up some good works while waiting for Jesus. If it is good
works then we don't have to worry that someone didn't have enough oil
because they didn't have access to resources, because they were poor.
Anyone can do good works. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe oil is energy for making
the light shine. Do we have energy for the waiting? Do we have the
energy to sustain us through all the long waiting? The truth is we all
have to gas up now and then. No matter how big our jug of oil we bring,
this waiting is going on for thousands of years and maybe sometimes we give up
on waiting, on expecting the bridegroom to knock at any moment. What
would it be like to hear the trumpet blast right then or what a restart would
mean for humanity? Do we expect Jesus to come back? Do we expect
war to cease as the wars seem to intensify and we feel helpless to respond?
Do we expect every tear to be dried? Do we expect everyone to have a
place or enough to eat or the earth to be healed? I don't. I'm in
for the long haul. I don't have any expectation of being rescued.
So I am storing up my energy, working day in and day out to bring people relief
and a little light and taking my days off so I have a little oil when the voice
calls from the gate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And these wise bridesmaids,
wise and selfish--they knew that the arrival of the bridegroom was imminent,
but instead of offering to walk with these others, they send them off to 7-11
or whatever place you can get oil at midnight. They will be admonished on
the last day by Jesus, I was thirsty and you did not give me a drink, I was
naked and you did not clothe me, I had no oil and you did not share your
light. These bridesmaids are why I would prefer to officiate a funeral
than a wedding any day. All too often weddings are a show of wealth and
power and arrogance, whereas a funeral can be a time of real reflection about
what really matters, a time of compassion and a coming together to support
someone who is grieving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We come here today and we do
not have what we need to get through the night to get to the party. But
there is plenty of good news. It is good news that we are all
invited. It is good news that whether we are wise or foolish (and we are
foolish), the bridegroom Jesus is coming. It is good news that there is
enough oil, enough energy to keep us going, if we can humble ourselves not to
take from others but to walk with others until we do have the energy.
There is grace in community when we help each other. There are many times
I am out of oil. I am out of faith. I am out of energy and ideas
and patience. It is in those moments that I know I can stand next to my
brothers and sisters and their light shining is enough. And there have
been many times when I have been out of whatever resource, in my grief and pain
and someone has come and stood next to me and shone that light, sang that song,
prayed that prayer that lifted me up and filled my lamp. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last week, my friend Janell
made a labyrinth on the beach as she and my friend Shelley had done shortly
before Shelley died. Janell invited me to walk the labyrinth together and
then in the last leg of it, two sets of bald eagles appeared on the
beach. There was a source of food nearby. So I was feeling empty,
missing my friend I see every year at Convo. But Janell shone that light
for me and I accepted her holding it for me and together we saw some extraordinary
signs of hope and life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For all of us, we are waiting a
long time. We try to be prepared, but we can't be awake all the
time. We can't stay awake forever or have forever stores of oil. We
can look for the signs of the nearness of Christ. It might not be a
trumpet blast. It might be a thirsty person, a hungry person, a naked
person, or a person whose oil has run out. In those moments the
bridegroom surprises us and shows up unannounced. We can wake up to the
Kingdom coming near and breaking into our world. We might see Jesus and
we might be transformed. And even if we aren't ready, he will come into
our midst and give us new life. If we miss it, there will be other
weddings where we will get another chance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I hope you will sit with me in the
dark a little while and wait with me. I hope you will be foolish with
me. I hope you will ask to share some of my light if you run out of oil
and not run off on a foolish errand to do everything yourself. I hope if
I run out of oil, you will let me walk with you a little while on this
journey. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wise or foolish, Jesus is the
light of the world, and he is the one who will light our way to new life and
love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-25488368957269360382023-11-28T11:15:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:15:47.851-08:00All Saints 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">People
have been saying, this is going to be a difficult All Saints, an emotional
one.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Just in the past few weeks,
Facebook has been reminding me of these saints.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Last week it was the reminder of the double duet with the two grand
pianos and Sonya standing there, no hint she would join the Saints eternal this
year.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I was asked to wish my friend
Susan a happy birthday.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">She died not long
before All Saints Day last year but it is still jarring to think she’s not up
to her usual shenanigans on this earth anymore.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We’ve lost friends we didn’t have a service for and that leaves a
strange feeling, like there’s something left unfinished or dangling.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And we have in our minds wars and disasters
that feel heavy, we have mass shootings on our hearts that defy our ability to
understand the senseless loss of life.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And on this day, in the face of death, we choose to celebrate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We
celebrate the lives of these people that touched our lives or touched other
lives we don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We celebrate their
memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We remember them because they
are still part of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing will ever
change that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we celebrate because we
know there is more than this life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here,
we just get a little glimpse of what life is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The saints who have died see much more clearly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They know what it is to be in the presence of
God, at the feast that has no end, residing in one of God’s dwelling
places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are at peace and they are
at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know we will be reunited but
it is painful now to feel apart from them and not have them here with us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">As we
wait for the day when heaven and earth unite, we work toward God’s vision
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we hold up that vision
which inspires us and gives us hope to keep working.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Book
of Revelation is a word painting for suffering Christians. It was written
for those persecuted by Nero to have a vision of hope, in which God and the
Lamb, Christ are in the center, surrounded by the saints and martyrs, singing
and worshiping God, with God’s love and light extending from that central place
and rippling out in concentric circles to the farthest corners of the heavenly
realm and breaking into our world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And we get glimpses of it. Did you recognize any of the
words this morning in that reading? We enact this scene, or try to every
Sunday morning at Church. We place God and the lamb, Jesus, at the
center, and we gather together as many as come, although all are welcome.
There is no distinction, but all worship together from any nation, all tribes,
and peoples and languages. I wear the white robe for all the rest of
you. It is like a uniform that the saints wear, so that no one’s clothes
are better than any other or a distraction for the saints. We sing this
song, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and might be to
our God forever and ever! Amen.” Sound familiar? We sing these
words from Revelation as we enact this scene, as the Kingdom of God breaks in,
living this vision of what is to come. We don’t just sing by ourselves,
but our voices join with the saints gathered around the throne, collapsing the
distance between us and them, between our world and the Kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I grieve those I love, I like to remember their voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can hear them, my grandma’s so stern and
blunt, Sonya’s so kind and caring, Marge’s so welcoming, Carl’s so matter of
fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can hear them, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I stop and listen to their voices, I
feel like they are right here with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So when we sing, I like to hear their voices joining ours and it lifts
me up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel God’s Kingdom so close.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
And it isn’t just in our singing that these realms come near, but anywhere and
anytime that people have enough to eat and drink, where there is shelter and
protection, when compassion and tenderness is shared. This is fully the
reality in the heavenly realm, and there are points where it breaks into our
world when God’s love touches our hearts and brings the Kingdom through us to
others in need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Never does the heavenly realm see so far away from this world than in the
values that matter to God and the values that are lived in this world.
That’s where the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew come in. In this
world, we think someone is blessed if they are confident, don’t know the pain
of loss, are full of good food and all kinds of treasures, are merciless, are
smart, refuse to compromise, and don’t endure any suffering. That’s when
a person can say they are blessed. Those are the people we tend to
admire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
However, that is not what God admires or values or honors. When we are so
full of ourselves, how will we ever have room for God? When we have all
the comforts of life, what would cause us to open our eyes and look for
something more, for a Kingdom and a realm of misfits? If we can do it all
ourselves, why would we need each other or God? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To be blessed is to have room for each other. To be
blessed is to have room for God. To be blessed is to look for God.
To be blessed is to realize that we all are broken and we all need
healing. To be blessed is to be honest about ourselves and our
imperfections and shortcomings. To be blessed is to be ready to receive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember working as a chaplain, I found patients at the
hospital were open to talking about their spirituality, more so than most
people I met who were healthy. I found my patients were blessing me with
their openness to God’s presence. Much of the time, I think we go about
our day and don’t give God’s vision a single thought. But when we mourn
or feel helpless, we find ourselves remembering what is most important, and
putting our hope in God, instead of our own power. That’s when the
Kingdom of God is breaking through and giving us new life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the Beatitudes, God lays out God’s values. Jesus begins
with an unexpected blessing, for the poor in spirit, the merciful, etc.
This is a current reality that someone is living. They didn’t choose this
mode, it is the way things are. Then Jesus offers a vision of a future
reality that is God’s vision, of comfort, inheritance, fulfillment, mercy,
vision, adoption. This is the promised future. This is the Kingdom
of God which the martyrs know fully, and which is breaking into this
world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two times in the Beatitudes it isn’t a future reality, but a
present reality. For both the poor in Spirit and the persecuted, Jesus
says, “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is a present reality more
than the others. They have access to it now. They are part of it
now. It is theirs. It is not far away, but here on earth, God
wiping away the tears, these folks focused on what matters, living God’s
values, open to God’s presence, upheld in community, shining with God’s light
and love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every Sunday we also pray that God’s Kingdom come and it does
come regardless of human defiance. The saints and martyrs are in that
reality even now. But we also pray it comes among us, that it breaks
through in our world in our words and actions. And we pray that we would
open our eyes to see it in the hungry and homeless and ill around us and reach
out to them as Christ in our midst. “See what love the Father has given
us, that we should be called Children of God; and that is what we are.”
And that is what our neighbor is. “Beloved, we are God’s children
now.” This present reality gives us hope for the future that God is
revealing to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May you have hope in more than your own comfort and
stability. May you find the broken places in your life, spaces that God
dwells and shines a brilliant light. May you look for God’s Kingdom coming
into the world and participate in it. May you know blessing in
pain. May you know God’s presence and share it. May God’s future
Kingdom promise be collapsed into your everyday reality. May you live in
the values of the Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-11265638139184755402023-11-28T11:15:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:15:05.953-08:00Reformation 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">This week, I have been pondering the
word “freedom,” and trying to untangle it from the loaded patriotic word that
it has become to see what God means by freedom and what God wants for us in
setting us free.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Let’s look at our
scriptures today and see what we find.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
the Hebrew scripture, God is reminding the people that God has freed them from
literal slavery in Egypt, but not to go running off in every direction or
without a leader or relationships, but to follow a path in the wilderness
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God took brought them from
oppressive work and mistreatment to 40 years of learning to trust God and to
work together to build relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The people were learning to be in life-giving relationships with God and
each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some scholars believe that
in the wilderness, lots of little bands of misfits came together and found a
home and a people together with the Israelites walking together until they
formed a unique identity as a people who God cares for, who have a
responsibility to care for the smallest and weakest among themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Freedom meant freedom from forced labor, from
fear for your life at the hands of a slaveowner, from family separation, from
the whims of a violent and jealous pharaoh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Freedom meant the ability to follow leaders who cared for the people, to
be in community with others, to work together, to trust God, to take on values
that brought abundant life to the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This freedom also meant not having to trust—but having the choice
whether to follow these values of God or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were many times people chose not to trust, which had consequences sometimes
of loss of life and spending 39 more years out in the wilderness than what was
actually necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Psalm
46 was one of Martin Luther’s favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He wrote “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” based on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew what it meant to be captive, enslaved
to his fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He feared his father, who
he could not please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He feared God who
he could not please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this psalm
helped him overcome his fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is
there to help us so we can be free from fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God is bringing to reality a vision that is beautiful and
life-giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Martin Luther saw God
as an angry father, he was absolutely paralyzed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the image the church perpetuated to
control people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he became a monk,
he started to read the scriptures and he found there grace and hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It freed him to speak the truth to the church
authorities, which at times led him to have to go into hiding and become
something of a captive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this truth
of God’s love meant that no matter what anyone did to him, he would always have
the freedom of knowing he belonged to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This epiphany led him to translate the Bible into the common language of
the people so they could read it for themselves and also become free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Education became a means of freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It meant people could access the word of God
themselves and no one could control what they knew of the freeing promises of
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
of Martin Luther’s favorite verses is Romans 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are not justified by our works or deeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not what makes us right with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s helpful to know the law because there
are some helpful guildelines to help us relate to others, and also because
these laws show us what sorry shape we’re in, that we are slaves to our desires
and to our fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we’re not meant to
stay in that sorry state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus gives us
a most beautiful gift, the gift of grace, the gift of relationship, the gift of
welcome, of family with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
been slaves—worshipping ourselves and our own power, trapped in our cycles of
addiction and fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus comes to unite
heaven and earth, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, to stir
us all up until we all look up and say, “I don’t want this life of slavery to
sin anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want the life that Jesus
is offering.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a freedom that comes
with relationship to Jesus, to follow the way he lives and in relationship and
responsibility to vulnerable neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally
in the Gospel of John, Jesus offers freedom to those who are listening to
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They first deny all the ways they
enslaved and trapped in life and even their own history, their own story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They claim that their relationship to Abraham
means they have always been free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
Jesus and John the Baptist have never been impressed by that relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God could make stones into children of
Abraham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t a blood line that makes us free or
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead we are all related to
Abraham because he couldn’t keep all the rules, either, but God valued the
relationship they had and that was enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Abraham found enough trust to leave his home and walk with God through
many dangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes he didn’t listen
so well and relied on his own smarts which got him into trouble several
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes he really complained
because God hadn’t followed through on the plan to give him a son, but the
relationship and conversation continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Abraham related to many unexpected people on the journey with
hospitality and grace that God had welcomed and related to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sometimes
we get stuck like these folks Jesus is talking to in the Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might be hard to admit some ways we might
be enslaved or trapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get trapped
in our ideas of what family is and how we are or aren’t related to each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who is my brother or sister?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who am I disconnected from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who do I dismiss or ignore?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
get stuck in wanting to control things, to make the decisions, or in our
dependence upon violence or the threat of violence to get our way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get enslaved to money and comforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get enslaved in alcohol or food or
exercise as a way to feel in control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
idolize sports figures and celebrities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trinity’s
Anniversary is right around the corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll be looking at our history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll get practice telling our story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll examine where we have been enslaved and trapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see the vision and hope the people
before us held.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll remember our
relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll remember when we
were faithful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look there not to go
back there but to see what we can learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe those stories will shed light on where we are now and help us
articulate our faith and our vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe those stories will inspire us to strengthen relationships with
neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we will see where we
get stuck and be honest about barriers within our church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we will find ourselves freed, not to do
whatever we want, but to follow Jesus, who used his freedom to show no
partiality, to cross borders in his sharing the good news, to risk illness and
pain and ridicule to spend time with people on the margins, to offer healing
and love, and to put people to work bringing in the Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what freedom is for—to get to work
alongside Jesus and all God’s people, loving the world in truth and action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Someone
said this week that when the Israelites were getting ready to cross the Red
Sea, it wasn’t Moses raising his staff that parted the waters, but the first
person to stick their toe in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was the faith of one person to take the first step that God was
responding to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For us that person is
Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was completely free, but he
came in human form to lead us from slavery to freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stood on the threshold and stuck in his
toe and so we follow although the path is often difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
invite you to stand up this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Close your eyes and imagine with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are standing on the edge of the Red Sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have left our comforts, our homes, our
shackles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are uncertain of where we
are going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We smell the water of the
sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We feel the breeze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hear the marching of Pharaoh’s
troops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look around and see that we
are surrounded by friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our anxiety
eases a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see Jesus before us
and the sea parting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is roaring and
foaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And together we move forward
following our Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re not going to
arrive right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might need a year
of training, learning how to trust and we might need 40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we’re moving toward abundant life
together, freed to love our neighbor and work for the common good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-48754076556043227002023-11-28T11:14:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:14:17.196-08:00October 22, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">There was
a big argument on Facebook a month or two ago on one of the pages for Glacier
National Park.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Because we visited there
this summer, I joined the page to figure out what hikes we should take and any
other helpful advice people had to share.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The debate was about a painted rock.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Someone had painted a rock and placed it on a trail at Glacier to be
found.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The person who found it was none
too pleased!</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In their view, this rock
was litter, graffiti, something that defaced the pure, unadulterated beauty of
Glacier.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Many people joined in the
outrage about the rock.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And many people
joined the opposing view that someone was trying to bring delight and joy,
leaving something for someone to find, playing a game.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">On the one hand, the beauty of Glacier
