Pentecost Sunday--"Spreading Like Wildfire"--5-27-12

The Reading: Acts 2: 1-4, 41-47
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

The Gospel Reading: John 15: 1-8, 16-17
"I am the Real Vine and God is the Farmer. The Farmer cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing is pruned back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Holy Parent is revealed—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
"You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask in relation to me, God gives you. "But remember the root command: Love one another.
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Spreading Like a Wildfire 5-27-12
God, we want to be a Pentecost people—filled with your spirit and spreading joy with wild abandon. Show us the way, grant us your peace, send us your power and fill us with hope. May the words I speak today and the thoughts we share bring honor and glory to you. Amen
Whew, there is a lot going on in Jerusalem today and we are blessed to be in the midst of it all. There’s more to the story than what we heard in our reading today and as we watch and listen, we will hear the rest. There were lots of people in Jerusalem that day. There was a feast, a Jewish spring harvest festival held exactly 50 days after Passover—so a lot of people from a lot of different places were present in Jerusalem that day. Luke tells us, in the portion of scripture between the two passages that were just read from the second chapter of Acts, that these people were God-fearing religious people. There were Jews present from every nation—every nation under heaven, Luke says.
The wind appeared, blowing people almost away. There is chaos and fire suddenly falling from the sky—a rather disconcerting sight, indeed. As the crowd, completely in awe, begins to listen; they each heard the disciples speaking in languages they understood. They heard the wonders of God being spoken in their own tongue. Completely confused and utterly amazed, they asked one another, “Aren’t these people from Galilee”? “What does this mean”?
Let us step away from the crowd for a moment and talk about what has happened. We’ll push the pause button so that we can think about what God is doing in their midst. God, as we have seen time and time before, is a God of relationship—relationship with all the creation, including all of us humans, regardless of the language we speak, the clothing we wear, the beliefs we bring to the table. And so, on this day, the day of the great gift of the Holy Spirit, God made sure that it was all—the gift of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the apostles about all the wonders of God were accessible to everyone. Imagine yourself (and some of you remember well) sitting in church where nothing is spoken in the language you speak—how frustrated, how limited is your experience of the wonders of God. This passage is neither confusing or complicated when taken for exactly what it means: When God sent the Holy Spirit, God made sure that no one would be left out—no matter what language they spoke or understood, they could hear someone speaking directly to them. What better illustration of God’s commitment to relationship could we imagine—the wonders of God revealed in everyone’s own language—spoken so they could understand the teachings of the apostles. God reached out to the Jews in Jerusalem and reaches out to us today, in languages we can all understand—showing us again how much it means to God that we understand the unconditional love and acceptance offered to us all. We don’t have to speak God’s language; God will reach out and speak ours.
As we go back to the crowd, we hear that there are doubters—“these people are not spreading the truth about God, they are merely drunk and spouting nonsense”. Peter, in the moment he has been prepared for, stands, surrounded by the other 11 apostles, and gives the sermon of a lifetime:
“Fellow Jews, and all who live in Jerusalem, listen well to what I have to say to you—your charges that these people are drunk are ridiculous, it’s early in the morning. What is happening was described by the Prophet Joel:
‘In the days to come—it is our God who speaks—I will pour out my Spirit on all humankind. Your daughters and sons will prophesy, your young people will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams. Even on the most insignificant of my people, both women and men, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. And I will display wonders in the heavens above and the earth below:’
He goes on to preach about Jesus; “Listen, all of you in the crowd and beyond, Jesus was a human being, who got his credentials from God—the miracles, sign, and wonders of which you are hearing—these are all about Jesus of Nazareth, the same Jesus who was crucified, died, was buried and who rose again. These things were all prophesied by David and by other prophets. We know one thing for sure and let all of Israel know and believe this: “God has made this Jesus, who walked on this earth and was crucified by religious Jews according to God’s plan, Lord and Messiah.”
Wanting direction, the people in the crowd asked: “What can we do now?’ Peter replied, “Just like everyone else, you are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit when you change your hearts, when you come to understand the forgiveness and accceptance that God offers and that Jesus taught”. This must have been some sermon because over 3,000 of those folks decided right then and there to receive God’s Holy Spirit. Kinda like the first megachurch in history. Our story ends today with all of them living together in harmony, spending time in the Temple, devoting themselves to the teachings of the apostles, to communing together and to prayer.
We do not live in the days just after Jesus walked on this earth. Surely the meaning is different for us. We seek to know—what does it mean to us, right now and right here? Many people think that Pentecost is the so-called birthday of the Church. Some churches today will have birthday cakes, balloons and the like. Whether or not this event in Acts is the actual beginning of the Church as we know it, is open to debate, I suppose. The significance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, is clear and compelling. Jesus promised this gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples just before he left this earth. This advocate and comforter was coming and soon—and then Jesus was gone. The disciples listened and seemed to understand as they stayed put in Jerusalem just as they had been instructed. And we, like them, are waiting.
Whoosh, we are spinning around with the power of the wind—like a gale force wind—so strong that it is hard to stand. And then the fire falls and spreads like wildfire…confusion is everywhere, no one seems to be quiet, and suddenly everyone finds that God is speaking to them exactly the way they need to hear it. This is our lesson, that God is so committed to us and a relationship with us that language and geography is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That power and prestige is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That age or inexperience is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That culture or ethnicity is no barrier—God is bigger than that. And, perhaps, that being religious or being spiritual is no barrier—God is bigger than that. God is bigger than any barrier we can drum up—than any difference that we believe can divide us. I wonder sometimes, if God must surely tire of all the drama of the part of the creation called “human”—the hatred and evil done in the name of Christianity—God is bigger than that. The doubts and skepticism that some of you have in your hearts right now—God is bigger. God is bigger than anyone and any institution that has tried to separate you from God’s love and peace. God is bigger than that. And God is bigger than any fundraiser we might have, any committee, any disagreement, any scuffle along the way to doing God’s will—God is bigger than that, too.
Today is Pentecost and we are a Pentecost people. We listen with our hearts—God is telling us that we are ready—ready to receive the “power from on high”. We give our hearts and minds to God—and with God’s help, our hearts are pure. We receive the “power from on high” and we are ready—ready to move forward with all God wants for us as people and for this, the Church, the people of God, in this place—now and in the years to come. In the sweet light of unconditional love and abundant grace, we listen, we hear, we receive, and we go forth to live and love and invite in the power of the Holy Spirit—to the glory of God! Amen and amen. We stand, and we sing—Be still for the presence of the Lord is moving in this place—can you hear it? Listen…

