And Why Has This Happened To Me?

Someone brought to the office a little statue from our Annual Rummage sale.  Santa Claus kneeling in front of baby Jesus.   It is a numbered piece in a collector series, made in Italy, and it may have been donated by one of you.  I keep for a sermon during Advent and so here it is.  We learned in our Service of Decoration of how Santa derived from St. Nicholas.  So there is some truth in this.  But we know that in the popular culture, Santa has come to serve many commercial interests.  Someone sent me an email with a child’s letter to Santa.  “Dear Santa, I just learned that you are not the reason for the season.  I do not want to be mean but I thought you would want to know.”

Jon, Aged 4 wrote, “Dear Santa, I’m sorry, but I don’t have a chimney.  I left the cat flap open for you.  Watch out for litter box.

Kayla wrote, “Please Santa, don’t bring me any new clothes. “  Kayla, Aged 9

Dear Santa,

You know that remote control car you brought last year.  Thank you!  It broke the next day.  I know you tried and that’s what counts.”  Alex, 8

I am eager to gather with you on this last Sunday of Advent.  Christmas is almost here.  I am hoping that you will spend some reading the stories of our faith.  We have heard that the Pope has started on Twitter.  He is not following anyone, but he expects to have lots of followers.  And he has already clarified that many things that are popular beliefs are not in the scriptures.  Over the years our Service of Decoration has been altered in order to contain less of the legends and more of the biblical stories.

So today we visit a story about two pregnant women laughing together in joy at what God has done.  Elizabeth is older than one would expect to be pregnant; she is so happy God has blessed her in this way.  Mary is a younger family member who has made a journey to be with her for a while.

You cannot fault Mary for wanting to get out of town for a bit.  Mary went to visit Elizabeth both out of need and out of strength.  I would guess the gossip and ridicule around her was strong and she needed a break.  She was poor, pregnant, unwed though engaged.  She was in a hurry to find a safe secure place within her extended family to be comforted, supported and affirmed.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Mary was blessed with a pregnancy of world-changing importance.  The two could spend some great mother-to-be time together.  I can safely say that if a young mom were to become a great mom, conferring with a veteran mom would be great, don’t you think.

Spending a few months with Elizabeth was also for a very positive reason.  For Mary to be blessed in this way was thrilling and she needed to tell someone who would listen and respond in a favorable way.   The messiah is going to be born with Mary; that would take some getting used to.  So she received confirmation and she gave confirmation.  Elizabeth needed to know what God was doing.  Joseph must have coping with the news in his own way and getting many things ready.   The Holy Spirit filled both Mary and Elizabeth at the moment they got together…there was great joy.  So Mary and Elizabeth offered to each other emotional connections and spiritual growth.  They blessed each other with confirmation of the blessing of what God was doing in their lives.

We all need places to express and receive confirmation of our joy at God’s goodness and love.  We need places of affirmation.  That is one of the purposes of our church.

This church needs a revival.  Most churches I know need a revival.  Each of needs to revive our beliefs in God’s goodness and God’s power.  Currently there are Christians who are convinced in God’s goodness, but not in God’s power.  And others, to hear them talk, are convinced of God’s power, but God’s goodness is only for those just like them.  Mary’s song is about both, a witness to God’s grace who has done great things for her and looks with favor upon the lowly and fills the hungry with good things.  God’s mercy is God’s forgiveness and long-suffering patience with the weakness and corruption and violence of humanity.

We see in Mary a humility which elevates God to the highest.  God has claimed her and us to be disciples ready to transform the world.  We rejoice in this blessing.  God has been blessing us from the beginning of time, so says Mary’s song.  God is saying to us:  “I will be your God, won’t you please be my people.”  Mary’s song tells the greatest blessing of all:  God is good, God is powerful, and God keeps promises.”

CAUMC IS PLACE OF BLESSING AND COMFORT SORELY NEEDED.

CAUMC IS ALSO A PLACE OF CHALLENGE TO HEAR GOD’S GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR.

In the last trimester of the time in the womb, the inner ear is fully-developed.  At 26 weeks, most fetuses respond with an increase in the heart rate to sound stimulation.  There is evidence that some sounds comfort and excite excite the fetus.  Even exposure to music is thought to increase the interest of a baby after birth in sound imitation.  Find a young mother around our place and ask them what they think.

I hope that our worship and the experiences you have here both bring you comfort and stir you to greater faithfulness.  It is time to sing Mary’s song louder and live it in the world around us.

Leonard Sweet tells the story of a wedding about to begin in a Catholic church.  The groom’s party was in place and the bride and the women were lined up ready to process.  The moment had come but the organist was not playing in the loft.  The pastor waved…nothing.  The usher snapped fingers….nothing.  Finally the usher called out, with a loud voice, the organist’s first name.  “Neil, Neil!”  All over the church you could hear the dropping of the kneelers and most people kneeled.  

This week I have the privilege of hearing a mother tell about the impact of this church on the lives of her children, now grown.  They loved this place and it was the reason they started coming here.  Children were more than tolerated…they were blessed continually.  They saw this church, through children’s eyes, as a grand gathering of extra grandmas.  And grandpas, though that was not part of the conversation.  Here were people who cared about them, valued them, interacted with them, taught them new songs, and called them by name. 

As adults her children come back home and plan that visit around times when they can come and visit because they know they are loved here.  The greatest complement a church can have is to be a place of multiple Marys and Elizabeths.  And Josephs and Zechariahs.   What a blessing from God that we have that at College Avenue UMC.

The mother also told that one of their daughters had found a similar church where an usher gave high fives to children when they went by or put an offering in the plate.  High fives can be the work of the Holy Spirit.  Hugs work too.  The purpose of those things is to connect persons of faith.  What this means is that we come here awaiting opportunities to connect more deeply with people around us.  We are here hoping that God will combine our stories and connect them with God’s stories.

So…here are two expectant mothers, hugging, laughing, and singing one of the radical songs of the centuries.  They, along with Joseph and Zachariah, have listened.  It is time to laugh, to treasure, and to see where God is appearing again.  It is time to join God working for justice. 

I hope the Holy Spirit will touch your heart and you too can say with a smile along with Elizabeth:  “AND WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED…TO ME?”  We often say that when negative things happen.  But we should be saying that with positive opportunities given to us from God.

All of God’s greatest stories in the Bible start with human-sized beginnings.  God can turn a shepherd boy into king.  God can turn a poor couple into the parents of the Son of God.  God can turn a carpenter into the King of Kings. 

I am so glad that this church gives to children and youth two gifts that cannot be wrapped but are most give-able.  We want to give them a core trust that is not built on arrogance, but confidence in God.  We want them to know they can rely on the steadfastness of God; this enables them to be steadfast.  It is an awareness that if they drum well, or sing well, or write well…this is the best gift they can give their Creator.  They learn to know that there is a future ahead that takes everyone God-ward. 

How about you and me?

TURNING TOWARD CHRISTMAS – Luke 3:1-6

Larry Fry

College Avenue United Methodist Church

ADVENT IS PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas is coming so quickly.   Have I told Penny what I want?  No.  Have I gotten Penny request…not yet.  Have I written our Christmas letter or sent cards.  No.   Penny has been baking.  We bought some stocking stuffers yesterday.  And this afternoon we will put up our tree.  

For some of you, it means planning for a trip to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl.  If guests are coming, we plan out sleeping arrangements.

So, we prepare our homes, gifts, cards, parties, trips….but what about preparing our hearts, our lives, our families, our church?  The Service of Decoration is an example of what Advent is about…remembering and reclaiming the meanings of Christmas.  We come to worship so we don’t lose sight of the essentials as we get caught up in busyness, or worry.  One person in Bible study this week, helpfully reminded us that we do not need everything.   We hope to welcome Jesus into our lives, in a new way, in order to grow more faithful in our discipleship.

