Jesus wants to share His eternal victory with you. Palm Sunday illustrates this.
The sun was rising rapidly. It was beginning to shoot its golden beams across the horizon to adorn the sky and bring a grand finale to the dawn that would bring a new day to the history-filled city of Jerusalem. This is the festive season of Passover. The old city was filled with pilgrims, visitors, and travelers who had come from many countries to share in the feast. Secular census records indicate there were at least 2,500,000 people in Jerusalem for the event. An exciting rumor spread through the city: "Jesus is coming!"
Behind Jesus were His sermons; ahead, His suffering. Behind Him were His parables; ahead, His passion. Behind Him were His suppers of fellowship; ahead, what would be called last supper. Behind Him were the delights of Galilee; ahead, dark Gethsemane. Prophecy was now to become practice.
I want you to walk through this story…I want you to put yourself in this story and experience what the day might have been like if you were there, what the day is like as you are there.
Jesus had spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. The two towns were no more than five miles apart.
Historians tell us that traditionally persons from various regions all had their special area around Jerusalem where they camped for feast days. The south end of the Mount of Olives had for years been the camping grounds of people from Galilee. These were the unsophisticated and unspoiled people of the area where Jesus spent most of His time and performed most of His miracles. They knew Him best. On several occasions they had tried to make Him a king
In the city of Jerusalem were the wealthy and religious leaders. Jesus had antagonized them by referring to the "scribes and Pharisees" as "hypocrites" (Matt. 23). Also among them were the Sadducees who had long been plotting His downfall. In order to preserve their way of life they often worked with the Romans. They had much to lose if they displeased their Roman overlords. You must remember in order to maintain the lives they were accustomed to they had to work hand in hand with Rome.
In their eyes Jesus was an expendable. Besides, in the eyes of the religious leaders He was a threat to religious tradition, he was not the Messiah.
Notice that, in today’s reading, there were two groups. "Those that went before" were persons who had come out of Jerusalem because of their curiosity as a result of all the shouting. "Those who followed" and "cried out" were the Galileans.
Our distance from the event causes us to merge the two crowds into one and assume it was the same people who shouted "Hosanna" that also cried "crucify Him."
It was the jubilant Galileans who shouted "Hosanna" and the religious and affluent of Jerusalem who wanted to appease the Romans who cried "crucify Him."
So where are you in this crowd? I know we all like to think we are standing with the common folk, the Galileans’ shouting Hosanna, Yet, how often are we observers who stand in Judgment sneering at those who are less fortunate or are making too much noise?? Reflect on the occupy movement how often did we stand outside just making comments, judging, not truly understanding where they were coming from or, if there was one, what their message was??
Passover was a celebration commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian captivity. It always occurred on the 15th of the Jewish month of Nisan. That's about mid-April for us. All who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem were required to attend. Actually, Jews from all over the world gladly gathered for this major happening. There was a bustle of activity as they prepared for the Holiday just as there is around here. In Jerusalem Roads were repaired, tombs were whitewashed, and children were rehearsed in the significance of the event.
Jesus needed a donkey. Centuries earlier the prophet Zechariah said Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jesus turned to his followers and told them exactly where to find the colt/donkey and to simply say “the Rabbi requires it” to the owner. What Kind of faith did that require?
We read that passage so simply, so matter- of- fact and yet is there a challenge in that? If Christ puts something on your heart how quick are you to respond? If you are called to step boldly in faith because the Teacher requires it of you are you ready? Could you be ready?
So now the disciples return with the donkey and they prepare for the ride into Jerusalem.
All those along the route He was to ride had learned in infancy and repeated often the passage of Zechariah. As they saw Him riding they would recall the words of the prophet. Remember these are people who often could not read so the stories of scripture were memorized and repeated often so they would easily remember the words of Zechariah:
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey" Zechariah 9:9.
The crowds starting shouting Hosanna are you one of the people celebrating in the crowd?? How does it feel to be there? I imagine people pushing up against one another just trying to get a glimpse of this Messiah, the ancestor of David the anticipated one, the king.
Jesus was being called "King" and "Lord." The Greek word for "Lord" is kudos. It was used in various ways. In which of these prominent ways is it used by you?
It was used as a title of respect like our Southern use of the words "Sir" or "Ma'am." It was used of one who is in charge. Luke refers to an individual who was the "lord of the vineyard," meaning He was the master in charge of the vineyard. It was used of deity. In Greek it held the figurative meaning of “praise” but the more literal meaning of “fame” and “renown.” So when someone is given kudos it is as if the person praising them was saying “you deserve to be famous.
So how are viewing Christ as he rides into Jerusalem, is he someone who is worthy of praise and honor and respect in your life? Is he a curiosity that needs to be seen? Is he a majestic and great King or is he a humble servant as the donkey suggests? / Are you, perhaps confused by the mix metaphors and just need to go and process a while away from the crowds?
There is a lot happening in this little vignette.
Why did Jesus come?
Jesus came to identify with His followers. It was now time to bring to a climax His reason for coming to earth. He who could have ridden the wind rode a donkey. He who could have summonsed the Seraphim chose a donkey. Scripture says, "All things were created by Him," Yet, He borrowed a donkey. "The earth is the Lord's," but He borrowed a donkey. What did one see?? First we notice the donkey. Jesus didn't come riding a high spirited war steed or prancing white stallion, but on a colt, an animal associated with peace. Donkeys are quite popular throughout scripture. They were ridden by judges and kings; they were symbols of wealth and common folk alike.
The Palms we use, Matthew, Mark, and John each use a different word for "branches." Matthew speaks of young branches or shoots. Mark refers to a mass of straw. John speaks of palm branches. Each was right. All three were used. Each writer simply mentions the one that stood out to him. This shows there was no collaboration or duplicity in their writing. Each wrote from his own viewpoint.
Years before, this was the way in which the people greeted Judah Maccabee when he liberated the city. The reaction of the crowd was the hailing of Jesus as an anticipated Liberator.
The shouts of Hosanna, Pilgrims today follow Christ's route from Bethany to Jerusalem. As Christ's climactic moment arrived, He and His entourage mounted the crest of the Mount of Olives where suddenly all of the Holy City bursts into panoramic view.
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about what he saw: "The outward face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either men's minds or their eyes; for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflect back a very fiery splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it to turn away their eyes, just as they would have done at the sun's own rays."
The exuberant and impetuous crowd of common people on the Mount of Olives shouted, "Hosanna," it is a shout of praise and even a cry for divine help.
In that shouting crowd were persons who owed Him thanks; thanks for their restored sight, thanks for their straightened limbs, thanks for their sanity, thanks for their healed bodies; and even one named Lazarus, giving thanks for his life restored from the grave.
In this time of triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem what have we to give thanks for? Healings, perhaps healing of spirits…perhaps sadness has been lifted. Perhaps a thanks for a simple healing, remember how miserable you were with a cold or something worse and now you are recovered or on a path of recovery. You may feel that there is a need of healing and give thanks in anticipation of that. Maybe just giving thanks and praise because we are able to and cannot even number the things for which we have to be grateful for.
Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives into the Kedron Valley and started His approach through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. It would be there that He would later encounter the hostile crowd intent on appeasing the Romans shouting "Crucify Him!"
With which crowd do you identify? I don't mean which in your more spiritual moments you identify with. In reality with which crowd does your lifestyle more closely identify. Consider the various reactions and see which may be closer to yours in the everyday of life. Some, Wanted to use Him. The Zealots wanted Him to be their military liberator. Some Wanted to ignore Him. The Romans felt superior to this lowly Nazarene whom they wanted to ignore. Some wanted to obey Him. The owner of the donkey eagerly wanted to obey and please Jesus. Some wanted to worship Him. They knew He had resurrected Lazarus and that he possessed a great power.
This eventful morning of His entry into Jerusalem we celebrate on Sunday. On this day do you allow Jesus to enter your heart in triumph? Do you walk with Christ throughout the week? Or Does Jesus come to you only by special invitation in an hour of great need?
The crowd reaction of that day is not so different from the various responses of today. Mark in his gospel, chapter 10 verse 32, makes an interesting observation regarding Christ's immediate followers: "Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid..."
When Jesus goes before you there is a sense of amazement and an awe that could inspire a sacred fear. The disciples were not intimidated by their fear at this time, they followed Jesus. With Jesus Courage isn't not having any fear, It is doing what you know is right in spite of your fear. Is fear holding you back in your response to Christ? If there is fear I encourage you to give that up to Christ, show faith in Jesus and express courage by reacting with the crowd that shouted "Hosanna."
Following Christ involves courage, heroism, enthusiasm, power, glory, and peace. Palm Sunday is a living out of Christianity. May this day and its glory bless you, May you find yourself offering up any fear and stepping boldly into a Christ filled life. I pray you find a way to acknowledge the humble Christ who invites you to walk with him, walk with him through Galilee, walk with him into Jerusalem and follow him all the way to Golgotha, for all this leads to one place a glorious Easter morn. Amen.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Keeping sabbath
Perhaps the special character of the stories in the New Testament lies in the fact that they are not told for themselves, that they are not only about other people, but that they are always about us.
They locate us in the very midst of the great story and plot of all time and space, and they relate us to God and relate God to us.
It is interesting to note that we are only at verse 29 in the Gospel of Mark. Marks story has taken us from Christ coming to John in the wilderness, being baptized by John, the sky opening up and proclaiming “You are my Beloved, my own. On you my favor rests.” (John 1:11) In just a few verses, we have been swept up into an exciting crescendo of activity. Even when Jesus astonishingly announces that the "good news" of God's reign has already arrived and calls hearers to repentance and faith, we might be just a little taken aback when a group of fisher folk suddenly abandon their former lives and follow Him. But the writer leaves us no time to take a breath. Immediately, Jesus leads them to a synagogue on the Sabbath where the crowds marvel at His authoritative teaching and power to exorcise demonic powers.
Even in today's reading, there is no slowing of the pace. As the Sabbath ends, it might have been tempting for Jesus to bask in the successful exorcism, the accolades of his authoritative teaching and a reputation that has already spread "immediately" throughout all of Galilee" (Mark 1:28). But in this story there is no time for resting on laurels. Three times in succession, once in the verse, Mark 1:28, and now twice in the opening words of our lesson, we hear the word "immediately," a word whose repetitive impact (fourteen times in Mark 1 and 2) many readers of Mark have noted. It needs to be allowed its effect. With this word, the story fairly bursts through the synagogue doors and pushes towards the rest of Galilee – to the rest of the week, to the rest of our lives and to the place this story of Jesus will take us. The gospel for this day reminds us that the story of Jesus is always on the move and will not allow any of us hearers to remain who or where we are. Within a few short verses, the end of today's lesson will invite us to join this Jesus whose "preaching" and healing of the demonic in life will take him "throughout the whole of Galilee" (Mark 1:29).
This mission has a grand sweep. It is also particular and close to home. It is at least of some interest, if not a bit puzzling, that we find those same four fishermen who answered Jesus' call and "abandoned everything" (Mark 1:14-20) back at home and still concerned with the realities of day-to-day life. For example, a mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Yet, Jesus' power extends even here, and we get an anticipatory glimpse of just where this story and mission might lead us. Jesus took her by the hand and "lifted her up" (verse 31). The Greek literally reads "he raised her." It is surely no accident that here for the first time our imaginations are teased with this promissory "good news" word which will follow this story of Jesus (eighteen times in the gospel) to its surprising, climactic resurrection ending.
Yet, even now, this anticipatory Epiphany promise fairly bursts upon the scene. From the healing of one person, the numbers in the story have a staggering effect that no attempt to discount them as mere hyperbole can undo. People bring "all" who are sick to Jesus; the "whole city" is at the door. He heals "many" who are sick with "all sorts" of diseases and casts out "many" demons. The success seems palpable and unstoppable. Jesus' power is clear.
Except for the demons! Before he has exorcised them with only a word (Mark 1:21-28); now He is more forceful as He "casts them out" and will not permit them to speak (Mark 1:34). However, the final note "because they knew him" is a sobering reminder these demonic powers will not go quietly and so a premonition of where this battle will ultimately take this Jesus.
It is to that battle and its purpose that the rest of today's story now directs us. In the morning Jesus is up early and once again we find him in the wilderness he went “to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there.” I have asked the deacons to read a book for discussion called “Sabbath” by Wayne Muller. Sometimes being Pastor, deacon, musician, usher, greeter or anyone who is involved in the ministry of church, the Sabbath isn’t Sabbath for we are working, ministering in one way or another, please know that I am not complaining nor do I think anyone else would for this is what we are called to do, we are compelled to serve in his fashion.
Here we find Jesus compelled to teach, preach and heal. It is all part of the ministry and the proclamation of kindom yet to be realized. Yet Jesus too needed Sabbath. The literal translation of Sabbath is to rest. In the sacred term it means to take rest in God.
Wayne reminds us that “on the seventh day, God rests. Jewish texts prohibit 39 specific acts during Sabbath- acts traditionally associated with the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. If God could rest in creating the universe, God’s people could rest in building of the sacred temple. Tasks such as sowing, plowing, reaping, threshing and winnowing are prohibited.” By the way winnowing is an agricultural method developed by ancient cultures for separating grain from chaff. I had to look it up. Wayne goes on to explain that “beyond the legalism is an idea that by saying no to making some things happen, deep permission arises for other things to happen.” Allowing a deep sacred rest in God allows other energies, spiritual energies to grow that empower us throughout the week.
This is what Jesus does in the midst of the immediacy of marks Gospel. We usually consider Jesus as “Teaching, healing, or being accosted by the hordes of sick or possessed who sought his touch.” Yet throughout the Gospels we are told Jesus either went off alone, sent people away or invited the disciples to join him in quiet prayer. Today we are told that Jesus went off in the early hours of the morning to a lonely place.
