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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, March 27, 2016

The Final Miracle John 11: 32-44 John 20: 1-18

For the last several weeks we have been exploring the miracles of Jesus found in the gospel of John. Today we look at the final miracle, or rather final two connected miracles, as Jesus conquers that which we thought was undefeatable - death itself. 
When Jesus walked on this earth he had friends, close dear friends, some of whom traveled with him wherever he went and others that welcomed him and his followers into their homes. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were in the later group. They were such good friends that upon Lazarus falling ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus because they knew he would want to be there to heal their brother. Only day after day passed and Jesus did not come. The result was tragic - their brother’s life ended. So they followed the typical burial traditions of the time - binding Lazarus’s feet at the ankles. Tying his arms across his body and then having his body wrapped in around one-hundred pounds of ritual clothes to protect and preserve the body. That ritual itself had taken place days ago, as the dead were buried on the same day as their passing. And now - now - Jesus showed up.
  Mary believed that Jesus could have healed her brother - but what could Jesus do now? Death always had the final word - and even Jesus couldn’t speak into that darkness. Mary had the same faith that many of us have today - preventative faith - that makes us go to God in order to keep things from happening. Could Jesus reverse the irreversible nature of death itself? 
Jesus had Mary take him to where the body of his friend was laid and told her and those gathered around to remove the stone. At which Mary hesitated. Her brother had been dead for four days - there would a stench. And what was the point? Dead was dead. But Jesus persuaded her by reminding her that she was about to see the glory of God.
We have the privilege of the written version of this story. We know how it ends. But just pretend for a moment that you were one of the folks gathered at the grave that day? How would you have reacted if you heard Jesus calling for Lazarus to come out - and then he actually did!?! Lazarus lived again - and he was freed from his death clothes and from death itself. 
The miracle of Lazarus coming back to life after death is important because it foreshadows both Jesus’s resurrection, which we celebrate this day, and our own as well. Our faith, in the words of Pastor Mark Batteron, revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For those who believe in Jesus, we know that our life, and even our death, are only temporary, for some day we too will hear Jesus call our name as we enter into glory. Today in the face of the empty tomb we hear the triumphant cry “Chris is Risen Indeed” as Jesus comes face to face with Mary and commissions her to tell the disciples the good news.
In our second scripture lesson this morning we find a different Mary also weeping outside of a tomb. he stood weeping outside of the tomb, by now catching up with the men who had ran in front of her. She still couldn’t bring herself to go into the tomb – what was the point? She knew what was facing her there and it was not what she was prepared to see. She wanted to do the only thing she could for her slain Lord, and someone had denied her that opportunity. Not only had she faced his death, but now his fallen body wasn’t even present. So she wept. Finally, with tears still blocking her sight, she bent over and saw two angels in the tomb, sitting where Jesus once was. They looked at her with tender respect in their eyes and asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?”. She sputtered out that the Lord, the one whom she was looking for, had been taken away. As she turned around, she saw another man looking at her with this seemingly familiar compassion in his eyes. He too addressed her in terms of respect, care, and admiration, “Women, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Mary once again gave her answer that caused her so much pain, her eyes unable to see who truly stood before her. 
But then Jesus said but one word, “Mary!” and her eyes were opened. She exclaimed, “Teacher!” and ran to cling to Jesus. He then gave her the command to tell the disciples that Jesus had not yet ascended to God, but of course Mary could not explain this to the disciples without first proclaiming, “I have seen the Lord!” Even though Mary knew about the healing of Lazarus, she had the same preventive faith as the other Mary - instead of resurrection faith - that type of faith that looks for God to redeem situations for the glory of God - even the seemingly unredeemable - even death itself. 
Sight and hearing are two of the most commonly used human senses throughout scripture to explain the richness of the faith. People may be able to see with their physical eyes, but can they perceive with their hearts? People may be able to hear the scriptures, but do they hear and understand the voice of God? There seems to be a disconnect at times between sensually experiencing the physical world and its deep spiritual meaning.
Mary had to hear her own name in order to be able to see properly. In the words of Chris Tomlin, she rose when Christ called her name – no more sorrow, no more pain. And when she did hear and see all logic flew out the window. Logically, Jesus was dead, not only dead but mangled, and those who die that painfully do not come back to life. Further, Jesus didn’t bring himself down off the cross, didn’t save himself, so why would he be alive now? All rational thoughts about how or why escaped her as she gasped, “Rabbouni” and went to him. She didn’t need reason in order to believe what was right in front of her.
At the heart of Christianity is the peculiar and illogical belief that Jesus rose from the dead. It doesn’t make sense. We can understand cross dying on the cross, but our faith does not hinge on that fact alone. No, Christ is risen, which means Jesus is alive! We are the only religion to make the claim that one we stake our faith on, our very lives on, lived, died, and lived again. And because Jesus lives again, so can we – death does not have the final word over our lives because it did not have the final word of Christ’s. And this doesn’t make sense. So all too often, we only focus on Jesus hanging on the cross, or what he taught his disciples, instead of claiming the power of the resurrection. But when Christ calls our name, our eyes are opened like those of Mary. Not by arguments or persuasion, but by hearing our name.

