Giving As a Way of Bearing Witness 10-28-12

The Reading— 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, Yahweh throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. God’s right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. [You are given] something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. The Middle Reading—Anna Burke Yes, I am a King! But my kingdom is not in the boundary of time. It is a new way of branching out, and a new way of rooting down. It is a new way of looking at things. It can be here or there or anywhere you want it to be because it is a way of living and loving, of giving and receiving. Yes, I am a King! And I change your understanding of life. I want you to see that in every moment there is more, in every loss there is gain, in every gain there is loss, and beyond the way of the cross there is clearer vision. Yes, I am a King! I will do whatever it takes to draw you to the place of freedom. Where the bonds of affection will be strong as life and where human hearts will find their home. The Gospel Reading: Luke 12: 22-34 He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think [you will be attended to], take pride in you, do [the] best for you? “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way God works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how God works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! [God] wants to give you the very kingdom itself. “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Giving As a Way of Bearing Witness 10-28-12 Holy and Creative God of all being and life, we come into your presence knowing that you have much to teach us today. Mold us into all that you have created us to be. May the words of my mouth reflect your truth and may our thoughts bring you glory and pleasure. Amen We begin our sermon today with Jesus teaching. I start with this because I do not want to lose sight of the importance of teaching—teaching as a practice and teaching as a way of life and teaching as a way of giving back to God. Teaching, itself, is “bearing witness” to God in our innermost being. At heart, I am a teacher. I come from a heritage of teachers. My grandparents were both teachers in one-room school houses when all you had to have to teach was your own high school diploma and a love to teach. Although my grandmother went on to raise children and my grandfather became a rural letter carrier their teaching roles continued. My grandmother’s wisdom was first learned by her own children and then gobbled up by a series of grandchildren, myself among them, who loved to hear what she had to say as long as it didn’t involve some personal wrong-doing that day. My grandfather was a “mailman” back in the day, where he carried far more than just letters and packages to the hearts of the people who loved his daily visits and would stand waiting at the end of their driveways at his expected time, just to hear his daily word of wisdom and care which he dispensed freely as he passed out letters along those winding, gravel roads. My mother, as you know, was first a teacher of Latin and Spanish, and then, went on to become a Librarian, where she opened the world of reading not just to me but to hundreds of children. When she died, my Facebook page and mailbox was filled with tributes to her, not just as a person, but as someone who taught them the joy of reading. Teaching is a gift, listed among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and something we learn to treasure when the teaching is insightful and impactful on our busy lives. So, Jesus is teaching. And, we, if we are truly listening, if we are truly present, we are learning. First, he talks to us about our natural urge to complain about what we have before us. He tells us to pay more attention to our inner lives than to our outer ones. The exact nature of what is before us on the table, or what hangs in our closet, is not nearly as important as what goes into our inner lives—our hearts and our minds. He says, “take a look at the birds”. Do they worry? No, and, if God will take care of birds, then God will take care of us. Jesus teaches by example—this is not one that I’m particularly fond of—think about it, if I or any other of my height-challenged brother or sisters stand in front of a mirror and stretch and pose, and stretch and pose, can we really hope to add even a single inch to our stature? Of course not, God created us the way we are and, ultimately, all the fussing in the world doesn’t change that. Then he calls us to a precious truth. Look at the wildflowers. Do you see them trying to change who they are—no, they simply give to us—viewers of God’s creation—an amazingly beautiful array of color and design. I once was driving in Texas where I lived for a brief while. I almost passed a field of wild poppies growing by the road. For once, I listened to my inner desire and pulled the car off the road. I went running into those poppies absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of each flower, each color, each pattern laid out in that field by our Creator God. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen and 30 years later I can find myself still amazed at the sheer beauty that was before me. Jesus’ lesson here is obvious—he says that most wildflowers are never even seen and yet God still creates then in glory and splendor—and yet we worry over just the way our clothes hang or emphasize what we believe are our good points. Envision yourself in the most beautiful field of flowers you have ever seen…..is there any way we can dress to outshine that beauty? And, then, the finale—Jesus calls us to stop focusing on “getting” what we want. Jesus wants us to know that that very focus stops us from really receiving and seeing what God is “giving” to us each and every day that we live. Think about your field of wildflowers—make it a place you can go when you want to experience God’s grace in your heart and mind. Let yourself relax, as Jesus says, knowing that God will provide for you just as for the fields, and mountains, and seas. Let God remove any fear or worry that you might miss out on something that you need. Jesus tells us that God wants to give us everything—the “very kingdom itself”. Finally, Jesus hits us where we live—calling us to invest in the reign of justice, in God’s work. “It’s obvious, isn’t it”, Jesus asks us. The place we put our focus, those things upon which we put our thoughts, that is the place we will not only