We want to be prepared.  If we were Amish folk this morning we would be worshipping in someone’s home.  The benches might be brought to your house on a wagon and set up just for the day.  There are no clergy.  A worship leader is chosen by lot or last-minute consensus.  If you were coming to worship you might be the one chosen to give the sermon that day.  It would be good to have one ready.  Wow!  You are selected to read scripture and tell what it means.  I would guess that most of you would say that it is hard enough to gear up to listen to a sermon, let alone be ready to give one at a moments notice.  What would your message be if you were to give the sermon this day?  Would you be prepared?

And even more importantly: Are you, in your relationship with God, ready for a celebration of Christ’s birth.

One chaplain described the way I write Christmas in my daily logbook.  I put an “X” down and put “mas.” “Xmas.”  The chaplain went on that it was OK to do that but it was so easy at this time to go into Xhaustion, Xcesses, Xcuses, Xtravagances, Xasperation, Xhibition, and wordly Xcitement.  And he said some want to Xcape from it all. 

I read that some big box stores give anger management classes to employees before the shopping season and now keep their top selling items off the shelves to prevent fights.  They tell customers they are sold out.  And we found out that GPS unites can now be purchased by churches to put inside their outdoor nativity sets so that when they are stolen they can be found.

How do we prepare the way of the Lord?  How do we open our hearts for Christmas.  How do we make smooth the rough places.  How do we make more straight our paths for Christmas.  And how do we make the rough paths that someone else is traveling on, and make them smoother.

In our church family there are many paths to Christmas.  Some of you have lost a spouse or a parent this year.  It is really tough road if you have just gone through a divorce.  Anyone battling depression goes into this season holding on.  How can I make it when everyone around me seems so happy?  Certainly for all of us—happy or sad—it is a time to ponder our priorities regarding time and money and thing that matter most.

Advent offers to us all an opportunity reflect on where we are in life and what we need to do to get back on the right road.  One woman in a church decided to turn away from worry.  She was facing a biopsy and she figured out that no amount of worry was going to improve the diagnosis of her biopsy.  She decided it was time to take a deep breath and figure out how to live more deeply each day.   For others it will be a time to set aside a few minutes each day to turn off all other voices and to listen to the voice of God.

ADVENT IS PREPARING THE WAY FOR GOD TO ENTER OUR LIVES….

Penny and I enjoy watching an occasional episode of Top Chef.  Chefs battle against each other to win a cash price and bragging rights.  Chefs receive a short amount of time to prepare a gourmet dish and they are given some awful secret ingredient like “gummy worms” that must be highlighted in the final dish.  I remember one show because a man named Lance was competing against a French woman who wanted to win the prize to visit a grandmother in France.  The reason I remember this was the amazing faith witness Lance made.  He said that before his faith commitment he was a jerk willing to do anything to win.  He did not care who he walked over.  He edged out the woman in the competition and then gave the woman enough money to journey back to France.  He said, “Life is a journey.  None of us are finished products.”

TURN TO THINK OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU

Last week Bill Bunyan did the presentation of Saint Nicholas and passed out potatoes.  Bryce Hutchinson did not get one and his face fell.  So Colin Hohenbary gave him a potato.  And I do not remember who, but a grateful child ran by me at the door, saying: “This is going to going to be French Fries.”  At the end of the pageant last week, Grace Hutchinson had handed out all of the potatoes.  So as she sat with St. Nick to finish the program, Bill handed her one, too.  You should have seen her smile.

TURN TO MAKE A NEW LIST OF HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR GRATITUDE

TURN TO FIND NEW WAYS TO MAKE ROUGH PLACES SMOOTH

Advent is the time to trash the idea that each of us can live however we want with no consideration of the consequences of our actions.  We are the ones who write the stories of God for others to experience.  How are you doing that?  How does Jesus bring peace, joy and love into this world, this year, through you?

Sigmund Freud tells the story of a three-year old boy who went to bed scared.  He called out from a dark room in the night: “Auntie,” the boy cried, “I am scared, it’s dark.”  His aunt answered him, “What good would that do?  You cannot see me.”  The boy cried back, “But, when you talk it gets light!”  The world needs your voice.  Your family needs your voice.

In the news, a woman got a surprise.  She was eating at a restaurant and two men in fatigues came in and sat down and ordered.  She responded in gratitude by telling the waitress that she wanted to take care of their meals.  “Are you sure, asked the waitress?”  So as the waitress headed off with her credit card,  a dozen addition soldiers joined them and headed to the banquet room.

One ten year-old girl just won an award in a Texas school.  Some of you know her.  Her name is Hope Jeffers.  Her mom, Nicole Sherwood Jeffers, grew up in this church and Hope has been around here a lot too.  She was awarded a Medal of Compassion for her extraordinary care to other students.  When she was presented the medal she thought she was just going to a regular school assembly and she did not see her family there ready to see her receive it.  She has learned to help rough places smooth. 

GOD COMFORTS AND SO WE COMFORT OTHERS

It is time for you and me to seek a bit of comfort where comfort is truly found….not in possessions, or wealth, or overflowing appointment books, or endless self-examination.  Advent is the time to renew our connection God.  God is the only One who can truly comfort us.  Isaiah, the ancient prophet, even more ancient than John the Baptist….here Isaiah:  “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to them.”  (Isaiah 57:18).

There is a time to be comforted and a time to comfort.  John calls out to us from 2,000 years ago that Jesus was coming and did arrive that first Christmas.  Thank God John still points us to Jesus. 

The world HAS to change.

Christ began the change.

And we have are the ones to make that change.

Two Kings on Trial - John 18:33-37

Two Kings on Trial, Both for Life

John 18:33-37

Christ the King Sunday

Rev. Larry Fry

Jesus and Pilate are having a kingly discussion.  They both were kings about the same age, yet what a difference.  Both had amazing power, yet so different.  And their conversation shows how the Kingdom of God is so different from any worldly kingdom.  And this story helps us define how to bring God’s kingdom into our worldly kingdoms.

Christ the King Sunday was created as the last day of the Christian year.  Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent.  Christ the King Sunday helps us see more clearly how we may honor Christ as King over all we do and say.  The kingdom of God transcends any earthly kingdom and is at work in every kingdom.

Pilate even made into our Christian creeds:  “he suffered under Pontius Pilate.”  He was a Roman ruler sent to Judea representing the world’s greatest political power at the time.  Even though he is in charge we can imagine that he was not too pleased with this assignment.  While his friends who had graduated from whatever training, many of them had cushy jobs in Rome near the spas.  Here he was in the middle of a desert trying to maintain order over a rowdy bunch of people who continually threatened revolution.  

Pilate came in and tried to straighten out the religious leaders by putting images of Caesar in the Temple.  To protest, Caiaphas, the high priest, sent 2000 Jewish men to surround Pilate’s Palace for 6 days.   So he took the images out.  Then he decided to give Jerusalem a new water supply: that would make everyone happy.   But, the money he needed for the project he took it from the Temple Treasury.  So there was a revolt and he had any other rebellion.   He was so violent that he was called to Rome and was told not to make any more mistakes.  And he is about to make the biggest one of his life.

People have told him about Jesus.  And what is about to do is built upon rumors.  So what does Pilate do with Jesus?  First: Is Jesus a king?  Pilate does not want to be responsible for more problems.  He would like to give this whole mess back to the religious council who brought him this mess.  Unless he confesses that he is a political king, there is nothing in Roman law which Jesus violates.

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If he releases Jesus the religious leaders will be mad again.  He is caught between trouble and trouble.  So he has to decide what kind of trouble he can avoid and what kind he can live with.  Even though he is still in power, he is terrified and frayed beyond belief.

