New Sight, New Light 8-19-12

The Reading— Acts 9: 3-19 (portions)
[Paul] set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?" He said, "Who are you, Master?" "I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city…” His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn't see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: "Ananias." "Yes, Master?" he answered. "Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He's there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again." Ananias protested, "Master, you can't be serious. Everybody's talking about this man and the terrible things he's been doing”,… But Jesus said, "Don't argue. Go! …So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul's eyes—he could see again!”

The Gospel Reading: John 9: 1-11
Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light." He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man's eyes, and said, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "Sent"). The man went and washed—and saw.
Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, "Why, isn't this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?" Others said, "It's him all right!" But others objected, "It's not the same man at all. It just looks like him." He said, "It's me, the very one." They said, "How did your eyes get opened?" "A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' I did what he said. When I washed, I saw."
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God, we turn to you for understanding and transformation. Guide us this day and may my words and our thoughts be attuned to your Holy Spirit. Amen
All of the stories of Jesus’ healings are impressive but this story is full of layers of truth and theological meaning. It is also a story that it is easily misunderstood as shown by the confusion of the disciples and in later verses the Jewish authorities. This story follows a passage in John we did not study—let’s just say, it was not going well for Jesus. If we were to examine the context of this story, we would find Jesus just barely escaping stoning at the end of the eighth chapter of John. He slips away and we pick up the story where we find Jesus walking down the street. He comes across a beggar who was blind from birth. Though often missed, this is an important element of the story. The wisdom of the day suggested that handicaps, disabilities, or difficult situations were most often punishment meted out by a vengeful God who made people “pay” for their sins. We could, of course, say that the conventional wisdom of today is not so much different. Everything from AIDS to poverty to world hunger has been blamed on God who supposedly is punishing those who are different from who others think they should be.
Because the man has been born blind, the disciples have a bit of a conundrum to work through. And so, they ask Jesus, “why was this man born blind—because of his sins or the sins of his parents?” Jesus says quickly, “you are asking the wrong question. While looking for someone to blame you have completely missed the opportunity to see what God can do to ease the burden of blindness this man has carried from birth.” Oh, uh, not the answer we were looking for—surely someone is to blame. When bad things happen, even today, even in this church so full of joy and anticipation of good, we can stumble and look for reasons, someone or something to blame when things don’t go the way we had planned. And in this one answer, Jesus settles for us the question that we allow to eat at us, to gnaw at us, rather than looking for what God can do now. I know that there are those of you sitting here today or reading this sermon later who will be unsettled by what Jesus says. As we retrain our hearts to turn away from blame, we will naturally find room to explore God’s miracles, great and small, in our current situation and in the situation of others. And, in the first miracle, we find the energy to work for God and all the children of God.
So, let’s return to the miracle about to unfold in this story. Jesus spits in the dust, makes a clay paste with the saliva, rubs the paste on the blind man's eyes, and says, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam". The man went and washed—and saw. Sometimes Jesus used parables to show us the truth—sometimes the truth was shone through actual events such as this one. This event was, for both the man and his community, a miracle. But there is lots going on behind, in the midst of, and beyond a simple miracle. Along with the formerly blind man, three groups of people were being encouraged to see things in a new light, if you will.
First, there were the disciples—blinded by their own lack of theological understanding. “You’re asking the wrong question,” Jesus says. How often are we so immature in the faith that, not only do we come up with the wrong answer, we don’t even have the knowledge to ask the right question. Caught in the morass of blame-seeking, they were unable to see the glory that God was about to display. Jesus wanted his disciples then, and I believe, now, to begin asking the right questions—questions like how can God change this situation—how can God use me to bring hope, or transformation, or light to this or that situation, and, to whom belongs the glory for what is about to happen? God, perhaps? God, of course. Pushing ourselves beyond the need to blame and shame, we find ourselves in new territory—territory made bright by the light of God.
Second, there were the people in the man’s community. They were made blind by their denial—they saw what they saw and, yet, they could not bring themselves to believe. Do we not use denial in similar ways? We see a need, an opportunity or place where we could fill the gap. But, we do not want to make the effort to respond to such enlightenment, and so we deny it in several ways. First, we may deny that the need even exists; and, secondly, we may deny that we have the skills, abilities, funds, or wherewithal, to allow God to use us to ameliorate or improve the situation. In psychology, denial is a defense mechanism—a form of thinking we utilize, consciously or not—to avoid being present to the issue at hand. In theology, or our understanding of God, it is not so different—if we remain blind to what God wants to do in our lives, we avoid the light of God’s truth altogether.
A little later on in the story, the third form of blindness appears. The Jewish authorities hear of this miracle and can think of only one thing. Jesus has broken the Law. Since this was the Sabbath, the doing of any work was prohibited. According to a strict understanding of such a prohibition, Jesus, when he made paste from the mud and spit, worked. They could see nothing else. Their blindness of righteous indignation allowed them to declare that Jesus was a sinner, and, as such, could not have performed any miracle, much less one of this magnitude. We will always have those who are blinded by the Law or a sense of legalism which precludes seeing the miracle for the miracle that it is. Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to expose the darkness of legalism, denial, and immaturity through the light that he brings to this world. “I am the light of the world” says this Jesus, worker of miracles, bringer of new sight and new light.
Of course, one can make a metaphor of this story, and it’s not a bad thing to do. The “blindness” of the man’s eyes can represent the blindness of our hearts. But Jesus is there, offering us the light of freedom from the Law, revitalization of our lives and the knowledge that we need to proceed. The man himself, living out the miracle, does not look for a sophisticated answer to the people’s question. “I was blind, a man named Jesus put mud on my eyes and told me to wash. When I washed, I saw.” The Pharisees tried to get him to say more, but there was no more to his understanding at the time. He knew the truth—he followed what Jesus told him to do and, in an instant, he saw.
Interestingly enough, after the temple authorities questioned the man who could now see, they threw him out of the Temple. He was rejected when blind, made to beg for the necessities of his life; and, when restored to wholeness, he was rejected for being a part of something too big for them to understand. He found himself alone again, except for Jesus who sought him out. When he found him, Jesus asked the man if he believed in the Messiah. The man, in his innocence said, “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. And, then, Jesus explained it all at once: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” The ever-present Pharisees reacted to his declaration: “What? Are we blind too?” You can almost hear them sputtering and hopping around in their rage. Jesus, answered them simply, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains”.
When, we allow God to open the eyes of our hearts and see, we have faith just as the man born blind. We can even see that God is working when we don’t know why or how. Much of the time, we hold on to the blindness as a shield against the change God wants to bring to our lives. We feel secure, wrapped in our blanket of sameness and status quo. We hold on to old ways of being and giving and praising, because we are comfortable and just a little afraid of what it will feel like if we allow God to enable us to see with new eyes and new sight. Jesus, though, is all about this new way of seeing—to understand that our health problems or losses do not occur because of our sins, to push past denial to a new way of thinking, to live in grace instead of blame and shame. New sight will give us the ability to perceive God’s grace—to comprehend the very best in our healed selves and in the healed and whole selves of others. We do not serve a vengeful, punishing God—we serve a God who loves us and calls us to a life of grace.
Nietzsche, a philosopher, who did not hesitate to critique Christianity once said, “You Christians should look more redeemed.” We serve a God who calls us to dance in the light with Jesus, the Lord of the dance, and to open our eyes, to stay alert for the opportunities to praise God for the miracles in our lives and to stay ready to be the miracle that brings sight to the blind and healing to the hopeless. We serve a God who calls us to dance! Amen and Amen

