Wednesday's Noontime Homily

A reading from the gospel of John, the 12^th chapter:

³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.³⁷Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.³⁸This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”³⁹And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.”⁴¹Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him.  ⁴²Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;⁴³for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Midweek Lenten Service

March 7, 2012
John 12:36-43

 Please pray with me,

Lord God, you kept Abraham and Sarah in safety throughout the days of their pilgrimage, you led the children of Israel through the midst of the sea, and by a star you led the Wise Men to the infant Jesus.  Protect and guide us now in this time as we travel through the season of Lent.  Make our ways safe and our homecomings joyful, and bring us at last to our heavenly home where you dwell in glory with your son and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen. 

Growing up I remember listening to the story called The Point.  Back in the day, we would listen to it on a record….now, it’s on my iPod.  Well, the story is about a boy named Oblio and he is the only round headed person who lives in the land of Point, everyone else has points on their heads, so he is banished to the pointless forest, but here’s the thing….all the trees have points on them….and all the branches on the trees have points….so Oblio is confused….how can this be the pointless forest if there are points all around us? 

Luckily, he runs into the rockman, who, in his infinite wisdom says, “You see what you wanna see.  And you hear what you wanna hear.” 

He asks Oblio, “Did you ever see Paris?”

No.

“Well, did you ever see New Dehli?” 

No.

"Well that’s it….You see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear…."

How true is that in our lives today?  That we see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear?

As we heard in our gospel passage today, that people were able to see Jesus in their midst, to see the healing, hear his teaching….and have their hearts and eyes opened to see Jesus as the Messiah….yet, they struggled with believing or telling others about it because of the laws of the land and the synagogue. 

The passage quoted from Isaiah says their hearts were hardened…

What hardens our hearts…

When we see God at work in our midst and in the world around us, what keeps us from seeing those amazing moments? 

Is it the sin in our hearts, that turns us in on ourselves? 

Is it the self-centeredness that causes us just to focus on our own selves? 
Is it the worry of what friends or neighbors will say if we talk about our congregation or our faith? 
Is it our quest for human glory?  For our own needs and desires…?  For our own glory? 

God is constantly at work in the world around us….in the joys and celebrations and in the struggles, sickness and pain that we face. 

How are we being turned this season…turned away from ourselves to see God at work in our world here and now. 

How are we being turned from living in fear, sickness, and scarcity, so see the abundant love, hope and trust in our midst here and now? 

Listen to something I read this week:

“The good news involves both the transformation of the mind and the healing

of the body. It also involves the leaving behind of some cherished traditions;

often the greatest force of opposition to renewal is not the evils of this world

but a clinging to past goods. It has been said that the good is often the worst
enemy of the best, and it is so in this case.” [Witherington, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 250-1]

Now, where we go from here?

Do we allow ourselves to get caught up in the ways things have always been

done?
Do we fall into the trap of sin and focus just on our individual needs?

Or are we turned…even just for the moment…outside of ourselves, to see the

needs of others, to see that the mission of God is at work in the world…and
that we are all connected and dependent upon one another…?

Or are we able to see the transformation of our minds and the healing of our bodies…as the presence of God in our world and in our lives? 

I pray that this Lent is a time for us all to be turned away from ourselves and towards others. To see the freedom we have from sin and death…to love and serve our neighbors. And to claim the cross…not as our own burden, but as the way God has shown and continues to show and unending love and forgiveness for each and every one of us.

May our eyes be opened to see that transformation.

May we see Christ in our midst here and now.

May we share this abundant love and grace with others as it has already been shared with us.

And now may the peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.

preaching to the pastor.

So this was the sermon for this past weekend.  While Dr. Carlson was here from Gettysburg Seminary on Sunday morning, this was the message folks heard if they were here Saturday or Sunday evening.  See my reflections on how it played out on Sunday evening after the sermon....

January 15, 2012

Second Sunday after Epiphany

1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John 1:43-51

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen. 

We’ve just heard the story of god calling to Samuel, I’d like to share another story with you. 

It is something that happened to Kelly Fryer, a former Lutheran Pastor.   

Can you remember what you were doing the second weekend in November 2001? 

Kelly can. 

For over a year, she had been scheduled to speak that weekend at a conference outside of Washington, D.C. After the events of September 11, 2001, the conference organizers agreed they would not be frightened into changing their plans. 

