PENTECOST 14 - C 2010

The Head of the Table

Introduction

One of the advantages of my side gig as a newspaper writer is that i have interviewed some famous people; Great Big Sea, the Irish Rovers, and Tommy Hunter for example. My little brother Andrew is a movie producer and he has met some really famous people...

Here is something that has surprised me. How normal these people seem.

I have never talked to anyone who did not sound just like one of you.

In fact, there are some people in our congregation who are famous – we just don’t ask enough questions of each other or share our stories enough.

So what makes one person different than another? Is it wealth? Is it popularity? Is it social status?

What would make someone more important?

What are we supposed to be like?

Let’s think about that for a moment as we say a prayer together....

Jeremiah

I humbly suggest to you that life is about asking the right questions.

If you don't ask the right questions, you can't get the right answers. That's a basic principle of success in almost any endeavour. All of you who are gathered here today can more than likely think of times in your life when you had to ask the right questions. As a matter of fact, it can be devastating to not ask the right questions.

To the real estate agent, "Is this house on a flood plain?"

To the used car salesman, "Can I have the phone number of the little old lady who owned this car?

To the insurance agent, "Can you tell me what is not covered?"

What question do you imagine God would ask of you? Because that is essentially what is happening in this passage; God asks:

God asks all of Israel, "What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?"

Okay, so this is harsh... but this is Jeremiah’s twist on “you are what you eat.” He is saying, “you become like the things you seek;” or perhaps “you are what you worship.”

I will take it a step further and combine it with my opening – I believe we ‘worship’ what we ‘envy’ in society. So we want to be rich, we want to be famous, we want to be healthy, we want to be beautiful... and I know, some of us make peace with our lives – but envy is never far below the surface... even something as simple as thinking our grandkids spend too much time at the inlaws...

“What have I done?” asks God, “that you put all of these things first?”

We try though – we try to at least make God a priority; and God’s values important... and that is why each week we offer up a token of our lives and our love as we give back a portion of the bounty that grace has blessed us with.... May our hearts be opened to God’s will as we share in our offering.

All I ever really needed to know....

Have you ever read the book or seen the poster about “all I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten?” it is great, it is written by another minister, and writer, Robert Fulgham.

Here is the famous part:

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere; the Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation; ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap; or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true; no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

There you are – the book of Hebrews and every other Biblical advice on how to live our lives explained... in a way that even a five year old can grasp...

Let’s listen to John and Daphne sing...

The Foot of the Table

I think I have told you about end stress analysis. It is a truism of Biblical writing – whatever is the last thing said in a particular passage is probably the most important.

Take for example, Jesus teaching here – there is a lot going on – parties and places of honour – choices to be made...

But the story ends... so when you throw a party, invite the people everyone else forgot... they can’t repay you, they often can’t throw you a party... but you will be blessed.

Jesus was always taking the wisdom passed down through the tradition and simplifying it... and he was always using the most basic examples to get people understand a “better way” to be.

This is the other side of Jeremiah – Jeremiah comes to the people and says, “Why are you always choosing the wrong things?” “Why do you fight so hard against God?”

Jesus comes to those who already know they are messing some things up and says, “it is easier than you think.”

I suspect that is why a lot of the people I talk to who have “made it big” are humble. Perhaps it is far easier to see how easy it is from the other side.... all of us could be the type of people that make a difference in the world – we just have to focus a little differently... and it means learning some skills we might not have – like humility and hospitality. Openness and kindness. Trust and compassion.

Jesus essentially says, God does not want all that much from you... so... are you willing to try?

Micah Brings Us Home

Long before Jesus summed things up for everyone, Micah did it in a very poetic way... the song we just sang is almost exactly what Micah says; but the prophet elaborates a wee bit:

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God

That’s it... simple... go and do likewise!

Pentecost 13 2010

You Have Knitted My Innermost Parts

Introduction

Once upon a time, a long time ago in the city state of Athens, some people began to think about the ways of the world. “Why are we here?” “What is the sky made of?” “Is there a difference between a rock and a tree?” and other such questions seemed to occupy the Ancient Greeks more than the rest of us.