It is a very interesting dialogue.  Jesus is on trial for his life.  But the way John writes we can see that it is Pilate who is on trial for his political life and he is scared.  Pilate has all the worldly power; Jesus has all the spiritual strength and he is calm, the one without fear.  

We can hear Pilate grabbing the power:  “Don’t you know I have all the power in the world over you…I can set you free or crucify you.”  So are you King or not?  

Jesus asks him a very personal question that does not have anything to do with the law.  What about you, Pilate?  I would like to know you.  What do you think?  I know what people have been telling you about me.  Do you believe it?   At that moment Pilate could have opened up and started a new life journey.  

Jesus, as a good shepherd king, even tries to gather Pilate into the fold.  He could have a more fulfilling life and amazing spiritual growth.  But truth for him is totally in the area of political power.  

The world since the time of Jesus has seen so many in power act poorly.  Kings, tyrants, monarchs, and emperors claim they have God’s blessing, or worse they are gods, to demand complete obedience.  Kings see themselves as accountable to no one.  We squirm when the news tells us a new world leader is grabbing power.

Jesus always puts people first with politics to serve people.  Every society of all time tends to put some people down in order to make thing better for others.  Every society founded on money and law and power finds Jesus very troublesome.  What changes would our nation make to put people first?  

Pilate was about to impose his version of the truth on the situation as he saw it.  He would love to get rid of Jesus.  

One key to the story is that we all belong to something or someone and Pilate belongs to Rome and Jesus belongs to the kingdom of God.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.  This means Jesus is the truth, he lives the truth, he belongs to the truth.  He belongs to God in such a powerful way that the religious leaders of his day saw him as a major threat.  And the only reason Pilate thinks he is a threat is that he wanted to keep the religious leaders under control.    Pilate does not want trouble.  So he tries to find a technicality that will allow him to crucify Jesus.  Are you a king?  If you are a political king…I will get rid of you.

JESUS DID NOT NEED PILATE TO TELL HIM WHO HE WAS

Jesus knew who he was.  Pilate was not so sure.  If you do not know who you are there are plenty of people to tell you who you are. Jesus is real, authentic, together.  Pilate is frayed, pretend, and with clay feet.  

An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic evangelist: Are you saved?  Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?  The man answered….”Why do you ask me that?  I could tell you anything.  Here is what you need to do.  Here are the names of my banker, grocer, my farm hands…ask them if I’ve been saved.”

Jesus could have told Pilate anything.   For Pilate, the only truth was what he believed.

In a school district there was a terrible battle between the school board and the teacher’s union.  The Superintendent’s son was had a 97% grade average, has gotten high ratings on the tuba, and had the highest scores on the ACT test.  But the school board did not like what the Superintendent had done in his attempts to get them through the conflict.  So they made certain his son did not get into the National Honor Society.  Things like that happen all the time.  After a short time of disappointment the son said: “I do not need them to tell me who I am.”  And he did not.  Jesus did not.

BELONGING

Pilate belongs to the kingdom of fear.  And when Jesus asks him a personal question that goes right to the heart….he grabs on to power, pulls rank, and get edgy.  Pilate’s kingdom depends on violence, capital punishment, soldiers, torture, and jails.    

As I look ahead to the future of our church, I see more children, thank God, who need to know who the are.  And as they grow I want them to experience a community that lives out our guiding values.  I want them to have help knowing that God-stuff is all around, that guides the human stuff.  I want them to know that God puts things in our hands and asks us to make something beautiful. We have the job of bring stuff that is beyond this world right in the middle of the world.  

So what is our truth?  Is it God’s truth?  For Pilate it was what he could impose by law and violence.  For Jesus is was to expose God at work in the world.  Truth is when we stand with those who need help.  Truth is family love around the Thanksgiving Table.  Truth is choosing our guiding values and not the ones in the world.  Truth is found in self-sacrificial love instead of self-serving power.  Truth for Pilate could have meant protecting an innocent man instead of trying to make the others satisfied.  If Pilate had protected Jesus he would have been a great leader.  He would have given the world something great….instead he crucified greatness.  

The world so needs the church to witness to the truth.  Without voices of concern,  forces arise with a twisted truth and grabbing for power to benefit themselves.  The world remains full of violence, poverty, oppression,environmental distress.  We have God’s call to make it different.  God calls us to transform the world with love…justice, healing.  Our Christian faith is what fills to overflowing.  The church, to tell the truth, offers us spiritual growth.

We have the opportunity to offer the world, God’s healing presence.

Giving in to Good Balance - Mark 12:38-44

We do not always know what a single act of kindness will mean to someone or to the world.  Tarn Wilson, a high school English teacher sat with a student to discuss a diary the student had written about her depression and thoughts about harming herself.  The teacher expressed his appreciation for the wonderful description of a painful time.  He asked her “What helped?  What inspired you to keep going?”  The student told of her friends who encouraged her and sat with her even when she was to despondent too respond.  Then she said: “Just being there.  Physically. Being there.  You don’t have to say anything at all.”

In the story of the day, we can see the impact one woman’s gift had on Jesus.  A poor widow presented a very small gift; it turned out to be the one with the biggest impact.  It was the biggest gift of all.  This is near the end of the public ministry of Jesus.  This is it.  Next is the last week and crucifixion.  Jesus is on his way to give his all…his whole life…for something that needs saving…all of humanity.   All of us!  And so this woman’s witness affected Jesus in his final days.

He also criticizes the Temple staff for using the money, not to help widows, orphans, and immigrants, but by buying privileges and benefits for themselves.  Jesus knew this because the religious leaders wore fancier clothes and called attention to themselves.  He must have known of more than one widow who lost her house.

THE RIGHT BALANCE

Today, let’s think about the impact of the woman’s gift.  I do not think that Jesus would normally suggest that we give all we have.   Everyone needs to care for themselves!  It is good stewardship of the gift we truly have…the gift we were put on earth to offer to others: OURSELVES.   At the same time the gift of her coins represented faith-filled generosity of great magnitude.  There should be a balance in our lives…giving not more than we should in order to care for ourselves and our family and at the same time not giving less than we can.

She trusted God, giving all she was and we she hoped to become.  Offering for her was much more than the amount.  It meant the giving of herself.   With her coins she presented to God all she was.  That is what Jesus was ready to do.

THERE IS AMAZING POWER IN OFFERING

The whole world is thinking about a young girl who made a witness, speaking up for the education of girls.  Malala Yousafzai survived being shot in the head by extremists, who targeted her because she has been an outspoken advocate for the education of girls.  We celebrate her words:  “I have the right of education.  I have the right to play.  I have the right to sing.  I have the right to talk.”  Indeed she does.  What scares religious extremists most is a girl with a book.   Think of what her witness has done!  With an offering of words…she has changed the world.

The church can show to the world the enormous power of offering.  This woman was offering all she was to help God shape creation.  As a church we take the grace of God, the abundant and wonderful grace of God and live it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.  This act of giving not only supports others, it sustains us.   Jesus saw in her trust, joy, hope, and compassion.  It is my hope that Jesus called the disciples to think about her wisdom…but also to challenge them to include her in the extended band of disciples, men and women, following Jesus.  God dreams of a beloved community, a network of mutual support and blessing: so that no one is left out and everyone is supported.  Part of our task as a church is to call all of society to care for the orphan, the resident alien, the poor.  It is part of any societies’ primary purposes.

Jesus almost always gives the harshest criticism to those who don’t care much for others, especially the rich.  These scribes and Pharisees were sometimes the ones who devour widow’s houses.  They live privileged lives while the vulnerable suffer.  There is much of the world that lives off of the poor.

And the days are numbered for religious organizations that exist for their own well-being.  Someday in the whole scheme of things, the poor will be delivered.  They will be free of the oppression of bad religious.  They will be freed by good religion that helps the community claim the poor and mutual compassion will thrive.   

