Gospel: Luke 3:7-18
1st Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Psalmody: Isaiah 12:2-6
2nd Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
About 4 pm on Tuesday I read on Facebook that there had been a shooting at Clackamas Town Center. For the next two hours I was reading news stories, listening to OPB coverage, looking out our church windows at the lights of the mall, and praying for everyone involved. Many of you were also praying and anxious about loved ones who were there or might have been there. At this time of peace, a troubled young man enters a building to destroy. At this time of joy, shoppers huddle together in tears in the parking lot. At this time of hope, we wonder are things getting worse. At this time of love we look at the stranger next to us with suspicion. Do we have reason to be afraid?
Sigh of relief
Then Friday
We jump to quick easy answers.
That doesn’t allow us to feel our feelings.
Sadness, anger, fear, numbness
We don’t just grieve what’s happened this week but other losses we’ve known.
Into this world, a child is about to born. He’s a vulnerable little guy without anything to protect him. God is coming in here to do something about all this. God isn’t going to sit idly by but is going to react. God is springing into action.
Now we are at this crossroads, waiting to see what kind of action it will be. We know the end of the story, but doesn’t it still seem possible that he will take up arms and fight the enemy? That’s the way most of our story books and novels and favorite TV shows and movies go. We meet violence with violence. If we’re honest about it, that’s what we think the solution really is. Even John the Baptist is not sure what God is about to do or what kind of Messiah this will be. He warns of the wrath to come and the ax just waiting to do violence to the tree and the fire that will destroy. But he also indicates that violence might not be the answer. He says not to get too comfortable thinking that your religion or family tree is going to save you. There are new ways of measuring whether you belong to God or not. You can know you are Godly through nonviolent means, by how you share, if you can be satisfied with less, if you are honest, and if you do your job well.
We’ve got this way of violence that we often turn to and we know the rest of the story, that God disagrees with our violent ways. God insists that violence is not the way and is not going to show us by strong-arming us or using violence or punishment against us. Instead, God absorbs that violence that we are dishing out. First God lives in this violent world and tries to show us how to respond to violence with sharing, being satisfied with less, honesty, and living out your vocation/calling (doing your job well.) And then God endures the most miserable violence that we can dish out and dies on the cross rather than raise a fist to defend himself. He shows us how to live in violence and how to die to violence. He shows us how not to meet violence with violence, but how to live in true peace.
Feeling of helplessness.
What can we do?
Feel our feelings and grieve together
Pray for peace.
Let the people know they are not alone
What has helped you in times of grief?
Write a note.
What not to say: It was God’s will. God needed another angel. God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.
What to say:
I don’t know what to say.
I am thinking of you.
What to do:
Be with those in need.
Be a good listener
Tell your friends and loved ones that you love them.
Take a long look at ourselves and our society and try to really understand what creates these situations of violence and what we can do to be peacemakers. We all claim these children as part of a national tragedy. Do we also claim the perpetrators of violence as part of our national tragedy. How did we fail these young men? What message do we send in this society that sends these men to take innocent lives?
Now we are at a crossroads with the shooting and violence down the street from us. We can respond with violence. We can arm ourselves. We can live in fear and suspicion of our neighbor. Then we become the very one we hate. We aren’t creating the peaceful world we want to live in, but one of more fear and violence.
Or we can respond with peace, with sharing, with loving, with opening our arms to others around us. We can take a moment to remember what matters most. We can take the time to let those we love know how much we care. We can lay aside our differences and come together to give thanks to God.
I think we can agree that we can give thanks for the helpers that far outnumber those who cause violence.
Because of the hope that God brings this time of year, coming in peace as a little babe, I have hope in the vision that he provides that will come to pass when we all participate in his ways of peace. There will come a time when brother does not take up arms against brother, but embraces and forgives. There will come a time when military might does not determine who wins, but people will refuse to fight and instead listen to one another in love. There will come a time when the economies of the world do not hinge on making weapons of war, but instead we’ll put our energies into making sure that everyone is fed, that all have medicine and shelter, that all who suffer mental illness can receive treatment, that walls and barbed wire fences are torn down between us, when we learn that sharing is more effective than taking, when we learn that we will not only be satisfied by less, but that less is better, when we do our job with the intention of making this world better rather than getting a paycheck, when we find that honesty and integrity not only build us up, but build up our neighbor and our world. Sometimes this kind of world seems so far away, but it is only as far away as we make it. And it is only a promise away—one of God’s guaranteed promises that we can count on, that we can participate in, that God is bringing to us even now.
Make yourself as vulnerable, innocent, and hopeful as a little babe. See the wonder and potential of this world. Be ready to rediscover it again as God transforms it into one of peace and sharing and honesty and joy and hope.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
December 2, 2012
Gospel: Luke 21:25-36
1st Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
You can tell a lot about a tree just by looking at it. You can often tell approximately how old it is. If you drill into the tree and take a sample through the center of the tree, you can tell exactly. And you can tell which were lean years of drought and cold and which were years of plenty of water. You can tell by branches which have been broken off, if another tree nearby fell on it. You can sometimes tell if a snow or ice storm broke off branches. You can tell by the cones whether it is healthy or not.
God is causing a righteous branch to spring up for King David. This is a family tree that has been grafted onto, been uprooted and moved several times, and has experienced times of flourishing and thriving and times of great suffering and want. At times it has sheltered widows and the poor. At times it has withered under the heat of the day. It has even been chopped down, as the Babylonians moved in and took over, occupying Israel, taking the Israelites into captivity, and keeping them under control.
Now a righteous branch is springing up where everyone thought the tree was dead. I’ve got a few trees that send out these branches in my yard. Maybe you have one, too. One is our cherry tree. Those extra branches have to be cut off every year because they take nutrients and strength from the main tree. But if the main tree ever died, those branches would make sure that it lived on. The other trees we have, come from a neighbor’s tree. He cut it down a couple of years ago because it is an invasive species. But that tree has sent out roots in every direction so that the ground is just thick with these roots. Every so often another tree tries to come up right next to our house. We’re going to have to call an exterminator, or arborist or whatever, because the roots can get under the foundation and destroy our house.
The kind of trees that send out these branches are insidious. They have developed this survival technique and it is very effective. It is very frustrating for us. But we are actually just like these kind of trees, aren’t we? Human kind has become an invasive species. Try to cut down our family tree, and we will destroy your foundation. We do all we can to survive and procreate and populate whether we are welcome or not or whether there are enough resources or not. In our time, we have to work to balance our needs with the needs of this planet. In the time of Jeremiah it was necessary for the mere survival of humankind. Stubbornness was a virtue that meant that your family line would go on, that your bloodline would survive.
So now King David’s line is going to survive because of this little branch coming from what everyone thought was a dead stump. At the time this was written, it was to give hope to a people in despair. You are stubborn. Your line will survive. Do not fret.
This was written with the Messiah in mind. Now we read it and see Jesus in it. Jesus was born in David’s family lineage, in Bethlehem, the city of David’s birth. We’re supposed to see the family resemblance. Jesus is a branch on the same tree of the one everyone in Israel remembers as the best King ever. Will he be the acorn that didn’t fall far from the tree? Will he be just like King David? Or will his people not recognize him and try to cut him down, too? Will they nail him to a tree, trying to graft him to our methods of death and control?
As the little fetus Jesus is growing large in his mother, we read about this tender shoot just peeking out above the earth, a vulnerable sign of life where there had been no hope. But there is something powerful even in the tiniest signs of persistent life, such as these. Life is going on despite despair and suffering. Something new can happen even when it seems that all hope is lost—something powerful and glorious.
Trees not only tell you about themselves and what has happened in the past. They can tell you a lot about the health of the environment around them and what is coming. They are signs telling the future, in a way. Jesus says, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.” The trees are getting ready. If you look at a tree that loses its leaves right now, you’ll see buds of next year’s branches. The tree prepares itself for what is coming next. And you can look at a tree and see damage from beetles and know that a whole forest is about to be wiped out. Right now, trees that grew only at lower elevations are being found further up on mountains. Because of climate change, it is warmer higher up and it is affecting where trees can grow. Trees in this case are giving us a message that our planet is changing. They are signs of what is coming.
Jesus is telling us to pay attention to these signs, whether they are like historical markers, signs telling us of what has happened in the past, or signs of what is coming in the future. Jesus doesn’t want us to be caught of guard. He says that things are changing, but we don’t have to be afraid. Lift up your heads. Look up! Stand up! Get a good vantage point to what is happening.
Those who are afraid look down. It is like the ostrich with its head buried in the sand. If I can’t see them, they can’t see me! God says, it is coming either way, whether you choose to see it or not. Are you going to let yourself be afraid of this change? Are you going to just let it happen and not be prepared? It is better to pay attention and see what is coming so you can be ready. Open your eyes, because even though scary things are happening and people are getting confused and anxious, God is in control. God has the power and glory. It is in God’s hands. It will ultimately be all right.
These readings could partly be about the changes that are going on in our world and the church being ready to meet the needs of the next generation of believers. Will we be anxious about the future and pretend that changes aren’t happening? Jesus says there is nothing to fear about the future. God will be with us as we prepare for what is coming.
These readings could also be about changes in our lives as we age. Do we pretend it isn’t happening because we fear what the future holds? Jesus says that he will walk through it with us. Even though it is scary to lose control and to endure the pains that aging brings, God will be with us and God will ease our pains and give us peace and bring us home. Our tree may look like it is dying, but new life is apparent, and growth is happening.
And these readings also refer to the coming of God’s Kingdom. Some say it is going to get worse before it gets better. I suppose that was true of Jesus’ crucifixion. But God used a hopeless situation to bring life. God can use the really bad stuff, the scary stuff, to bring hope and life. God has got it under control and we don’t have to be afraid.
