“God In Us: The Mystical Experience-Part 2”

Text: Psalm 139: 1-12 –The Inescapable God

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
³ You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

It was my birthday-I’m thinking this was about 25 years ago, maybe a little more, but I know it was my birthday, which means it happened in August. It was a year when my birthday fell on a Saturday and I didn’t have to go to work, which also meant that I could plan the day and do what I wanted to do, since, after all, it was my birthday. So that is what I decided to do.

We were living in Colorado at the time and had been to 11-mile canyon on several occasions for picnics and wiener roasts and that sort of thing. The boys loved to go a climb around on the rocks and hike up through the forest and look back down at the canyon. It is kind of a special place. I had noticed each time that we entered the area that this canyon wall along the river faced east. Normally, when we arrived at the canyon, we were there for an evening meal in the summer and this face of the canyon wall was always in the shadows and I always sort of wondered what it might look like with the sun on it.

Even in the shadows the canyon wall was spectacular. It has an overall rose color with various hues of rust and orange and even green present from the different types of lichen growing on the rocks, so I could only imagine what it might look like illuminated in the early morning yellow light of a sunrise. So I decided that was something I wanted to do that Saturday morning for my birthday-I was going to go to 11-mile canyon before sunrise and set up my camera and wait for the light to hit the canyon wall. For me, this is entertainment at its finest-funny, no one wanted to come with me.

So I rose around 4AM and gathered my gear and headed for 11-mile canyon. The minute I stepped outside I was a little surprised at the coolness of the morning; we had been having very warm days and comfortable nights, but this morning seemed almost cold. I’m thinking to myself that might be OK, because sometimes when water is warmer than the air around it you can see some steam or mist rise from the water and that can be fun as well. With my 4×5 field camera and all the assorted peripheral equipment required loaded into the car, I headed out.

On the way to 11-mile canyon I had to pass through a small town called Divide. You might wonder about the name of this little settlement and if you are thinking it might be named Divide because it is located on a continental divide, you would be correct. In other words, from where I began, I had to climb a few thousand feet to get to Divide, and then on the other side of the divide, the weather was different. It was cloudy and foggy and then it began to snow. Remember, this is August-fairly early August, because my birthday is on the 11^th, and it is snowing. Thankfully the snow wasn’t sticking on the road, but some of the trees were already beginning to get loaded up with the big thick wet flakes that I could see when the car lights would shine on them. I thought about turning around; it was just another couple of miles to the turn-off for the canyon and this weather didn’t seem very cooperative for taking pictures. But I had come this far and knew Colorado weather changed frequently, so I pressed on. It was still snowing when I turned into the canyon entrance, but not heavily and I headed up the gravel road to find my spot and wait for the sunrise.

It takes a while to get set up when you are shooting with the kind of camera I was using at the time. I wasn’t taking snapshots, I was using a 4×5 field camera, which uses sheet film and the image is focused upside down and backwards on ground glass at the back of the camera-in other words it is a bit of a project to get ready to take a photograph. I remember setting up in the dark with the help of a flashlight and then getting back in the car to warm up and have a little coffee from the thermos I had brought with me. So now I waited for what I hoped would be a sunrise.

It started to get light after a time and I could see the clouds and the fog were still lingering around and I began to think this was a wasted effort. The sun is going to be obscured and will not light up the canyon wall as I had hoped. Oh, well, it wouldn’t be the first time things didn’t exactly work out for me, but I still had coffee and it was warming up a bit, so I hung around anyway. At least it was peaceful.

In another 30 minutes it began to clear off. The fog lifted and the clouds all moved on and I could actually see the hint of blue sky just beyond the canyon wall. Maybe things will be OK I thought to myself. I got out of the car and began to take light readings with my light meter and began my calculations as to exposure for the scene that was beginning to unfold. By now it was quite light and I could work without the flashlight. It was still a little foggy, but then I realized all the fog present was coming off the water and the sky above was clear.

As the sun rose just enough the canyon wall started to glow. The fog coming off the river turned white and the sky was blue. I began to take pictures. Usually, the exposure times were 30 or 40 seconds for each shot and I think I probably took 12 or 15 different exposures. I know I used all the film I had with me. With my film supply exhausted there wasn’t anything left to do but watch, so that is what I did.

I was a little anxious taking all the pictures, because it got better. The entire canyon glowed and light bounced around within the canyon walls like a pin ball. I was overwhelmed with the sheer awe and amazement of the breaking dawn and morning miracle I was witnessing. As I began to become more aware of what was happening, I remember thinking to myself that all this would happen whether I was here to witness it or not. How many times and in how many places does God’s creation put on a show that happens in complete obscurity, which no one sees? But there I was, in the middle of nowhere, all alone in 11-mile canyon and God was with me. The presence of the Divine was thicker than the fog; the connection I felt to the rocks and the river and the canyon wall was personal; the gratitude that welled up within me for having had the opportunity to experience what was happening almost made me weak. I’m not sure how long I lingered; time suddenly had no meaning; my mind was empty of any thought or anxiety, totally absorbed with the unfolding of the show at hand.

Eventually a random thought passed through my head; something like I wonder how long I have been out here. I wonder if the donut shop in Divide has anything left because I was out of coffee and a little hungry. I packed up the photo gear and headed home.

As I had mentioned that was over 25 years ago. As I tell you about the experience today, it seems like last week. I still experience the raw edge of emotion when I think about it. There are times when my eyes tear up a little and I find it hard to speak. I was changed in the canyon that morning, I can’t say exactly how, but I was changed. Whatever it was, it is still with me and still real to me.

Last week I mentioned some of the things which Marcus Borg identified in his book, “Convictions” that were elements of his mystical experiences. Many of those things were present in this one as well. For example, the luminance and special lighting, the knowing and assurance that God is real, the ineffable nature of the entire experience are all consistent with my experience as well.

Yet there is a difference and I think it is an important distinction. I went out that morning intent on seeking something wonderful. I thought it might just be a wonderful photograph, but it turned into something much more-but I still went seeking the experience. I believe there are elements in the discipline of photography which helps put me in the path of Divine mystical experiences. I can identify them, and replicate them and I will be sharing them with you over time. I believe each of us can experience the same level of connection that I experienced if we can find a way to practice the elements which I think prepare the way for a mystical encounter with the Divine.

Next week we will look at another experience, perhaps even more profound than this one and then over the weeks to come, I will be stitching together a road map for you to follow which may assist you in the quest of mystical experiences for yourself.

God is as close as our breath and yet as far reaching as the most distant horizon. The inescapable God is present with us, surrounds us and follows us where ever we go. With enough practice and by paying attention to the right things, I believe we can lift God from obscurity and bring the Divine into our present consciousness, even if just for a moment. But when that moment takes place, it is magical and mystical and will change you forever.

Go in peace, Amen.

 

 

 

 “God In Us; The Mystical Experience” – Part One  

Text: Acts 17: 27-28

²⁷ so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’

One of the things I said last week which may have gone by unnoticed was that I often listen to or expose myself to other points of view on purpose. I feel this helps me understand a different perspective or even can lead to other forms of understanding and new ideas. Not everything you find in an environment that is contrary to what you believe is of value, but often there is something of value that you can take with you.

