Sermon from the 6th Sunday of Easter

May 17, 2020

6^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 17:22-31

Psalm 66:8-20

1 Peter 3:13-22

John14:15-21

Please pray with me,

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

At the beginning of the year, I etched out my running goals with my coach. 

The initial plans included some speed work on shorter distances, a race with my sister, joining an ultra-team for a relay race and a marathon in late fall. 

The racing season has not panned out as I, or many other runners, anticipated. 

May originally contained a 10K and a half marathon.  The half marathon would have been yesterday.  Well, with races being either cancelled or postponed, the runners have continued to run.  I registered to run a virtual half-marathon through Fleet Feet Sports in West Reading.  It was like a ‘regular’ race…with a t-shirt, bib, and even finishers medal.  Proceeds went to Opportunity House. 

After you registered, you had between May 1 and May 11 to run your registered distance and submit your race time. 

Two weeks ago was my half marathon.  It was a beautiful spring morning, I got to run in capris and a tank top and, even though it was a solo race, I did not run it alone. 

My other coach, Billy, rode his bike alongside me for 13.1 miles. 

Some were faster than others, some were more grueling than others…and some, he didn’t ride too closely.  Well done, Billy, way to read the situation.  😉

While my half marathon was technically unsupported (no porta-potties, water stops or mile markers) my half marathon was supported fully by Billy.  

He was with me every step of the way, never leaving my side, cheering when I needed it, and more importantly, just being present when not being alone was all that I really needed. 

Just being present…so I knew I wasn’t out there on my own. 

In today’s gospel lesson Jesus talks to his disciples letting them know that they are not alone, nor will they ever be alone. 

Similar to Yoda’s word of hope, “There is another.” Jesus tells the disciples that another one is coming.  An advocate is coming, the Holy Spirit is coming, the one who is called to be alongside of you.  The Holy Spirit. 

Through Jesus’ words, the disciples are reminded just as God has always been with them, God will continue to be with them in the future. 

The Holy Spirit will be sent into their midst to accompany them on their journey.  Jesus promises the disciples that they will not be alone…in the midst of a future that is uncertain, in the midst of a future when Jesus as they know him will not be with them, in the midst of their daily lives to come…the disciples will NOT be alone. 

The Holy Spirit, will abide with them.  Being present in teaching, leading, listening, guiding, encouraging, nurturing and just being present. 

What a comforting promise Jesus makes to the disciples in their time of fear, worry or uncertainty. 

What a comforting promise Jesus make to us, in our time of fear, worry or uncertainty. 

Jesus will ask the Father and the Father will give us another advocate…to be with us forever. 

Jesus promises the disciples, AND US, that we are not alone, the advocate, the Holy Spirit is called to be alongside us.  God who has always been with us promises to always be with us into the future. 

The advocate will be with us, will accompany us….

What will that look like? 

It will look different for each of us. 

It means that the Spirit will be with each and everyone of us in the ways God accompanies each of us. 

What does it look like to have the Spirit beside us?  Supporting us?  Guiding us?  Comforting us? Nurturing us?  Encouraging us?

It’s similar to Billy’s support in my half marathon.  Accompanying me didn’t mean Billy needed to run 13.1 miles, I don’t know if that would’ve happened…scratch that, I know that wouldn’t have happened.  Billy doesn’t run.  But, big BUT here, he was willing to ride 13.1 miles.  It meant he was ready and willing to be beside me, not necessarily doing the same thing, but being present for the experience. 

So often the church, the ministry that happens through this place happens because we are able to gather together in this space.  When we do, we hear and share stories, highs and lows and prayer concerns.  We connect week after week and through that physical presence as we accompany each other on our life’s journeys. 

Well, friends, we still accompany one another, don’t we? 

Even when we aren’t in the same physical space together each week. 

So often we think about walking alongside someone and physically being there with that person. 

What does accompaniment look like for you right now? 

How are people walking this journey with you, especially if you live on your own? 

How are people caring for you by providing physical space, but remaining emotionally present and present in relationship? 

Take time to reconnect with those who you would have seen in worship this morning either in a text, phone call or hand written note.  I bet, not that gamble, but I bet that if you send a note to someone this week … and all it said was …you are not alone. That it would make a world of difference in their lives. 

If you’re not sure about the impact it could make…think about walking to your mailbox and receiving a card that says, you are not alone.  How would that touch your heart…your soul? 

How would being reminded of another’s presence with you provide comfort and hope in the midst of an uncertain and worry-filled time? 

I think it would make a difference in many hearts. 

Just a simple note: You are not alone. 

You, we, can accompany one another on this journey as the Holy Spirit is at work in us and through us. 

It doesn’t mean we are called to experience this season in the same way as everyone else, but it does mean we are called to go the distance.  Called to be present, to listen, to love, to encourage, to nurture, to support, to strengthen and to just be.

I pray that you know and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life when you are in need of that love and comfort, nurture, care, support and encouragement. 

Because here’s the thing folks…and it’s one more running analogy…

This time and place, this season of our lives….it’s a marathon, not a sprint. 

There is a long road ahead of us. 