Writing in the Dirt 8-5-12

The Reading—James 2: 8-13
You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself." But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others. The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period. Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.

The Gospel Reading: John 8: 1-19
Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them. The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" “No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."
Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." The Pharisees objected, "All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on."
Jesus replied, "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, God. That fulfills the conditions set down in God's Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of God who sent me." They said, "Where is this so-called God of yours?" Jesus said, "You're looking right at me and you don't see me. How do you expect to see God? If you knew me, you would at the same time know God."

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Holy and everlasting God, bring us to a fuller knowledge of your generous and loving welcome. Show us how to extend that same welcome to all who enter our lives and our church’s life. May my words reflect your Truth and our thoughts inhabit your praise. Amen
This is an amazing story and we all love it—the sin, the sexiness of the story, Jesus silently scribbling in the dirt while all the powers that be yelled and screamed and, in general, made fools of themselves. And, finally, Jesus gives us what we’ve all been waiting for—forgiveness and a clean slate upon which to write the remainder of our, oops, meant to say, “her” life. From start to finish, this is a story that calls us to re-examine the nature of every relationship in our lives.
First, let’s set the stage that this story plays itself upon. Jesus has returned to Jerusalem after going to the Mt. of Olives and is teaching again in the Temple. Swarms or people are vying for a place at his feet to hear him speak—standing perhaps all day, just wanting to be close enough to hear this Teacher of teachers speak. Suddenly, the cloud parts as the Jewish rulers callously drag a woman, bruised and frightened, and plop her on her feet in front of Jesus. Can’t you just see her—eyes red from crying, her head hung low out of shame—perhaps not shame for what she has done, but , at least, shame at having been treated like this. “Here you go, Jesus, here is a woman that was caught in the very act (can’t you hear the crowd gasp?) of adultery. The Law of Moses orders her to be stoned. What do you say, O Teacher, who claims to be related somehow to God?” Jesus, who took them all by surprise, followers and adversaries alike, kneels and writes in the dirt. This infuriates the scholars and Pharisees, who begin to raise a ruckus. I envision them much like the crowd at a baseball game when they begin to taunt the batter who is trying to focus on the ball. So Jesus continues to write in the dirt. Finally, when he is ready, he stands and says, “Anybody here who has never sinned? If so, go ahead and throw the first stone.” And then he leans down and continues to write in the dirt. Although the scripture doesn’t say so explicitly, I have always envisioned Jesus as close enough to the woman as to be taking a chance of getting hit, should someone have had the arrogance to believe that they were sinless. However, one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they slip away. In fact, it appears that everyone, save the woman, slips away. Jesus, stands up and says to her, “where are all your accusers? Does anyone condemn you?” “No one, Teacher,” says the woman. Jesus responds, “Then I don’t condemn you either, go your way and do not continue to sin.”
Llook at the various levels of relationship that appear in this brief story. First, Jesus is found in the Temple teaching. Jesus seems to be always available to those who seek to know the Truth. And so, here he is, day after day, teaching in the Temple. There would have been all kinds of folks there, the Temple was a much more of a social center than say, this Temple is. It would have rarely been empty and those seeking Truth would have come to the Temple to learn. And, the Truth they find is Jesus. We may find ourselves as seekers as well. As seekers, longing for more knowledge of Jesus, these folk are in right relationship with God and in their own hearts.
The Jewish leaders enter and the crowd parts. The crowd would have done this partly out of respect and partly out of fear. And, let us not forget, curiosity. This would have been quite a scene in this busy, yet sacred space. The crowd steps a few steps back, wanting to give Jesus and these rulers some room. Perhaps fearing the stones that the Pharisees carried in readiness for the intended stoning, stepping back seemed a wise thing to do. Now, it is not clear that the Pharisees intended to stone this woman at all. In fact, common practice would suggest that they did not intend such a thing. While the penalty of stoning for adultery was found in the Law of Moses, there seems to be few times that the penalty was carried out throughout history. So it would seem that their true intention was to put Jesus into a place where there would be no ‘right’ answer and to set him up for their judgment. If, as scholars suggest, this whole scene was a ‘set-up’, the relationship of these rulers to the Law was questionable as well as their dishonesty, through their trickery, with the people, the woman, and Jesus.
It must have been infuriating to the Jewish leaders that Jesus did not respond to them. We don’t know what Jesus was writing in the dirt, doesn’t seem to play much of a role in the story. But his actions served the purpose of inciting the rulers to riot. After Jesus allows the rulers to be seen for the hypocrites that they were, he stands up and pronounces “judgment” as it were. “Are any of you without sin? If so, boldly cast the first stone”, he says and kneels down to continue writing. As often happens when Jesus is teaching, there is a strange twist in the story at this point. The rulers are asking Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman; instead, He pronounces judgment on them. By raising the right question at just the right moment, Jesus gave the gift of divine insight even to those who sought to entrap him. Knowing that they are not without sin, they slink away. The Law of Moses—never intended to be used in trickery or scam—was given to the people of God to guide them in their search for Godliness. Jesus calls the so-called scholars and rulers to account for their wrong relationship to the Law and we see them turn, in disappointment, I would think, and walk away.
And, so, we are left with the woman and Jesus. Unnamed and unclaimed, she waits to hear her sentence from Jesus who now speaks only to her. When she tells him that no one is left to condemn her, he grants her divine forgiveness and reconciliation and tells her to cease her sinning. Jesus calls her, as only Jesus can, to right the several relationships in her life that are put in jeopardy by unfaithful acts. Obviously, her relationship with her husband has been rendered dishonest by her illicit behavior with those to whom she is not married or committed. But, it is not about the sex. Let me repeat that, it is not about the sex. Certainly there are those who believe and wish to believe that it is about the sex. It makes for a better, juicer story, and it is always easier to cease an action than it is to do the hard work of righting relationships. Rather than the sex itself, the real damage is the series of broken relationships that are her responsibility to mend. Broken also is the relationship between herself and her spirit. This is a defeated woman and it seems likely that this is the real reason she did not run away when all the others left. In reality, her life was a mess. In Jesus’ presence, freed from blame and shame, she comes to terms with those relationships she must now make right. Her dishonest relationship with both her husband and those with whom she engaged in extra-marital affairs had taken its toll; and, she is prepared to learn a new way of behaving, one free from deceit and guilt. And, so, she accepts Jesus’ ‘verdict’ and begins, from that moment on, to put her relationships back in order and restore her relationships with the people in her life, with herself, and with God.
But, what, you still ask, was Jesus writing in the dirt? I would like to know that as well. Some say it was the Ten Commandments. Some say he was writing the New Commandment. And some say he was drawing pictures or merely doodling. I believe that he was praying—praying for the woman and for the Jewish leaders to see the brokenness of their actions and behaviors. I believe that Jesus was communing with God throughout the entire time—that he was maintaining his right relationship with his divine parent. What would happen if we were able to do the same? What if, when we are confronted with malice, and what the Jewish leaders tried to do was certainly malicious—what if, we could calmly continue or heighten our relationship by praying, talking, writing, or singing to God while we wait for God’s response to the viciousness or evil. What would have happened if Jesus were as argumentative as most of us? The rush to pronounce judgment on the Pharisees would have precluded any hint of healing or reconciliation. Jesus, when confronted with the very real possibility of violence responded with patience and peace. When we are confronted with the violence of broken relationships, God calls us, as Jesus models for us, that we are to remain firm in our relationship with God, ourselves, and others—quietly so. And as we learn to ask the right questions at just the right time, we are invited to participate in the incoming of God’s reign of justice and hope. Amen and amen.