National Park was of at utmost value, a beautiful work of art.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">A Christian would say it is God’s handiwork,
with God’s fingerprints all over it.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">On
the other hand, someone brought their own artwork into the space as an
improvement and not everyone agreed it was an improvement.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
today’s Gospel, Caesar puts his likeness and image on a coin and Jesus and the
Religious leaders have a conversation about who it belongs to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
calls for the coin and for the people there to examine their relationship to
it, to God, and to the Political leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For Jewish people, the coin was a mixed symbol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a symbol of oppression and occupation
by a foreign Empire and yet it was something they needed to get by in
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A denarius was a day’s wages, so
it symbolized work and energy and even being exploited at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coin bore the image of Caesar who
declared himself a god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not
permitted in the temple since it could be construed as an idol or referring to
a false god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was shocking that they
had this coin here in the temple, but maybe it had skittered across the floor
earlier in the week when Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here
is this image of this leader in the Temple, in God’s dwelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two together make quite a contrast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God made everything good and full of value,
independent of whether it could be used to generate wealth or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God called the birds of the air good, the
seas, the dry land, the light and the darkness, all the creeping things, and
all the green plants for food even before humans were created and able to use
them for anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God created all this,
including this gold used to make the coin and assigned it value in relationship
with everything else and in proper balance, to give blessing and life each in
their own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God created all this to
allow blessing to flow among all creatures and so life would flourish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What
a contrast to Caesar and many of our political leaders who value what enriches
them, and each of us to a certain extent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is part of our fallen nature to be selfish and afraid and to
hoard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caesar was the best at playing
the power game, which is why he ended up at the top and then he used his power
to increase the power of his friends and those who could enrich him. He used
his power to put his likeness on coins and statues so everyone would know he is
important and of value. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>How
different from God, who didn’t want God’s image anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s fingerprints were already all over this
earth, God’s hallmark in the availability of blessing and the flowing of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
here we have money, which only has the value we assign to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a concept, not a thing, a symbol of
access to all that God has made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
made everything and showed it to the humans and asked them to steward it
faithfully, to keep the land and protect it, gave them access, although with
limits, because just because you can access it doesn’t mean you should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I speak of the tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So humankind had access but
also warned to watch out since not everything was healthy for humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
a fallen humanity, we have claimed what is God’s and given access by way of
money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can have enough to eat and
good quality food, but you have to pay for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You gain access with money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
can have a safe place to live and comforts if you have money that gives you
access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God gives access as a free gift
for the flourishing of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Money
restricts access or grants it without regard to what is best for the
flourishing of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we look at this
coin, we take all this in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here
is Jesus who these religious leaders are buttering up with compliments like,
“You show no partiality.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other
words, you let the blessing flow regardless of merit or who will bless you
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rain falls on the good and the
bad alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here is this coin bearing
Caesar’s image and here are we, humankind, the ones bearing God’s image, made
in the likeness and image of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do
we live out that image?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By letting the
blessing flow, of course--=by showing no partiality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does it mean to bear the image of God we
carry within each of us? I hope it isn’t about looks, but about our
hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It certainly must mean a
responsibility to carry God's values within us. What is it about God's image that
we hold in common? It is the heart of God, the values of God, the focus of God
on life-giving ways. And we take that image wherever we go. It isn't just
something we wear or embody at church. Yes, we may dress up a bit, shave, put
on a clean outfit, to come here. We also try to put on a good attitude and a
friendly smile, even if we aren't feeling that social. But God's image is
stamped on us every other day of the week, as well. We carry God's image, God's
values to work with us. We carry it with us to the store, to the ballot box, to
the bank, when we drive our cars, when we take out the trash, when we fill out
our estimate of giving card, when we volunteer our time, when we forgive, when
we show no favoritism, and even when we pay our taxes. Jesus' values led him to
give his life that we might have life, to disregard his own welfare for the
sake of others. We give thanks that he made new life possible for us, that he
made that connection between God and humankind, between heaven and earth so
clear and so available to us who have done nothing to deserve a place at God's
table of grace. Yet, here we are, all valued, all invited, all chosen by God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Next
week, we estimate our giving for the coming year in a way that incorporates
God's values. Our estimates help the congregation create a budget, so we aren't
guessing. It helps you set an intentional goal, with prayer, to use this gift
from God, money in a way that supports God's values. It also helps separate you
from your money, which can so easily become an idol, no matter who's image it
has on it.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It used
to be that the offering was taken, the first fruits from the field, the best of
the flock, and it was burned. Many a pastor has fantasized about taking the
offering, putting it on the altar, and setting it on fire. The reaction would
be priceless. Nowadays, very little of what ends up in the plate is paper money
anymore. Most of it is online giving or checks, so it wouldn't be so effective.
But the thought of destroying the money, in theory, is appealing. It means the
giver truly has to let go and says, “This isn't mine anymore.” Like the prayer
says, “We release what has been given to us.” Then no more could one's offering
be held over the church's head. No one could say, “Do it my way or I will
withhold my tithe.” No one could say, “We can't offend this or that
important/rich person in the congregation or they will stop giving.” Destroying
the money destroys the power it can have over us, the partiality we might have
because of it.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
if the money is destroyed, it can't be used to do the work that supports God's
values of giving life impartially and supporting all in need. Alas, there will
be no fire in the offering plate today. We work together to pass a budget that
we believe supports God's values. Our budget tithes our offerings to the larger
church to pay some administration costs that help us stay connected to other
Lutherans and from time to time get support for calling a new pastor or other
support during a conflict or challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our budget provides support for a food pantry that feeds hungry people
in our neighborhood and trains neighbors to prepare for disasters so that
blessing and life can flow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These gifts
provide baby care kits, that creates partnerships between our congregations.
Our budget also pays the staff to carry out the work we see as important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So what
about the painted rock at Glacier National Park?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glacier is an especially sacred place to a
lot of people because of its natural beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God’s image is all over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>People leave their fingerprints, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Humans have built roads and trails to provide access to all this beauty
in a limited way, in a way that is meant to contribute to that sense of the
sacred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we’re going to leave our
mark, we should leave it in a way that points the sacred beauty, rather than to
us and our artistry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would argue that
in this case, this painted rock might show beauty and a sense of the sacred,
but that it would fit better in a community garden or in someone’s yard where
our own image and fingerprint doesn’t get in the way of God’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">God has
given us generous hearts and gifts to share and put God’s image all around
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So let us examine our relationship
with all that has value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God gives us
something priceless, of ultimate value, love and relationship which hold firm
through disasters and all the surprises in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The value of this relationship with God only
increases as time goes on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So let us
hold to what is truly important and lasting and worthy of praise and let the
beauty of all that God has made inspire us to live lives of justice and peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-19916625375658065362023-11-28T11:12:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:12:13.638-08:00October 15, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The first baptism I did in my first church was for baby Leland
who is now a full grown adult.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Leland’s
dad Michael didn’t attend church very often and I was at that church at least
five years before anyone told me the story.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Michael had a mentor he really looked up to—a guy who was kind to him
and took him under his wing.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This mentor
always wore a cowboy hat and boots and when this mentor died, Michael honored
him by wearing his cowboy hat and boots to the funeral.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">But when he walked in the door, one of the
elders of the church shamed him for wearing a hat in church.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Michael never looked at church as a place of
welcome again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was only this year that I explained to my son the arbitrary
rules about hats in church and the difference when a girl or woman wears one
and when a boy or man wears one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
looked at me, completely baffled and I had to agree, the ideas of what is
appropriate and respectful dress is so very confusing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today is another of the parables of Matthew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parables are never supposed to make us
comfortable, but sometimes we have used this parable to be comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have said to ourselves, I am the one in
the streets that was invited to the banquet after others refused and I will
always be dressed appropriately!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too bad
for those others!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If we read the parable this way, then we are doing what we often
do and automatically put God in the role of the King.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The King here is violent and petty and
vindictive, even though he lures us in with a moment of grace where he extends
the invitation out to the unexpected people. We should be careful not to equate
kings with God, because often they are quite different.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Doesn’t God invite the little people in the streets from the
very beginning?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t God invite with
generosity and forgiveness and love and abundance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t God continue inviting when we first
decline the invitation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t God
understand when someone doesn’t have the right clothes for the party?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isn’t it the world that has exclusive guest lists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it the world that gets all excited when
Taylor Swift goes to a football game, shows up somewhere unexpected?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it the world that insists on fancy
dinners meant to impress and show power and make people envious?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it the world that lashes out in anger
and violence?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it the world that is
unforgiving if someone wears the wrong thing to the Academy Awards?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What if this parable instead is supposed to make us look at the
systems of power in our world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do
the powerful decide who gets invited first and who doesn’t?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do the powerful reward waste?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do the powerful systems say who gets to
eat or who gets to sit next to whom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
do the financial systems make the rich richer and keep the poor in the
streets?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does the world protect
those in power and bring violence to those who are vulnerable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do the world’s systems try to control
people and keep them apart from each other?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have different prisons for people who are rich and the rest
of us and people with black and brown skin get longer prison sentences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have huge divides with income inequality,
so that CEOs make hundreds of times what an entry-level worker makes. We have
systems that keep men and women in certain jobs and out of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have an education system that is income
and neighborhood based, so that the rich keep getting more and the poor keep
getting less. We are divided and this parable talks about division.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rich and poor never meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one is destroyed and the other takes its
place, but is controlled by violence if it doesn’t meet the arbitrary and
difficult to follow rules of the ruling class.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Church can be this way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I was on my sabbatical, I visited other churches each week and I
was terrified, because I knew how many ways it could go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I be dressed the way I was expected to
in that setting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I be welcome? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I fit in?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I make some terrible offense or mistake
without knowing it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found obstacles
going into unfamiliar settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thankfully, I had a 3 year old with me at the time, so that softened
everything and I always introduced myself as a pastor on sabbatical, so I was
one of the elite they had to be nice to!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I worried that I might have a Michael experience like he did with his
hat and offend someone. I didn’t want the embarrassment of causing a scene.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We, too, at Trinity and Santa Cruz have customs and rules that
we have no idea about because we’re used to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stand up, sit down, sing this, read this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are pretty flexible in our dress, but
where we sit can be a challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we
have ways we corral the kids and not everyone sees the children’s role the same
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we’re about to depave the
parking lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat there studying the
map to see who was losing their parking spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m happy to find a new one—I have a back up, don’t worry about me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you never know who you might upset and if
they have power to punish or if they will be hurt. I’ve seen it happen before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus came that all might have abundant life, not to impose
arbitrary rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever in the church
is getting in the way of abundant life, we can identify those things and remove
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever in society is getting in
the way of abundant life, we are commanded to use our voice, our power to make
abundant life flow to those most in need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If we’re not going to equate God and King, another way of
looking at the parable is that Jesus may be the one who comes to party in the
wrong outfit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He refuses to play the
power game of the King of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
refuses to flatter anyone or follow arbitrary rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so we threw him out of the party, hung
him on a cross to die, because he wouldn’t play our power games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he rose from the dead with forgiveness
and love in his heart and invited us to live a different way, to make his
Kingdom of justice and peace our vision, where no one is thrown out, where
violence is not the way, where each person’s gifts are important, where there
is no more crying or grief or pain, , where we invite people far and wide,
where we respond to the invitation, where we come together from different
cultures, speaking many different languages and yet the culture of love and
hope bringing us together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-14864720146343860522023-11-28T11:10:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:10:59.574-08:00October 3, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">5 years ago this week, I was painting my
living room because my husband was out of town at a film festival.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I was painting because he had applied for a
new job in a new city and I had a feeling we might be moving.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It would be a big job to prepare our house
for tenants and I wanted to get a head start.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At
that point, we owned our house for 13 years, put in new windows, pulled up the
carpet and 50 years of carpet staples one by one, refinished the wood floor,
put a new roof on the place, completely redone our bathroom after a disastrous
leak, built 4 raised beds in the yard, planted 2 cherry trees and a maple,
planted raspberries and blueberries, buried 2 cats in the yard, painted the
house, and made countless improvements inside and out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought we would always live in that house
since we had no inclination to move up to that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when that job came open, my husband
applied and I prayed that he wouldn’t get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But he did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
we prepared our house for tenants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
scrubbed every corner, every ceiling, every window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We repainted every room, scrubbed even around
the sink sprayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything had to be
in tip-top shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we pulled away, I
looked at my gleaming house and wished I could live there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
was a place where we dreamed together, where we brought our baby home from the
hospital, where Sterling took his first steps, where we shared so many meals
and good memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a place full
of life, with green growing things in the yard, soil amended year after year to
be healthy and life-giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We invested
in this place and had a vision for its future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But we had to leave it behind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
is maybe how this vineyard owner feels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He has invested money and hope into this place that it would be a place
of blessing, a place of abundance, a place of hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But something calls him away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has responsibilities that take his energy
and attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he leaves it in the
hands of people he hopes will use it as a blessing—people he pays to make it a
blessing. But they are not on the same page.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What
a familiar scenario!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This beautiful
planet that God has made has been an investment with a vision, building it over
the millennia and then handing it over to us as stewards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what do we do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We say this is mine!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I own this land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought this land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one can tell me what to do with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are on a path to destroy life on this
planet and caused much human suffering because we couldn’t see the bigger
picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
where our Trinity Building Relationships Task Force has picked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They originally started meeting to develop a
land acknowledgement statement to name the First Nations tribes who stewarded
this land with a bigger vision than what is mine or yours, but invested in it
so it would exist in its own beauty and bless people for generations to
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We benefit from their vision and
foresight as we now learn to steward the land and not just think of it as mine,
but ours, to bless the whole community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Out of these efforts we have this new Indigenous library and a land
acknowledgement statement is on it’s way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe
that’s part of what the vision of the possible Trinity parking lot rain gardens
is for—to consider what it means that so much parking lot runoff goes into Johnson
Creek carrying motor oil in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would
it mean to de-pave, to make more space natural again, even if it looks messy
sometimes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would it mean to care
for the rain garden so it is a blessing rather than an eye-sore?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How might the blessing of less pollution
running into the creek be part of God’s vision of harmony with what God has
made?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How might a tiny corner of Trinity
parking lot become a tiny bit of cooler space in our neighborhood toward the
greater good?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe we’ll save a few
bucks on our water bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We’ve
all invested in our church with a vision in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of that vision came directly out of
God’s vision—people being fed, people being comforted, a welcome space for
anyone feeling alone, children laughing, treats being consumed, blessings
shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we carry a vision and
we hand it over and it isn’t carried out exactly as we hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we see God’s dream being carried
out better than we ever could have anticipated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
moved back into my house 2 ½ years after we left for Tacoma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My longing to be in that space again was
realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My raspberries, blueberries,
and strawberries were all dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no
damage was done that couldn’t be fixed or washed away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With
God’s vision, every sin is wiped away each week in our confession and
forgiveness and we try to get re-aligned with what God has in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We try to capture that vision again so we can
go out and live it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
responsibility we have to keep this vineyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes we hang on too tight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We want to control it as if it were ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of being a steward is remembering our
place, that God has made the investment and we are workers carrying out God’s
vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We’re
