Preached this morning at Lutheran Church of the Nativity
John 1:19 - 34 Christmas 1 (Narrative Lectionary)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we stand between the crib where the baby Jesus lay at Christmas
And the cross toward which we’ll journey between now and Easter.
In this in-between time, we’ll accompany John the Evangelist,
hearing his account of Jesus’ ministry,
written some fifty years after his crucifixion and resurrection.
Today, we hear the testimony of another man, John
who was sent by God as a witness.
The Fourth Gospel doesn’t give us the familiar birth stories of Jesus
that we know from Matthew and Luke and our children’s pageants.
There are no angels, no shepherds, no magi.
Instead of a swaddled infant, lying in a manger,
Or an impetuous boy whose parents find him in the Jerusalem temple,
We meet Jesus, fully human,
Fully man.
Unexpected by a people waiting for the return of the prophet Elijah
and scandalous to a people waiting for a divine Messiah
In Jesus we meet God’s Word made flesh.
God’s Light shining in the darkness.
And now, God’s Passover Lamb
who takes away the sin of the world.
The comfort and joy of Christmas turn into bleak despair as we listen to John’s testimony,
Because just as a witness called by the prosecution testifies against the accused,
John bears witness against us,
Naming the brokenness he sees in the world –
our alienation, our distance, our rebellion against the very God
who created us and wants to live in relationship with us.
The sin of the world is not a catalog of all of our moral shortfalls –
in John’s Gospel – sin is a problem in one’s relationship with God
It is our human condition of standing against God,
like petulant children,
rebelling against God,
refusing to believe we are loved by God.
It is in this bleak space that we meet Jesus
Not as a baby and not even as a shepherd but as a lamb....
What does John mean?
Growing up in the city, all I know about lambs I learned from nursery songs and from James Herriott’s All Creatures Great and Small.
But for Israel, the words “Lamb of God” meant something.
The Passover Lamb was not a sacrificial lamb,
cut and burned on the altar.
Those animals were more often bulls and goats.
The Passover Lamb was Israel’s reminder of God’s deliverance when they came out of slavery in Egypt.
It goes back to Exodus 12 when the Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to have every household slaughter a lamb and smear the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and the lintels
so that when the Lord passed through, they would be spared from destruction.
After Israel was spared, when they reached the Promised Land that the Lord gave them, they kept the Passover as a way of remembering what God had done.
The Passover Lamb was God’s sign to Israel of God’s deliverance from oppression, from bondage.
In the same way, Jesus delivers us out of the bondage of sin,
removing our unbelief and rebellion against God
and calling forth FAITH.
Herriott says, for farmers, the arrival of new lambs and the lambing season means the end of a long, harsh winter;
In the same way, the arrival of God’s Passover Lamb means the end of our bleak winter –
our alienation from God,
the end of our rebellion.
It is God’s overcoming our sin,
God exhibiting God’s eternal love for us
It is Christ’s taking up our sin as his own,
and giving us all that is his.
This is what John the Witness comes tell us –
the Good News of the Gospel –
Not that suddenly, we will live a perfect, blameless, sinless life;
Or that if we always do the right things and always make the right decisions, we can draw nearer to God on our own,
No.
John’s message for us is that even in our brokenness,
even in our imperfection,
even in the dark places where we live and where we hurt,
even in the Cross
God overcomes our sin and creates faith in us,
Forgiving us and drawing us into relationship.
By God’s grace, we are made new every day, restored to new life and forgiven.
Freed to believe
in God’s mercy and in the new beginnings God promises.
Sitting on the cusp of a New Year,
bombarded with messages about resolutions
that would have us lose weight, exercise, eat healthier,
and unplug more often,
John’s testimony challenges us
To find new ways to announce God’s grace, love and forgiveness in our lives.
Maybe it is letting someone step ahead of you in a long line,
Or paying for someone else’s coffee or lunch.
Maybe it is giving your time to help someone else who is hurting or
Listening to someone who is alone.
Maybe it is changing a habit that takes you farther away from God,
or starting one that helps remind you of God’s presence in your life.
Or maybe it is going to someone and offering them a fresh start;
Or sitting with someone and telling them,
“Jesus came to live for you
that you would know how much God loves you.”
Whatever you do, in making God’s love visible in your actions,
like John,
you are pointing away from yourself,
toward what our life-giving, living God has done and is doing
in the lives of the people you love and with whom you live and work.
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray…
God of life and God of faith,
Thank you for your son Jesus who takes away our sin,
Who calls forth faith in each one of us.
Take us into the New Year,
strengthened by your grace and
filled with hope by your promise of new beginnings.
May our words and actions be witnesses to your love and forgiveness.
Amen.
(c) Christina Auch, 2013.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Advent Confidential
As the Church enters a new year, the first four Sundays (which
happen to begin on December 1 this year) mark Advent, a time of waiting and
preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. RevGalBlogPals asked about our favorite memories or traditions for today’s FridayFive Advent Confidential.
Growing up, my family (1) had Advent calendars (2), and each day in December began with our opening a cardboard window and trying not to peak ahead to the manger scene hidden under the double doors marked “24” or sometimes "25". Sometimes they had verses but often they were just pictures related to the story of the birth of the infant Jesus. At least one year, on Sunday nights during Advent, my mother played carols at the piano while a fire was lit in the fire place, and my dad read from the King James Bible at our very own wreath lighting (3).
In those days, in the Episcopal tradition, we used the pink and purple candles. The colors of candles, the variety of four-fold meanings of the candles, and the significance of where and when the wreath lighting happens in worship are all nuances that were lost to me before going to seminary. If your curiosity is piqued, you can check out Advent resources on Text this Week, or from Worshiping with Children.