A Drop in the Bucket 7-29-12

The Reading— Ephesians 3:14-21

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

The Gospel Reading: John 6: 1-21

After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberias). A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miracles they had seen him do among the sick. When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews. When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread to feed these people?" He said this to stretch Philip's faith. He already knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered, "Two hundred silver pieces wouldn't be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece." One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, "There's a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that's a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this."
Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.
When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted." They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.
The people realized that God was at work among them in what Jesus had just done. They said, "This is the Prophet for sure, God's Prophet right here in Galilee!" Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.
In the evening his disciples went down to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned. A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, "It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid." So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.

A Drop in the Bucket 7-29-12
God, who creates and sustains us, teach us anew of your grace and beauty. Lead us to the table, the table of welcome and abundance. May all that I say and all that we share together be holy in your sight. Amen
There are a hundred different ways one can go with the two stories that we heard in our Gospel lesson. Here on our summer walk we come to a crucial theme in John’s telling of the Jesus story. He places great emphasis on Jesus as the bread of life, the one—the only one—who can end the hunger that rises up in us from our souls. So, we must not ignore the context. This is not merely a miracle—this is an introduction to God’s abundance.
What are you hungry for today? And where do you turn to end that hunger? I’ll be honest with you—as I always am—this has been a hard week. It began with a tearful call early Monday morning from my cousin telling me that my uncle had died and ended with trying to support my dear Terri from afar as she buried her very special grandmother yesterday. And, in between, were all the usual tasks—phone calls, visits, trips to the new campus, study and meditation. It was a week packed full and I came to the point where I wondered if I had anything left to give. I felt indeed like the proverbial “drop in the bucket” that Andrew talks about in our story today. So many things to do and the energy I had was a “drop in the bucket” compared to what I needed.
This, of course, led to thinking, oddly enough about buckets and the drops that go into making them full. Let’s look at Andrew’s situation once again. Masses of people have followed Jesus and the disciples out to a hill. Jesus sits down, perhaps to rest or meditate in the midst of the crowd that was demanding so much of him. After a while, Jesus looks out at the crowd. You can almost see him, surveying the people, perhaps doing a quick headcount, or praying for those who sat at his feet. Out of this looking around, Jesus suddenly says, “Where can we buy bread for these people”? John, in his telling of the story has a crucial difference from the other Gospel writers. In this Gospel, Jesus asks the question of the disciples. In the other Gospels, the disciples ask the question of Jesus. So John tells us that Jesus already has a plan, but he wants to hear what the disciples have to say. Philip, a realist, says to Jesus, “we’re out of our league here—it would take more money than we could make in 6 months to feed this many people”. You can hear the undertone—what Philip wishes he could say to Jesus: “what are you nuts? This ministry runs on a shoestring and we certainly don’t have enough to feed a crowd of this size”. Philip thinks like most of us would—particularly those of you who are good with numbers and calculations.
But Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, thinks a little outside the box and says, "There's a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that's a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this." He almost gets it and then he belittles his own idea. But Jesus is on a roll. He tells the disciples to invite everyone to sit down on the lovely carpet of grass there on the hillside. Jesus takes the bread and gave thanks, just as we do every Sunday, and he does the same with the fish. The food was passed to all who were there and the Gospel writer records that “All ate as much as they wanted.” After this feast, Jesus commands his disciples to gather up the leftovers so that nothing is wasted. And, in a clear acknowledgement of the abundance of God, there are twelve baskets of food leftover. From a small boy’s meal that seemed a “drop in the bucket” when compared to the need, Jesus had transformed the one drop into hundreds of drops which filled the bucket to full and overflowing.
John records that “the people realized that God was at work among them in what Jesus had just done”. And that stopped me in my tracks. On a week such as the one I just finished, did I realize that it was God who took the only drop of emotional and physical energy I had and transformed it so that I not only finished the tasks that truly needed finishing, but also managed to squeeze in a moment or two for playing with the dogs or sitting under one of the shade trees on our new campus. What I do, I do through the sustaining love and power that comes from God through the grace of Jesus Christ.
In our story, Jesus sees that the crowd, in their enthusiasm, is about to get out of control, so he slips away and goes further up the mountain to be alone. The disciples, for reasons we don’t know, got in their boats when evening came to head back to Capernaum. They left Jesus behind since they did not know where he was. When they got to about the middle of the lake, there was suddenly a huge storm. I imagine it to be like one of our summer storms that comes suddenly and violently out of nowhere. John records that they were three or four miles out in the boat. Suddenly they see Jesus walking on the water coming toward them. They were, “scared senseless”, our reading notes. Jesus says to them, "It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid." They then took him in the boat and quickly reached the other side to the exact spot they had intended to get to.
The reason we study a book in sequence is that we can get a better understanding of what was important to these early writers and take a look at whether or not, we should take the hint, and see the importance for ourselves. Our narrative today links these two stories; and, I believe that there is a good reason for that.
What do you hunger for—really hunger for? We know that we are physical creatures and that we need daily sustenance, so whether it is bread or rice cakes, our bodies require food if they are to remain healthy and full of life. So, on the mountainside, Jesus fulfills that basic need—freely from the everlasting abundance of God. The message is that there is enough food for everyone with plenty left over. This is, of course, a very political story—we know, we all know that there is plenty of food generated by the earth to feed the whole world. The fact that there are hungry people everywhere is not due to God’s lack of care or the abundance of the creation of food. The fact that there are hungry people everywhere is due, and only due, to the unwillingness of all peoples to share. This is, of course, another whole sermon, but I could not leave this point unsaid. Nevertheless, obviously important to the early church, this story is the only miracle story of Jesus told in every one of the four Gospels-–the only one. So, as a church, we must never forget that, as we are blessed with food and drink, we must reach out to those who are not.
Jesus, then in the beginning of this narrative, asks and answers his own question. You remember that it was Jesus in John’s version, who asks about feeding the people. He, then, by simple blessing and gratitude, feeds a hillside of people and then slips away to be alone. The disciples apparently either tire of waiting for him to return or, perhaps, follow directions that are unrecorded to travel by boat to the other side of the lake. The lake is calm and they are unafraid, much like we are when all is well. I will admit that while I have discovered the importance of being grateful when life is uncluttered by fear or failure, anxiety or stress and I treasure a quiet moment with God while on the shore of a vast ocean or under a simple shade tree gazing at the amazing patterns the sun makes coming through the leaves; I also know that when life gets tough, when people are angry with me, or I am facing grief or pain or death, I have a different hunger indeed. It is at those times that I cry out for God. In my fearful tears there is always an unspoken hunger and it goes like this: “I need you, God, and I need you right now—not later—right now.” And John reminds us, in this well-known story, that when we are afraid, Jesus walks out to us and offers us the reassurance that all will be well.
The letter-writer and apostle Paul prays for the Ephesians and for us. His prayer is that we will understand the abundance of the Gospel and the willingness of Christ to live within us as living bread. And in a prayer I take from Paul and pray for every one of you every day, I ask God that you will be able to take in the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love—that you will reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God because God can do anything—far more than you could ever imagine or ask for in your wildest dreams, not by manipulating our lives but by working within us, by the Holy Spirit—deeply and gently within us”. Amen and Amen.