in kind of this in between space, holding the vision that God is sharing with
us, of plenty and peace, and sharing and love and forgiveness, abundant
blessing, no more crying or pain or grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And we’re living in the real world where everyone is claiming
theirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to make sure we aren’t
reliant on other people to take care of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We want to make sure we get our little piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This happens at home, at work, at church, at
play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many pressures are upon us to
fit into this insecure world, this power-hungry, greedy, scared world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
haven’t always been trustworthy stewards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes we’ve been closer and sometimes we’ve really missed the
mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Jesus is telling the parable,
he asks what the consequences should be for the stewards who killed the son and
heir, who were greedy, who were insecure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The people answer that the landowner should kill those miserable
wretches and give it to someone else who can do a better job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
is telling the parable again to these scribes and Pharisees he was talking to
last week and who were all in a huff over his authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This parable is a continuation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ authority comes from his investment in
the vision of the Kingdom and his understanding of what brings abundant
blessing to all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the
consequences are that he will use his authority to take trust and
responsibility out of the hands of those you would expect to do a good
job—priests and pastors, the rich and powerful—and give it to those you
wouldn’t expect, marginalized people who have been cut of from blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God doesn’t threaten a miserable death, the
people do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting smashed by a rock
could constitute a miserable death or maybe it is a humbling rock or one that we
trip over and it reminds us of our vulnerability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it is a reference to Jesus’ broken body
and that the weapons we wield to keep people out will fall on us and have a
force on us just like they do for everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let us remember today
the people of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Holy land this day, at
war—that violence creates more violence and none of this is God’s vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pray for peace and not only peace but
justice and hope for all who have been oppressed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
Jesus’ disciples we have privilege and responsibility. We have the chance to
see the vision he is setting before us, so beautiful and full of blessing and
healing and love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have the privilege
and responsibility to live that out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have the privilege and responsibility to do the hard work, to also invest in
the Kingdom of God coming to earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have the privilege and responsibility to live among God’s faithful people even
when they are the unexpected people—that’s always more interesting anyway!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have the privilege and responsibility to
let go of ownership and control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
the privilege and responsibility to be with Jesus and all his friends in this
vision of wholeness, hope, and abundant life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-49420552021070714202023-11-28T11:10:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:10:23.041-08:00October 1, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Jesus is
at work again this morning disrupting our idea of what is fair and right and
showing us what the Kingdom of God looks like.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">It’s important to understand the context of this Gospel to have any idea
what they’re talking about.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The chief
priests and elders come to Jesus as he is teaching in the temple and ask what
gives him the right, the authority, the gumption to come in to the space where
they are supposed to be the authority, to claim authority himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">They are
very upset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This same day, Jesus came
into town riding on a donkey at the same time as the governor rode into town on
his horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ parade was a mockery
of the big parade happening on the other side of town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a contrasting event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Herod rode on a horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus rode on a donkey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Herod had banners and armies with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus had palm branches and cloaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Herod’s parade attracted rich, important
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ parade attracted ordinary
poor people. Herod had pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus had
humility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Herod struck fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus brought cries for God’s saving
power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What gave
Jesus the authority to ride into town making fun of Herod?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What gave him the gall to be humble and lowly
and yet be called a king?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What authority
did he have to make a spectacle, an alternative vision of what it means to be
king—to serve, to be among the lowly, not to be looking to gain in conquest,
not to be self-serving or amassing power and weapons?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The next
thing Jesus did was go to the temple and upend the tables of the money
changers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the parade didn’t get the
attention of the chief priests and elders, this did!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus asked what right people had making his
father’s house into a den of robbers and pushed the tables over so the money of
all those doing business there couldn’t sort out whose was whose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone who had been working there is very
upset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they ask him what gives him
the right, the gall, the authority to disrupt a system that gives the priests
and elders authority?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What gives him the
authority to upend and destroy what they hold dear?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus loves
answering questions with questions and gets them thinking about authority of
other people—specifically John the Baptist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Basically he gets them thinking about where authority comes from—do you
have to fit in the existing system to get it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John got it because of
something else, which I believe is integrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was consistent between his words and actions and that made him
different from most people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore
his authority comes from God and God’s vision of this world transformed to one
of wholeness and abundant life for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is of course the same place that Jesus gets his authority and even more so
because Jesus literally is what he says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus is
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything he does is an expression of that,
of his unity with God the Creator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
can’t be anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He expresses it
in not coming to get anything for himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There isn’t anything he needs except to offer the world hope and new
life and that isn’t for him, but for the sake of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is focused on his mission which leads him
to come riding in on a donkey, overturn the tables of the money-changers,
expose people in power as being full of self-interest, give his life on the
cross, and rise again to share new life and a new vision of the Kingdom coming
to earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a
challenging parable for Lutherans especially, because we know it isn’t by our
works that we are saved, but God’s grace alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We confess Jesus as Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that
enough?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This parable tells us that
actions are important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They show what is
really in our hearts, what we really believe comes out in our actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also our actions matter to our neighbors
because they affect other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whatever beliefs we hold that we don’t act on, don’t show love to
others, aren’t expressed so that others might be blessed by them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
parable is telling us that words and actions need to match and if they don’t,
actions are what really matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s
great here is that both sons flub it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
one says he won’t and then shows up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
other son says he will and then is a no-show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The third son is Jesus who does both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No other human fits the bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
all fail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And yet
there is a word of grace, that our actions can still show where our heart
lies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of who Jesus is, that he
goes there to do the work, which is going to the cross, which is doing the hard
things, which is humbling himself, which is washing feet, we can go there, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other grace for us is that the work of
the son who showed up isn’t measured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
doesn’t say how many hours he worked or how many vines he clipped or how many
bushels he picked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Showing
up is a big part of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus shows up
for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up in a stable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up as a refugee in Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up at the well with the Cannanite
woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed up at the daycare and
gathered the children around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
showed up at deathbeds and among the lepers and in the storms and in the
courthouse and on the cross and he showed up in the garden and at the lakeside
and shows up in every rejected, hurting person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We take
heart in knowing that showing up is a big part of our work so that others know
they are not alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many
situations, we don’t have the right words for, but when we show up,
accompaniment is such a big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
means so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We show up and sit with
people who are grieving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We show up and
welcome people who have been rejected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We show up and offer the warmth of our presence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
church is supposed to be the body of Christ, active in the world and showing
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But these days the church is more
known for being judgemental and hypocritical, saying we are loving and yet
rejecting and blaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or we show up for
our own self-interest, wanting more members so our church can survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus shows up with compassion and we are
invited to let go of our self-interest and have genuine care and concern for
the other person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People can see right
through our hypocrisy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People have their
BS meters set on high when they encounter Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even I do!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m watching out when I meet someone who tells me they are Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this someone who wants to change me, to
correct me, to blame me, to attack people I love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or is this someone coming from a place of
care of concern and sharing who can build something, who will show up when I am
in need, who will show up beside me to do the work of the Kingdom of God?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is
why this reading matters so much, today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can’t earn God’s love by our works, but we can show up with compassion
and walk with Jesus the way of the humble cross with our hurting brothers and
sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus shows up for us and he
understands if we can’t always be at work in the vineyard, but he has high
expectations of us that we would begin with love in our hearts and show up when
we can to contribute our part to the greater good that is being built, the
Kingdom of God right here on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-35306018685151570522023-11-28T11:09:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:09:38.829-08:00September 24, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We all know little kids
who are obsessed with what is fair.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">To
me, it is understandable that they are concerned.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">They are small.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">They are not sure who is going to look after
their interests and needs.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When you have
siblings all around, competing for scarce resources, it makes sense to be
concerned with what is fair.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And when we
grow up, we are still concerned with what is fair, comparing ourselves and our
situation with other people’s, evaluating who is worthy and unworthy, looking
out for our own needs, and resenting other people.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The only difference is that attitude is not
expressed like a loud kid, but can become an inner dialogue that influences how
we behave toward other people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">We are resentful
because we do not trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes sense
not to trust the landowner boss in this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bosses like him are looking out for the company’s bottom line and profit
margins, bumping up their CEO pay and taking advantage of little people who are
living paycheck to paycheck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes
sense that ordinary workers will want to look out for their interests, since
they’ve had to fight tooth and nail to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">God is not a CEO or
boss, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a different
relationship with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is our
parent, has adopted us into God’s family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God made us and everything we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God cares that we do more than survive, but that we thrive, and not just
we, but that all creation thrives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still
it can be hard to trust, because God has a lot to keep track of and we want to
make sure we don’t get passed over.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In this parable, as in
many this season, the last shall be first and the first shall be last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The landowner seems to be provoking his
workers by paying them all the same and paying them in front of each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each one believes they should be
paid according to their work, compared with the other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has different interests and calculations
than we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God ensures meaningful work
for each person, no matter when they arrive and God ensures a wage sufficient
for life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is not deserving or not
deserving, but only what is necessary for living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is right cannot be determined with math,
but by the need of each person and creature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">What I love to think
about is what happens the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each
person is still desperate for work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
are going to come out to find work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are
the resentful ones going to stay home until late in the day, hoping the
landowner does the same thing and pays them the usual daily wage for only an
hour or two of work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about the ones
that came later?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to imagine that
they showed up as early as they could, responding to the generosity of this
landowner by willingly putting in a full day’s work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">How about us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do we make ourselves sick comparing ourselves
to people who have more than we do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is a common temptation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a choice
we make to continue to obsess over the fairness of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can train our brains instead to be
grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">If we have less than
what we need to survive, then it is important to advocate for the right to be
paid a living wage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important to
speak up so that we and others like us can be heard, so that abundant life is
shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when we have enough to live
on, it is time to switch modes, to focus on our gratefulness for what we have
and to be generous to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">We can focus on
generosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can keep a journal of all
that we are grateful for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can pray in
thankfulness, counting our blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">We can practice
generosity. When we give our time at Cultivate Initiatives or Zarephath pantry
or volunteer at the school or go to Cuba we are suddenly surrounded by people
who live with much less than we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
remember going to Nicaragua to visit a Young Adult in Global Missions student
from our congregation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stayed in
people’s homes and slept on plywood beds which they gave up for us to sleep
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was truly an inspiration to see
people who have so little sharing with each other, thanking God, working hard,
and finding hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time I find
myself envious that God is apparently more generous with someone else, I
remember the people of Nicaragua and find satisfaction with having enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Jesus came and showed
us truly, God’s values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The things we
own and comforts we have are not what life is about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus had next to nothing but his life meant
everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What little Jesus did have,
he gave up on the cross to give us life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">So what do we do if we
have a lot?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We remember all that we have
belongs to God and then we use to be a blessing to others. We repent of greed
and envy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pursue more than the acquisition
of things and money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We put God at the
center, in prayer, in service, in love toward others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We share the wealth so that others have what
they need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">I love the story of
Jonah because he is so relatable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
story is a mirror held up to us so that we can see more clearly what we’re
doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a guy who knows better
than God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh I can relate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn’t we all love to tell God who to love
and who to hate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jonah knows who is
deserving and who isn’t and furthermore, Jonah knows God isn’t going to give
those Ninevites what they deserve, so Jonah isn’t going to participate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Jonah is more than
happy to receive more than he deserves, but if God’s going to keep being so
forgiving, those Ninevites will never learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jonah thinks they should be taught a lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, they do the faithful thing and
repent, even though they don’t even know their left hand from their right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their animals, too, put on sackcloth and
ashes, whereas Jonah can’t repent one bit from his anger and bitterness and has
to be forced by storm and whale to comply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So he’s just walked through the city with surely a less than
enthusiastic cry to repent, hoping they wouldn’t, hoping that God would punish
them like they deserve and what did they do but repent!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The good guy is the bad
guy who is less than faithful and the bad guys, the Ninevites who don’t know
anything and their animals, become the good guys and are spared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first are last and the last are truly
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But really all are under the same
care and concern of God as they always have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way God did not change God’s mind,
instead God is who God always is, gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast
love and ready to relent from punishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">And this doesn’t make
us come late to work or go pout under the fig tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This makes us want to serve all the more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can put ourselves in any of the roles in
these stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am the Ninevites, a
lost cause that God came to save and sent the worst messengers to help me see
the light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am Jonah, running the other
way, resentful of what isn’t fair in my own mind, since I believe I know more
than God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am Jonah, happy when the
tree gives me shade and pouting when the tree dies, feeling sorry for myself
and not paying attention to the big picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am the worker early to the field, hoping I get more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am the worker, late to work, having to
drive my kid to school or sit by the bedside of someone who is dying, and oh so
grateful to have enough to live one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Let us be ready for
when the Kingdom of God breaks into this world, like it does for all the people
associated with this vineyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
invited to prepare ourselves for things to be different than we expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have a vision of the Kingdom of God
and how everyone will be fed and every tear will be dried, so let’s not be
surprised when it happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This world is
full of pain and hunger and grief and it won’t always be this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s Kingdom is breaking in all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it does we can be ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may catch ourselves alarmed that the
Kingdom is coming for those who are undeserving or appear to us to be
undeserving or unworthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s part
of what makes God’s reign different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have a choice to pout in our dismay and be alarmed, or we can be looking for
that new thing happening, where everyone is fed regardless of worthiness, and
find ourselves swept up in that wave of generosity and new life, since we too
fall short and can never repay the debt we owe to God our Creator or Our Savior
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">So let us go to work
for this God who is generous to everyone and get used to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us raise our voices so that everyone has
meaningful work and enough wages to eat something life-giving and pay the bills
and deal with an emergency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us shape
our world into one of more equality and equity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let God’s Kingdom Come and let justice reign and let peace come to earth
and let it begin with me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-69875766456464560012023-11-28T11:08:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:08:58.365-08:00September 10, 2023<p> We have the rummage sale coming up. I am aware of how such events can affect a
community. It is easy to have a
misunderstanding or for people to wear themselves out or have differences of
opinion. So I immediately said, “Let’s
make this as simple as possible and no one is allowed to get mad.” What I should have said was, “No one is
allowed to harbor anger or hurt feelings.”
We come to church and we project “nice.”