Have you heard Christ call your name today? Have you been awakened by it.  As artist Matt Maher proclaims, “Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again, come awake, come awake, come arise up from the grave.” For many of us, the Easter story is simply that, a story. But when it is connected with the reality of the risen Christ calling our name, we are able to see and place our faith in the empty tomb. Jesus, the risen one, knows each of our names. He knows that sometimes we let our rational sides block us from hearing him. And he knows that sometimes, in the face of the great mystery of his risen body and the empty tomb, we really want to defend him with logical explanations. But what Jesus really wants are not our explanations, but our ears and hearts listening to the sweet call as Jesus says our names so we can see, even when our world is clouded with darkness. Listen. Can you hear the voice of the Risen Lord? How will you respond when Jesus calls your name, not just on this Easter Sunday, but every day? Amen. 

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Never Say Never - John 9

Never Say Never John 9

We live in a world that wants to ascribe blame, in the form of sin, for people who are different then us. This difference may be in the form of a mark of differently abledness (previously called disabilities), or a different religious tradition. It may even be people who are going through a disaster. Author Anne Rice states, “We are frightened of what makes us different.”, but really we are frightened because other people’s differences remind us just how different each of us are as well. 
In the beginning of today’s scripture passage we are met with a familiar situation – once again the disciples just aren’t getting it. They see a man who has been blind from birth and asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Maybe we aren’t quite as blunt with our questions such as, “why is this happening?”, but at the root of our questions we are just as curious as the disciples – why did God cause this to happen to this person. If God is all good and all knowing, then God must be punishing someone for something. What is it?
But Jesus responds to the disciples’ questions, and our questions, in a profound way – no on has sinned, but this has happened that the work of God may be displayed through him. What a re-orientation to our modern uneasyiness with difference – being different brings glory to God! It is not sin that causes what we have labeled disabilities – because disabilities allow us to see God in a new way! 
Then Jesus, with the craftsmanship of words that only he could possess, started playing around with the images of light and darkness – being blind and being able to see, saying, “as long as it is day, we must do the work of the one who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. But while in the world, I am the light of the world.”. Seeing and working and believing exist is this tangential relationship. And ironically, the disciples question shows that they are still in the dark.
I must admit, this is one of my least favorite healing stories of Jesus. It is one of the only ones where Jesus does not ask the man if he wants to be able to see. Perhaps this is because Jesus has set his inability to see up as a gift to be used for the glory of God. Perhaps Jesus just forgot to ask. But whatever the case, Jesus got messy with this healing. It was not as simple as touching someone and speaking healing into their life. No, he spit on to the ground and made mud from his saliva and then spread the mud over the eyes of the man. He then sent the man to wash in the pool – the pool whose name could be translated as sent. It’s like Jesus is teaching the disciples what it really means to live in the tension of seeing, working, and believing. This man had work to do before he could see. He had to believe that this man taking the messiness of life could bring light into his world for the first time.