Heeding the dire warnings about long lines at the airport, she arrived three hours early.  Even so, she was the last one to the gate.  Huffing and puffing, she made her way down the jet bridge and onto the plane, which was packed full, in spite of the fear that still gripped most of us. 

Pulling a little suitcase behind her and carrying both a guitar and a briefcase with her laptop in it, she made her way down the crowded aisle toward her seat.  Naturally, it was the last one on the plane. 

As if she wasn’t being intrusive enough, suddenly one of the flight attendants started walking towards her from the back of the plane – and talking to her.  “You must be Kelly!” he said a little eerily and loudly enough to elicit glares from many of the other frazzled, frisked and freaked-out passengers who suddenly realized the cause of their delay. 

The attendant continued, “A guitar, huh?  Looks like you’re going to be playing some music!”  In the middle of that deadly quiet airplane, it felt like he was shouting.  “What kind do you play?”

“Ummm….all kinds,” she said, feeling her cheeks go red.  He took some of her bags and helped her down the aisle. 

“What are you going to D.C. for?” he asked her.

“A conference,” she answered quickly, trying as unobtrusively as she could to reach her seat.

“Sounds great! Are you playing your guitar at the conference?” ….and so this awkward banter continued all the way to the back of the plane, where he helped her stow her gear.

After he moved away, she settled in for takeoff.  She had just closed her eyes to rest, when suddenly the “helpful” attendant reappeared. 

“Kelly,” he said softly, conspiratorial now, like a fifth grade friend scheming something behind the teacher’s back.

Her eyes popped open to see him crouching down beside her.

“Yeeesss,” she said suspiciously.

“See that guy sitting two seats in front of you on the other side of the aisle?”

Now, of course, he had her undivided attention.

“If he does anything suspicious, let me know.”

And the attendant stood up and walked away.

Kelly was dumbfounded.  The first thing she thought was….something I can’t say in church.  The second thing she thought was that 9-11 must have made this poor attendant go right off the deep end.  But the third thing she thought was, What if that guy does do something suspicious?”

She never took her eyes off the guy the whole trip.  As soon as the captain gave the “okay,” she grabbed her laptop because it was the heaviest thing she had as a weapon if need be.

Well, nothing happened on that flight.  They landed in D.C. and people piled off the plane, oblivious to the excitement going on (in Kelly’s imagination.)  All the while they were deplaning; she was trying to decide whether to report the odd behavior of the flight attendant. 

The man she had been “watching” was among the very last off the plane, of course, and Kelly was just a few feet behind him. 

So, she got an eyeful as the huddle of D.C. police officers and FBI agents, who had been waiting for him on the Jetway, hauled him away in handcuffs. 

“Are you kidding me?!?,” Kelly thought to herself, flabbergasted as she shuffled through the airport to find her shuttle.  “You are totally kidding me, right?  I mean, am I the best plan they’ve got?”

Have you ever felt that way?  Or wondered why you were the one called or chosen for something? 

Well, look around you….you’re not alone. 

We’ve all been called together….in this place….in this community of faith….to be the body of Christ here and now in the world around us. 

We are the ordinary…the imperfect…a band of misfits, if you will….answering God’s call to be in this place here and now. 

We also answer the call as we continue to do things in this place and in our community so that people may see God’s love and grace in the world around us. 

God called Samuel…it took several times for Samuel to figure out that God was calling to him, but with Eli’s help, he figured out whose voice was calling. 

And he said, here I am Lord, speak for your servant is listening.    Samuel was only 12…but that didn’t matter.  God had chosen him and called him to be a part of God’s plan to love and save and bless the world.  And that didn’t mean smooth sailing for Samuel. 

Samuel had to deliver tough news to a priest, nonetheless.  God's words to Samuel were hard to hear and even harder to speak to others, for they involved judgment against Eli's own children. Like Samuel, God's call often involves working to change human systems that are broken, leading one down difficult paths.

God's call comes when we least expect it and often to those we least expect. God is always the God of surprises. We, as the church, need to be like Eli, encouraging everyone to hear the voice that calls them forth into all they are created to be. At the same time, we help each other to tell the truth, even when the truth is hard to hear.

We might hear this story of Samuel and think, really God?  He’s the best you’ve got?

Just like when God calls to each of us…we may question why God has called us to be a part of this amazing mission to love and save the world. 