As an adult, my favorite Advent memories are from the soup suppers (4) and worship services on Wednesday evenings. Admittedly, when my children were younger, I figured we had done well just to slow down enough to get to the supper, so we often left before the actual worship began. Last year, I participated in community Advent services that brought together four different congregations, rotating the cooking responsibilities as well as the hosting of the services. As fewer people attend the midweek worship services for Advent, they are becoming harder to find, but these special services provide a much-needed chance to reset and refocus (5), an art often lost by the third day of a busy work week.
For me, this year’s season of waiting is punctuated by the different kinds of waiting we have happening in our house as I await my first call as the pastor of a congregation and my daughters await news of school acceptances for next school year. We are, as the people were at the time of Jesus’ birth, filled with hope and anticipation at what God is doing, and we wish and pray for peace and healing in this season.
Growing up, my family (1) had Advent calendars (2), and each day in December began with our opening a cardboard window and trying not to peak ahead to the manger scene hidden under the double doors marked “24” or sometimes "25". Sometimes they had verses but often they were just pictures related to the story of the birth of the infant Jesus. At least one year, on Sunday nights during Advent, my mother played carols at the piano while a fire was lit in the fire place, and my dad read from the King James Bible at our very own wreath lighting (3).
In those days, in the Episcopal tradition, we used the pink and purple candles. The colors of candles, the variety of four-fold meanings of the candles, and the significance of where and when the wreath lighting happens in worship are all nuances that were lost to me before going to seminary. If your curiosity is piqued, you can check out Advent resources on Text this Week, or from Worshiping with Children.
As an adult, my favorite Advent memories are from the soup suppers (4) and worship services on Wednesday evenings. Admittedly, when my children were younger, I figured we had done well just to slow down enough to get to the supper, so we often left before the actual worship began. Last year, I participated in community Advent services that brought together four different congregations, rotating the cooking responsibilities as well as the hosting of the services. As fewer people attend the midweek worship services for Advent, they are becoming harder to find, but these special services provide a much-needed chance to reset and refocus (5), an art often lost by the third day of a busy work week.
For me, this year’s season of waiting is punctuated by the different kinds of waiting we have happening in our house as I await my first call as the pastor of a congregation and my daughters await news of school acceptances for next school year. We are, as the people were at the time of Jesus’ birth, filled with hope and anticipation at what God is doing, and we wish and pray for peace and healing in this season.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Preacher without a pulpit
This in-between time is interesting because I formed my identity as a pastor, a preacher and public Christian leader during this past year, but right now I do not have a congregation or a pulpit. For now, my family and I are waiting for what will unfold. It's interesting in this interim to think more fully about the idea that the Holy Spirit forms faith through preaching, that preaching brings a person to Christ and knits them into the body of Christ, and then to think about what preaching looks like outside of ordained ministry.
Meanwhile, here are my last two sermons from St. Mark's.
July 21, 2013
9th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
Amos 8:1-12
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42
August 25, 2013
14th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17
Thursday, August 15, 2013
"Always Being Made New"
As you know, if you are reading this here, I am a church geek. On Wednesday, August 14, 2013, I joined more than 2,000 others watching a LiveStream of my denomination's Churchwide Assembly - a national gathering of about 952 representatives that happens every 3 years. Thankfully, this year's gathering of the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA) is being held in Pittsburgh which makes it easy for me to indulge in conversations and watch the live feed.
I watched in the morning as four people - our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, and three women currently serving as synod bishops - spoke about leading our Church in the next six years, and I watched in the afternoon as a fifth ballot between the two final nominees was held.
For those of you who think this is as interesting as watching grass grow (my frequent analogy for watching golf on television, or live for that matter) what made it wonderful was the color commentary provided by other church geeks, like me. As the people in the room listened and made their decisions about which candidate would receive their vote, I listened on Twitter (#ELCAcwa) and chat to the overwhelming respect and affirmation of our current leader's gifts and ministry. Presiding Bishop Hanson has led the ELCA for twelve years with grace and compassion even as congregations are getting smaller, even as seminaries are struggling, even as controversy erupted over who we ordain as leaders for our congregations.
And in the midst of recognizing the blessing that Bishop Hanson has been to the office of Presiding Bishop, and at the same time listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit for us in the world today, our church elected a new leader - and for the first time, a woman. It was a day to celebrate the Good in the Church even as we look for ways to move forward.
As a seminary student anticipating assignment and my first call in the ELCA, I am grateful for the day and the memory. I am grateful for the women in ministry who have preceded me. I am grateful for the faithfulness of all the leaders - women and men - who have challenged us to "always be made new" and who have shown courage in walking with us into new places and new ways of being church.
If you are a church geek, too, here is the video of Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson introducing Presiding Bishop-Elect Elizabeth Eaton. (This is a formal moderated press conference. Bishop Hanson's remarks begin at about 2:34 mark and Bishop Eaton begins about 5:27)
I watched in the morning as four people - our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, and three women currently serving as synod bishops - spoke about leading our Church in the next six years, and I watched in the afternoon as a fifth ballot between the two final nominees was held.
For those of you who think this is as interesting as watching grass grow (my frequent analogy for watching golf on television, or live for that matter) what made it wonderful was the color commentary provided by other church geeks, like me. As the people in the room listened and made their decisions about which candidate would receive their vote, I listened on Twitter (#ELCAcwa) and chat to the overwhelming respect and affirmation of our current leader's gifts and ministry. Presiding Bishop Hanson has led the ELCA for twelve years with grace and compassion even as congregations are getting smaller, even as seminaries are struggling, even as controversy erupted over who we ordain as leaders for our congregations.
And in the midst of recognizing the blessing that Bishop Hanson has been to the office of Presiding Bishop, and at the same time listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit for us in the world today, our church elected a new leader - and for the first time, a woman. It was a day to celebrate the Good in the Church even as we look for ways to move forward.