To be fair, maybe they just wrote more books. I am sure people in China, Peru, Greenland and North America were also looking up at the stars and saying, “What do you think those are?”

We go through life asking a lot of questions as well. It seems to start as soon as we can express ourselves when our favourite word becomes “Why?”

This, my friends, is this simple definition of philosophy; it is the human’s attempt to answer all of those “why” questions.

Have you ever thought what you would come up with if left to your own devices? If school , parents, church and friends did not influence your decisions, could you answer “Why are we here?” or even “What are the stars?”

The Indo European Way

So where did all this thinking lead everyone? Well – to many explanations about human reason, and what it is possible to know is “true”... You see, Greek Classical Philosophy sort of ended up being summarized by Rene Descartes when he said, “I think, therefore I am.”

The one argument I would have against it, is it was all in their heads. It was all personal. It was all about what we imagine to be true being truer than what is around us each and every day...

Alexander the Great spread the Greek culture and philosophy further than we might realize; from Western Europe right through to Asia. And religion became influenced by this way of thinking... the gods were absent, but powerful, and the duty of all us followers was to meditate, to know the truth, to understand...

But there was another way of thinking out there – another way of understanding life – not just as “thinking” but life as “being”; the Semitic way of thinking. Here we are taking about the Arabic and Jewish way of seeing God as connected to us in a very real, very deep, very physical way. “Before I knew you, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

This is not Zeus up on Mt Olympus playing chess. This is the God who counts hairs on people’s heads, who watches tiny sparrows playing in the wind – who has a hand, as it were, in the world.

All of the Psalms are written to this personal God. They still ask the why question, but they are asking it in the same way we might ask a parent. “Why did you let me do that?” “Why weren’t you there when...”

Sound familiar? Well, although our roots started in the Greek camp, Jerusalem won the day in our thinking about faith.

So do you do that? Do you ask ‘Why’ in a very personal way to God? Do you expect an answer?

Putting the Mystery Back

Of course – God does not answer, or the answers are not what we would like to hear, or the universe is just tricksy and bad things do happen to bad people.

Our tradition reserves the right to keep a little mystery. The Bible is chock full of times and places when we strive to understand God and are left with no answers. Moses wants to see God’s face and is told he can only see the “backside” after God has passed by. Elijah wants to be reassured by God and ends up in a cave in the hills where he hears the “still, small voice of God in the silence. Job, after losing everything, questions God’s wisdom in all of this and ends up, essentially, being told – where you there when I made the oceans, or measured the mountains? No? Then stop asking dumb questions.

And here today, a hundred years after Jesus death, give or take, we read in the book of Hebrews that we have come to something that cannot be touched – that cannot be explained. God is like a consuming fire; impossible to get close to.

It’s like this; for thousands and thousands of years we have definitely wanted answers. The wisest of the wise know that there are some answers we are just never, ever, going to get. Whether it is that we are too young, too undeveloped, too arrogant, too close minded... whatever you want to think – the thing is that there are some things that are impossible to figure out.

There is a story about Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior, who was a doctor. As such he was very interested in the use of ether. In order to know how his patients felt under its influence, he once had a dose administered to himself.

As he was going under, in a dreamy state, a profound thought came to him. He believed that he had suddenly grasped the key to all the mysteries of the universe. When he regained consciousness, however, he was unable to remember what the insight was.

Because of the great importance this thought would be to mankind, Holmes arranged to have himself given either again. This time he had a stenographer present to take down the great thought. The either was administered, and sure enough, just before passing out the insight reappeared. He mumbled the words, the stenographer took them down, and he went to sleep confident in the knowledge that he had succeeded.

Upon awakening, he turned eagerly to the stenographer and asked her to read what he had uttered. This is what she read: "The entire universe is permeated with a strong odour of turpentine."

There are some things we are just not meant to know.

Jesus

Ok so why all this philosophy after a weekend when most of us probably went to the beach, or BBQ’d or kayaked or otherwise enjoyed the sunshine?