For example, about 40 years ago, I was quite familiar with the ministry of Oral Roberts. Even 40 years ago I knew I didn’t believe or accept much of what was taught by Oral Roberts, but there were a couple of good ideas, at least I thought they were good ideas, which have stuck with me through the years. One idea that I think is valid is that we as human beings can be thought of as having three primary areas of being that we need to pay attention to. We are comprised of a physical body, an intellectual mind, and a spiritual sense. One thing that Oral Roberts spoke often about is the importance of addressing all three areas of our being, the body, mind and spirit. I think this is a valid understanding of who we are as human beings. Another item from the Oral Roberts camp is something you may have heard before, but I think it may have originated with him, although you can never be certain of these things. That item is the saying or mantra; “Expect A Miracle”. Now, bear in mind that my interpretation of what that might mean for me today is very different than what it might have meant for Oral Roberts 40 years ago, but the concept is a valid one. I think we should expect miracles in our lives; and when we expect them and watch for them, they happen. They don’t have to be huge miracles, but once we become aware of them, and comfortable with the idea of calling them miracles, they come around with considerable frequency.

I wanted to bring these two points forward as we begin to speak of a mystical experience. For some of you that have been involved in our book study, this may sound a little familiar because Marcus Borg devotes an entire chapter to mysticism in his book that we are studying. In the book, Borg describes several times when he has personally felt as if he has encountered God in what he describes as a mystical experience. These encounters are so intense and so emotionally moving that they validate for the author the primary existence of God. In other words, because of the power of the mystical experience, Borg knows that God is real. In Borg’s experience, the mystical experiences are few and often separated by years if not decades. In the book, if I remember correctly, he describes only three events that span his entire lifetime.

As is often the case with a mystical experience, they can be hard to describe. A word that Borg uses to define the experience is “ineffable” – which basically means beyond description. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Albert Schweitzer in his book “The Quest for the Historical Jesus” where he describes Jesus as that ineffable mystery that comes to us. Borg also describes the events as often involving luminosity, or special lighting in a natural sense. He talks about the color of the light and the radiance of the light, this kind of thing seems to be common in many mystical experiences. A third element which Borg brings out is that a mystical experience is often linked with a profound sense of knowing; an assurance that what you are seeing and experiencing is Divine in nature and is very real. A fourth common element of the mystical experience for Borg is that they are passive in nature. By this he means that the experiences just show up and the person receives them and there isn’t anything you can do to create them.

Of all the description concerning a mystical experience that Borg offers in his book, I would have to say that I agree with most of it, with the exception of this last part. I don’t believe the mystical experience is nearly as elusive as Borg makes it out to be and I also think that with practice, you can encounter the Divine in a mystical experience with a fair amount of regularity. I believe this to be true for a number of reasons.

One of those reasons stems from personal experiences I have had that are very similar to what Borg has described in his book. What makes my experiences different from what Borg describes is that I in many cases sought out the experience or at the very least, created the environment for the experience to happen. This is where I want to get back to the opening comments I made about Oral Roberts and the two items from him that are still with me today.

First the idea that we as humans are comprised of three major areas of function; the body, the mind and the spirit. Any athlete will tell you that you can train your body and it gets better. You can lose weight, you can get stronger, and you can improve your physical stamina and overall general health. You train your body through your diet and through exercise. When you pay attention to what goes into your body as food and you pay attention to using your muscles and move a little, generally your health improves.

Secondly, if you ask any teacher, they will tell you that it is certainly possible to train your mind. You can learn math or science, you can learn to read and you can learn to speak your native language and some can even learn a foreign language. Some of us have special gifts to train our minds in medicine or economics or philosophy or psychology, but certainly the training of the mind is an accepted aspect of who we are as human beings.

So I have a rather obvious question; if we are comprised of three distinct aspects of being, that is our body, mind and spirit-and it is possible to train the body and train the mind, why should it not be possible to train the spirit? I think it is. We can train the spirit, but it is a discipline not practiced a lot here in the US and not practiced a lot in Christianity as a whole. But it is practiced, and we can do it as well.

I believe we can increase our level of mystical experiences by simply training our minds and creating environments which are conducive to such experiences. This is where the second item from Oral Roberts comes into play, and that is the saying or the mantra of “Expect A Miracle”. You see, that is one way of training your mind, watching for and expecting the Divine in your everyday experience. When we begin to do that, we begin to notice and observe things we may not have noticed before. As Dr. Wayne Dyer liked to say, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”.

I have decided that the concept of the mystical experience is something worth pursuing and something that each of us should have the opportunity to participate in. I often try to create an environment in the worship service where you may encounter the Divine, even if just for a brief few seconds. It may be a chill that runs down your spine, or a feeling of intense joy, or it may just be that feeling of knowing or peace that Borg describes.

But we can do more and I am hopeful I can help you in that pursuit. So over the next few weeks, and I’m not certain how long this will last, I intend to share with you my own personal mystical experiences. I will tell you to the best of my ability what happened, how it happened and what lasting impact the experience has had on my life. So this is could be considered part one of a multi-part sermon series on the mystical experiences of God.

Next week I will begin to share some mystical encounters from my personal life and what you can do to possibly have them in your life as well. So stay tuned as we continue the journey of God in us, the mystical experience.

Go in peace, Amen.

 

 

This World is Our Home

Text: Ephesians 2: 13-15, 17, 19

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵ He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace. ¹⁷ So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.

This is a remarkable text. The level of inclusiveness that is present in these words is off the charts. The apostle Paul, I believe, is making it clear that the entire world needs to be at peace with God. For Paul, the entire world consisted of just two groups, the Jews and the Gentiles, so he speaks about the two groups coming together to form one new humanity and making peace. He claims that those who were far off have come near and he even says that Jesus has abolished the law and the commandments to make it easier to achieve peace. Paul also states that the dividing wall that once separated the groups, or the hostility that separated the groups, has been broken down; all in the name of peace. Paul goes on to say that people who once were considered strangers and aliens are now citizens of the household of God. This new understanding welcomes everyone.

It is interesting to me we don’t hear this message very often; it is a powerful message and one that needs to be spoken, and yet the majority of preachers seem to leave it alone. I wonder why that is? I wonder why it is so scary to be inclusive. Is it really easier to just pretend that the others don’t exist?

Yes, actually, I think that is what is going on; and not just with inclusiveness, but with a host of other theological issues. I am suspicious that a new theology has gripped many of the nation’s preachers and it is dangerous and it is counterproductive.

Let me see if I can explain. One of the things which I do periodically is that I listen to or read information from alternative perspectives. I feel like this is a good idea because it helps keep me balanced and sometimes it helps me understand a different perspective or a different view. The other night I was doing that very thing as I listened to a TV evangelist talk about the recent bombing in Brussels. I don’t know what channel I had surfed to and I don’t know the name of the evangelist; but the message he was repeating at first was horrifying and I wanted to throw something at the TV. But then I began to take what I was hearing and apply it to a host of other theological questions I have had for some time and I had a moment of enlightenment. It didn’t make me like the message any better, but I had a new understanding of what might be happening. I think I have identified a new theology that has many thousands of unsuspecting followers. I call it Ostrich Theology.

Back to my TV evangelist for a moment.-as he spoke about the recent terrorist attacks and bombings he kept repeating how horrible the world was. Then he would follow-up that statement by saying that we are not of this world and how comforting that is. He gained great comfort from this idea that he was not of this world that somehow he was above the world, not involved in the world and what happened in the world was of no consequence, because he belonged to Jesus.

When I first heard it, I was stunned. Of course we are of the world-I wanted to yell it back at the TV-what do you mean you are not of the world? This world is our home. This world is where we are to live out the mission and the ministry of the Jesus we follow. How can we not be of this world? And how is that comforting?

