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My heart beats for love. I want to be different. I want to be who I am called to be. WORTHY and LOVED!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

“And lead us not into Temptation, But Deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever”

After spending weeks together discussing the Lord’s Prayer, we’ve reached our last sermon of this series studying its depth of meaning. However, as we look at the closing phrase today, I would encourage you to not let this be the last time you absorb the Lord’s Prayer in all of its power and beauty. When we pray this prayer together on Sunday mornings, pause at the phrases the fill your spirit at that particular time. When you pray this prayer alone, let it lead you to dwell in the house of the Lord. Soak it in and be filled. Be sustained. Be led. 
The remaining part of the prayer before us this morning can really be broken into two parts. The first is, “and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” If we read this phrase too fast, we can be tricked into thinking that we are praying for God not to tempt us, but the book of James tells us that God is not the tempter; Satan is. We are really praying that we are protected from Satan, the wily one who is constantly trying to make us not trust our God and Father. 
The ironic this is, the more Satan tries to tempt humans, the more God overrides him with his power for redemption. Just look at scriptures. Think back to Job. How Satan asked God if he could bring calamity to Job’s life to prove that he only serves God because God so richly blesses him. God allows it, with the caveat that Satan cannot kill Job. But no matter what Satan did or how much his wife and friends tried to argue that Job must have offended God, he stuck to his deep devotion and trust to God. Even though he didn’t understand what was happening, he believed in God’s redemption. Satan didn’t get the upper hand. 
Or think of Sarah, a woman whose husband was called a friend of God. She yearned for years for a child, yet it wasn’t until she was well beyond child bearing years that servants of the Lord announced that she would bear a child, a son, on whom the nations would be built. What did she do? She laughed. Yet God came through on his promises. She and her husband learned to trust the Lord and lean not on their own understanding. 
When I read this part of the prayer, I think back to when my brothers and I were small. My parents were trying to wrangle three children under the age of three, and I was a free-spirited child, who tended to wander and run the wrong direction. So I had to hold my parents hand. Or be connected to the stroller. But in the close comfort of my parents, my hand clasped into theirs, I wasn’t tempted to stray. We are praying that God holds us close so we won’t be tempted by the Evil one.
But how exactly does Satan tempt us? The ways seem to be endless, which is why we need to fervently pray that Satan does not get a foothold. For some examples, look again to scripture. Think back to Paul and how highly he thought of himself. He proclaims that he was the Pharisee among Pharisees, the top notch of his class, well respected amongst his kin. Yet, all of his accomplishments and hastiness seemed to block him from hearing the call of God, until God had to literally blind him to get his attention. When we think too highly of ourselves we become deceived into thinking that we don’t need God. That we are the center of the universe. That we can do it on our own, which are all lies. 
Other times Satan tempts us by distracting us from God. A contemporary song, “If You Wanted Me” by Todd Agnew states,  now and then I'll admit I'm glad I'm not King David; Ruling over everything I see; 'Cause I think I've fallen for more than Bathsheba; Your creation's a temptation for me. If King David, a man after God’s own heart, could become tempted and fall into sin, so can we! We get swept up by the desires of the world, instead of the desires of the heart of God. And once we are distracted, things can spiral our of control so quickly, as our ears get clogged up and we can’t hear the voice of God. And our heart become hardened and we choose not to follow God’s ways. 
Another way Satan gets a foothold is causing mayhem amongst the body of Christ. A few weeks ago in the Parish Bible study we were discussing some of the things that can cause disunity in the body of Christ. When we forget that we need each other. When one thinks themselves to be more vital than another. When we argue and bicker. That is Satan trying to rip us apart, brothers and sisters. And all too often we let him succeed. 
But take hope! For in the midst of the many ways we can be tempted by the Evil One, we have a hope in Jesus Christ. For in Christ we have the power to pray that Satan not lead us into temptation and that we are delivered from evil. We can pray that prayer because Christ defeated death and Satan’s plan. We share in his victory, if only we ask for God’s guidance, strength, and help.
The second part of the prayer is the closing phrase, “For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever”. We’ve discussed earlier in the prayer what it means to pray for the Kingdom of God to come and reign amongst us. We come back to this phrase in order to remind us who is in charge. Not us. But God. We come back to this phrase so we can align our perspective with God’s. Not mine. Thine. 
I’ve shared many times before that I am a planner. And to a certain extent there is nothing wrong with planning for it allows us to prepare for what is ahead. But planning becomes a problem when we don’t submit our plans to God and try to make them happen no matter what the cost. No matter if they are God’s plan for that moment or not. 
I find rich meaning in the Message translation of this verse You, God, are in charge. You can do anything you want! You ablaze in beauty! Yes! Yes! Yes! We confess that our plans are feeble in the face of God’s greatness. We choose to lay our plans at his feet, come to him for strength, and give him all the credit. And sometimes that is hard. And sometimes we get so caught up on what we want that we forget this truth. But at the close of the prayer, Jesus puts God’s greatness at the forefront of our minds, just as he did at the beginning of the prayer.
God’s greatness is proclaimed through the Lord’s Prayer. Over the last several weeks we have discussed that our God is our loving Father, who wants to spend time with us. Whose name is holy, yet draws us near. We’ve prayed that God’s kingdom come and dwell among us. We’ve submitted our will to God’s, asking that his will be done. We’ve asked for our daily bread, that God provide for us and help us provide for others. We’ve remembered the grace and forgiveness of the cross that invites us to have the strength to forgive others. That God protect us from the wiles of Satan and that we remember that God is in charge. That God’s kingdom comes first in our lives. 