We greet each other. We include
each other. We make pleasant
conversation. And then we have a rummage
sale or another situation that takes us out of our usual roles.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, church
can be a good place to practice binding and loosing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are one body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We belong to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t need superficial relationships that
are nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need good
communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be able to
work things out when something unexpected or painful happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we all come from different backgrounds
and we all learned different ways of dealing with our differences.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The reading from Ezekiel doesn’t lay out what the house of
Israel has done, but God is heartbroken and angry because they’ve broken their
relationship with God. If you read the book of Ezekiel, you can see that Israel
has worshipped other Gods and not followed God’s commandments. Israel has
ignored the widows and orphans and not cared for the poor. God is letting
Israel know that God is displeased, hoping that they will listen and change
their ways. Of course they keep right on the same path, despite all warnings
and eventually are taken as slaves into Babylon and the temple destroyed.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Paul writes the Roman Christians who argue and
can’t agree on much of anything. He gives some examples of what happens when
love breaks down: Adultery, murder, theft, envy, reveling and drunkenness,
debauchery and licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy. “Why can’t we all just
get along?!” Instead he tells them to put on the armor of light and to put on
Jesus Christ—to put on love, compassion, justice and so on.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Now isn’t it too bad that we’ve now found a
community of peace and we never disagree so we can’t use these words of Jesus
anymore? Sometimes churches pretend to be places of peace when they aren’t or
we pretend to agree with someone when we don’t. I’ve been guilty of it plenty
of times before, too. It is a fine line between putting a good spin on
something someone does or says and shoving it aside while still holding anger
deep down inside that someday is going to need to get out.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Martin Luther reminded us to put a good spin on
other people’s “bad” behavior. We can say to ourselves, “They are just having a
bad day,” or “They must be driving like that because they are trying to get to
a hospital in a hurry,” or “They didn’t really mean that.” But thinking the
best of others can become a game of make-believe that as time goes on and these
encounters stack up, we may not be able to play so easily anymore. To love is
not only to think the best of others, but to build relationship with that
person, to go to them and apologize for unkind thoughts, to find out what is
going on with them. It becomes easier to be kind and compassionate when we
learn what people are really going through and share our feelings with them
before they are bottled up so long that they start leaking out in gossip or
passive aggressive behavior. There is another scripture that says “Live
peaceably with all, so far as it depends on you” Romans 12:18. There are times
when you try to make peace and build relationships with those you disagree with
and they won’t participate. The way to love in that instance has to be to let
them go and let it go, maybe until the timing is better or maybe forever.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Especially at church we tend to gloss over our
differences and pretend that we all get along, but is that really love? We want
people to like us. I want people to think that I am a nice pastor so they will
come to me with their troubles and concerns and trust me to be there with them
in their time of crisis. Don’t we want a nice Jesus to tell us what we want to
hear, that we’re doing mostly ok and just keep up the good work? Maybe not. Do
we really want to pretend to be at peace than deal with conflicts out in the
open?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that a sustainable practice?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In church, we can have fake relationships and gloss over our
differences, put on a smile when someone hurts our feelings, hold our judgments
deep inside hoping the other person will change. Or we can love. I think this
is one of the major complaints that outsiders have about church—people aren’t
real with each other. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can engage each
other and learn their point of view. We can look for our own responsibility
within the situation. We can ask ourselves, “What am I doing to contribute to
this problem and what can I do to be part of the solution.” We can take
responsibility for our own feelings rather than believing that someone else
made us feel that way. We go to someone and say, “You really puzzle me
sometimes, I’d like to know you better. Would you like to have lunch?” We can
go to someone and say we’re sorry or that there is something we don’t
understand in their words or actions. If both people are willing to face the
conflict or misunderstanding, love can blossom that makes for deep friendships
that can withstand anything.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As the body of Christ, our unity can’t be based
on what we agree on, because we will always disagree and have different
opinions. It has to be based on love, relationship, compassion, because that is
the only thing that lasts. It has to based in love, because God is love and God
must be the basis for everything we do as the body of Christ.</span><br />
Sometimes out of love for ourselves or someone else, we just have to be
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can forgive the sin or trespass
and not let it eat at us and we can still hold that person accountable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church has sometimes perpetuated abuse
using this exact scripture—saying a person has to forgive or has to face their
abuser and try to talk it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
to be clear that in situations of violence and situations where there is a big
difference in power, Matthew’s method isn’t going to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some situations, something is bound or
locked for protection of the little ones, for abundant life to flourish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And some people have left the church entirely
because of the abuse they have suffered there and not only sexual abuse, but
abuse of power, demeaning and belittling, and hurting people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s justified, that they go for their own
well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church is a broken
institution and must be held accountable and learn from the ways we have failed
people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Church
can be a place of profound brokenness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God is there where 2 or more people are gathered in God’s name, praising
God and being loving and where 2 or more people are disagreeing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church can also be a place of profound
growth and new life. <span style="background: white;">Many of you have set a good
example for me. Here are some ideas I’ve noticed you trying for carrying this
idea out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance as we have
changed the way we serve communion some of you approached me to talk about how
to make that work for you. Many of you have worked to make this place one that
is comfortable and inspiring for to worship, for instance purchasing new
microphones or making artwork that has enhanced the worship space. Some of you
have started sitting somewhere besides your usual spot during worship or coffee
hour, in order to meet new people and build new relationships. You’ve stretched
and challenged yourself to be on council or on committees here to learn more
about each other and yourself and your church. Some of you have invited your
friends and neighbors and family members to attend church. Some of you have
reached out to someone you know was having a similar difficulty that you’ve
faced before, for instance reaching out to someone who has an adult child with
a mental illness or who is facing addiction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">You’re already doing this love work that Jesus
invites us to do. You’re already reaping the rewards, feeling that satisfaction
when you’ve made a real connection. I’d encourage you to keep up that good work
until God’s love is obvious to all around us and we truly experience God with
us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-29468561905957424482023-11-28T11:07:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:07:51.592-08:00August 27, 2023<p> <span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 13pt;">Ok, pop-quiz everyone, Jesus asks, “Who do
people say that I am?” The Disciples who were nervous, sigh with
relief when they realize they will only have to regurgitate what other people
have been saying. Yay, it’s an open-book test! Peter, the teacher’s
pet, who can’t seem to keep his mouth shut, raises his hand. “Pick
me! Pick me!” He carefully leaves out the most offensive of what
people are saying and picks the ones he think might please Jesus a
little. He goes with the safe responses. “John the
Baptist. Elijah. Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets.” Then Jesus asks a follow up
question, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter’s face
falls. His blood drains from his head. His head beats
loudly in his chest. He swallows with a cartoonish,
“Gulp!” I can just see him hesitate, flip through all the
possibilities in his mind, and the words leaving his mouth. Did he
even know what he was about to say? It is like the spelling bee when
the kid spells the word like it’s a question and by their lack of confidence
you know they are going to spell it wrong, and they get it
right. Peter says it. Does he say it like this, “You are
the Messiah, the son of the living God.” Or like this, “You are the
Messiah, the son of the living God?” Is he asking or
telling. Unfortunately, we can’t hear it, but St. Peter is supposed
to be the first one we meet at the pearly gates, so I think I’ll ask him when I
get the chance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Knowing who Jesus is, means knowing who we are. Partly because it
means knowing who our relatives are. The reading from Isaiah is
about a people who are forgetting who they are. They are listening
to all sorts of messages. They are anxious and afraid as they have
returned from captivity, and it was their parents or grandparents who were the
ones who were carried off. They don’t know this
land. They don’t know this religion. They don’t know how
to relate to the people who never left. They don’t know who God
is. So Isaiah is telling them the first thing to do is
listen. Don’t ask questions. Don’t fret. Don’t
argue. Just listen. Listen to stories of your ancestors
Abraham and Sarah. Listen to stories of where you come from and why
God made you. Listen to stories about your proper place in God’s Creation. Listen
to God’s plans for you. You’re not alone. You matter to God. There
is reason to hope and that is that many things in this life are temporary, like
gnats which is good, and people which may or may not be good, depending on your
point of view. Even heaven and earth are temporary. However
there are some things that last and the main one is God’s salvation, in other
words, healing, and God’s deliverance. Knowing Jesus means knowing
that we are blessed and that God made us to be a blessing to all the families
of the earth, as God explained to Abraham.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Knowing
who Jesus is means knowing who we are. We are part of the body of
Christ, united with others to bring good news, hope and grace. Because
we are the body of Christ, we depend on each other, we work together, we have
the same values, we aren’t jealous of each other, we are part of something
good, our gifts are to be shared. To be part of the body of Christ,
we are fully involved in what Jesus is involved in and to go where he takes us,
as the head.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
wonder what we would say if we were called upon in a pop-quiz to answer who
Jesus is to us. And I wonder what our actions say about who Jesus
is. Because our actions reveal what we really think, what our true
priorities are. They speak volumes about who Jesus is. If
we believe that Jesus is our great Physician, we focus on healing on many
levels. If we believe that Jesus welcomes us all to the table, we
make sure that food is distributed to all in need so that all may experience
Jesus. If we believe that Jesus is the living God, we let him live
and love and move in our lives, transforming us, making us see what we didn’t
see before, helping us to live in new ways, generous ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Peter’s
declaration of faith, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God,“ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>becomes an example to us who are trying to put
our faith into words and express it in our actions. Jesus then says,
“On this rock I will build my church.” Some have said that rock is
Peter himself, whose name means rock and this and the keys to the kingdom stuff
somehow means a pope. But maybe Jesus is saying the rock he is
building his church, or gathering on, is this confession of faith, “You are the
Messiah, the son of the living God." How can we make this
confession with our both our lips and our lives?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe the rock is the sign of Jonah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here Peter is called Son of Jonah and Jonah
is mentioned a few verses before this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The sign of Jonah is the three days in the whale and the regurgitation
on the beach—death and resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What does it mean for the church to be built on the foundation of death
and resurrection?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Whether
we pass or fail Jesus’ pop-quiz, whether we are teacher’s pet or in detention,
Jesus passes the test. He knows who he is, first of all, that he
isn’t here to do things the way we do things, to treat rich people better than
poor or to follow rules that benefit and few and hurt many or to reach for
traditional ideas of success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He comes
to die and rise again and share life. He remains who he is through
the misunderstandings of all his disciples, betrayals and challenges, even on
the cross. And he passes the test of really knowing who we
are. The world may tell us we aren’t enough. “Who do
people say that I am?” the message is the world says we are not young enough,
smart enough, good-looking enough, important enough. But Jesus sees
the true value in us. We can turn the question back on Jesus—who do
people say that I am?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not good
enough?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But who do you say that I am,
Jesus?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we ask Jesus what he sees in
us, he says, “You are my beloved child and nothing can ever separate you from
my love.” And not only the singular you, but also the lot of
you. As a whole we belong to Jesus our Savior, and he makes us into
his body, and he is bringing in the Kingdom of God through us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Knowing
who Jesus is gives us hope. It gives us hope that God will comfort
us and all who are anxious. It gives us hope that God will transform the places
in our lives that are desolate. It gives us hope that justice and
light will go out to all people. It gives us hope that we will claim
what is healthy and life giving and loose what is hurtful. It gives
us hope that God’s Kingdom will one day be fully realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gives us hope that death is not the end
but that resurrection and new life are ours through this most amazing
relationship of love and abundant life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-5758831281010318152023-11-28T11:07:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:07:15.741-08:00August 20, 2023<p> <strong style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">How many of you have seen the Barbie Movie? I saw it a couple of weeks ago. I don’t own any pink, but I put on my most
atrocious lavender and headed out with my husband and son. Sterling was bribed by the promise of
popcorn. This reading today reminded me
of the Barbie Movie because both deal with the subject of women’s power.</span></strong></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: .5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">In the Barbie Movie (I’ll try not to spoil it for you if
you haven’t seen it), Barbie is named as the first doll invented not to teach
girls to be mothers, but to help girls imagine a powerful womanhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barbie can be whoever or whatever she
wants:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A vet, a doctor, an Olympic Gold
Medalist, a mermaid, President. She is a woman without barriers—she can float
to her convertible, have girl’s night sleepovers every night and her house has
no walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you remember the Barbie
dreamhouse has an open floor plan which assists in moving her around wherever
you want her to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Girls enjoyed this
toy partly because of all the barriers they saw and experienced themselves and
to dream of a better future.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></h3>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: .5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">This Canaanite woman today lives a life full of barriers
and Jesus presents himself as one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, her encounter with barriers all her life have not taught her to
be submissive or give up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead she
smashes through barriers one after the other with the power of one who has
experience with tremendous barriers and tremendous power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman is not seen as powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has no income of her own to spend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has no choice where she will live or who
she was married to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now she has a
daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sees in her daughter the
barriers she will face, but also someone she loves and has dreams for a better
future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, her daughter is
very sick, adding more barriers in an already difficult life.</span></strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So this woman takes matters into her
own hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one is able to help her
daughter, to advocate for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this
woman won’t accept that this is the end of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has heard of Jesus and breaks all the
rules to find him and beg for his help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is not allowed to go out on her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She breaks that barrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is
not allowed to talk to a man who isn’t her family, she breaks that
barrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She isn’t allowed, as a
Canaanite person to speak to a Jewish person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She breaks that barrier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
Jesus tells her she doesn’t have access—that what he has is not for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could have crumpled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she had understanding of the power of
God, that it was big enough, that there was enough of it for her daughter, so
she stood up to Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gave him the
good news that indeed there was enough love to go around.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This woman truly believes the parables
of a couple of weeks ago, that the Kingdom of God is like the mustard seed,
that it starts small, but grows into a large shelter for the most vulnerable
birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She believes that the Kingdom of
God is like yeast—giving space and rising up to feed all who are hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She believes that the Kingdom of God is like
a valuable pearl—that it is worth giving up everything for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wants the healing of the Kingdom of God
for her daughter and she will risk ridicule and endure it, she will risk
breaking all the rules, and she will risk correcting Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knows there is enough love and mercy for
her daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She won’t demand any for
herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She puts her daughter before
herself and her own needs, and she is rewarded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus told her there was not enough
for her daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman
testified—she gave a testimony—everything she knew of God, generous, kind,
powerful, friend of the powerless, and abundant, meant there was enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything that Jesus had been preaching said
there was enough and she wasn’t going to let him contradict himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She uses his own life as proof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe she had been there at the feeding of
the 5000—everyone fed with 12 baskets left over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew there were leftovers and she wasn’t
too good to accept only the tiniest crumb, because she knew it would be enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This woman is an example of turning
the other cheek, of standing in defiance, looking the insulting person in the
eye and daring them to strike again. Jesus’ words were like a slap to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called her a dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only imagine how he felt—regret
maybe—when she corrected him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
schooled Jesus today and we all got a lesson about the least powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When life gives us barriers and takes
all our power away, we shouldn’t accept that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That isn’t the justice and mercy God promises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That isn’t the Kingdom of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we see life taking away the power
of those with the least say, the least power, the least influence and money,
that is not the way it is supposed to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are to seek ways to share power, to lift voices that have been
silenced, to be quiet for a minute and be taught by someone unexpected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can’t expect that if we pray for
healing it will come in the form we hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Healing and abundance and compassion show up on a lot of different
ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This story can give us courage to
stand up to injustice—to speak to our legislators and commissioners, to serve
on juries, to listen to and amplify voices that have been sidelined, to break
through barriers together to create more level, a more navigable world for
people in need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This story also may inspire humility
in us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus made a mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said something hurtful to someone in
desperate need and pain and dismissed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But because of her persistence, he was confronted with the truth that
God’s mercy and compassion is abundant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His words and actions were not matching up in this situation and when it
was pointed out to him, he was humble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He took the correction and changed his attitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sometimes say things in impatience or out
of our ignorance or are just plain thoughtless about another person’s
feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am not proud that I have at times
belittled someone smaller than me and later gone into an obsessive loop about
my mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard another pastor this
week say, “I need Jesus to be consistent.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She needed Jesus actions to match his words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case, I am grateful Jesus is as human
as I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows the pain of dying on
the cross and he knows the pain of hurting someone and learning from that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can imagine the Gospel writers deciding
what stories of Jesus to include in the Gospel and which ones to leave
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they came to this story, two
of them included it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can imagine the
debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do we put this story in where
clearly Jesus is wrong and hurtful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
do, because he learns from it and the Christ Spirit is certainly present, but
in an<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>unexpected way—more in this
indigenous woman and her faith, her courage, her hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So she gets to teach Jesus and us the truth
that he has been pointing to all along—that there is enough love and
compassion—even for the outsiders, even for the little people, even for those
who speak harsh words and belittle others, who speak out of their privilege
words that are hurtful and untrue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
all get another chance to try again to see how abundant and expansive God’s
love really is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the Barbie Movie, Barbie is
self-confident, at first out of being naïve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is the center of everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything in her world is made for her to enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Barbie once Barbie has her eyes opened,
she learns to use her power out of oppression—to tell the story of the barriers
women face and encourage other women to share their barriers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her power starts to come not from her
privilege and being the center of everything, but from the truth of overcoming
obstacles and crashing through barriers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We too are invited to open our eyes to the pain of this world and tell
the stories of oppression and abundance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As those stories get told, we all get to notice how we participate in
these systems and recreate a more just world that gives life to everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-29375814364477093452023-11-28T11:06:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:06:44.310-08:00August 13, 2023<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As many times as I have read this story, it
still surprised me, this time, in that Jesus doesn't calm any storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the story it is stilled, but
Jesus hasn’t spoken peace and still and it’s calm is not attributed to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's a different story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, Jesus does not take away the problems
of the Disciples, instead Jesus accompanies them in the storm and lifts Peter
who is hesitating.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Water in the Bible symbolizes chaos, an
unknowable, uncontrollable force that can destroy without warning and swallow
up everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no diving
suits then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one knew what secrets
lurked beneath the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even today,