As a seminary student anticipating assignment and my first call in the ELCA, I am grateful for the day and the memory. I am grateful for the women in ministry who have preceded me. I am grateful for the faithfulness of all the leaders - women and men - who have challenged us to "always be made new" and who have shown courage in walking with us into new places and new ways of being church.
If you are a church geek, too, here is the video of Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson introducing Presiding Bishop-Elect Elizabeth Eaton. (This is a formal moderated press conference. Bishop Hanson's remarks begin at about 2:34 mark and Bishop Eaton begins about 5:27)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Summertime in the Preacher's Corner
For my family and me, summertime means barefeet, swimming in the river, campfires and cooking on the grill. For one of my daughters, it isn't summer without the beach, and for another it wouldn't be the same unless she was at Lutheridge for at least one week. Summer means something different for everyone. As we live into the season and all the meanings it carries for people, as a preacher, one of the questions I'm trying to figure out in the midst or Mother's and Father's Day, Memorial Day and the 4th of July, is where, if at all, should my preaching connect the Gospel to these celebrations and traditions?
Here are my three most recent sermons. The first was preached on Trinity Sunday, which fell this year on the last weekend in May, which for most Americans anyway, is Memorial Day Weekend, the official unofficial start of summer when the public swimming pools open, grills are fired up and the shoes come off. The second sermon was on June 23, in the midst of the long green season both in the church and in a world where everything is growing and green, and the third was on June 30, the Sunday before America's Independence Day celebration.
I didn't try to make connections to the season's celebrations in this year's sermons and I haven't resolved my questions about the importance of those connections. Part of me wants to stubbornly stick to the text and not be concerned about them, but I also want my hearers to connect the Gospel to their own lives - to know that they are loved by God and God cares about what happens in their lives - and going forward, I think that may mean making room for the celebrations. Please let me know what you think.
May 26, 2013
Trinity Sunday (Year C)
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
Listen Now
June 23, 2013
5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
Isaiah 65:1–9
Psalm 22:19–28 (22)
Galatians 3:23–29
Luke 8:26–39
Listen Now
June 30, 2013
6th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
1 Kings 19:15–16, 19–21
Psalm 16 (8)
Galatians 5:1, 13–25
Luke 9:51–62
Listen Now
Here are my three most recent sermons. The first was preached on Trinity Sunday, which fell this year on the last weekend in May, which for most Americans anyway, is Memorial Day Weekend, the official unofficial start of summer when the public swimming pools open, grills are fired up and the shoes come off. The second sermon was on June 23, in the midst of the long green season both in the church and in a world where everything is growing and green, and the third was on June 30, the Sunday before America's Independence Day celebration.
I didn't try to make connections to the season's celebrations in this year's sermons and I haven't resolved my questions about the importance of those connections. Part of me wants to stubbornly stick to the text and not be concerned about them, but I also want my hearers to connect the Gospel to their own lives - to know that they are loved by God and God cares about what happens in their lives - and going forward, I think that may mean making room for the celebrations. Please let me know what you think.
May 26, 2013
Trinity Sunday (Year C)
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
Listen Now
June 23, 2013
5th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
Isaiah 65:1–9
Psalm 22:19–28 (22)
Galatians 3:23–29
Luke 8:26–39
Listen Now
June 30, 2013
6th Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
1 Kings 19:15–16, 19–21
Psalm 16 (8)
Galatians 5:1, 13–25
Luke 9:51–62
Listen Now
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Honest Speech - Reading the Psalms
This summer I am studying the Psalms. Reading Walter Brueggemann, Glenn Pemberton and Eugene Peterson, I quickly realized how unfamiliar the text was to me. I have read bits and pieces of the Psalms and knew they are understood as the songbook of Israel; I knew they are wisdom literature and I knew they were poetic in the original Hebrew. But like English poetry, their cadence and content was challenging for me.
So, I decided I wanted to try to simply read through the Psalms, just to gain some familiarity with the language, like listening to Spanish radio helps me recognize forgotten vocabulary. I hoped I would notice repeated words and phrases, and begin to understand this new language. If I could get past the decoding stage of reading, I could begin to understand what the writers were saying.
Not surprisingly, Google offers lots of suggestions for reading the Psalms. There are 150 Psalms so reading 5 each day will take a reader through the Psalter in 30 days.One way to do that is to read the psalm for that date, e.g. today is June 22, so begin with Psalm 22, and then read every thirtieth Psalm, e.g. Psalm 52, 82, 112, 142. Repeat the math the next day.
But the Psalms are so varied that a numerical reading felt too random to me, so I chose a reading plan organized around themes.
Reaching the end of the plan, I realized that, there is a nuance between reading the Psalms in 30 days and reading the Psalms for 30 days. I had read just under 2/3 of the Psalter. Of the 61 psalms the themed reading plan did not include, more than half (34) were lament psalms. It struck me then how reluctant we are to use honest speech with God.
While Brueggemann uses the categories of orientation, disorientation and new orientation to identify different Psalms, Pemberton categorizes Psalms into praise, thanksgiving, lament and "other", identifying a full 60 lament Psalms in the Psalter. If we took away a third of our language, I don't think we'd be able to communicate well. Unless we soak ourselves in the Scriptures that are hard - the laments and even the violent and bloodthirsty passages, we risk thinking God only inhabits one part of our lives, and when we are hurting the most, we won't have the language to speak to God, and when we are in the darkest places and passages of our lives, we won't have the imagination to believe God is there with us.
I have built a reading plan that takes a reader through the Psalter, more or less using the following categories.Some Psalms fit more than one category but for my purposes, they are included only once in the readings. I hope you'll spend some time with the Psalms and tell me whether this is helpful, or share how you approach the Psalter.