In the Book Sabbath we are told that “Jesus did not wait until everyone had been properly cared for, until all who sought him were healed. He did not ask permission to go, nor did he leave anyone behind “on Call,” or even let his disciples know where he was going. Jesus obeyed a deeper rhythm. When the moment for rest had come, the time for healing was over. He would simply stop, retire to a quiet place, and pray.” Interesting that one translation of the phrase “to pray” as it is used in the biblical writings is “to come to rest”.
If Jesus, God incarnate on earth could take time to come to rest in God imagine how much more we all could use time to come to rest in God. We who are merely human, with our busy lives and complex schedules should take time to rest in God. Perhaps that is taking quiet time in the morning, at noon and again in the evening. Perhaps your Sabbath time might be a time of quiet writing, or painting or simply walking in an open field allowing your soul to touch God and God to touch you.
I don’t know about you but Sunday isn’t enough for me. I need to take time in the morning and throughout the day to just stop, breathe deep and reach out with my spirit to God and allow God to grant me rest. I encourage each of you to seek out your own unique way to constantly have Sabbath during the week. That doesn’t mean TBowing in the middle of the street for all to see but to take a moment just privately with you and your creator.
One way I use is the Liturgy of the hours these are a collection of prayers readings and meditations that are said three times a day by Christians all over the world. I used to get very frustrated trying to figure out where I was or supposed to be in the Book of Common Prayer. One needs a road map to figure it out. However Phyllis tickle took all the prayers and readings and created a straight through series of books. Now I am not saying this method of prayer or anyone method is better than another. Each must find their own way, your own way of connecting and finding rest in God.
Of course you know we offer experiences here during the week as well. Every Thursday we have a spiritual practices be it taize style meditation, drumming circle or labyrinth. These are ways to get connected here. Also the movie night and game nights are also viable ways to take rest with community members and build relationships as well. Stillpoint also offers day retreats once a month that are very inexpensive and quite nurturing for the spirit.
Wayne Muller goes on to remind us that “when Jesus prayed he was at rest, nourished by the healing spirit that saturates those still, quiet places. In the Jesus tradition, prayer can be a practice of simply being in the presence of God, allowing the mind to rest in the heart.” This need for spiritual rest is built into our system and is essential to our spiritual well being. I do not believe it is by any coincidence that the story of creation mentions God resting, I don’t believe it was mere happenstance that God told Moses when he was weary that “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) Certainly Jesus led by example and so we see time and again Jesus goes off to pray and, as I said before, sometimes he would take his disciples with him. That means there was a communal practice as well as the private practice of prayer.
Through all of this Jesus is teaching us a practice of Sabbath not the Sabbath that occurs strictly on Sunday at MCC in the Valley between 10:30 and noon but a Sabbath that is every day. Every day it waits for us to take the time, to stop, to rest in God and allow Gods rest to come to us. This is one of the most compelling calls in Jesus’ ministry. Yet often it is one we most often ignore.
So today I encourage you to remember the Sabbath. Remember to take the time throughout your day, week, year and lives to just rest in God. Take that extra moment to experience the simple touch of the creator, active in your life, giving you rest so that you may have the energy and perseverance to continue to do Gods work, to do what God has called you to do throughout your day in Gods ever loving presence and to be that presence to the world. To be well rested in God so that you, we may get back to that “Immediacy” that is our lives. I pray these words bless you and perhaps inspire you today. Amen.
Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest (New York: Bantam Books, 1999), 29.
Ibid., 30.
Ibid., 24.
Ibid., 25.
Ibid.
They locate us in the very midst of the great story and plot of all time and space, and they relate us to God and relate God to us.
It is interesting to note that we are only at verse 29 in the Gospel of Mark. Marks story has taken us from Christ coming to John in the wilderness, being baptized by John, the sky opening up and proclaiming “You are my Beloved, my own. On you my favor rests.” (John 1:11) In just a few verses, we have been swept up into an exciting crescendo of activity. Even when Jesus astonishingly announces that the "good news" of God's reign has already arrived and calls hearers to repentance and faith, we might be just a little taken aback when a group of fisher folk suddenly abandon their former lives and follow Him. But the writer leaves us no time to take a breath. Immediately, Jesus leads them to a synagogue on the Sabbath where the crowds marvel at His authoritative teaching and power to exorcise demonic powers.
Even in today's reading, there is no slowing of the pace. As the Sabbath ends, it might have been tempting for Jesus to bask in the successful exorcism, the accolades of his authoritative teaching and a reputation that has already spread "immediately" throughout all of Galilee" (Mark 1:28). But in this story there is no time for resting on laurels. Three times in succession, once in the verse, Mark 1:28, and now twice in the opening words of our lesson, we hear the word "immediately," a word whose repetitive impact (fourteen times in Mark 1 and 2) many readers of Mark have noted. It needs to be allowed its effect. With this word, the story fairly bursts through the synagogue doors and pushes towards the rest of Galilee – to the rest of the week, to the rest of our lives and to the place this story of Jesus will take us. The gospel for this day reminds us that the story of Jesus is always on the move and will not allow any of us hearers to remain who or where we are. Within a few short verses, the end of today's lesson will invite us to join this Jesus whose "preaching" and healing of the demonic in life will take him "throughout the whole of Galilee" (Mark 1:29).
This mission has a grand sweep. It is also particular and close to home. It is at least of some interest, if not a bit puzzling, that we find those same four fishermen who answered Jesus' call and "abandoned everything" (Mark 1:14-20) back at home and still concerned with the realities of day-to-day life. For example, a mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Yet, Jesus' power extends even here, and we get an anticipatory glimpse of just where this story and mission might lead us. Jesus took her by the hand and "lifted her up" (verse 31). The Greek literally reads "he raised her." It is surely no accident that here for the first time our imaginations are teased with this promissory "good news" word which will follow this story of Jesus (eighteen times in the gospel) to its surprising, climactic resurrection ending.
Yet, even now, this anticipatory Epiphany promise fairly bursts upon the scene. From the healing of one person, the numbers in the story have a staggering effect that no attempt to discount them as mere hyperbole can undo. People bring "all" who are sick to Jesus; the "whole city" is at the door. He heals "many" who are sick with "all sorts" of diseases and casts out "many" demons. The success seems palpable and unstoppable. Jesus' power is clear.
Except for the demons! Before he has exorcised them with only a word (Mark 1:21-28); now He is more forceful as He "casts them out" and will not permit them to speak (Mark 1:34). However, the final note "because they knew him" is a sobering reminder these demonic powers will not go quietly and so a premonition of where this battle will ultimately take this Jesus.
It is to that battle and its purpose that the rest of today's story now directs us. In the morning Jesus is up early and once again we find him in the wilderness he went “to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there.” I have asked the deacons to read a book for discussion called “Sabbath” by Wayne Muller. Sometimes being Pastor, deacon, musician, usher, greeter or anyone who is involved in the ministry of church, the Sabbath isn’t Sabbath for we are working, ministering in one way or another, please know that I am not complaining nor do I think anyone else would for this is what we are called to do, we are compelled to serve in his fashion.
Here we find Jesus compelled to teach, preach and heal. It is all part of the ministry and the proclamation of kindom yet to be realized. Yet Jesus too needed Sabbath. The literal translation of Sabbath is to rest. In the sacred term it means to take rest in God.
Wayne reminds us that “on the seventh day, God rests. Jewish texts prohibit 39 specific acts during Sabbath- acts traditionally associated with the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. If God could rest in creating the universe, God’s people could rest in building of the sacred temple. Tasks such as sowing, plowing, reaping, threshing and winnowing are prohibited.” By the way winnowing is an agricultural method developed by ancient cultures for separating grain from chaff. I had to look it up. Wayne goes on to explain that “beyond the legalism is an idea that by saying no to making some things happen, deep permission arises for other things to happen.” Allowing a deep sacred rest in God allows other energies, spiritual energies to grow that empower us throughout the week.
This is what Jesus does in the midst of the immediacy of marks Gospel. We usually consider Jesus as “Teaching, healing, or being accosted by the hordes of sick or possessed who sought his touch.” Yet throughout the Gospels we are told Jesus either went off alone, sent people away or invited the disciples to join him in quiet prayer. Today we are told that Jesus went off in the early hours of the morning to a lonely place.
In the Book Sabbath we are told that “Jesus did not wait until everyone had been properly cared for, until all who sought him were healed. He did not ask permission to go, nor did he leave anyone behind “on Call,” or even let his disciples know where he was going. Jesus obeyed a deeper rhythm. When the moment for rest had come, the time for healing was over. He would simply stop, retire to a quiet place, and pray.” Interesting that one translation of the phrase “to pray” as it is used in the biblical writings is “to come to rest”.
If Jesus, God incarnate on earth could take time to come to rest in God imagine how much more we all could use time to come to rest in God. We who are merely human, with our busy lives and complex schedules should take time to rest in God. Perhaps that is taking quiet time in the morning, at noon and again in the evening. Perhaps your Sabbath time might be a time of quiet writing, or painting or simply walking in an open field allowing your soul to touch God and God to touch you.
I don’t know about you but Sunday isn’t enough for me. I need to take time in the morning and throughout the day to just stop, breathe deep and reach out with my spirit to God and allow God to grant me rest. I encourage each of you to seek out your own unique way to constantly have Sabbath during the week. That doesn’t mean TBowing in the middle of the street for all to see but to take a moment just privately with you and your creator.
One way I use is the Liturgy of the hours these are a collection of prayers readings and meditations that are said three times a day by Christians all over the world. I used to get very frustrated trying to figure out where I was or supposed to be in the Book of Common Prayer. One needs a road map to figure it out. However Phyllis tickle took all the prayers and readings and created a straight through series of books. Now I am not saying this method of prayer or anyone method is better than another. Each must find their own way, your own way of connecting and finding rest in God.
Of course you know we offer experiences here during the week as well. Every Thursday we have a spiritual practices be it taize style meditation, drumming circle or labyrinth. These are ways to get connected here. Also the movie night and game nights are also viable ways to take rest with community members and build relationships as well. Stillpoint also offers day retreats once a month that are very inexpensive and quite nurturing for the spirit.
Wayne Muller goes on to remind us that “when Jesus prayed he was at rest, nourished by the healing spirit that saturates those still, quiet places. In the Jesus tradition, prayer can be a practice of simply being in the presence of God, allowing the mind to rest in the heart.” This need for spiritual rest is built into our system and is essential to our spiritual well being. I do not believe it is by any coincidence that the story of creation mentions God resting, I don’t believe it was mere happenstance that God told Moses when he was weary that “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) Certainly Jesus led by example and so we see time and again Jesus goes off to pray and, as I said before, sometimes he would take his disciples with him. That means there was a communal practice as well as the private practice of prayer.
Through all of this Jesus is teaching us a practice of Sabbath not the Sabbath that occurs strictly on Sunday at MCC in the Valley between 10:30 and noon but a Sabbath that is every day. Every day it waits for us to take the time, to stop, to rest in God and allow Gods rest to come to us. This is one of the most compelling calls in Jesus’ ministry. Yet often it is one we most often ignore.
So today I encourage you to remember the Sabbath. Remember to take the time throughout your day, week, year and lives to just rest in God. Take that extra moment to experience the simple touch of the creator, active in your life, giving you rest so that you may have the energy and perseverance to continue to do Gods work, to do what God has called you to do throughout your day in Gods ever loving presence and to be that presence to the world. To be well rested in God so that you, we may get back to that “Immediacy” that is our lives. I pray these words bless you and perhaps inspire you today. Amen.
Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest (New York: Bantam Books, 1999), 29.
Ibid., 30.
Ibid., 24.
Ibid., 25.
Ibid.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Via Stillpoint as shared by Judith Favor
A journey continues until it stops
A journey that stops is no longer a journey
A journey loses thing on its way
A journey passes through things, thing pass through it
When a journey is over, it loses itself to a place
When a journey remembers, it begins a journal
Which is a new journey about an old journey
A journey over time is different from a journey into time
An actual journey is into the future
A reflective journey is into the past
***
A journey always begins in a place called Here
Pack your bags and imagine your journey
Unpack your bags and imagine your journey is done
***
If you're afraid of a journey, don't buy shoes
~ Mark Strand ~
(Chicken, Shadow, Moon & More)
John’s Liberating Humility
John’s Liberating Humility
“The spirit of the Exalted YWHW is upon me,
for YWHW has anointed me:
God has sent me to bring good news to those who
Are poor;
To heal broken hearts;
To proclaim release to those held captive
And liberation to those in prison;
To announce a year of Favor from YHWH,
And the day of God’s vindication;
To comfort those who mourn,
To provide for those who grieve in Zion-
To give them a wreath of flowers instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of tears,
A cloak of praise instead of despair.
They will restore the ancient ruins,
And rebuild sites long devastated;
They will repair the ruined cities,
Neglected for generations.
These are the Prophet Isaiah’s words…Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 to be exact this is the Old Testament reading for today yet I wonder if these words could not have come from John himself. I imagine John as a scruffy little man, a bit haggard from living in the wilderness and surviving on wild honey and locusts, quoting this text very loudly at the river’s edge.
John was described as; “a voice crying out in the wilderness!” Today we are told he comes “as an envoy from God, who came as a witness to testify about the light, so that through his testimony everyone might believe.”
John was an envoy, a messenger sent as a witness to the light.
The Apostle John, author of the Gospel of John, seems to have previously been a disciple of John the Baptist. It must have been with great affection and regard for the Baptist that the Apostle writes of him in the first chapter of his Gospel. We find the ministries and messages of John the Baptist and Jesus interspersed and inter-twined in this first chapter. John sought to identify himself with Jesus, and Jesus surely sought to identify with John and his message. There is, however, a great difference between these two individuals, as the Apostle John makes clear in this chapter.
Verse 6: A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. Verse 7: He came as a witness, to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. Verse 8: He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
The Word was; John came. The Word was the Light; John came, sent from God as a witness to this Light. John was a witness, and the Lord Jesus was the One about whom John testified. John was not the light, but a witness sent to testify that the Light was coming. To us, these words may seem redundant—old news. But they were, and they are, revolutionary. Nothing like the coming of our Lord in human flesh has ever happened before—nor will it ever happen again. John’s role in this is important, yet definitely subordinate. No one knows this more than John. What the Apostle John writes in these verses 6-8, the Baptist reiterates and underscores in his own testimony. These verses give us the reality by which John the Baptist governed his life and ministry.