Timing is God's Business

The Reading: Acts 1:1-11
Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but "must wait for what the Abba God promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon." When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?" He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is God’s business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world." These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left."
THE GOSPEL: Luke 24:44-53
Our Gospel today comes from the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 44-53.
Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled."
He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Abba God promised to you, so stay here in the city until [the gift] arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high."
He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven. And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God.
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Timing is God’s Business 5-20-12
God, we are so quick to ask for things on our schedule. Help us to remember that you are God. Grant us the hearing of your still small voice on this day and always. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you. Amen
Play first little portion of CD of “I Want It All”
I want it, all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now! This may well be the anthem that the world in which we live sings—not necessarily to its creator, but to whomever will listen. Not only do we want it all, we want it all now. There is even a phrase we use to name this compulsion—it’s called instant gratification. We have lost our ability to wait for even the smallest things. Most of us don’t really, when honesty prevails, want to wait in line for anything, be it a movie or a table in a restaurant. But this is exactly where we end up in our story today—waiting for the greater experience that is still to come.
What is described in the Gospel Reading and the Acts of the Apostles is the same event. 40 days after Jesus was raised from the dead, he left his disciples and returned to God. Forty days! You can tell from the questions that the disciples are asking that they are unaware of the time frame for what was to happen next. Let’s look at these two passages combined into one.
Jesus had been spending most of the days between his resurrection and this day (the day he is to say goodbye to them) working with them on becoming disciples, leading them to understand the scriptures and teaching them about the reign of God which was to come. As they talked and ate together, Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the gift that Abba God had promised to them. He reminded them of the baptism of John where people were baptized in water. He told them that they would soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. He told them some very important things. He recalled that all that he had told them could be summed up in one sentence and this is it—everything that was written about Jesus in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms must be fulfilled. See, he said, see how the scriptures show exactly what happened—the Messiah suffers and then rises from the dead on the third day. Now, beginning right here, the story of lives being changed through the forgiveness of sins and the new life in Christ is proclaimed throughout the nations. This is to start right here in Jerusalem while they wait for God to fill them with power from on high. He told them that they were the first to know about this life-changing experience. Again, he told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait. When they gathered with Jesus for the last time, they asked, “Jesus, is this the time that you restore the kingdom to Israel? Is this the time that everything becomes right in the world?” And he answered them, “You don't get to know the time. Timing is God’s business. But what you will get is the gift you are waiting for—the gift of the Holy Spirit and through the power that comes in this gift, you’ll be equipped to spread the word of all that you know all over the world”. These words were the last words he spoke. As they watched, they were amazed when Jesus raised his hands and blessed them and disappeared into heaven. Some were standing and some were on their knees. Suddenly, two people robed in white appeared. Frustrated with the disciples’ lack of insight, they explained exactly what had just happened. They scolded the Galileans for looking up at the empty sky. “What are you looking for? Jesus is gone!” The disciples, still absorbing all that they had heard and seen, gathered themselves together and went back to Jerusalem. They were bursting with joy so they spent all of their “waiting” time in the Temple praising God.
This must have been an amazing time for the disciples—these special men and women chosen by Jesus for the most important task of all—the task of telling the whole world about Jesus’ life, His teachings, his resurrection, and his forgiveness of sins. You see, I think we forget what a pivotal role these disciples played in the history of the church. It fell to them to guarantee that the news of all of these things got beyond their own small group. This week, we leave the disciples bursting with joy and gathered together spending time in each others’ presence having a great time. What if they had stayed just like that? What if they had been so full of their wonderful community, they were not prepared for what was to happen next? These are important questions for us to ask ourselves—about the disciples and about ourselves as we come together each week bursting with joy and praising God together. But God said, “Wait, something better is about to happen.” The disciples and we, of course, want to know when. But Jesus said—“this is not for you to know—Timing is God’s business.”
We are right there with those disciples—we have heard the good news, why, we are the good news. We are gathered together each week delighting in our knowledge that God loves us just the way we are—that we don’t have to change a thing about ourselves to be welcome at the Table prepared by God for us, God’s family. Rarely do we remember that we are waiting for what is next and that we don’t have any idea when God will choose to move—will choose to fill us again with power from on high and send us out into the world to live the Gospel and to be the Good News.
Here is a truth, some of you believe that when I or anyone else talks about going out and spreading this good news that all we are interested in is more visitors, more members, larger numbers in attendance, and, perhaps, bigger offerings. I am here to tell you this morning, that this is not true. I believe that God sends us into the world not to increase the statistics of Open Circle, but because we owe it to all those who still do not feel the unconditional love of God to share the good news. Do you remember the day you discovered and believed that God loved you exactly the way you are—gay, straight, trans, bi, physically challenged, mentally or emotionally challenged, agnostic , cynic, or non-believer—do you remember? So, whether Open Circle grows, stays the same, or even dies, what is more important is that every young person in this region know that there is a place where they will hear acceptance and not damnation, that every gay person struggling to be straight will know that here they can be themselves, and that every straight person who gave birth to a gay or trans child will know that God loves their child exactly the way they are.
And so we wait, wait for power from on high—when it comes is known only to God. We gather here, in our Jerusalem, to feel the Holy Spirit descend upon us just as it happened so long ago. And we prepare our hearts this week to be ready—ready to experience the Holy Spirit as we never have before. We need look no further than our Gospel lesson from today to answer the question of what we are to do while we wait. We are to read and study, to think about the gifts we have to share in this place and in the world. We wait quietly and joyfully, and we leave the timing to God. We have so many questions—what am I to do in relation to the ministries of this church? Where will these ministries find a home? Where do I fit in? what is God calling me to do? How can I be a person who brings more people to know the joy and peace that I have found here in this place and with these people?
I, for one, am so excited I can hardly sit or stand still. I feel God’s Spirit moving in this place, in your lives and in mine. I see people receiving miracles of healing and prayers answered. I see people making peace with each other and with themselves. I watch as some of you dedicate or rededicate your energies and lives to living the Gospel and being the Good News. And we wait, bursting with joy, singing praises to God. Amen and Amen—