But he kept on. He quoted scripture about being in the world but not of the world. He talked about a new heaven and a new earth as referenced in Revelation. He spoke about the return of Jesus and how all this chaos is hastening the return of Jesus and the coming apocalypse and how that may actually be a good thing. Take comfort in the chaos because you are not of this world and one day you will be snatched up in the rapture and that day is approaching fast. Take comfort that you are not of this world.

Suddenly a whole bunch of other things I have been wondering about fell into place for me. Ostrich Theology lets you say one thing and do another. It isn’t exactly denial; it is more like an alternative universe. When you have been the victim of Ostrich Theology your entire perspective of what is really important shifts and you are no longer responsible for the chaos in the world. You are powerless to change anything and even if you could, that would hinder the eventual return of Jesus, and who would want to do that?

I mentioned that a lot of things began to make sense to me. Let me explain what I’m talking about when I say that. I have been observant over the last several decades that often those who claim to be the most devout Christians often support political candidates that support policy that seems to me to be blatantly unchristian. I have wondered to myself how they reconcile these positions. For example, we are clearly called to be good stewards of the earth; at least I think we are. Yet, most of the current political candidates and those already in power that are heavily supported by evangelical Christians seem to think that climate change isn’t a real issue; some even think the whole thing is a hoax. Ostrich Theology helps me make sense of that.

Many of the political candidates and those already in power advocate for the elimination of many of our social safety net programs. They are critical of food stamps and Medicaid, they seem to believe that government programs designed to help people do nothing but make them lazy and encourage them to use drugs. When I read the New Testament and study the life example of Jesus, there is nothing more important that providing for the poor and feeding the hungry and taking care of the sick. These are absolute pillars of the ministry and mission of Jesus, at least as I read it they are. Yet the Christian right seems to support these policies in mass. I have often wondered why that would be the case, but I’m thinking Ostrich Theology may have something to do with it.

I mentioned taking care of the sick as being something that was central to the mission and ministry of Jesus. Yet health care for everyone in this country seems to be an impossible goal and the progress that has been made some want to repeal. Once again, it seems to me, just through observation, that many who oppose the idea that this country should care for the sick and less fortunate are supported by those who claim to be the most devout Christians among us. How can that be? We might find an answer in Ostrich Theology.

I want to return to the text I opened with and the level of inclusiveness that Paul advocates for this new religion that is catching fire. Contrast the ideas presented by Paul with those presented by current leaders and political contenders about immigration, or vilifying a particular religion or race or group of people. Paul speaks of the walls that once divided us as having been broken down by the love and peace of Jesus, and yet we hear that others want to build new walls. Am I reading the same Gospel that others are? What is going on?

Let me be clear. Ostrich Theology is a process where you convince yourself that you are not of this world. You convince yourself that what happens in the world doesn’t really matter. You convince yourself that your salvation and ticket into heaven is more important than the health and welfare of your neighbor. You put your head in the sand and pretend it will all go away once Jesus comes back.

I have news for you. This world is our home. This is the only planet we have. The health and welfare of your neighbor matters. And to truly follow Jesus requires us to be in this world, setting an example of love, compassion and inclusiveness for the rest of the world to see. This world is our home and all people matter. Ostrich Theology is dangerous and I think a little out of control.

Jesus was a tolerant person, and I believe we also are called to tolerance. But when Jesus encountered oppression and trickery and cheating and stealing at the hands on those in power at the temple, he became intolerant. It is up to us when we decide which example of Jesus we are going to follow, but for me, I am edging ever closer to reaching the point where it is time to start flipping over the tables of Ostrich Theology.

And that is food for thought. Amen.

 

 

“Resuscitation, Resurrection, and Transformation”

Text: Mark 16: 1-8

16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.^[a]

There was a man and his wife out for a drive early one Easter morning when out of nowhere a large white rabbit appeared in the road in front of the car. The husband who was driving, slammed on the brakes, but it was too late; the car struck the rabbit and the rabbit lay dead in the roadway. The man got out of the car to investigate when he noticed the rabbit had been carrying a large bag and there were colorful eggs strewn all over the roadway. “Oh no” he said to himself, “I think I have hit the Easter Bunny!” Distraught he went back to the car and told his wife about his discovery; “I feel awful” the husband said, “now all of those kids who are expecting Easter baskets won’t be seeing them; I don’t know what to do.”

“I know what to do” the wife responded and she reached for her purse in the back seat. From her purse she retrieved an aerosol spray can and proceeded to approach the dead bunny and sprayed it from head to toe. After just a few seconds, one foot began to twitch, and then another; soon the bunny opened its eyes and began to walk about. After a few minutes the Easter Bunny picked up all the strewn eggs and put them back in his bag and hopped off.

“That was amazing!” the husband said to his wife, “what is in that can that you sprayed the bunny with?”

The wife responded, “it is hair spray-see, it says right here that it brings new life to dead hair!”

 

There are a couple of reasons I wanted to tell this story. First of all, I always enjoy a funny story and I think this qualifies. But there is also a much more serious reason. I tell this story because I think it will help us understand the difference between resuscitation and resurrection and why that it is important.

You see, in our Easter Bunny story, the rabbit is resuscitated. It was the Easter Bunny before the car struck it, and after the amazing hair spray, it continued to be the Easter Bunny after resuscitation. When we speak of resurrection, there is a significant difference. When we speak of resurrection, I think we need to include the transformation that accompanies resurrection. In other words, the Jesus that left the tomb is not the same Jesus that entered the tomb. Transformation had taken place.

One of my favorite Easter symbols is the butterfly for this reason. The caterpillar that enters the chrysalis is a very different creature than what emerges from the chrysalis; this is resurrection.

Consider the Jesus that entered the tomb. He was a convicted criminal. He was considered a rebel and a possible threat to the political stability of the region. He worked for transformation of his faith tradition with little success. He was at odds with the religious leaders of the day. He challenged authority and called out hypocrisy. He travelled mostly on foot and impacted a relatively small geographic area. Ultimately, he failed and was executed. This was the end of the Jesus that entered the tomb.

But now consider the Jesus that left the tomb. No longer is he limited in travel or geography, for in fact he has impacted the entire world. No longer is he trying to transform his faith tradition of ancient Judaism, but rather has a new faith tradition called Christianity. No longer is he considered a convicted criminal, but rather the savior of humanity. No longer is he at odds with the religious leaders of the day, for he is the religious authority by which all other things are measured.

This is the power of resurrection. This is the transformation that takes place. This is what separates resurrection from resuscitation.

Now, for me, the remarkable aspect of this transformation isn’t so much about what happened to Jesus, but rather that it can happen to us.

Let me say this in another way. When I was describing the Jesus that went into the tomb, I spoke about all of things that Jesus experienced in his humanity. All those things went into the tomb with him. All that baggage, all those limitations, all the stigma of having been convicted and executed in the most violent of ways.; all of these things went into the tomb with Jesus. Yet, when the tomb was visited early that Easter morning, it was empty. All of the things that went in were gone.

We can participate in a similar transformation. We can put all of the things that we think are holding us back in that tomb. We can put all of the things that we are ashamed of or all of the things we no longer want to be in that tomb. If there are habits we want to overcome or addictions we want to overcome or certain character traits that we are not so proud of, they can all go into that tomb. We can pack the tomb full of everything in our past that keeps us from becoming the people we truly want to become. With the tomb full of our past mistakes and past personalities and broken relationships and the stigma of failure we can seal that tomb.

Through the power of resurrection and transformation when we revisit that tomb, we will find it empty. The old you is no longer, and only the new you shines through.

I believe this is the message of Easter. This is the message of the empty tomb. This is the message of resurrection and transformation. That, we, like Jesus, can enter into the tomb as broken and confused people. We carry into that tomb all the things that bring us down.