What huge petitions in such a short prayer. What power behind what Jesus taught his first disciples. May we pray this heart and with our lips, sinking into its rich promises, and sharing its power with the world. Dwelling in its meaning all of the day of our lives. Now and forever. Amen. 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Not Everyone is the Same

   Somewhere along the line in the church we tricked ourselves into believing that everyone is the same, that everyone wants or needs the same thing. Generally, I call before going to visit people in the hospital or in their home to make sure they want the pastor to visit - because sometimes the answer is no. Which creates tension in the church that believes the pastor should always show up.
   But I deeply understand that we cannot assume what people need or desire. I'm not sure if I ever ended up in the hospital if I would want a pastor there. I can't make that call until I'm in that situation. But I do know that I am a deeply private person, and I don't like people just to show up.
   When did the job of the pastor become to treat everyone the same instead of honoring their wishes? Its it more important to fulfill the expectations of the church or the individual who is hurting?

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Forgive Us our Debts, As We Have Been Forgiven - Matthew 6: 9-13

We can probably all think of someone who has hurt us. Someone who has wronged us. Someone who owes us something - maybe a thank you or an apology. Maybe something much more. Some of us are carrying around the weight of wounds from several years ago. The wounds of debts that we feel that someone owes us. Maybe you even have a list of “should haves”. People that should have treated you differently. But have you ever stopped to consider the times that you have been on someone else’s debt list? Times that you have hurt someone else?
For the past several weeks we have been discussing the Lord’s prayer. Next week we will conclude our series, but this week I want to focus on a difficult part of the prayer, forgive us our debts as we have been forgiven.
Because of the Fall, we hurt each other. We may not mean to. We may try our very best, but angry words still slip out. Intentions are misunderstood. And other times we intentionally hurt each other. We live in a broken world as broken people. It is easy to see how we accumlate debts against each other. Hold grudges. But we owed another type of debt as well. A debt to God. For all of us have sinned against God and fallen short of the glory that was prepared for us. When we don’t follow God’s leading. When we purpoesly do something we know we shouldn’t. This is sin. This is a debt against God. Its the debt that a simple apology and future good intentions couldn’t erase. A spiritual debt the wage of which was death.
And yet, Christ paid our debt for us. A debt that he did not owe. He paid our debt out of loving kindness.  Because of the cross and resurrection our debt is covered by the grace of God. If we return to the anaology of the house of God, grace is the roof. My guess is when people come to visit your home, the roof is probably not the first thing they notice. In fact, guests can probably go through their entire visit without ever commenting on your roof. But it is essential for your safety. Your warmth. Your protection. 
Brothers and sisters, far too many of us go through life without realizing the grace of God. We may understand in our minds that Christ died for our sins, but that truth hasn’t sunk into our hearts and changed us. During the months of September and October the parish had an eye-opening Bible study on grace. One of the reoccuring comments seemed to be that grace isn’t something we can ever earn or have taken away. God’s paid for our debts, yet somewhere along the line we got it into our heads that if we sin enough times then we lose God’s grace. Friends, that is like saying that Christ’s death was not enough to cover the weight of our sins. It’s simply not true. But in a world that expects everything to turn out balanced in the end, grace just doesn’t make sense.