And When You Pray 5-6-12

The Reading: James 5: 13-16
Are any of you in trouble? Then pray. Are any of you in good spirits? Then sing a hymn of praise. Are any of you sick? Then call for the elders of the church, and have them pray over those who are sick and anoint them with oil in the name of Christ. And this prayer offered in faith will make them well, and Christ will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayers of the just are powerful and effective.

THE GOSPEL: Matthew 6: 5-13
“And when you pray, don’t behave like the hypocrites; they love to pray standing up in the synagogues and on street corners for people to see them. The truth is, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to God who is in that secret place, and your Abba God—who sees all that is done in secret—will reward you. And when you pray don’t babble like the Gentiles. They think God will hear them if they use a lot of words. Don’t imitate them. Your God knows what you need before you ask it. This is how you are to pray:
‘Abba God in heaven, hallowed be your name! May your reign come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven; and give us today the bread of Tomorrow. And forgive us our debts, as we hereby forgive those who are indebted to us. Don’t put us to the test, but free us from evil.’”
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God of all creation, we come into your presence with expectations only you can meet. Bless us this day with your Holy Spirit and may all that I say and all that we ponder bring you honor and glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen
In our first two sermons in this current series, we talked about receiving the presence of Christ in our lives. In our first sermon, I invited you to experience the invitation to the Table as an invitation to being and living the Good News yourselves. I invited you to think about how you want to go about being the Good News. I asked you to contemplate the question: “What do you need from each other, or from me, your pastor? What, even, do you need from God?” in order to be the Good News in the world. I’m hoping that you are continuing to tell others that you are the Good News and that you are wrestling with all that means in your lives. The second week we acknowledged that “we do not spring full-grown in our spiritual lives. We need guidance, we need practice, and we need a continuing sense of the presence of God’s love.” We spoke of exploring God’s Word with spiritual consistency. We talked about learning to listen to God and learning to put aside the claim of the world upon our lives so that we can recognize the very presence of God in the here and now.
Today, we will strike out boldly and begin to look at the calling to be the Good News in the world as a calling to a life of prayer—individual and corporate as the Body of Christ. I’ve noticed that many people tend to squirm in their seats if they believe they are about to be asked to pray. In many churches, prayers are full of complicated words, wild claims on God and God’s actions, thinly veiled attempts to encourage people to feel guilty about something or another and the prayers go on for so long that you dose off hoping you will be awakened by the loud Amen at the end. This, my friends, is not a life of prayer and our Gospel reading shows that Jesus was not won over by these kinds of prayers at all. Today, we will take a beginning look at a topic that has been made complicated, but is really not complicated at all.
Our passage from James contains all that the church needs to know about prayer. Anybody unhappy? Pray. Anybody happy? Sing praises. Anybody sick? Call the church leadership and pray over them, even anointing them with oil. Christ will do the rest. Anybody not in right relationship with themselves, with another, with God? Confess your sins to each other. And then the promise: The prayers of the just are powerful and effective. Seems relatively simple—time to ask ourselves why we make it so hard.
While we may find it difficult, it is important to remember that Jesus, was himself, a person of prayer. We know little of what he said in his prayers, but we know that he prayed A LOT. The Gospel writers record often that Jesus went away to pray. His earthly ministry began with 40 long days of praying and fasting in the desert. He prayed in the garden and on the cross. Jesus was a human being who knew the importance of conversation with God. Although we do not have much information regarding the content of his prayers, we do have instructions on prayer from him. Think for just a moment about the incredible gift this is. I, for one, have little patience for those who think they are experts and you will rarely find me being more than simply polite when they speak. I long for the time and space to be able to learn from those who are living their truths—and, here, in the life of Jesus, we see just this.
Jesus stands on the mountainside in a sort of spur of the moment amphitheater. He is speaking in a very structured way about what it means to truly be a disciple and to worship God. Just as we join the crowd, he comes to his point on prayer:
“And when you pray, don’t act like those people who pray only to hear their own voices and not with any great love for God or for humankind. All the reward they are ever going to get is in the applause of the shallow people around them. God has not heard a word they’ve said. Here’s how I want you to pray: go into your room and shut the door. Block out the presence of all those other things that call you away from your time of prayer. Pray to God there—to the God who longs to hear you and connect with you in private. Talk just like you would talk to each other. God isn’t impressed by big words, God loves you so much that your needs are known to God even before you ask. So use simple words, everyday words. Here’s how you should pray.
Our God, you are precious to us, holy is your name. Let all that you taught us through Jesus Christ come true, now, here on this earth—May your justice be everywhere in the world. May everyone live in the peace of your presence. God, give us exactly what we need so that our hearts will be focused on you. Give us just enough bread so that we have bread for each day. Forgive us when we are not in right relationship with You, with our neighbor, with our world, and with our selves. Lead us to forgive each other in the very same way you forgive us—completely, not keeping a list of wrongdoings. Don’t let temptation lead us away from you and what you would have us do and free us from the habit of putting our own needs first. Amen.”
This is what Jesus taught us about prayer through his life and his teachings. Prayer is, first and foremost, about our relationship with God. When we are ‘not right’ with one another or within ourselves, we are ‘not right’ with God. Prayer is our first effort to right that relationship. Listening and doing are our second and third efforts.
The older I get, the more I learn about prayer. Prayer is the path through which we learn to live in the presence of God. By this, I do not mean that God is not present to us because God is always present—but through prayer I am learning to continually be present to God.
How do we learn to pray? By praying. That’s all, by praying. Now, let me tell you a few of the ways I have learned to pray—you might want to try some of them on. I pray by going for a walk and talking to God. If I am frustrated or angry, I try to go places where I won’t disturb other walkers if I get loud. I pray by going for a drive—driving, probably because it requires a concrete skill which has become ingrained in my memory though years of driving, clears my head and makes me more open to hearing God’s word of peace or love. I pray by going to places that I have felt the presence of the ‘holy’ before. Simply by going there again, I find myself in a place where I can pray. I hope that someday we will have such a ‘sacred place’ easily available for all of us on Open Circle property. My ‘holy places’ have over time been churches themselves, parks, labyrinths, certain beaches and other places where I have identified the feeling of holy. Sacred places are important in our lives. Some people find that their prayer life is enhanced by a special place in their homes set aside for seeking and finding the presence of God—a home altar of sorts.
Then there is prayer in the Body of Christ—this Body of Christ. When you ask for prayer, it is one of the great gifts that God gives to every pastor. But God also gives this to each of you. By allowing yourself to be prayed for and to be praying for others when needed, you are building up the Body of Christ. It is my prayer that we will become a praying congregation—that, as we are comfortable, our meetings will become increasingly in tune with the presence of God, and we will pray often and simply. It is my prayer that, as a people, we will turn more and more to God for guidance, wisdom, and courage—that we will walk into the future firmly planted and rooted in the practice of prayer. And as you grow, we all grow; just as our communal spiritual growth impacts your own. And so it is—we live the God News in ways that contribute to the spiritual growth of this congregation, this denomination, and ultimately, the world. Our lives are a prayer, our words a love sonnet to the God who loves us and calls us “beloved”. Amen and Amen