The tree of life has endured many trials, drought, windstorm, blizzard, ice, pruning and grafting, infestation, fire, flood, and everything else imaginable. Yet we are all branches on this tree. Jesus is the trunk. God is the roots. We are part of each other. We have permanent unity. We have the light of Christ to warm us. We have the water of life nourishing us. We are all in this together, part of each other. So let us go forward with boldness and hope, growing, shading, feeding, healing, and living.
1st Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
You can tell a lot about a tree just by looking at it. You can often tell approximately how old it is. If you drill into the tree and take a sample through the center of the tree, you can tell exactly. And you can tell which were lean years of drought and cold and which were years of plenty of water. You can tell by branches which have been broken off, if another tree nearby fell on it. You can sometimes tell if a snow or ice storm broke off branches. You can tell by the cones whether it is healthy or not.
God is causing a righteous branch to spring up for King David. This is a family tree that has been grafted onto, been uprooted and moved several times, and has experienced times of flourishing and thriving and times of great suffering and want. At times it has sheltered widows and the poor. At times it has withered under the heat of the day. It has even been chopped down, as the Babylonians moved in and took over, occupying Israel, taking the Israelites into captivity, and keeping them under control.
Now a righteous branch is springing up where everyone thought the tree was dead. I’ve got a few trees that send out these branches in my yard. Maybe you have one, too. One is our cherry tree. Those extra branches have to be cut off every year because they take nutrients and strength from the main tree. But if the main tree ever died, those branches would make sure that it lived on. The other trees we have, come from a neighbor’s tree. He cut it down a couple of years ago because it is an invasive species. But that tree has sent out roots in every direction so that the ground is just thick with these roots. Every so often another tree tries to come up right next to our house. We’re going to have to call an exterminator, or arborist or whatever, because the roots can get under the foundation and destroy our house.
The kind of trees that send out these branches are insidious. They have developed this survival technique and it is very effective. It is very frustrating for us. But we are actually just like these kind of trees, aren’t we? Human kind has become an invasive species. Try to cut down our family tree, and we will destroy your foundation. We do all we can to survive and procreate and populate whether we are welcome or not or whether there are enough resources or not. In our time, we have to work to balance our needs with the needs of this planet. In the time of Jeremiah it was necessary for the mere survival of humankind. Stubbornness was a virtue that meant that your family line would go on, that your bloodline would survive.
So now King David’s line is going to survive because of this little branch coming from what everyone thought was a dead stump. At the time this was written, it was to give hope to a people in despair. You are stubborn. Your line will survive. Do not fret.
This was written with the Messiah in mind. Now we read it and see Jesus in it. Jesus was born in David’s family lineage, in Bethlehem, the city of David’s birth. We’re supposed to see the family resemblance. Jesus is a branch on the same tree of the one everyone in Israel remembers as the best King ever. Will he be the acorn that didn’t fall far from the tree? Will he be just like King David? Or will his people not recognize him and try to cut him down, too? Will they nail him to a tree, trying to graft him to our methods of death and control?
As the little fetus Jesus is growing large in his mother, we read about this tender shoot just peeking out above the earth, a vulnerable sign of life where there had been no hope. But there is something powerful even in the tiniest signs of persistent life, such as these. Life is going on despite despair and suffering. Something new can happen even when it seems that all hope is lost—something powerful and glorious.
Trees not only tell you about themselves and what has happened in the past. They can tell you a lot about the health of the environment around them and what is coming. They are signs telling the future, in a way. Jesus says, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.” The trees are getting ready. If you look at a tree that loses its leaves right now, you’ll see buds of next year’s branches. The tree prepares itself for what is coming next. And you can look at a tree and see damage from beetles and know that a whole forest is about to be wiped out. Right now, trees that grew only at lower elevations are being found further up on mountains. Because of climate change, it is warmer higher up and it is affecting where trees can grow. Trees in this case are giving us a message that our planet is changing. They are signs of what is coming.
Jesus is telling us to pay attention to these signs, whether they are like historical markers, signs telling us of what has happened in the past, or signs of what is coming in the future. Jesus doesn’t want us to be caught of guard. He says that things are changing, but we don’t have to be afraid. Lift up your heads. Look up! Stand up! Get a good vantage point to what is happening.
Those who are afraid look down. It is like the ostrich with its head buried in the sand. If I can’t see them, they can’t see me! God says, it is coming either way, whether you choose to see it or not. Are you going to let yourself be afraid of this change? Are you going to just let it happen and not be prepared? It is better to pay attention and see what is coming so you can be ready. Open your eyes, because even though scary things are happening and people are getting confused and anxious, God is in control. God has the power and glory. It is in God’s hands. It will ultimately be all right.
These readings could partly be about the changes that are going on in our world and the church being ready to meet the needs of the next generation of believers. Will we be anxious about the future and pretend that changes aren’t happening? Jesus says there is nothing to fear about the future. God will be with us as we prepare for what is coming.
These readings could also be about changes in our lives as we age. Do we pretend it isn’t happening because we fear what the future holds? Jesus says that he will walk through it with us. Even though it is scary to lose control and to endure the pains that aging brings, God will be with us and God will ease our pains and give us peace and bring us home. Our tree may look like it is dying, but new life is apparent, and growth is happening.
And these readings also refer to the coming of God’s Kingdom. Some say it is going to get worse before it gets better. I suppose that was true of Jesus’ crucifixion. But God used a hopeless situation to bring life. God can use the really bad stuff, the scary stuff, to bring hope and life. God has got it under control and we don’t have to be afraid.
The tree of life has endured many trials, drought, windstorm, blizzard, ice, pruning and grafting, infestation, fire, flood, and everything else imaginable. Yet we are all branches on this tree. Jesus is the trunk. God is the roots. We are part of each other. We have permanent unity. We have the light of Christ to warm us. We have the water of life nourishing us. We are all in this together, part of each other. So let us go forward with boldness and hope, growing, shading, feeding, healing, and living.
November 25, 2012
Gospel: John 18:33-37
1st Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 93
2nd Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.”
“Grace to you and peace from God who was.” This is God we read about in the Bible, that we’ve gone to Sunday School to learn about in our Bible lessons. This is God who always delivers the people, who spoke to Abraham and promised that he would be a blessing to all nations, who wrestled with Jacob, wounded him, and renamed him Israel, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt by a pillar of smoke and fire to the promised land, who led the people out of exile returning to Jerusalem, who was born a human in a manger when there was no room in the inn, who calmed the sea and fed the crowds, and who gave his life and was raised to share new life with us.
This God-who-was shaped a church, a community of believers and gave us the traditions we have today. God-who-was shaped a reformation in which people were empowered to become the priests that God made them to be. God-who-was inspired people to write hymns and liturgies to give words to express the depth of faith and the depth of thanksgiving that God’s people have felt over the years because of all that God has done. Witnesses to God-who-was shared the good news and brought many to faith, some by force, and others by birth, and still others because of persuasion.
We have a pretty clear picture of God-who-was because that is God in history. We can look at what has happened and interpret it in the light of God’s activity in the past.
“Grace to you and peace from God who is.” How is God active and relevant right at this moment? When we can make ourselves aware in the moment, we can see God all around us in creation, in the changing leaves, in the abundant water making our grass so green, in the sliver of the moon at night, in the geese honking through the sky, in the mountain shining in the distance. We can see God in the blessings of family and friends, of food and shelter, of heat and running water. We can see God in the poor around us, the hungry, the shivering, the homeless, the incarcerated, the ill and let them teach us how to be generous and loving, and gracious and hopeful.
And we can share stories in the moment of where we see God. We can tell the truth about our experiences. We can listen in truth to the stories of others and hear their need and pain and suffering. We can speak truth when the powers of this world, of force and wealth and might, try to tell us that they speak God’s truth. We know better. We see the inconsistencies. We can point them out. We can be witnesses to truth, testifying to the truth, as unpopular as it is. And we can seek to live the truth, to let the truth live through us, as we try to make our lives reflect the Kingdom of God that we are living in and that God is bringing to our world.
Most people don’t see the relevance of the church today. We have to make it relevant to this moment. We have made it relevant to the past and brought the best of our history and the best of the stories of the God of the past to speak to our faith today. But we have not always made the case for what the church is doing, what the body of Christ is doing to alleviate suffering today, to bring people together today, to break down barriers today. Yet this is the God who is, the God of the present, the God who is present now. We can live the God experience today in such a way that bears witness to God’s power and presence today. We can live a genuine experience, live our lives today in ways that speak a genuine word of hope and love and reach out to those hungry for God’s presence today.
“Grace and peace to you from God who is to come.” God has always been bigger and greater than yesterday and today. God has a greater vision than any of us can see. We are invited to look to the future and catch a glimpse of what the future might hold. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, God went ahead as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud of smoke by day. God was trying to lead them by a vision of what could be—a land flowing with milk and honey, another kind of kingdom than they had ever experienced, another kind of leadership, another kind of unity, another kind of hope.
Maybe people would say we are naïve, but we do have a vision of a future offered by the God of the past, present, and future. Our current situation is temporary. It will pass away. God who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, has an end in mind that is better than any we create. God has a leader in mind, much better than the leaders and kings and Presidents we have now or have ever had. It isn’t something that might be. Our future is guaranteed.
In this vision of the future, God’s Kingdom comes, just like we pray every Sunday. In God’s Kingdom, no one is hungry, no one is crying, there are no enemies, we listen to each other, we tell the truth, we give of ourselves for the greater good, we recognize our power and use it for good, all the peoples of the world start looking out for each other, peace reigns, we are all free, we are all loved and we know it, we give credit to God and thank God, we all see clearly, no one is falsely accused, and Jesus reigns. It seems we are light years from that Kingdom, but Jesus says it is coming into this world.