Another lie that we tell ourselves about grace, is that we need to forgive others in order to have God’s grace. Looking at the prayer this morning it is easy to see how we jump to this conclusion, but we cannot earn grace by giving grace. In fact, we can never earn God’s grace. Instead, it is a gift freely given, we simply need to choose to unwrap it. 
Pastor Adam Hamilton told the story of a Christmas gift that got misplaced one year. It wasn’t until he and his family were taking down the tree in January that they found the gift. They could have chosen to throw the gift away along with the stumble of the old tree. But that wouldn’t make it any less of a gift. The intention of the giver was for it to be a gift, but they had to unwrap it in order to put it to use. Friends, we need to unwrap the gift of grace. Choosing to accept God’s gift in our life. Not fearing that we are going to loose it or that it is going to become any less powerful or meaningful of a gift as time goes on. 
But if we don’t need to give grace in order to earn grace, since it is a gift, why would we need to forgive others their debts? We know that God has forgiven our debts, isn’t that enough? Because God knows the pain that can come when we try to get even. Forgiving debts, doesn’t mean forgetting them. Christ knows the hurts and pains that we all carry. Times when others have wounded us with their words, actions, and inactions. In fact he deeply feels those pains, since they were some of the sins he went to the cross to overcome. But that doesn’t meant that we are excused from answering the question, “what are you going to do with those who have debts against you?”
Are you going to hang on to those pains? Are you going to try to make others earn their way back into your good graces? Are you going to try to get even? Will any of those things bring you true peace and joy?
Pastor Max Lucado was also the author of the parish study on grace. During one of the lessons he told the story of a woman who had her life drastically altered one evening, unexpectedly. She was driving home prior to thanksgiving, when a teenager for absolutely know reason other than his own amusement, through a frozen turkey out the window of his car. The turkey smashed the windshield and this woman's face. She will never look the same again. It was months before she could even look at herself in the mirror, and to do so today is still painful. And yet. And yet when it came time to go court, the woman plead for the teen to have a reduced sentence. Others in the courtroom were appalled, but she choose to show him grace. Nothing could ever restore her face again, or make that fateful night not happen. She choose to forgive this young man.
Its hard to place ourselves in that story, isn’t it? But if it was you, would you argue for a lesser sentence for one who so deeply wounded you? Would you choose to forgive the seemingly unforgivable? For this woman it was an expression of her faith and months of personal healing. She will never forget what happened to her, but she choose not to let it define her. She forgave the young man’s debt.
Brothers and sisters, when we pray “Forgive us our debts as we have been forgiven” we remember the powerful truth of the cross. We remember the undeserved and unearned grace that we received through Jesus Christ and we desire to show others that grace, letting it shine through our lives. Who knows how that young man’s life changed because of this woman’s decision. Maybe he came to believe in Christ because of her. Maybe he simply ignored the gift he was given, choosing to disregard its power and meaning. We cannot control what other’s do with the forgiveness we offer them, we are simply admonished to forgive. To not let things eat us up or define us, for in the end that will harm us even more. 
When we pray this prayer, we remember the people that we have hurt in our lives. We seek reconciliation. But even if they do not forgive us we know we are forgiven by God.