most want to be, but it will be the place we end up being. Now the hard part about that teaching is truly understanding where our hearts are. We want to focus them on God, but other things get in the way. We want to “be generous” as Jesus calls us to be, and other priorities call out to us, often much louder than the “still, small voice of God” who waits for us to be willing and wanting to hear. I don’t know about you, but if my phone rings one more time with a political call I going to scream. I know who I am voting for, have never been in the “undecided” column that both parties seek, and yet, still, the calls keep coming. You see, the world, whether it is politics or someone wanting to evaluate your home for the new windows they are selling, never stops—never stops calling out to us to place our focus someplace else. We have to make a decision to listen. We have to make a decision to be willing to be taught God’s holy and gracious Truth. Think about the teacher of all teachers, Socrates. I like Socrates—mostly, I like that he taught by encouraging his students to ask questions. During his trial for heresy, he is reported to have said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I agree with Socrates, I agree with his method of allowing someone to ask us questions while we learn. His insight about the shadows in our lives was brilliant—even though not very popular then or now. You remember, his metaphor was about living in a cave. As long as you stayed in the cave of self-absorption and self-centeredness, you did not know what it was that was casting the shadows on the walls, only that there were shadows. Once you chose to leave the cave, you could see reality—the real things that caused the shadows. Jesus calls us to look beyond what throws the shadows on the walls of our cave-like lives and enter the bright sunshine of God’s love to determine where our focus and purpose lie. And we are called to examine our lives, to turn to trusted others and allow them to ask us questions and encourage us to answer honestly and openly. Here is a simple question that I cannot take credit for, but which I will share: If two people set out to arrive at a destination, which one is likely to arrive—the one with a map, or the one without? This is a no-brainer—she who has a map will arrive first. When you faithfully and truthfully examine your life, you get to choose your destination—you get to set your own goals. Better yet, you get to lay out the path and how many “proverbial” miles you will walk each day, or year. You establish your own map and you have the opportunity to decide when and whether you are on track or have taken a detour. In other words, when you set as your goal, following Christ and becoming all that you are created by God to be, you have a way to actually get there. When you engage in this questioning through spiritual formation, this examination of life brings great freedom. However, it is not always so easy to get started. Paul calls us to remember that God’s right-living, right-giving ways never run out. If this God, who creates the seeds that the farmer plants that later become bread for your journey, think of all God gives to you—that which will grow and be given away by you in your own generosity. We rarely understand the greatness of God’s generosity to us, or all that our Creator wants to pour into our lives. That’s why C.S. Lewis said, “Our problem is not that we want too much, it’s that we’re satisfied with too little.” This year, let’s not be satisfied with “little”. Let’s walk boldly into God’s presence and say, we are ready to learn all that you have to teach us. We are ready to be your people and to be your church. And all God’s people said, “amen and amen”.

Giving as an Act of Resistance 10-21-12

The Reading: Philippians 2: 12-18 What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. Even if I am executed here and now, I’ll rejoice in being an element in the offering of your faith that you make on Christ’s altar, a part of your rejoicing. But turnabout’s fair play—you must join me in my rejoicing. Whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for me. The Middle Reading Psalm 119 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. The Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:13-16 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Holy Parent in heaven. Giving as an Act of Resistance 10-21-12 God, we come to you with open hearts. Fill us with your ways and guide us in our steps toward you. May all that we think and all that I say bring you honor and glory. Amen I love cantaloupe—I love everything about cantaloupe. I love its color, its texture and its taste. I love it alone, I love it in juice, and I love it in fruit salad. I love the way the outside gives nothing away about what a cantaloupe looks like on the inside. It’s always exciting for me to cut into a cantaloupe—one that I’ve used the technique my grandmother taught me to use when I pick it out—it’s always exciting to get that first rush of cantaloupe fragrance and see just how good a cantaloupe actually came home with you from the market. Now, cantaloupe has one tragic flaw—no matter where you are, it is only “in season” for a brief while. I still remember the two weeks in August when the NJ cantaloupes appeared in every store or fruit stand in NY—best cantaloupes in the world, and then, woosh, they’re gone. Now, since I love cantaloupe so much, I do not want to limit my eating of cantaloupe to just a few weeks of the year. By the way, when is the true ‘season’ for cantaloupes in Florida? I can’t seem to figure it out. Anyway, I love cantaloupes all year, so what to do about the less than fully tasty ones that find their way into my refrigerator? It’s simple, really—you add salt. When you add salt to a cantaloupe that is less than fully the true taste of a wonderfully ripe cantaloupe, some, if not, most, of the taste is restored. The salt brings out the cantaloupe’s taste and, I am happily eating my cantaloupe once again. As strange as my “ode to the cantaloupe” might seem to you, it is exactly what Jesus is saying to us about salt in this passage. The translation that we used today is from The Message and I love the words that are used. “You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.” How cool is that? Our call is to bring out the God-flavors that are already present here on this earth. The God-flavors that have always been here. Just like my less than tasty cantaloupe was