I saw a sliver of the Kingdom of God this week, God’s vision for the future beginning to be realized. I saw it at the Thanksgiving Eve Service when churches came together to sing and give thanks to God. In some places churches would be divided, competitive. Some of our former members from King of Kings are members of those other churches. Some of our members used to attend those other churches. Yet we are glad for each other that each person can find a church home. We don’t have to be divided by our differences, but we can celebrate them and celebrate that we have choices so we can worship God in the way that touches our hearts the most.
I saw another sliver of the Kingdom of God in families giving of themselves in volunteering over Thanksgiving. People took this holiday as a chance to gather food for those in need. Several people dropped off donations and checks for the pantry. Some people took the holiday and spent it dishing out food at meal sites and conversing with people who don’t have a friend in the world.
I saw another slice of the Kingdom of God, in families learning to get along, to look past their differences and come together to share warmth and joy.
I saw another slice of the Kingdom in a cease-fire in Israel/Palestine—a first step on a journey of peace that is guaranteed when we align ourselves with that Kingdom. And I saw it in minds more aware and minds changed and wanting to make a difference after watching a thought-provoking video about the history of the conflict in the Holy Land.
God’s Kingdom was, is, and is to come. We’ve seen where it was. We are learning to see where it is and be witnesses to that. And we are learning to let ourselves see what we have always hoped for but were afraid to let ourselves get our hopes up for. Yet God’s Kingdom is more than a hope. It is a promise and God is the one most trustworthy who always keeps his promises. God, the Alpha and Omega, A through Z, our everything, the beginning and the end, everlasting Ancient One, the Almighty has brought his Kingdom to earth, is bringing his Kingdom to earth, and will bring his Kingdom to earth, God’s vision finally realized and God’s rule finally complete.
1st Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 93
2nd Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.”
“Grace to you and peace from God who was.” This is God we read about in the Bible, that we’ve gone to Sunday School to learn about in our Bible lessons. This is God who always delivers the people, who spoke to Abraham and promised that he would be a blessing to all nations, who wrestled with Jacob, wounded him, and renamed him Israel, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt by a pillar of smoke and fire to the promised land, who led the people out of exile returning to Jerusalem, who was born a human in a manger when there was no room in the inn, who calmed the sea and fed the crowds, and who gave his life and was raised to share new life with us.
This God-who-was shaped a church, a community of believers and gave us the traditions we have today. God-who-was shaped a reformation in which people were empowered to become the priests that God made them to be. God-who-was inspired people to write hymns and liturgies to give words to express the depth of faith and the depth of thanksgiving that God’s people have felt over the years because of all that God has done. Witnesses to God-who-was shared the good news and brought many to faith, some by force, and others by birth, and still others because of persuasion.
We have a pretty clear picture of God-who-was because that is God in history. We can look at what has happened and interpret it in the light of God’s activity in the past.
“Grace to you and peace from God who is.” How is God active and relevant right at this moment? When we can make ourselves aware in the moment, we can see God all around us in creation, in the changing leaves, in the abundant water making our grass so green, in the sliver of the moon at night, in the geese honking through the sky, in the mountain shining in the distance. We can see God in the blessings of family and friends, of food and shelter, of heat and running water. We can see God in the poor around us, the hungry, the shivering, the homeless, the incarcerated, the ill and let them teach us how to be generous and loving, and gracious and hopeful.
And we can share stories in the moment of where we see God. We can tell the truth about our experiences. We can listen in truth to the stories of others and hear their need and pain and suffering. We can speak truth when the powers of this world, of force and wealth and might, try to tell us that they speak God’s truth. We know better. We see the inconsistencies. We can point them out. We can be witnesses to truth, testifying to the truth, as unpopular as it is. And we can seek to live the truth, to let the truth live through us, as we try to make our lives reflect the Kingdom of God that we are living in and that God is bringing to our world.
Most people don’t see the relevance of the church today. We have to make it relevant to this moment. We have made it relevant to the past and brought the best of our history and the best of the stories of the God of the past to speak to our faith today. But we have not always made the case for what the church is doing, what the body of Christ is doing to alleviate suffering today, to bring people together today, to break down barriers today. Yet this is the God who is, the God of the present, the God who is present now. We can live the God experience today in such a way that bears witness to God’s power and presence today. We can live a genuine experience, live our lives today in ways that speak a genuine word of hope and love and reach out to those hungry for God’s presence today.
“Grace and peace to you from God who is to come.” God has always been bigger and greater than yesterday and today. God has a greater vision than any of us can see. We are invited to look to the future and catch a glimpse of what the future might hold. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, God went ahead as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud of smoke by day. God was trying to lead them by a vision of what could be—a land flowing with milk and honey, another kind of kingdom than they had ever experienced, another kind of leadership, another kind of unity, another kind of hope.
Maybe people would say we are naïve, but we do have a vision of a future offered by the God of the past, present, and future. Our current situation is temporary. It will pass away. God who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, has an end in mind that is better than any we create. God has a leader in mind, much better than the leaders and kings and Presidents we have now or have ever had. It isn’t something that might be. Our future is guaranteed.
In this vision of the future, God’s Kingdom comes, just like we pray every Sunday. In God’s Kingdom, no one is hungry, no one is crying, there are no enemies, we listen to each other, we tell the truth, we give of ourselves for the greater good, we recognize our power and use it for good, all the peoples of the world start looking out for each other, peace reigns, we are all free, we are all loved and we know it, we give credit to God and thank God, we all see clearly, no one is falsely accused, and Jesus reigns. It seems we are light years from that Kingdom, but Jesus says it is coming into this world.
I saw a sliver of the Kingdom of God this week, God’s vision for the future beginning to be realized. I saw it at the Thanksgiving Eve Service when churches came together to sing and give thanks to God. In some places churches would be divided, competitive. Some of our former members from King of Kings are members of those other churches. Some of our members used to attend those other churches. Yet we are glad for each other that each person can find a church home. We don’t have to be divided by our differences, but we can celebrate them and celebrate that we have choices so we can worship God in the way that touches our hearts the most.
I saw another sliver of the Kingdom of God in families giving of themselves in volunteering over Thanksgiving. People took this holiday as a chance to gather food for those in need. Several people dropped off donations and checks for the pantry. Some people took the holiday and spent it dishing out food at meal sites and conversing with people who don’t have a friend in the world.
I saw another slice of the Kingdom of God, in families learning to get along, to look past their differences and come together to share warmth and joy.
I saw another slice of the Kingdom in a cease-fire in Israel/Palestine—a first step on a journey of peace that is guaranteed when we align ourselves with that Kingdom. And I saw it in minds more aware and minds changed and wanting to make a difference after watching a thought-provoking video about the history of the conflict in the Holy Land.
God’s Kingdom was, is, and is to come. We’ve seen where it was. We are learning to see where it is and be witnesses to that. And we are learning to let ourselves see what we have always hoped for but were afraid to let ourselves get our hopes up for. Yet God’s Kingdom is more than a hope. It is a promise and God is the one most trustworthy who always keeps his promises. God, the Alpha and Omega, A through Z, our everything, the beginning and the end, everlasting Ancient One, the Almighty has brought his Kingdom to earth, is bringing his Kingdom to earth, and will bring his Kingdom to earth, God’s vision finally realized and God’s rule finally complete.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving Eve Service 2012
During a recent study of current American life, a journalist entered the homes of many families to record whatever he found there. Much to his surprise, he found clutter in almost every instance. Gathering all this stuff seems to have become our way of doing things.
This time of year, when we are stuck indoors, do you find that you notice the clutter more? You can’t get away from it! And we start to take more clutter in, too! We’re gathering for holiday celebrations so we need the right tableware, the right centerpiece, more food than we can fit in our giant-sized refrigerators. This time of year, my gift drawer is overflowing as I try to get something together for each of my nieces and nephews. At Christmas time, we’ll bring the tree into our already crowded house and when the New Year comes we’ll be even more cluttered than we were before because people will be generous and give us so many treasures.
This summer there was a series of articles in the Oregonian about simplifying your life. One article was about how to get rid of the stuff we don’t need that clutter up our homes. Rather than ask yourself whether you will ever need this or that item, ask instead whether it is worth the space it is taking up, or if that space might be better used to hold something else. When I ask whether I might ever need this purse (one of 6 that I own even though I almost never carry a purse) or this length of cable, or if I will ever read this book, the answer is almost always “yes.” But if I ask whether that space might be better used another way, the answer to that question is often “yes,” and might be a better indication of whether we really need all the stuff we keep laying around. Removing that purse from my closet door means that it closes a little more easily. Removing the cable from the junk basket that we keep on top of the fridge means that I can find the junk that I really need more easily. And as for that book, maybe there is another book I am more likely to read, or maybe I could put a book in its place that is currently in a box in my basement.
“Do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear.” Don’t you think the clutter in our houses is reflection of the clutter in our minds and hearts? What is taking up space in your mind? What are the anxieties that we store up there that are taking up head space?
I have to say my mind is cluttered not only with my schedule but with going over and over again conversations with family and colleagues and parishioners and friends. Some of these conversations have already occurred and I’m trying to fix them or understand them. Some have yet to happen, but need to happen. And sometimes I lay awake at night anxious about global warming and whether I am raising an independent but connected child and what I can do to keep church attendance up and why did I have to put my foot in my mouth again, and how I’m going to have to preach the best Thanksgiving sermon of all time! A few of those thoughts might be helpful as I try to work through difficult situations. A lot of them are just some automatic loop I’m stuck in. Certainly that brain power might be better used for something else, like that space in my house could be better used. They’ve got to go, but it isn’t so easy to banish them. How do you keep from worrying? You can’t just make yourself stop thinking about what you’re thinking about.