And we cannot proceed without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

When this situation started to take shape around us in early March, we thought about the next few weeks, and then we thought about the next few months…and now…we don’t know how this journey will unfold for us. 

We are constantly adjusting and readjusting our plans of action. 

As this season unfolds around us, be certain of the Holy Spirit in your midst, in the midst our families and community, comforting, encouraging, supporting, nurturing and being present in the midst of all that is happening. 

Know that you are not going through this alone.

Take a moment to remind others that they, too, are not alone. 

Seek solace and comfort in that. 

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

Holden Evening Prayer Homily - May 6

Holden Evening Prayer Homily

May 6, 2020

Psalm147:1-6

Please pray with me,

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

I received this mug as a Christmas gift in 2017.  

It came with a lovely card that was not signed.  That year I had read the book Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Melton Doyle.  One of the chapters that stuck out for me, was one that Elly Grabosky recently reminded me of.  It’s the chapter when Glennon talks about people – you and me – being wounded healers.  

Let me explain.  Glennon goes on to talk about how we are all broken in some way shape or form.  We have all been wounded or hurt, physically, emotionally or spiritually.  We all carry wounds.  But it is not until those wounds have healed that we are able to tell our stories and help others to heal. 

Think about a wound that you have had…if you pick at it like I did ALL THE TIME as a kid.  It takes a stinkin’ long time for that wound to heal.  If you let the wound do its thing and heal, you are then left with a scar.  Now a scar will tell a story. 

When our wounds turn into scars, we are able to tell our stories, we are ready to share a past experience, share what we have learned from it and hopefully help others by sharing that experience. 

I get it, we each have our own unique experiences, they are personal to us.  We can never fully understand what someone else is feeling and experiencing even if they go through the same exact experience that we have.  The same experience is never the same for two different people.  That being said, we can help others in the midst of a similar experience by sharing our own stories.  We can share presence and an example that we have lived through an experience and how it has changed us for the future. 

We all carry these wounds and scars. 

Some of them you can see, like this one that I got on a first and last date when I shut this finger in a truck door. 

Some of them you can’t see.  Like the scars from surgeries that may spend most of the time covered up by clothing.  Or the scars on our hearts from the times that our hearts have been broken by friends or loved ones. 

We all carry these wounds and scars. 

Henri Nouwen quoted by Glennon talks about us being wounded healers. 

With these wounds and scars that we carry, we continue to go about our days and lives wounded, yet called to heal others. 

We are all wounded healers. 

We follow Christ who after his resurrection, fed people, taught people and loved people with the wounds on his hands, his feet and his side. 

We are wounded healers.  Especially in a time like this.  Yet the tough part is that we are in the middle of it right now.  We are living in a time of pandemic and we cannot see the other side.  We know that God is with us, but it is hard to reach out to others, when we ourselves are still actively healing from this experience, or maybe not even healing yet….still reacting and responding to how we are being wounded…

Maybe it’s the loss of a job.

Maybe it’s not being able to be at the hospital with your loved one.

Maybe it’s not being able to balance work and schooling your children at the same time. 

Maybe it’s not being able to celebrate a prom or graduation as you had envisioned. 

Maybe it’s postponing a wedding date, an anniversary party, a bridal shower, a funeral.

We are in it right now, friends, in the thick of it. 

It is hard to care for others while we ourselves are still experiencing new announcements about the future every day. 

So I guess it goes back to this…be kind. 

It’s a recurring theme, isn’t it? 

Be kind. 

Because here’s the thing,   

We are all going through this pandemic in similar but different ways. 

We are all experiencing a situation unique to each of us, even though it is a situation that is happening to all of us. 

So, if you are coping well with being at home, be kind to those who are lonely or for whom being at home is a struggle or even unsafe. 

If you are loving online learning or online work, be kind to those who struggle with this disconnection of face-to-face time with friends and co-workers. 

If you are not experiencing a change in your income or the amount of food you need each day, be kind to those who are struggling right now.  Be kind to those friends and neighbors worrying about finances or where their next meal may come from. 

All these ways are the ways we are called to be wounded healers. 

I encourage you as well, in general, to be kind.

While we are in the same situation, we all feel it and experience it quite differently. 

If this is hard for you, know that others are struggling as well.

If this is easy for you, please be kind to those of us who are struggling…we need your help and support and love and encouragement. 

If you need someone to listen or to pray…call us we are here.

God heals up the broken-hearted,

God binds up our wounds,

and sends us to heal and love others. 

We will continue through this situation together and we will come through it together knowing that we are not alone.  

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

Good Shepherd or Good Gate Sunday Sermon

May 3, 2020

4^th Sunday After Easter

Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 23

1 Peter 2:19-25

John10:1-10

Please pray with me,

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

It’s the fourth Sunday after Easter, so that means it’s Good Shepherd Sunday.  We’ve sung about being sheep.  The appointed psalm for today is Psalm 23.  Had we heard the second lesson, we would have heard a reference made to a shepherd and in the gospel of John we are entering the chapter where Jesus talks about being the good shepherd.  In our passage this morning, however, even with all the talk about sheep and shepherds, Jesus doesn’t refer to himself as the Good Shepherd.  He does, however, refer to himself as the gate keeper. 