Unfortunately, all is not well that ends well. This man’s healing turns into a public spectacle. Some people see him and wonder if he was the man who had begged outside of the city gate because of his blindness. Others thought that the man was never blind. But the man protested that he was the man who was once blind from birth. But now his eyes have been opened by this man Jesus.
The story goes on to a full out trial in front of the Pharisees, including this man’s parents attesting to the fact that yes, this was their son, and yes, he was born blind. And all the Pharisees have to say is that Jesus couldn’t possibly bring healing from God, because he didn’t honor the Sabbath. They aren’t able to rejoice with their brother in his healing because they were so caught up in labeling Jesus as a sinner. But my favorite line from this passage is in the man’s reply, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!”
Oh how I wish that each of us could make that same exclamation – all I know is that I was blind, but now I see! But my fear is that we fall in line more with the disciples and the Pharisees – unable to admit our own blindness, which is really the first step. We are so caught up with deflecting our own insecurities by pointing out the difference in others, by labeling their sin in order to avoid looking at our own, that we miss the point that we are in need of Jesus’ healing and love as well.
Jesus answered the question about sin causing different-ness in a way that brought light and hope into the world – even those things that we are afraid of, those things that others use to label us and mock us, God redeems and transforms. God takes those desolate areas in our lives where light may never have entered and brings a sunrise. God took the areas were there wasn’t enough light for things to bloom and made a bed of flowers arise. If only we would acknowledge that we cannot see the light, while believing that the light still transforms ourselves and everything around us.
This season of lent is one where we are challenged to look into our lives and ask God to shine light on the dark places. Those dark places may be different for each of us, but the mere fact that they exist makes us human. We then repent of those areas of our lives and ask God to transform them, through the love of Jesus Christ. Lent is only 40 days long – a snippet out of the breadth and depth of our entire year. But I fear that for some of us it’s hard to even approach this self-examination for this brief period of time. It is just too painful. So out of that pain we look around us for others to judge ourselves by, stating, “well at least I’m not as bad as him or I don’t do what she does.” But when we do this, we are missing the beauty of what Jesus is trying to teach us and the healing that Jesus is trying to bring us through his grace.
While I wish that Jesus would have asked if the man desired to be healed from his blindness, I also find comfort in the fact that Jesus knew just what to heal him from. Because there are times in my life when I am so unattended to the dark areas in my life, that I wouldn’t even know to ask healing for them. So I find myself just stumbling along the path, trying to feel my way from one step to the next, all the while going down the wrong path because I can’t see. 