INVITATION TO RETURN THE FAITH IN ACTION FOLDER

I invite you to receive and return the greatest gift…a gift of yourself.  Here is one way you can communicate with staff and leadership about what you might offer to creation through the church.  You might volunteer at Odgen Friendship House of Hope or commit to bringing food each week.  You will find as you offer yourself, you will get renewed.  You might want to serve on a committee or a ministry team, join one of the choirs.  It will impact your life and you will be in ministry to others.  Perhaps your child would like to sing in the Cherub choir.  (To tell you a secret: I would like to sing in the Cherub Choir.)  I invite you during the offertory to begin this process of changing the world.

HERE IS A CHALLENGE TO OUR OWNING SO MUCH

Many of you gave items to our rummage sale to benefit Ogden Friendship House of Hope.  I want to thank all of your who volunteered hours and hours of time to make it happen.  Thank you to all who brought items for the sale.   American Christians have a bunch of stuff.

Marilyn McEntyre gives some great practical ways American Christians can work against a self-centered consumerism and toward concern for the neighbor and the community.  She invites to us to ask every day, “What might I share with others?”  What do I have that I do not need but someone else might.  One church set up a storage shed as a sharing station where all kinds of tools were stored for others’ use.  A retired church member served as its facilitator and taught younger people how to use the tools safely as he checked them in and out.  Another in the list was to set aside 15 minutes 3 times a week to call friends for no other purpose than to renew friendships.  One church member chose to do a documentary night once a month, taking a public problem and ending the evening writing a few letters to leaders in order to promote solutions.  Another family decided that their household would be “steady state.”  Whatever new comes in the door, something goes out to share with others.

WHAT MAKES A CHURCH VITAL?

What makes this church vital?  We have committees and structure.  We have these values we seek to live out in all things we do.  These things are like the skeleton of our church.  What drives this church is the Holy Spirit driving us to care for God, for each other, and our neighbors in every part of our world. 

Yes, we deliver food to Ogden, but we also work for a society when the only food boxes we give are just to give.  People would not need them…we would just give them back and forth in love.  It would be a society where everyone has a chance to succeed and to give. 

Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. This brings us joy. Lots of joy.  And if our life also meets the world’s needs…that is the greatest joy of all.  We are created to be the gifts that God created for a grand purpose. 

This is why the church is important, God made us for community.  It is like a plant living in an ecosystem that supports it.  It is the church that reminds me who God made us to be and keeps us responsible and accountable.  The church is the place that to follow Jesus means to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. 

THE CHURCH HELPS US GET OVER OUR FEARS

I wondered this week about the fears in the lives of the people Jesus was around.  The woman being a widow must have been afraid of how to make it to the next day with food.  The scribes and Pharisees who liked to wear long robes must have been afraid they were not meeting the spiritual needs of the people. 

One of my office managers used to tell me…”Do good and if you can’t at least do something religious.”  That is the problem.  They were arrogant and corrupt and wanted to be seen as superior to others.  The scribes put on the long robe on the outside because they had lost track of the amazing good inside of them, waiting to get out. They were not faithful to who God made them to be and not faithful to their responsibilities. 

Being made in the image of God means that we arrived on earth with a journey to discover who we are and the one to whom we belong.  God’s truth is given to us Is our truth.   THANKS BE TO GOD!

Hoping To "Get It" - Mark 10:1-17

YOUNG JAMES MAKES A DISCOVERY

I have already mentioned but I want to tell you more about one of the events at our picnic and hayrack ride at Britts.  In abundance at Britts were pumpkins and dust…lots of dust.  The food and fellowship were tremendous.  One of the highlights of the evening for me was watching a special moment in the life of little James, a child in our church.  I was unable to go on the hayride because of my hand which is now without stitches and is healing up great.

(image of James Garner on the screen)

James was quite occupied picking up hands full of dirt and releasing them.  The strong wind carried them like streams of smoke off into the distance.  With his back to the wind he could watch them stream out like vapor trails.  For about 20 minutes he was lost in wonder of the moment. It was like he was in control of the universe.  I thought of the little boy dressed in the Darth Vader suit thinking he was controlling the car as his dad worked the remote in the kitchen.

James’ dad was not far behind, letting him explore this part of the universe.  Can you imagine how dirty the bathwater was that night?!  I am glad that he dad was upwind and not downwind.  

At that moment I was thinking of words of a John Wesley hymn in our UM Hymnal.

Give to the Winds Your Fears

Give to the winds your fears; hope and be undismayed.

God hears your sighs and counts your tears; God shall lift up your head.

Through waves and clouds and storms, God gently clears the way;

Wait for God’s time; so shall this night soon end in joyous day.

If we get anything right.  I hope we get this.  It is one of my greatest hopes is that CAUMC will always continue to be a place of nurture and support for families.  Welcoming children is something that Jesus loved to do, even when others did not care for it.  It was similar to his statement: “Just as I love you, you should love one another.”   John 13:34-35

I had the privilege of visiting a family has recently visited our church, looking for a new church home.  They got it…they noticed that we love kids.

The part of welcoming children comes right after a big debate among grownups. 

The author of Mark’s gospel places the children next to the debate story to put things into perspective.   Religious experts had come to check Jesus out.   These religious leaders were all wrapped up or trapped in legal issues.  They want Jesus to give an answer that will give them ammunition to get rid of or at least embarrass him.  They want to identify him as a threat to their religion and a threat to the government.

Jesus is hoping we will get the idea that we should be more about open hearts, open minds, open doors, and open arms, than about nit-picking debates.  It is more about love than judgment.  It is more about including than excluding.  Children need to know about God’s deep and fierce love for them.  All of us need to know that.  Remember the woman caught in adultery…Jesus communicated to her God’s forgiving love and she got it.  I hope the judgmental people that Jesus confronted that day got it. 

BACK TO THE CHILDREN

One thing I got this time, and never before was that some people brought children to Jesus.  In my mind I am always thinking parents.  It does not say parents.  Who were these people?  I am wondering if these are followers of Jesus bringing some of the children they adopted.  These are ones that the church nursed back to health and wholeness.  Mark, years later, was affirming that continuing practice of welcoming all children.  The early church got that and never forgot it.  In the UMC even children may receive communion.

This text made me think of the importance of having faithful adults other than parents lifting children up to the truth of Jesus Christ.  We all need others to lift us into the presence of Christ, especially children.  Sometimes it is other adults who may speak the Word of God, words of truth and love, even more effectively than parents can.  It may be an act of kindness by another adult that makes a turning moment for a child or youth.

That communication might be through hugs, teaching kids to become the persons God created them to be.  Kids need other adults to care.  I remember that as a parent there were moments when my patience evaporated.  Penny and both needed help now and then in parenting.  In fact I do not think that we can be totally faithful to our children unless there are other wonderful adults around to claim them, care for them, and guide them.  This is what baptism is about.  Our children enter a community of love, the household of God where others claim responsibility.  This is when we get it. 

Children may not always excel in ways that could earn our love.  We love them anyway.  At the same time we want them to know our high expectations.   We all need persons to pray for us and look after us.  Other people are needed to look after our kids and teach them about Jesus. 

NOW TO THE ADULTS IN THE STORY…DO WE HAVE TO?

When Jesus arrived on the scene many persons were locked into a self-righteous obedience and could not be free.  And others were so into freedom and doing what made them happy they ended up hurting themselves and others.  Others were caught in the past and could not see a future for themselves or the world.  Some defined life with what they could get away with within the law…not what God wanted. 

The religious experts asked him, “Is divorce legal?”  Jesus could have said, ”Yes.”   And that would have been the end of it.  A better question would have been, “Under what conditions is divorce for a Christian, the responsible and faithful choice?”  Or “When is divorce the most healing thing that can happen?”  Or, “Under what conditions could divorce be a very good thing to bring about God’s will?”