It is easy to focus on what not to do and what we’re doing wrong when we read a lesson like this. It is like we forget that it is the Gospel. This is good news! We don’t have to beat ourselves up for getting off track. Instead Jesus has words of hope for us all.
Here it is: You are of value to God. God loves you. God values you. God is looking out for you. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air? Let yourself hear that. Let yourself believe that. God values you. God loves you. God knows what you need and is paying attention.
Let that good news stop you in your loop of anxiety. Let it calm your nerves for a moment. Let it open a space in your heart for the new life that God wants to give you, give us, give a hurting world, give this neighborhood. No matter what else happens, you are loved by the Great Love that created the universe.
I have presided at many weddings over the years, and I take time to prepare a couple for both the relationship and the service of marriage itself. I always tell them that something is bound to go wrong on their wedding day, but don’t let it get to you. For my own wedding, the cake was in a car accident (no bakers were harmed) and had to be redone and arrived only moments before we were pronounced husband and wife. At the last wedding I did, the matron of honor lost the wedding ring for the longest 5 minutes I think she ever experienced. We didn’t tell the bride it was ever missing. These things are minor distractions. They make for funny stories in later years. But I always tell the couple no matter what goes wrong, don’t lose sight of the reason you are there: Your love for each other. Cake or no cake, you are going to get married. Ring or no ring, you are going to get married. Whatever goes wrong, you are going to get married, and so far, I’ve always been right. It is usually only in the movies that somebody gets left at the altar.
The same is true of our faith life. All this stuff is just extra—our cars, our thanksgiving turkeys all moist and delicious or dry and tough, our Christmas lights, our white or yellow or missing teeth, our gorgeous choir anthems and inspiring or not so inspiring holiday sermons. Put those things in their proper place as extras rather than essentials. What is essential is Jesus, the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, God’s relationship with us, God’s love and forgiveness, and everything else will fall into place.
At thanksgiving time we have a chance to give thanks to God for all he has done. One of my favorite Christmas carols goes like this “And when we worry and we can’t sleep, we’ll count our blessings instead of sheep.” The best way to banish anxiety and focus your mind on the Kingdom of God is to start thinking of things you are thankful for. And I’d say, take it to the next level. Start thanking those people that have blessed your life. Tell them what you appreciate about them. Share the message that you value them, that God values and loves them. In this way we can literally reprogram our minds to pay attention to God and his righteousness instead of getting distracted by all things that don’t matter.
Another way to thank God and banish the anxiety is to give of your time volunteering. It is hard to feel sorry for yourself if you are occupied taking care of others. It is hard to feel bad for yourself when you see how other people are materially worse off and yet they are surviving and being generous and kind, and finding hope.
This holiday season, may we truly seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. May we revel in the good news that God values us and our neighbor. May we remember what is most important and let go of what doesn’t matter. May we have thankful hearts for God’s incredible generosity and find ourselves overflowing with generosity as a thankful response for all God has done for us.
This time of year, when we are stuck indoors, do you find that you notice the clutter more? You can’t get away from it! And we start to take more clutter in, too! We’re gathering for holiday celebrations so we need the right tableware, the right centerpiece, more food than we can fit in our giant-sized refrigerators. This time of year, my gift drawer is overflowing as I try to get something together for each of my nieces and nephews. At Christmas time, we’ll bring the tree into our already crowded house and when the New Year comes we’ll be even more cluttered than we were before because people will be generous and give us so many treasures.
This summer there was a series of articles in the Oregonian about simplifying your life. One article was about how to get rid of the stuff we don’t need that clutter up our homes. Rather than ask yourself whether you will ever need this or that item, ask instead whether it is worth the space it is taking up, or if that space might be better used to hold something else. When I ask whether I might ever need this purse (one of 6 that I own even though I almost never carry a purse) or this length of cable, or if I will ever read this book, the answer is almost always “yes.” But if I ask whether that space might be better used another way, the answer to that question is often “yes,” and might be a better indication of whether we really need all the stuff we keep laying around. Removing that purse from my closet door means that it closes a little more easily. Removing the cable from the junk basket that we keep on top of the fridge means that I can find the junk that I really need more easily. And as for that book, maybe there is another book I am more likely to read, or maybe I could put a book in its place that is currently in a box in my basement.
“Do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear.” Don’t you think the clutter in our houses is reflection of the clutter in our minds and hearts? What is taking up space in your mind? What are the anxieties that we store up there that are taking up head space?
I have to say my mind is cluttered not only with my schedule but with going over and over again conversations with family and colleagues and parishioners and friends. Some of these conversations have already occurred and I’m trying to fix them or understand them. Some have yet to happen, but need to happen. And sometimes I lay awake at night anxious about global warming and whether I am raising an independent but connected child and what I can do to keep church attendance up and why did I have to put my foot in my mouth again, and how I’m going to have to preach the best Thanksgiving sermon of all time! A few of those thoughts might be helpful as I try to work through difficult situations. A lot of them are just some automatic loop I’m stuck in. Certainly that brain power might be better used for something else, like that space in my house could be better used. They’ve got to go, but it isn’t so easy to banish them. How do you keep from worrying? You can’t just make yourself stop thinking about what you’re thinking about.
It is easy to focus on what not to do and what we’re doing wrong when we read a lesson like this. It is like we forget that it is the Gospel. This is good news! We don’t have to beat ourselves up for getting off track. Instead Jesus has words of hope for us all.
Here it is: You are of value to God. God loves you. God values you. God is looking out for you. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air? Let yourself hear that. Let yourself believe that. God values you. God loves you. God knows what you need and is paying attention.
Let that good news stop you in your loop of anxiety. Let it calm your nerves for a moment. Let it open a space in your heart for the new life that God wants to give you, give us, give a hurting world, give this neighborhood. No matter what else happens, you are loved by the Great Love that created the universe.
I have presided at many weddings over the years, and I take time to prepare a couple for both the relationship and the service of marriage itself. I always tell them that something is bound to go wrong on their wedding day, but don’t let it get to you. For my own wedding, the cake was in a car accident (no bakers were harmed) and had to be redone and arrived only moments before we were pronounced husband and wife. At the last wedding I did, the matron of honor lost the wedding ring for the longest 5 minutes I think she ever experienced. We didn’t tell the bride it was ever missing. These things are minor distractions. They make for funny stories in later years. But I always tell the couple no matter what goes wrong, don’t lose sight of the reason you are there: Your love for each other. Cake or no cake, you are going to get married. Ring or no ring, you are going to get married. Whatever goes wrong, you are going to get married, and so far, I’ve always been right. It is usually only in the movies that somebody gets left at the altar.
The same is true of our faith life. All this stuff is just extra—our cars, our thanksgiving turkeys all moist and delicious or dry and tough, our Christmas lights, our white or yellow or missing teeth, our gorgeous choir anthems and inspiring or not so inspiring holiday sermons. Put those things in their proper place as extras rather than essentials. What is essential is Jesus, the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, God’s relationship with us, God’s love and forgiveness, and everything else will fall into place.
At thanksgiving time we have a chance to give thanks to God for all he has done. One of my favorite Christmas carols goes like this “And when we worry and we can’t sleep, we’ll count our blessings instead of sheep.” The best way to banish anxiety and focus your mind on the Kingdom of God is to start thinking of things you are thankful for. And I’d say, take it to the next level. Start thanking those people that have blessed your life. Tell them what you appreciate about them. Share the message that you value them, that God values and loves them. In this way we can literally reprogram our minds to pay attention to God and his righteousness instead of getting distracted by all things that don’t matter.
Another way to thank God and banish the anxiety is to give of your time volunteering. It is hard to feel sorry for yourself if you are occupied taking care of others. It is hard to feel bad for yourself when you see how other people are materially worse off and yet they are surviving and being generous and kind, and finding hope.
This holiday season, may we truly seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. May we revel in the good news that God values us and our neighbor. May we remember what is most important and let go of what doesn’t matter. May we have thankful hearts for God’s incredible generosity and find ourselves overflowing with generosity as a thankful response for all God has done for us.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
November 11, 2012
Gospel: Mark 12:38-44
1st Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Psalm 146
2nd Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28
When I was working as a receptionist at the optometry shop, the place I worked before I was called here to be your pastor, I was constantly dealing with people who were waiting in the aptly-named waiting room. They waited for their appointment. They waited while the doctor took too long with the patient before them. They waited for their eyes to dilate. They waited for their glasses to come in. People deal with waiting in lots of different ways, but mostly waiting is considered to be more of a negative thing. Once I proposed calling it something other than the waiting room—like the lobby or something so that people wouldn’t have the negative association with it. That idea was shot down. The people would still be doing the same thing there, waiting, so why pretend they weren’t?!
It can tell you a lot about a person, what they do while they wait. Some people bring a book everywhere they go and the moment they have a chance, they put their nose in it. Some people bring their knitting or cross-stitch. Some people complain the whole time. Some people listen to music on their portable listening device. Some people these days talk on their cell phone, text, or play computer games. The nature of those cell-phone calls can tell you a lot. Sometimes it seems that the conversation is a little too loud on purpose to draw attention to it. Some people fight on the phone in public. Sometimes they want to talk about it with you and sometimes they don’t.
My favorite were the ones that would just chat. People have interesting lives and it can be fun to find out more about people just having a normal conversation. Of course, the conversations can vary. Some people seem to be very self-centered and self-interested. Others seem to want to interview you. Others show off how much they know. And then sometimes it just clicks and you have a nice chat with someone interested in your life, able to share bits about their own without the TMI factor, and you come away feeling refreshed and connected and hopeful about humanity.
We are all in the waiting room of life. We wait in traffic. We wait for the weekend. We wait for our paycheck. We wait for our spouse to get home. We wait for dinner. We wait for the next holiday. Some of us are waiting for life to begin. Others are waiting for it to be over. We await for test results. We wait for people to help us. We wait for the sermon to be over. We wait for Christ to return and make everything right.