always a cantaloupe with hidden tastiness just waiting to be called forth by the salt I sprinkled on it, we are called to be the salt in a world that has pretty much hidden most of the God-flavors that lie inherently, just below the surface, waiting for the salt that we bring with our words, our actions, our acts of resistance, and our love for God and others. And, Church, the Body of Christ is where we learn about the ways and means of being salt in the world. Now, just like the cantaloupe, the Church has a major flaw. Fr. Henri Nouwen, one of the most compassionate men God ever created, says this about the church: “Over the centuries the Church has done enough to make any critical person want to leave it. Its history of violent crusades, pogroms, power struggles, oppression, excommunications, executions, manipulation of people and ideas, and constantly recurring divisions is there for everyone to see and be appalled by. Can we believe that this is the same Church that carries in its center the Word of God and the sacraments of God's healing love? Can we trust that in the midst of all its human brokenness the Church presents the broken body of Christ to the world as food for eternal life? Can we acknowledge that where sin is abundant grace is superabundant, and that where promises are broken over and again God's promise stands unshaken? To believe is to answer yes to these questions.” Nouwen calls us to be the yes, to be the salt that reminds people that “God’s promise stands unshaken”. Not content with just one metaphor, Jesus adds another—“Light”. We are called to be the light in the world. Not “of” the world, “in” the world. That’s a confusion that some, if not many, well-meaning Christians make—we are not to be the light that everyone looks to and admires, we are to be the light that shows the way to those still seeking to find the path that leads to divine acceptance and grace-full peace. President Woodrow Wilson told a story about his experience of this Light in the world. He said, "I was in a very common place. I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself, to have his hair cut, and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. Before I got through with what was being done for me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones; they didn't know his name, but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts. I felt that I left that place as I should have left the place of worship. My admiration and esteem for Mr. Moody became very deep indeed." Notice that when President Wilson was in the presence of Dwight L. Moody, one of the greatest evangelists of the early Twentieth Century, he remembered, most of all, the “presence” of Mr. Moody. The barbers also knew that something had happened, though they could not explain what it was—they just knew that their own thoughts had changed and they were focused on what they called “higher” thoughts. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, calls this presence “God energy”. Be energetic in your life of salvation, “ says Paul, “reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God willing and working…” We learn from Paul that the energy to be the kind of presence in the world that D.L. Moody showed in the barbershop that day comes directly from God. And what happened in that barbershop is called “influence”. What kind of influence do you have as a Christian on your world? Do I have as your pastor? Does this church have in this community? How are we shining a light in this world to make a difference? Because we are in this world, in this community, we will have influence—we will make our community better or worse because of what we do. Jesus calls us to take seriously the impact that we have on this world. Knowing that some, indeed, put the lamp of their influence under the nightstand, Jesus calls us to break free from all that would tell us to stay under cover. Jesus calls us to shine the light of God’s love into every corner of the universe. Do we take seriously the impact for good or evil that we have in this world? I’m not sure that we always do. In the early 19th Century, there lived a man named Elihu Burritt. Because of the death of his father, he was forced to become an apprentice to a blacksmith at age 15. He continued to study, though, especially languages from around the world and he became a great and well-known advocate for world peace. He helps us figure out what we are saying and showing with our own lives by this statement. Please listen carefully: "No human being can come into this world without increasing or diminishing the sum total of human happiness. Not only of the present, but of every subsequent age of humanity. No one can detach himself [or herself] from this connection. There is no sequestered spot in the universe, no dark niche along the disc of nonexistence to which [she or] he can retreat from his relations to others, where he [or she] can withdraw the influence of his [or her] existence upon the moral destiny of the world. Everywhere, his [or her] presence or absence will be felt. Everywhere, [she or] he will have companions who will be better or worse because of him [or her]. It is an old saying and one of the fearful and fathomless statements of import, that we are forming characters for eternity.” How does all this salt and life talk fit into our conversations about giving? The title of the sermon is “giving as an act of resistance”. I believe that anytime we are salt and light in this world, we are resisting what the world, itself, calls us to be. We are resisting the call to materialism, the call to hatred and mistrust of the stranger, and the call to put our needs before the needs of others. I love the short, incredibly packed with meaning quotes from Albert Schweitzer. This man, who spent over 50 years of his life working in the African jungle as a medical missionary, was meeting with a group of students who admired him. He said this to them: “I don’t know what your final destiny will be, but one thing I do know: The only ones among you who will be happy are those who have sought and found how to serve." In our living and giving, we have the ability to seek and find how to serve. This week, we have the opportunity to seek and find how to serve right here, right now. And when you do, your life and the lives of all those around will be brighter and more full of the flavor of God’s grace because you sought and you found—the grace-filled life of service. Amen and amen.