But God continues to call….and call….and call……and God’s people have been answering for thousands of years…..how have you heard God’s call?  And how is God calling you to serve? 

Who teaches the children in Sunday School?  Ordinary people, like you and like me, whom God has equipped for teaching and leading.  Does God call all of us to do this?  Probably not all of us….

So who takes care of setting up and cleaning up as part of the Altar Guild?  Ordinary people, like you and like me, whom God has equipped for set up and cleanup.  Does God call all of us to do this?  Maybe…

Who greets people as they come in to worship?  Ordinary people, like you and like me, whom God has equipped for welcoming and inviting.  Does God call all of us to do this?  I think so. 

Are you catching on here? 

Who shares the good news of God being at work in the world around us?  Who tells others about what God is doing in this place – at Trinity – and in our community and world?  Ordinary people, like you and like me.  Does God call all of us to do this? 

You’d better believe it. 

Maybe we get nervous about talking about our faith…or talking about church, but think about this: 

 “The act of testifying is personal, but never private, which means discipleship is a shared and sharing enterprise conducive to nurturing community that is centered in ongoing testimony about Jesus.”

The act of testifying….of sharing the good news of Jesus, of telling others to come and see is an opportunity to share something that is near and dear to our hearts.  But it isn’t private, it’s something we share with one another, in this nurturing faith community that is centered around God’s love, forgiveness and grace. 

And it is something God calls each of us to do…because we’re the best the best plan God’s got.

May God bless us all as we go and invite others to come and see and may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say amen. 

So, there I was asking those gathered who teaches our Sunday School...well at the contemporary service there was a teacher right there....there she was in our midst talking about being a Sunday School teacher and talking about how that morning at worship her grandad was a greeter.  In the midst of proclaiming the good message of God at work in the world around us - here and now - here was this awesome young woman telling me about the gifts that she and here grandad have....she was pointing out to me how God is busy at work through the ordinary peopler (like you and like me) to continue to show the world forgiveness, love and undending grace. 

Again, I give thanks for the opportunity to serve here at Trinity.  And the opportunity to hear the gospel preached to me...in places and times I least expect it. 

Until the next moment of grace . . .

Running through Advent

The season of Christmas is almost upon us. 

This season of Advent has seemed to fly right by....the two practices I took on this season were prayer and running.  (Sometimes, depending on the distance of the run, these go hand in hand.)  This year, like last year, after the advent wreath was put together, I cut out yellow stars and placed them in a blue bowl in the center of the wreath.  Each day as I lit the wreath, I pulled out a star and included that person, those people or group of folks in prayer throughout the day.  I am thanful for the opportunity to take the time while I pray to think about others and bring them into prayer and bring me out of myself.

I love that the mantle is covered with stars and as I walk by I think of all those who have journeyed with me this advent.  Last year at this time, it was a time of much unrest for me.  Between anticipating a new call in Robesonia, and saying goodbyes in Indiana, I was surrounded by boxes and packing and goodbyes and deep breaths.  While I knew that the right decisions had been made, in the midst of it all I found it hard to just be.  I am thankful for the opportunity to reflect upon this time last year with a sense of calm and happiness that God has called me to this place.  I continue to pray for those who are in the midst of anxious times, unrest and uncertainty.  It is exactly into that situation that God sent Jesus into the world.  Into a world needing love, forgiveness and understanding.  It was a world that was looking for hope, salvation and a new beginning.  It is into that world, here and now that we are ready to receive the Christ child (again) in our midst this coming Christmas Eve.  May we be reminded the God breaks into our world - just as it is - to claim us, to love us and to send us into this broken world as agents of God's grace to those who surround us. 

May you have time this Christmas Eve to gather together in worship, in song, in prayer and at the Lord's Table to receive the greatest gift ever given. 

God's peace . . .

Congratulations! It's a boy!

December 18^th, 2011

4^th Sunday of Advent

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

Romans 16:25-27

Luke 1:26-38

Please pray with me, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen. 

On this 4^th Sunday of Advent, we hear the story of Mary.  A story that we seem to know by heart,

^26-28In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

   Good morning!
   You're beautiful with God's beauty,
   Beautiful inside and out!
   God be with you.

 ^29-33She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

   He will be great,
      be called 'Son of the Highest.'
   The Lord God will give him
      the throne of his father David;
   He will rule Jacob's house forever—
      no end, ever, to his kingdom."