Living Water 7-22-12

The Reading— Psalm 78: 12-16
God did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
God divided the sea and led them through; God made the water stand up like a wall.
God guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
God split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
God brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

The Gospel Reading: John 4: 1-26
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship God neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers God seeks. God is spirit, and worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
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Living Water 7-22-12

God, fill our hearts with love and compassion for all the people in our lives who are lonely and thirsting for living water. Move us beyond self-centeredness to radical hospitality in every aspect of our lives. Make us a blessing in this world to bring honor and glory to you. Amen

Today, I’m going to tell you a story—it’s a story that is common to all of us. We all know at least one Samaritan woman in the circles of our lives. I hope you will listen to her story, told from her perspective, and gain a new understanding of who she really was. Far beyond a useful prop or backdrop for Jesus’ teaching, she was a living, breathing, hurting, thirsting woman and we have much to learn from her.

There was nothing in that morning that told me this would be a day different from any other. I got up at my usual time and bid my live-in companion goodbye for the day. No, we’re not married, been there, done that—just didn’t seem to make sense to actually get married—this one’s not likely to last either. I don’t know what I do wrong; I just can’t seem to find a man who loves me for who I am, or cares, for that matter whether I live or die as long as I’m available to serve him, feed him, and well, you know, love him the way he wants to be loved. My mother always told me that I just couldn’t pick ‘em—maybe she is right—sure seems that way. I was busy that morning, had clothes to wash in the river and the house needed sweeping, a hard job that is—our house is bigger than I wanted, seems like it should be filled with children or maybe, by now, even grandchildren. So, living there depresses me—never stayed with one man long enough to raise a family. Oh, I got kids, all right, but when they were little, I just couldn’t seem to get it together, so my aunt and mother raised them. Now, they don’t even give me the time of day. Guess I shouldn’t blame them—wasn’t much of a mother. At least that way, they didn’t see the beatings every one of those men gave me—probably would have beaten them, too. But, I must get back to my story.
So, I worked hard all morning and left at noon to go to the well—the well that was Jacob’s. Water was good in that well—seemed you could almost taste the blood, sweat and tears of all the people who had drunk from the well through all those years—kinda made me feel a little less alone. No one in my village speaks to me or has anything to do with me—so I avoid the dirty looks by going out when everybody else is inside trying to stay cool. It’s just easier that way, but what I wouldn’t give for a friend or two to pass the time of day with or have over for lunch when the husbands are all out in the fields. You should see the looks, breaks my heart right down to the bone to be treated like that. But, I’m resigned now—made my bed, as my mother would say, and now I’m really lying in it.
That day seemed particularly hot—made you thirsty just to step outside your door. Off I went carrying my jug for the water. As I approached the well, I saw a man—a Jewish man, I could tell immediately by the way he was dressed and just the way he looked. I was going to turn around and come back later, but he called me over. I first thought that he might be crazy, no Jewish person and certainly not a man, should speak to me—it’s not right, it’s not allowed. But, he called me again. I looked around to make sure that no one was watching and stepped up to where he was. Pretty bold he was, said to me, “Will you give me a drink?” I told him that I thought it was a bad idea—what with him being a Jew and me a Samaritan woman—get that? W-O-M-A-N—so I asked him how he could ask me for a drink.
This guy was more than a little weird, but there was something about him. He looked right at me, didn’t roll his eyes, or spit at my feet. He just said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask for living water.” I told him that the well was deep and he had nothing to use to get water—what is all this talk about living water, and, by the way, this well belonged to Jacob who gave it to us and drank from it himself. Did he think he was better than Jacob?
This man didn’t take offense. He just said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” Now, I wanted this living water, never to be thirsty again seems like a good idea to me. I am sick to death of having to come here to draw water. So, I asked him for this water he was talking about. Then the hammer fell—I knew it was too good to be true. He told me to go get my husband. I didn’t try to lie, something about him told me not to. I said, “I have no husband,” He didn’t condemn me, he just said, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
I got more than a little uncomfortable. How could he know about my life? But, he didn’t seem to care that I’ve had 5 husbands. He must be special—how else would he know? I didn’t know what to say, so I just blurted out, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Wow, I thought for sure I had put my foot in it now. But, he just replied, “Woman, believe me, a time is coming when where you worship won’t matter. The time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship God in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers that God seeks. God is spirit, and worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
He called me ‘woman’. Most people call me trash, or whore, or something worse. He called me ‘woman’. I lifted my head just a little bit higher. I was struggling to understand all that he was saying to me. It was complicated—something about worshipping God in the Spirit and in truth—I had to think hard about that. So I answered him, “I know that Messiah—the one called Christ—is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” And then this man, this good and kind man said, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” And I knew in that instant that it was so.
It all made sense to me now—only the Messiah could have known all these things and spoken all these things. And, suddenly, I knew that I belonged to him. This man was kind and seemed to honestly care about me. I wondered why—why me—why did God pick me to encounter the Messiah. Perhaps, just perhaps, I am not despised and condemned by God because of all that I have done. Perhaps, just perhaps, I can find out more about this Spirit. To worship in truth—surely that means I can worship God right here and right now?
I felt like a new person—renewed somehow, like the past was forgiven and washed away. I was eager to share what I have found—about this man, this good and kind man—who knew all about me and didn’t care. For once, I was happy to run back to the village—I didn’t dread the stares, the name-calling, and wonder of wonders, it didn’t happen this time. My face was changed—I could feel it. My hopelessness was replaced by joy—I had experienced a miracle. And they listened—they listened to me—the woman they had hated just hours ago. They listened and they ran after him, too. They wanted what I had and, that was a first, I tell you. But my heart was changed and my love for everyone in the villages took the place of all my resentment, dread and doubt. The way they used to treat me—judging and despising—that wasn’t from God. I know that now, I heard God’s voice for myself.
I marked well this miracle in my life and I still tell the good news to any who will hear and I welcome them to this man called Christ. Unwanted no longer, I am accepted by Him. Hated no longer, I am loved by Him. Rejected no longer, I am cherished by Him and today I have living water to share. And I offer it to you—to heal your pain, to bring hope to your hopelessness, and love to your fear. If God can love me, once so despised that I had to sneak through my village for water, God can love you. No past too great, no wrong decision too big—come see for yourself, He sits at the well of forgiveness and peace waiting for you. Waiting for you… amen and amen.