Giving--God's Reign of Justice 10/14/'12

The Reading— The Reading: Isaiah 61: 1-4 The Spirit of GOD, the Master, is on me because GOD anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. GOD sent me to announce the year of his grace—a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—and to comfort all who mourn, tTo care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness” planted by GOD to display the divine glory. They’ll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage. They’ll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new. THE MIDDLE READING—Jan Richardson For all that enfolds us For each word of grace and every act of care; For those who offer refuge for each shelter given And for every welcoming space; For the healing of our souls for balm and rest For soothing and sleep; For vigils kept and for lights kept burning; blessed be! The Gospel Reading: Luke 4: 14-21 Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure. He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, God’s Spirit is on me; God has chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.” Giving--Participating in God’s reign of Justice 10-14-12 Holy and Just God, help us to hear your call to our hearts. Open our eyes, our ears, our minds and fill us with that which You know we should know and, then, grant us understanding. Grant us your peace in the midst of your call. We listen and yearn for more. Amen For some strange reason this week, I got to thinking about the fine art of debating. And regardless of your candidate of choice, I think it safe to say that all four of them would be the better off if they learned the fine art of packing a larger value into a smaller number of words. For some of us, all four candidates included, the longer we talk, the more likely we are to get ourselves into just a little trouble. Either you turn your audience or congregation off completely because of the length of time they have been sitting (kinda like the first time I was forced to sit through the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”—I mean, really, who makes a movie that long?) or you wind yourself up in the maze of your own words so far that even you can’t find your way out of what you are saying. So, we might all agree that “short is good” whether in politics or preaching and I will admit that the older I get the more I appreciate necessity of keeping the length of the message I am asked to remember short. Some think our Gospel passage represents what was Jesus’ finest hour—this sermon so short we barely have time to realize he is preaching. Some think Jesus gave his listeners way too much credit to even think they could understanding the great mysteries of which he spoke. Some think that all preachers should learn to preach in one sentence. And some just don’t know what to think at all. Most of the folks who heard Jesus in the flesh offer up this sermon probably fell into the later category. But through the magic of history, we are afforded the time to look thoroughly at this really, really short sermon “Today this has been fulfilled in your hearing” and see what it means to us in this time of year when we are thinking of giving and thanks-giving, and giving and receiving gifts. You really won’t understand the challenge that is given to the people in that synagogue and the people in this synagogue unless you understand what Isaiah is talking about in this brief passage. This command of God—called the year of Jubilee—was met with great resistance in Old Testament times and, as far as we know, never actually happened. Nevertheless, it is a command of God and it means, simply, that every 50 years everyone’s debts were to be forgiven. If you were in jail for debt you would be released. Any land that had been sold during the previous 50 years would be returned to the family who originally owned it. In other words, every 50 years the wealth was completely redistributed among all the people, those who were previously rich and those who were previously poor. Now, one would think that since this is a command from God, that the people would be happy to do it! But, the wealthy folks were not so keen on such an idea and, quite frankly, it simply never happened. But this is the state of economy, both physical and spiritual, that Jesus is calling us to when he reads from Isaiah, sits down, and says—this is the time that the scripture is fulfilled—I am here! Now there must have been a lot of folks who, after giving this brief sermon some thought, whoa, this man is going somewhere we’re not sure we want to go. Jesus calls us in a single instant to understand that he is, in fact, the Messiah. No playing the waiting game, no excuses for less than right relationships, no reason not to turn the world upside down. In the coming of the Messiah, the Year of Jubilee is inaugurated for all the years to come. It’s time for a new world order—a new way of relating to each other—a new way to celebrate the everlasting reign of God’s justice. Now the rest of this brief story goes like this: no one says much at the time, but, stay alert, because the next thing Luke records is that the crowd tries to lynch Jesus. So much, for the crowds’ appreciation of short sermons. Charles Spurgeon, reputed to be the greatest preacher of all time must have learned a lot from this story—they say his sermons were