The scriptures today make me think about what we are waiting for and what we do while we wait.
The scribes haven’t had to do a lot of waiting. They are first in line. They’ve got the best seats. They are waiting for people to notice them and give them respect. They are waiting to climb the ladder of society and have the most money, the biggest house, the longest prayer, and the most pats on the back by all the important people. They want the biggest plaque, the best seat, and the highest salary. They will never be satisfied because there is always someone who hasn’t given them the recognition they feel they deserve. They get their value from others rather from a deep sense of self-assurance.
Today Jesus refuses to give them the credit they feel is due and it is driving them crazy. He won’t cower before them or butter them up with fake compliments and soon they will have him arrested to punish him for not giving them the attention they like.
The widow in the Old Testament is waiting to die. It might very well be the same for the widow in the Gospel. She could care less about the finest clothes and best seats. She is waiting for a crust of bread for the next day, a bite to feed her child, a sweater to keep away the chill. She could shut her doors and go and die quietly alone. But while she is waiting to die, this Gospel widow goes out. We don’t know if she was Jew or Gentile, but she goes to a place of prayer, of community, of connection. She goes to be seen, not so that she can feel important. It is a last act of resistance. At least people are going to see the one they’ve neglected, the very specific one that God has commanded them to help. They would probably rather not see her or acknowledge her. She is a sign of their failure. She is raining on their parade.
How we act while we are waiting can be an indication of what we are waiting for. If we are waiting to be important, we will prance around in long robes, talk loud on our cell phones, pray long prayers until we get what we’re waiting for.
If we are waiting for God’s kingdom to come we might wait a couple of different ways. We might wait passively, like the first widow. She’s preparing the last supper for herself and her son and then are just going to wait it out. In this case, God is active while she is passive. God sends Elijah to ask for her help. God doesn’t send Elijah to give her food. God sends him to let her know she’s still got something valuable to give. Even if the world says she’s worthless and has no value, God is letting her know through her community that just isn’t true. God isn’t done with her. She’s got the ability to share. She’s got the ability to trust in God. She’s able to do a lot with a little. She’s able to teach generosity and trust to those who think they have it made and don’t really have anything of value at all.
Who might God be sending us to, to affirm their gifts, maybe people the world has written off, but we know are of value to God? Are we going to them and bringing life to them and letting them bring life to us? Are we forming relationships with them and bringing them into community where there is a safety net and a place their gifts will be valued? How can we do this better?
We can also wait more actively, in the Hebrews reading it talks about those who are eagerly waiting for Christ. To me this means people who are creating the world they want to live in, who are bringing in the Kingdom of God. You could say that Donald Trump creates the world he wants to live in. With money he surrounds himself with a private jet, and people who say yes to him, and mansions and exclusive golf courses. But money and fame is so fleeting. He creates the illusion of the world he wants to live in. None of it can last. And it takes from others in order to have it the way he wants it. It creates a life in the short-term that he seems to want, but not one that satisfies, and not a world where others can also enjoy riches beyond imagination. In fact it impedes on others’ view of a good life as he literally bulldozes the livelihoods of families and the nesting grounds of endangered birds just to make room for his golf course.
What does it mean to create the world we want to live in? I think of a young mother here recently, nursing her baby during church and I was so proud. I thought to myself, this is the kind of church I want to be in! This is the kind of world I want to live in. Maybe someday, pastors will nurse their babies in church, and to me that would be the Kingdom of God realized on earth, the way God meant it to be. Maybe that wouldn’t be the Kingdom to you, but it would be for me and a lot of mothers. To have been able to have my child with me at work this year, has been the Kingdom of God realized in my life. It might not have looked particularly professional. Yet to be able to be your pastor and Sterling’s mother at the same time and not to have to choose or miss out has meant so much. It is the Kingdom of God to me. And it meant that to some of you, too. It meant I got to share him with you and my joy and his progress. You are a part of him and he is a part of you. It is messy and awkward sometimes, but it is Kingdom.
We have been doing things the Kingdom way here at King of Kings. We practice the bringing in the Kingdom when we accept the help of pantry clients. They teach us how to be generous and thoughtful. One brings boxes with handles for people to carry their groceries in. He puts little labels on them reminding them to bring them back for the next pantry. He is a pain in the neck as he stacks his boxes everywhere we are trying to walk, but now that we have a designated place to put those boxes (outside and out of the way) we have to acknowledge he is bringing in the kingdom of God. Someone in our congregation has been an example of creating the kind of world he would want to live in. His elderly, disabled neighbor was going to have to move because she couldn’t get up and down the stairs. He wanted to live in a world where people can live in their own homes for as long as possible. He built her a chair lift. She will probably live longer and is definitely already happier because of this gift and this building of the Kingdom of God, the kind of world where we can all live life to its fullest.
I invite you to dream about this Kingdom of God and what it would look like to live in a world where people have the chance to really live. You are dreaming God’s dream. Then your waiting becomes so much more than waiting. And your wait becomes shorter for God’s dream to become a reality because he is making it a reality through you.
Discussion questions: What kind of world do you want to live in? Where do you see your dream and God’s dream intersecting? Where do you see God’s dream being realized in this world? Where do you see the potential for God’s dream to be realized?
1st Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Psalm 146
2nd Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28
When I was working as a receptionist at the optometry shop, the place I worked before I was called here to be your pastor, I was constantly dealing with people who were waiting in the aptly-named waiting room. They waited for their appointment. They waited while the doctor took too long with the patient before them. They waited for their eyes to dilate. They waited for their glasses to come in. People deal with waiting in lots of different ways, but mostly waiting is considered to be more of a negative thing. Once I proposed calling it something other than the waiting room—like the lobby or something so that people wouldn’t have the negative association with it. That idea was shot down. The people would still be doing the same thing there, waiting, so why pretend they weren’t?!
It can tell you a lot about a person, what they do while they wait. Some people bring a book everywhere they go and the moment they have a chance, they put their nose in it. Some people bring their knitting or cross-stitch. Some people complain the whole time. Some people listen to music on their portable listening device. Some people these days talk on their cell phone, text, or play computer games. The nature of those cell-phone calls can tell you a lot. Sometimes it seems that the conversation is a little too loud on purpose to draw attention to it. Some people fight on the phone in public. Sometimes they want to talk about it with you and sometimes they don’t.
My favorite were the ones that would just chat. People have interesting lives and it can be fun to find out more about people just having a normal conversation. Of course, the conversations can vary. Some people seem to be very self-centered and self-interested. Others seem to want to interview you. Others show off how much they know. And then sometimes it just clicks and you have a nice chat with someone interested in your life, able to share bits about their own without the TMI factor, and you come away feeling refreshed and connected and hopeful about humanity.
We are all in the waiting room of life. We wait in traffic. We wait for the weekend. We wait for our paycheck. We wait for our spouse to get home. We wait for dinner. We wait for the next holiday. Some of us are waiting for life to begin. Others are waiting for it to be over. We await for test results. We wait for people to help us. We wait for the sermon to be over. We wait for Christ to return and make everything right.
The scriptures today make me think about what we are waiting for and what we do while we wait.
The scribes haven’t had to do a lot of waiting. They are first in line. They’ve got the best seats. They are waiting for people to notice them and give them respect. They are waiting to climb the ladder of society and have the most money, the biggest house, the longest prayer, and the most pats on the back by all the important people. They want the biggest plaque, the best seat, and the highest salary. They will never be satisfied because there is always someone who hasn’t given them the recognition they feel they deserve. They get their value from others rather from a deep sense of self-assurance.
Today Jesus refuses to give them the credit they feel is due and it is driving them crazy. He won’t cower before them or butter them up with fake compliments and soon they will have him arrested to punish him for not giving them the attention they like.
The widow in the Old Testament is waiting to die. It might very well be the same for the widow in the Gospel. She could care less about the finest clothes and best seats. She is waiting for a crust of bread for the next day, a bite to feed her child, a sweater to keep away the chill. She could shut her doors and go and die quietly alone. But while she is waiting to die, this Gospel widow goes out. We don’t know if she was Jew or Gentile, but she goes to a place of prayer, of community, of connection. She goes to be seen, not so that she can feel important. It is a last act of resistance. At least people are going to see the one they’ve neglected, the very specific one that God has commanded them to help. They would probably rather not see her or acknowledge her. She is a sign of their failure. She is raining on their parade.
How we act while we are waiting can be an indication of what we are waiting for. If we are waiting to be important, we will prance around in long robes, talk loud on our cell phones, pray long prayers until we get what we’re waiting for.
If we are waiting for God’s kingdom to come we might wait a couple of different ways. We might wait passively, like the first widow. She’s preparing the last supper for herself and her son and then are just going to wait it out. In this case, God is active while she is passive. God sends Elijah to ask for her help. God doesn’t send Elijah to give her food. God sends him to let her know she’s still got something valuable to give. Even if the world says she’s worthless and has no value, God is letting her know through her community that just isn’t true. God isn’t done with her. She’s got the ability to share. She’s got the ability to trust in God. She’s able to do a lot with a little. She’s able to teach generosity and trust to those who think they have it made and don’t really have anything of value at all.
Who might God be sending us to, to affirm their gifts, maybe people the world has written off, but we know are of value to God? Are we going to them and bringing life to them and letting them bring life to us? Are we forming relationships with them and bringing them into community where there is a safety net and a place their gifts will be valued? How can we do this better?