the sea is mysterious, and great portions of it are unexplored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several of the Disciples make their living on
the water, as fisherfolk, so they respect the sea and know how fast things can
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still they don't see this storm
coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Storms can roll in very fast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We face many storms in our lives:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Illnesses, losses, barriers, pressures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of these storms are actual storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This heatwave we're having is a deadly storm
for many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Storms are growing in
frequency and power in certain areas of the world and putting pressure on
people and animals and this beautiful world God made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People face financial storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They face physical storms when they can't get
the care they need or afford their medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>People face family storms--someone is addicted, someone faces mental
illness, someone is abused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People face
all kinds of storms and obstacles and pressures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Many times God does not still those storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, God walks with us in the storms and
joins us in the waters of chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus
was sent into a storm--God became flesh in a storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was the storm of politics and having to
be counted, the storm of living in a land occupied by an Empire and an army,
the storm of being born in poverty to a single mother, the storm of jealous
Herod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God did not remove these storms,
but accompanied the Holy Family in the storms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Elijah, too, was in a number of storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a prophet he had been shunned, attacked,
relating to God who had been shunned and attacked and turned away from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah faced then a number of storms
mirroring his life, the earthquake, the wind, the fire, and the dead calm, the
sound of sheer silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then God sends
Elijah back into the storm of all those trying to kill the prophets and deny
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God goes with him to turn the
course of the nations to justice and mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
neighbors, too, face many storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seniors are lonely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children are
hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parents need a break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don't know what storms our neighbors face,
because we don't know our neighbors, yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We know a few, but we could know more and have more conversations about
pressures, once we build trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
to be willing to get into the same boat with them, to tie our fates together,
to take a risk to build a relationship with someone different from
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have started to get into
the boat with Santa Cruz and deepen these relationships by having conversations
together in our Advent and Lenten services about what the pressures are in our
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have started these
conversations in our Disaster Preparedness Committee to ask, what does it mean
to face the storms together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there
are many more conversations to have, to open up to each other, to meet
strangers and be curious about them and what their lives are like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Then we get to step out of the boat into the
choppy waters, like Peter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to
leave what is safe--this sanctuary, these brick walls, and go out into the
neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to go where it is
uncomfortable, because we know Jesus is there, and we know we won't be alone,
and we know incredible things can happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes we can stand between someone and the storm--we can buffer them
a little bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It comes with a cost
because it means we will be hit with wind and water and force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will bear the effects of the storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we simply walk with someone in
their storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When someone is grieving or
lonely, when someone is anxious we simply walk with them so they don't have to
go through it alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">When we face storms, we often react like
Joseph's brothers, with fear, jealousy, anger, and deception--taking control to
get things back to the way they always were, or we thought they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these cases we increase the storm, the
pressures on other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we have a
choice, because we have the unlimited resource of love that is a buffer in any
storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can be that buffer to our
members and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we can be that
buffer to our church neighbors and other neighbors that are further away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can step out of the boat into the storm
with the promise that Jesus will be there with us, encouraging us, even when we
hesitate, lifting us up and carrying us forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In both the Hebrew scripture and our Gospel
reading today, the storm eventually calms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This tells us that our problems are not forever, that eventually things
will change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can help us to stand
with others in the storm and be ready to respond after the storm and to know
God’s presence in both the strong winds and also in the sound of sheer silence.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-62341368534012912802023-11-28T11:06:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:06:08.456-08:00July 30, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If you haven’t figured
it out by now, I like to keep things moving.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I don’t like to wait around.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I
tend to multitask to get two things done at once and I will never take 2 trips
if I can take one, even if that means I spill everything everywhere.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I could be more patient.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Who here would consider themselves a patient
person?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Raise your hand.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Who here would consider yourself a somewhat
impatient person?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Raise your hands.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Ok, now we have a better idea what we’re
dealing with.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God has been trying to
teach me patience my whole life and especially through my position as a pastor
where there is a lot of waiting and especially through motherhood where you
learn you can’t rush anything and have to let go of control, so you might as
well be patient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There is good news for
both patient and impatient people in today’s Gospel, a whole pile of parables
about what God is up to and how close the Kingdom of God is and how valuable it
is and how to hold on when you’re waiting patiently or not so patiently for the
world to change and for God’s Kingdom to be realized.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our world does not
match God’s world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the most part,
this is not what God intends for creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hungry people go without while rich people have way more than what we
need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the northern hemisphere is
sweltering in the heat and the coral is dying off in Florida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People are spending more than half their
income on housing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can think of so
many ways this world does not match God’s intention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here we are living in this world and we
know that something better is coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus gives us these parables to help us to be both patient and
impatient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus is showing us how
to be patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s letting us know that
God is working on it, that God’s promises are assured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as a pearl takes time to develop, just
as leaven takes time to make the bread rise, just as a seed takes time to grow
into a shrub, these things take time and in time all will be made right because
of the love and grace of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus is also showing
us it’s ok to be impatient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
impatient for God’s will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are impatient for God’s reign because we
are passionate about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s reign is
our special interest, our important focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our focus and passion is like that of an investor who knows of some land
with a treasure on it and spends all their money to purchase it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our focus and passion is like how someone
might be enamored with a pearl of great value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This pearl has a glow and sheen like nothing else—a beauty worth possessing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The reason we are so
smitten, so focused is because we realize the value of the Kingdom of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom of God is not here to do our
will, make us rich or ruin our enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Kingdom of God does not make the same mistakes we make, but has the
bigger picture in mind for the wellbeing of all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom of God has it worked out that
love will reign, that creatures can live in abundance like the birds sheltered
in the mustard bushes and the leaven permeating the bread and then the smell of
bread permeating the house, and the taste of bread coming close to us to
nourish us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God’s Kingdom is
valuable because it is one of goodness, abundance and new life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And the good news for
impatient people like me is that we don’t have to wait for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is coming into the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s Kingdom is breaking in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is coming near as Jesus and John the
Baptist remind us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is Emmanuel,
God with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom of God is, as
we say in seminary, already and not yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We wait because this world does not match the one God promises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we don’t have to wait because it is
breaking in and there is evidence, signs, glimpses everywhere we look.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God’s Kingdom is like
so many things, not just one thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
isn’t easily described in one image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
see its reflection everywhere we look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We see a glimpse of God’s Kingdom in the field, in the kitchen, on the sea,
on the shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With these parables Jesus
gives us, we have our eyes opened, that anywhere we look we might find the
Kingdom of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see the Kingdom of
God in prison where inmates might be encouraging each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see the Kingdom of God in a polywog that
has survived in Johnson Creek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see
the Kingdom of God in our toys, in TV shows, at family barbecues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see glimpses but not the fullness of the
Kingdom of God, yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I got the chance to
visit Cultivate Initiatives this week, where we will be doing our service
project for God’s Work Our Hands Service project with Gethsemane, Pilgrim, St.
Timothy, Resurrection, and Covenant Presbyterian on September 9—I hope you will
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw the Kingdom of God
working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cultivate Inititiatives has
just moved into a new building that allows them to serve the people of
Multnomah County.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started maybe 3-4
years ago when one of the founders attended a neighborhood meeting where a safe
rest village was going in to house homeless people and 200 neighbors showed up
to oppose it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he said to himself,
what would it look like to do this a better way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would it mean to say yes to new life and
hope for real people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This person knew it
meant building relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked
himself what you would do when a regular neighbor moved in?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Invite them to a barbecue, of course!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he organized<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a barbecue where neighbors could meet and
talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world was not matching the
Kingdom of God he knew, he had faith in, he was passionate about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neighbors can’t just be thrust together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They needed to build trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that’s where he started. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now Cultivate Initiatives
has contracts with Multnomah County giving houseless and housing insecure
people jobs beautifying places where people have dumped trash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They work on employment, health, and
housing/shelter and they start by slowly building trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is where some of the tax money set aside
to address housing and homelessness has gone and they are seeing results, that
people who are connected with resources are finding their way to going back to
work, finding stability, getting into housing and starting new lives. This founder
who was impatient for God’s Kingdom to come, uses patience to build it, becasue
that piece of grit to become a pearl is not going to happen overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses impatience because he was not willing
to stand around and wait for the Kingdom—he is building it with partners like
us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We are invited to look
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look around for what is not
fitting with the vision of love and justice for this world. What is hurting you
or your neighbors?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get impatient about
that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And look around for the signs that
is changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then put your efforts into
those changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t see those
signs, then lucky you, you get to be that sign, to do something to remake this
world so that others can see the Kingdom of God breaking in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You are invited to be
part of that in-breaking of the Kingdom of God for God’s Work Our Hands day on
Saturday September 9 from 9 to noon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
can do some beautification alongside some of these amazing folks who work for
Cultivate Initiaitves, or you can make hygiene kits and clay pot heaters to
relieve the suffering of some of God’s children. You can be part of the
in-breaking of the Kingdom of God for people of Cuba by sharing fabric and
sewing supplies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can be part of the
in-breaking of the Kingdom by volunteering at Bible School or working on the
Springwater trail or volunteering at your nearby school or senior center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many ways to participate in the
Kingdom of God when you are both patient and impatient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-87546293106685300222023-11-28T11:05:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:05:34.170-08:00June 14, 2023<p> <span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Remember Rachel’s ordination, her
standing here and Bishop Laurie asking her all the questions: Would she
faithfully preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the
creeds and confessions, would she be diligent in her study of the Holy
Scriptures and her use of the means of grace, would she pray for God’s people,
nourish them with the word and Holy Sacraments, and lead them by her own
example in faithful service and holy living, would she give faithful witness in
the world, that God’s love may be made known in all she does? And
she boldly answered “Yes, with the help of God.”</span><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I remember my own ordination those big
expectations and that I was unlikely to be able to fulfill them, but I was also
aware of God’s grace which gave me enough hope to answer the same way Rachel
did. In our baptisms, too, we state our intention to live among God’s
faithful people, to read the scriptures and pray, to receive the Lord’s Supper,
to proclaim Christ, to care for this world God has made, and to work for
justice and peace in all the world. It is a lot to take on for anyone,
but over and over we say, “Yes, with the help of God.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> It
reminded me of the Israelites this morning in the reading from Exodus, when
they all say so naively, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” How
could they possibly know what they were agreeing to? They are just
beginning a 40 year journey in the wilderness school of hardships and
complaining and rebellion and fear and turning to false gods and new rules for
living as a community and becoming the people of God and God becoming angry and
Moses making a case for the people and God cooling off. What a
journey it would be, difficult and trying! It is a lot to take on
for anyone, but they all say, “Yes, with the help of God.”</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> What
are they saying yes to and what are we saying yes to, when we answer in the
affirmative to such a call as this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
times we think we are saying yes to being the workers, the ones bringing good
news to the poor, healing the sick, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But what if Jesus is sending us out and it is our job to be receptive to
the healing and new life he is trying give to us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For Moses and
the Israelites, God is trying to convince them to let God lift them up on
eagles’ wings, to let God love them and make of them a life-giving community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the Psalm,
God is again trying to make the community into a single flock, receiving food
and protection from God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And Paul is
trying to convince the Romans to receive God’s love and grace, even as they
suffer persecution.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> I
think a lot of it is that we don’t want to be unprepared and look
foolish. The Disciples were instructed to go out without money
or extra clothes or much training. They are going to have to ask for
help, they are going to have to receive. If we are Jesus’ disciples,
we are going to have to ask for help. We are going to look like we
don’t know what we are doing. We are going to make
mistakes. We want to get this right. But God is trying to
keep us humble, so we will fail. And God is trying to keep us
creative, so we will fail and have think creatively. Sometimes we
think it is our job to save others, and we forget that only God can do
that. We often bring supplies and gifts, we bring the know-how and
the labor, and we try to do for others. In that case, we put people
in a situation where we are the haves and they are the have-nots and we are
better than they are. However, if we go in with nothing, having
nothing and knowing nothing, we leave room for them to be the experts about
their own lives. We open ourselves to receiving from others, needing
them as much as they need us, so we will be more likely to form community of
equal partners with balanced power.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> God
brought the Israelite people through the wilderness so they would practice
being God’s people, and being community together with each other. It
was a learning experience in which they often looked and felt
foolish. It took all these years of walking together to learn how to
rely on God and how to treat each other. We are in a wilderness school
too. God is bringing us new experiences that disorient us and make
us feel foolish, not to make fun of us, but to remind us who we rely on and
belong to, who is with us always gathering the harvest with us, and that it
isn’t about us but about the body of Christ, the whole community finding
healing and wholeness and connection.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> And
it is about what brings us hope and keeps us going, what motivates us to
respond to God’s call to join in the work and be receivers of God’s grace and
the grace and love of the community. Do we hope in our own
powers? If so we are disappointed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I got curious about the reading
from Romans so I looked up the original language. I specifically wanted to know
what it meant by “character.” But it got me looking at the whole
passage. First of all, the reading from Romans says we are justified
by faith, and my question is whether it is our faith that justifies us and
makes us right with God, or whether it is Jesus’ faith. Hint, hint,
I’m leaning on it being Jesus’ faith that saves us rather than our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, the word “boast” is actually the
word meaning to rejoice. So we rejoice in our sufferings, we rejoice
in our hope of sharing the good news. And the comes the part,
“suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character
produces hope and hope does not disappoint us.” It is actually more
like this, “suffering produces patience, and patience produces experience, and
experience produces expectation.” In other words it is only through
life experience that we learn who to trust and where to put our hope, because
we keep practicing in the wilderness school of life, that stuff doesn’t fulfill
us, that we need to take care of each other, and that God comes through for us,
the only reliable one, the only one who fulfills the expectations—again, whose
expectations? Ours or Gods? Expectation is more than
hope, more than a dream, but a promised reality, assured, expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expectation opens us up to receive from
others and make room for God’s grace and the love of our community.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> This
world is full of suffering. We have the means to be comfortable, or
at least keep up the illusion of comfort. But God invites us to let
go of worshiping comfort and join the harvest. We are invited to go
where there is suffering, to experience suffering ourselves, in order to find
abundant life. The harvest is plentiful. There is a lot
of work to do. Parents need comforting whose children have been destroyed
by gun violence. Drug babies need rocked at the
hospital. Veterans who have lost limbs need a
friend. Teens who are struggling need support
networks. The homebound need visitors. Will we go where
we are uncomfortable? If we do, we will be enrolling in
wilderness school. We will find that we are powerless to fix other people’s
problems, but they will minister to us. We will have the chance to
work side by side and learn from the best, our Savior Jesus. We will
look foolish. We won’t know what we’re doing or be
prepared. Jesus calls us to serve where we aren’t the
experts. Jesus doesn’t want experts who already know everything,
know-it-alls that aren’t trainable. Jesus wants people who are open
to learning and receiving help. What we’re going to get out of this
is going to be good for us and others. We’re going to get a healthy
dose of humility. We’re going to become part of something greater
than ourselves. Jesus is going to use us to bring in the Kingdom.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s all
hands on deck! Let’s get moving. Jesus is calling us to day
one of the harvest. By the time the day is through we’re going to be
pretty worn out and by the time 40 years is through we’re going to wonder if it
will all be worthwhile, but we’ve got the best teacher there is, and we’ve got
the expectation, the promise of what will be. None of us will be
greater than another, but all will have what they need and all will be
included, and all will know they are loved, all will stand in God’s presence
and all will see God’s presence in each other, and all will feast and be
filled, and all will find fulfillment. The promised land
awaits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us be open to receiving the
gifts that God is sharing with us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-2474596712454386092023-11-28T11:04:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:04:42.058-08:00June 13, 2023<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">All
4 readings direct us from sacrifice to mercy and that is a rare thing that all
4 line up like that.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When we follow
Jesus and serve God it isn’t about what we give up or sacrifice, but about what
we take on which is love and mercy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the Hosea reading, the writer is sacrificing or putting aside pride,
self-importance, life or the illusion of control of their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They let go, not so they can brag about it or
look good, but so they can be ready to receive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, that sacrifice makes them prepared to watch for signs of God’s
presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sacrifice prepares them
to be refreshed and revived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is
frustrated in this reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the
people give up their pride for only a moment and forget to look for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people consistently kill the prophets
bringing God’s message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is
frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people are
frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So God tells them plainly
that God does not desire sacrifices, but steadfast love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
all make sacrifices and they can be good for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sacrifice can make room for something
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sacrifice can help us change from
being selfish and entitled, to appreciate more what we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Voluntary sacrifice is good practice for the
inevitable giving things up that we won’t get to choose—it teaches us to let
go. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
sacrifice doesn’t especially please God, all by itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sacrifice is for us, not God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is not hungry for our money or hungry for