Putting the World Right 7-15-12

The Reading— 1 Corinthians 2: 6-8, 10-13
We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of [sacred] purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out [the divine] best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along…God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that [we are being given]. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
The Gospel Reading: John 3: 1-6. 16-21
There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it." Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."
"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"
Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit. "This is how much God loved the world: {God] gave [the] Son, [the] one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending [the] Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."
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God of miracle and message, we pray today that we might understand more and more of your gifts of grace and forgiveness. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you and bring you glory. Amen
It’s an old story—this story of Nicodemus sneaking to Jesus at night. He comes in the darkness to find the truth from this man called Jesus. He is ready to hear it—you can see that in his first response: “You are a teacher straight from God”. And when Jesus confirms all that he has said, it appears that Nicodemus may have stumbled upon the truth himself. But, Jesus “pushes the envelope”, if you will. “You must be born again, re-born from a spiritual perspective”. Poor Nicodemus, just seconds from thinking he is in sync with Jesus, stumbles on Jesus’ language and metaphor. Nicodemus, wanting something he can relate to says, “This is nonsense, I can’t go back into my mother’s womb and be born again”. Jesus tries again: “You’re not really listening. Unless a person is willing to be spiritually reborn, born into a new life, they will never understand what it means to participate in God’s reign of justice”.
I believe that Open Circle is in the very midst of being reborn—let me explain. This has been a very exciting week and, all along, my prayer has been that I and we don’t miss the spiritual meaning inherent in all of the sweeping and painting and making our home in our new campus. Let’s try this on for size and see if it works at all.
Nicodemus has heard of this Jesus and knew of the miracles it was reported he performed. We, Open Circle, through the Dare to Dream Team, learned of the existence of this land and went to see it. We were impressed with it and wanted to know more. The Board of Directors looked at the land as well and said, “this could be our new home”. And so, just as Nicodemus came to see Jesus for himself, we placed an offer on the land and began our due diligence period. It became clear, just as Nicodemus said, that “God was in on it.” And we completed our time of testing and exploring and began to wait for closing. Let me tell you how this past week went for me. On Monday, we signed the papers—no turning back now. And I began to believe that we were almost home. On Tuesday, I was handed a key—closer yet and the excitement was building. But nothing could have prepared me for what I felt standing on the property that is and will be home for literally generations of MCC’ers. And, all day, I found myself standing still for a moment, letting it sink in and experiencing the joy of it all. I began to see that it was happening for all of us who were there—we just kept grinning at each other—seemed the only thing to do—we were so full of joy and hope.
And, it dawned on me, this is the story of being born again. We hear of this Jesus, and we may make a small investment in God’s sacred reign. We learn more, we test, we explore, we measure. We may even bring in experts to give us needed information. And, in the end, we make a decision to buy or buy in as it were. But, not until we step through the threshold of our door or stand under a tree and drink in the smell of new cut grass, does it all become real. And this experience lies ahead for most of you—I can hardly wait to see it unfold.
We are Nicodemus a hundred-fold. We hear about Jesus, we learn a little of God’s unconditional love, it breaks through our resistance and reluctance bit by bit. We journey in faith and exploration. We ponder the meaning of commitment and we let go of all that keeps us from feeling the joy and we say “yes” to God’s call to recognize that we are a child of God. And, suddenly, nothing is ever the same. Our hearts are full of joy and expectation. Once we move past our limited notion of ourselves and our church, we begin to embrace the limitless opportunities for spiritual growth in our lives and in Open Circle.
It is important for us to understand why Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus is so revolutionary and difficult for him and, therefore, us to grasp. Historically, the Jews had seen themselves as the chosen people with good reason. However, God’s promise to Abraham—“All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” establishes that the Jewish people were not the only recipients of God’s grace. So, from time to time, someone would choose to convert to Judaism. When this occurred, these proselytes were described as “reborn”. So the concept of being reborn was not foreign to Nicodemus. However, Nicodemus was a Pharisee, born into the Jewish people, and considered a religious leader. For Jesus to use the same word as previously attached to people who converted to Judaism would have been a bitter pill for Nicodemus to swallow.
We are not so different. Open Circle has received awards and our success has been on the lips of every Elder in our denomination. We continue to be held up as an example for others to follow. It would be easy for us to slip into a Nicodemus mindset which prohibits us from hearing what God, through Jesus, is saying. Though the world may set up apart and tell us we are special, our call is to be reborn—to move from a small church mindset to the wonder of unexplored ministries. As Jesus called Nicodemus to be reborn, he calls us still—to open our hearts to the bigger and better gifts and ministries waiting to be birthed, through all of you, into our community of faith and the world. Not so different is our individual call to be reborn in this church from a hearer to a doer, from a listener to a planner, and from a doubter to one who is ready for anything God sends your way.
St. John Vianny says this regarding listening to God. “When it's God Who is speaking ... the proper way to behave is to imitate someone who has an irresistible curiosity and who listens at keyholes. You must listen to everything God says at the keyhole of your heart”. Are we ready to listen at the keyholes of our hearts? I hope so and pray so. Our “irresistible curiosity” to listen to all the ways God is calling us to utilize this sacred space will lead us in ministry paths we have not even had time to think of yet. And this is the path to “putting the world right again”—we see the need and answer “yes”.
We learn from Paul what God will do in our lives when we are open and listening. Paul says, the wisdom that we learn from is not the popular wisdom of the high-priced or highly visible people who speak in the name of Christianity. No, he says, “God's wisdom is the oldest of old and is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of [sacred] purposes”. Paul goes a little further and says, “the ones who claim to be experts in the faith really don’t have any idea what God’s plan for the world actually is.” Paul is convinced and so am I that God’s plan will bring out the sacred best in us. “The Spirit”, says Paul, “is not found in surface things. No, the Spirit is in the depths of God and shows us what was planned from the very beginning”.
Paul goes further, “We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way”.
Hear the words of Jan Richardson, artist and theologian: “What distinguishes and directs the flow and focus of our lives? What is the purpose we are known for—or that we struggle toward and long for? How do we abandon ourselves to this purpose and to the One who calls us to it, and move ever more deeply into the self that God created us to be?”
This is the call to us today—to move more deeply into the self and church that God created us to be. We are blessed and we know it. What will it take for all of us to hear the call of God to fulfill the sacred responsibility that comes with the special space we now call home? What will it take for all of us to open our hearts, and yes, even our minds to hear and heed and answer Christ’s call to be reborn—to change and grow and risk and give of ourselves in new and exciting ways. Welcome to rebirth and welcome to a new Open Circle MCC where all are welcome to worship and to serve. Welcome to the opportunity to be all that God plans for you to be. Welcome to the place where “God is in on it” every moment of the day. Amen and amen.

Light Incarnate 7-8-12

The Reading—1 John 1: 3-7
This, then, is the message we heard from Jesus and declare to you: God is light, and in God there is no darkness at all. If we say we have intimacy with God while still living in darkness, we are liars and do not live in truth. But is we live in the light, as God is in the light, we are one with each other, and the blood of Jesus, the Only Begotten, purifies us from all sin.