Now is our opportunity to have our eyes opened and to have the blinding light of healing enter our lives. I pray that each day we can each become a little bit less like those who stand in the dark, asking questions about sin instead of those of healing and grace. I hope that we can have our eyes opened to the transforming power of God. And above all, I plead that we respond to the healing that God is offering us, even when it involves messiness and commands of being sent. Because healing is real work. But in that work we can find our belief strengthened and our sight restored. May it be so. 

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Midweek Lenten 5

Mid Week - Lent 5 “Journey to the Cross: Things Are Not As They Appear” Mark 13: 1-8

Have you ever seen the signs that say that things are not as they appear? Jesus is trying to wave one of those sings in front of his disciples in this evening’s passage. Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple, probably after a time of Jesus teaching, and one of the disciples tries to point out to the group the beauty of the place they just came from. Maybe he was really stuck by the outward beauty of the temple or maybe he was just trying to start a conversation, but either way his observations were cut short as Jesus gestures to all of the great buildings around them, including the temple, and saying that the time will come when they are no longer standing - no longer considered to be great. 
Isn’t this true in our lives as well? That things are not always as we think that they appear.  What seems to be the most solid may not last and what seems like an ending is only a beginning. We, like Jesus’s disciples, sometimes get too caught up in outward appearances. We get caught up in rumors and gossip. We get caught up in the limited way that we see things, when Jesus is trying to open up our eyes, the disciple’s eyes, to the much larger picture of what is going on. 
It is believed that the gospel of Mark was written around 70AD, right around the time that the temple of Jerusalem was seized and destroyed. When Mark looked out of his window at the ruins of the temple, did he remember these words of Jesus about not a stone being left upon a stone? 
The disciples interest is now peaked. Tell us when these things will happen. Tell us how to know that they are coming. Just like us, the disciples seem to want to know the future. But instead of directly answering their questions, Jesus instead gave them advice and wisdom that they would need to carry on the purposes of the Kingdom of God in his absence. He warned them that if they spent too much time trying to predict the future, they would end up being deceived and led astray. 
When I was in college I took a class on New Religious Movements and Cults. Something that I was struck by again and again as we studied each religious movement was the more that folks tried to predict the end times, the more they tried to decipher a set date when Jesus would reappear, the farther they moved away from the heart of the gospel message. And then when their predictions ended up being wrong they would simply say that was God’s will and set about trying to predict it again. 
But Jesus, as he is teaching his disciples isn’t looking for signs - he is looking for teachings that will sustain them in his absence. He is looking for them to be so grounded in the gospel message that they will not be deceived by false teachings and promises. So what is Jesus trying to teach them?
First, that our goal isn’t to become an expert in the end times, but instead to live as Christ’s faithful disciples here and now. Christ is looking for day to day faithfulness. Not faithfulness just on the big things, but faithfulness in every aspect of our lives. Faithfulness that will lead others to know the good news of the gospel. Because at the end of the day we are vessels for God’s message. Note, however that we are striving for faithfulness in our own lives. We can become equally distracted when we start to judge the faithfulness of others. In fact, often when we start to judge the faithfulness of others its because we don’t want to look into our own hearts to examine our own motives. 
It always amazes me when I share with people that I am a pastor for the first time the assumptions they have about myself and my vocation. Sometimes it isn’t pretty - with people simply stopping the conversation or walking away because of their ow judgments. However, if I get to know a person and then it comes to light that I’m a pastor the response is often very different - people have seen my faithfulness and so they react completely differently - often with “Wow - I can totally see that now”. 
Second, disciples need to be discerning. The point of being discerning, however, is not to try to predict when Jesus will come back. The point is to keep ourselves from being led astray by false teachings. 
For the last several years I have taught Bible Studies at colleges - first through the Wesley Foundation at Penn Sate and then at Mansfield University. Every few years a group of students would ask to study Revelation, which often led to a conversation about why they wanted to study the book of Revelation. The first answer was always the same “so we can prepare ourselves for the end times.” I would often ask students when we entered into this study to be there every single week, and usually over the course of an entire school year, we would slowly work our way through the book, until at the end they world declare “this wasn’t what I thought it was at all.” The book of Revelation instead of teaching them how to know the signs of the end times, often taught them instead how to be faithful and discerning Christians here and now. 
Third, believers must be patient. Jesus described some awful things that were going to take place in this world and described them simply as birth pangs. As I write this sermon, I have two dear friends who are in the process of giving birth. The first has been having contractions on and off for the last month. However, her doctor has helped her to realize that these aren’t contractions that will lead to her son’s birth, but instead are simply ones to prepare her body for what is to come. She needs to be patient.
We too, need to learn to be patient. Changes don’t happen in people’s hearts over night. We aren’t called to simply share the gospel message once and then have a friend or family member or stranger come to accept the Lord. If that happens, it is wonderful. But often in takes 15-20 positive interactions with Christians who care about them before they even step foot in a church building, let alone accept the Lord. We need to be patient and keep being faithful in sharing the gospel message, no matter what.