Well because humanity has developed two complete religious systems: one based on classical greek philosophy which emerged as Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Shamanism, Norse and Roman and of course, Greek mythology... From this way of thinking humans exist for the sake of humanity. Our greatest good is to become the best individual we can. The way to religious truth is to “know thyself” as completely as possible....

The second stream, the Semitic, classified mostly by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, says that humans exist for the sake of God. The greatest good is to follow God as closely as possible. The way to religious truth is to open yourself up to the voice of God....

They are all leading to the same place – and as systems, they both will ultimately fail.

So what is the answer? Well, as Buddha, Ghandi, Confucius, Mohammed, and even Jesus would tell their followers – the true path is the path in which you recognize your neighbour, and your God, as intimately connected to yourself.

This is the ultimate point of the healing of the woman on the Sabbath... a woman is in need... God would help that woman no matter what day it was.... so should you.

You see – the point is not what we think – it never was – the point is what we do. That’s what we need to start hearing clearly again...

Conclusion

The rich young man came to Jesus, he had studied all manner of philosophy, he had gone to all kinds of churches, he had even gone to Bible Study faithfully... now what did he have to do? Go, sell all he had, give it to the poor, and start doing what Jesus was doing.... stop thinking and start doing...

“Why are we here?” who knows, we are, now dig in. That, ultimately, is what the voice of God sounds like.

Pentecost 12 C

{you may notice that the sermons now have "parts" for those curious about this - the parts are spread out through the service. In other words, there is no "20 minute sermon" there are four places where we reflect on the theme... it is an interesting change...}

SETTING FIRE TO THE EARTH

Introduction

Once more we head into difficult Biblical passages. I don’t k now what the people were thinking when they designed this lectionary cycle... after all, isn’t it supposed to be a restful season? Aren’t we supposed to be reassured and sent on our merry way?

After all, God loves us, right? And Jesus is tender meek and mild, right?

And they don’t... expect anything of us.... right?

Ah, but then there is the pesky vineyard images... I tell you, beware if anyone ever starts to tell you about a vineyard – they never go well... Way back in Isaiah we have the prophet asking a question – what would you do if you planted a vineyard and expected grapes and it went wild?

What would you do if you called a congregation together and they just got worse?

What would you do if someone said they were a Christian and jsut got more and more wild?

This is our philosophical starting place for the day – a reality check... God is not all love and kisses, kindness and warm fuzzies. God is God... and we are Gods, and there is a responsibility there – so what is it?

Building on the Promises

A but God keeps coming back – right? I don’t know if you have ever stopped and noticed this – but one of the first things we do in the Communion liturgy is to recite some sort of history of how God saved us over and over and over again.

There are different ones – built Noah and ark, gave Sarah and Abraham children, gave us kings and rulers to govern us like David and Solomon...

It is a very Jewish thing to do, part of our 6,000 year old heritage in which we recognize that despite ourselves, God is always there to save us. In fact, God keeps finding new and better ways to bring us closer – like Jesus, send a messenger who is so full of God’s spirit that we just have to get the point – that would work, right?

Well, again, most of us now, 2000 years later, have completely forgotten what Jesus was like. What we have to remember is that Jesus was the type of guy who got everyone mad at him... disciples, Romans, Jewish authorities; common people in Galilee... in the end, almost everyone had a reason to be against him.

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that we all want the world to work a certain way – our way...

His original followers were so disappointed in him when he was not the type of Messiah they wanted; the one who would go and wage war and take power back by force from the Romans. Jesus disappointed them and some refused to follow him because of that, others betrayed him because of that.

Here is a question we never consider in the midst of that – what would Jesus feel like? What would God feel like when he saw this playing out?

Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up

So here is where it gets interesting – you see? This is the Jesus who is fed up with what he sees all around him. He is tired of looking at the poverty, dried up and empty souls, people choosing sides just to be on the winning side instead of the side of justice. Fed up with the fighting and wars, powers of domination and control where people are not free to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions.

And so we hear a Jesus who tells the people around him that he has not come to bring peace. He has not come to just stand there and be silent and happy about a world where people don’t experience mercy, compassion, or justice.