So, I decided I wanted to try to simply read through the Psalms, just to gain some familiarity with the language, like listening to Spanish radio helps me recognize forgotten vocabulary. I hoped I would notice repeated words and phrases, and begin to understand this new language. If I could get past the decoding stage of reading, I could begin to understand what the writers were saying.
Not surprisingly, Google offers lots of suggestions for reading the Psalms. There are 150 Psalms so reading 5 each day will take a reader through the Psalter in 30 days.One way to do that is to read the psalm for that date, e.g. today is June 22, so begin with Psalm 22, and then read every thirtieth Psalm, e.g. Psalm 52, 82, 112, 142. Repeat the math the next day.
But the Psalms are so varied that a numerical reading felt too random to me, so I chose a reading plan organized around themes.
Reaching the end of the plan, I realized that, there is a nuance between reading the Psalms in 30 days and reading the Psalms for 30 days. I had read just under 2/3 of the Psalter. Of the 61 psalms the themed reading plan did not include, more than half (34) were lament psalms. It struck me then how reluctant we are to use honest speech with God.
While Brueggemann uses the categories of orientation, disorientation and new orientation to identify different Psalms, Pemberton categorizes Psalms into praise, thanksgiving, lament and "other", identifying a full 60 lament Psalms in the Psalter. If we took away a third of our language, I don't think we'd be able to communicate well. Unless we soak ourselves in the Scriptures that are hard - the laments and even the violent and bloodthirsty passages, we risk thinking God only inhabits one part of our lives, and when we are hurting the most, we won't have the language to speak to God, and when we are in the darkest places and passages of our lives, we won't have the imagination to believe God is there with us.
I have built a reading plan that takes a reader through the Psalter, more or less using the following categories.Some Psalms fit more than one category but for my purposes, they are included only once in the readings. I hope you'll spend some time with the Psalms and tell me whether this is helpful, or share how you approach the Psalter.
| Individual Prayers for Help | Individual Songs of Thanksgiving | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Communal Prayers for Help | Communal Songs of Thanksgiving | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hymns of Praise | Royal Psalms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Creation Psalms | Trust Psalms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enthronement Psalms | Acrostic Psalms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Songs of Zion | Festival Psalms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liturgies | Historical Psalms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Instructional
Psalms
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Friday, May 17, 2013
The Road
RevGalBlogPals are pondering life's journey and the rhythm of our lives this week.
One of my earliest memories is of my dad in a Triumph convertible steering with his knees as we wound our way down some twisty road. I don't know if it was in Salinas, California or Nashville, Tennessee or someplace else. We rode in the car a lot, particularly during moves between one west coast naval station and another east coast base. I especially remember not quite being big enough to see out the windows.
For the last five years, I have been on a road through seminary, hitting the occasional pothole or the hazard of an unmarked turn or a sudden obstacle, but also enjoying the long straightaways. I know without looking at any odometer or official record that I have covered a lot of miles.
It would be easy to take this road and stick to the expressway, but like small towns forgotten in the shadow of the interstate or beltway, there are places I'd have hated to bypass. The most direct route between two points may be a straight line, but there's a whole lot of world to experience in the margins and hidden in backstreets and alleys.
It would be easy to name some of the people with whom I've traveled, but when I stop and think about the number of people who have traveled with me for not only a a period of months or years but even a morning or an afternoon, that list probably cannot be written because I'd never be able to name every person who has prayed for me and my ministry, for my family, or for the congregations where I have served or the seminary and professors who have guided my education.
What's even more challenging is to imagine, like a route yet planned or taken, where this road leads. I don't believe for a minute that it ends with my degree completion in December. That's just one wayside on an even longer road.
The prayer I keep with me in this unknowing is from the Lutheran Book of Worship:
Lord God,
you have called your servants
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One of my earliest memories is of my dad in a Triumph convertible steering with his knees as we wound our way down some twisty road. I don't know if it was in Salinas, California or Nashville, Tennessee or someplace else. We rode in the car a lot, particularly during moves between one west coast naval station and another east coast base. I especially remember not quite being big enough to see out the windows.
For the last five years, I have been on a road through seminary, hitting the occasional pothole or the hazard of an unmarked turn or a sudden obstacle, but also enjoying the long straightaways. I know without looking at any odometer or official record that I have covered a lot of miles.
It would be easy to take this road and stick to the expressway, but like small towns forgotten in the shadow of the interstate or beltway, there are places I'd have hated to bypass. The most direct route between two points may be a straight line, but there's a whole lot of world to experience in the margins and hidden in backstreets and alleys.
It would be easy to name some of the people with whom I've traveled, but when I stop and think about the number of people who have traveled with me for not only a a period of months or years but even a morning or an afternoon, that list probably cannot be written because I'd never be able to name every person who has prayed for me and my ministry, for my family, or for the congregations where I have served or the seminary and professors who have guided my education.
What's even more challenging is to imagine, like a route yet planned or taken, where this road leads. I don't believe for a minute that it ends with my degree completion in December. That's just one wayside on an even longer road.
The prayer I keep with me in this unknowing is from the Lutheran Book of Worship:
Lord God,
you have called your servants
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Preacher's Corner in Eastertide
Each year in the three-year cycle of the lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary), many churches follow lessons chosen primarily from one of the synoptic gospels. In Year A, Matthew; in Year B, Mark; and in Year C, Luke. But in the Easter season,we are given the story of Jesus' ministry that we hear in the Fourth Gospel, or the Gospel of John. Here are sermons from the 2nd and 4th Sundays of Easter this year.
April 7, 2013
2nd Sunday in Easter (Year C)
Psalm 150
Acts 5:27-32
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
Jesus commissions us to bear witness to the identity of God.
Listen Now
April 21, 2013
4th Sunday in Easter (Year C)
Psalm 23
Acts 9:36-43
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
God has given us to Jesus as part of the Good Shepherd’s flock; Jesus leads us out of lost-ness.
