Texts: Job 12: 7-10, Psalm 24: 1, Genesis 2: 15

⁷ “But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ ask the plants of the earth,^[a] and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.

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

⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

I was having lunch the other day in a fast food joint, something I try to avoid, but every so often the schedule demands it. After I received my food I started looking for a place to sit down and the place was very crowded but I spied an empty corner and went and sat down. This particular restaurant has a lot of plants that separate some of the seating areas; the plants form an effective visual block, but they don’t do much for sound. I ended up sitting next to a table where two other guys were eating their lunch and I could hear every word.

Now, don’t misunderstand; I really wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping in on their conversation, but it was kind of hard to miss. I was alone with no one else to talk to and I found myself listening off and on. At one point I actually got kind of interested because they began to talk about the El Nino and how there is predicted to be perhaps record precipitation for parts of California and the Sierras. At that point one of the two said something that really got my attention…he said that he hoped that there would be record snowfall everywhere in California because then maybe those global warming freaks would shut up.

I sank down in my chair just a little because I didn’t want them to know there was a global warming freak just a few feet from their table…and I stayed quiet as well. I felt a little embarrassed for having overheard the conversation, but it continued to bother me most of day.

A day or two later there was a front page article in the Tribune about climate change and it said that a whopping 65% of Americans now believe it to be true; which means 35% still haven’t gotten the memo. But to my amazement, of the 65% who acknowledge climate change the percentage of people who think it is a moral or religious issue is in the single digits. It was then I decided to try to offer some information on the topic without entering into the political dynamic which often accompanies these discussions. I hope I can be successful.

The other day at lunch was not the first time I had heard someone offer cold weather or heavy snow as proof that climate change isn’t real. It is a common misconception, partly because the language at one time was global warming and anything cold seems to negate that idea. We are much more accurate now describing things as climate change. I thought a brief explanation of one possible scenario might be of interest, so at least you can have a basic understanding of how climate change may actually alter winter weather and make it more severe.

If you have ever visited England in the winter you know that it is wet and gray, but usually it is not that cold. Snowfall in London is rare, although it does happen, but for the most part I think the winters in London are a lot like they have been recently in Lewiston-a lot of rain, some cold temperatures but not a lot and even less snow. There is a reason for the moderate winters in London.

If you look at this map, you can see that London and Fargo, North Dakota are about at the same latitude-in other words they are both about the same distance north of the equator. As a general rule, the farther north you go, the cooler it gets…and yet the winters in Fargo are much more severe than the winters in London. This is due in part to what meteorologists call the north Atlantic Conveyor that is located northeast of the eastern coast of the United States. Out there is what amounts to a giant pump and this pump creates the ocean currents that bring London its mild winter temperatures. This pump is located a few hundred miles south of Greenland and northeast of Maine in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The short story about what happens is this. Cold air blows south over the Greenland ice and out into the Atlantic. The huge amounts of ice on Greenland create some very cold temperatures in the winter; this super-cooled air from the Greenland ice then cools the water in the Atlantic. This cool water then sinks, because it is now more dense, or heavier than the water around it. As the water sinks, warmer water from the south is pulled up along the eastern coast of the US to take its place. The prevailing winds which blow from west to east blow across this warm water being pulled up along the east coast and the warm water also warms the air. This air is still warmer than normal by the time it reaches London and as a result London has moderate winters with fairly stable temperatures.

If that pump were to shut off and no longer pull the warm water up along the east coast of the US, then the winters in London would get much more like the winters in Fargo-with the exception that there would be much more precipitation, but it would all be snow. If that north Atlantic Conveyor were to someday shut-off, many scientists think that London and the rest of England would soon enter another ice age.

What keeps the pump pumping is the Greenland ice; if that ice were to melt suddenly or too quickly, the pump may shut down and it would be very difficult to get it started again.

I thought a short video captured in western Greenland might be of interest. Let’s have a look.