When we pray this prayer, we essentially say “Treat me as I treat my neighbor”. Think back to the parable Jesus told about a man who could not pay his debt to the King. The King graciously repaid his enormous debt and did not throw the man into prison. But then the same man, the forgiven man, came across someone who owed him so little and he threw him in jail. All too often we forget how much we have been forgiven. We fail to unwrap the gift of grace, so we don’t act as forgiven people, forgiving others. But we are called to seek to forgive others because we have been forgiven. Brothers and sisters, who do you need to forgive this day? What debts do you need to let go of? Let us grab firmly hold of the grace, the forgiveness of God, remembering our debts have been forgiven, and finding the strength to forgive the debts of others.  Amen. 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Watchfulness

    I was reading a book recently and a phrase caught my attention "watchfulness". Its a phrase I've heard before, but it is also one that is more rich with meaning each time I come across it.
    A few years ago I was told I had the personality of a watch-keeper. In ancient societies this was the person who was to be vigilantly on the lookout for danger, warning the community of what they saw, what was to come. At first, I really didn't like the idea of being a watch-keeper-like-person. The person saying this seemed to be insinuating I was too vigilant. Too anxious. Too vocal.
   Yet, now as I delve in scriptures and spiritual readings, watchfulness means so much more. As a pastor I watch out for my lock, like a shepherd, looking for danger and protecting them to the best of my ability. As a spiritual director, watchfulness comes in the form of listening, hearing beyond the words to what the heart and Spirit are say. As a reflective person, watchfulness often comes in the form of thoughts I know are not my own when I pause and review the day.
   At Bible Study last week at MU we discussed watchfulness - what would it look like to be watchful for God's hand throughout the day? I find that practicing the examen brings forth watchfulness, as does being accountable to a spiritual director. Being watchful is being vigilant for the hand of God. And that is something I'll never take for grant it.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" - Matthew 6:9-13