April 7, 2013
2nd Sunday in Easter (Year C)
Psalm 150
Acts 5:27-32
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
Jesus commissions us to bear witness to the identity of God.
Listen Now
April 21, 2013
4th Sunday in Easter (Year C)
Psalm 23
Acts 9:36-43
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
God has given us to Jesus as part of the Good Shepherd’s flock; Jesus leads us out of lost-ness.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Kyrie Eleison... Lord Have Mercy
In a week already marked by anniversaries of past tragedies like the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, the shootings at Virginia Tech (2007) and at Columbine High School (1999), as well as the 1993 shootout in Waco, Texas, we witnessed more death and destruction and, while my community is hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from the tragedies that struck this week, I felt called to say the following to the people who gathered at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Asheville this morning for Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel text was John 10:22-30.
When I was growing up, my parents’ generation could remember where they were when they heard that President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed.
For me, the first event that I remember in that way is the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.
A litany of unthinkable events have happened in the years since then.
Like it or not, these incidents become waymarkers in each of our lives, like blazes on a footpath or buoys in a channel.
When new news of death and destruction hits us, like it has this past week with the bombing at the Boston marathon,
the explosion of the fertilizer plant in Texas,
the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province,
we freshly mourn the loss of lives
and try to find our true north, to regain our equilibrium,
wishing our cries of “Enough” and “Never Again” were sufficient.
But somehow, they aren’t,
and now, here we stand together again,
lost and disoriented,
deeply grieving for the hurting world around us.
We all react differently to these experiences.
Some of you may be able to neatly categorize these events as the stuff of history
while others have heard or seen so much in your lifetimes that you numbly accept yet another tragedy,
while for others, each new tragedy is a sharp jab to your gut
as the memory of “where you were when you heard” rushes back and knocks the wind out of you, all over again.
Poet Mary Oliver suggests yet another reaction, writing,
“Read one newspaper daily …
And let the disasters, the unbelievable yet approved decisions, soak in…
What keeps us from falling down to the ground…?”(1)
Indeed in today’s Gospel, I think we are called to fall down –
called to admit that in this broken and hurting place, we can do nothing apart from God,
called to kneel before God and confess Jesus as Messiah – the Risen and Living Christ who died to restore us in relationship with God –
and called to stand and follow him,
as our Good Shepherd, confident in God’s love and care for each of us.
Speaking to a Jewish audience, Jesus takes the image of the Good Shepherd,
a familiar image known to them through the prophets Ezekiel (34; 22:27),
Zephaniah (3:3) and Zechariah (10:2-3, 11:4-17),
an image that compared the unfaithful leaders of Israel to bad shepherds who consigned their flocks to the wolves,
and tells them, "Look again!"
Recalling the promise of a future shepherd,
a good shepherd, who will gather God’s people as one flock,
Jesus says,
“Look around you! I am the Good Shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.” God has fulfilled God’s promise to Moses, to David, to Israel!
God has given God’s people – us – a good shepherd who gathers us into one flock,
one community of followers who know Jesus.
We don’t just know his genealogy or where he was born; in John’s Gospel “knowing” is not just a “head” matter, but a “heart” matter. Knowing is not just an intellectual task; “knowing” is “believing” – God’s people believe Jesus is the Messiah and follow him.
And not only has God given us a good shepherd;God has given us to Jesus.
Just as a shepherd knows the flock in his care, Jesus knows each one of us –
the good, the bad and the ugly.
Jesus knows us in our anger, our hurt, and our tears.
And Jesus knows us in our generosity, our mercy, and our joy.
We know his voice – his Word comes to us through Scripture. Psalm 23 tells us
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;”
His Word gives us assurance of his presence and reminds us of his promise:
that we will have eternal life – that death will not have the last word;
that we are held in God’s loving hands – no one and nothing can snatch us from God;
that God is greater than the evil we see perpetrated;
that God is greater than the powers and principalities that try to separate us from one another and from God.
And so, we follow him. United as one flock, our waymarkers are not the tragedies that we experience in our lives, whether they make the news cycle or not.
Our waymarkers are God’s commands to love God and our neighbor. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, leads us in God’s ways and keeps us on right paths.
Reassured by God’s steadfast promises in a world violently shaken by the brokenness of human sin and by death, we walk “on the rough ground of uncertainties”(2) ; we claim God’s love, grace and forgiveness and confess Jesus as Messiah.
In a message shared Friday night, Bishop Mark Hanson told us, “There are no God-forsaken places and there are no God-forgotten people….”(3) We may be “washed in life’s river”(4), but we are baptized as God’s children; our Shepherding God knows each one of us by name and loves us and cares for us.
Let us pray. (4)
O Lord, our Shepherding God, come close to us now
Come near us in our time of need.
Guide us with your voice,
Help us to listen and follow no matter where you lead.
Help us to trust you.
Shepherding God,
thank you for your son who laid down his life for those who follow him and for those who are not yet in the fold …
We pray for those who don’t know the shepherd. We pray that by our actions and our reaching out into the community, they may come to know you.
Shepherding God,
Guide us with your love and renew us with your peace. Amen.
Notes:
(1) excerpt from Mary Oliver, “The Morning Paper” in A Thousand Mornings
(2) excerpt from Mary Oliver, “A Thousand Mornings” in A Thousand Mornings
(3) ELCA, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2q4IuPQcow&list=PLC4E2E3CA2B79AA24&index=1
(4) excerpt from William Blake, “Night”
(5) excerpt from Abigail Carlisle-Wilke, "Sunday Prayer for Easter 4C", RevGalBlogPals, http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-prayer-for-easter-4c.html
When I was growing up, my parents’ generation could remember where they were when they heard that President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed.
For me, the first event that I remember in that way is the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.
A litany of unthinkable events have happened in the years since then.