never shorter than 2 hours. We must not miss the challenge that Jesus is issuing to his unappreciative audience and the challenge we must answer now. Jesus’ very life is a challenge to us, every moment he spent healing, every sin he forgave, every time he slipped away to spend quiet time alone with God. Jesus, quoting Isaiah, lists four activities that, taken together, make up the core of the Good News: good news to the poor, freedom to prisoners, sight to the blind, and freedom from oppression. Now, I know that there are a lot of teachers in this room, retired, active, and those of you doing a marvelous ministry at Wildwood Elementary. Most of us would acknowledge that, as much as our students might have wanted us to, it is not a teacher’s job to make his or her students happy. No, the job of a teacher is to bring change into the lives of their students—to give them new ways of thinking and new ways to ask the questions that need asking because it is in the questions that we grow and flourish in our mental and emotional lives. It seems to me that, in faith circles, we may almost do the opposite—we focus on answering the questions when we haven’t even figured out what the questions are. Those of us in ministry focus on helping people feel good. Jesus shows us that this isn’t the task of preaching or teaching, for that matter. Jesus tells the truth—a truth that few people probably wanted to hear. The Jewish people were waiting for a King—a king who would, once and for all, restore them to their glory as the people of God. Jesus turned their expectations upside down in one short sentence in one brief story. Jesus, stood, read from the Word and then sat down and told the truth. We can, all of us struggle with the unwillingness to do the hard work of growing and changing. Have you ever seen the slow motion video of a seed turning into a sprout that has, literally, pushed aside pounds of dirt to make it through to the sunshine. Churches that are planted do the same hard work. But the reward for the hard work is participating in God’s Reign of Justice. Following Christ is hard work—it is not for the timid—it is not for those looking to take the easy road. The same is true for a church—it is true for this church. If we follow the mission that God has entrusted this church with, that is, to share God’s unconditional love, and to participate in Jesus’ invitation to all to the new covenant through grace, we will change. Change is hard and change is what Jesus brought to this world. We are called to be a different kind of people; I am called to be a different kind of pastor. And in this growing, we will struggle. The dirt through which we must struggle as we sprout and see the sunshine is heavy. We may each try to get through that dirt on our own, but together, we are stronger. As we “grace” ourselves through the changes ahead, we will grow together to meet the challenge that Jesus issues to all those who would follow him. There is a story about Conan O’Brien. You may remember several years ago that many ugly things happened and Conan was replaced with veteran talk show host, Jay Leno. It was an awful time for Conan and something that NBC probably wishes they had handled differently. During the final show, Conan, after giving thanks to NBC, for all that they had done for him and thanking his fans for their support, he said this: "And all I ask is one thing . . and this is . . I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch . . please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." His fans were touched and even those who thought him without talent had to admit that he had chosen the right thing to say. It calls to all of us. Cynicism is toxic—it causes us to doubt people that we trust and perhaps to trust those whom we should doubt. Jesus calls us to give up cynicism and bitterness. Jesus calls us to a higher path—a path focused on those we are challenged to serve. Think about where Jesus was in his heart as he risked it all and issued the challenge to the world—a challenge that the world was not ready to hear. He knew, through being centered and grounded in God’s Holy Spirit, that the time was right. He understood who he was—and all that it meant. He knew the challenge would not be popular, after all, those kinds of challenges never are, but he understood what he was sent to do on this earth. When we are full of the Holy Spirit, thoroughly grounded and centered in the knowledge that we are the children of God, we are called to answer and act upon this challenge for Christ’s church. We know who we are and to whom we belong. We know that we are not without the support of all the other children of God in this place and we are upheld by the grace of Jesus Christ every time we step out and welcome the poor into God’s kingdom, give sight to the blind, freedom to the imprisoned and quality of life to those oppressed by this world. And, so, as we know, so we go—forward in our ministries, leaving our cynicism behind and moving toward that vision that God has planted in this place, this Body of Christ called “Open Circle”. And, so, as we know, so we go! Blessed be the name of the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised and adored; So, we lift up holy hands in one accord— singing blessed be the name, Blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen and amen.