Why isn’t this gatekeeper Sunday?  Just not the same ring. 

And, if you’re like me, when you hear the phase gatekeeper, you go straight to Ghostbusters and Sigourney Weaver as the gatekeeper.   For you Ghostbusters fans out there, “There is no Dana, only Zuul.” And for you young women who were in the first girls’ small group, the Sigourney Weaver reference is for you! 

Okay, enough shenanigans, back to the text. 

Jesus…the gate keeper.

Jesus is the life-giver. 

The one who calls the sheep by name.

The one who not only keeps the sheep in a protective place, but also leads them out to green pastures. 

Jesus is the gatekeeper. 

Jesus is the door.

Jesus is the door – the one giving life, the one offering protection. 

With some warmer weather, we have been able to have our storm door open. 

Marley, our cat, loves watching the birds land on the wreath on the front door.  We love the light coming in the front door, and being able to hear the birds (and the trains) a little more clearly. 

Jesus the door gives life and offers protection. 

How do our doors do the same? 

Yes, right now our doors are offering protection.  They are a safeguard for those within and without. 

They are helping us shelter in place, to protect the weak and vulnerable in our communities and our world.  I have seen wonderful pictures on social media of “Door” visits.  Pictures taken of people playing tic, tac, toe on their door while a neighbor stays outside visiting someone inside.  Staying inside our doors protects us, yes, but also protects those in our communities who are greatly at risk during the time of this pandemic. 

How do we long to fling open our doors to let in the fresh air, the light of the sun and perhaps more importantly friends, family and guests into our homes. 

How do we long to fling open the doors to the homes of our loved ones…to enter in with hugs and physical presence.  To enter into an assisted living facility or hospital to visit someone’s bedside?  To share a meal around a table?  To watch a movie together on the sofa, to be in the same space, safely, together?  To fling open wide the doors of this building?  To fill these pews?  To gather around the altar railing? To share our voices together in this space? 

Oh Lord, we’re ready to be together. 

As I finished a run the other day, I walked around the church to see if the lilacs were blooming behind the shed.  Not quite yet…

As I came back a neighbor shouted across the street, “Is God still in there?” 

The neighbor was referring to the building. 

I shook my head and said, no, God’s been out and about for some time. 

This person seemed to come from the train of thought that God is only active in the building and when worship is happening.  That church buildings being closed means that God is shut inside.  It was hard to break it to that person that God has been on the move for a good long while, and even though church doors are closed, the church itself is FAR from being closed.  God continues to be at work in the world in new and different ways each and every day.  

Thank God that God isn’t confined to this building.  I mean, God is at work in this building, but this is not the only place God is at work.  God, in the presence of the Body of Christ, is not confined to one building.  (Phew.)  God, the church, the Body of Christ is out and about in the world each and every day.  It’s you. And you. And you.  And you and you and you…and even you, the one who just wandered out of the room for more coffee or a bathroom break. 

We see our physical doors as things that offer protection, and while they are closed, protecting us God still enters in, to wherever you are, to offer presence, love, hope, comfort and support. 

Yet at the same time, we still need to enter and exit through these doors, for sunlight, for fresh air, for nourishment and work. 

These physical doors still protect and offer ways to life. 

Jesus as the gatekeeper, the door, protects and offers life, life in abundance. 

The entrance through which Jesus calls us offers us love, protection, companionship, community and everlasting life. 

Jesus through his life, death and resurrection gives us a gift that last longer than shelter-in-place guidelines, furloughs from work and the uncertainty of the future. 

Jesus’ gift of everlasting life is life abundant here and now. 

It is the promise that we are loved no matter what.

It is the promise that we are forgiven.

It is the promise of a place at the table at the eternal banquet. 

I hope this is sinking in. 

But if it isn’t, that’s okay.

I mean Jesus was using this imagery, rural, shepherding imagery with a bunch of fishermen!  And after he talked to them about this, they didn’t understand it. 

It took them a while, and it still takes us a while to hear and understand the height and depth of God’s love and grace in our lives and our world.  I love in our first Holy Communion class when Pastor Bill is talking about us ‘understanding’ communion…and that at the end of the class the 2^nd graders may have a better understanding of that gift than anyone else at that moment.  Because really, when do we fully understand?  Probably that moment when we are welcomed into the kingdom of God when our time on earth is done. 

So, for now, know this. 

God’s grace and love reaches beyond your closed doors. 

God’s grace and love is with you this day and all days. 

Know that as members of the Body of Christ, you are God’s hands and feet in the world right now. 

God isn’t confined in the building, the church isn’t just the building…

The church -as is has been for thousands of years – is deployed. 

Active and at work in the world where it is most needed right now. 

We long for the day to gather back in this place for hymns, holy communion, prayer together, gatherings in the social hall, baptisms, weddings, funerals, ABO, MAP, choir, you name it.  In the meantime, while we are in active deployment, continue to know that you are forgiven and loved, more than you know. 

Take a moment to remind those in your home, or those in other homes that they too are loved, more than they know. 

Live abundantly in that love this day and all days. 

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