We can also wait more actively, in the Hebrews reading it talks about those who are eagerly waiting for Christ. To me this means people who are creating the world they want to live in, who are bringing in the Kingdom of God. You could say that Donald Trump creates the world he wants to live in. With money he surrounds himself with a private jet, and people who say yes to him, and mansions and exclusive golf courses. But money and fame is so fleeting. He creates the illusion of the world he wants to live in. None of it can last. And it takes from others in order to have it the way he wants it. It creates a life in the short-term that he seems to want, but not one that satisfies, and not a world where others can also enjoy riches beyond imagination. In fact it impedes on others’ view of a good life as he literally bulldozes the livelihoods of families and the nesting grounds of endangered birds just to make room for his golf course.
What does it mean to create the world we want to live in? I think of a young mother here recently, nursing her baby during church and I was so proud. I thought to myself, this is the kind of church I want to be in! This is the kind of world I want to live in. Maybe someday, pastors will nurse their babies in church, and to me that would be the Kingdom of God realized on earth, the way God meant it to be. Maybe that wouldn’t be the Kingdom to you, but it would be for me and a lot of mothers. To have been able to have my child with me at work this year, has been the Kingdom of God realized in my life. It might not have looked particularly professional. Yet to be able to be your pastor and Sterling’s mother at the same time and not to have to choose or miss out has meant so much. It is the Kingdom of God to me. And it meant that to some of you, too. It meant I got to share him with you and my joy and his progress. You are a part of him and he is a part of you. It is messy and awkward sometimes, but it is Kingdom.
We have been doing things the Kingdom way here at King of Kings. We practice the bringing in the Kingdom when we accept the help of pantry clients. They teach us how to be generous and thoughtful. One brings boxes with handles for people to carry their groceries in. He puts little labels on them reminding them to bring them back for the next pantry. He is a pain in the neck as he stacks his boxes everywhere we are trying to walk, but now that we have a designated place to put those boxes (outside and out of the way) we have to acknowledge he is bringing in the kingdom of God. Someone in our congregation has been an example of creating the kind of world he would want to live in. His elderly, disabled neighbor was going to have to move because she couldn’t get up and down the stairs. He wanted to live in a world where people can live in their own homes for as long as possible. He built her a chair lift. She will probably live longer and is definitely already happier because of this gift and this building of the Kingdom of God, the kind of world where we can all live life to its fullest.
I invite you to dream about this Kingdom of God and what it would look like to live in a world where people have the chance to really live. You are dreaming God’s dream. Then your waiting becomes so much more than waiting. And your wait becomes shorter for God’s dream to become a reality because he is making it a reality through you.
Discussion questions: What kind of world do you want to live in? Where do you see your dream and God’s dream intersecting? Where do you see God’s dream being realized in this world? Where do you see the potential for God’s dream to be realized?
November 18, 2012
Gospel: Mark 13:1-8
1st Reading: Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16
2nd Reading: Hebrews 10:11-25
It has probably been a long time since most of us read the driver’s manual, but I got to look through it again a couple of years ago and watch a safe driving video so that I could drive a van of kids to Camp Odyssey in 2011. It was a good reminder for me of how to be a defensive driver, especially the idea of scanning the road. Many of us are very aware of what’s going on right in front of the car, but if we also see what is going on further ahead, we can prepare and react and be a better driver. We should scan the road 10-15 seconds ahead so we can see what’s coming, as well as all our mirrors and closer to the car as well. Anticipating what might be coming up and adjusting to accommodate that can prevent accidents and save lives.
The same can be said of our lives. It is so easy to just focus on what is right in plain view, right in front of us. I know when I get into the office I look at my calendar for that day and prioritize my tasks based on what needs to be done first. Sometimes I forget to take that longer look at my schedule and do the longer-term planning that I need to do. And with home life, doesn’t it seems we spend a lot of time cleaning up the small things, loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing and folding the clothes, cooking dinner, feeding the pets, that the longer term chores sometimes get neglected. Sometimes we lose track of the bigger picture of the routine maintenance we need to keep up with and then the bigger chores and upkeep like painting the house or replacing the roof or having the chimney swept.
And the same can be true of our spiritual lives. We move through on automatic, going to church, going to meetings, doing devotions with our eyes on the road right in front of us. But are we also scanning ahead to the bigger picture, the long-term view of what is coming ahead? Are we ready to see what God has in mind, long-term, for our world, our souls, our church?
Today in the Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that something big is coming up the road. There are many churches that talk about “end times.” They are watching out down the road for signs that we’re coming to the end. This focus for Evangelicals causes them to get out and warn everyone of the impending doom. “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?” they might ask. If you haven’t been born again according to their definition, they become afraid for you that you will spend eternity in torment, even if you are a Lutheran pastor or regular church-goer.
For most Lutherans the “End times” is not our favorite topic, precisely because of this negative association that so many others attach to it, but the “end times” are Biblical and something for us to be aware of. For us, it is different. The end doesn’t mean a reason to panic and be afraid. The end times mean God’s reign is coming near, that justice will be done and peace is not far away. To be near to God--isn’t that what we all want? For Lutherans to look down the road and see the signs of the end times, we have the assurance that Jesus has wiped out our sins and separation from God, so we’re looking forward to the end. This has been a long journey, and we’re ready to get out and stretch our legs and embrace our loved ones and enjoy a feast beyond imagination together. The end is a good thing for us. Because of Jesus’ love and life and promises, the end is not an end, but a beginning of eternal life and peace and love.
The reading from Daniel is something called “Apocalyptic Literature.” It is the Old Testament version of the book of Revelation in the New Testament. It is giving a prediction of what might come down the road. It talks about some anguish and some shame and everlasting contempt, so you get an idea of where some Christians are coming from when they freak out about the end times. However, this is meant as a comfort. First of all a protector is arising. God’s people will be protected. The people have a promise of deliverance. Those who are dead will be raised. The wise will shine like the stars for all eternity. All that sounds pretty good. And at the time Daniel was written, the Israelites were in exile. They were already in anguish and needed to know that this wasn’t how it would always be. They needed to know that it wouldn’t always be this rough road, but that their destination wasn’t far away and it would be better than they could have hoped. God has a plan to turn anguish into hope and joy. The Israelites wanted to know that those who had hurt them would be punished, so they took comfort knowing that their enemies wouldn’t rule over them forever. It might be strange to think of this reading from Daniel as a word of hope, but I assure you that is how it was meant and that is how the Israelites would have heard it.
This word of hope is more clear in the reading from Hebrews. After a pretty scathing attack on priests and pastors (Ok I get it!), we are assured that our salvation and joy and hope doesn’t rest on these blundering messed-up humans (because if it did, we’d be in big trouble). Instead it rests on Jesus and his love and sacrifice. That’s why I see my job as pointing to Christ. I am standing up here in my long robe, offering up prayers, and going on and on, blah, blah, blah, but what I really hope to do, is point to Christ. Can you see down the road, Christ, the big picture? I want to be a road sign pointing the way. Don’t focus on the sign too long or you’ll lose track of what’s on the roadway. Look up ahead and see Christ—not someone to fear, but someone with open arms who loves you and is waiting for you to come home.
That second reading assures us that it is all taken care of, forever. We can stop obsessing about our sins. We can stop gripping the steering wheel of life in fear that we will break a traffic law or crash into someone. We can live our life in hope. We can move forward toward our goals with confidence. We don’t have to be afraid, as we look up the road. Instead of obstacles, let us see opportunities to grow in faith, to become better drivers, to encourage others to drive defensively, too.
Driving is such a solitary activity, it is hard to relate it to faith life. I suppose a lot of people these days wouldn’t see the problem. They like the idea of practicing your faith or spirituality alone, believing that it is individual and private. The reading today acknowledges such people—those that neglect to meet together. I think they are missing out on something important. The support of community when you are hurting or in need is such a big part of a life of faith, in my view. We need each other for encouragement and also for checks and balances. Our faith community helps us evaluate our faith journey. There is a saying, “Friends don’t let friends _______.” I think it used to be “drive Fords” or “drive Chevys.” Now I think that’s been replaced with something more universal, “drive drunk.” A true friend will tell you when you’re on the wrong track.
Driving isn’t really a solitary activity at all, though is it? There are many other vehicles on the road to consider and take into account. I read an article this week that Toyota is working on cars that communicate with each other. They may be able to prevent accidents by knowing where other vehicles are or swerve if a person steps out in front of the car. These cars react to one another and to objects in their path, just like we all need to do in our spiritual life. A faith life is one lived in community, with communication, with encouragement, with chances to join our gifts with those of other people, with chances to know God’s love through the people in our faith community. Family has to love each other. Church is a chosen family where we learn to work together, as we learn to love each other, as we progress on our faith journey.
In the Gospel, the Disciples are learning to scan ahead a little bit, but when they lift their eyes, all they can see is this huge building. Ok, we want to look beyond what is right under our noses. Here is something that looks impressive and lasting. They are distracted by the Hummer limo in the lane in front of them and they are missing the big picture again.
Jesus situates himself opposite the temple, in both location and attitude. He is against the temple, against big buildings, against institutions that oppress people and perpetuate the cycle of people being left out. We might picture Jesus sitting on the hill over here under the tree we thought about cutting down. What would he see as he looked at our church? Would he be impressed that we kept our lawn mowed? Would he notice that it was recently painted and had a roof put on? Would he be impressed by all the nice cars in the parking lot? It seems he might have something to say to us about how temporary all this is and how he’s got a bigger picture in mind for us. He might remind us to put our energy into something that is bigger: love, encouragement, community, inclusiveness. He might tell us to get out of our temporary building and work with the people around us to build a better world.
Jesus has the bigger picture in mind. Even when we are distracted drivers on the roadway of life, even when we sink money into that which can’t last, even when we are impressed by all the wrong things, God is my copilot. Actually, it turns out that God is driving. God is in control. And that’s why the end isn’t so scary. As scary as it might look to face the end, God has been to the end and back. God has come through the end and made it a beginning of new life for all creation. The end is something to look forward to because God works through what seems final to bring resurrection to us all.