Now place yourself in the sandals and camel hair suit of John the Baptist. God commands you to go out and to begin calling the nation Israel to repentance, announcing that the Messiah is soon to be revealed. You are not even certain at the time just who the Messiah is—or how He is to be revealed. You are to preach in the wilderness, so that all who want to hear you must come out of the city and into the wilderness. You have never even performed so much as one miracle. Can you imagine faithfully preaching a message of repentance in preparation for the Messiah, as John the Baptist did, without even knowing the name of the one about whom you were preaching?
Truly John the Baptist is a remarkable man, and He is a prominent figure in Advent, showing up each year in at least a couple of the Gospel readings and reappearing in January when we remember the Baptism of the Lord. In listening closely to John the Baptist, one senses deep humility; "I am not the Messiah. I am not Elijah (the greatest of the prophets). I am not the main attraction. The main attraction is coming, and I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”
John’s humility comes to expression when he says that he is not worthy to untie the strap of Christ’s sandal. This takes us back into travel on the hot and dusty paths of Palestine. As one walked in the heat and the dust, one’s feet inevitably become dirty. When one came into a friend’s house, the first courtesy provided was water to wash the guest’s feet. But the host would not normally do this himself. To attend to the feet was a task fit for a slave, and it would be a slave who was expected to do the actual washing of the feet
This humility was not only John's perception of himself; it is also recorded in the Gospel writer's description of him: John the Baptist was not the light, but he came to bear witness to the light. It is important that we claim John as a model for our lives, as human beings and as Christians. You are not the Messiah. I am not the Messiah. A messiah is someone who saves, rules, and fixes people. Many in Israel were waiting for a messiah in the first century. Life was difficult, harsh, and oppressive.
John's entrance into the drama of Advent each year might not seem relevant at first glance, but in fact his is a needed voice. Humility is a misunderstood concept' and it may be helpful to say what it is and what it is not. It is not low self-esteem. We are created in the image of God' and that is good. Humility is not false modesty. We have been endowed with gifts, and they are to be used for the Glory of God and the common good. One preacher put it this way: Humility is not thinking less of ourselves. Humility is thinking of ourselves less. Do you see the difference?
This can be liberating. I bet you know of folks who could be described as overachievers. You see their names in the newspaper, or you hear them being interviewed on television and radio, perhaps you have written letters of recommendation for them when they were getting ready to go to college. A day does not go by that someone is not being recognized in his or her Profession.
When congratulated they will say, "Oh, it's nothing", or, "It's not as special as it seems," or, "Yes, oh, but you should see what my brother or sister or neighbor or colleague is doing'" I am talking about other people, but if I am honest, myself as well. Kenneth carter points out that one of his seminary professors poked fun at the “I love me" walls that preachers love to have in their offices degrees, ordination certificates and I do have to wonder about how all of this helps us to preach better sermons about humility!
It is all mixed together with the drive to succeed and with ambition, performance, and goals. If we don't have these hopes for ourselves, we surely have them for our friends and loved ones. There is something constructive about all of this. Objectives are accomplished. Goals are met. Good is done. But there is also a dark side that can be a heavy burden. We begin to think that we are, in fact, the source of light. Sometimes, though, the bulb begins to dim. We might not use the precise language, but we begin to think that we are, in fact, the Messiah. We see other people as problems to be solved; we see daily lives as a series of messes to be cleaned up, dilemmas to be sorted through, and damages to be repaired. If you and I don’t take care of it, who will? The symptoms of this dark side are burnout cynicism, frustration with other people' and paradoxically' self rejection.
But remember, you and I are not the Messiah. We have limitations and boundaries. Advent comes along each year to give us this dose of humility, when once again we meet John, who helps us to get clear perspective.
Make no mistake. John the Baptist was a person of strength. He attracted people to his project'. "Among those born of women,” Jesus says, “no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 1 1 :1 1 ). John was not weak. "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?" Jesus asks the disciples who had gone in search of John (Matthew 1i:7)' "A reed shaken by the wind?''(v.7).The literal meaning was a weathervane that bends with the currents of the wind. John was not weak; he was strong-he could withstand the forces of the winds and the storms-but he was humble. His humility is found precisely in his understanding of who he is and who he is not.
Humility is not weakness, but the awareness of the Source of our strength. John reminds us that we are human. Were you aware that there is a connection between the word s humanity, humility, and humor. Each word has a common origin, in our word humus. We have a humus pile in the plastic bin out back that includes soil and leaves and kitchen garbage and probably some things I would not want to mention. It is a mixture of the most organic matter, the compost pile, and it is very rich and fertile place. That says something about us: in our humanity we are always a mixture of many things and out of all of it come life and growth.
Humility and humor are connected in our ability to laugh at ourselves-and sometimes we do have to laugh at ourselves. This is related to our humanity. We have limitations, boundaries; we are finite. Humanity is a reminder of our need to be grounded-again the connection with the earth. It is not accidental that the most fundamental posture of humility is kneeling. This self-awareness prepares the way for something more, something greater: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
“The spirit of the Exalted YWHW is upon me,
for YWHW has anointed me:
God has sent me to bring good news to those who
Are poor;
To heal broken hearts;
To proclaim release to those held captive
And liberation to those in prison;
To announce a year of Favor from YHWH,
And the day of God’s vindication;
To comfort those who mourn,
To provide for those who grieve in Zion-
To give them a wreath of flowers instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of tears,
A cloak of praise instead of despair.
They will restore the ancient ruins,
And rebuild sites long devastated;
They will repair the ruined cities,
Neglected for generations.
These are the Prophet Isaiah’s words…Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 to be exact this is the Old Testament reading for today yet I wonder if these words could not have come from John himself. I imagine John as a scruffy little man, a bit haggard from living in the wilderness and surviving on wild honey and locusts, quoting this text very loudly at the river’s edge.
John was described as; “a voice crying out in the wilderness!” Today we are told he comes “as an envoy from God, who came as a witness to testify about the light, so that through his testimony everyone might believe.”
John was an envoy, a messenger sent as a witness to the light.
The Apostle John, author of the Gospel of John, seems to have previously been a disciple of John the Baptist. It must have been with great affection and regard for the Baptist that the Apostle writes of him in the first chapter of his Gospel. We find the ministries and messages of John the Baptist and Jesus interspersed and inter-twined in this first chapter. John sought to identify himself with Jesus, and Jesus surely sought to identify with John and his message. There is, however, a great difference between these two individuals, as the Apostle John makes clear in this chapter.
Verse 6: A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. Verse 7: He came as a witness, to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. Verse 8: He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
The Word was; John came. The Word was the Light; John came, sent from God as a witness to this Light. John was a witness, and the Lord Jesus was the One about whom John testified. John was not the light, but a witness sent to testify that the Light was coming. To us, these words may seem redundant—old news. But they were, and they are, revolutionary. Nothing like the coming of our Lord in human flesh has ever happened before—nor will it ever happen again. John’s role in this is important, yet definitely subordinate. No one knows this more than John. What the Apostle John writes in these verses 6-8, the Baptist reiterates and underscores in his own testimony. These verses give us the reality by which John the Baptist governed his life and ministry.
Now place yourself in the sandals and camel hair suit of John the Baptist. God commands you to go out and to begin calling the nation Israel to repentance, announcing that the Messiah is soon to be revealed. You are not even certain at the time just who the Messiah is—or how He is to be revealed. You are to preach in the wilderness, so that all who want to hear you must come out of the city and into the wilderness. You have never even performed so much as one miracle. Can you imagine faithfully preaching a message of repentance in preparation for the Messiah, as John the Baptist did, without even knowing the name of the one about whom you were preaching?
Truly John the Baptist is a remarkable man, and He is a prominent figure in Advent, showing up each year in at least a couple of the Gospel readings and reappearing in January when we remember the Baptism of the Lord. In listening closely to John the Baptist, one senses deep humility; "I am not the Messiah. I am not Elijah (the greatest of the prophets). I am not the main attraction. The main attraction is coming, and I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”
John’s humility comes to expression when he says that he is not worthy to untie the strap of Christ’s sandal. This takes us back into travel on the hot and dusty paths of Palestine. As one walked in the heat and the dust, one’s feet inevitably become dirty. When one came into a friend’s house, the first courtesy provided was water to wash the guest’s feet. But the host would not normally do this himself. To attend to the feet was a task fit for a slave, and it would be a slave who was expected to do the actual washing of the feet
This humility was not only John's perception of himself; it is also recorded in the Gospel writer's description of him: John the Baptist was not the light, but he came to bear witness to the light. It is important that we claim John as a model for our lives, as human beings and as Christians. You are not the Messiah. I am not the Messiah. A messiah is someone who saves, rules, and fixes people. Many in Israel were waiting for a messiah in the first century. Life was difficult, harsh, and oppressive.
John's entrance into the drama of Advent each year might not seem relevant at first glance, but in fact his is a needed voice. Humility is a misunderstood concept' and it may be helpful to say what it is and what it is not. It is not low self-esteem. We are created in the image of God' and that is good. Humility is not false modesty. We have been endowed with gifts, and they are to be used for the Glory of God and the common good. One preacher put it this way: Humility is not thinking less of ourselves. Humility is thinking of ourselves less. Do you see the difference?
This can be liberating. I bet you know of folks who could be described as overachievers. You see their names in the newspaper, or you hear them being interviewed on television and radio, perhaps you have written letters of recommendation for them when they were getting ready to go to college. A day does not go by that someone is not being recognized in his or her Profession.
When congratulated they will say, "Oh, it's nothing", or, "It's not as special as it seems," or, "Yes, oh, but you should see what my brother or sister or neighbor or colleague is doing'" I am talking about other people, but if I am honest, myself as well. Kenneth carter points out that one of his seminary professors poked fun at the “I love me" walls that preachers love to have in their offices degrees, ordination certificates and I do have to wonder about how all of this helps us to preach better sermons about humility!
It is all mixed together with the drive to succeed and with ambition, performance, and goals. If we don't have these hopes for ourselves, we surely have them for our friends and loved ones. There is something constructive about all of this. Objectives are accomplished. Goals are met. Good is done. But there is also a dark side that can be a heavy burden. We begin to think that we are, in fact, the source of light. Sometimes, though, the bulb begins to dim. We might not use the precise language, but we begin to think that we are, in fact, the Messiah. We see other people as problems to be solved; we see daily lives as a series of messes to be cleaned up, dilemmas to be sorted through, and damages to be repaired. If you and I don’t take care of it, who will? The symptoms of this dark side are burnout cynicism, frustration with other people' and paradoxically' self rejection.
But remember, you and I are not the Messiah. We have limitations and boundaries. Advent comes along each year to give us this dose of humility, when once again we meet John, who helps us to get clear perspective.
Make no mistake. John the Baptist was a person of strength. He attracted people to his project'. "Among those born of women,” Jesus says, “no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 1 1 :1 1 ). John was not weak. "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?" Jesus asks the disciples who had gone in search of John (Matthew 1i:7)' "A reed shaken by the wind?''(v.7).The literal meaning was a weathervane that bends with the currents of the wind. John was not weak; he was strong-he could withstand the forces of the winds and the storms-but he was humble. His humility is found precisely in his understanding of who he is and who he is not.
Humility is not weakness, but the awareness of the Source of our strength. John reminds us that we are human. Were you aware that there is a connection between the word s humanity, humility, and humor. Each word has a common origin, in our word humus. We have a humus pile in the plastic bin out back that includes soil and leaves and kitchen garbage and probably some things I would not want to mention. It is a mixture of the most organic matter, the compost pile, and it is very rich and fertile place. That says something about us: in our humanity we are always a mixture of many things and out of all of it come life and growth.
Humility and humor are connected in our ability to laugh at ourselves-and sometimes we do have to laugh at ourselves. This is related to our humanity. We have limitations, boundaries; we are finite. Humanity is a reminder of our need to be grounded-again the connection with the earth. It is not accidental that the most fundamental posture of humility is kneeling. This self-awareness prepares the way for something more, something greater: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day, which also includes dia de los muertos – the day of the dead. These Holidays have their origins as far back as ancient Egypt where they believed the spirits of the dead returned each fall to visit the living and they welcomed these spirits with lights and food. These traditions spread to Rome and eventually found their way into Christianity. Today we celebrate all saints Sunday.
This is the day we remember all those who have passed on from this life to the life eternal. On this day we are especially reminded that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
When someone mentions the word saint, what image comes to your mind? Perhaps you think about the saints you have read about in books. These are persons who have done great things for God and perhaps even performed some type of miracle. (todays saint)
Maybe you think about statues you have seen of saints, especially in Roman Catholic churches or in cemeteries. Maybe you think about necklaces and medallions made of the saints. I can remember a special gift I was given when I was growing up.
It was a silver necklace with a Saint Christopher’s medal. I think every good catholic boy and girl received one of these at some point. I was told that it would keep me safe and protect me as long as I wore it. I truly believed that, and the necklace became part of my everyday attire.
A saint can be defined as a holy person, a person who has been redeemed, or someone who has been declared righteous by God. By this definition, anyone who has acknowledged Jesus and attempts to follow his ways is a saint.
The book of Acts (9:32-41) tells of Peter going down to the saints, the followers of Jesus, who lived in Lydda and to a disciple named Tabitha (or Dorcas), whom Peter restored to life.
The Bible also tells us the importance of meeting the needs of the saints. In Romans 12:13, we read, “Contribute to the needs of the saints”; in 2 Corinthians 9:11-12, we find, “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.” The words saint and Christian, or follower of Jesus, are used interchangeably.