The Gospel Reading: John 1: 1-18
In the beginning there was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. The Word was present to God from the beginning. Through the Word all things came into being, and apart from the Word nothing came into being that has come into being. In the Word was life, and that life was humanity’s light—a Light that shines in the darkness, a Light that the Darkness has never overtaken.
Then came one named John, sent as an envoy from God, who came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through his testimony everyone might believe. He himself wasn’t the Light, he only came to testify about the Light—the true Light that illumines all humankind.
The Word was coming into the world—was in the world—and though the world was made through the Word, the world didn’t recognize it. Though the Word came to its own realm, the Word’s own people didn’t accept it. Yet any who did accept the Word, who believed in that Name, were empowered to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor urge of flesh, nor human will—but born of God. And the Word became flesh and stayed for a little while among us; we say the Word’s glory—the favor and position a parent gives an only child—filled with grace, filled with truth.
John testified by proclaiming, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks ahead of me, for this One existed before I did.’”
Of this One’s fullness we’ve all had a share—gift on top of gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, the Gift—and the Truth—came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the Only Begotten, ever
at Abba's side, who has revealed God to us.
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Light Incarnate 7-8-12
God, the same God who said “let there be light”, we hear you now when you call us to the Light—that Light Incarnate who came to us in the person of Jesus. Help us to understand what seems beyond understanding and to listen with new hearts to your word. May all that I say, and all that we reflect upon bring you honor and glory. Amen
Welcome to the Gospel of John! We’re going to spend the remaining weeks of summer, taking a very close look at what John has to say to us. Why, this Gospel? I think John is a very summertime kind of writer—he writes in poetry and sacred prose. He emphasizes Light more than any other Gospel writer. We experience more light, as in daylight, during the summer than any other season and so I chose John as our summer journey. So, walk in the light as we study this beautiful record of the life of Jesus.
There are many in the world who choose to talk about God in a conceptual basis rather than a personal one. Some of those same folks find Christianity or the belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah as incongruent with the notion of a universal concept of love or spirit or energy. These folks need to read the first chapter of the Gospel of John. John’s concepts of Jesus as Word, and incarnation and light would be at home in any conversation about the nature of the divine. And so I welcome you to this journey, this summer of light and learning about John’s experience of Jesus and our response.
A very long time ago, let me emphasize a very long time ago, I went regularly to a gym. And I may again some day, but that doesn’t have anything to do with my story. Anyway, I went religiously to an aerobics dance class that was held outside on a big slab of concrete next to the pool. Next to—not in the pool. Anyway, it was hot, and the class had reached a level of fairly rapid movement. I was, it will not surprise you, dying in the heat. I suddenly realized that the teacher who was red in the face, too, was no longer actually doing the movements, she was just shouting at us what the next moves were. Seeing this, I lost a great deal of my motivation to continue on. The next time, she asked the group if we were having fun, I had a not very Christian answer for her. And by the time she shouted, “come on folks, bring your best self, only two more minutes of jumping jacks”, I was in the pool.
I discovered something important that day—it’s not enough for a leader to simply shout the instructions. A leader, at least if they are going to lead this rather stubborn person, is going to have to be out there in the heat “doing it” right along with me. Others didn’t seem to care or notice that the leader stopped working out with us when the first drop of sweat appeared underneath the cute little headband that accentuated the cute little outfit she was wearing. I noticed and I cared—and I think most of us do. Enough about exercise, I’m getting queasy just thinking about it.
John, in his poetic and subtle way, is telling us that God is not just giving instructions anymore. Prior to the incarnation of Jesus, God spoke to people only through others. Moses was used by God to bring the Law to the Hebrew people. Prophet after prophet spoke on behalf on God—desperately trying to lead the Israelites back to their God. But, all of a sudden, God is present in this world in the person of Jesus Christ—actually present. Jesus is not a representative of God; Jesus is the coming of God into the world. John gives us some information that can be confusing. He writes of Jesus, the Word, as present with God long before he came to earth as a tiny baby. It’s important to John that we get to the bottom of this. What makes Jesus the incarnation of the Word is, simply, being with God before the world began. Jesus was not an idea that occurred to God when things weren’t going quite right—Jesus was present with God as human history unfolded and throughout all time. Jesus was the incarnation of an eternal God come to earth to bring freedom and release.