No this Jesus, our Jesus did not come to be silent and let things continue the way they always have. This Jesus, our Jesus has come to bring relationships of mercy, compassion, justice, between God and humanity, and humanity itself.

And we all know that not everybody wants peace and harmony. It is bad for business. So is equality. So is justice for that matter.

Jesus never once said to anyone – you know what – this is perfect just the way it is... and he certainly would not be saying it today. He would not be saying it in the midst of the poverty we have all around us right here in Moncton; he would not be saying it in a country where there are still different “types” of people who get more and less respect. He would not be saying things are perfect when we as a country seem willing to turn back a boatload of refugees washed up on our West Coast.

He would not even say our church is perfect the way it is – would he?

You see, the gospel story is as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. It kind of sets us back on heels; and makes us ask, what is he saying and what does it mean to me??

Well it means the same today as it did then. Jesus told his disciples to go – baptise change people’s lives, help one another find freedom and new life. Follow his Way of life, his values, the values of God – values of the kingdom. Believe in him and follow.

In Jesus day to say you believe in something was to say “I subscribe to that”, I give my heart and my life for that. When we say we believe in Jesus are you prepared to be saying I would give my life for him by choosing to live and follow his Way? Are we willing to say that I will follow his teachings no matter the cost?

What has happened through history and distance from the Jesus who walked on this earth is that many of us have turned belief into a mental exercise saying – yes I believe in Jesus, I agree with what the bible says, he is God’s son etc. Well that is nice but what difference does that make in your life or in the life of anyone else. Jesus died following God’s way. Is it enough for us to say the words “I believe” or doesn’t his life and death mean more than that to us? Doesn’t his sacrifice mean more to us than simply saying I agree? He came to bring new life, freedom to all.

Conclusion

I believe that when challenged by the values of our society and the temptation to give into mass consumption, political efforts to win a debate, taking part in any system that harms the earth, harms the bodies or souls or neighbours, friends, or strangers, or even following what members of our family say in order to keep the peace – we have an obligation to stand for what we call the kingdom of God.

We, as Christians, are held accountable to the fact that we are meant to live a different set of values than those of our worlds.

I would love to see us get together and look at ways we can disentangle ourselves as individuals and Church from the structures and organizations that bind, control, and keep people from experiencing the freedom the Gospel offers.

I would love to be able to find the courage and strength, the conviction of faith to stand in the face of anything that denies mercy, compassion, love and justice and – speak against it, work against it, and live our lives as completely separate as possible from it.

Life is short, life us unpredictable. We need to help one another to embrace the gifts God has offered to us but they are not always easy to obtain. It takes effort, thought, and practice.

It also takes witness, and the retelling of stories of people who have followed Jesus Way despite the cost.

I would imagine that we all have people in our lives, that we have known or witnessed in history that we have seen stand against oppression and filled our lives with hope. Because we know that when we hear them speak and refuse to participate, or give their consent that they are right, we feel it in our gut and in our hearts. Jesus is one of many – there many teachers out there on how to stay faithful to the Way.

What would it be like if we would share those stories (about ourselves or those we admire), and encourage others to do the same. Wouldn’t we make a difference in this community and world?

We are told that Jesus said to go and baptize – go and make followers of me, he said. Go teach and encourage people to not give into the status quo but together in your communities of faith stand for what is right, work for what is compassionate and good and the entire world will know of the glory and goodness of God.

Pentecost 11 - C

The Assurance of Things Hoped For

I have a three year old and a five year old.

I have been on vacation with them for exactly four weeks.

I have learned a lot about the Bible.

PART ONE – Isaiah

“Enough of your burnt offerings – enough of your blood sacrifices!”

Rachael, in that entirely new to the world way, has learned the application of the word “Sorry.” What she lacks is a sense of remorse.

Over the last few weeks I have witnessed her say sorry for hitting her sister, and then continue to hit her. I have seen her say sorry for getting angry and then yell for the same thing. In fact, it appears sometimes that she says sorry first as a way of doing what she wants. This is especially true of shoes. She often says sorry to her older sister for borrowing her shoes right before she goes to the closet and gets them.