Joy Touched With Glory 4-22-12

The Reading: 1 Peter 1: 8-12
Although you have never seen Christ, you love Christ; and without seeing, you still believe, and you rejoice with the inexpressible joy touched with glory, because you are achieving faith’s goal—your salvation. This is the salvation the prophets were looking for and searching for so carefully; their prophecies were about the grace which has come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would come after those sufferings. They tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to happen. However, it was revealed to them that the news they brought—regarding all the things that have now been announced to you by those who proclaimed the Good News, through the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of such things.

THE GOSPEL: John 20: 19-30
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Temple authorities. Jesus came and stood among then and said, “Peace be with you.” Having said, the Savior showed them the marks of crucifixion. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw Jesus; who said to them again, “Peace be with you. As Abba God sent me, so I’m sending you.” After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

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Great and glorious God, grant us the wisdom to listen to you speak in all the ways you are present in our lives and give us the willingness to follow the leading of your Holy Spirit. May the words I speak today and our thoughts today and throughout the days to come bring you honor and glory. Amen

I want each of you, as you are comfortable, to turn to your neighbor and say, “I am the Good News”. How did that feel? I don’t know about you, but the first time I tried to verbalize that sentence I was not comfortable at all. But we are, all of us, the Good News. As the people of God, we are habitations for the Christ who lived, died and experienced resurrection. Our brief Gospel story is the story of the evening of Easter when the disciples, still unsure of what the women had seen, gathered together in a locked room. They were heart-broken and afraid and they were feeling like anything but Good News.
In walks Jesus and says, “Peace be with you”. He showed them the scars of the crucifixion and they rejoiced. And he said again, “Peace be with you”. And then, he commissioned them just as he had been commissioned by God—he breathed on them and said, “receive the Holy Spirit.” And so they did. And by receiving the Holy Spirit, they became the Good News to all the world. What if, and I want you to think this through carefully, what if we, like the disciples before us, became the Good News in our world, small and large. What if we, at the very least, grew more comfortable saying, “I am the Good News”? I have very few rules about how I “do” ministry, but one of them, which I will not break, is that I will not ask you to do anything that I will not do myself. And so, here goes.
I am the Good News. I am the Good News because, as a child, no one was at all certain that I would actually live to adulthood. The diagnoses were many and no one thought until many years later to wonder if the verbal and physical abuse of my father might not have contributed to why I seemed to fail to thrive. I am the Good News because I, like many of you, was one of those teenagers that came very close to giving in to the powers of darkness that seemed to close in and leave me without hope in a world where I could not seem to fit in at all. I remember the day, not the date, of course, but the day when I felt God say to my repeated question of “what is wrong with me?” ”There is nothing wrong with you, my child. Walk with me a while longer and you will see all that I have in store for you”. I am the Good News because when I could have continued to shield my heart by negativity and fear, God stepped in and called me to a more authentic, hopeful life and said, “Walk a little while longer and see all that I have in store for you.” I am the Good News because when the church I loved rejected me, the God who loved me still, said again, “Walk a little while longer and see all that I have in store for you”. I am the Good News because of all of you, who love me and pray for me, and carry me when I am tired or need a break. And I am the Good News because God is not finished with me yet, and says, “Walk a little while longer and see all that I have in store for you.”
Your story may differ from mine completely, but if you are here today, you are the Good News. In ways similar, and in ways radically different, we come together into a faith community and say, “we are the Good News”. Is that not what God, through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ calls us to? And, in boldly stepping up and saying, “we are the Good News” in a world that needs the Good News like our grass needs the rain, we make a powerful statement indeed.
We are here to transform the world, our world, our little world and the world far from here. If you read your newsletter week before last, you will know that we are starting a new sermon series called Living the Gospel: Being the Good News. To use a phrase that I probably haven’t used for a while, but it’s a good one, nevertheless, God has laid upon my heart a calling to challenge all of us with what it means to be the Good News in the world.