But then we emerge from that tomb as new beings. And all that we carried in with us has vanished, for the tomb is empty.

The caterpillar is gone and the butterfly remains.

Let the new you soar with the power of resurrection and transformation. The tomb of your past is empty. What was is no longer. Spread your wings and embrace the breeze.

May the power of re-creation, renewal, and resurrection be yours this day!

Amen.

“Through the Eyes of Judas”

Hi-my name is Judas. Judas Iscariot. Most people think they know who I am, they think they know all about me, they think they know the story about what happened. But most people don’t really know anything at all. My name is despised. They say I killed Jesus. They say I was a betrayer. They say it would have been better if I had never been born. They say these things because they simply do not know. They don’t know that among all the disciples I may have loved Jesus the most. They don’t know how my heart ached for the people we ministered to and how desperately I wanted things to change.

I remember the day we arrived in Jerusalem. The air was electric. You could feel the excitement as tens of thousands of people filled the streets. They were singing, some were cheering, others laid leafy palms at the feet of Jesus. Imagine that-the palm is a sign of victory-the people had already chosen their victor-the people had already declared Jesus King! The victory was ours for the taking!

That is what I was looking for; I was waiting for Jesus to give the word, I was waiting for Jesus to call the people into rebellion. All he would have had to say is “let’s not be oppressed any longer” all he would have had to say is that “we will no longer be occupied” – and with God on our side, we could have easily run the Romans out of town.

I remember thinking to myself, why is he waiting so long, what is he waiting for, the time for a call to action is right now-the streets are full of your followers and they would all do anything you tell them to do. Go for it, Jesus. But he didn’t. He stayed calm. He didn’t even offer any teaching or a speech or anything. By evening the crowd had dispersed and most of the excitement of the day was gone. He had missed a good chance to bring about the revolution he sought. Jesus was always talking about freedom from oppression and the coming of the Kingdom of God. He had his chance and he did nothing.

The next day I thought maybe I had been too hasty. Jesus went to the temple to teach and found it full of money changers and priests and Pharisees. The people in power were cheating those who had travelled a great distance to celebrate the Passover here in Jerusalem. It was a rigged system and Jesus knew it. I have never seen Jesus as angry as he was that day. This is it!, I thought to myself, Jesus has finally had enough, he will call upon the people to revolt, he will command his army of God and once and for all drive these occupiers from our midst.

Jesus picked up a branch and began to use it like a whip. He tipped over tables and shouted at the merchants-this should be a house of prayer and you have made it a den of thieves! I was right behind him, I had a branch in my hand as well. We were a small group, but I was ready to fight. Come on Jesus, let’s get after them!

He chased some of the merchants to the door of the temple, and he threw his branch onto the ground in disgust and then just walked away. He didn’t encourage the crowd that had gathered, he didn’t tell them how they had been cheated, he didn’t say anything about revolution…he just left. And I followed.

Now, what? I’m thinking to myself. We have all this momentum, people know who Jesus is, they respond to his teachings, they are tired of the Romans they are tired of the oppression. Why doesn’t he act? What is he waiting for?

Over the next couple of days I continued to wait for Jesus to make his move. Now was the time, Jerusalem was certainly the place, did he have a plan? What was our next move? Then it occurred to me that what we needed was a public confrontation. A huge spectacle where the crowds would clearly see the corruption and the oppression of the Roman guard, where they could see Jesus and be reminded of his teachings and be reminded that God is on our side and be reminded that the kingdom of God is at hand! A public confrontation is what was needed…and maybe Jesus just needed a little push.

So I met with the chief priests. I knew they didn’t like Jesus and didn’t appreciate his brand of religion. I thought I could use them. I thought I could leverage their hatred and despise of Jesus into our advantage and create a scene, create a confrontation where the people would finally revolt and we could be free of the Roman oppression once and for all. I had it all worked out.

On Thursday night, I told the Chief Priests, you will find Jesus exactly where you want him. He will be away from the crowds, just a few loyal followers next to him. He will be in the Garden of Gethsemane…you can arrest him there.

What I didn’t tell the Chief Priests was that once arrested there would be a public uproar, there would be an outcry and there would be the confrontation we needed to begin the revolution. I had thirty pieces of silver to contribute to the treasury. Think of things we can do with that money, we can finance our revolution, we can buy weapons or food or even a hired thug or two. This was the jump start we needed. Everything was working according to plan.

Thursday evening we celebrated the Passover meal. It was awkward. Jesus made reference to some feelings he had that told him I had acted on my own. I didn’t really deny it, but I thought we were still on the same page. I wonder how he knew? I figured that Jesus knew what I had planned and was playing along.

Later that night he was in the Garden. I went to the Chief Priests and we arrived at the Garden together. As we had discussed, I greeted Jesus with the customary kiss upon the cheek. “Rabbi”, I said to him, “our time is now.” He looked away and the Roman soldiers seized him. The rest of the disciples had been sleeping, they were a little groggy-one drew a sword and cut the ear of a Roman Centurion.

“Put away your swords”, Jesus said. “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” And then he reached out and touched the ear of the Roman Guard. It quit bleeding immediately. Then Jesus turned to the priests and said that he had been among them, teaching with them, in the temple with them, but they come now in the middle of the night to arrest him like a common thief…why is that? Then they led him away.

Some of us followed in the shadows. I was waiting for the right time, I was waiting for Jesus to give the signal. But it never came. Daylight began to fill the courtyard where they brought Jesus for trial.

They kept asking questions and Jesus would not respond. They beat him. They spit on him. All the while the crowd was getting larger and noisier and I began to think the plan might be working after all. Then they offered to release a prisoner and my heart jumped into my throat. This is it, I thought, the crowd is here, the anger is here, Jesus is here-it is all falling into place, Jesus will be released and the revolution will begin.

“Barabbas” the crowd roared, “We want Barabbas!” I couldn’t believe my ears. But then it got worse, much worse.

The crowd turned on Jesus. “Crucify him!” they shouted-“Crucify him!”

I couldn’t get my mind around what was happening. Jesus didn’t do anything, none of the others were around, everything was happening so fast. I ran back to the chief priests and told them they had to stop this, I told them that Jesus was innocent, I returned the 30 pieces of silver, but they said nothing could be done; it was out of their hands.

By now they were leading Jesus out of town on the way to Skull Mountain. What have I done? I kept asking myself, what have I done? I watched until Jesus disappeared from sight. I knew I couldn’t live with the guilt and the shame, I knew I couldn’t live if Jesus died at my hand. What have I done? What have I done? My choice is clear.

Matthew 27:3-5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Suicide of Judas

³ When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

 

Considering Preparedness

Text: Matthew 25: 1-13

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids^[a] took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.^{[b] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those bridesmaids^[c] got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other bridesmaids^[d] came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

One of the things which has always interested me about Jesus is that when he taught in parables, there are always several different ways to approach the parable. The parables are rich with meaning, and often we can find several characters in the story as it unfolds that we can relate to. Generally we can also find characters in the story that we can aspire to become. In the story of the prodigal son, many of us can see ourselves as the wayward son, having made some bad decisions. But we can also understand the power of forgiveness of the father in that story and we can identify the father as someone we would like to become. Another example is the Good Samaritan, we can relate with what it is like to get beat up and be left for dead, whether we think about that as emotionally or physically, many of us have been beaten up by circumstances in life. But we can also see how the Good Samaritan gives us an example of something to strive for, a person to emulate. Of course, with parables, not only do we have the opportunity to see ourselves often in different parts of the story, but we also have the chance to identify God. This is an important aspect of the parable as well-it provides us the opportunity to look for and to find the Divine influence in the story.