We do not have that answer from Jesus because that was not the question.  That is because the religious experts were not after truth…they were after Jesus.

Did Jesus fit into one of the camps that believed you could not get a divorce and be loved by God?  Then they could nail him as being against the Torah or an instigator against the State.

In that day, a man could write a note getting rid of his wife because she was wearing crimson and blue.  Jesus knew that some men were using legal divorce to find a easy way out and it left the woman to a life of poverty and rejection.  Jesus is here promoting marriage for the protection of a woman.  He might have been telling the man…don’t divorce her…just marry someone else.  It was legal in the law of Moses to have more than one wife.  He was asking men to be responsible.  He was saying that just because something is legal it does not mean it is the right thing to do.

And I am certain Jesus would not want people to stay forever in abusive situations.  To stay in a relationship that enslaves or abuses…that is not God’s intention, that is not God’s kingdom, that is no marriage at all.

Concern over what is right in the kingdom of God is more complicated that what is legal.   Marriage is a gift from God to help people.  Hopefully two things go side by side: becoming who God make you to be and helping the other become who God made them to be.  These two things often go side by side.  I sat last night by a couple who just celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary and they were very much in love.  There are times though when marriages changes so that one, or both, find their lives diminished, becoming something God would not want. 

Jesus is urging them and us to think in terms of the kingdom of God.  The kingdom welcome takes very seriously what holds life together.  And when life falls apart, there is love and acceptance and support for all.  With Jesus everything was changing.  A new kingdom was unfolding.  He asked, “What does God want for the future so relationships can being peace, wholeness, love, and justice?”  How do we do no harm?  How do we do good?  How do we stay in love with God?

We want to scream at the Pharisee: where is your child-like creation faith?  Where is your hope that God is making new things happen and you cannot dwell in nit-picking issues.  They were not coming to gain any wisdom.  They are hoping to pin him down or trap him into saying things that are chargeable offenses.

Jesus’ approach made the very comfortable squirm.  Jesus made the very uncomfortable feel affirmed.  If we see ourselves as helpless and useless or undervalued or worthless…God has a new plan for you.  If we see ourselves as God’s most valuable gifts to all people deserving of every good thing all the time, then God has a re-alignment plan.  

Welcome children!  You are loved here!  Welcome those of you who have lived through the pain of divorce!  Yesterday is over.  You are loved here!  Welcome judgmental religious folk, you are loved here too.  God will bind us together in love.

Bonhoeffer – Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.   God is always making things new, including you and me.  

Giving Your Life and Finding It: Mark 8:27-38

My home church and my hometown had a great impact.  This past week I drove to Madison, Kansas, to take my parents to the funeral of Stephen Gilman.  Stephen was the editor of the Madison News for many years and he has his wife Francis were great friends to my parents.  Stephen finessed with old printing presses for years and years when everyone else had given up.  When I got to my parents house I went up in the attic and went right to an old dresser.  There I found something I had placed there when I was 9 years old.  It is piece of lead with my name on it, made by Steve as it might go onto the press.  Every child in the fourth grade got one of these on a friend trip taken to the newspaper office. 

It was great to get out of school and to walk to that noisy place.  For years Steve was a sentinel for truth, attending all of the school board and city commission meetings and reporting in the newspaper what was done.  He always had a common sense approach.  I imagine his presence kept city and school boards on track, with everyone knowing that it would be in the paper.  Stephen died at 100 walking around days before and happy to go to heaven.  With Mr. Gilman in town had a feeling that things were going well. 

If you go a hundred miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois you will find a little town named Rushville.  The medical clinic has Russell Dohner, age 87, in active practice.  His nurse is 85 and his reception is 84.  After 60 years he is still making house calls.  He is stopping a bit.  He still charges his patients $5 for each visit.  He knows which ones cannot pay and he charges them nothing.  One woman recalls how he spent the night at their house at her sister’s crib as she suffered seizures.  What a commitment his made and what good he has done!

ONE LITTLE HYPHEN

Penny and I have not decided on where we will be buried, nor have we figured out what will be on our grave markers.  Ted Hopkins has shared with me, and Arlene did so before she died, that on their grave marker there are the words: STILL TRAVELING.  Somewhere on our marker will be the date I was born and the date of death and a little line in between.  At least that is the usual way. That little hyphen will represent the all the years and all the adventures.  What will that hyphen mean?  What will it mean as a disciple of Jesus Christ? 

HATRED AND FEAR TODAY

On the way to the funeral, I listened to radio reports of violence and the death of a diplomat.  The anniversary of 9/11 and the world financial crises would be enough.  And the world has fewer papers and more Youtube videos.  24 hours of video is loaded on their every minute.  But that crazy video, a message of hate, created a reaction all over the Middle East and added to our age of fear.  Many of us have loved ones in that part of the world and we keep them in prayer every day.  Milo Kelley and Scott Benge are ones that I keep in prayer.

In a scary world, the disciples felt empowered and thrilled being around Jesus.  This new life with him brought great joy and purpose.  These disciples were ordinary people doing extraordinary things with Jesus, because of the extraordinary love of God.  But as we see today a moment where when Jesus had to coach Peter.   In one way you cannot blame him.  He did not want Jesus to suffer.

Over and over Jesus must explain his mission, to serve and not be served.  Over and over he told of this kingdom what brought heaven to earth.  He had to explain things to the disciples who were hoping Jesus would go for power, status, and being served.  Jesus was interested in being first, but he wanted to be first in being with the least, the last, the lost.  He had to convince them not to limit God’s power.

The early church began in a period of great fears…if you were a Christian.  Jesus was under suspicion of Rome and religious leaders that as a Messiah he would lead a revolt similar to the ones we have seen on our Tv screens this week.  Rome was on edge in fear that Jesus, so popular, would encourage people to explode into violence and re-establish the Davidic kingdom.  They wanted Jesus to be that royal warrior king.  Many were ready to die following Jesus into battle. People wanted Jesus to start a war.  Jesus chose a very different way.

Some around Jesus enjoyed his entertainment valve: great stories like the one about the camel going through the eye of a needle. Some had no interest in following him….they were curious about what was going to happen next. 

The disciples saw in Jesus a new life with God.  They had given up much to follow Jesus.  Following Jesus they had already given up much. In the presence of Jesus amazing things happened to people.  They were freed from their fears, illnesses, and worries.  People were set free to live.

Peter, of any of the disciples, had the highs and lows.  To declare that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH was one of his finest moments.  But the kind of Messiah, Peter was so wrong.  You can feel the heart breaking in and through the words.  Jesus gave him a hard time for trying to limit the work of God. 

Jesus knew that human beings were not perfect.

“Humans are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experiences of other, and are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”  Douglas Noel Adams

Peter let his fear block his opportunities to serve God’s purposes.  Peter was asking Jesus to take the easy road and avoid danger.  So much of life slips by because of fear.  Thinking of my grave marker, I think…at that point I will not have any earthly chances to do things over or differently.  Heaven will be wonderful…but our time is here and now!  The whole story of Exodus is that it took our faith ancestors 40 year to get over their fears and figure out that they could trust God enough to move ahead. 

Jesus’ first words on Easter were “DON’T BE AFRAID.”

Faith, is when God lets us feel the fear, but leave it behind.  Faith is not ignoring the fear.  Faith is the declaration that our fear is not as great as the power of God.  Faith is acting on the purpose of God ANYWAY. 

So what I take away from this great text is this:

(  )  LET THE PROMISES OF GOD OVERPOWER YOUR FEAR.

(  )  REMEMBER THAT GOD CAN DO GREAT THINGS ANYWHERE: IN TOMBS AND CEMETERIES.  Death could not keep Jesus down and away.  God’s love brought him back. 

(  )  THE KINGDOM OF GOD BROUGHT BY JESUS MEANS SERVING OTHERS. 