Sometimes God gives us confirmation of our callings and mine happened on the Friday before we left for vacation. I went to a one-day conference on church planting. Now, this was definitely not a conference endorsed by MCC, but we thought that I might be able to gain some ideas for our new international team. The presenter, a fairly well-known church planter was, shall I say, conservative. He truly believes that the only reason one plants a church or begins a new ministry is to save a new group of people—more than likely folks that might just look a whole lot like you and me—from hell. Now, depending on your belief about hell, this may or may not make sense to you. What got me fired up was his complete inability to see that God calls us to start new churches to bring more people to understand and receive God’s unconditional love, thereby, saving them, if you will, from the hell of living outside the realm of God’s loving arms in this life. Regardless of what you believe about salvation and the afterlife, and nothing that we believe about living in God’s unconditional love in the present makes it impossible to believe in salvation as it relates to life after death, I believe that a full understanding of the love and ministry of Jesus will not allow us to ignore the transformational power of God’s radical acceptance here and now.
And so, we like those to whom Peter is writing in our epistle today are called to minister in the name of Jesus, whom we have never seen, but still love and believe in. So, we, too, are blessed with inexpressible joy touched with glory because, as we live the Gospel and are the Good News to others, we are living out faith’s goal and experiencing God’s saving grace as we share it with others. This joy is birthed by the very same joy that the disciples experienced when, on Easter evening, when all that they had hoped in had turned to sorrow and pain, Jesus appeared, and granted them peace.
How do we begin to live this life of peace? We cannot underestimate the importance of Jesus’ gift of peace to the disciples and to us. When we are praying for folks who have experienced bad times or are nearing their death, or grieving a loved one who has died—we pray that God will send those people peace. And as we live the Gospel and become the Good News we will be bearers of peace—peace that comes from the undeniable knowledge that God loves us and wants us as children of God.
And so, before we can be the Good News we must receive it ourselves. I always learn my greatest theological truths from you—in conversation and discussion, through your emails and questions. One day, week before last, I was having a conversation with Marti. We were talking about some of the folks who may have been turned off to MCC because they believe us to fail in the evangelism arena. She told me of someone who had questioned why we do not give altar calls at Open Circle. For those of you who have no experience with such a thing, let me explain that altar calls are very powerful parts of most mainline traditionally evangelistic services. At the end of the service, after the sermon, the preacher asks for those who have decided to follow Jesus to come forward. Now, this is not a part of the MCC tradition, though there is nothing wrong with altar calls at all as long as they call to grace and freedom and not guilt and shame. Anyway, I started to give this explanation to Marti who was already way ahead of me. She said, “so I told him that you do give an altar call every Sunday, every time you invite us to come forward and receive holy communion—you don’t tell us what we are supposed to feel or do, but you invite us each week to receive the Good News into our hearts”. Thank you, Marti, for opening my eyes to a beautiful way to look at, not only the tradition of the altar call, but also our celebration of communion.
So, this week, when we come to share communion, I invite you to think about how you want to go about being the Good News. What do you need from each other, or from me, your pastor? What, even, do you need from God? And, so together, we receive and together we share. We are the Good News. Amen and amen.

Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Reading: Acts 10:34-43

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts those from every nation who fear God and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

THE GOSPEL: John 20:1-18

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman,[a] why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to God. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Holy Parent and your Holy Parent, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

God, Your presence is beauty to our spirits and we live in gratitude that through the grace of Jesus Christ, You have made our very lives beautiful. As we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, may my words and our thoughts be pleasing unto You. In the name of the one who calls us to the resurrected life, Amen.