Like it or not, these incidents become waymarkers in each of our lives, like blazes on a footpath or buoys in a channel.
When new news of death and destruction hits us, like it has this past week with the bombing at the Boston marathon,
the explosion of the fertilizer plant in Texas,
the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province,
we freshly mourn the loss of lives
and try to find our true north, to regain our equilibrium,
wishing our cries of “Enough” and “Never Again” were sufficient.
But somehow, they aren’t,
and now, here we stand together again,
lost and disoriented,
deeply grieving for the hurting world around us.
We all react differently to these experiences.
Some of you may be able to neatly categorize these events as the stuff of history
while others have heard or seen so much in your lifetimes that you numbly accept yet another tragedy,
while for others, each new tragedy is a sharp jab to your gut
as the memory of “where you were when you heard” rushes back and knocks the wind out of you, all over again.
Poet Mary Oliver suggests yet another reaction, writing,
“Read one newspaper daily …
And let the disasters, the unbelievable yet approved decisions, soak in…
What keeps us from falling down to the ground…?”(1)
Indeed in today’s Gospel, I think we are called to fall down –
called to admit that in this broken and hurting place, we can do nothing apart from God,
called to kneel before God and confess Jesus as Messiah – the Risen and Living Christ who died to restore us in relationship with God –
and called to stand and follow him,
as our Good Shepherd, confident in God’s love and care for each of us.
Speaking to a Jewish audience, Jesus takes the image of the Good Shepherd,
a familiar image known to them through the prophets Ezekiel (34; 22:27),
Zephaniah (3:3) and Zechariah (10:2-3, 11:4-17),
an image that compared the unfaithful leaders of Israel to bad shepherds who consigned their flocks to the wolves,
and tells them, "Look again!"
Recalling the promise of a future shepherd,
a good shepherd, who will gather God’s people as one flock,
Jesus says,
“Look around you! I am the Good Shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.” God has fulfilled God’s promise to Moses, to David, to Israel!
God has given God’s people – us – a good shepherd who gathers us into one flock,
one community of followers who know Jesus.
We don’t just know his genealogy or where he was born; in John’s Gospel “knowing” is not just a “head” matter, but a “heart” matter. Knowing is not just an intellectual task; “knowing” is “believing” – God’s people believe Jesus is the Messiah and follow him.
And not only has God given us a good shepherd;God has given us to Jesus.
Just as a shepherd knows the flock in his care, Jesus knows each one of us –
the good, the bad and the ugly.
Jesus knows us in our anger, our hurt, and our tears.
And Jesus knows us in our generosity, our mercy, and our joy.
We know his voice – his Word comes to us through Scripture. Psalm 23 tells us
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;”
His Word gives us assurance of his presence and reminds us of his promise:
that we will have eternal life – that death will not have the last word;
that we are held in God’s loving hands – no one and nothing can snatch us from God;
that God is greater than the evil we see perpetrated;
that God is greater than the powers and principalities that try to separate us from one another and from God.
And so, we follow him. United as one flock, our waymarkers are not the tragedies that we experience in our lives, whether they make the news cycle or not.
Our waymarkers are God’s commands to love God and our neighbor. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, leads us in God’s ways and keeps us on right paths.
Reassured by God’s steadfast promises in a world violently shaken by the brokenness of human sin and by death, we walk “on the rough ground of uncertainties”(2) ; we claim God’s love, grace and forgiveness and confess Jesus as Messiah.
In a message shared Friday night, Bishop Mark Hanson told us, “There are no God-forsaken places and there are no God-forgotten people….”(3) We may be “washed in life’s river”(4), but we are baptized as God’s children; our Shepherding God knows each one of us by name and loves us and cares for us.
Let us pray. (4)
O Lord, our Shepherding God, come close to us now
Come near us in our time of need.
Guide us with your voice,
Help us to listen and follow no matter where you lead.
Help us to trust you.
Shepherding God,
thank you for your son who laid down his life for those who follow him and for those who are not yet in the fold …
We pray for those who don’t know the shepherd. We pray that by our actions and our reaching out into the community, they may come to know you.
Shepherding God,
Guide us with your love and renew us with your peace. Amen.
Notes:
(1) excerpt from Mary Oliver, “The Morning Paper” in A Thousand Mornings
(2) excerpt from Mary Oliver, “A Thousand Mornings” in A Thousand Mornings
(3) ELCA, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2q4IuPQcow&list=PLC4E2E3CA2B79AA24&index=1
(4) excerpt from William Blake, “Night”
(5) excerpt from Abigail Carlisle-Wilke, "Sunday Prayer for Easter 4C", RevGalBlogPals, http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-prayer-for-easter-4c.html
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Lent and Easter in the Preacher's Corner
Hearing the Gospel fully means engaging all the senses, fully participating in the Body of Christ. In Holy Communion, we "taste and see that the Lord is good." For Lent, the Rethink Church photo challenge opened our eyes to the places where we see God around us, while we continued to read the Word and hear it proclaimed in preaching on Sundays in worship. Here are the sermons I preached during Lent and Holy Week: "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 2:29)
February 24, 2013
2nd Sunday in Lent (Year C)
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35
Listen Now
March 17, 2013
5th Sunday in Lent (Year C)
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
Listen Now
March 28, 2013
Maundy Thursday and First Communion (Year C)
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Listen Now
February 24, 2013
2nd Sunday in Lent (Year C)
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35
Listen NowMarch 17, 2013
5th Sunday in Lent (Year C)
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
Listen NowMarch 28, 2013
Maundy Thursday and First Communion (Year C)
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Listen Now
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Post-Resurrection Life
The last week of Lent and the passion and worship of Holy Week are almost a week behind us already. I am grateful that in the midst of it, I found space to be quiet and attentive, but before the drama and intensity of those days recedes completely, it's important for me to note how the Lenten disciplines drew to a close.