(  )  IN TIMES OF STRESS MAKE IT MORE IMPORTANT TO BE LOVING THAN RIGHT.

So many on the political scene are drawn into a defensive position rather than working together on solutions.  People are being hijacked into political theater, instead of working together. 

The texts asks us questions:

What do we say about Jesus?  Our words?  Our life?  Are we like Jesus?  In what ways?  Could anyone look at us and think of Jesus?  What do others say of us?

Following Jesus is an adventure of living and loving that brings us great rewards.  But even more, others are blessed through us.  There might be thorns and compost but OH the roses.

As a parent you might sacrifice everything for a child…and the more you do…the more the child will know what love is like.  It is investing in your child’s future.  Following Jesus is investing in God’s future.

Jesus’s life included rejection and suffering.  He saw it coming and he did not hide or back down.  He faced what evil could do and God won…that means we won.  Jesus knew God would take of it all. 

So we are invited to take up our cross.  Mark added this because…it would have meant next to nothing.  The crucifixion had not take place yet.  Only after the resurrection would it have grabbed people.  

Jesus told Peter he was in a trap.  He was so worried it was clear to Jesus that human thing were taking over the heavenly things.  He was so worried about his safety and the safety of Jesus that he failed to live boldly for God’s purposes. 

I think that it now time for College Avenue UMC to act boldly to consider updating our facilities.  For years and years we have been one of the most vital and generous churches in the Conference.  For years and years College Ave. has preferred to live out the value of compassion…this is who we are.  Space for a growing congregation is put on the back burner. The prospect of a building project seems to take us in a different direction.

I believe that a larger and more convenient Fellowship Hall, a larger narthex, an elevator, restrooms which are closer, and an improved kitchen will greatly enhance the activities we value the most.  A building improvement will strengthen our community and improve our hospitality. An improvement will honor God by respecting the dignity of those who will come and be a part of us in the years to come.  It will generate deeper discipleship because the places of spiritual growth will be more accessible.  A decent elevator will reduce the danger of our current model.  At a recent funeral two persons got caught between floors. Merely pushing on the metal gate can stop the elevator.  One of those persons was visually impaired.  These improvements will make our building more child and family friendly and will expand our ability to serve others.

Jesus told the people not to be afraid, and they would find their lives in serving God’s purpose. 

The purpose of the church is to show to the world the reality of Christ.  What we do here is offer the world: good news, a message, a truth…the Kingdom of God was started by Jesus Christ.  The kingdom of God frees us to live and to take the kingdom into every part of life: to each other, to the oppressed, to the prisoner, to the marginal.

On Monday of this week, several of us from College Avenue helped with the Harvester food distribution on KSU campus.  We distributed 18,000 pounds of food.  Eric Kynard, Olympic High Jump medalist came by to support the cause.  I hope you saw the publicity we got in the photos and stories in the Collegian. And on Tuesday of this week we will do another distribution at CICO park. 

Like Peter we are more comfortable with Jesus being our Savior than we are with Jesus being our Lord.  Jesus is our Savior in freeing us.  Jesus is Lord in leading us to service.  Peter is learning to set aside his fears and claiming the now for God’s purposes.  It is a lesson he did not learn until after the resurrection.  It is still a lesson for all of us.  

Favorites and Favoritism James 2:1-10, 14-17

Last Sunday, a woman appeared in the office before the service needing help.  She did not have a car, needed to get to Topeka, needed a meal like a McDonald’s, and needed money for her tuition at Washburn University.   We were not able to meet all of her needs but, I pray that we treated her with respect.  We do not keep money here at the church.  We helped her with food and told her that a meal would be served in Sunday afternoon at the 1^st Congregational Church.  She did not stay for worship.

One Sunday morning, while serving another church, I was running around getting ready and a rough-looking man appeared.  I was the only one around.  He was unshaven, had on dirty boots and a ragged flannel shirt.  He wanted to know if I had a few minutes to talk.  I was expecting a similar request.  I was so surprised at what happened next.  His mother had died a year ago and he wanted to give a memorial.  He and his buddies were out in the truck.  They were camping out on a family farm for a weekend of hunting and had come into town for breakfast.  Boy was I surprised when instead of asking for assistance, he gave me a big check.  We had just decided to put new Bibles in the pews and his check covered all of it.  He was pleased..

I hope that you were greeted well this morning, whether or not you have on a gold ring.  These words of scripture are must more than usher instructions.

Penny and I were on vacation in Massachusetts.  We lived in Massachusetts while I was attending seminary, but we did not visit Cape Cod.  So on one family vacation we headed there. We got settled and went exploring.  We got tickets to a summer theater and headed for an art museum.  This was one uppity place.  Obviously we were tourists from somewhere else.  They made certain we signed in and that we know there was an expected donation.  The was an air of “I guess we have to let you in.”  And I remembered that not too far away there were early churches where you can still see the paid family boxes where no one else could sit.  It was in that setting that I got a call from Governor Mays.  He had just come to be the director of Ogden Friendship House and for a week was staying in our home until Governor and Ollie could find a home.  It was kind of fun to say in the lobby…Hello, Governor.  Yes, Governor.  I am so glad you are staying at our home.  I had no clue that that the Governor that they might have thought I was talking to was going to be a candidate for President.  This place was still so snooty that they still wanted our money.  We were not shown anything, let alone better seats. 

On one hand, it is great to have favorites.  Facebook and Youtube want you to have favorites.  Cooking and fashion shoes on TV ask you to text in to tell your favorite.  Each of have favorite sport teams.  I know that with a KU license plate on my car, I cannot expect better or quicker service when I go for an oil change.  I know that the favorite of all kids for our Wednesday night meals is chicken nuggets.  And we are all forming our favorites for the upcoming elections.

This text was written because even the early church was slipping back into the pattern of the world around them.  The country was ruled by Rome and the church found both guests and active participants varied greatly in their wealth.. 

The world around was full of painful favoritism that keep poor “in their place.”  Favoritism or partiality, the use of power and influence was based on valuing some over others on the basis of race, or family, or appearance.  Some were given special places to sit, special privileges or benefits.  That meant the rich got the good stuff and the poor were left out.

This is not the way the Kingdom of God works.  When this new community was formed…or called out in Christ’s name, it was unique and remarkable and amazing.  To think of a place where a rich person might be the one to serve a poor person was very hard to get used to.  It took a giant leap in thinking and in behavior to know that God’s image was just as much in the poor person as the rich.

It is quite possible for a rich person to be also rich in Spirit, or very poor in Spirit.  Jesus was hoping for a community where all persons realized their need of God and godly respect.  Jesus sought out rich and poor in order to bless them with more abundant and generous living. 

Obviously James saw in his church at least one poor person who was rich in Spirit and entered the fellowship in fear of being put down.  And he knew in his church there was at least one rich person who was poor in spirit evidenced by his behavior.

So what was needed then?  James called the church to respect the dignity of all and offer constant care to make sure it stayed that way.  It all begins with God’s love and our response.  God loves so we love, God gives so we give.  And our lives are to be a balance of worship and works, prayer and acts of care.

I hope our children learn that this faith family is a place where we meet in our common need for God and find here celebration that life is so good.   We have at College Avenue, an amazing team of people who prepare classes for all ages. 

The church was is a family for all, so that rich and poor may become more spiritually rich together. The materially rich also find here the resources to be as spiritually rich as anyone…and the opportunities to share wealth as a gift of love.

I hope someday to see the Great Wall of China.  5,500 miles of a wall with a history of 2,000 years.  I see that one part of the wall you can explore by scuba diving because the construction of a lake put it under water.  I think I will be happy to do my exploring above water thank you very much.  The wall was built to keep invading armies out.  It’s weakness was in the guards at the watchtowers.  They could be bribed to open places in the wall.  Walls work for a while but not forever.