These are some of the reasons I find this particular parable, the story of the ten bridesmaids that I read a few minutes ago, a difficult one to work with. I can’t find myself in the story, but worse yet, I can’t find a God that I can relate to.

Let me show you what I mean. We have 10 bridesmaids that are immediately identified as five being wise and five that are foolish; now certainly I can identify with the foolish because not every decision in my life has been the best one, but there is no resolution for the foolish. The five foolish bridesmaids are still left out, they are not allowed into the wedding banquet.

But the wise bridesmaids are not exactly the kind of people I would aspire to be. Look at what happens when the five foolish ones ask the five wise ones for help; they are told no-this is our oil, and if we share with you, we will all run out, so go buy your own.

In like manner, I wouldn’t necessarily aspire to be the groom in this story. When the bridesmaids that were sent away do return, the groom claims he doesn’t know them when they knock on the door. Who does that? The entire idea seems kind of petty and juvenile-you were not here and ready when we went in, so you are out of luck, nah, nah, nah-it reminds me of something you might see take place on a playground somewhere; but not in the teachings of Jesus. It doesn’t seem to fit.

Further observation leads me to wonder where God is in the story. Where is the unconditional love displayed, where is the forgiveness, where is the compassion? So there are a few questions around this parable that I find myself wondering about. What is the point of this story?If the problem actually was not enough oil, there would have been any number of ways to solve this problem. Why not share lamps and combine oil? Why not dispatch just one person to buy oil for the entire group? Why not leave just a lamp or two lit while the waiting takes place, so there is some light, and then have everyone light a lamp when the groom arrives? Like I said, I think there are any number of ways we could solve the problem that is presented, if that is actually the problem…but perhaps the parable is there to teach us something else.

I’m wondering if it is possible that this parable is a departure from what we are used to with Jesus and a departure from what we normally experience. If it is, then we must also encourage a departure from our normal techniques when it comes to interpretation of the parable. Maybe we are not to look for someone that we can identify with, perhaps there isn’t a character that is a hero that we can aspire to be more like. Perhaps there are not multiple layers of meaning and interpretation and multiple roles where we can plug our own experience in and relate to the parable; perhaps this parable is so different, it doesn’t have any of those qualities we have spoken of about other favorite parables.

So that really begs the question; what is this parable about and what are we to think of it?

The obvious answer to these questions can be found in the text itself. In the story we find reference to what is called the “eschaton” or the second coming of Jesus. This second coming is depicted as something as a surprise attack and you had better be ready, because there won’t be any second chances.

Well, it is time for the famous Pastor Chuck disclaimer; these are my thoughts and ideas and they don’t have to be your thoughts. You are welcome to interpret this parable any way you want, but I, for one, reject the notion of a surprise attack and even reject the idea of a second coming of Jesus.

There are many Bible scholars who agree that the references to the eschaton by Matthew is a redaction of what might have been an older and certainly an oral story circulated among followers and perhaps attributed to Jesus. I could spend the rest of my time supporting this case, but I will ask that for now, you just play along and entertain the notion that this parable actually has nothing to do with a second coming of Jesus.

Of course, then the next question is what does it have to do with if not the second coming? This is an interesting thought and can lead us to some interesting conclusions.

My first thought is that this parable may be about how the world actually is rather than what the world could become. In other words, it is a story of how things work, without condemnation, but also without any compassion. It is very matter of fact. A modern day interpretation of this parable may sound something like this; there were ten travelers, five who were wise and five who were foolish. The five that were wise left for the airport early and when they were delayed, they still had time to clear security and boarded the airplane with time to spare. The five who were foolish took too long to get through security and missed their flight. When the five foolish ones called the others on their cell phones and said “hey, wait for us” –the five wise travelers said “no” – then everyone will miss the plane. When the five foolish travelers reached the gate they were told the plane has already taken off and the gate is locked.

In my modern day translation of this parable there really are not any good guys and bad guys, there is simply the way things are. Airplanes are easier to catch before they leave the ground. There isn’t any judgement or condemnation present, but there also isn’t much compassion; if you get stuck in traffic or have other complications, you will miss your flight. I’ve been there and done that.

Of course, this parable has nothing to do with actual airplanes. But it has everything to do with awareness of your world and having the wisdom to bring some extra oil with you in whatever form that happens to take. In my interpretation, extra oil can translate into extra time, but extra oil can mean a lot of different things.

I want to take just another minute and point out what a little extra oil might mean for us.

Over the past year we have seen a few changes come our way and we have talked about even more changes on the horizon. I have spoken often of how people seem to be bailing out of Christianity, how many churches are experiencing membership decline and how the rising group of people who say they are spiritual but not religious will impact our future. I have told you on many occasions that what we have been doing for the last 30 years is no longer sustainable and we may have to find some new ways of being and new ways of doing.

I’m hoping a study of this parable may help you realize that when I say these things, I say them without condemnation and I don’t intend to inflict any guilt or responsibility on the church or any individual. What I’m saying is simply a reflection of what is; what I am saying is that if you arrive at the gate after your departure time, you will miss your flight. It is information about how the world works. It is information about how the world may have changed and it is information about what extra oil looks like as we move forward.

We need to be prepared for the future that has already arrived.

In September of last year I offered a vision for our future that I called the Revitalization of Lewiston First United Methodist Church. Many of you picked up copies of this document and looked at it. Others read it thoroughly and carefully. Then in October of last year we voted at our Charge Conference to pursue some of what is listed in this original document and we have made some significant progress.

I want to offer at this time another document. This one is much shorter. It is a Revitalization Recap and it provides background information about where we are, what we have accomplished so far and what we hope to accomplish as we move forward. You might say this most recent document includes what many of us consider to be extra oil for our journey ahead. This is an outline of how we prepare for how the world is. There isn’t any judgement or condemnation here; there is simply a plan for how to move forward with wisdom and take that extra oil with us and leave for the airport early.

Both documents are available in the lobby as you exit the sanctuary. Go in peace and go with God. Amen.

 

 

Many Kinds of Music

Text: 2 Chronicles 5: 13-14

¹³ It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever,”

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Today is getting to know your pastor day because I’m going to let you in on a few secrets. The first secret is that when I was in seminary part of the core curriculum was two classes; Hebrew Bible I and Hebrew Bible II. These classes had a little bit of a reputation of being difficult. They required a lot of reading and it was rumored the tests were outrageous. For those of you who don’t speak seminary, the Hebrew Bible is simply the Old Testament, so the classes could have been called Old Testament I & II, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as intimidating, so they chose to name them Hebrew Bible I & II.

Any way I finally gathered the intestinal fortitude to tackle Hebrew Bible I & II sometime during what I think was my third year in Seminary. The rumors were well founded and the tests were outrageous and I would have to admit the overall experience was not that great. I passed the classes; I don’t really recall what kind of grade I received, but it couldn’t have been too bad because by the time I did graduate my GPA was such that I graduated with honors.

You may have noticed that our text this morning came from the Hebrew Bible, and that doesn’t happen very often around here; I will admit that I spend more time in the New Testament than I do the Old Testament, and those two classes may be one of the reasons why. When I was in seminary, my New Testament classes were fun and exciting; Hebrew Bible I & II were not.