the food we might place in the Zarephath basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It used to be in ancient Israel that all the
sacrifices were burned on the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
you all would gasp if I set the offering plate on fire!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then we’d still have the bills to pay and
the poor to feed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So eventually the
sacrifice started to be given to the poor and the poor priest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the sacrifice alone isn’t what God wants
or needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God wants our attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God wants our lives to be changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God doesn’t need us to go through the
motions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God does not need us to be
hypocrites, showing our devotion one day and the next cheating our neighbor or
in some way being unfaithful or unloving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Again
the Psalm takes on the topic of sacrifices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God doesn’t need animal sacrifices, or food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God doesn’t need us to cook for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our neighbor might, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God wants us to listen, to follow, to have
compassion, love, and mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">God
doesn’t need our actions alone, God needs us to love, our neighbor needs us to
love and love is not just a feeling, but an action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sacrifice can become an action only if the
spirit of love is not attached to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Love can become a feeling only without the action attached to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the Hebrew Scripture and for Jesus,
love is an action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love and mercy are
actions in relationship with other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Love is a drawing near.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
the Hebrew people, God was at different times far and near.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moses had been near to his people and then
far as he was put in the rushes to be rescued from Pharoah’s plot against the
baby boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt close to his family
as Pharaoh’s daughter gave him back to his mother to nurse and raise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt far from his people as he went to
live in Pharaoh’s household.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt
close to his people when he defended an Israelite from an Egyptian slave
master, and killed that Egyptian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
felt far from his people when he was forced to flee or face the
consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moses was a person who felt
far from family when he saw the burning bush and God called him near to send
him back to free his people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that
moment, Moses took off his sandles, because he stood on holy ground, and he
felt the closeness of a merciful God who made him who he was and gave him a
mission of mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
the people wandered in the wilderness God was right there in their midst,
leading them by a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone could see God’s presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Moses went up to receive the commandments,
God was far away on the mountain and as God drew near to Moses, God showed
Moses only God’s backside to keep from blinding him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God was too much to be near.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
David and Solomon built a temple with the Holy of Holies, only certain people
could come near, those with proper family standing and those who had made
proper sacrifices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sacrifices opened
doors for people to come closer to God—for men to come closer to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women were definitely kept at a distance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
here is this woman with a hemorrhage kept even further away from God, from
community, because of fear she would spread disease, because of rules about
what was clean and unclean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now she
draws near to Jesus and even touches him and she is healed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is God with us, right here, very near,
within reach.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew
was a tax collector.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt far from
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was in the wrong
profession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not allowed in the
temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not allowed to be in the
worshiping assembly there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, here
Jesus comes near and calls him to follow. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He takes Matthew as his disciple and Matthew
remembers and records the stories of Jesus in our Bible that we read today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Little
girls are not allowed near God, even one belonging to the leader of the
synagogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People of God do not touch
dead people or even go into the same room as them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes them ritually unclean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this leader who has been with his
daughter comes to Jesus and begs for his help and Jesus comes near, takes her
hand, and raises her to new life, long before he raises Lazarus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
gets questioned by those who are concerned about ritual purity and staying
clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Distance is their
protection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus isn’t having any
of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He cannot be contaminated or kept
away from those who need him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life and
religion is not about contamination, and ritual and laws and keeping separate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those things will only drive people away from
each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life and religion is about
relationship, love, and mercy, about drawing near.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those that live by laws, they don’t need
Jesus, they don’t want Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can
do it yourself and be clean and be righteous, why would you need Jesus?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do need Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just sometimes, some of us recognize it and
approach Jesus and ask for his healing and admit our own needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always turns to those who need him as he
does these folks today and invites us closer for healing and relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
may sometimes feel that God is far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We may sometimes feel like we should be able to handle things
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may sometimes feel like
we’re strong enough, capable enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
then life throws us curveballs—an illness, a close call, a humbling moment and
we suddenly see what a fool we’ve been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We find God has always been close by.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
recently saw the cutest little 2 year old walking down Powell blvd with his mom
and sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This little kid absolutely
refused to hold his mom’s hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
driving but I was keeping an eye out because you never know when he might dart
out in the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His mom tried to take
his hand 4 or 5 times and he just wrenched away, determined to do it
himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to think of how often I
treat God like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here God is
reaching out trying to guide us and help us and we just want “to do it myself!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If only we could get through being
toddlers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is there with us, near to
us, trying to hold our hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
community is here trying to hold our hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In our more gracious moments, may we reach out and take that hand and
walk together and experience relationship, love, and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-19809069684512800602023-11-28T11:03:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:04:53.249-08:00June 7, 2023<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was watching the kids back here last week, the two congregations together and
the kids all playing. I talked with the
family of a 3 year old from Santa Cruz they were marveling at how quickly and
easily kids make friends. Today is all
about making friends—about relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Holy
Trinity Weekend is all about relationships—the relationship of God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—one God in three persons. God is whole and complete and yet God yearned
to be in relationship. The trinity is a
mystery and yet it points to relationship as being central to our faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
all want to belong, to connect. That is
apparent from childhood where our natural way is to make friends. It isn’t until we’re older that we begin to
fret about relationships and fear each other and become divided.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
story of Joseph and his coat of many colors is all about relationship. Joseph was born into this big family, second
youngest, but first child of Rachel. He
is surrounded by all these brothers with their important lives and different
gifts. For a while, he is the
youngest. And he’s the favorite. His mother has been unable to have
children. She and Jacob are soul
mates. They finally, finally have this
child and all the other children sense how cherished Joseph is. Joseph has no clue, except that all these
brothers are bigger and more powerful than him.
And he wants to belong. He
belongs with his mother who loves him so deeply. But he wants to belong with his
brothers. He is given this coat and he hopes
that by wearing it, he can belong. But
his brothers are already past the point of innocence. They don’t want to share their father’s
affections. They don’t want to share
scarce resources like coats and colors and love. They don’t realize that love is a renewable
resource and there is enough to go around.
They never learn that truth until they meet Joseph years later and he
extends to them the love and relationship they never extended to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">(The
story of the Creation, is all about relationships. The night and the day are in relationship and
it isn’t all or nothing. The seas must
part to reveal the soil before plants can exist. The plants must be plentiful before the
animals come on the scene. Everything
depends on everything else and all depend on God. Even humans depend upon each other and upon
all the creation that God makes, and notice that everyone starts out as a
vegetarian, in right relationship with the plants and animals around them.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the second reading today we learn the recipe for siblingship: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Put things in order, listen to Paul’s appeal, agree with one
another, live in peace, greet one another.
Sort yourselves out and remember what is most important—listening,
having compassion, heed Paul’s encouragement, find common ground in agreement
and let the little things go, live in shalom, wholeness, peace, putting aside
hierarchies and fears of not having or being enough. Be in relationship as equals, as
co-learners. God is making a new
creation in this reading—the church. The
people of God are discovering who they are, how to be in relationship, how to
make decisions, how to follow Jesus, how to be a new creation living a loving,
equitable way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Gospel reading for today, is Jesus’ very last words to his disciples before he
ascends. He is saying to them, it is
their responsibility to take these stories and experiences and the love and
relationship out to the whole world.
This is not a secret to be kept for the few. Love is to be shared. Relationship is to be shared—with everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
this Gospel, some doubted. I love the
connection, the relationship with worship and the doubt. The word here is more “hesitated.” They worshipped him but some hesitated. This is the same hesitation that comes when
Peter walks on water. He starts sinking
and Jesus says, “Peter, why do you hesitate?”
We all learned it was “Why do you doubt?” Peter hesitates and he is lifted up and back
into the boat. And there they all
worshipped Jesus. Both times where there
is worship there is doubt or hesitation and where there is hesitation in the
scriptures, there is worship. It’s a
lovely combination. Whether in worship
or in relationship we are sometimes all-in, maybe more when we’re children
because we don’t carry the fears and the hurts with us. We don’t have any awareness of what other
people think of us. As we get older we
hesitate. But hesitation is not
rejection. Doubt is not rejection. Doubt and hesitation are part of relationship
and we find our way to trust by taking risks and being vulnerable, reaching out
to others in relationship and love, risking rejection. But isn’t there more risk in not extending
that invitation or not accepting that invitation. Jesus has taken the risk to invite us. We crucified him. But still he continues to invite. So we follow him and invite and accept
invitations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have been enjoying the new members in our midst, because they are bold and
vulnerable, jumping right in and finding their placed in the community at
Trinity. They are doing ministry along
with the longer-term members. They are
inviting all of us to new ways of being Trinity. We continue to form bonds of friendship and
support. The Holy Spirit has been
working in their lives a long time. Ask
them their story—it is all very fun to discover how God has been working all
this time. Now our paths cross and we
all are growing in faith, hope, and love, hesitating now and then, and then
moving forward as we encourage one another.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
sends the disciples out into the world to make disciples, to be in
relationship, to doubt, to worship, to hesitate. So often this command of Jesus has been
misused to hurt people—to force people to be baptized, to look down on
people. This scripture has been used to
justify slavery, the great inquisition, and some of the worst of Christianity. It has made us arrogant that we know better
for someone else’s life. Instead, we
learn in these ancient stories that it is ok to hesitate, that we go out to be
co-disciples, co-learners, co-students with others in the faith. We go, with humility, to follow Jesus, to
falter in that endeavor, to doubt and hesitate with others, to ask the
questions with each other, to be honest about our shortcomings and doubts with
others. We go out to share the story and
to hear other people’s stories so that God can give us the whole story we don’t
have yet without our siblings around the world, in all kinds of different
circumstances. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus is the
author of creation, the word over the waters that is bringing everything into
being—and he’s not done yet.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He is
still creating disciples, creating relationships, creating love,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">creating friends.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When we doubt and hesitate, Jesus is there
with us and there in the community of faith, where we support, care, and love
one another and approach each other with humility, where we share stories and
get the bigger picture of who God is creating us to be.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span> </p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-36319449379917179632023-11-28T11:03:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:03:10.235-08:00Pentecost 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">I love to
listen to Science Friday on National Public Radio because I always learn
something.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When Sterling was first born
I used to go to a weekly new mom’s group over at the hospital and on the way
there I would listen to Science Friday.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They
had a contest called “The Flame Challenge” in which they asked people to
explain a mysterious scientific event in easy to understand terms.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The first challenge was to explain was
fire.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is fire and how does the
chemical reaction of fire come to look and feel as it does?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I love
fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sometimes say that pyromaniacs
can find a good job being a pastor because there are always many candles around
and it is a good way to shape our tendencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you love fire, you can be a pastor or a priest and have a good way to
use your gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fire is so fascinating
to me, from campfires as a kid, to lighting the candles as an acolyte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even now we have a firepit in our backyard so
we can enjoy a nice fire now and then.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fire is
power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is power that comes from the
sun which builds up the trees and plants that we eventually burn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun has the energy and power that is
stored by the plant in the woody parts, carbon stored in the trunk and branches
of the tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when that carbon breaks
down, the heat and light is the sun’s stored energy, shining and giving warmth
as it is released.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is no
surprise then that the Holy Spirit would appear as fire, tongues of flame upon
the heads of the disciples, power and energy stored from God, released to the
community for light and warmth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
gives the energy and strength, builds up these carbon creatures and sets us to
relating to one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have this
power from God to communicate, to forgive, to withhold, and to share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have the power to decide whether to be in
relationship with each other, whether to extend warmth and light.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So we come
together on the day of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit could not be
contained and rushed light a violent wind into all the crowd gathered there in
Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come together, re-enacting
that day, speaking different languages, coming from different places, and yet
loving God and sharing God’s power, being in relationship with each other, and
ready to share that power with our neighbors far and near.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We come
together from different backgrounds to worship God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bring all our previous experiences and
expectations grow out of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we
treat each other?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we are more
reserved, is that our personality, our culture, our fear?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we are more bold, is that our faith, our
privilege or what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we bridge a
communication barrier to understand each other’s hearts if not the exact words
that each one speaks?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it worth the
effort to learn each other’s ways, or is it just frustrating?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We come
together in faith, knowing it is challenging. We have each moved worship times
and disrupted our normal schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
hear not just in our own language but in one less familiar and we might feel
confused or lost at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see faces
that are unfamiliar, yet coming to know a little bit since we were just
together at Good Friday and Easter. We compromise a little of our usual order
of service to bend a little more toward each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And we come,
facing our fears, setting aside our comfort, to meet those God has placed on our
path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come with faith, hope, and love
that the Holy Spirit would whoosh into this room and change us, to bring us an
understanding beyond language and culture, that God would release that energy
within and among us to shine the light—to reveal what needs to be revealed and
to give warmth to draw us together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
needs to be revealed may be hurts from the present or past, times we might have
stepped upon each other or bumped up against something that was uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need our unconscious biases to be revealed
the preconceived ideas and prejudices we hold without even knowing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to take a good look at how we relate
to each other and how it could be more equitable and conscious of each other’s
feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be honest about the
power imbalance of what it means to be in the power group of Trinity, owning
and stewarding the building, and the Santa Cruz community, coming to this space
and making your own memories here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
what does it mean to not just share space but share light and warmth?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does it mean to share the power of the
Holy Spirit—the power of relationship, the power of vulnerability?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is true
that Jesus makes us one body, each one important to the whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come together today to check in with the
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are the prayers of healing
that will be lifted up for this body?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How can we better tend to our hurting members of this body?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And to us, Jesus speaks a word of peace, of wholeness,
of Shalom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For John, he doesn’t wait 50
days to give the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t
waste any time giving the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those disciples need that power right now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come together afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we do, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who will I meet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will I offend someone or make a mistake?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will I be able to understand?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will I be understood?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To each of us, Jesus extends the peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I see that as the turning point of the
whole story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly, the power of the
Holy Spirit was there and human limitations didn’t matter anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the “what if” fears went out the window,
because the worst had already happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus had already been crucified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now he is risen, he is alive and he is not back to blame or put up
barriers, retaining walls, or to retain our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>here to break down walls and let the power and love flow and because of
that we all rejoice and we all have hope and we all have the strength to come
together and offer that same shalom, that same peace to each other.</span><b><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-88995567586319997862023-11-28T11:02:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:02:08.658-08:00Easter 7, 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When I was growing up,
you would pledge your allegiance to either Ford or Chevy.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Every day expressions of this loyalty would
make it into discussions and exclamations on the freeway about other
drivers.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Our household was a strict Ford
household, although my dad, the enforcer of this preference, struggled to
explain to me why.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When I finally
cornered my dad in my teens about all this energy on this topic, he mumbled
something about some lemon car that had come out in the 60s or 70s, but still I
didn’t see how this applied to the whole brand.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When I bought my first car, it was a Chevy Sprint that my dad helped me
pick out, but it had a Japanese engine in it, so I guess it didn’t count.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember puzzling when
I was a kid about Elvis being The King but also the Beatles being the most
loved band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Country verses Rock and
Roll and there were the Coke and Pepsi wars and the debate about whether Bud
light tasted great or was less filling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seemed everywhere you looked, people were taking sides and we are
even more divided, today—rich from poor, republican and democrat, urban and
rural, parenting style, age, race, language, and philosopy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For churches, we have our
different styles, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some churches
have both the organist and pianist as well as guitar and some sing a
cappella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some worshippers come dressed
to the nines and others arrive in their work clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some say prayers from a book and others
improvise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some worship in English, some
in Spanish, some use sign language in the service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And today Jesus prays for our unity, that we
will be one as he and God are one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once Martin Luther had
been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church, supporters of his asked him
to write an order of worship for the new church that was becoming, but he
refused, because he recognized that worship must be shaped differently in
different contexts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He recognized that
people would come to worship an order of worship if he spelled one out, so he
advocated flexibility in worship in prayers and songs and orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our unity is in Jesus Christ rather than our
order of worship, or language, or what we wear or drive or whether we enjoy the
organ or rock and roll, Elvis or the Beattles or rap or drums or any other
differences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus knows we need this
prayer for unity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In today’s Gospel,
Jesus takes prayer to the public arena and prays for his disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times he has taught them how to pray as in
the Lord’s Prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At other times he
tells them that when they pray they should go to a private place so as not to
make a big deal of themselves and use prayer to try to get attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of times, Jesus goes to a quiet place to
pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in this case, in the Gospel of
John, about a third of the book is dedicated to the crucifixion narrative,
Jesus’ preparing his disciples for his death and then the story of the events
of his arrest and execution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This prayer
is the last words of Jesus before his arrest in the Gospel of John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is like his last supper in the other
Gospels and it has parallels to the last supper in that it is about unity—the
unity of Jesus with God and the unity of Jesus with the Disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some have even said that the Disciples are
the third person of the Trinity in this Gospel, the unity with Jesus and the
Creator is so complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus has been talking,
talking, talking to his disciples, coaching them how to handle this coming
crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he takes it to the next
level and talks to God where they can hear him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus prayer in this hour
of rising tension, trying to get his disciples to take to heart all that he has
been teaching them, not to be divided by this coming crisis but to support and
uphold one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like one last
Disaster Preparedness drill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
has been learning the different scenarios and what part they might play, so
they can keep their wits about them when the crisis strikes, to stay calm and
be a support to each other when times are toughest. As we put together our
Emergency Preparedness Binders at our workshop a couple of weeks ago, we
realized we needed a Spiritual and Emotional Care Section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What prayers and rituals will you rely on to
keep you grounded and centered when it feels like the whole world is falling
apart?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Disciples were given lots of
heads up about what was coming, but until they experienced the crisis, they
didn’t know how unsettled they would be or how they would respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We practice lives of
prayer—of communication with God, of connection with each other, of grounding
in what is most important to us, in centering ourselves for calm response and
faith and trust in God, whatever life brings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We practice the prayers of singing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Singing teaches us the stories of our faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing lifts us up when we are
discouraged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing expresses every
kind of emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing makes us listen
to the people around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing unites
us in sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We practice the prayers of
action—following through so that our lives match our beliefs, bringing justice,
feeding people who are hungry, helping people in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We practice prayers that remind us of who we
are and who God is that hold us steady in tumultuous times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through prayer we focus on togetherness
rather than all that might divide us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus prays today for
unity for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he doesn’t pray
for us all to be the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How boring
would that be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has made us all with
different gifts and shortcomings and we complement each other when we come
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have a place in God’s
family no matter how we worship or what we wear or whether we drive a Ford, a
Chevy, or ride the bus or ride a bike or get around in our motor scooter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And furthermore, Jesus brings together, not
just Lutherans, and not just mainline Christians, but all who call on the name
of the Lord, whether that name be God, Lord, Yahweh, Allah, Senior, Father,
Mother, Jesus, Sophia, Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are united across time with those who have gone before and all those coming
along after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are brought together by
God to love God and love our neighbor, to reach out to the sick and suffering
and bring good news to the poor, to be united in our purpose to share abundant
life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My friend Shaunda has the
license plate “let UBU.—let you be you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The good news for today is that we can all be ourselves with all our
preferences and that God is answering Jesus’ prayer to make us one, and lifting
Jesus up in glory to bring life to the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-16141133584742041742023-11-28T11:01:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:01:15.655-08:00May 6, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Many times when I pray
for you, I picture you in a kind of interconnected web and when I lead worship
I visualize you all connected together by the power of the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Today, I’d like to make that web as we
explore the scriptures together.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We
start here at Jesus, at the cross.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We anchor
our connection here with our Savior.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Pass this ball of yarn along and keep a little bit as you share it with
your neighbors so that we can see this web we form.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In today’s Gospel
reading, he is about to be crucified and later he will ascend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will seem to be away from his students,
his disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, here he is
reminding them he is still with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
is with them in all the memories they have shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is still with them in the power he has
given them to do the works that he does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is still with them in Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can pray and communicate with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can find him in the poor, the hungry, all those they serve, teach,
heal, and feed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can find him in
their midst in so many ways even though they won’t be able to see him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We are very much like
these disciples because we can’t see the physical Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rely on the scriptures to show us how to
find Jesus in our midst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rely on the
scriptures to tell us what it was like when Jesus walked this earth as a human
being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rely on the scriptures to
share stories like this one of Jesus’ reassurance of the 12 Disciples, but also
all of us, of his presence with us even when we can’t see him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus begins from a
place of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the connection,
the primary relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has that
love for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has that love for the
son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have that love for each other
and not just for those who can reciprocate that love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love is the glue that holds us together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word religion is related to the word
ligament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body is held together by
ligaments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body of Christ is held
together by love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our religion is our
connection to God, to each other, and to this world and good creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Part of our dilemma is
how far this connection goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all
have ideas of how far this connection, this love, should reach and we all have
ideas of limits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought that I was
supportive of all loving couples and then my cousins got married to each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to rethink my whole philosophy
of love and how far I thought that God’s grace extended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we extend the reach of our love
only a little—when we are feeling protective, when we are feeling vulnerable,
when we face a lot of challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are time when the reach of our love isn’t so wide and it isn’t anything to
judge ourselves or others about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes we just don’t have the resources or energy to reach out super
far.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sometimes making those
connections is really hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
planning to celebrate Pentecost with Santa Cruz at the end of this month,
another bilingual service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a
good time to pass the ball of yarn across the aisle to illustrate a further
reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a congregation that we
are connected with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we are
excited about this connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes
we might feel anxious—what if we can’t communicate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if we get in each other’s way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if I get distracted and don’t feel the
Holy Spirit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still we share the
connection, trusting God to weave us together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Using the body of Christ imagery, with the ligaments, we find that Santa
Cruz is like our right arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They know
things we need to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not
just an afterthought but part of everything we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are an essential part of us and always
have been, but maybe we didn’t notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe
we took them for granted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now we are
finding ways to make that connection, but it’s hard because we have a flow and
a pattern and an expectation of worship that we can understand every word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We like to feel centered and fulfilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now we find someone else in our midst
that always has to wait for translation, that is used to interruptions, that is
used to looking for clues about what is being said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they are teaching us cross-cultural
communication, and the de-centering of ourselves to be open. We are used to
everything being in our language, everything being the way we are used to. We
are used to being in the center. But if Jesus came into our midst, we’d have to
get a translator in here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d have to
wait for communication to become clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’d have to be frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
wouldn’t we be leaning forward in anticipation to know what he would say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we pass that ball of yarn a little
further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We make that connection with
the faith and hope that we will benefit from waiting and being frustrated and
our flow being interrupted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it helps
us to practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We practice with Santa
Cruz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We practice with the
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This practice is also helpful
as we change and age—maybe our hearing isn’t what it once was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe someday we won’t be able to get up to
the front to receive communion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe
every time we are unsettled it is practice for what the rest of life is
bringing and maybe it increases our compassion for people with even more
unsettled lives than we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
stretched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are growing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are learning to be patient with others and
ourselves as we try to understand each other and make ourselves
understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard, but it is good
work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So here we come to Paul
in the Areopagus, making this speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paul was already one who made the widest possible connections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went to all different communities with the
good news of God’s love and he brought them into the fold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He communicated, he shared, he faced many
frustrations, interruptions, cross-cultural moments, and he trusted God that
the seed planted there would grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
thank God he did, because his connection made it all the way to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was courageous and put his own desires
aside and because of that we know the good news of God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have heard of that love of Jesus and felt
it for ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we take that ball
of yarn and we take it the furthermost reaches, across seas and continents,
ligaments that link us together across the ages, in connections of love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul heard about an
unknown god they were worshipping in Athens and instead of criticizing them, he
saw a connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they were
worshipping the one God without knowing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paul names that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives them
credit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives God credit for being there
ahead of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He extends the thread of
connection, recognizes a ligament or an appendage that has been there all
along. Sometimes the Holy Spirit stretches our connection so much more than we
thought possible, and bridges divides that seem to us enormous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On Good Friday, this
year, we sat here in the fading light, after the altar had been stripped and we
shared the story of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were together, hearing the story each in
our own languages, 80 people for this highest of Holy Days<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in English and Spanish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stumbled to read in the dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We struggled to sing each other’s songs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then a woman, reading in Spanish, moved
by Jesus’ suffering began to weep, and suddenly we were all connected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotion and compassion bridged the
distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all knew where this woman
was in her heart and we were all there with her and God was there showing us
that we are all God’s children, that God means for us to be in relationship and
learn from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a moment,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, we spoke the same language and it was
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was compassion for the
suffering—for Jesus and for all who struggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God pulled on that cord connecting us all and drew us all together. Holy
Communion is that cord, drawing us all together, people of all times and
languages and places, all those who have come to this table who now celebrate
the feast without end, all those who will ever receive the living God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">May we notice the
connections, make the connections, bear discomfort to be held in
connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May the God of love draw us
together as the body of Christ and make of us all a new Creation.</span><b><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-42160562116893842502023-11-28T11:00:00.001-08:002023-11-28T11:00:41.634-08:00Easter 5, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Once again today we
come to another of Jesus’ “I am” statements, “I am the way and the truth and
the life.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">No one comes to the Father
except through me.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Like any scripture
we can read it in a way that makes us right and the way to Jesus narrow and
exclusive, or we can read it in a way that the circles of Christ’s inclusion
increase in a wide embrace.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I guess you
can guess where I fall in this spectrum.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We all use scripture to interpret scripture, and every time I encounter
Jesus I find myself surprised by who all is included and most surprised to find
myself drawn into the circle by Jesus’ love and grace.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Beginning with Jesus’
first words in this Gospel reading, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” is one
of abandoning anxiety and fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It draws
me to a calm and plentiful view of God’s love and grace in which God has
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t have to worry about whether
there is room for us and we can let go of judging who is in and who is out of
God’s love and care and be curious about where God is working love and grace in
this world. Furthermore the hearts not being troubled, is a collective heart,
not an individual one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t about
any individual accepting Jesus, or knowing the right way, but it is about the
community attitude and response, about finding our way together to the teachings
and love of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus talks about
himself as the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is this way he
speaks of?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a more faithful way
of being in the world, an orientation, a direction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ way is
merciful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus on the cross said,
“Father forgive them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same way,
Stephen as he is being stoned, calls out for mercy for his attackers. He said,
“Do not hold this sin against them.” Jesus’ way is to have mercy, compassion,
and forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ way is through
prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer takes on many forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Stephen he offers a prayer for himself,
for God to receive his Spirit—another one of Jesus’ prayers from the
cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stephen also offers a prayer for
himself and a prayer for others in praying for his attackers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer can take the form of words, songs,
thoughts, images, activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an
open line of communication in which we listen and pay attention to where God is
showing up and where God seems quiet, and it is communication in which we share
and express.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer takes place between
us and God, the Divine, the eternal, Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And prayer takes place between people as we seek to live our faith in
response and communication with our neighbor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ way is through
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love is a deep caring,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Agape love is a self-sacrificing orientation
toward the good of another person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love
is patient, kind, and sometimes challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We especially see this way of love in that Jesus came to earth to know
our daily lives and to look us in the eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus gave up everything he had (made sacrifices) to be a person with a
human body with all our vulnerabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also especially see this way of love in Jesus’ interactions with
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not discriminate and give
attention to those who could give him something in return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His love was not transactional or
self-serving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was genuinely interested
in his flock, his creation, so he spent time with people rejected and
shunned—lepers, immigrants, people with epilepsy, people of different
religions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really shocking to his
disciples and the religious authorities that he wouldn’t follow human ways of
dividing ourselves up in order to get something for himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, his agape love was shown in his
sacrifice on the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many chances
did he have to spare himself, but he did not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead he suffers with all who suffer and knows depth of pain that
people can inflict on one another so he can show us a better way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The way of Jesus is
curiosity and openness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our first
reading today, the religious authorities did not want to hear another word from
Stephen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were anything but curious
about what he would say next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were
afraid he would take their power away, stir people up so they would see what
was really going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they murdered
Stephen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ way is curiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was curious about the children and their
thoughts, so he gathered them around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His disciples were not curious—they had already made up their minds they
were a waste of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was curious
about the Samaritan woman at the well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He kept talking to her and even stayed a few days in her village because
she was equally curious about him and invited him to connect with her
community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was curious all the
time in his ministry, willing to learn from others, wanting to communicate,
wanting to connect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We get to be curious,
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to be curious about what
will happen next, just like the disciples are in this Gospel reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to be curious about what happens in
the next life and what eternal, abundant life looks like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to be curious about all the people and
situations we encounter and where God might be at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to be curious about what gifts God is
developing in us for God’s glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get
to be curious and open, making lots of space for God’s beloveds to communicate
and connect with us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The way of Jesus is to
love his enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the cross, he prays
for his enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stephen too does not
stop loving his enemies as he prays for them even as they kill him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This truly sets Christians apart, because we
have genuine concern for our enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are not allowed to decide someone is a lost cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not to wish them ill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thief on the cross is an example of
someone who, because of Christ’s invitation and openness, found new life
through him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The way of Jesus is one
of inclusion and spaciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says
today, “In my house are many dwelling places.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is lots of room where Jesus is going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is lots of room in the way of Jesus for
lots of different styles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because Jesus
is the way, the truth, and the life, he makes room for all these people no one
expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember the story Jesus tells
his disciples that a rich person entering the Kingdom of God is like a camel
passing through the eye of a needle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sounds impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His disciples ask,
“Who then can be saved?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus answers,
that it is possible through the gift and grace of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe we still wonder
if there is space for us in Jesus’ way, maybe we wonder if we’re good
enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t do greater works than
Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be referring to a
particular set of disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it
means collectively all his followers will do greater works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The works that we do are not so that we can
be loved by Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is already in
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever works we do, God is in
charge of them, to bring them about and to give God glory and for the healing
of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not something to
cause us worry but to help us let go of whether we are enough or do enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally, we get to
wonder and be curious about Jesus’ assertion that he will do whatever we ask in
his name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly we don’t get
everything we want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Jesus wants
us to ask and wants us to come to him with our requests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is the one who provides all good things,
helps us decide what is good for us, and opens our eyes to the needs of
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And God is with us when we are
disappointed and learn and grow from our perceived deficiencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps going to God with our requests helps
us realize what is really important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes we go to him with a prayer for healing for a loved one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the outcome may not be what we
wanted, we find we are not alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
knows what it is like to grieve and will bring us together again so that where
he is there we may be also.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let us walk the way of Jesus, forgiving,
communicating, sacrificing, loving, curious, and open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us follow Jesus, the way, the truth, and
the life.</span><b><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-52967493506424820372023-11-28T11:00:00.000-08:002023-11-28T11:00:09.230-08:00Easter 3, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Today we finally
celebrate the baptism of Juniper!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We have
been in such anticipation of this event, watching and waiting for the right