Let me make it clear that there is no way she is at fault – she just has not developed a sense of morality or guilt to the point where she could connect actions and reactions. Nor should she have – in her it is cute.

In you and me... not so cute.

This is exactly God’s point, says the prophet Isaiah – Stop with the offerings and incense, stop with the sacrifice and festivals... “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow...”

In other word’s = grow up; it is not about saying you are sorry, it is about not hitting your sister in the first place. It is not about praying that someone do something about world hunger, it is about growing a garden and giving the food to the foodbank...

The point is not what we say we are going to do – the point is doping what we ought.

PART TWO – Hebrews

My daughters love Marshmallows. Last summer their grandparents introduced them to the idea of campfires “needing” to have marshmallows (thank you very much for that)... and ever since one of their favourite treats is in fact the gooey sponge of sugar we call the marshmallow.

Now – there are often long stretches of time when the marshmallow tree in our house is barren. But this does not deter them from believing they can get one when they ask.

It is actually incredible and goes something like this.

“Can I have a marshmallow?”

“We don’t have any.”

“I need a marshmallow.”

“I can’t give you one, there are none.”

“I need a marshmallow.”

After which you try reasoning, you open the cupboard to show it bare, and FINALLY convince her there are no marshmallows.

“So, later then,” she says and nods her head.

Later could be five minutes to five hours... but the thought that I can provide marshmallows on demand never leaves her head. She hopes for marshmallows, and she trusts that they will be provided.

The unfortunate thing is that I know somewhere in the life of my children they will lose this sense of the goodness of the universe. They will be disappointed, their hearts will be broken, something will become “unfixable” and in that moment – they, and I, will experience a little death.

Why can’t we live in hope? Why do we have to start seeing the dark side of life rear its ugly head so early; and allow it to take away the joy we find? I don’t know the answer... and it is in fact one of those things I fight against in myself every single day...

It is also exactly what the author of Hebrews is talking about:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Then he talks about all the faithful characters in the Bible like Abraham and concludes:

“All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them... they were not thinking of the land they left behind, they were seeking something better...”

So to be faithful is not so very different than working continuously to bring marshmallows into the house while fully believing they will come one day.

The lesson from my kids, and from Hebrews, is to keep believing the promises are true – even when the evidence makes it hard... believe the world could and will be better... and live faithfully towards that goal...

It might take generations. But we will get there.

PART THREE – Luke

My oldest daughter Emily has been known to get up after we put her to bed and secretly get dressed.

Sometimes in the morning she is wearing a part dress. Sometimes it is play clothes. A few times it turns out to be a swim suit.

She is ready.

It makes it a whole lot easier; let me tell you, then trying to pry out of them what they would like to do today... “A party dress, I see we are celebrating...” and then we can work out what exactly we are celebrating!

Like it or not, the world brings things into your life. It could be a sunny day, a rainstorm, a friend popping by, a sudden death, sickness, or unexpected wealth.

The question Jesus asks of his followers is simple, “Are you ready!”

My daughter has convinced me that it is as simple as having the right thing to wear. We try to make it more difficult – we try to ask all sorts of questions, and prepare, and plan and... Well – the unexpected happens anyway.

A lot of what Jesus was trying to say was that life is as simple as “It is sunny, here is a river, we have a swimsuit, let’s enjoy it!”

I don’t mean to minimize pain and hardship in any way – a lot of things in life hurt us... and there are holes there that can never be filled. But the truth is, those things are going to happen to us all – some tragically, some unexpectedly, some sooner, and some later... Be prepared and live your life anyway.

In the book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” there is some advice I will never forget. The author rather bluntly says that we should speak to everyone as if they will unexpectedly die before we get the chance to talk to them again.

Imagine that – imagine how you would change your tone, your parting words, if they were to be your last...

Being faithful is about living life as if anything could happen – and diving right in – and enjoying what God has put before you as best you can – and knowing that the hard times are there anyway...