One of my favorite places to be in seminary was the kitchen. Perhaps it was creating something wonderful out of a mixture of ingredients, or just preservation, there was no longer anyone else to cook for me, but I found a deep sense of joy being in our hot, sticky, and cramped kitchen. Somedays I would cook food to eat for the week. Other days I would make sweet treats for my roommates. And still other days I would cook elaborate meals for friends. But there was something deeply fulfilling about being in the kitchen. So much so, that for my second year of seminary I choose to spend every weekend in the kitchen of a retreat center, creating liturgy around food.
Maybe being in the kitchen cooking isn’t your favorite place to be. But even if you don’t like to cook, do you like to eat? Do you have a favorite food? Family memories around the dinner table? Or different traditions for meals? There is something about food that is central to our survival, central to who we are.
For the last few weeks as we have been discussing the Lord’s Prayer we have looked at phrases that were God-centered petitions, that is to say they are about God. Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Today we look at the first phrase that is about us, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It seems like such an abrupt change, from asking for God’s kingdom to come, to asking for our daily bread. But they are connected. For it is only after we know who God is that we can begin to seek God to fulfill our needs. Trust that the God of the universe is concerned about our daily needs. For this reason, in the words of Pastor Max Lucado, the prayer is structured to “reveal God to us before revealing our needs to God.”
The story is told that during the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. Some were rescued and put in refugee camps where they were given plenty of food and good care. But the care givers soon realized that they had a problem, these children who had lost so much - their family, their home, their security - could not sleep at night. They were afraid that one day they would wake up and find themselves again without a home and food. Even the care they were receiving and the bounty of the food around them could not calm their fears. Then one of the care givers had an idea - give each of the children a piece of bread to hold during bed time. The children, holding the bread, could finally sleep in peace as they were reassured, “today I ate and tomorrow I will eat again.”
The Lord’s Prayer has the same reassurance for us, brothers and sisters. That today we were provided for by God and tomorrow we will be provided for as well. Yet all too often we hesitate to ask God for what we need, hesitate to show our dependance on God. Instead we cram our pantries and cupboards with as much food as they can hold, 40% of which will be wasted on national average, just so we can feel secure - feel like we can provide for ourselves. It reminds me of the story of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness. God promised that he would provide manna from Heaven each day for them for strength along the journey. But they were only to collect enough food for that day (except for the day preceding the Sabbath when they were to collect enough for two days). Any more they collected would go bad. And even though sure enough there was manna each and every day, their daily bread provided, some Israelites still insisted on trying to collect more then they needed, hoarding, “just in case”. 
We live in a “just in case” world, where we look out for ourselves and have as much food for ourselves and our families as we can. But looking at today’s scripture text I must ask, how does that help us come before God in prayer, asking for what we need, and showing dependence upon him? How does our “just in case” attitude help us rely on God for the necessities in life? And more over, what do our stocked pantries teach us about the fact that we are asking that our daily bread be provided.
Not our as in us as individuals, or even our families, or this church family. But the collective our, our brother and sisters around the world. In far too many place people are starving. Think of how many people the food banks in Mansfield, Wellsboro, Millerton, and Blossburg serve each month. The number of families in need in our back yards. How is our living providing food for them as well? Think back to the stories of the loaves and the fishes. A little boy volunteered all that he had - five loaves of bread and two fishes. He didn’t know what Jesus was going to do with them. He didn’t save half of it for himself, “just in case”. He trusted that he would be fed and that others would be as well. 
When you give to the food bank what do you offer? Your very best? The same things that you eat? Or the cheaply processed food that you pick up at the grocery store? God looks to us, like Jesus looked to the small boy, to share the very best of what we have so that all may have their daily bread. Brothers and sisters, God wants to use you to feed others their daily bread - are you letting him?
The matter of feeding others is truly one of trust. Trusting that God knows what we need and will provide. Max Lucado illustrated this point in a plate of food he set before his small daughters one day during family devotions. On the plate were fruits, veggies, and Oreo cookies. He asked his daughters what they wanted and they immediately went for the cookies. He told them that sometimes God provides cookies for us - things that we really want, but aren’t very nutritious, but brighten our days. Other days God provides fruits - something sweet and nutritious and other days veggies - things that can be seen as boring in the eyes of a child. God knows what we need and provides. But we aren’t given our daily bread just for ourselves; we are to share it with others, whatever it may be.
This analogy reminds me of advise one of my friends who is rearing a toddler received from their pediatrician. Don’t worry if your child only eats fruits one day and only veggies the next. Their bodies know what they need and by the end of the week they will be filled with the nutrients they need. Brothers and sisters, how much more so with our Loving Father God! God knows what we need if only we trust for him to provide. And trust that we will be provided enough to share with our community and world so desperately in need of food. 

There is a song by Audio Adrenaline that describes God’s house as one with “a big big table with lots and lots of food”. Do we ask God to provide this bounty for us now or do we, like the Israelites, try to hoard as much as we can “just in case” God doesn’t provide one day? Do we trust that God will provide enough for all, or do we just worry about ourselves, unlike the little boy who shared all that he had? There is something powerful about praying for our daily bread that reminds us that we are connected as a community in need of the necessities of life and that reminds us where those provisions come from - God alone. May we find our security and peace in the God who will provide and as we look around our kitchens and tables in the coming week may we ask ourselves how we can become even more dependent upon our Loving Father. Amen. 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