In addition to these two words that I documented - Help and Cup - the last week of the Lenten photo challenge focused on these words: Home, Alone, Restore, Blessed, Rejoice and Light, Far and Roots.While I failed to keep up with the daily challenge of seeing these words manifest in my day, participating in the community of folks reading the blog from Rethink Church, looking for ways to connect with others, and being attentive to the distinct forty days of the season were important parts of my experience of Lent this year.
Help
"God grant me the serenity..."
Cup
My first First Communion chalice, created for my internship site for Maundy Thursday:
"Do this in remembrance of me."
Now into the fifty days of Easter where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the victory of life over death and light over darkness, I hope that my post-resurrection life and ministry will be marked with as much anticipation, reflection, celebration as those earlier forty days. Life can not just move ahead day-by-day unchanged by the events of Easter. Christ is Risen, Indeed. Alleluia, Alleluia!
In addition to these two words that I documented - Help and Cup - the last week of the Lenten photo challenge focused on these words: Home, Alone, Restore, Blessed, Rejoice and Light, Far and Roots.While I failed to keep up with the daily challenge of seeing these words manifest in my day, participating in the community of folks reading the blog from Rethink Church, looking for ways to connect with others, and being attentive to the distinct forty days of the season were important parts of my experience of Lent this year.
Help
"God grant me the serenity..."
My first First Communion chalice, created for my internship site for Maundy Thursday:
"Do this in remembrance of me."
Now into the fifty days of Easter where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the victory of life over death and light over darkness, I hope that my post-resurrection life and ministry will be marked with as much anticipation, reflection, celebration as those earlier forty days. Life can not just move ahead day-by-day unchanged by the events of Easter. Christ is Risen, Indeed. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Week 5 of Lent
Day-to-day busy-ness, ACC basketball and March Madness marred my engagement with the actual photograph-taking for the Photo-a-Day challenge for Lent as we went through the fifth week, but taking time to catch up, at least on the reflection, if not the images, brought me into Scripture with greater attentiveness, so maybe that's ok.
Go
Am I as eager to go wherever God leads as my ball-chasing Labrador?
Temper
"Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart."
"…do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear;..."
New
How is the new thing that God is doing both fragile and life-bearing, and sometimes hidden from us?
Rise
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Dream
"…this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."
Beloved
"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Go
Am I as eager to go wherever God leads as my ball-chasing Labrador?
Temper
"Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart."
Psalm 32:9-11, NRSV
Surround
"…do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear;..."
Ezekiel 2:6-, NRSV
New
How is the new thing that God is doing both fragile and life-bearing, and sometimes hidden from us?
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:5-9, NRSV
Dream
"…this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."
Acts 2:16-18, NRSV
Beloved
"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Philippians 4:6-8, NRSV
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Lessons from Mary of Bethany
Disclaimer: Because this is a sermon, it's longer than my typical blog post. For that matter, it's longer than my typical sermon, but it was really, really important to me that people hear that every one of us is a disciple, not just the seminary student, the pastor or the Sunday School teacher or college professor, and for that matter, not just the people sitting in the pews this morning.Christ died for us all and his death is triumphant over everything else. Let's risk our lives looking like that is true.
Who are Jesus’ disciples? How many
are there?
Okay,…those are trick questions. The
Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry tell us stories about the twelve
who he gathered close to him, but every one of us is a disciple of
Jesus.
Each of us is included in God’s
infinite grace, love and forgiveness and
invited to follow Jesus and learn about
the Kingdom of God,
invited to imitate his life in our
relationships with one another,
invited to be in relationship with
the hurting world around us..
The promise of the gospel is that discipleship
is for everyone.
The story of the anointing of Jesus
is in all four Gospel accounts; in Luke’s Gospel, it’s earlier in Jesus’
ministry but in three of the Gospels, including the Gospel of John that we read
today, it is sandwiched between statements about killing Jesus and about
killing Lazarus.[i] And only
in John’s account, the anointing happens just before the story of Jesus
entering Jerusalem that we will hear next week.
The story centers on just three
people:
1)
Jesus, who
has come from Ephraim, north of Jerusalem, where he had been with his disciples
is now in Bethany, some two miles outside Jerusalem, at the house of Mary,
Martha and their brother Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.
Ironically, that
life-bringing event convinces the religious leaders in Jerusalem that Jesus must
die and they begin to plot to kill him. But here, he is among friends.
2)
The second person is Mary of Bethany, who is loved by Jesus and believes in him;
3)
and third,
there’s Judas, who is one of the
twelve closest to Jesus, who is revealed as the ‘devil’, a thief and a betrayer.
Through her actions, Mary shows us
what discipleship means – what it looks like to experience the fullness of life
through believing in Jesus.
Unafraid
of looking foolish,
Mary sits on the floor at Jesus’
feet, surrounded by a room full of people,
her hair is loosened and she is pouring perfume on Jesus' feet,
filling the house with a scent that
is something between mint and ginseng.
Unafraid
of getting hurt,
Mary doesn’t stop to think what
others will think. She doesn’t reason out the pros and cons, and evaluate whether
she might be able to use the perfume another way. It is true that the perfume was
so precious that its sale could have fed and clothed many – so no, this was not
an efficient choice that maximized the possible returns, but in anointing
Jesus’ feet, Mary makes a faithful choice, and shows her own vulnerability, and
Jesus affirms her choice, telling the others, “Leave her alone.”
Unafraid
of making others uncomfortable,
Mary makes an extravagant
sacrifice, with an ease or willingness that makes at least one of the guests
squirm. Have you ever shrunk back at an unconventional display or outpouring of
faith, love or service?
We only hear his question about
providing for the poor, but Lazarus sounds a lot like a sibling tattling on a
brother or sister…. “Can you believe what she’s doing?