Giving as Worship 10-6-12

The Reading: Colossians 3:15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Jesus, thanking God every step of the way. The Middle Reading by Henri Nouwen “Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.” The Gospel: Mark 14: 3-9. Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Giving as Worship 10-6-12 Great God and Creator of us all, teach us to worship you in our living and in our giving. Lead us in your ways of grace and gracious forgiveness and reconciliation. May we learn new ways to worship you today and may we hear your truth. Amen It is another one of those stories that begs to be told—a story, just like the story of the Samaritan woman, where the outcome is far different than what we think or would predict. Here is a woman, held in disgrace and disgust by all who knew her, who, nevertheless, managed to make her mark on the history of a religion so new, yet steeped in all those things very, very old. She is un-named and, though, many have thought that she must be that famous woman of ill repute, Mary Magdalene, she remains unknown to us. Until now… You don’t need to know my name. It’s been unimportant for centuries, and it’s unimportant now. What you need to know is what I did and when I did it, and what my actions caused Jesus to say to those gathered there. I’ve always been grateful that in just a sentence or two, I managed to make a difference—whether you know my name or not. We were all in Bethany for Passover which was just two days away. I went about my usual work, nothing very special about Passover for me—no family to celebrate with, no friends to speak of, and the people I lived and worked with didn’t care one whit about Passover. So, it was just any old day as far as I was concerned. And, then, I went to see him…but wait, I’m ahead of myself already. I got word through one of my more respectable friends that Jesus was coming to town for Passover. I’d met him before and knew only one thing—he was all that I ever knew or thought about God in one very real living person. You know how you meet someone and they just seem so much more than anyone you’ve ever known—more kind, more generous, more understanding, more everything. It’s difficult to describe—just more. When I found he was coming to Bethany, I began to look for a way that I could show him how all that I’d heard him say changed my life—not that I became perfect after I met him, but things began to matter to me—how I treated people, how I treated myself, and how I communicated with God. I’ve always believed in God, known that I was part of something so big that, all by myself, I can’t do much, but that little bit matters a lot when it gets put with everyone else’s little bit. I hope I’m making sense to you. I’d been so hopeless before I met him, Jesus, that is—wasn’t planning on living very long since something was bound to happen to me the way I was living. People like me don’t live very long—it’s hard to explain, perhaps, we don’t care enough about ourselves to look after ourselves, or perhaps we are so discounted by the rest of the world, we just slip away into real oblivion. And, then I learned that he was going to Simon’s house. Simon’s house! Now Simon is our town leper. He’s only allowed to live in the town because a few townspeople feel sorry for him. But he’s still a leper and treated as such. Isn’t that just like Jesus to go to a leper’s house? How many more ways can he show us that he cares about everyone and loves us no matter what? I ask you, how many ways? So, bit by bit, I add up everything that I have managed to save along the way. It surprises me how much it turns out to be. All I know is that I want to spend every last penny showing Jesus how much he means to me. I hadn’t figured out quite what I was going to do, just that I was going to do something and no one was going to stop me. I made a plan and waited—not very patiently, I might add, but I waited. Finally, the time has come and everyone knew that Jesus was now at Simon’s house. I walked slowly in that direction carrying my special gift very carefully so that it does not get broken too soon. I wondered how to make it happen, this special blessing I want to show Jesus. As I stood outside the door, sorta behind the big tree in Simon’s yard, I noticed all the important followers of Jesus arriving—the disciples, Jesus’ relatives, those in the town who have believed in him and supported him—all of them striding into Simon’s little house and sitting around outside the house as well. I began to doubt my plan—doesn’t seem so important now—maybe he won’t even notice. I wanted so badly for him to know that his love made all the difference to me at a time when no one else in the world had anything but hatred for me. Suddenly, I made a dash for it—now or never, I decided. I got to Jesus’ feet, quickly broke the bottle and began anointing him with the wonderful smelling oil that was spilling out of the bottle and covering him in the most wonderful scent—did you know that gratitude has a scent? At least it did that day. Jesus doesn’t say much, but he looks at me and his eyes, sad around the edges, say all that I need to hear. I am completely accepted by him even as I am completely known by him—all the things I’ve done and said and believed—all washed away in that love that pours over me as the sweet-smelling oil pours over him. Suddenly, I heard voices—angry voices that broke through and interrupted that beautiful moment of pure worship. People were yelling at me, telling me to stop. They told me I should have sold the oil—given the money to the poor. All the yelling—self-righteous, obnoxious snobs telling me what I should have done. And what have they ever done to show Jesus how much they love him—not much from what I hear. Most people want something from Jesus—all I wanted was for him to accept something from me. I can’t say a thing, out loud, but I don’t stop the flow of the oil. Suddenly, he speaks and they began arguing with Jesus himself. And by raising a hand, Jesus brings it all to a close. Jesus said something like this to them, “Stop your shouting! This woman has showed her true worship of me, the Son of God. You all are more worried with what you think is right, than allowing this child of mine to treat me with love and respect. Why look, she has anointed me for burial, even before it is necessary. She will be highly thought of anywhere people really