 ³⁴Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man."

 ³⁵The angel answered,

   The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
      the power of the Highest hover over you;
   Therefore, the child you bring to birth
      will be called Holy, Son of God.

 ^36-38"And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."

   And Mary said,

   Yes, I see it all now:
      I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
   Let it be with me
      just as you say.

   Then the angel left her.

As we continue to prepare our hearts and our homes and our lives for the moment God breaks into our world, as we continue to point to the coming Messiah, this week gives us an opportunity to focus on Mary’s call story.  We hear this week how God broke into Mary’s heart and Mary’s life and told her what her part in God’s plan would be. 

This is some pretty amazing stuff going on here, because here’s the thing about Mary.  She wasn’t dubbed Miss Nazareth, she hadn’t entered and won the sweepstakes to bear God’s son.  She was a humble young woman, betrothed to Joseph just living her life.  She had no idea that this great call would come to her.  And when the message came to her, she didn’t say, oh wait, let me think about this. 

She didn’t say, now, how will this impact my life, my family, my future.?

She didn’t say, woah, what will the townspeople, my parents and Joseph think of me?

While she may have had some of these thoughts, she doesn’t take the time to voice them. 

The angel doesn’t come to Mary and say, how would you feel about being the mother to God’s son?  Would you be up for it?  Say Mary, here’s God’s amazing plan for saving the world, are you okay with playing a key role in it? 

Nope, the angel doesn’t really give her the option to answer….because God has called her.

God has chosen Mary.  There’s no opportunity to say no, because she’s the one. 

Mary does, however, ask, “How can this be?” 

She is human, of course and probably was wondering about the details…who wouldn’t? 

But this doesn’t deter her from saying yes. 

She is an amazing woman.  She hears God’s call in her life and she responds, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

In the midst of the season where we are preparing for God with us, Emmanuel, to be in our presence, in our hearts and in our world…sometimes this story seems like an amazing, one in a million occurrence of God calling one of God’s chosen to join in on the mission of saving the world.  And what makes this story amazing….is that Mary says yes.  She hears God’s call for her and she responds, positively. 

So, how does this story speak to us this day? 

God is breaking into our hearts every single day.  God is calling each and every one of us to be a part of this mission to love and save the world. 

We may not be called upon to physically give birth to the Son of God. 

But that does not belittle the fact that through our baptism, we have been called, by God, to live out lives of love and service to others, to bring Christ into the world. 

Mary was called to do a very tangible thing, to birth God’s love into the world, to proclaim that God’s promises are fulfilled.  Aren’t we asked to do the same? 

Meister Eckhart, a medieval mystic and theologian wrote, “We are all meant to be mothers of God.  What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself?  And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace?  What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to the Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and in my culture?  This, then is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us.” 

God comes to each and every one of us, proclaiming good news of great joy to all people. 

We are each called and claimed and sent into this world to bear Christ to those around us. 

How will you hear God’s call this day? 

How will you live out the promise God made with you in baptism, that you are loved and saved, claimed and sent? 

How will your words and actions bring Christ into your home, your school, your place of work, the community and the world? 

    Good morning!
   You're beautiful with God's beauty,
   Beautiful inside and out!
   God be with you.

Now go and bear Christ to the world.  Through what you say and what you do.  Through your ability to see others in the world and respond to their needs.  Through letting go of the things that get in the way of proclaiming Christ in your words and deeds. 

Go, bear Christ to the world! For he is coming and he is with us. 

And may the peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people say, amen. 

joyful thoughts on abundance

December 11, 2011

The 3^rd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Psalm 126

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock and our Redeemer.  Amen. 

It’s all about me.

How many times have we felt that?  Or said that?  It’s all about me.  The day, the world, all others out there revolve around me, myself and I. 

Pretty selfish thought, isn’t it?  But it’s a thought we’ve probably all had.  I don’t want to point fingers at society, but we live in a culture that promotes ‘self.’  We can get the best cars, homes, Christmas decorations, clothing, smart phones.  Whatever you need to put you on top, you can get it.  And if you have a smartphone…you don’t even need to leave your house, you can place an order from the bookstore to the grocery store….and have it all delivered to your door. 

In this society we may even tend to want people and places to meet our expectations.  This is my community….and this is how things are done.  This is my church….and this is how we do things. 