Conclusion

SO there you have it – religious lessons from Toddlers:

• · Saying you are sorry only counts if you try to change.

• · Someday there will be Marshmallows.

• · Wearing a party dress to bed pretty much assures a party the next day.

OR, if you really need it in religious terms:

• · It is by our actions that we show our faithfulness.

• · Hope is the assurance of things we might never see, but believe in nonetheless.

• · Live your life prepared for whatever God brings your way next.

It was not for nothing that Jesus said unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the Kingdom.

The fact of the matter is that little children are the only ones who LIVE in the kingdom. They see the wonder of the world. They can watch a spider spin a web and be amazed, they believe that promises will be fulfilled, they trust in the world’s goodness, they would help a stranger if they were crying, they laugh more than they cry.

Time to start living like them again – then we will be helping Jesus out.

MARITIME CONFERENCE ORDINATION

On this Sunday I attended the Ordination Service for new ministers at Sackville. The sermon was preached by the outgoing President, the Rev. Robert Johnson. I am including the qoutes he used in his sermon because I think they are really good.

It was an excellent sermon which boiled down to "being a Christian means doing, even when it is hard"

=======================================================

Daring Church

May 30, 2010 – Maritime Conference Annual Meeting Sunday

Psalm 8 and John 13:31-35

To escape criticism — do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. - Elbert Hubbard, American writer, satirist, artist, philosopher, keen proponent of the early arts and crafts movement

(If you find yourself being criticized in the midst of your ministry, know that means you are doing something, something that probably needs to be done.)

Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. - Albert Schweitzer

And, these words of Sarah Hall Maney, written in 1982, might serve as a more contemporary and contextual reflection of Psalm 8:

You are an original blessing…

God danced

On the day (you were) born, God danced.

Did you really, God?

Was it a ritualistic, dignified bow-from-the-waist kind of dance?

Or was it just possibly a wild and crazy arm-flinging kind of thing?

Did you pronounce somberly that here was another ‘good girl (boy)’ that you had created?

Or did you yell and holler and grab the guy on the corner to let him know that this time you had really done it!

This time you created a winner…

This one was going to go all the way!

I hope you did, God…

I really hope you did.

In his book The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, Peter Gomes tells of a preaching assignment he had in a very prestigious church. Of the occasion, he writes:

“…just as the rector and I were about to proceed to our prayers before the service, a wildly disoriented young man burst into the room. He spoke loudly…nonsensically, seemingly either ‘on’ or ‘off’ something. Whatever it was…his erratic behaviour was familiar to (my host), who treated him with enormous but firm courtesy and let the little tantrum run its course. The intruder left as abruptly as he had arrived, and while I was shaken the rector was not, and was clearly used to the interruption. As we pulled ourselves back together, his thoughtful comment to me was, ‘I keep hoping (he) isn’t Jesus.’” (pg 197)

Mark Twain said: “It is not what I don’t understand in the Bible that troubles me; it is what is perfectly clear that does.”

Peter Gomes: “To love God is one thing…what is it to love what (...as) God loves?”

Jesus says, “By this (kind of loving) all people will know that you are my disciples”, i.e., followers, students

Pentecost - C - 2010

PANENTHIESM FOR THE MASSES

I am not religious, I am spiritual.

If I had a nickel for every time I have been told that.... and what exactly does it mean anyway? If you looked it up in the dictionary you would find that “Spiritual” means; of, relating or pertaining to spiritual or religious values. While the definition of “Religious” is: related to or pertaining to religious beliefs and practice. There is not much difference there....

Of course, I know that when people tell me they are spiritual they are actually saying that they have no need to go to church.

“I find God when I walk in the forest, or do Yoga, or Meditate, or listen to the Dalai Llama...” they tell me. Well of course you do; so do I. I would even take it further and say you could find God while taking out the trash, bathing the kids, driving to work...

Unfortunately, God is not a one on one experience. Sure, we have moments of connection with God, we feel the presence of God, but God is made manifest in community. Which is a fancy church way of saying, you find God in church.