Happy Easter! I am a little disappointed in the small number of Easter bonnets here this morning. I guess the rumors of an Easter Parade after the service were highly exaggerated. Perhaps next year.
Our readings and music have led us to this time and place where we think upon the meaning of Easter for us here, today. Easter may have different meanings, different priorities at different times in our lives; but today, what seems to be most compelling in the resurrection story is the connection of beauty and bravery.
Perhaps you think that the bravery took place before the resurrection day—that bravery was manifested only in the hours leading up to the crucifixion of Christ; and, you would be right that we must not underestimate the bravery of Jesus as he faced the cruel and excruciating painful death on the cross. Or the bravery of Joseph of Arimathea when he approached Pilot and sought the release of Jesus’ body so that he could be buried properly. Or the bravery of all those disciples and women who stayed with Jesus until he died. We must not even forget the bravery of the women when early on that day, they made their way to the tomb.
Yet, there is more. We must not lose the bravery of the Resurrection Day itself—the bravery of all the Resurrection Days in our lives. If we stop our celebrations at “He Is Risen”! then we have cheated ourselves and each other out of the fullness of the Easter story. I drive past lawns, and see the “He is risen” sign in the yard, and have to restrain myself from going up to the door, knocking and saying, “And…” Think about it.
Jesus, who had all the power in heaven and on earth, could have chosen to end his career and his earthly life with a “goodbye” tour or clouds and lightning and all the makings of an epic movie. Instead, he chose to die, a death that was far from beautiful—hear the words of the prophet Isaiah—“You had no stately form or majesty to make us look at you, there was no beauty to attract us. You were rejected and despised by all; you know suffering intimately and you are acquainted with sickness. When we saw you, we turned our faces away; we despised you and did not value you. [And yet] …upon you lies a chastening that brings us wholeness, and through your wounds we are healed.” Easter Sunday morning rises out of the deep grief of the two days preceding it. Beauty dies to bravery in the willingness to die on a cross between two thieves. It is from the rubble of beauty and bravery, that we enter our Resurrection Day. And on this very Resurrection Day, we are called to discover in ourselves and in each other the unique beauty of the risen Christ in each of us—and bravely to grow spiritually, showing the glory of God as we live boldly in this beauty.
Nicole Nordeman, a young, contemporary Christian rock singer has a song that speaks to me every time I hear it. The title is “Brave”. The first verse goes like this:
The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

In the chorus, she continues:
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave
I want us to think of what it would mean if we gave ourselves permission to be brave today. In the midst of the beauty of the risen Christ, what if we found our deepest bravery yet. You are all brave in your own ways—why, for some, it took courage to come here today—perhaps you’re not sure about this God thing or this Jesus thing and, yet, on Easter Sunday, the one Sunday you can be certain the preacher is going to preach on Jesus, you came. There’s a certain kind of bravery that allows us to give ourselves permission, even in the midst of doubt, to be present to the very thing of which we are unsure. For some of you, you came knowing that Easter Sunday would bring you memories of other Easter Sundays when you were excluded from those granted abundant life in the grace of the one who died for us all—and you were brave—brave enough to say, “that was then” and “this is now”.
We are called by this Jesus to be thoroughly and honestly brave and beautiful. I am looking at a sea of faces that contains all the beauty in the world, each of you beautiful in your own ways, in the unique way that you reflect the love of God at work in your hearts and lives. This is a beautiful community—this community which, itself, reflects the uniqueness of this particular body of Christ. And, into this beautiful community, we are called to be brave—to bravely say what is in our hearts—to bravely love each other and this community enough to risk—no, to trust that what we say will be heard and what we feel will be understood. We are called to meld bravery and beauty in this community of faithful people. We are called to be unique, to live the Resurrected Life every moment of our days. And, we are called to bravely walk together in our journey of discovery—to honestly be present to the working of the spirit in our life and in the lives of our brothers and sisters who walk this way beside us. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen and amen.

Hosanna Times Two--e-1-12

The Reading: Philippians 2: 5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the [Eternal Parent].