And perhaps it is that no matter what part that is the most difficult. Jesus lists these awful things that are going to take place but then asks us to continue to witness to the good news which is about hope. For Christians there is always hope, no matter how things appear. How can be we be a people marked by hope as we go about witnessing to the gospel message? How does our patience and discernment and faithfulness play into this message of hope? How can we witness not to temporary things that will fade away, however beautiful they may seem right now, but instead point folks to the enteral faithfulness of Jesus Christ? Let us pray…

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Storms of Life

03/13/16 “The Grave Robber: Walking on Water” John 6: 16-21

True confession: I have never been sailing. At least not traditional sailing on a sailboat. In fact, I hardly ever remember being on boats at all - except for one whale watching excursion that didn’t go awfully well because of the weather. But even though a sailor I am not, I know one of the old adages of the sea: “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red skies at night, sailor’s delight.”
Apparently the disciples had missed the red sky adage even in all of their experience. Or perhaps the storm came upon them without any warning at all - as sometimes it goes with nature. They had left Jesus behind to pray, with the promise that he would join them at some later time. By the time night came they knew they were in trouble, the waters were getting rough, with the waves mounting in height. Worse, there was no shore in sight, since they had rowed at least 3-4 miles into the sea.They had a problem.
One of the commentaries I read from for research for this sermon pointed out that it was very rare for storms like this to come upon the sea of Galilee. Because of its position, any storm in fact, on that particular body of water, was rare, let alone a sizable storm. Even with experienced fishermen among them, the disciples may not have known what to do. They may have become paralyzed with fear.
Then the unthinkable happened. The unexplainable. Jesus was seen walking towards them on the water. Remember there would have been very little light shining from the boat itself with only pitch blackness to surround that. And into that darkness they saw Jesus, the one they had left behind on the other shore, walking towards them on the water. They knew that people didn’t walk on water - so they became afraid. As this story goes in the gospel of Matthew, they thought that they were seeing a ghost - since that was the next logical thing that could happen next to Jesus walking on the water. 
Jesus, however, recognized their fear and spoke into the darkness, into their darkness, and said “It is I” - its the one that you know. Its the one you have been spending time with. “Do not be afraid.” - Those pesky words that show up just when the disciples, or we, should be most afraid. When Mary found out she was unwed but with child by the Holy Spirit. When Zechariah found out he was going to have a son late in life. The prophet Jeremiah when he feared how people would react to his message. Do not be afraid, in the presence of that which brings us the most fear. 
With that the disciples welcomed him into the boat, and the shore immediately came into their sight, out of the path of the storm. As this story is told in the other gospels, Jesus also invited the disciples out of the boat to walk on the water, but for a moment, lets simply sit with this particular passage as is.
Brothers and sisters, what are the storms in your life? Where are those place that perhaps you stumbled into through choices you made to go again the signs God was trying to give you  - like red skies in the morning? And where are those places when the storms of life came suddenly, and unexpectedly upon you?
My first parish had a lot to teach me about the storms of life. As a young seminarian, I was placed as the pastor of a church in State College, where part of the congregation were refuges from Hurricane Katrina. They knew about the storms of life. They had watched a literal storm sweep away their lively hood, their homes, most of their possessions, and more then a few of their neighbors and friends, who were claimed by the water and their aftermath. 
Maybe we haven’t faced the literal storm with raising water and racing wind like Hurricane Katrina, but what the other storms in your life? A medical diagnosis? A problem in your family? Financial problems? Worrying about your kids or grandkids and the decisions they make? Or perhaps you are in a relatively quiet time of your life right now, without any raging storms. Can you remember back to a time when you were afraid that the waters of life were going to sweep you under and away?
Often when we feel like the storm is at its peak, we can sympathize with the disciples. We know how they must be feeling - like they were fighting a losing battle. We can become so paralyzed by fear at times, that all we can bring ourselves to do is hunker down - not realizing that our inaction is still a choice, is still an action in and of itself. 
Its also during the storm that we can start to wonder “what if?” - “what if I would have done something differently?” or “what if I would have made a different choice?”. But “what ifs” cannot save us from the storm - only Christ can do that. Which is the miracle that took place in this passage. Jesus showed up in the most unexpected of ways at the most needed of time. We worship a Lord who walked on water and calmed the waves, not just for the disciples, but for us, here, now, today.
Unfortunately, we don’t talk about these miracle moments enough. We like to think of Jesus as someone who does kind things for others, all the while forgetting that he is the one who has dominion over even the waves in our life. In the words of Pastor Mark Batterson, “We wonder why we are board with our faith? We have given people just enough Jesus to be bored, but not enough to transfix and transform”. Brothers and sisters, our God can calm waves by his mere presence and can transform lives in a powerful way, if only we let him. 
What’s your response when Jesus shows up in the most unlikely places and times in your life? Would you be like the disciples, fearful of the presence of Jesus? Thinking that the situation you are in is not where you would expect Jesus to be? Or would you welcome him into your boat of whatever situation you may be facing? 

We live in a world where we try to explain away everything that we cannot understand - and as a result we miss out on the every day miracles of life - the times Jesus came and calmed the seas around us without us even noticing. Lets open our eyes this week. Let us pray bold prayers, that God enters into the troubled waters of our lives and stands with us, calming the seas. And let us give God all the praise for the times that God intervened in our lives in big ways, causing the waters to calm. Amen.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Midweek