understand all that I have been trying to say. Of course, you should take care of the poor. You will always have the chance to do that. She has done something that you will not be able to do soon. Leave her alone!” I looked into his face and his gaze erased all my fear and my shame. His eyes, deep with love and grace let me know that he appreciated what I had done. I turned and left then, but I knew that I had done the right thing. My heart was light with praise and love for God. Only a couple of days later, Jesus was arrested. They, those Pharisees and High Priests told Pilot to kill him. Where were all these high-falutin’ friends then? The crowd went kinda crazy, I watched from the edge of the crowd as they screamed for Pilot to crucify Jesus. I watched as Jesus fell under the pain of the beatings. After all that, they still made him carry his own cross up the hill. Well, you know what happened then. I am relieved that I did what I did when I did. Jesus was so close to dying even though we didn’t know it then. I’m glad that I got the chance to tell him how much all that he was and did meant to me. Someone asked me what it felt like when I was pouring the oil over Jesus. I’d have to say that it felt perfect—perfect because I was telling Jesus what he meant to me and he was taking all that I had to offer. Not many people want what I really have to offer. Oh, they’ll take what I sell, my work, myself, or my body. All I wanted to say was “thank you” and Jesus received my praise when no one else would even allow me to be present in their midst. How does it come to be that God, through the love of Jesus, is able to show us how giving of all that we have, is the greatest worship there is? How does it come to be that Jesus, the one who knows all, loved me in spite of all that is in my past, and made me feel that my gift to him in the form of worship made all the difference to him. I’m not sure I’ve ever made a difference in someone’s life or heart before, but Jesus let me know that loving him enough to brave all that I had to brave to get to him mattered—really mattered. Jesus told me that people like you would know who I was. Doesn’t really matter—as long as God loves and grace redeems and regenerates all that I am, all that matters is that you know from hearing my story that God blesses us when we lovingly come into his presence with praise and thanksgiving for all that we are made to be. Jesus takes our lives, no matter what, and turns them around in the moment we bring our all to him. He replaces all our worship and gratitude with blessing after blessing. I did a good thing that day. You are welcome to do the same. Amen and amen.

This Incredible Extravagant Generosity of God 9-30-12

The Reading: Acts 20: 17-27 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the leaders of the congregation. When they arrived, he said, “You know that from day one of my arrival in Asia I was with you totally—laying my life on the line, serving the Master no matter what, putting up with no end of scheming by Jews who wanted to do me in. I didn’t skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus. “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God. “And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held back nothing of God’s will for you. The Middle Reading—a prayer written by Sir Francis Drake: Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the starts. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. The Gospel Reading: Luke 6: 35-38 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Incredible Extravagant Generosity of God 9-30-12 God, teach us to be a people who are generous at heart; who love before we are loved and give before we receive. May all my words bring you glory and all our reflections of heart bring you praise. Amen We all know the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s not in the Bible, you know. Well, at least not exactly like that. I recently read about a Platinum Rule—it goes like this: “Treat others in the way they like to be treated”. That switch takes just a bit of pondering. These kinds of conversations can lead us into a discussion of generosity, but it is not enough. Generosity is sharing with others freely, without thought of return. It is a willingness to offer money, assistance, and energy and time when it is needed. Generous giving means giving something that has real value to you—without expectation of anything in return or even reward. We know that Jesus spoke of generous giving a lot and I have always been comforted, especially at times when I had little money to give, that Jesus valued the single coin of the widow more than all the gold and silver donated by those who were wealthy and had lots to give. I’ve always wondered about what motivated that widow to give of her last mite. I think that’s an important question when we talk about generosity, and not just of money, but of talent and time or energy. What does it take for us to give of our last ounce of energy, our last minute, our last dime? I took the title of the sermon from our passage in Acts where Paul calls all the religious leaders from Ephesus to him for a final meeting before he leaves for Jerusalem and what would, more than likely, be the end of his life. This is his “goodbye” message to them and he makes sure they understand that very fact. He reminds them of his teaching and sacrifices along the way. And, then, he says his farewell, telling them that he has but one task on his mind as he begins his final journey: “What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.” Kinda stops you dead in your tracks to contemplate this incredibly extravagant generosity of God. Now, if I asked you right now to shout out what you think makes up this amazing generosity of God, you would list many, many things and they would all be a part of how we experience God’s generosity. And, if I asked you to name appropriate responses to that generosity, you would be able to list many more approaches to show our gratitude to God. Paul leaves no room for mis-understanding. Responding to this generosity of God demands that we make a radical life-change before God and begin to trust Jesus with an equally radical trust. Now, this is where the so-called rubber hits most of our roads. According to people who study this sort of thing, it seems that people who claim to be religious are much more likely to make the connection between the gifts of