THE GOSPEL: Mark 11: 1-11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
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Hosanna Times Two 4-1-12
God, we come like the crowds waving palms and shouting “Hosanna!” We wonder what comes next. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear as we walk the way of Jesus on his journey to the Cross. May the words that I speak and the thoughts and feelings in our hearts be acceptable unto you, O God. Amen
Here’s what we know about the two disciples who went into Jerusalem to retrieve the donkey for Jesus: (pause). That’s right, nothing, we know nothing about them except that they followed Jesus’ request to a ‘T’. I looked in all the Gospels, read commentaries, and then gave up. Nothing, we know nothing. We don’t know whether they were men or women, gay or straight, rich or poor. We do know, or we can gather, that they weren’t among the 4 or 5 ‘top’ disciples because their names are not used. Had Peter, James, or John, or even Judas been one of these disciples, we would know it. History always fails to record the names of the least important, so we can safely assume they were not among the more highly regarded disciples. But they are very important in at least one way: they showed us what it is like to do exactly what Jesus says because they “answered as Jesus told them to”.
Let’s just assume for a moment that these two disciples were women or gay, very old, or had tattoos all over their bodies. Let’s assume they listened to hip-hop or lived on the streets; had Ph.D.’s from Harvard, or spoke the broken English of a Mexican immigrant living illegally in Arizona. Let’s assume they had AIDS, or were autistic; had 6-figure jobs or lived on welfare. What then? Would any of this mattered? No, not one bit, because what mattered was that they followed what Jesus told them to the very letter. The Bible is full of anonymous people, but these two are anonymous is a special way—their anonymity stresses to us that the most valuable thing we can do or be is a follower of Christ.
The sermon on Palm Sunday is always hard—the so-called “holy” week that follows leaves us wanting, maybe even begging for Easter. We’d rather skip right from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It is my task to say, wait—wait, there’s more. And the more is not easy to hear, like the twelfth grader who walks in on the first day of school, eyes all sparkly with thoughts of graduation—wait, wait there’s more, like 9 long months of school and F-CAT’s and tests. Well, wait-wait, there’s more to our story, more our two anonymous disciples can tell us when we view this week through their eyes.
Now, just for the sake of the sermon, I’m going to be one of these disciples and you are the other. Just for now, I will do the talking, but feel free to answer me many times over as we walk together through this week.
We are with Jesus. He says to us, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there… Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” Off we go. I can’t imagine why Jesus picked us for this job, I’m really shy and if someone tries to stop me, I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to get Jesus what he wants. Oh, I know all about Jesus giving us strength to do what he asks of us—it had better be true, because I’m not at all sure about this. We walk on, you are not doing much to calm me down. Sure enough, there’s a donkey. I look around. Oh, good, I think we can pull this off without anyone seeing us. All of a sudden, there are a group of men who walk up to us and say, “What are you doing with this donkey, it isn’t yours.” Suddenly, I remember the words Jesus told us to say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.” And, they let us go. I don’t even know where those words came from, certainly not from me. Jesus was right about everything so far, but this whole thing feels a little strange.
After all that, I’m taking this donkey right back to Jesus. Look at the disciples and other people—they are starting to put their coats on the donkey and on the ground for Jesus to ride on. The word spreads through the crowd and, suddenly, everyone is shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed, blessed, blessed—hosanna, hosanna! They’re whispering, “this is the King that God promised us; he will overthrow our enemies and we will be free!” What? This is Jesus, we’ve been with him for months now—how could we not have known that he was the King. But, we’re in it now, just part of the crowd and I’m getting hoarse from shouting. By the time we get all the way to the Temple, it is late, so after He looked around, he went with us back to our camp at Bethany.
Jesus doesn’t try to explain what had happened. He seems lost in thought, almost somewhere else. I know that he is praying a lot and seems to be headed somewhere I can’t explain. The next morning and for the next four days, He just keeps going into Jerusalem and preaching and teaching in the Temple and around the city. I tell you, I am really frightened for him—I know this can’t lead to any good. Those guys have it in for him, and he’s walking into their trap. Look, there is another one of them—listening to Him. Why do they shake their heads in disgust? Don’t they know what I know—that he is a good man who never meant anyone any harm?
I’m glad that our headquarters were in Bethany—we’re in the house of Simon. Simon is a Leper, but things like that never stopped Jesus before. Look, do you see that woman? What, what, oh, no—she just broke an beautiful jar and poured the sweetest smelling oil all over Jesus’ feet. Oh, look at her face, how she adores him. There’s going to be trouble though—I can feel it. Can you hear those loud mouths? Telling Jesus to rebuke her and send her away—that the oil could have been sold and the money put to better uses. Look at her, her pain just breaks my heart. What does she know that I don’t know? Jesus is putting them in their place. But there he goes again. Why is Jesus telling us that we won’t have him for long. I’m really starting to be scared.
It’s the night of the Passover meal. Some other disciple has set it all up. It’s just before the meal, and Jesus is telling us that there is a traitor among us. Please, don’t let it be me, it just can’t be me. Jesus lifts a loaf of bread—he tells us to take a piece and remember him by it. Remember him, where is he going? The meal is over and he’s passing us a cup of wine—what does he mean by “this is my blood”? It’s just a cup of wine—he’s starting to scare all of us now. And, now, we go to the garden. It’s getting dark, and it’s really a little creepy out here. But it’s late and I’m afraid I’m going to fall asleep. Jesus is waking us, he is in tears, asking us to stay awake with him. I’m one of the last to go to sleep, but I just can’t stay awake. I’m trying, Jesus, I really am…but it’s just too hard and I’m too tired.
Suddenly there are soldiers everywhere and before we know it, they take Jesus away—Wait, wait, where is he going? Will this night ever end?
And so, it is morning—Jesus is on trial—now the crowd is yelling to crucify him—there’s no one even trying to defend him and they beat him in front of everyone. Look, there’s Mary and Jesus’ mother—they are sobbing, this is all so out of control—I just don’t understand. They beat him bloody and now they are putting a cross on his back. He can hardly stand, somebody ought to help him. And finally, they nail him to the cross—I can’t watch, I want to be with him to the end, but it’s just too hard and I’m too tired. It seems like hours later—the sky turns black. What has happened? People are scrambling—most of us stayed at a distance where we could see what was happening. And so it is over. Where do we go now? And how do we go on?
I love you Lord and I lift my voice
To worship you, o my soul rejoice
Take joy my king in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.
Amen and amen.

This Is the Covenant 3-25-`1

The Reading: Jeremiah 31: 31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, Says Yaweh, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them up out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was their spouse”, says Yaweh. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yaweh: I will put my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they need to teach one another or remind one another to listen to Yaweh. All of them, high and low alike, will listen to me, says Yaweh, for I will forgive their misdeeds and will remember their sins no more.”