The very beginning of the Gospel of John is often called the Proluge—like a summary before the book begins. God, here, is revealed as the God who will not leave us alone trying to figure out the law to the best of our abilities. God does not just shout from afar our next steps; no, God is present among us as the light of the world. The rest of John’s Gospel spells out all the ways that God was present in Jesus—as healer and teacher, as shepherd and guide. He is present among us—he speaks to us and, in the end, he lays down his life for all his friends. The Incarnation calls us to be a similar kind of presence in the world—to be used by God in all the ways that Jesus allowed God to use him.
The next person who appears rather quickly is John whom we call John the Baptizer. John plays a completely unique role in the unfolding of the story. Perhaps it would make more sense if we referred to John as John the Witness or Announcer, for John was sent by God with a specific purpose. Unlike the other Gospels, John, the author of this Gospel never refers to this John as John the Baptist. The Gospel of John calls us to the primary purpose—that of announcing, or preparing the way and of witnessing to the light that Jesus brought into the world.
The prologue, the portion of the Gospel of John that we have read today, closes with the statement that no one has ever seen God, that Jesus, the incarnate One, reveals God to us. John the Witness demonstrates how the Incarnate one is introduced to the rest of the world—by pronouncement and proclamation—and this is where we fit in. The Gospel does not go forward except by witnesses such as John and followers such as us. John’s purpose and our purpose as well is to witness or testify to the Light. In other words, John needed only point to Jesus as the Incarnation of God. Jesus would do the rest.
This pointing to Jesus is the call to witness the Christ story in the world. Now, I want to be honest with you. I know and you know that we live in a larger community of LGBTQ people all over the world. Their struggle is ours and ours is theirs. But, there is a problem. For many reasons, and we might explore those some day—our community is a “tough sell” on Jesus. Some Christian folk talk about two experiences of coming out—once when they came out as a gay, lesbian, bi, trans person and a second time when they came out to their new community as Christian. Some choose, after their first coming out, to never come out a second time. I know that everyone of you has friends, family or, at least, neighbors who can’t figure out why you identify as Christian. When people, after finding out the nature of the mission of MCC, ask me—is that, are you, a Christian church?, I understand their confusion. Public consensus is that being LGBTQ and Christian is not a match, shall we say, “made in heaven”.
But we are, indeed called to point the way to Jesus along with John the Witness and all the disciples. So how do we make sense of it all and still hold on to our witness?
In seminary, I ran across Fr. Henri Nouwen—A Catholic Priest, a scholar and writer who lived a very troubled life at times. However, he is the one who showed me that we are witnesses in every aspect of our lives. His writings called me to a larger vision of telling the story—not to just good times, but to acknowledge that we are all wounded and those very wounds speak of the glory of God. So I learned that witnessing in not memorizing a tract (if you don’t know what a tract is, you weren’t an evangelical in the 70’s); witnessing is living your life for all to see the miracle of you and to see what God is doing in your life now.
And, so, we end here for today. But we will return time and again, to stories of this Jesus, the Light of the world. As we study the Gospel of John, I trust that we will find new ways to be the witness in the world to God’s unconditional love and radical acceptance. Live in the light and walk with others until they see the light that is in us reflecting the Incarnate Word in the world. Amen and amen.

Navigate the New-7-1-12

The Reading—II Corinthians 5: 15-20

The reason Christ died for all was so that the living should live no longer for themselves but for Christ, who died and was raised to life for them. And so from now on, we don’t look on anyone in terms of mere human judgment. Even if we did once regard Christ in these terms, that is not how we know Christ now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation. The old order has passed away; now everything is new! All of this is from God, who ransomed us through Christ—and made us ministers of that reconciliation. This means that through Christ, the world was fully reconciled again to God, who didn’t hold our transgressions against us, but instead entrusted us with this message of reconciliation. This makes us Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making the appeal directly through us. Therefore we implore you in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God.