What a waste, how foolish…” Mary wasn’t acting against Judas, she was acting faithfully toward Jesus.
Unafraid
of consequences,
Mary carefully and intimately
anoints Jesus,
honoring him as king and Messiah, and
preparing his body for death on the cross.
She isn’t acting blindly. She knows
what she’s doing. The resurrection of her brother Lazarus prompted the
religious leaders to decide Jesus cannot live, and at the end of today’s
Gospel, they decide Lazarus will need to die, too, because of his witness. But
she takes the risk anyway, making her adoration and gratitude public.
Unafraid
of conflict,
Mary speaks out, not with words,
but with her actions, confident that she was acting faithfully.
How much easier would it have been
for her to do something else, to help serve the meal, to stay on the periphery,
and to let someone else be the model
disciple?
Reflecting on this story of the
anointing of Jesus, what are we afraid of?
What makes us more like Judas, and
less like Mary?
“Why are we so concerned with what other
people think?”[ii]
How often do we hide our
vulnerability, act with indifference or play the skeptic?[iii]
What happens when we let fear drive
our decisions and actions?[iv]
We cheapen the cross.
Basically we say to God, and to
those who see us as Christ in the world,
that Jesus’ death on the cross
wasn’t enough,
that we don’t really believe that
God’s love is sufficient to overcome our fears.
But on the cross, and in his
resurrection, Jesus heals our brokenness, life overcomes death, and God’s
grace, love and forgiveness are ours.
Not through any understanding or strength of our own,
Not because we don’t sound foolish,
Not because we play it safe,
Not because we don’t rock the boat,
Not because we don’t risk being chastised or criticized,
Not because we take the path of least resistance.
And you know what is even more
radical? God’s grace isn’t limited
to the ones who get it right.
In a world that is quick to label
and judge, Judas is clearly the un-redeemable villain. I’m not excusing his
crime or his betrayal.
Clearly, he doesn’t get it. He
doesn’t understand what Mary is doing.
Whether he is greedy and wants to
steal the money for himself,
or whether he is merely
self-conscious, he is turned in on himself,
and his own worries and questions,
instead of turning toward Jesus.
But discipleship is learning how to
live in the grace of God despite our brokenness.[v]
Discipleship is for everyone,
regardless of what has
broken us and our relationships.
God’s extravagant and abundant
grace is for each one of us, for me and for you, redeeming and cleansing us
from all unrighteousness.
The promise of the gospel is that
discipleship is for everyone and watching Mary, we can see what it looks like.
It is Understanding Faith as a joyful
relationship with God where we are invited to learn about the Kingdom of God.
It is Practicing Faith – in worship
and outreach and learning and fellowship –
by living in relationship with each
other and learning to imitate Jesus’ life in our own lives as best as we can.
It is Sharing Faith – through our lives
with people inside this congregation and in our community – being with
the hurting world around us and not being afraid to be vulnerable with others.
When we model our lives on the
lives of people in Scripture like Mary of Bethany, we become living examples of
Christ in the world, sharing God’s extravagant love with the world.
[i]
Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen
[ii] Rob
Bell, NOOMA “Name”
[iii] Bill
Blankschaen, “5 Reasons We Choose Not To Speak Up”, http://www.ronedmondson.com/2013/03/5-reasons-we-chose-to-not-speak-up.html
(accessed March 14, 2013).
[iv] ibid
[v] Mike
Breen, Building a Discipling Culture,
Chapter 1
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Week 4 of Lent
Some days, it feels like Lent is flying by and we'll be at Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter in the blink of an eye. (insert banned A word here) Other days, the long hours stretch interminably and it feels like we will remain in the dark woods forever.
Shadow
No
Jesus' "no" becomes our "no." From Daniel Erlander's "Baptized We Live"
Find
How can we make it easier for people to "find" their way through and follow our liturgy?
Faithful
What symbols do we use to show how we are "faithful" or tell Christ's story?
Ate
What is my daily bread? How much is enough? And whose bowls are empty? How do I share?
Happy
No single image could capture happiness for me, but the folks at Rethink Church included this version of Psalm 32:1-2 The Message on its blog for "happy".
Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
you get a fresh start,
your slate’s wiped clean.
Count yourself lucky—
God holds nothing against you
and you’re holding nothing back from God.
Silence
One image that came to mind for silence is from the woods, specifically, from being on the Appalachian Trail in Harpers Ferry for the first time on President's Day in 2001. But even the woods are not silent. We hear the rhythm of our breath, which John Wesley described as prayer. God breathes into us the divine word and will; we respond in prayer by breathing out our responses in both word and deed.
Water
Martin Luther writes in the Small Catechism, "Baptism is not simply plain water. It is water enclosed in God's command & connected w/ God's Word."
Shadow
No
Jesus' "no" becomes our "no." From Daniel Erlander's "Baptized We Live"
Find
How can we make it easier for people to "find" their way through and follow our liturgy?
Faithful
What symbols do we use to show how we are "faithful" or tell Christ's story?
Ate
What is my daily bread? How much is enough? And whose bowls are empty? How do I share?
Happy
No single image could capture happiness for me, but the folks at Rethink Church included this version of Psalm 32:1-2 The Message on its blog for "happy".
Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
you get a fresh start,
your slate’s wiped clean.
Count yourself lucky—
God holds nothing against you
and you’re holding nothing back from God.
Silence
One image that came to mind for silence is from the woods, specifically, from being on the Appalachian Trail in Harpers Ferry for the first time on President's Day in 2001. But even the woods are not silent. We hear the rhythm of our breath, which John Wesley described as prayer. God breathes into us the divine word and will; we respond in prayer by breathing out our responses in both word and deed.
Water
Martin Luther writes in the Small Catechism, "Baptism is not simply plain water. It is water enclosed in God's command & connected w/ God's Word."
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