MidWeek Services Lent 4 Mark 12: 28-44

Its an all too familiar story isn’t it - the scribe are ch for being unfaithful and the widow is upheld for being faithful in what she gave. But I would invite you to approach today’s scripture passage with open hearts and ears, to see if there is something new to be found in the text.
What does it truly mean to sacrifice? To give something up so that others do not go without. We are a country that honors and upholds sacrifice. We praise our service men and women for being willing to lay down their lives and those who leave their homes to go clean up after natural disasters or are life long missionaries to other countries, leaving behind everything they know for the sake of the gospel. We smile when we hear stories in the news about children giving up every penny they had in their piggy bank to help other children in need. We honor and praise sacrifice as long as it isn’t incovient to us. As long as we are not the ones being called to sacrifice.
For if we are honest with ourselves, this Bible passage probably frightens us a bit. Is Jesus really asking us to give up everything we have? Isn’t this type of sacrifice dangerous? When we dwell on the widow’s sacrifice itself, Jesus’ call to us can seem too daunting. Too risky. So we don’t try to sacrifice anything at all - at least not anything that means something to us. But what if the story isn’t about the widow or the gift she brought? What if it wasn’t so much about how much she gave but rather her attitude behind it? What the widow shows us today is what it means for a disciple to have a heart of devotion.
The dictionary defines devotion as a profound dedication, consecration, or an appropriation to a person or cause. In lay man’s terms when one is devoted they are sold out, all in, or dedicated to with all they have. But in order to be devoted we must sacrifice - sacrifice of our time, money, and talents. For our sacrifice is an act of worship.
One common leap we make in this passage is to think that Jesus is warning against all of the scribes. Scribes were people who had knowledge of the scripture and the laws who were able to discipher legal and political documents. Jesus wasn’t warning against the whole group, rather he was warning against those who didn’t follow the laws they were discphering for others. Jesus was speaking out against those scribes who told others that scripture demanded that they take care of the widow, when they devour her themselves. Jesus is warning agains those who mask their unfaithfulness under a veneer of faithfulness and paraded their pretense as piety.
Jesus was warning against those scribes who were not devoted to what they taught. For devotion is not so much a matter of the head, or knowing something, but a matter of the heart. Devotion cannot be hidden for long under the guise of long prayers or other acts of worship that are meant to make you appear a certain way. Devotion is about what we believe becoming the way that we live.
And that brothers and sisters is why Jesus pointed out the widow bringing her offering to the temple. Not so much for what she gave, but the heart that was behind it. For while the woman gave a lot less then the scribes that Jesus was warning against, she gave her offering as a sacrifice and as an act of faith. She was so faithful that some would call her foolish. She gave absolutely everything she had - not knowing where the money would come from for her next meal let alone anything down the road. She simply trusted that God would provide and she gave. She didn’t give just what she could, she gave more then what anyone thought she should, and isn’t that what we admire about the sacrifices that others make? We admire how much others are willing to risk for what they believe in.
The widow offering was also an act of devotion because of how she gave. She didn’t give so that others would notice her or in such a manner where she would draw all of the attention to herself. Instead she gave in such a way that would bring the honor and praise to God, not herself. How often have you found that some of the most devoted people you know are the unsung heroes? The people who do things in the church you never even knew about until one day they are no longer with us to give of their time and talents?  Devotion is about shedding all egotism or greed that we may have, any desire we may possess for bringing attention to ourselves, and taking on the characteristics or God, chiefly those of humility, love, and sacrifice.
All too often this Bible passage is used to shame congregations into giving more - and preachers tell people that they need to be all in. But honestly, we don’t go from being skeptical to being all in over night. Our devotion should grow with our faith in God, for they are inextricably linked together. Our devotion to Christ flows out of our relationship with him. So today I ask you, what are you doing to help you grow in your relationship with Christ? Sometimes when we hear the word devotion the first thought that comes to our mind is not dedication but the devotions we do - that quiet time that we have with God. By having a plan for prayer and study, even if you cannot do it every day, we give ourselves the gift of being positioned to be open with God. Positioned to grow in relationship with God. How are you placing yourself in a position to listen to God, soak up God’s love, and respond to the grace being offered?
Secondly, this passage gives us the opportunity to think about what offering truly means. Are we offering ourselves in devotion to God? As we grow with God are we finding ourselves being able to more readily sacrifice those things that we hold most dear to us - be it money, time, or something else? How is offering an act of faith? And how does seeing offering as an act of devotion change us?
While devotion literally means giving of your whole self, your whole life, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it comes easily. Devotion requires faith and trust. But just because it is hard does not give us an excuse not to try. As Christian disciples we strive to be growing deeper in love with God and our neighbor every day. And that striving is an act of devotion itself. There are going to be times when others will think our devotion is misplaced or foolish. But brothers and sisters we know the truth, that which is foolish to man is priceless in the eyes of God. For it is in ability to love Christ so deeply that we are willing to risk it all that we can truly begin to understand the love that Christ showed for us on the cross and the devotion he had to the kingdom of God. May we try each day to fall a little more deeply in love with God and live a life that reflects that the kingdom of God is our first priority. Amen.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

“The Fourth Sign: Two Fish”