The world is eager to build walls.  Even the enemies of Jesus noticed that Jesus did not evaluate people merely by position or by appearance.  Jesus was eager to build foundations on values and to build bridges between the rich and the poor.

With so many transitions and changes, we have little time to spend getting to know our neighbors.  There is so much fear and so little understanding. We need trust…and openness…and understanding…which would lead to greater trust.  This is the hope of the church.  Then the walls that the world seems so good at building might come tumbling down.

What thrill it must have been for Andy McIntosh to have arrived in Berlin at the very time the wall came tumbling down. The wall had been built by the German Democratic Republic in 1961 to divide East and West Berlin.  It tried to keep people and ideas out.  The border between East and West Germany were seen as an Iron Curtain dividing Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc. 

Walls may work for a while, but there have to be other solutions.  The three slides that I show you now were used as part of Bishop Scott Jones presentation here a week ago Saturday.  Walls and wars cannot be the solution for lasting peace. 

Jesus said, “You know that the rules of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.  But, it will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you, must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not ot be served but to serve….(Mt. 30:25-28),

There are so many things that divide us now.  Income and race, ethnicity and languages, gender issues, and sexual identity.  And we are preparing for an election.  And one of the main issues is how he help create jobs.

The church needs to say to the world…we cannot love God without loving what God, in love created.  Jesus showed no favoritism.  But he did say that we ought to include especially the widows, orphans, and those often left out.  Jesus’ grace-ful salvation was offered to all, not just a favored few.  To the unclean he offered acceptance and healing.  To the foreigner he offered hospitality.  To the outcast, he brought them in.

Some churches work so hard to have the right beliefs, the right ideas.  Jesus wanted most for us to: to do the loving thing.  I invite us again in our worship in our Sunday school, to let Christ open our minds and hearts, our doors and our mouths to offer praise to God.

Some parts of salvation are person.  God wants all of us to be free from fear, free from depression, eager to learn, free to give.  God wants us free from the love of riches.  Free from putting anything before God.  God wants us free to love.

And there is more.  God wants all people on the planet to be free from oppression and violence, free from hunger and disease and injustice.  God wants us free to enjoy “the other,” the ones different.  God wants us even free to love the enemy.  God wants faith families to be a blessing for themselves and for all around. 

Perhaps this can be the place of even greater blessing.  We all have a need for God, to celebrate all things bright and beautiful…especially people…all people.  Then we will know the riches of the spirit in faith, hope, and love.  Then we will be eager to aid those who need some help and to be this community of love that transforms the world.  

This is a time for generosity. Based on the Book of James, Chapter 1

Labor Day is usually good to run away for a last weekend or it is a weekend of lots of labor.  Some got the boat out, some visited family.  Some did football.  Our youth worked hard yesterday straightening the sanctuary and do the first football parking. 

Yesterday, Penny and I decided to power-wash our deck in anticipation of its needed coat of stain.  The equipment rental stop was a breeze.  He even loaded the machine in the back.  It was a good thing I saw that the hose was all muddy before he put it in.  As you know the gas motor always starts the first time at the rental place and it takes 20 pulls at home.  And the gas cap was not on tight for the ride home.  Not too much spilled out.  I got it all together just right and when I got it going I had a yellow nozzle in the handle and it flew off into orbit.  I never did find it so I think they can use it in the space station.  Sooo…I used a stream-nozzle which was a terrible idea.  After getting most of the deck clean I saw that the high-pressure stream tore grooves in the wood.  I am sure some major sanding will help.  Penny suggested that if I was better at it, I could do art work…like I meant to do that.  Then when I needed to get a screwdriver I ran in and left the drawer open near floor level.  Penny ran in to get something else and ran into the drawer.  So I have messed up the deck, and my wife’s leg, the power-washer, and I broke a part on our outdoor umbrella. I think the hot fudge sundae did help the apology about leaving the drawer open.

The book of James almost did make it into the Bible.  As late as the year 170 C.E. it was excluded.  And even when it made it in the New Testament it had mixed reviews.  One of the reasons it was not appreciated was that it only mentioned Jesus 2x.  It sounds more like a book out of the Old Testament…like Wisdom Literature.  And if you read it, it sounds like letters a college student might get from their parents…lots of good advice.

I am really glad that it made it in the Bible just for that reason…good advice.  I need that…a lot.  Faith has a being part and doing part.  James is clearly about the doing.  James would have liked a holiday to celebrate the social and economic contributions of those who work.  I grow more grateful every year for those who labor outside year round constructing and maintaining what makes our lives easier and more comfortable.

In every pew there is an offering envelope.  Most of us don’t use them to put in our checks.  Some of you even have a bank draft that just comes out automatically.  Wallace Bubar tells of his early days in church.  The offering envelope at his home church had 6 boxes you could check as you put your offering each Sunday: attended worship, brought Bible, read Bible daily, studied the Sunday School lesson, prayed daily, and gave an offering. 

I laughed when he described the reaction of the church members when new people came in that were not carrying Bibles….Did you see that?  They are not bringing their Bibles. They must be Methodists or Presbyterians.

Jesus talks about one vital sign: What we do for and with the least, the last, and the lost. 

James and Jesus present opportunities for us to welcome the Word of God into our lives.  That is good.  That is like getting the coach’s instructions for the play.  But the execution of the play is essential for anything to get done.  Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to grow angry…those are good.  This is practicing the Word of God.  In the morning I look in the mirror; I also need to do shave and comb my hair.  I need to remember always that in Christ I am both free and responsible.  This is the way that spiritual blessings come our way.

I think it would be could to put our 6 guiding values on that envelope.  Each week we could write on it one way you lived out or saw lived out one of our six guiding values at your work.

The older I get the more I realize how much other have helped me in my journey.  I grow more grateful every year. 

Religious people are always in danger of being seeing themselves as blessed because they are good, having the inside track into heaven.  Being a faithful follower of Jesus does not guarantee great wealth or health.  On television one of our members listened to a witness by a couple whose house had been spared from a wildfire.  They talked about how good God had been to them.  Their neighbors on both sides lost their homes.  Yes, they had been spared.  But they could have been talking about how they were going to help their neighbors.

Jesus admonishes us, “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”   Mt. 25:40

James tells us to be doers of the world and not merely hearers.  Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?”  Feed the hungry.  Provide water for the thirsty.  Relief for victims of Hurricaine Issac.  Visiting the prisoner.  James says that faith without actions is worthless.  That part is stretching it a bit. 

I think the first steps of faith are the eagerness to hear the word of God, to treasure the Word of God.  But the second part of that is being changed by the word so you have to take in it, in love, to the world. 

This means you can keep perspective.  I love this prayer by Kierkegaard.

Lord! Give us weak eyes

For things that do not matter

And eyes of clarity

In all Your Truth.

I agree with Harry Emerson Fosdick that those who live most fully in life are the ones most grateful.  Those persons who feel they did not get what they deserve in life do not live greatly or generously.  Others evaluate their lives, think they have broken about even, and conclude that they got about what they earned.  Rarely do you see any exceptional living from them either   Those who believe they have received far more than they deserve are among those who do great living.

(PARAMEDIC)

Everything we do for one another and the world begins and is grounded in what God has done for us.  God cares for the whole world and creates it anew with the Word of God.  God blesses us, nurtures us, and gives us the talents and skills to make things happen. 

James knows that small actions and good words can profoundly affect how the world goes.  The power of human speech to lift people or hurt people is great indeed.  Anger is an expression of care and concern, protest and improvement.  It can alert us to wrongdoing and can help make things better. 

Words create a world of meaning.  They alarm, harm, uplift, inspire, degrade, or silence someone.  According to James we cannot bring God’s goodness through revengeful or evil speech, which only spreads destruction.  James tells us to get rid of that way of being in the world. 