I mention all of this because if you were anticipating some kind of great explanation of the cultural and historical background of this text I’m not going there. What I want you to pay attention to is the idea that several thousand years ago different kinds of music were introduced as ways of praising and worshiping God. There were trumpets and singers and cymbals and other kinds of instruments all mentioned in the text and when it all came together the emotions ran so high and people were so moved that they could barely stand. What I want you to take from this text is simply the idea that music and different kinds of music created with many different kinds of instruments were all used to praise God. That’s all.

I mentioned there are several secrets I was going to share today and my Seminary experience is just one. Another well-guarded secret of mine is that I happen to enjoy the music of the Carpenters. Does anybody remember the Carpenters-ok, so there are a few hands. Most of us don’t want to admit that because things like that tend to date us and we realize that the Capenters were popular at least 40 years ago, maybe 45 and it just couldn’t have been that long ago.

More secrets. The Carpenters sang a lot of love songs. When you are young and impressionable and maybe falling in love for the very first time, the stories in the love songs become your stories. When you are in high school dating your future soul mate, as I was, and songs like “Close To You” or “We’ve Only Just Begun” are popular and you hear them on the radio and on the dance floor…well, it makes an impression. Let me put it another way; the love of my life, which I had the good fortune of discovering early in life, that love has now endured to where this June we will have been married for 42 years. In high school when that love was first beginning to blossom, it was watered and nurtured by the music of the Carpenters. I still listen to the Carpenters and I still enjoy the music because of how it makes me feel.

So here comes another secret. There was one song of the Carpenters that drove me nuts; actually most of the song was OK, but it had a guitar solo in the middle of it that just didn’t belong there. I thought it was awful. You might remember it, the name of the song was “Good-bye to Love”. I’m going to play just a bit of it to help your memory…(play 30 seconds of song)

Ok, some of you remember the song. In the middle of the song comes this guitar solo; I’m not talking about a nice acoustic or steel string guitar, this is an electric screeching and screaming Van Halen kind of guitar solo. Let’s have a listen for as long as you can stand it. (play part of guitar solo)

For decades when I was listening to the Carpenters and the album or the cassette tape or a little later, the CD that I was listening to would get to that part of that song, I would either turn the volume down or fast forward through the solo so I didn’t have to listen to it. I was pretty closed minded about that particular portion of the Carpenters music. Not only was I closed minded, but I was also certain that it was awful and didn’t have any value whatsoever and the song would have been much better without it. Maybe you could even say I was judgmental. You might say I was narrow minded on the subject.

Your pastor, judgmental? Yep. Narrow minded? Yep. More secrets.

Fast forward now another couple of decades. I still listen to the Carpenters and enjoy the music with that one exception. But I thought it was maybe time to try something new. I had a good friend that I could spend time with who is an excellent guitar player and teacher. I thought maybe it would be fun to learn to play the guitar and he offered to teach me. Keep in mind this is not just any guitarist, this particular person holds a master’s degree in classical guitar performance, so he’s pretty good.

Time for more secrets; I’m the kind of person who likes to do well. I set goals for myself and enjoy reaching those goals. I did well in school and my job performance reviews have always been pretty good. Normally when I set out to do something, it gets done. That’s just the way I am. I’ve been called stubborn for that reason, but also called tenacious and motivated and energetic so take your pick. But here’s the point of the story; when I decided to learn to play the guitar, I failed miserably. I had trouble reading the music, I had trouble finding the beat or rhythm, I had trouble with what I thought were fingers that were too fat to fit on the strings, my hands were too small, I couldn’t change chords fast enough to keep up the tempo, it was a catastrophe! I struggled with the guitar for a couple of years. Then I hung onto it for another couple of years thinking I would get back to it. Then I finally sold it and faced the truth that I would never really play the guitar. I can do a lot of things, but I cannot play the guitar. Actually, I don’t understand how anyone can play the guitar-it’s impossible.

At some point in the midst of this personal revelation that I was not a guitar player, the Carpenters song that I mentioned earlier came up on my play list on my Ipod that contained the guitar solo. For the very first time in probably 40 years I did not turn down the volume and I did not fast forward through the guitar solo. I actually listened to it. I tried to imagine the fingers on the fret board moving with such speed and precision, I listened how the artist played with accuracy plucking just the right string at the right time and managing to press the right string or strings without interfering with the others. In short, it was amazing. I don’t turn the volume down any longer and I don’t fast forward through the guitar solo when it plays. I try to appreciate it and I do because it is something that I now know I could never do. I think I am richer for that experience. My perspective has been broadened. I’m not as narrow as I once was.

Let me try to pull all of this together. We began by pointing out that even thousands of years ago, many different kinds of instruments were brought together in praise and worship and it was very effective. Then I shared how personal experience and perspective can allow us to appreciate things that we never thought we could learn to appreciate.

So consider this. From God’s perspective all the faith traditions of the world are simply different instruments and different kinds of music. Many Christians fear and dislike other faith traditions for all the same reasons I didn’t like that guitar solo. Maybe if we bothered to talk to them and learn about their different experiences with the Divine and broadened our perspective and experience just a little, we wouldn’t be so fearful. We wouldn’t be so narrow. We wouldn’t be so judgmental.

There are many kinds of music and God hears them all. And that is food for thought. Go in peace and go with music in your heart. Amen.

Lenten Series Sermon

Text: Psalm 24:1

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;”

We have some friends who recently moved to the Seattle area and we really miss them in a very selfish way; you see when they lived here, they would often take care of our dog. Our dog is a member of the family and if you are a dog person you will understand that. Our dog also seemed to be a member of their family as well. We were very comfortable leaving our dog with our friends; we knew the friends were happy and the dog was happy and it was all good. One day while our dog was in the care of our friends he was attacked by a larger dog; he was attacked, but not hurt. The humans involved intervened quickly and no real damage was done.

The anxiety this produced for our friends was immense. They didn’t know how to begin to tell us about the incident, even though nothing really happened. They felt that somehow they had violated the trust we had placed in them to care for our dog. Believe me, we didn’t think that for a second, but the anxiety was still there. They couldn’t imagine how awful it would have been to have to call us from the animal hospital and report the incident if it had been much worse. But it wasn’t and we laugh about it now.

But here is the point of that story. We had left the care of our dog in the hands of our friends and they assumed that responsibility and took it very seriously. We trusted them to provide the best care they knew how to give; and they remained trustworthy. My question is whether or not we can say the same thing about ourselves and planet earth. God has left the planet in our care. Have we remained trustworthy? Sadly, I don’t think so.

I don’t know if you have ever been to Colorado or not, but if you are familiar with the state, you might recognize the town of Glenwood Springs. It is in the western part of the state and just outside of town the Colorado River rages through a canyon called Glenwood Canyon; it is a favorite spot for white water rafters and bicyclists and hikers of all kinds. One of the hikes you can take is one of my favorites; it is quite strenuous because you climb up out of the canyon and are able to look down on the river, the winding Interstate 70 that runs through the canyon and the railroad tracks that parallel the highway. The scene is quite breathtaking. One day while hiking that trail with my brother, we reached a spot where we could look out over the canyon and we saw the scene I just described, except that there was a coal train on the tracks that parallel the I-70 that runs through the canyon. What was amazing is that we could hear the squeak and the rumble of this train as the sounds echoed through and among the canyon walls. The train was struggling a bit under the weight of 100 or more coal cars filled to the brim with coal from a local coal mine. The suspension in each car moaned and groaned under the extreme weight, the wheels screamed and wailed as they rolled along and the very earth shook under the immensity of the weight of that train.

My brother and I watched and listened for a few minutes just trying to absorb all that we could see and feel and hear in that moment. After a couple minutes of not speaking, finally my brother commented about the train; he said that sure is a lot of weight to put into the atmosphere.