The Gospel Reading: Mark 2: 21-22

“No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak, Otherwise, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear gets worse. Similarly, no one pours new wine into wineskins. If one does, the wine will burst the skins, and both wine and skins will be lost. No, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”


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God, it is an exciting time to be your church. Help us to fully understand your will for our lives. May all that I say and all that we meditate upon bring you honor and glory. Amen

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church says this about the new life in Christ of which Paul speaks: "[One] has new life, new senses, new faculties, new affections, new appetites, new ideas and conceptions. [One’s] whole tenor of action and conversation is new, and [one] lives, as it were, in a new world. God, [people], the whole creation, heaven, earth, and all therein, appear in a new light, and stand related to [one] in a new manner, since [one] was created anew in Christ Jesus."
We have an invitation to that newness and I will admit to you that I am just a wee bit frightened. Frightened because I really kinda like “old”. It’s familiar, it’s comfortable, and it’s easy. New—not so much. New calls me to go places I haven’t been before, to try things on, to think in ways that are unfamiliar. New in Christ calls me to find my passion in ministry and to pursue it as the Holy Spirit leads. But Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians is adamant.
I fear that we probably don’t spend much time in this so-called “post-modern” age thinking about why Jesus died. Paul, however answers that question in words that leave us little ‘wiggle’ room. “The reason Christ died for all was so that the living should live no longer for themselves but for Christ.” This is the process that old-timers would have called “conversion”.
Father Patrick Brennan, a Catholic Priest, talks about the notion of conversion. Conversion, Fr. Brennan says is
“awakening to the whole Gospel -- the necessary connection between the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached, and the work of social justice. God's Kingdom is no less than this, the transformation of society with the power of the Gospel. Jesus did not intend His words to be misused for feel-good religion. The Gospel is simultaneously comfort and challenge”.
How does this awakening to the whole Gospel affect who we are or what we are? Paul, gives us a starting point—here, now, today. From this point forward everything is different. When we learn of the Gospel of God’s unconditional love made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, we become brand new. We become the people that God created us to be—fully aware of God’s complete acceptance of us exactly the way we are. We live differently now because we think differently. God made our understanding possible because Jesus showed us the way to reconciliation with ourselves and our creator. Through Christ, all the world was reconciled to God—all the world, not one single person or creature was left out. This is Good News! But wait, there is more. Paul tells us that God entrusted us with the message of reconciliation. “Us”? This is more than we bargained for. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God will use us to bring the message of reconciliation to all who need to hear.
Some of you may be saying, “well, I’m not so sure that I want to be used to bring the message of anything to anyone”. Perhaps it is time to take a good look at this “new creation” thing. John Wesley, Paul, Fr. Patrick all talk about being “new”. I want to ask all of you, just for a brief moment, to travel in your minds to a time when you felt estranged from God or from God’s people or God’s church. It may have been in a time of grief, or great loneliness, or a time when life just wouldn’t fall into place. It may have been the final time you were turned away from full participation in your former family of faith. How did it feel, when you first experienced again the knowledge that God was there for you, that God loved you and that a community of faith was welcoming you into their midst? Perhaps, it didn’t happen until you found this church or another MCC church in another time and place. Perhaps it happened in some other way. For some of you, conversion, reconciliation, if you will, happened a very long time ago. For some, not long ago at all—nevertheless, find a way to recapture, for a moment, that sheer joy and peace that flooded your whole being when you found yourself reconciled with yourself and with God.
This reconciliation, this pure joy is the message of reconciliation and, like it or not, we have been entrusted by God to bring this same opportunity for reconciliation to those who most need to hear it. You may wonder why I am calling us to examine this part of our lives and our church’s life today?
Let me share with you some of the burden that I have carried for some time now. The worst outcome from having gone so long with no space to call our own is not the lack of storage, or the fact that the church office is in our home. It is not that we have to set up and take down our “church” each and every week. It is not that I have to meet you in restaurants or rec centers to talk. The worst outcome is that we have learned to make do and in so doing, have gotten comfortable with being a Sunday-only church. While it is my prayer that we share the message of reconciliation every Sunday, it is not enough. In order to bring the message of reconciliation to the world, we must be where the world is.
Listen again to our mission statement. I hope that you are becoming very familiar with it. “The mission of Open Circle MCC is to share the unconditional love of God: and to call us, through the grace of Jesus Christ, to ministry by all for all”. Not ministry by some for some—that, my friends, is Sunday-only church. As we move into this new era in our church’s brief history, I ask only one thing from you—that you open your mind to ministries that God may be calling you to. As you ponder this request, reflect on the thought of Keith Miller. He says that “the essence of all sin is self-centeredness”. And then he clarifies: “it is not necessarily greed. It is placing yourself at the center and having to be in charge and having to be in control. What we do is elbow God out of [a] job”.
Our greatest need at this, our first crucial turning point, is for people, people just like you, to be willing to listen to God’s call to be leaders, teachers and workers in the church. I’ve heard from some of you that people like to be asked personally, individually and we do that sometimes. It is, however, not my place to interpret what God is saying directly to you. And so, I invite you to listen, and to pray. In order to go from a Sunday-only church to a fully alive faith community sharing the message of God’s reconciling love, it is going to take a lot of people stepping up to provide leadership and assistance. So, I am asking you today to consider this your individual invitation to hear God’s call and respond.
We have, right now, several crucial positions that we need to fill in the next few weeks. Let me tell you some of them so that you can pray in specific terms when next you think this through with God. We need someone to head up our congregational care program—to help coordinate what all the volunteers are doing with regard to our care for each other. We need skilled or willing to be trained people to lead groups. We need someone willing to take on the task of coordinating all our outreach programs—our visitor follow-up program and all the other ways we reach out to people not currently involved in our church. We need someone who will coordinate our office volunteers; and, we need office volunteers. Many of you have told me that you will help with administrative and other office duties when we finally have a office. We are not so far from having that very office we have been dreaming of. And, we need someone to head up our stewardship team—someone who has a passion for encouraging and leading people to tithe of their time, talent, and treasure.
With the purchase of our land and the renovation of our offices, we have the opportunity, as a church, to experience the newness of conversion—the conversion of a wonderfully, welcoming worshipping family to a full-service, if you will, church with ministries that arise from our passion to meet everyone exactly where they are. Even at this tender age, we are becoming new, changing from the inside out and taking seriously our call to mission. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading this morning. “No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak, Otherwise, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear gets worse. Similarly, no one pours new wine into wineskins. If one does, the wine will burst the skins, and both wine and skins will be lost. No, new wine is poured into new wineskins.” God is giving us new wine and we joyfully create the new wineskins to hold this precious gift.
Our God is calling us to change, to conversion, to transformation. And, I believe we are ready to say a sacred “yes” to a divine call. I ask you, to explore with God where your passion for ministry with others lies. Listen, and when God calls, for the sake of the world, say “yes”. And all God’s people said: Amen and amen.