Interestingly enough we have heard pastor Bob speak of Holy fools in the past referring to saints. Jim Forest in praying with Icons tells us that “few taunts are sharper than those that call into question someone’s sanity.” Yet often this was the case for those who are called saints. This is because their behavior flew in the face of conventional wisdom.
Think of Saint Francis who stripped of his clothes and stood naked before the bishop in Assisi’s main square, or his preaching to the birds, or taming the wolf and finally during the crusades he walked unarmed across Egyptian dessert into the sultan’s camp.
Jim Forest states further that “Perhaps there is a sense in which each and every saint, even those who were scholars, would be regarded as insane by many in the modern world because of their devotion to a way of life that was completely senseless apart from the gospel.” This reminds me of Saint Margery Kemp. . . As followers of Christ we are called to go against the grain.
Today’s passage from the First Letter of John reminds us that when we accept God’s love through Jesus Christ, we are called “children of God”—saints. A person becomes a saint through the love of God. Saints can be called children of God because of the great love God has poured out for us. As God’s children, we have worth beyond this world, but being a child of God is not some distant or future state; we are God’s children here and now. As God’s children we live differently, following the example of Jesus. It is as if the world does not even know us.
We live abundantly, filled with love, joy, hope, and peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are the characteristics of a saint and a child of God.
Are these fruits evident in our lives? What are we doing to cultivate them? The passage also tells us that being a saint is a work in progress: “what we will be has not yet been revealed” (1 John 3:2). In other words we are a work in progress.
In this life, we strive to become more and more like Christ. We are becoming reflections of God. This process of becoming a perfect reflection of Christ will take us all of our days on this earth until one day when we see God face-to-face.
The Christian rock artist Chuck Girard has a song that I love it says : “People try to tell me that I can't live this way
That things have changed and life is not the same
And they try to tell me that I'm missing all the fun
But I know this peace I've found has only now begun
Some have tried to tell me to live and just be free
That we must seek life's pleasures while they last
And they try to tell me that these are modern days
And that I'm just a fool to go on living in the past
Someone's always tryin' to shake my faith and bring me down
But all I know is what I feel inside
People to try to tell me that I am just a fool
But I guess I'll be a fool for Jesus
If this is our hope and our destiny, then we will do all in our power to make ourselves ready: “All who have this hope in Christ purify themselves” (3:3), says Paul. He even talks about his own process of becoming all that God wants him to be: “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. “(Philippians 3:12-14)
Paul would later refer to this process as a race (2 Timothy 4:7). All Saints’ Sunday reminds us of the saints along that racecourse who encourage us and cheer us on. We are truly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
On this day I invite you to remember those who have entered “the Church Triumphant.” Perhaps they died during this past year or some time ago. Maybe they were a little crazy, or too foolish for this world, Remember that they are still with us. They surround us each and every day. I like to believe that anytime I stop to remember my grandmother, grandfather my friend Harvey or daddy Nick, they come close. I still talk to Nick now and then. As you travel this road of life, striving to become what God wants you to be, know that you are not alone. Standing along that path is a great cloud of witnesses, and they are cheering you on.
May we all persevere until the day when we see Jesus and our loved ones face-to face.
Today day we celebrate all souls day, the day of the dead, all saints day. We honor those who have honored us with their lives. By living with the Christed one we are called to live life to the fullest, to live life outside the norm, to be a fool, for when we transition from this life to the next we will be prepared to know love and life in the fullest of the covenant of the bread of life that is Jesus the Christ.
I read this poem last year and would like to conclude with it again;
I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which came to me as blossom goes on as fruit.
Let this poem be a candle that your soul holds out to you, requesting that you find a way to remember what it is to live a life with passion, on purpose to take chances and risks perhaps even looking foolish to the world.
When you have the courage to shape your life from the essence of who you are, and who God is in you, through you, you ignite, becoming truly alive, alive in the Love and Life of Christ.
I pray these words today find their way to your heart and comfort your soul, amen.
This is the day we remember all those who have passed on from this life to the life eternal. On this day we are especially reminded that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
When someone mentions the word saint, what image comes to your mind? Perhaps you think about the saints you have read about in books. These are persons who have done great things for God and perhaps even performed some type of miracle. (todays saint)
Maybe you think about statues you have seen of saints, especially in Roman Catholic churches or in cemeteries. Maybe you think about necklaces and medallions made of the saints. I can remember a special gift I was given when I was growing up.
It was a silver necklace with a Saint Christopher’s medal. I think every good catholic boy and girl received one of these at some point. I was told that it would keep me safe and protect me as long as I wore it. I truly believed that, and the necklace became part of my everyday attire.
A saint can be defined as a holy person, a person who has been redeemed, or someone who has been declared righteous by God. By this definition, anyone who has acknowledged Jesus and attempts to follow his ways is a saint.
The book of Acts (9:32-41) tells of Peter going down to the saints, the followers of Jesus, who lived in Lydda and to a disciple named Tabitha (or Dorcas), whom Peter restored to life.
The Bible also tells us the importance of meeting the needs of the saints. In Romans 12:13, we read, “Contribute to the needs of the saints”; in 2 Corinthians 9:11-12, we find, “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.” The words saint and Christian, or follower of Jesus, are used interchangeably.
Interestingly enough we have heard pastor Bob speak of Holy fools in the past referring to saints. Jim Forest in praying with Icons tells us that “few taunts are sharper than those that call into question someone’s sanity.” Yet often this was the case for those who are called saints. This is because their behavior flew in the face of conventional wisdom.
Think of Saint Francis who stripped of his clothes and stood naked before the bishop in Assisi’s main square, or his preaching to the birds, or taming the wolf and finally during the crusades he walked unarmed across Egyptian dessert into the sultan’s camp.
Jim Forest states further that “Perhaps there is a sense in which each and every saint, even those who were scholars, would be regarded as insane by many in the modern world because of their devotion to a way of life that was completely senseless apart from the gospel.” This reminds me of Saint Margery Kemp. . . As followers of Christ we are called to go against the grain.
Today’s passage from the First Letter of John reminds us that when we accept God’s love through Jesus Christ, we are called “children of God”—saints. A person becomes a saint through the love of God. Saints can be called children of God because of the great love God has poured out for us. As God’s children, we have worth beyond this world, but being a child of God is not some distant or future state; we are God’s children here and now. As God’s children we live differently, following the example of Jesus. It is as if the world does not even know us.
We live abundantly, filled with love, joy, hope, and peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are the characteristics of a saint and a child of God.
Are these fruits evident in our lives? What are we doing to cultivate them? The passage also tells us that being a saint is a work in progress: “what we will be has not yet been revealed” (1 John 3:2). In other words we are a work in progress.
In this life, we strive to become more and more like Christ. We are becoming reflections of God. This process of becoming a perfect reflection of Christ will take us all of our days on this earth until one day when we see God face-to-face.
The Christian rock artist Chuck Girard has a song that I love it says : “People try to tell me that I can't live this way
That things have changed and life is not the same
And they try to tell me that I'm missing all the fun
But I know this peace I've found has only now begun
Some have tried to tell me to live and just be free
That we must seek life's pleasures while they last
And they try to tell me that these are modern days
And that I'm just a fool to go on living in the past
Someone's always tryin' to shake my faith and bring me down
But all I know is what I feel inside
People to try to tell me that I am just a fool
But I guess I'll be a fool for Jesus
If this is our hope and our destiny, then we will do all in our power to make ourselves ready: “All who have this hope in Christ purify themselves” (3:3), says Paul. He even talks about his own process of becoming all that God wants him to be: “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. “(Philippians 3:12-14)
Paul would later refer to this process as a race (2 Timothy 4:7). All Saints’ Sunday reminds us of the saints along that racecourse who encourage us and cheer us on. We are truly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
On this day I invite you to remember those who have entered “the Church Triumphant.” Perhaps they died during this past year or some time ago. Maybe they were a little crazy, or too foolish for this world, Remember that they are still with us. They surround us each and every day. I like to believe that anytime I stop to remember my grandmother, grandfather my friend Harvey or daddy Nick, they come close. I still talk to Nick now and then. As you travel this road of life, striving to become what God wants you to be, know that you are not alone. Standing along that path is a great cloud of witnesses, and they are cheering you on.
May we all persevere until the day when we see Jesus and our loved ones face-to face.
Today day we celebrate all souls day, the day of the dead, all saints day. We honor those who have honored us with their lives. By living with the Christed one we are called to live life to the fullest, to live life outside the norm, to be a fool, for when we transition from this life to the next we will be prepared to know love and life in the fullest of the covenant of the bread of life that is Jesus the Christ.
I read this poem last year and would like to conclude with it again;
I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which came to me as blossom goes on as fruit.
Let this poem be a candle that your soul holds out to you, requesting that you find a way to remember what it is to live a life with passion, on purpose to take chances and risks perhaps even looking foolish to the world.
When you have the courage to shape your life from the essence of who you are, and who God is in you, through you, you ignite, becoming truly alive, alive in the Love and Life of Christ.
I pray these words today find their way to your heart and comfort your soul, amen.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sunday Oct. 2nd The sending Forth
As you leave here go out and find what feeds you, Go out and discover what will keep your heart open; open to the beauty and the wonder that is God’s spiritual invitation to walk with Jesus daily. Go out and act upon that invitation. Go out and be the the fruit of the vineyard and allow God to bless you and others through you with an abundant life lived in Christ Amen.
October 2nd Mathew 21:33-46
This week we are examining what many consider to be a very complicated parable: the parable of the wicked tenants. This is a parable about Israel. It goes along with similar themes to the parable of the two sons and the parables of the wedding banquet and feast
A mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.
As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"
The little boy replied, "She knows now."
The parable of the landowner and the wicked tenants continues the theme of Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man. “The last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16) is a notion that challenged the general religious economy of Jesus’ era and continues to challenge that of our own time. The parable points a finger at the religious elite of Jerusalem. As the story unfolds, the Pharisees know that Jesus is speaking about the unfaithful history of Israel, Israel who refused the witness of prophets, Israel who killed God’s messengers, and now deny the witness of Jesus, whom some have called the Messiah. Now do not get me wrong this is not Israel the nation so much as Israel influenced by a corrupt leadership.
The heart of the parable is the wicked and violent way that stewards of the law and the temple have failed through the centuries to acknowledge God’s clear message of justice and righteousness. Now the Son has come to give a clear message, and the attitude is still the same. These men of power will not stand much longer for this kind of teaching.
As with many parables, Jesus uses symbols in his stories that give a deeper meaning. This is where we need to be careful because not all things have deeper meanings. Sometimes a field is really just a field. But here we can deduce some likely meanings.
Symbolic Indicators
• The vineyard is Jerusalem
I say likely here because sometimes these things are debated. Here some say that the vineyard is all of Israel. I do not believe that this represents all of Israel because it is narrative it is indicative of Jerusalem. Jesus paints the picture of a wall, a watch tower and a winepress. This combination most likely would have pointed to Jerusalem. The wall around Jerusalem, the watch tower would be the temple who was supposed to keep watch over the spiritual life of the people. The winepress would also point to the Temple but specifically the Temple authorities who were supposed to take care of the people especially the poor financially but Jesus is indicating that they had misappropriated the finances. No wonder the religious rulers were so upset.
Besides, the placement of this parable, in relation to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and arrival at the temple makes it very clear who Jesus is accusing.
• The servants are the prophets
These are the OT prophets many of whom were beaten and killed as God’s messengers. God sent them to all of Israel and to Jerusalem many, many times.
• The son is Jesus
In the parable the son is taken outside the vineyard then killed. Jesus would be very shortly taken outside the city walls and crucified. He was taken outside so that the city and the Temple would not be ritually defiled.
• The tenants are Israelite leaders
Not just one generation but in general all of Israelite leaders over the course of its history. I know that it can be especially tempting to continue allegorizing everything in this parable. However, other than these items, there is no clear indication that Jesus intended for his hearers to do so.
The inheritance is a deeper relationship with God the creator. The fruit is the abundance of a growing community here on earth.. Then there are more generalized interpretations as in the message of the kindom and the productive living that follows. Specifics are not given by Jesus here about what entails productive living nor does Jesus give details on what the judgment looks like other than the wicked tenants will meet their deserved end.
So what message is Jesus trying to give through this parable? It is really very simple for those who have ears to hear. The parable is a proclamation concerning the world to come, and Israel’s part in this present, but not yet realized world to come.
Proclamation
*The stewardship of this heavenly kindom will be taken away and given to a new people; taken away from the hypocritical judicial leaders of Israel’s history.
God’s intention all along is that God has a people who are God’s own. This new people will not be based on birth or race or religious standing or economic standing or even social standing. It is twofold.
• This new people are all those who respond to the fullness of God’s message for them and then bear fruit.
Both parts are essential: Responding to the message of the all loving God given by Jesus and by bearing fruit through productive living. This living is based on the ways of God and the teachings of Jesus. Productive living may not necessarily mean being a good citizen, being a good citizen is just enough but God and Christ has called us to more than that. It may not even mean being affluent economically. In fact, it probably means you will not be affluent.
• Blessings and gifts are not permanent possessions.
It is so easy to get caught in false sense of security. The only security is through the continuing love relationship with Jesus, walking humbly as is taught through the Gospels. Degrees, promotions, bible studies, number of worship services, number of prayers and prayer meetings, number of meals served to the homeless are all great things and often beneficial to our own spiritual growth. However, they do not provide security, the security; that I am what I need to be. They should flow out of where we are at but they also need to flow out of a sense of calling and spiritual walk with God.
The only assurance that God is with us is by intentionally setting our hearts on God. God’s favor and blessings are not permanent. Jesus is giving Israel and us the warning that fulfilling religious responsibilities is not enough. He warns us that we may get to the end and find that we are spiritually bankrupt because we have been denouncing, ridiculing, degrading, and ignoring the very messengers that God has been sending us.
There is no guarantee except what comes through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. That is your security deposit. And that is not something that you give but receive and continue to be filled with.
• God does the unexpected.