John 6: 1-13 “The Fourth Sign: Two Fish” 3/6/16

Sometimes people assume that because I have food allergies I don’t enjoy to eat, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, some of my favorite memories involve food - the smells that fill the kitchen, the look of a table set to feed people, and the taste of a favorite dish prepared just right. My best friend in middle school and I rolling out sugar cookie dough with my mom during Thanksgiving break for Christmas cookies. Eating toast sandwiches when I stayed over at my grandmother’s house - complete with homemade jam. Having small parties at my apartment while in seminary in order to get to know my neighbors better. Eating my way through Australia during a semester abroad in college with a dear friend - trying new things and exploring different neighborhood cuisines. The list goes on and on. Food memories are deep memories for me.
In today’s scripture passage, we find the disciples forming memories around food as well. This particular scene is hard to imagine - in the time that Jesus walked the earth about 40,000 people lived in the region around Galilee. We are told that a great crowd of 5,000 men came to hear him preach one day because they had seen the miracles he had preformed in the past healing the sick. While 5,000 people may be hard for us to imagine, this number only represented the men, meaning it was probably closer to 20,000 when you included the women and children. It is possible that up to half of the people in the region came to hear him that day. How can we begin to wrap our minds around that?
Jesus went up on the mountain side and began to teach, surrounded by his disciples, as the crowds listened. After some time he turned to one of his disciples, Philip and asked how they were going to feed the crowd that has gathered. Jesus probably asked Philip because he was from the region, with his hometown being less than ten miles away. He would have known the area better than anyone else - would have known where he could find large quantities of food for the thousands of people spread out before him. 
Only Philip balked at the question. He started calculating how much food he would need to get, and how much it would cost and he became overwhelmed. He got so caught up in the details of what Jesus was asking - and replied that it would take over half a years worth of wages, just to let each person have a single bite, let alone be fed. 
How often are we like Philip? How often do we get caught up in the details of what God is trying to do amongst us instead of getting out of the way and letting God be God? Perhaps that is one of the hardest lessons of faith we will ever have to learn - to get out of the way and let God be God. We don’t like to give up control. We don’t like to face the unknown let alone the unpredictable. So we start to tell God what we think is possible and what we certainly think is impossible - as if our calculations and thoughts will stop God from being God. 
Finally, Andrew interrupts Philips train of thought by saying that one small boy had offered what he had for his own meal - five small loafs and two fish. But even Andrew doubted what could be done with such a meager meal. It didn’t seem to be nearly enough. It was like a single drop of water in the sea that surrounded them. What could they really do with that?
But so much could be done with what the little boy offered in love. The little boy willingly gave all that he had instead of keeping it for himself or worrying about what he would eat. It was an act of childlike faith that he, too, would be provided for, even if the adults, like Andrew saw his gesture as meaningless or not enough when faced with the magnitude of the situation. 
However, the little boy had a deeper understanding of what Jesus could do, then even the disciples. In the words of Pastor Mark Batterson, “If you put what you have in your hands into God’s hands, He can make a lot out of a little”. We get tricked sometimes into thinking what we have is not enough so why is it worth even giving. Our small offering can’t provide much in the face of the vast needs, so why give at all. On top of that we start to worry about ourselves. We worry that if we give more, then we will have less, but in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 contests our mathematics with God. The people were so provided for, including the little boy, that there were left overs. 
This is one of the things I love about the United Methodist Church - we practice God’s mathematics every day because of our connectionism. We proclaim that we can do more together then we could ever do apart, and when we bring our small offering to God - God multiples it to meet the needs of so many people. This teaches us daily dependance upon God while at the same time reminding us what a difference we can make when we come together.
The founder of United Methodism, John Wesley, also believed in the power of God’s mathematics, even when they don’t make sense to anyone else around. One of Welsey’s most famous quotes is “Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” In his life time, John Wesley gave away over 30,000 pounds which is roughly equal to about 1,764,706 in today’s money. How did he do it? His first year of ministry he was paid 30 pounds, but found that he only needed 28 pounds to survive - he gave the other 2 away. As his wages increased he continued to live off of 28 pounds, giving the rest away, and watching God multiply his gift. To some this may seem like a drop in the bucket, or a drop in the Sea of Galilee, but God continued to multiple and multiple the gift beyond what is humanly fathomable. 

Brothers and sisters, what are your two small fish and five loaves? What do you have to offer God that you are afraid isn’t enough? What act of trust and faith would it be to offer whatever you have, however small, unto God and watch the miracle of multiplication for the sake of the Kingdom? Amen. 

Thursday, March 3, 2016

“Lessons from the Vineyard” Mark 12:1-12

Parables are often described as the teachings Jesus presented in the form of stories. On the surface they were about things that people understood - farming, families, animals - but they always had a deeper meaning beyond the surface as well - one that could shock the hearers into a new frame of mind or new understanding. In fact, when we think we know the meaning of parables, we often miss the point.

This evenings scripture is the last parable found in the Gospel of Mark. A man took care to plant a vineyard. To pick out the choice crop. To tend to the vines. Built walls to protect the coming years of harvest. He took every step to cultivate and protect it. He then entrusted it into the hands of some local farmers - renting it to them, with the understanding that he would receive some of the proceeds. 