There is not a single person in the Bible who has an experience of God while they are all alone and then immediately is ‘faithful.’ Every single one of them goes to the Temple and checks it out, or speaks to the elders, or finds God revealed in the group.

Paul saw Jesus on the road... but it was not until he went into town, stayed in a Christian House, and met with a holy man that he was actually converted... then the scales fell off his eyes and he knew what God was like.

Even Abraham, who is reported to have had more one on one conversations with God than anyone past or present, and who was really a minority because at one point he might have been the only one on the planet following God, worked these things out with his family as he went.

We never fully find God alone.

Here is why: God is greater than the sum of the parts. God is everywhere, in everything, and working through everyone. If you wanted to move a fridge you could possibly do it alone – it would take a while, you might get a hernia, and you will certainly scratch the floor. With two people it is easier, with four it is a cinch.

God is like that – and although we always use it to justify small churches, the phrase, ‘where two or three are gathered’... well, it originally meant the opposite of what we now mean by it: God is only fully present when there is more than one person; when there is a relationship; when love is exchanged.

Pentecost is sometimes called the ‘birthday of the Church’ because it is really the first time that things got organized. Before Pentecost was a period of figuring things out, of wondering what to do if Jesus was not actually leading on a day to day basis. There were encounters and holy moments a plenty, on roads and at the seashore... but no one really knew what to do.

Then they all gathered in Jerusalem. If you follow the story, this is the first time all of them have gotten together since the days after Easter when they were locked away in the upper room. And not only are all the disciples together in one place, there is a multitude of people out and about – some of them listening to the disciples.

And – the presence of God is made manifest... Have you ever had one of those moments where time and space seem to strip away, where there is a sense that there is more going on than meets the eye? I often have them at Christmas Eve services, with the darkness and candles, I get a real sense that God might just be being born into the world again.

Well, here, Peter and the whole gang suddenly get it, they suddenly begin preaching with power, they suddenly reach out across the barriers of class and race and language and everybody understands them. Everyone who walks by realizes that God is at work in this moment – it is almost visible as tongues of fire... it is the Holy Spirit.

And by that we mean it is the presence of God in and around and through everything.

God is suddenly known in the sum of all the parts that are gathered together, and the power of God is so much more than people imagined... it is more than the beauty of a sunset. It is more than the feeling of peace as you walk beside the still water. It is more than the power of the ocean waves crashing on the shore... it is more than spirituality.

It is church. It is God made manifest in the life and work of God’s people. The possibilities are endless for us, and that my friends, is the good news.

Easter 07 - C - 2010

THAT ALL MAY BE ONE

I have this feeling that life is actually a series of beginnings and endings; of hellos and goodbyes.

Often, well, actually, always, it is hard to tell the difference. Every ending is the beginning of something else, and every beginning is in its own way, an ending.

Do you remember how we start the narrative story when we celebrate communion? We always say, “On the night before Jesus died…” And that recognition brings us back to a very clear remembrance that Jesus did die – that the hopes of the disciples were dashed, and that everything changed.

Of course, those events of the Last Supper and even the crucifixion turned out to be just a beginning of a different kind, of the season of Easter – the time when Jesus, or rather, the resurrected Jesus, was present in the world and interacting with the disciples to help them continue his work.

Now the time has come to say farewell once more.

Over the last seven weeks we have journeyed with the disciples as they have come to terms with Jesus death and resurrection. From the first day he appeared behind the locked door, we too have had to try and understand what it might mean that Jesus was resurrected. How does it change things? What happens now?

Take a moment and think about that… what does it mean to you; this whole Easter story? What does it mean that Jesus was brought back from the grave?

~

The opening to this Sunday’s service could well be “On the night before Jesus left…”

“The glory which thou has given me,” he tells God, “I have given to them…”

The passing on of a mantle, of a mission, of a calling to share God’s love with those who would come after; and in doing so, to reveal God’s glory.

I remember that when I was ordained it was a pretty powerful moment. A group of clergy placed their hands on top of my head and said very similar words, passed something on to me… a tradition, a calling, a challenge… and set me free to live my faith.