Probably of all the things that God may be saying to us today through this parable is that God does the unexpected, the unexpected grace and love that is shown by those that love God and God’s ways. The unexpected provision that God gives sometimes before we realized we even had a need, the unexpected lesson that Jesus teaches us when we are wrapped up in ourselves and so self-absorbed.
Jesus gives us a proverb or saying at the end of this parable. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. When we fall down in complete and utter abandonment to Jesus who is the cornerstone, we may be broken but we are never crushed. However, those who ignore the messenger or even persecute God’s agents will eventually be crushed no matter what ancestors that they may claim or how long one has been in church or who your parents are.
The amazing thing is that when we are broken before God, Jesus takes the broken pieces of our lives and unexpectedly transforms what many people in the world might cast out as trash and creates a thing of beauty that allows the light of the spirit to shine through. Let me say that again; Jesus takes the broken pieces of our lives and unexpectedly transforms what many people in the world might cast out as trash and creates a thing of beauty that allows the light of the spirit to shine through.
The message is plain but not easy. Are you certain of your walk with God? Are sure that you are walking with Jesus? Do you love God and God’s ways more than anything else? Have you responded by living a life of abundant fruit? If not, what blessings that you have will be given to others. There are no barriers here today. The only barrier is the one inside of you. Consecrate yourself to respond to the messenger, Jesus, and live his abundant life giving him the glory. Don’t let yourself be deceived as many in Israel were; deceived by pride and deceived by arrogance. Humble yourself before God or you will be humiliated. Take the time to strengthen yourself for your daily journey by stepping out with Christ.
This means seeking opportunity to enrich your spiritual life. You may try Journaling as prayer, walking meditation, the Jesus prayer, which is Lord Jesus Christ; have mercy on me repeated over and over till it is constant on your heart, or perhaps the daily offices or book of Christian prayer. You need to find what feeds you, what will keep your heart open to the beauty and the wonder that is God’s spiritual invitation to walk with Jesus daily. Then act upon it. Then the fruit of the vineyard will be abundant and when the Owner comes to collect you will rejoice as will God in the abundant life you have lived. Amen.
A mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.
As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"
The little boy replied, "She knows now."
The parable of the landowner and the wicked tenants continues the theme of Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man. “The last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16) is a notion that challenged the general religious economy of Jesus’ era and continues to challenge that of our own time. The parable points a finger at the religious elite of Jerusalem. As the story unfolds, the Pharisees know that Jesus is speaking about the unfaithful history of Israel, Israel who refused the witness of prophets, Israel who killed God’s messengers, and now deny the witness of Jesus, whom some have called the Messiah. Now do not get me wrong this is not Israel the nation so much as Israel influenced by a corrupt leadership.
The heart of the parable is the wicked and violent way that stewards of the law and the temple have failed through the centuries to acknowledge God’s clear message of justice and righteousness. Now the Son has come to give a clear message, and the attitude is still the same. These men of power will not stand much longer for this kind of teaching.
As with many parables, Jesus uses symbols in his stories that give a deeper meaning. This is where we need to be careful because not all things have deeper meanings. Sometimes a field is really just a field. But here we can deduce some likely meanings.
Symbolic Indicators
• The vineyard is Jerusalem
I say likely here because sometimes these things are debated. Here some say that the vineyard is all of Israel. I do not believe that this represents all of Israel because it is narrative it is indicative of Jerusalem. Jesus paints the picture of a wall, a watch tower and a winepress. This combination most likely would have pointed to Jerusalem. The wall around Jerusalem, the watch tower would be the temple who was supposed to keep watch over the spiritual life of the people. The winepress would also point to the Temple but specifically the Temple authorities who were supposed to take care of the people especially the poor financially but Jesus is indicating that they had misappropriated the finances. No wonder the religious rulers were so upset.
Besides, the placement of this parable, in relation to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and arrival at the temple makes it very clear who Jesus is accusing.
• The servants are the prophets
These are the OT prophets many of whom were beaten and killed as God’s messengers. God sent them to all of Israel and to Jerusalem many, many times.
• The son is Jesus
In the parable the son is taken outside the vineyard then killed. Jesus would be very shortly taken outside the city walls and crucified. He was taken outside so that the city and the Temple would not be ritually defiled.
• The tenants are Israelite leaders
Not just one generation but in general all of Israelite leaders over the course of its history. I know that it can be especially tempting to continue allegorizing everything in this parable. However, other than these items, there is no clear indication that Jesus intended for his hearers to do so.
The inheritance is a deeper relationship with God the creator. The fruit is the abundance of a growing community here on earth.. Then there are more generalized interpretations as in the message of the kindom and the productive living that follows. Specifics are not given by Jesus here about what entails productive living nor does Jesus give details on what the judgment looks like other than the wicked tenants will meet their deserved end.
So what message is Jesus trying to give through this parable? It is really very simple for those who have ears to hear. The parable is a proclamation concerning the world to come, and Israel’s part in this present, but not yet realized world to come.
Proclamation
*The stewardship of this heavenly kindom will be taken away and given to a new people; taken away from the hypocritical judicial leaders of Israel’s history.
God’s intention all along is that God has a people who are God’s own. This new people will not be based on birth or race or religious standing or economic standing or even social standing. It is twofold.
• This new people are all those who respond to the fullness of God’s message for them and then bear fruit.
Both parts are essential: Responding to the message of the all loving God given by Jesus and by bearing fruit through productive living. This living is based on the ways of God and the teachings of Jesus. Productive living may not necessarily mean being a good citizen, being a good citizen is just enough but God and Christ has called us to more than that. It may not even mean being affluent economically. In fact, it probably means you will not be affluent.
• Blessings and gifts are not permanent possessions.
It is so easy to get caught in false sense of security. The only security is through the continuing love relationship with Jesus, walking humbly as is taught through the Gospels. Degrees, promotions, bible studies, number of worship services, number of prayers and prayer meetings, number of meals served to the homeless are all great things and often beneficial to our own spiritual growth. However, they do not provide security, the security; that I am what I need to be. They should flow out of where we are at but they also need to flow out of a sense of calling and spiritual walk with God.
The only assurance that God is with us is by intentionally setting our hearts on God. God’s favor and blessings are not permanent. Jesus is giving Israel and us the warning that fulfilling religious responsibilities is not enough. He warns us that we may get to the end and find that we are spiritually bankrupt because we have been denouncing, ridiculing, degrading, and ignoring the very messengers that God has been sending us.
There is no guarantee except what comes through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. That is your security deposit. And that is not something that you give but receive and continue to be filled with.
• God does the unexpected.
Probably of all the things that God may be saying to us today through this parable is that God does the unexpected, the unexpected grace and love that is shown by those that love God and God’s ways. The unexpected provision that God gives sometimes before we realized we even had a need, the unexpected lesson that Jesus teaches us when we are wrapped up in ourselves and so self-absorbed.
Jesus gives us a proverb or saying at the end of this parable. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. When we fall down in complete and utter abandonment to Jesus who is the cornerstone, we may be broken but we are never crushed. However, those who ignore the messenger or even persecute God’s agents will eventually be crushed no matter what ancestors that they may claim or how long one has been in church or who your parents are.
The amazing thing is that when we are broken before God, Jesus takes the broken pieces of our lives and unexpectedly transforms what many people in the world might cast out as trash and creates a thing of beauty that allows the light of the spirit to shine through. Let me say that again; Jesus takes the broken pieces of our lives and unexpectedly transforms what many people in the world might cast out as trash and creates a thing of beauty that allows the light of the spirit to shine through.
The message is plain but not easy. Are you certain of your walk with God? Are sure that you are walking with Jesus? Do you love God and God’s ways more than anything else? Have you responded by living a life of abundant fruit? If not, what blessings that you have will be given to others. There are no barriers here today. The only barrier is the one inside of you. Consecrate yourself to respond to the messenger, Jesus, and live his abundant life giving him the glory. Don’t let yourself be deceived as many in Israel were; deceived by pride and deceived by arrogance. Humble yourself before God or you will be humiliated. Take the time to strengthen yourself for your daily journey by stepping out with Christ.
This means seeking opportunity to enrich your spiritual life. You may try Journaling as prayer, walking meditation, the Jesus prayer, which is Lord Jesus Christ; have mercy on me repeated over and over till it is constant on your heart, or perhaps the daily offices or book of Christian prayer. You need to find what feeds you, what will keep your heart open to the beauty and the wonder that is God’s spiritual invitation to walk with Jesus daily. Then act upon it. Then the fruit of the vineyard will be abundant and when the Owner comes to collect you will rejoice as will God in the abundant life you have lived. Amen.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Practicing forgiveness
The Practice of Forgiveness
Matthew 18:21-35
I once read a story in which two individuals, one who had been assaulted and raped and the other who had been wrongly accused and convicted of the crime, discussed the power of forgiveness in their lives. Both spoke of the horrible circumstances that brought them together and that had almost destroyed their lives. Both spoke of sleepless nights, anger, fear, depression, and shame; but each also spoke of the beauty and goodness they had found in being able to forgive. They talked about what it meant to not be defined by their pasts, to be set free from a burden they had not chosen, and how life-giving the practice of forgiveness had been.
I also want to share another story that I originally heard on NPR written by Dina Temple-Raston
For nearly three decades, Tim Zaal thought he had killed a man during his rage-filled youth. The idea haunted him, but he buried it with the rest of his skinhead past.
"This used to be my stomping grounds," says Zaal, standing on a street in West Hollywood, Calif., where he used to hang out in the early '80s. "Mostly punk rockers would hang out around here after concerts and we would be involved with violence on a regular basis. Violence for me, back in those days, was like breathing."
Zaal has a wrestler's physique These days he's a computer programmer, and most of the time it is clear that he has found a way to distance himself from his past — almost as if it were someone else's history.
But bring him to the streets of his past, and gradually, Zaal sweeps backward through rooms he has avoided for years.
When Zaal and his friends were itching to make trouble, they would stand out in front of a hot dog joint called Oakie Dogs.
Zaal recalls that particular night, when he thought he took another man's life. It began with listening to a band called Fear. During the show, a bouncer was stabbed and the police came. By the time he and his friends got to Oakie Dogs, they were juiced up on alcohol and testosterone and spoiling for a fight.
They found their victims across the street, a group of gay street kids. They were just hanging out when Zaal and his friends cornered one and started kicking and hitting him — 14 skinheads pummeling him all at once. But the small gay kid was still moving. For some reason, that enraged Zaal.
"I walked up and said, 'What is wrong with you guys, can't you do it right?' " Zaal recalls. The kid they were beating on looked up and made eye contact with Zaal. "I kicked him in the forehead with my boot and that was it," Zaal says, snapping his fingers. "He was out like a light."
Zaal says an uncomfortable silence descended on the group.
"I never talked about it because in the back of my mind I was thinking, we killed this person," he says. "So we jump in our cars and drove away."
The Man Who Didn't Die
Zaal thought that would be the end of it. He shoved the whole thing out of his mind, until 28 years later.
A few years ago, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles asked him to speak about his experience leaving the skinhead movement. Before the talk, he found himself chatting with his fellow presenter, Matthew Boger, the manager of operations.
"I asked Tim how he got out of the skinhead movement and what that was like," Boger recalls.
The pair reminisced about West Hollywood back in the '80s.
"And there was this moment in which I said that I lived on the streets," Boger says, "in which I said I hung out on this hamburger stand, and [Zaal] said, 'You know, we used to hang out there, but we stopped hanging out there after this one night that was so violent, I think I killed a kid.' "
In a flash they both knew without saying that Boger was that kid.
"It was the very first meeting that we had realized who we were to each other 20-something years ago," Boger says.
Zaal recalls the moment the way anyone in his position would.
"Of course I was ashamed," he says. "I didn't know how to handle the situation. And obviously he didn't how to handle the situation and he left as quickly as possible. It was about two weeks before I saw him again."
Reflecting On Violence
Now, in his 40s, with a son of his own, Zaal has come to understand what motivated him to be so violent, so angry, back then. When he was a teenager, his brother was shot in their neighborhood . Zaal says he became a skinhead a short time later. He thought preying on people like Boger would somehow provide protection. Instead, it has haunted him.
"You know I went through some turmoil," he says. "But at the end of the day the right thing to do was apologize. What was I supposed to do? Ignore him? Pretend it didn't happen, pretend we didn't have the conversation?"
So Zaal apologized.
Now Zaal and Boger present their story — and their unlikely friendship — to high school and middle school students around Southern California. They also do a tag-team presentation one Sunday every month at the Museum of Tolerance. It begins with a DVD film of their story and ends with a question and answer session.
Today’s text from Matthew moves us to consider one of the most difficult practices of Christian discipleship—forgiveness. Forgiveness is a hard road to walk, but it is the way to life and life abundant. Forgiveness is the way of Jesus, the way of the cross. While at first glance revenge may seem much easier and more desirable, in fact it leads to bondage and death.
From the place of death, vengeance, and coercive violence—from the cross—Jesus spoke words of forgiveness, pointing to the way that leads to life. At the heart of discipleship lies the painful and challenging practice of forgiveness.
Matthew tells us that Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?” (Matthew 18:21). Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy- times seven times” (v. 22). I cherish this answer. Jesus gives clear instructions about the importance of forgiveness as a way of life in the kingdom.
Perhaps sensing that Peter hasn’t quite gotten the point, he tells a story. In the parable Jesus deftly describes our propensity to seek vengeance, to demand a righting of the scales of justice in a manner that we believe balances our accounts with others. A man experiences undeserved mercy and compassion from one to whom he owes a significant debt. Instead of shaping and defining his dealings with others by the mercy he has undeservedly received, he immediately turns to one who owes him a much smaller debt and demands the account to be paid and the debt settled.
Upon hearing what he has done, his master, who had extended him mercy, now calls him to account and hands him over for punishment. The man is in bondage to his own greed, his misguided sense of justice. He, who had been set free for life, chose the way that leads to bondage and torture. He chose not to forgive. Sadly, so many of us do the same.