In an instant, I knew what he meant, but I had never really thought about it in that way.

You see, the coal train was headed for a coal fired electrical power plant where they would burn the coal to create steam which would spin turbines and turn generators that would create electricity for the area. But as they burned the coal, most of the weight that we were witnessing as evidenced by the grinding and groaning train would end up in the atmosphere.

You might remember from 7^th grade physical science that matter cannot be created or destroyed, it simply changes form. When we burn something, we don’t destroy the matter, we release the stored energy and the matter changes form. We need to remind ourselves of this fact of science.

It is interesting to me that we rely upon this science as we celebrate this Lenten season. Many of you were present last Wednesday at the Ash Wednesday service and had a smear of ash installed across your forehead. The tradition tells us that ashes help remind us of our own mortality, and the phrase ashes to ashes and dust to dust is actually quite literal. When we celebrate the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday service we are in many ways reinforcing the science that matter cannot be either created or destroyed; it simply changes form. That is as true of coal as it is of our own bodies.

If you have ever lived in a place with a wood stove or a fireplace you might remember having to deal with firewood. It is heavy; that’s one of the reasons that when you buy some firewood you want to make sure the deal includes delivery because you don’t want to have to go pick it up yourself. Once it is delivered and stacked in your back yard it still is a bit of a chore to move the firewood into the house, one arm full at a time, as you use it. Have you ever considered the huge discrepancy of weight of what comes in versus what goes out?

Think about that. You may carry in 8 or 10 or even 15 armfuls of firewood. With each trip, it is about as much weight as you can comfortably carry. Then after burning all that firewood over the course of a few weeks or a month it is time to clean out the fireplace. You scoop the ashes into a coffee can and easily carry it outside and spread it on your garden or your roses. What happened to the rest of that weight? Have you ever thought about that? Most of it went up the chimney and into the atmosphere.

Have you ever run your car out of gas and had to walk back to it carrying a gallon or two of gasoline? I have, and by the time I finally reached my car my arm was aching, that gas can gets heavy after a few blocks. What do you suppose a full tank of gas in your car weighs? How often do you fill up your tank? Where does all that weight go?

Now I know there are some prominent people who deny climate change. They claim they are not scientists. I claim you don’t have to be a scientist. We have all experienced what I’m talking about. Common sense tells you that a coal train going into a power plant weighs more than it does when it is leaving. Common sense tells you we cannot put billions of tons of weight into our atmosphere and not have it make a difference. The only science you need to know you learned in Junior High earth science or physical science and it is the same science that helps us celebrate Ash Wednesday.

Ashes matter. What ashes represent matter.

I don’t think there is any controversy around the idea that we as human beings are to be good stewards of God’s creation. How we claim to do that seems to be a missing ingredient in some people’s world view. Our friends who were dog sitting for us couldn’t imagine how difficult it would have been to call us to tell us that our dog had been seriously injured on their watch. Just the thought of it created high anxiety.

What will we tell God as a human race when the planet God created sustains serious injury and damage because of us?

It is time to rise from the ashes and get serious about our response to climate change and our response to God.

And that, as they say, is food for thought. Amen.

Peace & Music in the Heart

Text: John 14: 27

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

You may remember that we have been referencing a poem over the past few weeks written by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian titled “The Work of Christmas”. For those who may be unfamiliar or who have forgotten, let’s take another look at that poem.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

I have decided that this is the last week of this series and I am combining the last two elements of the work of Christmas; that is to bring peace among the people and to make music in the heart. I believe we can combine them because they seem very closely related to me. Like two sides of the same coin – if you have peace, you will have music in the heart and if you have music in your heart, chances are, you are at peace.

The front half of this service, if you have noticed, has had a theme of peace as it relates to nations and conflicts among people. That is certainly one way to interpret peace; that kind of peace may be expressed as the absence of war or conflict. We speak often of world peace as an ideal we lift up or pray for; that all nations all around the world could simply live in peace.

But if we reference the text I read a few minutes ago, there is another kind of peace that is also worth considering; this peace seems to be a bit more elusive. We know what it means to not be at war, but what did Jesus actually mean when he said he would give us peace? Did he mean that nothing would ever go wrong? I don’t think so. Did he mean we would never get angry or frustrated? I don’t think so. Did he mean that we would never experience hardship or pain, that we would always have plenty of money and food to eat and a roof over our heads? I don’t think so. So the question remains; what did Jesus mean when he said he gives us peace? And on top of that, what does it mean when he says that he gives not as the world gives?

I want to explore some of these questions. They are hard questions, but they are all good questions, and as you may have heard; we think questions are a good thing!

The first thing I want to offer is a fresh way of thinking about personal peace; this is what Jesus is talking about in our text, personal peace, as opposed to world peace or peace of a nation, it is personal peace that Jesus zeros in on. But when we think of personal peace, I believe, that often we think about our external circumstances. In other words, whatever situation we find ourselves in at any given moment helps determine whether or not we will experience personal peace.

If you notice, when we revisit some of the questions I asked just a minute ago, almost all them deal with external circumstances. Did things go right at work? What made us angry or frustrated? Do we have enough money or enough to eat? Are we healthy and free of disease or sickness? You could ask questions like this all day long and most, if not all, deal with external circumstances.

I want to give you something to really think about. Consider this definition of peace for a moment; peace is not your external circumstance, peace is an internal condition.

Of course I realize that at times external condition can help you experience peace. For example, someone might say that they love to walk around the lake because it is so peaceful. That may be true, but the external peacefulness of the lake does nothing to the internal condition until it is absorbed by the brain and the body. You can go to a place that is peaceful and still be in inner turmoil.

For many of us, this is a shift in thinking. We actually believe, if we are honest enough to admit it to ourselves, that our peace is somewhat dependent upon our external circumstances. In other words, we will experience peace as soon as I find the new job. I will experience peace as soon as this relationship is healed, or this disease goes away, or this bill is paid. We link our personal peace to our external circumstance all the time. We have an argument at work, we get frustrated at the DMV, we get stuck in traffic, we get put on hold and are forced to listen to elevator music for 10 minutes and our personal peace evaporates.

Consider this again. Peace is not external circumstance, but rather internal condition. What’s more, with enough practice, I think, it is possible to separate the two. You can experience peace within the most chaotic of external circumstance. But it doesn’t just happen, it takes practice. Jesus, I think, had mastered this kind of peace.

Consider some of the stories from our New Testament. Have you ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner at your house? How peaceful was that for you? And yet, when Jesus was approached by his disciples and they told him the crowd was hungry and should be sent home, Jesus responded with those famous words, “you give them something to eat.” Then Jesus very peacefully and methodically went on to feed the five thousand guests he was entertaining on that day.

When Jesus was arrested in the garden, some of the disciples wanted to respond with violence and anger. But Jesus very peacefully told them to put away your swords, he healed the centurion’s ear, and peacefully was led away to his mock trial.

In the midst of being executed and in what must have been excruciating pain, Jesus very peacefully prayed for his executioners; “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Once again, peace is not an external circumstance, peace is an internal condition.

Of course this is a topic that has been studied, written about and practiced for thousands of years. Much of this topic supersedes faith traditions and imaginary walls that separate one religion from another. Much of this kind of information predates Jesus and predates Christianity, but it was something that I am convinced that Jesus practiced and was aware of.