1st Reading: Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16
2nd Reading: Hebrews 10:11-25
It has probably been a long time since most of us read the driver’s manual, but I got to look through it again a couple of years ago and watch a safe driving video so that I could drive a van of kids to Camp Odyssey in 2011. It was a good reminder for me of how to be a defensive driver, especially the idea of scanning the road. Many of us are very aware of what’s going on right in front of the car, but if we also see what is going on further ahead, we can prepare and react and be a better driver. We should scan the road 10-15 seconds ahead so we can see what’s coming, as well as all our mirrors and closer to the car as well. Anticipating what might be coming up and adjusting to accommodate that can prevent accidents and save lives.
The same can be said of our lives. It is so easy to just focus on what is right in plain view, right in front of us. I know when I get into the office I look at my calendar for that day and prioritize my tasks based on what needs to be done first. Sometimes I forget to take that longer look at my schedule and do the longer-term planning that I need to do. And with home life, doesn’t it seems we spend a lot of time cleaning up the small things, loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing and folding the clothes, cooking dinner, feeding the pets, that the longer term chores sometimes get neglected. Sometimes we lose track of the bigger picture of the routine maintenance we need to keep up with and then the bigger chores and upkeep like painting the house or replacing the roof or having the chimney swept.
And the same can be true of our spiritual lives. We move through on automatic, going to church, going to meetings, doing devotions with our eyes on the road right in front of us. But are we also scanning ahead to the bigger picture, the long-term view of what is coming ahead? Are we ready to see what God has in mind, long-term, for our world, our souls, our church?
Today in the Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that something big is coming up the road. There are many churches that talk about “end times.” They are watching out down the road for signs that we’re coming to the end. This focus for Evangelicals causes them to get out and warn everyone of the impending doom. “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?” they might ask. If you haven’t been born again according to their definition, they become afraid for you that you will spend eternity in torment, even if you are a Lutheran pastor or regular church-goer.
For most Lutherans the “End times” is not our favorite topic, precisely because of this negative association that so many others attach to it, but the “end times” are Biblical and something for us to be aware of. For us, it is different. The end doesn’t mean a reason to panic and be afraid. The end times mean God’s reign is coming near, that justice will be done and peace is not far away. To be near to God--isn’t that what we all want? For Lutherans to look down the road and see the signs of the end times, we have the assurance that Jesus has wiped out our sins and separation from God, so we’re looking forward to the end. This has been a long journey, and we’re ready to get out and stretch our legs and embrace our loved ones and enjoy a feast beyond imagination together. The end is a good thing for us. Because of Jesus’ love and life and promises, the end is not an end, but a beginning of eternal life and peace and love.
The reading from Daniel is something called “Apocalyptic Literature.” It is the Old Testament version of the book of Revelation in the New Testament. It is giving a prediction of what might come down the road. It talks about some anguish and some shame and everlasting contempt, so you get an idea of where some Christians are coming from when they freak out about the end times. However, this is meant as a comfort. First of all a protector is arising. God’s people will be protected. The people have a promise of deliverance. Those who are dead will be raised. The wise will shine like the stars for all eternity. All that sounds pretty good. And at the time Daniel was written, the Israelites were in exile. They were already in anguish and needed to know that this wasn’t how it would always be. They needed to know that it wouldn’t always be this rough road, but that their destination wasn’t far away and it would be better than they could have hoped. God has a plan to turn anguish into hope and joy. The Israelites wanted to know that those who had hurt them would be punished, so they took comfort knowing that their enemies wouldn’t rule over them forever. It might be strange to think of this reading from Daniel as a word of hope, but I assure you that is how it was meant and that is how the Israelites would have heard it.
This word of hope is more clear in the reading from Hebrews. After a pretty scathing attack on priests and pastors (Ok I get it!), we are assured that our salvation and joy and hope doesn’t rest on these blundering messed-up humans (because if it did, we’d be in big trouble). Instead it rests on Jesus and his love and sacrifice. That’s why I see my job as pointing to Christ. I am standing up here in my long robe, offering up prayers, and going on and on, blah, blah, blah, but what I really hope to do, is point to Christ. Can you see down the road, Christ, the big picture? I want to be a road sign pointing the way. Don’t focus on the sign too long or you’ll lose track of what’s on the roadway. Look up ahead and see Christ—not someone to fear, but someone with open arms who loves you and is waiting for you to come home.
That second reading assures us that it is all taken care of, forever. We can stop obsessing about our sins. We can stop gripping the steering wheel of life in fear that we will break a traffic law or crash into someone. We can live our life in hope. We can move forward toward our goals with confidence. We don’t have to be afraid, as we look up the road. Instead of obstacles, let us see opportunities to grow in faith, to become better drivers, to encourage others to drive defensively, too.
Driving is such a solitary activity, it is hard to relate it to faith life. I suppose a lot of people these days wouldn’t see the problem. They like the idea of practicing your faith or spirituality alone, believing that it is individual and private. The reading today acknowledges such people—those that neglect to meet together. I think they are missing out on something important. The support of community when you are hurting or in need is such a big part of a life of faith, in my view. We need each other for encouragement and also for checks and balances. Our faith community helps us evaluate our faith journey. There is a saying, “Friends don’t let friends _______.” I think it used to be “drive Fords” or “drive Chevys.” Now I think that’s been replaced with something more universal, “drive drunk.” A true friend will tell you when you’re on the wrong track.
Driving isn’t really a solitary activity at all, though is it? There are many other vehicles on the road to consider and take into account. I read an article this week that Toyota is working on cars that communicate with each other. They may be able to prevent accidents by knowing where other vehicles are or swerve if a person steps out in front of the car. These cars react to one another and to objects in their path, just like we all need to do in our spiritual life. A faith life is one lived in community, with communication, with encouragement, with chances to join our gifts with those of other people, with chances to know God’s love through the people in our faith community. Family has to love each other. Church is a chosen family where we learn to work together, as we learn to love each other, as we progress on our faith journey.
In the Gospel, the Disciples are learning to scan ahead a little bit, but when they lift their eyes, all they can see is this huge building. Ok, we want to look beyond what is right under our noses. Here is something that looks impressive and lasting. They are distracted by the Hummer limo in the lane in front of them and they are missing the big picture again.
Jesus situates himself opposite the temple, in both location and attitude. He is against the temple, against big buildings, against institutions that oppress people and perpetuate the cycle of people being left out. We might picture Jesus sitting on the hill over here under the tree we thought about cutting down. What would he see as he looked at our church? Would he be impressed that we kept our lawn mowed? Would he notice that it was recently painted and had a roof put on? Would he be impressed by all the nice cars in the parking lot? It seems he might have something to say to us about how temporary all this is and how he’s got a bigger picture in mind for us. He might remind us to put our energy into something that is bigger: love, encouragement, community, inclusiveness. He might tell us to get out of our temporary building and work with the people around us to build a better world.
Jesus has the bigger picture in mind. Even when we are distracted drivers on the roadway of life, even when we sink money into that which can’t last, even when we are impressed by all the wrong things, God is my copilot. Actually, it turns out that God is driving. God is in control. And that’s why the end isn’t so scary. As scary as it might look to face the end, God has been to the end and back. God has come through the end and made it a beginning of new life for all creation. The end is something to look forward to because God works through what seems final to bring resurrection to us all.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
November 4, 2012
Gospel: John 11:32-44
1st Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
2nd Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a
“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” the Judeans ask. This week, a lot of people asked this question as Megastorm Sandy beat down on the east coast. Thankfully, due to evacuations and preparation, only 35 deaths are blamed on the storm when there could have been a great many more. But if you are family of one of those 35, certainly you have a very deep loss and there is loss of property, homes destroyed, power out, whole neighborhoods in New Jersey flooded. The storm hit the coast line so hard that maps will have to be redrawn.
An article on CNN.com this week evaluated the trending words on Facebook and Twitter and found “prayer” to be at the very top, as well as “thanks.” News organizations found the storm to be an opportunity for people to discuss the power of God verses atheism and all aspects of faith.
We believe in a powerful and active God. We believe that God hears our prayers. There are times when we can explain human suffering as a result of human error or selfishness. Someone might be seriously injured in a car accident because of a drunk driver. Someone’s bad decision to drink and drive caused another person to suffer. But in the case of natural disasters, human error can’t be said to have caused the suffering. In fact the insurance companies call it an “Act of God.”
Could not the one who raised from the dead this Lazarus, have kept those people from dying in the storm or kept those houses from being destroyed? It is a question people are asking this week and ask any time there is a natural disaster.
There isn’t an easy answer. You could say humans are causing climate change which makes these storms worse and worse. It is hard to prove the many causes of any one weather event. And people died long before we put so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
You could say that God gave the universe, this earth, laws of gravity and magnetism and convection that govern how systems interact and God doesn’t interfere every time a human life is in danger. That isn’t how the world works. That isn’t how God works. Yet God parted the red sea and allowed Jesus to calm the winds and walk on water. God has the power over weather and has chosen to use it at least a few times.
I don’t think you could say that God doesn’t care, though. When I was growing up, my grandma made sure if I knew nothing else about the Bible, I knew that the shortest verse in there is, “Jesus wept.” Here we read it, “Jesus began to weep.” This way of saying it gives it an ongoing feeling. “Jesus wept,” sounds like he broke down for a moment. “Jesus began weeping,” is more true to the original Greek it was written in, that Jesus’ weeping goes on. Jesus was hurting. He was hurting at the loss of his friend. He was hurting that his friends were grieving. He might have been a little frustrated that everyone was blaming him that he didn’t get there in time. Some also believe that he may have been weeping in anger. When it says in the Gospel that he was “greatly disturbed,” that might better be translated “furious.” Anger and sadness are so closely related. We have a hard time picturing our meek and mild Jesus getting angry, but he may have been angry at death, itself, his big adversary and one he would soon face in a final battle alone on the cross.