Baptism and Confirmation are times when that same glory is transferred to each and every one of us. Jesus said, “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” This is not only a goodbye prayer for the disciples, it is a continuing blessing for us – their followers.

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one.” That the world may become perfectly one. This is the prayer that Jesus has for us.

This Farewell Prayer always calls to mind the prayer once offered by Elie Wiesel to someone who was about to be ordained a priest: "May this day mark the beginning of a mission that will bring many, many people closer to each other, closer to God, and closer to themselves." I wonder if Elie Wiesel knew he was paraphrasing Jesus' last prayer for all of us. For this mission is the one mission we all share, no matter whether we are Christians and Jews, Islamic or Hindu; we are the people of God.

And this unity is possible – Because God’s love is a powerful force for good. We are one, because we are unified in God’s love. And that love is with us in every instance of our lives – it sets us free.

Just look at Paul and Silas. They were trapped in the deepest darkest prison, shut away from their friends and companions, not knowing what was going to happen next – they could even die. And in the midst of that what are they doing? They are having a hymn sing! Even in this moment God’s love still rings through their heart.

There is a freedom there that hopefully many of us will never have to experience, a freedom that allows us to live the abundant life Jesus promised no matter what is happening around us. It makes me think of the Slaves in the Southern States, who even though they were born into a harsh life of absolute slavery, still wrote songs of great love and beauty – like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”; or take a moment and turn to hymn 577…

“I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.” Can you imagine singing those words over grits in your slave shack? Do not underestimate the power of God’s love to make us whole – to bring us that glory that Jesus spoke of.

A story is told of these two soldiers who wanted to bury their companion over in France. They looked through the village until they finally found a small church with an adjoining cemetery. It happened to be a Roman Catholic graveyard and the man was a Protestant. So the two friends went to find the priest and ask permission to bury their friend. The priest refused because the man was not Catholic, but seeing how disappointed they were he told them they could bury their friend just outside the cemetery fence – which they did.

A few weeks later they returned to visit the grave and looked high and low but could not find it. Their search led them back to the priest and, of course, they asked him what had happened to the grave. He told them that during the night they first arrived he had been unable to sleep because he had made them bury their friend outside of the fence. So he got up and moved the fence to include the dead soldier.

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one.”

It’s a powerful statement of unity and the calling that Jesus left us with. But the other interesting thing about unity is that we are not talking about making everyone exactly the same. God’s love does not require us to all look alike, or think alike, or act alike. This is a unity of spirit, a unity of love, in which all of our differences actually help to strengthen us.

Ralph Milton tells a story which I would like to share today; a story about concrete. He writes:

I watched them pour the driveway to our house. The workers laid down steel rods, then as they poured the cement, they pulled the rods up so they would be in the middle of the concrete as it hardened.

“What do you need the rods for?” I asked one of the workers.

“It makes the concrete stronger. Reinforced concrete.”

“Yes, I know, but how do the rods make the concrete stronger?”

The worker picked up one of the rods. “Look, if you push down on it, it bends real easy.” His muscles bulged and the rod bent. “But you can't pull it apart. This hunk of rod could pull that truck over there. On the other hand, a piece of concrete is easy to pull apart. But if you push down on it, it won't bend."

“So?” Ralph asked.

“So they've got opposite strengths. The steel is strong when you pull, the concrete is strong when you push. Put them together, and you've got reinforced concrete, which is strong both ways. That's how they make all those big buildings and bridges. Concrete by itself or steel by itself wouldn't be strong enough.”

Jesus knew that no one person would be strong enough to pick up where he left off, but he knew that together we could share God’s love the way it was meant to be shared. He prayed for our unity so that we might pick up where he left off – but he also prayed that we might come to understand God’s love and live out of that place of freedom that allows prisoners to sing in the dark and slaves to laugh.

And so, on this last Sunday of the Season of Easter we pray to God as Jesus prayed; that God's love might continue to dwell in us - and that we may be one. We pray that our love for each other - our unity - may be shown not only to each member of the family of God that walks through these doors - but to those outside these doors as well - so that all might believe. Amen.