God as a motivator for personal generosity and the fact that they enjoy giving to others. And, if we are truly open to it, it is in the making of this connection that we experience what Paul calls a “radical life-change” which includes “radical trust”. So, here we are, at the beginning of Fall looking at all God has done for us as a people. You may know that the Stewardship Team and some Board members went last week to a Stewardship Summit sponsored by MCC. Two of our Elders were our presenters—giving us the same information that they had shared several times with other MCC churches. There were many churches from all over the US and Canada there. It was an amazing thing to watch the Spirit work in all those church teams and feel the energy and passion in the room rise and expand. The same was true for your team as we spoke of the hard task of asking for time, talent and treasure, and looked for ways to make it a spiritual practice or, at the very least, a growing opportunity for all of us. At this point, we began to study together what we thought it would look like if Open Circle more fully lived into and expanded what we call “a culture of generosity”. And, before, or at least just slightly after, you start thinking that the pastor has gone to meddlin’ and talkin’ about money again, let me try to assure you that this is not the case. So, the Team decided that this Fall was the time we wanted to talk about and live into a culture of generosity—a radical life-change before God. But, where to start? What does such a culture look like and how shall we encourage everyone at Open Circle to try on whatever part of that culture feels comfortable and safe. So, today, I want to talk a little bit about what a growing into a more intentionally developed culture of generosity might look like. This is not to say that we, as a people, are not already generous with our time, talent, and treasure; but, we have much to learn about how this generosity, already planted among us, can grow, and flourish, and blossom into a culture and place where God’s incredible extravagant generosity can be felt and shared every moment of every day. So, I began to think about the things that have nothing to do with money first. I don’t know about you, but that is where I am most comfortable and where I feel that I can explore and expand what I already know. I know that ever since I turned, oh, about 50, I have been thinking about my legacy. What do I want to leave in this world? Since it unlikely that I will come into great wealth before the end of my journey, I want to focus on the other wealth that I have to give away here, at Open Circle, and in the wider world. Nelson Henderson once said this, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit”. Think about that for just a moment. A culture of generosity will cause us to think about our intentionality. In other words, what is it that we are intending to do? If we are not actively thinking about our intentionality, we tend to slip into old ways, or ways that don’t generate excitement or gratitude, or ways that simply don’t enable us as people and as a community to grow. Borrowing a little here and there from an article on Generous Leadership by Bruna Martinuzzi, I want to make some suggestions of attributes or characteristics of a culture of generosity that we can contemplate at the beginning of our study. First, we can, as a people, make sure that all who are already here and every single person who walks through our doors feels important—important to us and important to God. We can be more deliberate in our thanksgivings for the valuable work that each of us does in this place. And we can be more purposeful in recognizing the efforts that our visitors made to spend their Sunday morning with us in this place. Secondly, we can work to see the positive in everyone, by honoring the other person, even at a time when we may need to disagree or work for a change of heart. In the third place, we can give people visibility by encouraging everyone to find a place of ministry in this community. And, when you and they do, we can recognize well and often the callings and ministries of each and every child of God in this place. We can understand and practice forgiveness. Martin Luther King said that "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." A generous person carries no resentments. A generous church harbors no negative memories of previous hurts or altercations. What if we could learn to face each challenge on its own merits and let the past truly not just be past but fade into the oblivion provided by God’s grace for just such a moment as this. Living into a culture of generosity will cause each of us to answer two very important questions: “Who do you need to forgive? What do you need to let go?” In the fifth place, we can offer encouragement and support freely—even before the request is received. When you consider that some of us sitting here have never really received encouragement in our lives—a word of encouragement takes on incredible value. The sixth attribute of a generous culture is that it gives everyone a chance—a chance to serve or not and a chance to make mistakes. So what if you don’t quite know what to do the first time you try something out. The importance comes from the trying on, not the ability to be perfect. In the seventh place, people who live in a generous culture share what they know with others. They share their expertise and their experience—all for free with no strings attached—just for the sheer joy of watching someone else learn a new skill. And, in the end, it is up to us to determine whether or not we will become a truly generous people. It takes work and it takes practice. But Jesus calls us to such practice— “Generosity begets generosity”. Walt Whitman must have borrowed from Jesus when he said, “Giving is like building a muscle. It requires practice and persistence…” And, finally, a generous culture inspires people to be present to each other—in pain or sorrow or in celebration and joy. There is an African village where the greeting words for 'good morning' or 'hello' are: "I am here if you are here." Imagine the gift we give others when we are fully present with them – when we truly see them. And so, present to each other, we live as receivers of God’s incredible extravagant generosity and freely give way to God’s generosity as it flows through us again, and again. Amen and amen