There is really too much information about inner peace to cover in a single sermon or even a series of sermons. But you do have to begin at some point, and I believe that beginning point is the realization that there is separation between the internal and the external. Your mind and your emotions may seem to be influenced by external forces, but this is an illusion. You are not your mind, and your thinking about something isn’t always accurate or true. The external circumstance that occupies your mind and generates worry or anxiety or anything that blocks the experience of peace isn’t really your current circumstance. Why I say that is because most of the time our minds are somewhere else other than in the present moment. Our minds, our thinking, tend to always be in the past or the future trying to convince us that when certain things take place, then we can allow ourselves to be at peace.

So step one of experiencing this peace that Jesus spoke of is to quit thinking about the past and the future and simply focus on the present moment. With full acceptance of the present moment comes the peace which the world cannot give and by staying in the present moment you can stay in peace. I think this is what the Psalmist meant when the words were written to be still and know that I am God.

Food for thought. Go in peace and go with God. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text: Matthew 24:14

¹⁴ And this good news^[a] of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations;

You may remember that we have been referencing a poem over the past few weeks written by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian titled “The Work of Christmas”. For those who may be unfamiliar or who have forgotten, let’s take another look at that poem.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

When I began this series I was really excited to talk about the lost and the broken; I wanted to expand our thinking around the hungry and the prisoner. I believe we have accomplished much of what I envisioned we might accomplish with this series. But I must admit to you that I have been somewhat apprehensive as I have watched this next item on the list get closer and closer. I had some anxiety around finding things to say that I was comfortable with as it related to rebuilding the nations. I had anxiety in part because I wasn’t certain what the author meant by rebuilding the nations.

The term rebuilding bothered me a little because it implies that the nations had been destroyed, and now we have to rebuild. I thought of Japan, or parts of Europe or more recently, Iraq or even Viet Nam, but then I realized that those nations come to mind for me because of where I am from; the United States. You see, I thought of nations that needed rebuilding because I thought of nations that had been destroyed at the hands of this country as a result of war and bombs and destruction. But that is only the perspective of someone from this country; what would be God’s perspective?

As I asked that question of myself I began to realize that all nations are in need of rebuilding to one degree or another. Every nation has an element of society that could use a fresh start, every nation has a population of poor and hungry, every nation has a segment of population that may have been impacted by natural disaster. As I tried to broaden my view of rebuilding a nation, I began to see a rebuilding of the nation’s people as the primary objective. Because that is what a nation is; it is the people. A nation is not the land, it is not the cities or the buildings or the bridges or the military might. A nation is the people. If we focus on the idea of rebuilding the people of all the nations, then our mission, at least for me, becomes clearer.

So how do we rebuild people? That is the question, really isn’t it? How do we rebuild people? I also think that our text this morning is really saying that as well; that we are to share the Good News, that is share the Gospel, with all the nations, all the peoples of the earth. I don’t think we share the Good News simply by telling the story of Jesus or through what many of us may consider conventional evangelism. No, I believe we share the Good News through action and through tangible evidence that somebody cares. That is how we rebuild people, we give them hope, we give them food, we give them shelter. In short, we find ways to make their lives better.

I believe we have a responsibility as a church to help rebuild people everywhere. Certainly there is plenty to do right here in the valley. But there are other nations; there are other people, perhaps half-way around the world that need rebuilding as well. How do we reach them? Is it not a little unreasonable to think that we can reach into all the world and rebuild the people of every nation? The text didn’t say a couple of nations or a few nations of our choosing, but rather it said all the nations. How do we do that? It seems impossible.

I would agree that it seems impossible for this church to reach all the nations. We can’t even reach everyone in the valley; how are we supposed to reach all the nations? It can’t be done and the task is just too big. Perhaps it would be better if we ignore that part of the “Work of Christmas” list and ignore that particular text in the New Testament and others like it.

It would be easy to come to these kinds of conclusions and simply give up. But it can be done and it is being done when we work together. That is, in part, the beauty of the United Methodist system; we don’t have to do everything ourselves, by working together we can accomplish a great deal more than any one of us could accomplish on our own. We have systems in place that allow us to impact the entire world and participate in rebuilding the nations. One such system is UMCOR-the United Methodist Committee on relief.

I believe most of you are somewhat familiar with UMCOR and what it does in our world. Our connectional system of United Methodist Churches makes ministries like UMCOR possible; we work together to solve world problems and rebuild the nations.

One of the ways we participate in our connectional system is through the paying of our apportionments. One of the ways I like to think about the word apportionment is to think of it as “a portion meant for others”. There are countless ways that our apportionments impact the world and the nations and the people in need of rebuilding. When we pay our apportionments, we are working with others to rebuild the people in other nations that cannot rebuild themselves. We are reaching across the oceans and around the globe in ways that we simply could not do by ourselves. When we support our connectional ties, we support the concept of working together and accomplishing far more as a group of churches than any single church could do on their own.

We probably don’t talk about this enough. And that is my fault since I am the one who decides for the most part what we talk about on Sunday morning. But we need to talk about it now. Apportionments are important and through our support and paying of the apportionments, we fulfill our call to rebuild the nations and rebuild the people of the nations. It is the most effective vehicle available to us and we should use it.

But here’s the deal. In 2015 we only paid about half of our apportionments. That means we left some things undone. It means someone didn’t get the help they need. It means we didn’t do everything we are called to do.

There are a lot of reasons we left half the apportionments unpaid. Rest assured we did not withhold the money to pay our apportionments; we simply didn’t have the money. You see apportionments are different from most of the bills we receive as a church. With most bills, if you fail to pay or cannot pay there are dire consequences. They come and turn off the electricity or the water, if you can’t pay the help, they seek employment elsewhere, it is against the law to not have insurance or pay our taxes. There are lots of bills; sometimes the apportionments get shuffled to the bottom of the pile.

We are a strong church and we are doing a lot of things. There are a lot of changes happening and we are investing a lot of money in our future right now. But the day-to-day expenses continue. We may give the impression of a church with lots of resources and buckets of cash hidden away in every closet, but that is not the case. In reality, we survive week to week. Often we wait on a bill, wait on a paycheck or simply don’t pay our apportionments in order to balance the checkbook. Some churches have trust funds or investments that can pull them through the lean times. We do not. Most of the resources of that type have been used long ago.

Just for example, it takes about $14,000 a month just to keep the lights on, the telephone working, the building clean and insured, and the staff paid-before we take on any special projects or fix anything that needs to be repaired. On a weekly basis that means we need to collect a little over $3,000 each and every week. Generally, when we count the offering, it is less than that. Much less.

I know some of you have been supporting this church for decades. Your generosity is inspiring. But I also know that some of you have not changed the amount you give each week or each month for a number of years. Our expenses are not what they were 10 years ago. Others perhaps have not thought about giving more to the church-and that may be because we haven’t ever really asked. But we are asking now. If we are going to complete the work of Christmas, if we are going to rebuild the people of the nations, if we are going to accomplish what we need to accomplish to secure our future; we need to survive in the short term. We have been making some long term plans that I’m certain will ease this burden over time. But it will take time. Until that day arrives when we have even more members, more programs, greater outreach and greater ministry-it is up to us.

I think most of you would agree we have made considerable progress toward our long term sustainability over the last year or so. But the journey ahead is long and the results take time. Give some thought about when you last evaluated what you give to this church and what it might mean for someone if we could do a little bit more. Pray about it, think about it and then act on that decision. I want to keep moving forward, I want to keep doing the work of Christmas, I want to pay 100% of our apportionments in 2016 and I want everyone to experience the joy of supporting an effective and dynamic ministry that is this church.

And that, as they say, is food for thought. Go in peace. Amen.