In relating this story Jesus holds up a mirror for us to see our tendency to withhold the very mercy and forgiveness we have received. The only righteous judge, Jesus, says from the cross, “Forgive them.” We, from our positions of self-righteousness, cry out, “Pay me what you owe.” What a tragedy that we forfeit the gift of freedom because we are unable to allow the spirit of love to form us into a people who practice the abundant economy of forgiveness rather than the bankrupt market of vengeance, getting even, and settling the score.
I know forgiveness is a hard road. It may take months, years, countless tears, and endless prayer to say, “I forgive you.” But Jesus was clear: grace is costly and forgiveness involves the way of the cross. True life is found only on the other side of Golgotha.
Let’s be very clear about what we are talking about. Forgiveness is a practice, a discipline made possible by the grace of God, not some heroic act of the will. It is something that we practice again and again, on a daily basis, until it becomes a part of who we are. Believe me just when you think you got it down something comes along and triggers old hurts or new pains and you find yourself angry, and vengeful all over again. – then we start praying all over again.
Forgiveness is not forgetting. One cannot forgive that which is forgotten. Forgiveness involves telling each other the painful truth, not to hold something over the other person but to find a way forward that breaks the cycle of eye-for-an-eye violence in which we so often find ourselves trapped. Forgiveness is not about becoming a doormat and relishing the role of victim. Forgiveness is about being victorious, freed from the horrible things others might have done to us. Likewise, forgiveness is not a strategy for turning our enemies into our friends; it is instead a grateful response to what God has done for us. We forgive others as a way of saying “thank you” to God, who in Christ has graciously forgiven us.
Finally, practicing forgiveness does not deny the possibility or the necessity of justice. Rather, it redefines justice, and ensures that it is God’s peculiar brand of justice we are practicing and not the retribution and retaliation that often masquerade as justice.
In calling us to forgive, Jesus offers us a different kind of justice that holds open the possibility of a new future, a way through the hurt and pain that can lead to resurrection and new life. Forgiveness is about having our lives defined by the justice of God’s kingdom rather than the justice of the kingdoms of this world.
Today is the anniversary of 9/11—a day when horrible atrocities were committed in the name of God. I remember being in my little studio in palm springs watching the news. I mean I turned on the tv and the events were in full on disaster mode. The news kept repeating the events over and over again.
At first we thought it was some kind of bizarre accident. I mean what else could it have been? Then the second plane struck. I just remember watching, crying, non-believing. I became numb as debris fell from the sky, as the news cameras caught the faces of the people running out and the firemen running in.
After watching repeatedly the plane crash into the building, hearing about the plane downed at the pentagon. Watching again the faces of people on the street and then the tower collapsed. Then the second tower collapsed and I could not watch any more. I had watched the events unfold over 4 or 5 hours. I had to get outside. I needed to find some people to be with.
I remember walking down palm canyon and there being hardly any traffic as I approached arenas there was no activity on the street. I went to the street bar for I knew most everyone there and sure enough there was a small click of my friends all sitting on the patio. As I got closer all I could hear was “let’s go bomb the hell out of them . . . yea we should kill ten of their s for each one of ours.”
I was hit with another mind numbing event. All I could think of was the families and their loved ones who needed care and help. Yet here was another side to that coin let’s get out and get revenge.
The better part of that day was the many of hundreds of heroes. Right here in our foyer there is the icon of Fr. Mychal Judge. Upon hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit, Father Judge rushed to the site. He was met by the Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, who asked him to pray for the city and its victims. Judge administered the Last Rites to some lying on the streets, then entered the lobby of the World Trade Center North Tower, where an emergency command post was organized. There he continued offering aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured and dead.
When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM, debris went flying through the North Tower lobby, killing many inside, including Judge. At the moment he was struck in the head and killed, Judge was repeatedly praying aloud, "Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!” according to Judge's biographer and New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly.
Shortly after his death, an NYPD lieutenant, who had also been buried in the collapse, found Judge's body and assisted by two firemen and two civilian bystanders carried it out of the North Tower lobby to nearby St Peter's Church.
Mychal Judge's body bag was labeled "Victim 0001," recognized as the first official victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. September 11, 2001 resulted in a total of 2,996 deaths More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center,Former President Bill Clinton was among the 3,000 people who attended his funeral, held on September 15 at St Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. It was presided over by Cardinal Edward Egan. President Clinton said that Judge's death was "a special loss. We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail".
Just this past Tuesday I was at an event at Claremont Lincoln university where the Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from south Africa addressed a group of students, alumni, and faculty. In the audience were Christian, Jewish, Muslim, jain and humanist. He said;
“Ten years ago we saw the danger of teaching religion and loving faith in old ways, we saw the terror unleashed by religious fundamentalists upon innocent people through an act that was the apotheosis of suicide missions in the name of God. That moment unleashed a decade that reinforced victimhood, violence, and militarism as the default position of the world and banished peace, compassion, and dialogue as concepts denoting weakness.”
The events of 9/11 led to a violent response from our own nation as it pursued “justice,” also in the name of God. Thousands of men, women, and children on all sides have lost their lives. Whatever we think or feel about the events of the past several years, it might be good for us to ask, “How does one follow Jesus and practice forgiveness in such a time?”
I have to be perfectly honest and say that I’m not entirely certain how to answer that question except to say that maybe Jesus knew there would be times such as these. One day on a hill by a lake, he gathered his disciples and told them to pray like this: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us. . . .” Perhaps that is where we begin. With all the hurt, pain, shame, guilt, anger, and betrayal, perhaps that is where we should begin today. Let us pray. “Our Father . . .” (David C. Hockett)
Just as a side not on Fr. Mychal Judge
Following his death a few of his friends and associates revealed that Father Mychal Judge was gay — as a matter of orientation rather than practice, as he was a celibate priest.[34][35] According to fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen: "I actually knew about his homosexuality when I was in the Uniformed Firefighters Association. I kept the secret, but then he told me when I became commissioner five years ago. He and I often laughed about it, because we knew how difficult it would have been for the other firemen to accept it as easily as I had. I just thought he was a phenomenal, warm, sincere man, and the fact that he was gay just had nothing to do with anything."
In conclusion I would like to recite a Muslim prayer of remembrance --Composed by Khadija Abdullah and Omar Ricci, Los Angeles, August 2002
Dear God, as our country remembers the heartbreaking events of September 11th, 2001, we humbly turn to You in prayer. At a time where our nation is facing unprecedented challenges, we need Your Spirit, Mercy, and Strength, now more than ever, to guide us down the right path.
Dear Lord, we pray that you have taken under Your Merciful wings those who innocently perished on that tragic day. We are grateful they were once a part of our lives. We thank You for the love and joy they gave their parents, spouses, children, friends, and co-workers. We thank You for the testimony of their faith in their churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. We thank you for the comfort and courage they extended to others in their last moments. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
Dear Almighty, shower Your comfort upon the families of the victims. We pray for all who searched the streets and hospital rooms and rubble with fading hopes of finding a dear one alive. Replace the pain in their hearts with the knowledge that their loved ones are in an abode of peace. We pray their tears of grief are replaced with a tranquility of the soul that only You can bestow. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
O' our Sustainer, bless the children of the victims. Bless them with bountiful lives, with direction and remembrance, with discipline and virtue. Bless them with all that is good, and protect them from all that is evil. May the loss of one or both parents be replaced by Your Merciful and Blessed guidance. For You are the best of all guides. May the country do what it must to ensure their future. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
Dear God, we pray for the rescue workers and volunteers from across the nation, who worked faithfully and tirelessly to find survivors and cleared the debris. Sustain them all, dear God and please answer our prayer.
O' Lord strengthen our nation and protect us from evil. Guide our leaders, elevate our society, and enrich the fabric of the country. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
O' Most Merciful, we have seen the very worst that we are capable of - vengeance, greed, and murder. But we have seen the very best that we are capable of - courage, compassion, service, faith, heroism, community, love. Strengthen us and make us better people who will choose the latter and better way.
Dear God, it is in You that we place our ultimate trust; it is to You that we pray; it is to you that we ask for guidance.
Dear Almighty, please bless the victims; Dear Sustainer, please bless the families; Dear God, please bless America.
Amen.
--Composed by Khadija Abdullah and Omar Ricci, Los Angeles, August 2002
Matthew 18:21-35
I once read a story in which two individuals, one who had been assaulted and raped and the other who had been wrongly accused and convicted of the crime, discussed the power of forgiveness in their lives. Both spoke of the horrible circumstances that brought them together and that had almost destroyed their lives. Both spoke of sleepless nights, anger, fear, depression, and shame; but each also spoke of the beauty and goodness they had found in being able to forgive. They talked about what it meant to not be defined by their pasts, to be set free from a burden they had not chosen, and how life-giving the practice of forgiveness had been.
I also want to share another story that I originally heard on NPR written by Dina Temple-Raston
For nearly three decades, Tim Zaal thought he had killed a man during his rage-filled youth. The idea haunted him, but he buried it with the rest of his skinhead past.
"This used to be my stomping grounds," says Zaal, standing on a street in West Hollywood, Calif., where he used to hang out in the early '80s. "Mostly punk rockers would hang out around here after concerts and we would be involved with violence on a regular basis. Violence for me, back in those days, was like breathing."
Zaal has a wrestler's physique These days he's a computer programmer, and most of the time it is clear that he has found a way to distance himself from his past — almost as if it were someone else's history.
But bring him to the streets of his past, and gradually, Zaal sweeps backward through rooms he has avoided for years.
When Zaal and his friends were itching to make trouble, they would stand out in front of a hot dog joint called Oakie Dogs.
Zaal recalls that particular night, when he thought he took another man's life. It began with listening to a band called Fear. During the show, a bouncer was stabbed and the police came. By the time he and his friends got to Oakie Dogs, they were juiced up on alcohol and testosterone and spoiling for a fight.
They found their victims across the street, a group of gay street kids. They were just hanging out when Zaal and his friends cornered one and started kicking and hitting him — 14 skinheads pummeling him all at once. But the small gay kid was still moving. For some reason, that enraged Zaal.
"I walked up and said, 'What is wrong with you guys, can't you do it right?' " Zaal recalls. The kid they were beating on looked up and made eye contact with Zaal. "I kicked him in the forehead with my boot and that was it," Zaal says, snapping his fingers. "He was out like a light."
Zaal says an uncomfortable silence descended on the group.
"I never talked about it because in the back of my mind I was thinking, we killed this person," he says. "So we jump in our cars and drove away."
The Man Who Didn't Die
Zaal thought that would be the end of it. He shoved the whole thing out of his mind, until 28 years later.
A few years ago, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles asked him to speak about his experience leaving the skinhead movement. Before the talk, he found himself chatting with his fellow presenter, Matthew Boger, the manager of operations.
"I asked Tim how he got out of the skinhead movement and what that was like," Boger recalls.
The pair reminisced about West Hollywood back in the '80s.
"And there was this moment in which I said that I lived on the streets," Boger says, "in which I said I hung out on this hamburger stand, and [Zaal] said, 'You know, we used to hang out there, but we stopped hanging out there after this one night that was so violent, I think I killed a kid.' "
In a flash they both knew without saying that Boger was that kid.
"It was the very first meeting that we had realized who we were to each other 20-something years ago," Boger says.
Zaal recalls the moment the way anyone in his position would.
"Of course I was ashamed," he says. "I didn't know how to handle the situation. And obviously he didn't how to handle the situation and he left as quickly as possible. It was about two weeks before I saw him again."
Reflecting On Violence
Now, in his 40s, with a son of his own, Zaal has come to understand what motivated him to be so violent, so angry, back then. When he was a teenager, his brother was shot in their neighborhood . Zaal says he became a skinhead a short time later. He thought preying on people like Boger would somehow provide protection. Instead, it has haunted him.
"You know I went through some turmoil," he says. "But at the end of the day the right thing to do was apologize. What was I supposed to do? Ignore him? Pretend it didn't happen, pretend we didn't have the conversation?"
So Zaal apologized.
Now Zaal and Boger present their story — and their unlikely friendship — to high school and middle school students around Southern California. They also do a tag-team presentation one Sunday every month at the Museum of Tolerance. It begins with a DVD film of their story and ends with a question and answer session.
Today’s text from Matthew moves us to consider one of the most difficult practices of Christian discipleship—forgiveness. Forgiveness is a hard road to walk, but it is the way to life and life abundant. Forgiveness is the way of Jesus, the way of the cross. While at first glance revenge may seem much easier and more desirable, in fact it leads to bondage and death.
From the place of death, vengeance, and coercive violence—from the cross—Jesus spoke words of forgiveness, pointing to the way that leads to life. At the heart of discipleship lies the painful and challenging practice of forgiveness.
Matthew tells us that Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?” (Matthew 18:21). Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy- times seven times” (v. 22). I cherish this answer. Jesus gives clear instructions about the importance of forgiveness as a way of life in the kingdom.
Perhaps sensing that Peter hasn’t quite gotten the point, he tells a story. In the parable Jesus deftly describes our propensity to seek vengeance, to demand a righting of the scales of justice in a manner that we believe balances our accounts with others. A man experiences undeserved mercy and compassion from one to whom he owes a significant debt. Instead of shaping and defining his dealings with others by the mercy he has undeservedly received, he immediately turns to one who owes him a much smaller debt and demands the account to be paid and the debt settled.
Upon hearing what he has done, his master, who had extended him mercy, now calls him to account and hands him over for punishment. The man is in bondage to his own greed, his misguided sense of justice. He, who had been set free for life, chose the way that leads to bondage and torture. He chose not to forgive. Sadly, so many of us do the same.
In relating this story Jesus holds up a mirror for us to see our tendency to withhold the very mercy and forgiveness we have received. The only righteous judge, Jesus, says from the cross, “Forgive them.” We, from our positions of self-righteousness, cry out, “Pay me what you owe.” What a tragedy that we forfeit the gift of freedom because we are unable to allow the spirit of love to form us into a people who practice the abundant economy of forgiveness rather than the bankrupt market of vengeance, getting even, and settling the score.