"On Earth as it is in Heaven" - Matthew 6: 9-13

Do you believe that your prayers matter? Do you believe it matters when you pray the Lord’s Prayer as part of your daily routine or we pray it together here on a Sunday? 
We are now in our third week of our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer, going piece by piece to delve into its meaning for our lives and our relationship with God. The first week we talked about Our Father in Heaven whose name is holy. Our Abba Father, who beckons us to draw near to him. Last week we discussed “your Kingdom come your will be done” big bold prayers, that Jesus invites us to pray on behalf of the world. Not as an afterthought but as our first petitions when we come before the throne of our God and King. This week we are entering into the next phrase, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Who taught you how to pray? Was it a pastor? A Sunday School teacher? A parent? A friend? For me it was a combination of people, but one of my first images of prayer is a placard that hung on my brothers’ nursery wall. It had the words “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep” written on it with the picture of a sleeping child. This is the first pray I remember learning. The first pray I remember praying with my parents each and every night before bed. But I wonder, when we were taught how to pray, were we taught why we pray. Is it because its something we are supposed to do, or something that’s nice to do? Today’s scripture proclaims that its more then that - its so God’s Kingdom can reign on Heaven and Earth.
Our prayers have power. The prayers of the saints have the ability to effect Heaven and Earth. When we pray we are heard in Heaven and the world can be changed because someone prays. Have you ever stopped and thought about that? Your prayers matter. Think back to the story of Abraham where he is pleading with God to spare the cities God plans to destroy. Abraham keeps negotiating with God, keeps pleading with God, and God gives him what he asks for. Finally, Abraham makes his final offer - if only ten righteous people can be found in the city, would God spare them? And God said He would, but sadly not even one could be found.
God wants us to pray prayers that have the power to change the course of history. God wants us to ask for big things for the Kingdom on Heaven and Earth. But we shy away from this. Maybe because we are afraid that we will be disappointed, or that the answer will be no. We don’t want to take that risk, so we’d rather not pray for big things, life changing things at all. I think we all can tell stories of times we have pleaded with God for something and haven’t received the answer we wanted. And brothers and sisters, I can’t tell you why that happens, it is the way of God. But even if I don’t understand God’s ways, I do know that we are encouraged to keep praying for these big things, because sometimes God answers yes to our requests and lives are truly transformed.
Think back to the story of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha were tending to Lazarus in his last days and they sent an unnamed someone to Jesus to tell him to come and save their brother. They handpicked a person they trusted, a person who could carry out their request, who knew the way to Jesus, and who could go quickly. Did you ever think of that unnamed person as praying to Jesus when he asked him to come quickly and save Lazarus? He believed that Jesus had the power, and friends his prayer played a part in raising Lazarus from the grave. 
Praying prayers is essential to our relationship with God. It allows us to fall in love with God and know that we are loved by our Lord and Savior. When the unnamed man found Jesus he told him, the one you love is sick. We pray similar prayers every day, telling God that one he loves is in need of healing, a job, mending of relationships. We don’t tell God these things because God doesn’t know, but so that we remember that God loves the person we are praying for and loves us. To remember.
Today we have gathered in worship to remember many things. To remember the love our Lord have for us. The love that lead him to the cross to die for us. The love he had for us that raised him from the grave and gives us hope in that same resurrection with the saints as we celebrate holy communion. But we also remember, this special Sunday, the saints in our lives. Those people who taught us how to pray. Who reminded us every chance they got that Jesus loves us. We remember loved ones who have passed on from this life to the next and to proclaim, that Christ gave them victory over death and they are now part of the church triumphant, and we honor their memory.
This past Monday I was at a District training session on Sabbath, where one of the participants shared that she writes living tributes for people to remind them how much they matter on earth while they are living, instead of waiting until they pass to sing their praises. Brothers and sisters, if these people who taught you about the love of Christ and the power of prayer are alive this morning, take time today to thank them. To thank them for the powerful gift that the gave you. If the ones who bestowed these gifts to you have passed, remember them fondly this Sunday. Remember those who we have lost in this life, but who have impacted our life both now and to come. And as we celebrate Holy Communion remember that they will be part of the Heavenly banquet with us some day.

As we celebrate these saints, the ones who shook Heaven and Earth with their prayers for us and others, let us follow their example in remembering that our prayers matter. Our prayers matter. Our prayers shape our relationship with God and model for others both the intimacy and awe of that relationship. Let us come together as we remember and proclaim in hopeful expectancy that God’s Will and Kingdom will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.