It is hard work to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  We are quick to judge, impatient with ourselves and with others, especially when we disagree and have already made up our minds. 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

By acknowledging and taking responsibility for our own anger, we may exercise self-control and become decision makers and shapers of holy community.   James wants us to be responsible, take seriously our emotional lives, our religious faith, and our behavior.  We are God’s new creation, a strong current to transform the world. 

It is at the heart of God to give.  The generosity of God is where all good things begin.  Nothing shows that better than the life of Jesus.  Jesus came to show us what this kind of life looks like.  To be generous is to be lined up with what God is like.  And we participate in this meal because it helps us remember just that. 

Children’s Moments

Need: a sponge and a large bowl of water.

This morning I want to talk to you about the most important thing there is in the whole universe.  And I will demonstrate it with a dry sponge.

Does anyone know what the most important thing is?

GOD’S LOVE.  First, look at the sponge.  It is dry and hard.  In fact if you rub it on your arm, it feels scratchy.  There is not much use for a crusty, dry sponge.  What does it need?  It needs water.  What do you think is going to happen to the sponge.

It soaks up the water and gets softer.  In fact, now it is quite full.

This experiment is like what happens when we come to worship.  We think we have nothing to share or to give, then we begin to soak up God’s love.  We do that by learning stories in the Bible….like Esther.  The longer we are around God the more God’s love fills us and runs off us to others. 

We can see that is Jesus.  Love is not shown by hurting someone, or pushing, or taking things that are not ours.

(After a few seconds the sponge will be drier.)  The water has stop running.  There are times again and again when we feel less loving.  There are times when I am sad and cannot tell anyone much about the love of God.  So being in church helps me remember God’s love.  It is there even when I cannot feel it or talk about it.

The wonderful thing about living with God is that when we run dry and feel love on love, we can turn to God and he will refresh us again.

Never forget God loves you and that he gives that love all the time.

Prayer….Thank you God for loving us all the time.

YOU ARE “THE MAN,” AND SO AM I, AND SO ARE YOU - Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 12

This week I still was pondering this David story a bit more and thinking: this is one wild story.  How in the world could you tell this story to children?    Someone told me last Sunday that there is a old song that many of us remember: O, be careful little eyes what you see.  O, be careful little eyes what you see.  For your Father up above is looking down in love…so be careful little eyes what you see.  David forgot the song.

And I thought, what are third graders going to do with this story.  We will soon give them their Bibles.  They can read it.

Veggie Tales to the rescue!!!   Many of you who are parents and grandparents have seen your share of Veggie Tales.  I will confess that I am not a great fan, yet I was tempted to play this today.  (I am certain some of you are very grateful I did not.)  Here it is: the story of David and Bathsheba on Veggie Tales.  Larry the Cucumber plays King George who is nuts over collecting rubber duckies.  King George looks out of the palace window and sees Junior Asparagus taking a bath with an irresistible rubber duck that George does not have in his collection.  George wants it so he sends Junior off to battle and he is “done in” by a barrage of blueberries.   So that means that King George gets the prized ducky.  But, as the story unfolds, Pa Grape comes in and tells King George…YOU ARE THE MAN.  Even when Veggie Tales tells it, this story makes us think. 

I am glad this story is in the Bible for it is a story of hope.  In the positive sense…David is “THE MAN”….the great and mighty King.  For a time, David saw himself as the supreme authority in everything, even to have the power to decide someone should die for his pleasure. 

The world needs this story.  This week I read about the new leaders of South Sudan just beginning at new government.  The people fought for independence and all over the world people were hoping for a new kind pattern.  But sadly, there is corruption, again.  I seems to be a legacy of colonialism.  Already, their leaders, who talked about how their leadership would be different, seem to be lining their own pockets, buying mansions and expensive cars, and setting up secret accounts in foreign banks.  People need electricity, roads, schools, water, sewers, and hospitals.  Powerful people are always tempted to define everything around them to benefit themselves only.  God values highly the powerless and if the powerful take undue advantage of the powerless…that is evil.  If the rich get even richer at the expense of the poor, God is angry.

The goodness of this story is in the turn that he made.  He discovers he is not God.  He cannot get everything he wants when he wants it.  I believe, along with the Biblical writers that God is above all institutions and that all are responsible to God to be fair and just to all.  There is a divine power at work in history that judges human uses and abuses of power.

I think it is the church’s responsibility to speak out.  For Nathan it helped because David was a person who loved God deeply.  Instead of killing Nathan too, David listened to God.   Kings are not always ready to hear criticism.  Jesus confronted the Empire and King Herod with a new kind of kingdom and that is part of the reason he was crucified.

It is so easy for Christians and for the Church to point fingers and name the sins of others.  It is important to remember that both David and Nathan were part of a covenant community that took God seriously.  David and Nathan both knew, when in their right minds, that God wants justice and fullness of life for all people, rich and poor.  We are required to be accountable to God.

Psalm 51 is the text that describes David change.  Judgment is often the way to renewal.  David was forgiven. 

He knew he was THE MAN…IN EVERY POSITIVE WAY.  HE WAS the Michael Phelps of the Kings.  He was THE MAN.  And now he know he is THE MAN who committed the crimes against God.    He would pay…others would pay…but life goes on.  God’s forgiveness is simple, but it is not easy.

How would you define sin?  Is it a silly notion from the past?  It is a thing that others do but not me? 

Sin is anything that keeps us from becoming all God wants.  The young American athlete Kayla Harrison who won the gold in the Olympic Judo competition told of her abuse by her former coach.  She said she would not wish that experience on her worst enemy.  But she did not let this awful thing defeat her.   She wanted to become what God wanted her to become.  David did the same.  David was on the mat for a while…but he got up.

I am grateful for the church.  The church reminds me that God is ultimately in charge of it all.  If I keep worship and education in my life it helps me stay away from what God does not like. 

And the church can be that Nathan I need, caring enough to tell me about a new direction.

Taking responsibility

One pastor I know of does a lot of pastoral counseling for couples having marriage troubles.  After listening to each person tell what is wrong, he asks them “How did it get this way?”  Then he asks them the important question: “What are you willing to change about yourself to help your marriage?

I know that I have plenty of weaknesses that I need to confess.  Staff Parish Committee is part of my Nathan here at the church and the District Superintendent: I do not always take a day off.  I do not know how to say, “no” very well.  I do not do conflict very well.  I listen to persons and I do respond to concerns, but I do not always communicate back very well as to what I have done. 

The medical profession works on illness.  The law community works on crime.  Schools work on our lack of knowledge.  But who works on sin.  That is our job.  The church: we work on sin.  It is a concept to help us look at what is wrong and how God can help us make it right.  Confronting sin is a hopeful way for restoration. 

Who teaches our children life skills…the church does.  Our nation and often churches are hijacked by polarized views and we cannot seem to get to common ground.  At the same time I do think that conflicts are ways that we get to spiritual growth. 

There is a television show called Restaurant Impossible.  Robert Irvine comes in and tells owners what is wrong with failing restaurants.  He looks at the décor and tastes the food.   He watches the cooks.  He interviews people eating there.  And then he lets them have the truth.  He puts people on an emotional roller coaster.  But he puts them again on the right path.  He tells the owners that that restaurant is nothing without the passion they have to make it work and make it right.  When someone like Nathan or Pa Grape or Robert Irvine dares to tell us the truth we ought to be thankful; he or she is doing us a great service.  We must welcome that voice for ourselves.  We must cultivate it without our church.  Truth tellers offer hope and new beginnings.  If they can change the hearts of kings, they ought to work well on us.

Jesus began this meal and still welcomes all.  This meal invites our participation without our perfection.  It is a meal of blessing and forgiveness.  It is for people hungry for goodness and compassion.  It is one way the church renews each of us and in turn renews the world.  When you come for communion…where you have been and what you have done are focused on who you are…a Child of God and where you are going for God.