I know forgiveness is a hard road. It may take months, years, countless tears, and endless prayer to say, “I forgive you.” But Jesus was clear: grace is costly and forgiveness involves the way of the cross. True life is found only on the other side of Golgotha.
Let’s be very clear about what we are talking about. Forgiveness is a practice, a discipline made possible by the grace of God, not some heroic act of the will. It is something that we practice again and again, on a daily basis, until it becomes a part of who we are. Believe me just when you think you got it down something comes along and triggers old hurts or new pains and you find yourself angry, and vengeful all over again. – then we start praying all over again.
Forgiveness is not forgetting. One cannot forgive that which is forgotten. Forgiveness involves telling each other the painful truth, not to hold something over the other person but to find a way forward that breaks the cycle of eye-for-an-eye violence in which we so often find ourselves trapped. Forgiveness is not about becoming a doormat and relishing the role of victim. Forgiveness is about being victorious, freed from the horrible things others might have done to us. Likewise, forgiveness is not a strategy for turning our enemies into our friends; it is instead a grateful response to what God has done for us. We forgive others as a way of saying “thank you” to God, who in Christ has graciously forgiven us.
Finally, practicing forgiveness does not deny the possibility or the necessity of justice. Rather, it redefines justice, and ensures that it is God’s peculiar brand of justice we are practicing and not the retribution and retaliation that often masquerade as justice.
In calling us to forgive, Jesus offers us a different kind of justice that holds open the possibility of a new future, a way through the hurt and pain that can lead to resurrection and new life. Forgiveness is about having our lives defined by the justice of God’s kingdom rather than the justice of the kingdoms of this world.
Today is the anniversary of 9/11—a day when horrible atrocities were committed in the name of God. I remember being in my little studio in palm springs watching the news. I mean I turned on the tv and the events were in full on disaster mode. The news kept repeating the events over and over again.
At first we thought it was some kind of bizarre accident. I mean what else could it have been? Then the second plane struck. I just remember watching, crying, non-believing. I became numb as debris fell from the sky, as the news cameras caught the faces of the people running out and the firemen running in.
After watching repeatedly the plane crash into the building, hearing about the plane downed at the pentagon. Watching again the faces of people on the street and then the tower collapsed. Then the second tower collapsed and I could not watch any more. I had watched the events unfold over 4 or 5 hours. I had to get outside. I needed to find some people to be with.
I remember walking down palm canyon and there being hardly any traffic as I approached arenas there was no activity on the street. I went to the street bar for I knew most everyone there and sure enough there was a small click of my friends all sitting on the patio. As I got closer all I could hear was “let’s go bomb the hell out of them . . . yea we should kill ten of their s for each one of ours.”
I was hit with another mind numbing event. All I could think of was the families and their loved ones who needed care and help. Yet here was another side to that coin let’s get out and get revenge.
The better part of that day was the many of hundreds of heroes. Right here in our foyer there is the icon of Fr. Mychal Judge. Upon hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit, Father Judge rushed to the site. He was met by the Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, who asked him to pray for the city and its victims. Judge administered the Last Rites to some lying on the streets, then entered the lobby of the World Trade Center North Tower, where an emergency command post was organized. There he continued offering aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured and dead.
When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM, debris went flying through the North Tower lobby, killing many inside, including Judge. At the moment he was struck in the head and killed, Judge was repeatedly praying aloud, "Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!” according to Judge's biographer and New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly.
Shortly after his death, an NYPD lieutenant, who had also been buried in the collapse, found Judge's body and assisted by two firemen and two civilian bystanders carried it out of the North Tower lobby to nearby St Peter's Church.
Mychal Judge's body bag was labeled "Victim 0001," recognized as the first official victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. September 11, 2001 resulted in a total of 2,996 deaths More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center,Former President Bill Clinton was among the 3,000 people who attended his funeral, held on September 15 at St Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. It was presided over by Cardinal Edward Egan. President Clinton said that Judge's death was "a special loss. We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail".
Just this past Tuesday I was at an event at Claremont Lincoln university where the Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from south Africa addressed a group of students, alumni, and faculty. In the audience were Christian, Jewish, Muslim, jain and humanist. He said;
“Ten years ago we saw the danger of teaching religion and loving faith in old ways, we saw the terror unleashed by religious fundamentalists upon innocent people through an act that was the apotheosis of suicide missions in the name of God. That moment unleashed a decade that reinforced victimhood, violence, and militarism as the default position of the world and banished peace, compassion, and dialogue as concepts denoting weakness.”
The events of 9/11 led to a violent response from our own nation as it pursued “justice,” also in the name of God. Thousands of men, women, and children on all sides have lost their lives. Whatever we think or feel about the events of the past several years, it might be good for us to ask, “How does one follow Jesus and practice forgiveness in such a time?”
I have to be perfectly honest and say that I’m not entirely certain how to answer that question except to say that maybe Jesus knew there would be times such as these. One day on a hill by a lake, he gathered his disciples and told them to pray like this: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us. . . .” Perhaps that is where we begin. With all the hurt, pain, shame, guilt, anger, and betrayal, perhaps that is where we should begin today. Let us pray. “Our Father . . .” (David C. Hockett)
Just as a side not on Fr. Mychal Judge
Following his death a few of his friends and associates revealed that Father Mychal Judge was gay — as a matter of orientation rather than practice, as he was a celibate priest.[34][35] According to fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen: "I actually knew about his homosexuality when I was in the Uniformed Firefighters Association. I kept the secret, but then he told me when I became commissioner five years ago. He and I often laughed about it, because we knew how difficult it would have been for the other firemen to accept it as easily as I had. I just thought he was a phenomenal, warm, sincere man, and the fact that he was gay just had nothing to do with anything."
In conclusion I would like to recite a Muslim prayer of remembrance --Composed by Khadija Abdullah and Omar Ricci, Los Angeles, August 2002
Dear God, as our country remembers the heartbreaking events of September 11th, 2001, we humbly turn to You in prayer. At a time where our nation is facing unprecedented challenges, we need Your Spirit, Mercy, and Strength, now more than ever, to guide us down the right path.
Dear Lord, we pray that you have taken under Your Merciful wings those who innocently perished on that tragic day. We are grateful they were once a part of our lives. We thank You for the love and joy they gave their parents, spouses, children, friends, and co-workers. We thank You for the testimony of their faith in their churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. We thank you for the comfort and courage they extended to others in their last moments. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
Dear Almighty, shower Your comfort upon the families of the victims. We pray for all who searched the streets and hospital rooms and rubble with fading hopes of finding a dear one alive. Replace the pain in their hearts with the knowledge that their loved ones are in an abode of peace. We pray their tears of grief are replaced with a tranquility of the soul that only You can bestow. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
O' our Sustainer, bless the children of the victims. Bless them with bountiful lives, with direction and remembrance, with discipline and virtue. Bless them with all that is good, and protect them from all that is evil. May the loss of one or both parents be replaced by Your Merciful and Blessed guidance. For You are the best of all guides. May the country do what it must to ensure their future. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
Dear God, we pray for the rescue workers and volunteers from across the nation, who worked faithfully and tirelessly to find survivors and cleared the debris. Sustain them all, dear God and please answer our prayer.
O' Lord strengthen our nation and protect us from evil. Guide our leaders, elevate our society, and enrich the fabric of the country. Dear God, with Your compassion, please answer our prayer.
O' Most Merciful, we have seen the very worst that we are capable of - vengeance, greed, and murder. But we have seen the very best that we are capable of - courage, compassion, service, faith, heroism, community, love. Strengthen us and make us better people who will choose the latter and better way.
Dear God, it is in You that we place our ultimate trust; it is to You that we pray; it is to you that we ask for guidance.
Dear Almighty, please bless the victims; Dear Sustainer, please bless the families; Dear God, please bless America.
Amen.
--Composed by Khadija Abdullah and Omar Ricci, Los Angeles, August 2002
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Adults behaving Badly
Things change, Churches grow, communities shift as people come and grow. Now and then something dies. We don’t like it. We appropriately mourn and we move on. So why should it be a surprise when a little church choir that has slowly been diminishing is discontinued.
The church has to grow and adapt this includes music. We have decided to allow the choir concept to rest awhile as the membership along with the standards have lessened over the past few years. We have initiated a praise band that everyone seems to enjoy.
Yet be deleting an outdated “Music department” Suddenly people are in an uproar. Well 3 to 6 people at the most. Yet these people they have the right to pull other people outside and discuss and push their point of view. They feel they should disrupt service in order to discuss what they don’t like.
What they don’t like. . .
Change and growth, Beware in some small communities these can be fighting words. People are threatened by change. I actually heard a congregant say out loud I do not want this church to grow I like it just the way it is.
Imagine if Jesus felt that way. Imagine if the spirit felt that way. Our hearts would not be open to welcoming new and loving people into our midst. There would only be one church and only twelve members. The music would still be Hebrew chants.
Okay yes we can grieve and mourn the loss of a beloved choir. We can even be saddened that we no longer have a paying position for the person who directed the choir. But to choose to disrupt service and then when asked to be quiet because someone was praying telling that person to “Shut up!” Where is the Christianity in that?
The rumor mills and the gossip will persist. The concept that one person knows better than another of what is good for our church will persist. Heck even believing that I should be removed will persist. However, disrespecting others during Sunday service or behaving as gossipy back biting mean people in front of visitors that will not be allowed to persist.
There are ways and appropriate means to address what is disliked or perceived to be unfair. Office doors are open every day. People are willing to discuss and even just listen to each other’s sadness and pain. Then it is time to work together in order to make the changes that are happening come together smoothly. We need to open our hearts to the joy and the love that is the Christ with in each of us so that we can grow stronger as a community of faith.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Dangerous Dreamers
Today’s reading from Genesis is of Joseph and his dreams. It is hard for me to actually state it that way for one of my favorite cantatas slash musicals is “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor dream coat”. Even before that cantata was written this was still my absolute favorite biblical story growing up.
I remember as a child going to the doctor’s office. It didn’t matter if it was the podiatrist, the family doctor or the dentist they all had Childrens books of Bible stories. I would eagerly page through the stories till I arrived at the story of Jacob and His sons. I mean for one it is a story about a dreamer. As a kid I was a big time dreamer. I could day dream into new worlds imagine myself off on distant shores of strange and foreign lands and I was always the hero.
My family actually could not pick on me for being a dreamer because I was armed with the bible story, the story of Joseph and Jacob and Levi and Naphtali and Benjamin. Joseph was a dreamer and his dreams . . . well they got him places. Not always great places but they got him places. I had Biblical Justification to be a dreamer.
The story of Jacob’s family would make a wonderful television miniseries. As we read the tale of the twelve sons of Jacob, we can see so many elements of the story that ring true to not only ancient times but our modern times as well. At the beginning of today’s text, we see clear signs of sibling rivalry and family dysfunction. We are told outright that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. Jacob “loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves” (Genesis 37:3). Jacob demonstrates his favoritism, and it causes resentment among the brothers. Then, to make matters worse, Joseph is a tattletale. We are told that he was a helper to his brothers in their work and that he “brought a bad report of them to their father” (v. 2). All of these factors create animosity between the brothers, and “they hated [Joseph], and could not speak peaceably to him” (v. 4).
Yet I think the straw that broke the camel’s back and caused true division among the brothers was not simply the favoritism or the tattling, but Joseph’s dreams. Today’s text does not include verses 5-11, but these verses are crucial to understanding the rest of the story of Jacob’s children. Joseph dreams of sheaves bowing down to his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. It is in the sharing of these dreams that “they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words” (37:8). Joseph’s dreams place him in a position of honor and authority, and neither his brothers nor his father respond well to this vision of the future. Yet, we know that these dreams are from God, and speak to the future of not only Joseph but also his family for generations to come.
When I think on this story I often wonder about the hatred that Joseph’s brothers felt for him. Things come to a head rather quickly in the story after Joseph goes to find his brothers as they shepherd the flocks. “They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him’ ” (37:18-20). The dreams that Joseph articulates most threaten the brothers. When they hear Joseph share the vision of the future that God has given to him, they respond in violence and hatred. History proves that it is sometimes the dreamers in our world that we find most threatening.
I think about Martin Luther King, Jr., articulating a dream of unity. We remember his sermon on the Washington Mall, where he spoke of a day when people would be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. This was a dream from God about a future of hope and inclusiveness.
The dreamer was a threat to the status quo, and, ultimately, those who resisted his words and his dream silenced him.
I think of Archbishop Oscar Romero, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in San Salvador. Archbishop Romero was a pioneer in liberation theology, and he worked with the poor and oppressed. He spoke with a strong, clear voice about the need for basic human rights to be observed. He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. As a result, Romero began to be noticed internationally. He lived his life among those who had the least in terms of material possessions. Romero was a dreamer, and he was assassinated as he presided over worship.
I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who, studied under Reinhold Niebuhr and met Frank Fisher, a black fellow seminarian who introduced him to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where Bonhoeffer taught Sunday school and formed a life-long love for African-American spirituals — a collection of which he took back to Germany. He heard Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. preach the Gospel of Social Justice and became sensitive not only to social injustices experienced by minorities but also the ineptitude of the church to bring about integration. Bonhoeffer began to see things "from below" — from the perspective of those who suffer oppression. He observed, "Here one can truly speak and hear about sin and grace and the love of God...the Black Christ is preached with rapturous passion and vision."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer fought against Nazism in World War II. He was a leader in the Confessing Church and became involved in the anti-Hitler resistance movement. He was arrested, charged, and found guilty of sedition in a plot to assassinate Hitler. He was hanged for his resistance to Nazism, but he continues to speak to us through his writings, as he encourages the church to live out its prophetic calling within community. Bonhoeffer was a dreamer who bravely lived out what his conscience dictated, even when it meant going against the powerful structure of Nazism and public sentiment.