The Gospel: John 12:20-33
Among those who had come up to worship at the Passover were some Greeks. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put forth this request: “Please, we would like to see Jesus”. Philip went to tell Andrew, and together the two went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied, “Now the hour has come for the Chosen One to be glorified. The truth of the matter is, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. If you love your life you’ll lose it; if you hate your life in this world you’ll keep it for eternal life. Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too. Anyone who works for me will be honored by Abba God. Now, my soul is troubled. What will I say: ‘Abba, save me from this hour?’ But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Abba, glorify your name!”
A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowds that stood nearby heard this and said it was a clap of thunder; others said, “It was an angel speaking.” Jesus answered, “It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Sentence is now being passed on this world; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from this earth, I will draw all people to myself.” By these words Jesus indicated the kind of death he would die.
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This is the Covenant 3-25-12
God, we need to dig deep into our hearts today if we are to understand your message. Help us hear beyond what we have heard before. Give us willingness to open the ears of our heart to hear. May the words that I speak and all things that we reflect upon bring honor and glory to you. Amen
This week’s readings call us to re-think some of what we may have heard before. The theme of both readings is covenant, although I admit that it is more hidden in the Gospel reading—challenging us to do the hard work of getting to our own understanding.
We must surely start with the meaning of the word covenant. There is the legal definition of a covenant: An agreement, contract, or written promise between two individuals that frequently constitutes a pledge to do or refrain from doing something. And this we learn from the on-line legal dictionary. However a legal definition has no place in God’s covenant with us in both the Old and New Testaments.
God’s covenant can only be understood from the standpoint of relationship—so much deeper than the do’s and don’ts of a simple legal contract. In God’s covenant legalism has been replaced with the image of radical acceptance in a relationship that is surrounded by and infused with God’s grace—the same grace we experience every time we partake of the cup of the new covenant in Holy Communion. So, we are blessed to approach these somewhat perturbing readings already fully enveloped by God’s grace.
We begin with Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s words were addressed to the Hebrew people who had, once again, strayed from a relationship with Yahweh. These folks, just like us, had terrible time putting God first in their lives. They were a lot like the story my friend the kindergarten teacher told me. There was this child who just could not or would not sit down. The teacher finally convinced her to sit down and the little girl said, “I may be sitting down with my body, but I’m standing up in my head.” These Hebrew folk just could not find the will within them to remain obedient to God.
Now God used the words of Jeremiah to reveal the divine prophecy to those who had a difficult time with faithfulness and steadfastness. “Behold, says Yaweh, in the days to come, I will establish a new covenant with these people even those who have broken our prior covenant over and over again. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yaweh: I will put my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. All of them, high and low alike, will listen to me, says Yaweh, for I will forgive their misdeeds and will remember their sins no more.” As we listen to the words of God to Jeremiah, we must remember that prophecy, while set in an historical time and place reaches far beyond those particular people. We, too, are the recipients of these prophetic words. Are we ready to receive this new covenant—to be God’s people fully?
Jeremiah was given the difficult task of speaking God’s word to a people who had been rejecting God’s grace and the ways of God for a long time. They had been rebuked by God for what appears to be their unfailing disobedience. God had called and called and they still did not turn their hearts toward God. In an amazing turn of events, God promised them a new covenant, a covenant where God would place the Divine Law directly on their hearts. In this covenant, they would all listen to God, whether they were high or low, wealthy or poor, educated or illiterate. Not only that, but God promised to forgive their unfaithfulness and to forget all about their sins. Now these were people who had sinned in some of the most important ways, turning their backs on God; nevertheless, God makes a Sacred Promise—and we hear the prophesy of a new Realm of Justice centuries before the New Covenant of the Gospel appears.
You know, we MCCer’s shun the word sin. Having been told that who we are at the core of our personhood is sinful, we tend to reject the notion of sin in its entirety. MCC pastors mostly hate to use the word at all, and as a result, our attempts to preach a Gospel of Radical Acceptance can take us to a place of “all is well” without doing the hard work of preparing ourselves for this New Covenant in Christ Jesus. By failing to respond to God’s grace in a full and complete way that shines the light of forgiveness into every corner of our lives, we fall short of what Jesus calls us to in our Gospel lesson today. And, lest we forget, this is Lent, and during this time we are indeed called again to allow God to work in our hearts, our spirits, and even, our minds. Should we blithely assume, however, that this excavation of our hearts, this preparation of our whole selves for the receiving of the blessing of the New Covenant, takes place only during Lent, we learn to think another way. Lent does not conclude next week with Palm Sunday. Lent is a path that leads us to open ourselves up to the grace of God; and once faithfully started, leads only deeper for as long as we walk with God on this earthly journey.
And here we are at the Gospel. The presence of the Greeks are significant as a way to measure how far the news of Jesus had spread. Jesus knew if news of his teaching had spread to the Greeks, that the time was drawing closer for his death. This brief passage tells us all that we need to know about the New Covenant. Jesus replied, “Now the hour has come for the Chosen One to be glorified. The truth of the matter is, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. If you love your life you’ll lose it; if you hate your life in this world you’ll keep it for eternal life. Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too. Anyone who works for me will be honored by Abba God.” Speaking of his life and ours, at once he brings us to the place of honor and grace.
We often forget that Jesus was, first and foremost, a Jewish man who knew the words of the prophets and the content of the Law. Jewish thought regarded the heart as the seat of the will, not the seat of feelings. Here, he calls us to move beyond the realm of feeling—loving God is not a feel-good event. Jesus is calling us to a way of obedience, just as he is choosing to become obedient to God’s will, even if that will leads him to a cruel and horrible death. Jesus, always in the place of grace, calls us to sacrifice—He calls us to put the work of the harvest ahead of our fear and uncertainty. He speaks to us, gently, as if we are little schoolchildren struggling to understand a difficult idea. Listen to his illustration of what we must do to follow God: a grain of wheat (our lives before we choose to follow God) simply held in our hands will produce nothing. We can gaze upon it and wait for something to occur; but nothing will. However, if we allow God to lovingly plant the seed into the ground, the seed will first die, but will then sprout new growth—growth which will break through the barren soil and will yield a rich harvest.
Just so, allowing God to call us to a place of readiness for the new covenant—going into the ground, a dark and scary place where the truths of our inner heart are found, forgiven, healed and transformed, will result in a great and wonderful harvest. Our lives, when examined and readied by God, will produce wonderful things for God’s glory and will hasten the coming of the reign of God’s justice into our world and into our lives. Jesus is serious here—calling us to discipleship beyond the easy path—Jesus calls us to follow him in grace all the way to the cross and beyond—and he makes us a sacred promise—the promise that is indeed the new covenant: “Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too”.
This, then, is the new covenant—being where Jesus is—in the world, healing, loving and caring. And like the covenant of which Jeremiah speaks—this is a covenant of grace. Within a circle of grace we gather at the table, his table, and drink the cup of the new covenant. And as we do, may we walk in unity—together, as a people called to do the work of Jesus in the world. Amen and amen.