When things revolve around us, we expect them to meet our expectations, we expect them to fit into the molds that we have created for them…we expect everything to meet our needs, our desires, our expectations. 

It’s all about me. 

Maybe that’s why the message of John the Baptist is calling out to us, or shouting out to us in the midst of this Advent season.  John is saying…Hey!  It’s not about you! 

Okay, that may be reading into it just a little bit.  But our gospel passage today is about John, but not about John.  He was sent from God to testify, to witness....those words come up many times in our lesson today, he was sent to point to Christ, to turn people towards Christ, to help people prepare for the coming Messiah. 

When the priests ask who John is…he is clear about who he is not. 

I am NOT the Messiah.

I am NOT Elijah.

I am NOT the prophet. 

He is the voice….the one who cries out “Make straight the way of the Lord!” 

John is not the one who will save us.

John is not the savior, the redeemer, the one who will turn the world upside down. 

John is clear here, that it’s not about him.  It’s not all about John.  Even though he is a fellow who draws our attention because of his looks and his diet, as soon as he catches our eye…he redirects us.  He turns us away from himself.

He turns us away from ourselves. 

He points and he turns us toward the coming Messiah. 

John’s message of repentance and preparation calls us to turn away from ourselves, our needs, our self-focus…and towards Christ in our midst here and now. 

Where is Christ here and now in our midst? 

Nope, not a trick question….where is Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, here and now? 

Let’s hear some examples….

I’m sure we could go on and on and go all around the sanctuary and here about different examples of the presence of Christ in our lives, in our community and in our world right now.  And the reason we could go on and on and on is because God is at work in our world, right now.  God is on a mission to love and save the world.  And that mission has been happening and continues to happen.  The mission doesn’t stop to see if we’re ready to hop on….we just answer the call to serve and jump right in. 

The trick is first, to spot what’s happening, you need to be on the lookout for God’s activity in the world…for Christ’s presence here and now in our midst. 

Then you have to tell others about it.  Tell your friends about where God is with us here and now.  Just like we shared those examples with one another.  But it’s more than just telling the story of the good news of Jesus Christ.   It’s more than just seeing it around you and telling others about it. 

It’s about responding to the covenant, that promise that God made with each of you in baptism.  It’s about responding to God’s love for you.  It’s about responding to God’s grace.  It’s about being an active part in the mission that is already going on around you. 

Because when you see all that is going on in the world…all the places that God is at work in the world, blessing people, loving people and saving people….it’s pretty amazing. 

And that good news, that love and that grace is unending…it’s not going to run out.  It’s not going to stop….it’s like the energizer bunny…it keeps going and going and going….

When we see that abundance, it’s easy to give. 

When we are worried about not having enough, or living in scarcity, then it’s hard. 

But we live in abundance. 

We have enough and more….

One of my favorite stories from a former parishioner is this. 

As soon as this couple was married…they decided they would tithe to the church.  They didn’t make much money, but they decided they would give 10 percent to the church first, then live off the rest.  They weren’t rich, by any means, but they got by.  They went through some tough times, but they kept up the commitment they made to the church.  Eventually the husband got a better job, the money flowed in much faster and in greater amounts then it had before. 

Their giving of 10 percent remained….all of the sudden they looked at their statement and were shocked as to how much they were giving to the church.  But the giving continued….

To this day, (as a retired couple) they commit to give 10 percent to the church, which doesn’t included baked goods for different events, donations to youth trips, donating supplies to the food pantry or buying gifts for needy youth at Christmastime. 

I know that, especially at this time of year, there is worry about having enough…and as soon as we do, we are forgetting that God is a God of abundance and generosity.  John helps us remember that it is not about us…and our needs…but it is about pointing others to Christ in our midst here and now. 

We have an abundance of gifts within this congregation.  Just look around you…all the ministries and activities that happen in this place are because we are alive and active in our response to God’s grace and love in our own lives. 

Think about how your time, talents and treasure help Trinity to point to Christ in our community. 

How will that commitment continue in the coming year? 

And how will that commitment increase? 

The wealth surrounds us…

The grace and love and gifts that God blesses us with continues to flow in abundance….

The light of Christ…that shines from this candle, is not extinguished as the light is shared…but the light gets brighter.   The light grows as it is shared. 

How will you let Christ’s light shine?

And now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people say, amen.