Storms and car accidents and earthquakes and suffering don’t happen because God doesn’t care. Jesus weeping shows me just how deeply he does care. That’s the thing to remember when we are suffering, is that God knows what it is like to endure great suffering. God walks with us in our suffering. God is beside the one who is suffering. God is within that person. When we weep, God weeps with us.
And this is where the Saints come in. Saints are people just like us whose lives have born witness to God’s loving compassion. Their lives have not been without troubles or suffering, in fact many of them suffered quite extensively. Yet they didn’t live for themselves or their own comfort. They used their God-given gifts to lessen the suffering of others. It was about the big picture, not their own wishes in the moment. They thought of others and God worked through them to relieve suffering of those around them.
And none of them have escaped death, yet. We will all die, one way or the other, whether it be in a megastorm or quietly in our sleep. The end will come to our earthly life. But death is Jesus’ big adversary that he defeated. Jesus offers eternal life. Like Lazarus, we will all go to the grave. Even Jesus didn’t escape death. But like Jesus and Lazarus, we will be raised to new life.
Death and resurrection is something that happens at the end of our life, but it also goes on throughout our life. The saints practiced dying to their own desires. They lived and died a thousand small deaths throughout their lifetimes and came through them to find new life. They denied themselves the comforts of life. They gave up family and friends and houses and lucrative jobs. They let go of the things that didn’t really contribute to the bigger picture of a better life for all people and they devoted themselves to bringing that better life. They allowed Jesus to raise them to a new awareness of how they are connected to all life, of how their gifts could be used to make a better world. They rose everyday to new life to bring that life to others around them.
So when the time came for them to die, they had been there already. They knew how to surrender. They were ready. They had been waiting to hear Jesus call their name and command them to “come out!”
We also die a thousand deaths. As we go through life we have to let go of our ideas of who we thought we would be. In marriage we have to let go and make a lot of compromises with our spouse for the sake of a relatively peaceful home life. When we get sick, we have to let go of our independence. When we lose our job or retire we have to or get to let go and die to our old life and try something different. So when it is time for us to physically die, we know we have already been there. We have died before and we were not alone. We had community. We had God weeping beside us. And we rose to new life, something different than we expected, but a place we experienced God’s grace all the same. Not what we would have chosen, but a situation where we could learn and grow in compassion and love.
I invite you to picture your loved ones hearing their names called and walking from the dark grave that really is this life, and stepping into the full sun, the welcome of community, full peace and health and life, knowing connection, knowing love, being one with God, being complete. And I invite you to think of God calling you from the grave. Maybe it is one that you dug for yourself in this life or one you just fell into. And picture being raised to new life and new experiences and new heights of love and growth. And picture yourself having physically died and being called out of the darkness into the light and presence of God. May that view of the big picture give you courage and peace for whatever you face from day to day—that God knows the end of the story and it is going to be ok and better than ok. It will be God’s Kingdom realized both here in this world and in life eternal.
At the very end of the Gospel, Jesus calls for Lazarus to be unbound from his grave clothes. In this life, Jesus calls us from the grave, from our sinful ways, from our deathly choices, from our fears and hatred. But we are not just called from something. We are called to something. And we unbind each other. We need to hear forgiveness from each other. Part of that grave experience sticks to us and keeps us from moving forward. We need to know that we can leave those old grave clothes behind. It really is a new start. We aren’t held to the law anymore. We are freed to move forward in true new life. Jesus calls us to new life, and it will be in community, with the help of others around us can we truly be freed from the remnants of the grave to serve and to practice that new life and love.
1st Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
2nd Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a
“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” the Judeans ask. This week, a lot of people asked this question as Megastorm Sandy beat down on the east coast. Thankfully, due to evacuations and preparation, only 35 deaths are blamed on the storm when there could have been a great many more. But if you are family of one of those 35, certainly you have a very deep loss and there is loss of property, homes destroyed, power out, whole neighborhoods in New Jersey flooded. The storm hit the coast line so hard that maps will have to be redrawn.
An article on CNN.com this week evaluated the trending words on Facebook and Twitter and found “prayer” to be at the very top, as well as “thanks.” News organizations found the storm to be an opportunity for people to discuss the power of God verses atheism and all aspects of faith.
We believe in a powerful and active God. We believe that God hears our prayers. There are times when we can explain human suffering as a result of human error or selfishness. Someone might be seriously injured in a car accident because of a drunk driver. Someone’s bad decision to drink and drive caused another person to suffer. But in the case of natural disasters, human error can’t be said to have caused the suffering. In fact the insurance companies call it an “Act of God.”
Could not the one who raised from the dead this Lazarus, have kept those people from dying in the storm or kept those houses from being destroyed? It is a question people are asking this week and ask any time there is a natural disaster.
There isn’t an easy answer. You could say humans are causing climate change which makes these storms worse and worse. It is hard to prove the many causes of any one weather event. And people died long before we put so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
You could say that God gave the universe, this earth, laws of gravity and magnetism and convection that govern how systems interact and God doesn’t interfere every time a human life is in danger. That isn’t how the world works. That isn’t how God works. Yet God parted the red sea and allowed Jesus to calm the winds and walk on water. God has the power over weather and has chosen to use it at least a few times.
I don’t think you could say that God doesn’t care, though. When I was growing up, my grandma made sure if I knew nothing else about the Bible, I knew that the shortest verse in there is, “Jesus wept.” Here we read it, “Jesus began to weep.” This way of saying it gives it an ongoing feeling. “Jesus wept,” sounds like he broke down for a moment. “Jesus began weeping,” is more true to the original Greek it was written in, that Jesus’ weeping goes on. Jesus was hurting. He was hurting at the loss of his friend. He was hurting that his friends were grieving. He might have been a little frustrated that everyone was blaming him that he didn’t get there in time. Some also believe that he may have been weeping in anger. When it says in the Gospel that he was “greatly disturbed,” that might better be translated “furious.” Anger and sadness are so closely related. We have a hard time picturing our meek and mild Jesus getting angry, but he may have been angry at death, itself, his big adversary and one he would soon face in a final battle alone on the cross.
Storms and car accidents and earthquakes and suffering don’t happen because God doesn’t care. Jesus weeping shows me just how deeply he does care. That’s the thing to remember when we are suffering, is that God knows what it is like to endure great suffering. God walks with us in our suffering. God is beside the one who is suffering. God is within that person. When we weep, God weeps with us.
And this is where the Saints come in. Saints are people just like us whose lives have born witness to God’s loving compassion. Their lives have not been without troubles or suffering, in fact many of them suffered quite extensively. Yet they didn’t live for themselves or their own comfort. They used their God-given gifts to lessen the suffering of others. It was about the big picture, not their own wishes in the moment. They thought of others and God worked through them to relieve suffering of those around them.
And none of them have escaped death, yet. We will all die, one way or the other, whether it be in a megastorm or quietly in our sleep. The end will come to our earthly life. But death is Jesus’ big adversary that he defeated. Jesus offers eternal life. Like Lazarus, we will all go to the grave. Even Jesus didn’t escape death. But like Jesus and Lazarus, we will be raised to new life.
Death and resurrection is something that happens at the end of our life, but it also goes on throughout our life. The saints practiced dying to their own desires. They lived and died a thousand small deaths throughout their lifetimes and came through them to find new life. They denied themselves the comforts of life. They gave up family and friends and houses and lucrative jobs. They let go of the things that didn’t really contribute to the bigger picture of a better life for all people and they devoted themselves to bringing that better life. They allowed Jesus to raise them to a new awareness of how they are connected to all life, of how their gifts could be used to make a better world. They rose everyday to new life to bring that life to others around them.
So when the time came for them to die, they had been there already. They knew how to surrender. They were ready. They had been waiting to hear Jesus call their name and command them to “come out!”
We also die a thousand deaths. As we go through life we have to let go of our ideas of who we thought we would be. In marriage we have to let go and make a lot of compromises with our spouse for the sake of a relatively peaceful home life. When we get sick, we have to let go of our independence. When we lose our job or retire we have to or get to let go and die to our old life and try something different. So when it is time for us to physically die, we know we have already been there. We have died before and we were not alone. We had community. We had God weeping beside us. And we rose to new life, something different than we expected, but a place we experienced God’s grace all the same. Not what we would have chosen, but a situation where we could learn and grow in compassion and love.
I invite you to picture your loved ones hearing their names called and walking from the dark grave that really is this life, and stepping into the full sun, the welcome of community, full peace and health and life, knowing connection, knowing love, being one with God, being complete. And I invite you to think of God calling you from the grave. Maybe it is one that you dug for yourself in this life or one you just fell into. And picture being raised to new life and new experiences and new heights of love and growth. And picture yourself having physically died and being called out of the darkness into the light and presence of God. May that view of the big picture give you courage and peace for whatever you face from day to day—that God knows the end of the story and it is going to be ok and better than ok. It will be God’s Kingdom realized both here in this world and in life eternal.
At the very end of the Gospel, Jesus calls for Lazarus to be unbound from his grave clothes. In this life, Jesus calls us from the grave, from our sinful ways, from our deathly choices, from our fears and hatred. But we are not just called from something. We are called to something. And we unbind each other. We need to hear forgiveness from each other. Part of that grave experience sticks to us and keeps us from moving forward. We need to know that we can leave those old grave clothes behind. It really is a new start. We aren’t held to the law anymore. We are freed to move forward in true new life. Jesus calls us to new life, and it will be in community, with the help of others around us can we truly be freed from the remnants of the grave to serve and to practice that new life and love.
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