I think of Dorothy Day who established the Catholic Worker movement, a nonviolent, pacifist movement that continues to combine direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term.
The Catholic Worker attitude toward those who were welcomed wasn't always appreciated. These weren't the "deserving poor," it was sometimes objected, but drunkards and good-for-nothings. A visiting social worker asked Day how long the "clients" were permitted to stay. "We let them stay forever," Day answered with a fierce look in her eye. "They live with us, they die with us, and we give them a Christian burial. We pray for them after they are dead. Once they are taken in, they become members of the family. Or rather they always were members of the family. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ."
Some justified their objections with biblical quotations. Didn't Jesus say that the poor would be with us always? "Yes," Day once replied, "but we are not content that there should be so many of them.”
Another Catholic Worker stress was the civil rights movement. As usual Day wanted to visit people who were setting an example and therefore went to Koinonia, a Christian agricultural community in rural Georgia where blacks and whites lived peacefully together. The community was under attack when Day visited in 1957. One of the community houses had been hit by machine-gun fire and Ku Klux Klan members had burned crosses on community land. Day insisted on taking a turn at the sentry post. Noticing an approaching car had reduced its speed, she ducked just as a bullet struck the steering column in front of her face. This wouldn’t be the last bullet she dodged. Dorothy day was a dreamer and the Catholic worker movement continues to this day.
I think of Harvey Milk who, to quote time magazine, There was a time when it was impossible for people--straight or gay--even to imagine a Harvey Milk. The funny thing about Milk is that he didn't seem to care that he lived in such a time. After he defied the governing class of San Francisco in 1977 to become a member of its board of supervisors, many people--straight and gay--had to adjust to a new reality he embodied: that a gay person could live an honest life and succeed.”
The magazine goes on to say that “The few gays who had scratched their way into the city's establishment blanched when Milk announced his first run for supervisor in 1973, but Milk had a powerful idea: he would reach downward, not upward, for support. He convinced the growing gay masses of "Sodom by the Sea" that they could have a role in city leadership, and they turned out to form "human billboards" for him along major thoroughfares. In doing so, they outed themselves in a way once unthinkable. It was invigorating.” Harvey Milk was a dreamer, he dreamed of giving the gay community hope and living openly and honestly, for these beliefs he was assassinated.
These five individuals are just a few examples of those who have had dreams placed upon their hearts, and who showed great courage in living out their convictions. They had a dream of what a just world would look like, and they spoke the truth of God to all who would listen. Yes I include Harvey in that for anyone who speaks of freedom, Justice and equality for all is speaking Gods truth. Though these people spoke the truth, they were not always embraced and some paid the price with their lives. Dreamers like Joseph sometimes end up in the bottom of a dark, deep pit.
The interesting things about dreamers and their dreams, these stories seem to say to be a dreamer is dangerous, you can be beaten, left to die, shot at, assassinated and yet, and yet the dream manages to live. A dream that is good and true is like a spark in dry timber it ignites and grows till the light can be seen and carried by many.
Today I have here on the altar a Paperweight. I love paperweights and Glass. It is amazing what happens to individual grains of sand when they are heated up inspired by the fire they come together to make glass. Then the master glass blower shapes it and coxes the glass into a shape that takes on meaning and beauty.
I was actually at the factory when this was created. I was shown around and introduced to many of the master crafts people. This husband and wife team was working on their newest project and they just opened the doors to their cooling kiln. You have to let the heated glass cool slowly otherwise it may crack or break. They pulled out their newest creation and its name was “Joseph and the dream coat!” I tell you I was thrilled and amazed I wanted to get one there and then. Unfortunately the company keeps number one. I had to go home and wait to order mine and have it shipped. This is it number 60 out of 76. Sometimes it takes a while to see a dream come to fruition. Sometimes it is not even in one’s lifetime.
In Andrew Lloyd Webbers retelling of Joseph we see Joseph in his darkest hour, in his prison cell when all dreams should be shattered and yet he still keeps his dreams alive. “Close every door to me,
Keep those I love from me Children of Israel Are never alone For we know we shall find Our own peace of mind For we have been promised A land of our own” Even in despair the dreamer knows the dream is bigger than just one dreamer.
The church today continues to need those who are open to the movement of God in their lives, and who will dream divine dreams of what the world might become through the power and grace of God, and we must acknowledge, that to be a dreamer, is dangerous. Those around us are not always willing to hear words of challenge or confrontation. The community of faith is sometimes resistant to the very changes that are most needed. The world will not understand the way of Jesus Christ. Those around us may not embrace the ways of God.
Dreamers sound naive at best and crazy at worst. Dreamers proclaim that the meek are blessed. Dreamers proclaim that there should be equality among the races, the sexes and the genders. Dreamers demand that the outcasts be welcomed. Dreamers beat plowshares into pruning hooks. Dreamers believe all humanity should live as one and care for this earth. The world is in need of dreamers. Are we willing to risk our lives in proclaiming the truth? Are we willing to risk our lives to embrace the dreams of God? Are we willing to allow a dream of heaven on earth become a reality and allow the kindom of God to manifest here and now? Well we can dream can’t we! Amen!
I remember as a child going to the doctor’s office. It didn’t matter if it was the podiatrist, the family doctor or the dentist they all had Childrens books of Bible stories. I would eagerly page through the stories till I arrived at the story of Jacob and His sons. I mean for one it is a story about a dreamer. As a kid I was a big time dreamer. I could day dream into new worlds imagine myself off on distant shores of strange and foreign lands and I was always the hero.
My family actually could not pick on me for being a dreamer because I was armed with the bible story, the story of Joseph and Jacob and Levi and Naphtali and Benjamin. Joseph was a dreamer and his dreams . . . well they got him places. Not always great places but they got him places. I had Biblical Justification to be a dreamer.
The story of Jacob’s family would make a wonderful television miniseries. As we read the tale of the twelve sons of Jacob, we can see so many elements of the story that ring true to not only ancient times but our modern times as well. At the beginning of today’s text, we see clear signs of sibling rivalry and family dysfunction. We are told outright that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. Jacob “loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves” (Genesis 37:3). Jacob demonstrates his favoritism, and it causes resentment among the brothers. Then, to make matters worse, Joseph is a tattletale. We are told that he was a helper to his brothers in their work and that he “brought a bad report of them to their father” (v. 2). All of these factors create animosity between the brothers, and “they hated [Joseph], and could not speak peaceably to him” (v. 4).
Yet I think the straw that broke the camel’s back and caused true division among the brothers was not simply the favoritism or the tattling, but Joseph’s dreams. Today’s text does not include verses 5-11, but these verses are crucial to understanding the rest of the story of Jacob’s children. Joseph dreams of sheaves bowing down to his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. It is in the sharing of these dreams that “they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words” (37:8). Joseph’s dreams place him in a position of honor and authority, and neither his brothers nor his father respond well to this vision of the future. Yet, we know that these dreams are from God, and speak to the future of not only Joseph but also his family for generations to come.
When I think on this story I often wonder about the hatred that Joseph’s brothers felt for him. Things come to a head rather quickly in the story after Joseph goes to find his brothers as they shepherd the flocks. “They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him’ ” (37:18-20). The dreams that Joseph articulates most threaten the brothers. When they hear Joseph share the vision of the future that God has given to him, they respond in violence and hatred. History proves that it is sometimes the dreamers in our world that we find most threatening.
I think about Martin Luther King, Jr., articulating a dream of unity. We remember his sermon on the Washington Mall, where he spoke of a day when people would be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. This was a dream from God about a future of hope and inclusiveness.
The dreamer was a threat to the status quo, and, ultimately, those who resisted his words and his dream silenced him.
I think of Archbishop Oscar Romero, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in San Salvador. Archbishop Romero was a pioneer in liberation theology, and he worked with the poor and oppressed. He spoke with a strong, clear voice about the need for basic human rights to be observed. He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. As a result, Romero began to be noticed internationally. He lived his life among those who had the least in terms of material possessions. Romero was a dreamer, and he was assassinated as he presided over worship.
I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who, studied under Reinhold Niebuhr and met Frank Fisher, a black fellow seminarian who introduced him to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where Bonhoeffer taught Sunday school and formed a life-long love for African-American spirituals — a collection of which he took back to Germany. He heard Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. preach the Gospel of Social Justice and became sensitive not only to social injustices experienced by minorities but also the ineptitude of the church to bring about integration. Bonhoeffer began to see things "from below" — from the perspective of those who suffer oppression. He observed, "Here one can truly speak and hear about sin and grace and the love of God...the Black Christ is preached with rapturous passion and vision."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer fought against Nazism in World War II. He was a leader in the Confessing Church and became involved in the anti-Hitler resistance movement. He was arrested, charged, and found guilty of sedition in a plot to assassinate Hitler. He was hanged for his resistance to Nazism, but he continues to speak to us through his writings, as he encourages the church to live out its prophetic calling within community. Bonhoeffer was a dreamer who bravely lived out what his conscience dictated, even when it meant going against the powerful structure of Nazism and public sentiment.
I think of Dorothy Day who established the Catholic Worker movement, a nonviolent, pacifist movement that continues to combine direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term.
The Catholic Worker attitude toward those who were welcomed wasn't always appreciated. These weren't the "deserving poor," it was sometimes objected, but drunkards and good-for-nothings. A visiting social worker asked Day how long the "clients" were permitted to stay. "We let them stay forever," Day answered with a fierce look in her eye. "They live with us, they die with us, and we give them a Christian burial. We pray for them after they are dead. Once they are taken in, they become members of the family. Or rather they always were members of the family. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ."
Some justified their objections with biblical quotations. Didn't Jesus say that the poor would be with us always? "Yes," Day once replied, "but we are not content that there should be so many of them.”
Another Catholic Worker stress was the civil rights movement. As usual Day wanted to visit people who were setting an example and therefore went to Koinonia, a Christian agricultural community in rural Georgia where blacks and whites lived peacefully together. The community was under attack when Day visited in 1957. One of the community houses had been hit by machine-gun fire and Ku Klux Klan members had burned crosses on community land. Day insisted on taking a turn at the sentry post. Noticing an approaching car had reduced its speed, she ducked just as a bullet struck the steering column in front of her face. This wouldn’t be the last bullet she dodged. Dorothy day was a dreamer and the Catholic worker movement continues to this day.
I think of Harvey Milk who, to quote time magazine, There was a time when it was impossible for people--straight or gay--even to imagine a Harvey Milk. The funny thing about Milk is that he didn't seem to care that he lived in such a time. After he defied the governing class of San Francisco in 1977 to become a member of its board of supervisors, many people--straight and gay--had to adjust to a new reality he embodied: that a gay person could live an honest life and succeed.”
The magazine goes on to say that “The few gays who had scratched their way into the city's establishment blanched when Milk announced his first run for supervisor in 1973, but Milk had a powerful idea: he would reach downward, not upward, for support. He convinced the growing gay masses of "Sodom by the Sea" that they could have a role in city leadership, and they turned out to form "human billboards" for him along major thoroughfares. In doing so, they outed themselves in a way once unthinkable. It was invigorating.” Harvey Milk was a dreamer, he dreamed of giving the gay community hope and living openly and honestly, for these beliefs he was assassinated.
These five individuals are just a few examples of those who have had dreams placed upon their hearts, and who showed great courage in living out their convictions. They had a dream of what a just world would look like, and they spoke the truth of God to all who would listen. Yes I include Harvey in that for anyone who speaks of freedom, Justice and equality for all is speaking Gods truth. Though these people spoke the truth, they were not always embraced and some paid the price with their lives. Dreamers like Joseph sometimes end up in the bottom of a dark, deep pit.
The interesting things about dreamers and their dreams, these stories seem to say to be a dreamer is dangerous, you can be beaten, left to die, shot at, assassinated and yet, and yet the dream manages to live. A dream that is good and true is like a spark in dry timber it ignites and grows till the light can be seen and carried by many.
Today I have here on the altar a Paperweight. I love paperweights and Glass. It is amazing what happens to individual grains of sand when they are heated up inspired by the fire they come together to make glass. Then the master glass blower shapes it and coxes the glass into a shape that takes on meaning and beauty.
I was actually at the factory when this was created. I was shown around and introduced to many of the master crafts people. This husband and wife team was working on their newest project and they just opened the doors to their cooling kiln. You have to let the heated glass cool slowly otherwise it may crack or break. They pulled out their newest creation and its name was “Joseph and the dream coat!” I tell you I was thrilled and amazed I wanted to get one there and then. Unfortunately the company keeps number one. I had to go home and wait to order mine and have it shipped. This is it number 60 out of 76. Sometimes it takes a while to see a dream come to fruition. Sometimes it is not even in one’s lifetime.
In Andrew Lloyd Webbers retelling of Joseph we see Joseph in his darkest hour, in his prison cell when all dreams should be shattered and yet he still keeps his dreams alive. “Close every door to me,
Keep those I love from me Children of Israel Are never alone For we know we shall find Our own peace of mind For we have been promised A land of our own” Even in despair the dreamer knows the dream is bigger than just one dreamer.
The church today continues to need those who are open to the movement of God in their lives, and who will dream divine dreams of what the world might become through the power and grace of God, and we must acknowledge, that to be a dreamer, is dangerous. Those around us are not always willing to hear words of challenge or confrontation. The community of faith is sometimes resistant to the very changes that are most needed. The world will not understand the way of Jesus Christ. Those around us may not embrace the ways of God.
Dreamers sound naive at best and crazy at worst. Dreamers proclaim that the meek are blessed. Dreamers proclaim that there should be equality among the races, the sexes and the genders. Dreamers demand that the outcasts be welcomed. Dreamers beat plowshares into pruning hooks. Dreamers believe all humanity should live as one and care for this earth. The world is in need of dreamers. Are we willing to risk our lives in proclaiming the truth? Are we willing to risk our lives to embrace the dreams of God? Are we willing to allow a dream of heaven on earth become a reality and allow the kindom of God to manifest here and now? Well we can dream can’t we! Amen!
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