I recently finished reading Margaret Feinberg’s book Scouting the Divine, where she traveled around the country to learn from master vineters, shepherds, bee-keepers, and farmers about how their vocation relates to the Biblical text. When she spent time with a local farmer, she found that his set up was very similar to that described in the parable of the tenants - he rented land from other farmers who have retired, with the understanding that they would receive a certain percentage of the profit from the crops. It made the retired farmers continue to pour resources in the land he was using, continue to give him pointers about how best to care for the crop, because they were invested in the outcome.

The land-owner in the parable sent a servant to collect what he was due, but he was killed. Then he sent another servant for the same purpose, only he was killed as well. Finally, he sent the son he loved best, but he was killed as well.

What was Jesus talking about in this parable? On the surface, it looks like a disagreement in terms between the land-owner and the tenants, a feud if you will, but to look deeper into this parable you have to remember who Jesus was teaching and their history. Jesus was teaching a Jewish audience. As soon as he mentioned “vineyard” their minds probably went to thinking about the vineyards in their local area as well as the teaching found in Isaiah chapter 5 - where God through the prophet Isaiah spoke of planting a vineyard on a fertile hillside. God cleared it of all obstacles and only planted the best vines. God did everything to help the vines comes to bear the best fruit, but instead they only bore bad fruit. The people would remember that the teaching from the prophet was about the very people of Israel, chosen by God, but who often strayed.

The tenants in this parable were the people of Israel and their leaders, who had misused their status as children of God and the power the comes with that claim. A caution, over the yeas, this parable has been misused by some Christians to say horrible things about our Jewish brothers and sisters. We have to remember that Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience because these were his people. Christians did not exist yet, as we have been learning from the book of Acts, but this parable is just as true today about Christians misusing their status and power as children of God. We have dishonored God the times we, too, have mistreated others because they were not Christian. Or the times we have not cared about our own Christian brothers and sisters in places like Rawanda, because we didn’t think it was our problem. We too have disgraced the vineyard.

So who are the servants that are being killed? The prophets of God. Those that God has sent to get people back on the right path - the Micah’s and Isaiah’s and Hosea’s - those who were sent by God with the purpose of reforming the people, only to be slain because they people did not hear what they wanted to say. During the time of the prophets, the health of the people of Israel was often linked with the health of the vineyard, under the belief that God would bless the people with a good crop if they were obedient. But there were times, even during the time of Jesus, when the vineyards were struggling and it was often linked to disobedience and injustice. In fact, those hearing this parable straight from Jesus’s lips probably were thinking about those in religious and political power who were unjustly buying up parcel after parcel of land for vineyards and linking them together - in order to displace the peasants who worked on the margins in-between parcels of land.

We too have modern day prophets who have been killed for their message. Preachers like Martin Luther King Jr and Dietrich Bonhoffer. But this evening I want to focus on the story of a prophet you may not be as familiar with - Oscar Romero. Oscar Romero who was an Arch Bishop in El Salvador. Upon his appointment, Romero was favored by the government, but after a period of time he could no longer stay silent and complict. Instead, he started to speak out about the injustice, poverty, assinations and torture. In the end, he was murdered while offering mass in 1980. He too, tried to reform the people he was placed to serve, and it led to his assinations.

In the parable before us, it was not just the servants who were killed, but also the beloved son. The tenants killed him on the mis-belief that they would inherit all that was his upon his death. Jesus was speaking of his own upcoming death - and the people who called for his death, would be misguided as well - thinking that by killing his body his message would be silence and they would have all of their power back, but of course this isn’t what happened, as the people desecrate Christ’s message are still alive and preaching over 2,000 years later.

And what was the response of the land-owner? To kill the tenants and leave the vineyard in tact, but in the hands of someone else - an act of justice not vengeance or revenge. Jesus was effectively telling the religious leaders of the day that they either needed to reform their ways and act justly, or they would be replaced. Of course, they did not like this teaching at all, just as we don’t like hearing it today, if we are using our religion for our own gain in power and prestige. 

Sometimes we need to have Jesus speaking the parables to us in order for us to see ourselves clearly. For when we are not careful we can become blinded by our own desires - just like the religious leaders in Jesus’s day, the people in Jesus’s day, the government and its followers during the days of Oscar Romero. Using our status as Christians to foster our own gain, isn’t the point. It isn’t the type of life that Jesus modeled with his sacrificial leadership either. Instead, we are called above all to honor God. To bear fruit that is worthy of the Kingdom. To act justly and love mercy. To be the hands and feet of Christ. Why do you follow the Christ today and who are you seeking to honor with your faith - yourself or Christ? Amen.