time.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">As I was stressing about finding
the best time, among snow, ice, and illness, Rachel, Juniper’s mother reassured
me, whatever day we do it will be the perfect time.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I appreciate that grace and reassurance!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’m
going to talk today about being in the fold and flocks of Jesus and about Jesus
as the gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
Gospel makes me a little nervous because I am afraid people will use it to
justify rejecting strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in
Jesus’ day and in ancient Israel, several flocks would have been housed
together in the same enclosure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
sheep were not met with suspicion or fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the morning when the sheep were let out of their pen, they would
separate into their flocks by following the shepherd they knew and trusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though they were mixed together by night
for safety, they found their way to their group by following their shepherd’s
voice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
is protective of his flock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He claims
today a lesser “I am” as he reveals himself to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before he has said, “I am the bread of life,”
“I am the light of the world” “I am the way the truth and the life” “I am the
good shepherd.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today he is something
maybe a little more boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says, “I
am the gate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he goes on to
describe himself as the gate, the shepherd, the one with the voice, and the one
the sheep can trust, so it’s a little convoluted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point is about who we trust and who our
leaders are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
can be so fun to follow someone interesting and popular and charismatic, but
Jesus is telling us to be trustworthy leaders and find trustworthy
leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all, we should be
trustworthy leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so frustrated
last week when the email came to all of you, a scam, saying I needed your help
and would you purchase gift cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
working hard to earn your trust and now whenever you read my emails, you will
be looking to see if it is really me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is good for us to be alert and awake to scams and the way human beings so
easily turn toward self-interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly
we are urged to find trustworthy leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At Trinity, we are careful to hold our staff and leaders
accountable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have a yearly
evaluation in which we state our goals for the coming year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trinity has a staff support committee to
ensure that the staff handbook is clear about accountability and vacation and
sick days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a pastoral support
committee that brings to me concerns from the congregation and helps me
focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t mean that your staff
and pastor won’t make mistakes or let you down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It doesn’t mean that we are free from bias or human weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Human leadership is problematic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helps when we hold each other accountable
and ground ourselves in the word and leadership of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All our ministries come from Jesus and ought
to point to Jesus, our true leader, gate, and shepherd.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today
we gain a new leader in our flock, Juniper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus centered people you’d never expect and pointed to them as examples
and leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Juniper has been such a
trustworthy leader, curious, exploring, sharing her joys and insights, sharing
funny stories about her brother, showing us grace as we learn to center
children in our ministry of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s
a leader in our flock, welcoming other children and adults, bravely trying new
roles and speaking God’s grace to us, “The body of Christ!” as she assists with
Holy Communion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a leader in our
community, working with her family to clear blackberries from part of the
Springwater trail and plant trees there that will bless her and future
generations for many years to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cassie
has been a leader in Confirmation class, Alex has been a leader teaching us
about Martin Luther King Jr. during the children’s sermon in January, John has
been a leader with his attention to detail in his drawings that are inspiring
and encouraging and Iona has been a leader holding out her little hands in
trust to receive the body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>New
people are coming into this flock, and it is Juniper’s very special baptism
day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>she’s always been God’s precious
child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today she receives the outward
sign of the faith that has been growing in her all along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to take this time to reflect on our
own journey of faith and baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get
to be changed by Juniper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gets to be
shaped and changed by us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our flock is
joyful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our flock will never be the
same, just as Jesus intended it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our
scriptures lay out today the possibilities for communities of baptized people,
sharing everything in common, spending time together, eating together, praising
God, following our shepherd through green pastures and valleys filled with
dangers and shadows, and abiding together with God forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all on this walk together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
life of the baptized is one of blessing but not one free from suffering or pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we follow our shepherd through the gate,
we take the path that he did, that he does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a path leading to abundant life, and that is not the easy path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose the easy path is to stay right
where you are, but shepherds know what is good for the flock is to rotate in
different pastures and to care for the land, to ensure the recovery and
livelihood of the land so that it can support life for a long time to
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sheep face many dangers,
predators, cliffs, bad weather, illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through all of it, we have Jesus looking out for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Juniper
will know sadness and rejection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
will face consequences for doing the right thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she will never be alone in her
troubles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will have a community of
faith right there with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will know
the love and promises of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will
have the stories of her people, following the shepherd, going in and out of the
gate, mixing with other flocks, finding their way, sharing love, sharing grace,
growing and learning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What
I love about Jesus being the gate is that there are times for coming in and
resting and there are times for going out, exploring and growing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way sheep get lost is that they put their
heads down to graze and when they look up again, the flock is nowhere to be
seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us not get so wrapped up in a
good thing that we don’t look up now and then to get our bearings and stay
oriented with our flock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us not seek
to just stay comfortably in the pen, but follow our savior’s voice to green
pastures and still waters and abundant life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
not only have the benefit of being in the flock, but we have the responsibility
to extend the welcome of the flock to strangers, as Jesus has for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our flock, Jesus has earned our trust with
his grace and love and calls us forth, because we trust his voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus has led Trinity through many crises,
some of leadership, some of finances, some of growth and direction of
ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be new crises to
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And still we listen for the voice
of our shepherd and follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We welcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We accept grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We extend grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come in by the gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We go out by the gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-88082606444459726332023-11-28T10:59:00.000-08:002023-11-28T10:59:04.075-08:00Easter 2023<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Alleluia Christ is
Risen.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Christ is Risen indeed, Alleluia!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wow!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seems like we’re really making a big deal today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brass quartet is here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bell choir is playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are all here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re all dressed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re joining together Trinity and Santa
Cruz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We brought all these flowers and
put up all these decorations!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why are we
making such a big deal out of an event that happened thousands of years
ago?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does this matter so much?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Does it matter because of tradition,
because that’s what grandma or grandpa think is important?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it matter because it brings up fond
memories from the past?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it matter
so that families can have an excuse to come together the way they always
have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it matter so churches can
feel important?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This story, this gathering, this day
matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It matters because the forces of
evil, the forces of death and injustice still affect us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Division, war, hunger, prejudice, and disease
are still hurting people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Death and fear
still paralyze us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear and death are
part of our everyday pressures, just like they were in the days Jesus walked
this earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So this Easter story is what we need—it is a story of hope and
new life in the face of fear and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This story of Jesus’ resurrection shows us there is something more
powerful than death and fear—fear and death will not win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God who made us and this world, loves us and
God has a vision for this world for healing, relationship, and love for us and
all creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This vision is more
powerful than death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This story tells us that to get to that vision, we need each
other. The two Marys needed each other, needed to be together to go to see the
tomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They needed the hope Jesus
offers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The angel needs the two women to
go tell the other disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Disciples need these two Marys to tell them what is going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need the Marys, too and the disciples to
spread the word that Jesus is risen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
we need each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need our
communities, Lutheran and Episcopal, to stretch us beyond what is comfortable
to grow in our faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need each other,
Spanish speaking and English speaking, to learn from each other, to share our
stories together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need each other
regular church goers and Christmas and Easter folks, family members and guests,
so the church doesn’t get too stuffy and too out of touch with the realities of
people’s lives, so the church can relate to today’s culture, so the church doesn’t
get our heads too much in the clouds but to keep our feet grounded in today’s
realities and respond in love in this world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Easter brings us together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus makes us family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus brings
us together in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need each other,
to help each other weather the storms, to respond to injustice together, to
grow in compassion, to work together toward the vision of peace and hope and
justice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Easter matters because it is about right here and right
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of times Christians can get
overly focused on the afterlife and heaven and hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus is risen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is our current reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why we say “is” and not “has.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is risen right here, today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is rising in our lives, in our
congregation, in our community and he rises with the gift of abundant life for
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is abundant life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is life—the just getting by, the going through the motions, the
daily grind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is abundant
life—flourishing life, thriving. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think
of trees in the winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are alive
but sometimes it is hard to tell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
think of trees in the late spring or in the summer—leafing out and lifting
their branches and turning the sunlight into energy and sharing their beauty
with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A tree in the spring and summer
is abundant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abundant life means being
anchored and rooted in these stories that inspire us, in the hope that has kept
people going for centuries, in the relationships that challenge us to grow and
learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abundant life means being
connected in community and having people to relate to and share with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abundant life means having purpose to work to
change our world into one that is more life-giving for people who are suffering
and to share our fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Easter is happening every day, resurrection is happening every
day, abundant life is available every day, and we get to be part of sharing
that new life and receiving it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where have you seen Easter happening recently?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does Easter matter to you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2200736646134915536.post-91705431838907062412023-11-28T10:58:00.000-08:002023-11-28T10:58:29.701-08:00Lent 5, 2023<p> <span style="font-size: 13pt;">My grandma Vorderstrasse’s favorite
piece of Bible trivia was, what is the shortest verse in the Bible?</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Jesus wept, of course.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For those of us who were terrible at
memorizing Bible verses, here was one even we could handle.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Why
did Jesus weep?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grief is an expression of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Lent we heard the story of Nicodemus and
the favorite verse, “For God so loved the world that God gave the only son, so
that we would not perish, but have eternal life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus stands at the grave of Lazarus and
weeps and the mourners there recognized in that moment how much Jesus loved
him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
knows the end of the story, that Lazarus will be raised, but still he grieves
and mourns, still he weeps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we know
the end of the story, that we will be raised, that Jesus will redeem this
broken world, but still we weep and mourn, and that is completely appropriate, as
we see modeled in Jesus emotion and behavior this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a little tear that fell that from
Jesus’ eye, but he was greatly disturbed in spirit—a sweet beautiful biblical
way to say his guts were wrenched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
full-on wept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
our society, we move too quickly away from grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We push death away so many ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have lost the familiarity with death—of
generations living together and watching the process of aging, of people dying
in the home and the body laid out in the parlor for people to pay their
respects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know what to say to
people who are grieving, especially grieving parents of a child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we expect people to move on from grief so
quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might be willing to give
someone a year and then it’s time to move on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In my experience with people who are grieving someone very close that
second year can be even more difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe it is because all the shock has worn off, the paperwork is done,
and other people have moved on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Support
systems are gone and people expect they themselves will move on, too. It’s a
realization of just how long a journey of grief is—forever, which is also an
acknowledgment of just how deep that love goes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
knows the end of the story and yet he weeps because of his love for Lazarus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We weep too even though we trust in God and
know the end of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We weep
because we’re not at the end yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re
in the middle of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Jesus
that meant maybe regret that he wasn’t with his friends in their time of most
urgent need and pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe he wept
because of what Lazarus went through, his suffering and pain as he came to
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe he wept because of the
blame of Mary and Martha, maybe because of their pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe he wept for the fragility of life,
that in a moment everything could change and did change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even
though Lazarus was raised, his life did change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If we think everything went back to the way it was before, no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lazarus became, like Jesus, a wanted
man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was evidence of Jesus’
power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if he went into
hiding, or if after Jesus was crucified the authorities lost interest in him,
but his life was changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had been to
the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had known suffering
and he had known peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his
sisters knew the feeling of losing one another and that would certainly have
changed their relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did Lazarus’
sisters try to protect him more after that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did they treasure each day more and more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did Lazarus approach his second
death?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it with dread?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it with peace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did he and his sisters prepare
differently for his second death than his first?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did his death and resurrection affect
their other relationships?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were other
people afraid of him after that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were
they expecting him to be someone different or someone unchanged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did Mary and Martha and Lazarus respond
differently to other people’s grief after that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
case we hesitate to cry, Jesus gives us his example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crying is so human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels so primitive to give ourselves over
to emotion like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels
uncontrolled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s ok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God gave us crying to express love, as Jesus
and Martha and Mary and the crowd today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God gives us crying to express need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crying is the first thing we do after we’re born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember anticipating that cry at the birth
of my son, to know he had a healthy set of lungs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That cry in that case is a sign that all is
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then crying begins to alert us to
attend to a baby’s needs, a child’s needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Different cries mean different things and parents can learn to interpret
their child’s cries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when we cry as
adults, it is an outward sign of an inner reality, that we are hurting, that we
have deep love within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a signal
for us to gather together and support each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">I always say that
church is the best place to cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
tissues in the pews to be ready for that emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that just when Jesus was crying and at
his most human, he was most divine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
as he used his power to raise Lazarus from the dead, he also experienced
profound sadness and grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a
moment when Jesus’ true nature is revealed to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crying is not the opposite of Godly, but it
is in the nature of God to weep and when we do, we express something holy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">I remember the first
time I saw my dad cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was 14 years
old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He received some terrible news on
the phone, called my mom home from ceramics class and told me that my best
friend had died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a heart
condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a turning point in my
relationship with my dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first
time I saw that he loved me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wept
because he cared about me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that he
treated me with much more compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
treated me tenderly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weeping can bring
us together, if we let it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen it
at many funerals—families coming together who had been divided, to mourn and
support each other and weep together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On
this day we learn that Jesus is weeping with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could have avoided this scene all
together, but Jesus goes to all the difficult places with his friends, which he
counts us among.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He goes with us in our
sorrow and grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows pain, sorrow,
and tears, and he doesn’t run the other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus knows the end of the story, but he knows we’re not there yet, and
so we cry and Jesus cries with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
love and Jesus loves with us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
doesn’t weep to make us feel bad or to accuse anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He weeps because the world he lives in does
not match God’s vision and he weeps because this world hurts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hurt happens to cause us to stop and take
note and to prevent that hurt from happening again, it is an opportunity to ask
ourselves what is our vision of how this world might be, could be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can we do to help bring this world more
in line with our vision, with God’s vision?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How can we help people who are hurting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How can we prevent them from hurting more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when we can’t prevent the hurt, how can
we uphold one another and be divinely human together in our time of pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today
we might want to rush past the grief, but we are invited to stay in the grief
and the hurt and weep with Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus
weeps for the nations of this world at war and all the waste of human life in
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus weeps for our planet, this
good creation made to be fruitful and multiply and yet being abused and
exploited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus weeps for all those who
are sick and suffering, for all who are stressed, for all who are hungry and
homeless, cold and incarcerated and lonely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus weeps for all who have died and for all who are grieving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows the depth of our pain and it
wrenches his guts.</span><b><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Today Jesus weeps—he hurts—he loves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he is willing to give his life that this
world would be transformed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we would weep and have
compassion, so that this world would be changed, so that we would get fed up
with the hurt and change this world for those who need it most to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04457641842295626189noreply@blogger.com0