Play Video

As I said earlier, I wanted to simply offer some information about the topic and not enter into the political fray. But I did read some texts at the beginning that I want to revisit at this time. The first text from the book of Job I think is very interesting. It says that if we could ask every other living thing on the planet about stewardship of the earth, the answer from every other living thing would be the same. The earth belongs to the Divine creator; not only does the earth belong to God, but so does everything living in and on the earth. It is God which gives them breath and life. Several thousand years ago when Job was written, it was already clear to the author that perhaps we could learn and teach others this idea. See how the text states that the animals and the plants will teach us? We can learn if we ask.

Of all living things on the planet, I think that only human beings have the power to alter the planet. And it is not ours to alter.

The second text says the same thing. Psalm 24:1 simply states that the earth is the Lord’s and everything that is in it. The earth is not ours to do with what we please.

The last text from Genesis is interesting because of the word “keep”. When you look at this text in Hebrew, the word translated as keep is the Hebrew word “shamar” and it means more than to just keep things neat and tidy. It has a deeper meaning that could be translated as to guard or to protect. So when we are commanded by God to “keep” the earth, we are commanded to care for the planet, to guard and protect the planet and to keep it safe for all the living things God may choose to put here. Us included.

And that is food for thought. Go in peace and go with God. Amen.

Text: John 14: 19-20

¹⁹ In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Every once in awhile growing up in Iowa we would get a really good snowstorm and they would call off school. Now understand this didn’t happen nearly often enough, but it usually did happen at least a couple of times each winter. When it would happen, my mother, who worked in the public school system as a physical education teacher would suddenly have a day off that she didn’t expect. I don’t know if you have ever found yourself in the situation where you had unexpected free time, but it is a great feeling-you think to yourself “I have the whole day to spend as I want…what am I going to do?”

When my mother would ask that question, the answer was almost always the same; she would bake. Cookies and breads and muffins and who knows what else were on the menu and as the snow fell and the wind howled outside, the kitchen would fill with great aromas and the warmth of the oven. I have quite a few memories of coming into the kitchen after having been outside playing in the snow or shoveling or running a snow blower; chilled to the bone and then thawing out while basking in the warmth and aroma of that kitchen.

To this day whenever it is stormy or snowy or I have some unexpected free time often my first instinct is to bake something. Isn’t that interesting how the habits and opinions and personality of my mother are still present in me today? There is a part of her that lives within me.

Certainly this is true in part to biology; she was my mother, after all. But I think it is also partly true because of the medium of food. There is something unique and special about preparing and consuming food that binds you together; particularly food that is somewhat unique to your own personal experience. For example, one of the cookies that mom would bake were called oatmeal jobbies; I have not ever seen another cookie quite like an oatmeal jobbie; I think they are quite unique to my experience growing up. I don’t know where the recipe came from so I just attribute it to my mother. But today, when I bake oatmeal jobbies, my mother is present with me; she is there in the kitchen and the smells and the warmth of the oven always take me back to the great blizzards in Iowa as a kid. I don’t think my experience is particularly rare; I believe many others experience the same kinds of family connections particularly through food and recipes and meals while gathered at the table.

A few years ago my sister put together a recipe book that she gave to the rest of the family as a Christmas present. This isn’t just a recipe book, it is also a photo album; there are pictures in here from 30 or 40 of even 50 years ago; family pictures that capture the spirit and the essence of what it meant to grow up in the Cram household in Iowa during that time. It also captures the essence of what it means to share food with one another and in the process to share recipes as well.

Here is one photo from that recipe book. As you can see, it is much better to share a sundae with someone than to just eat it alone. I don’t know who took this picture or where my sister found it; it is a mystery to me. As far as we can figure, this was taken in LeMars, where Heidi and I both grew up, sometime before we were married. It could have been 1972 or perhaps 1973, we are not sure.

There is something else that is very telling in this recipe book. The opening page and the very first recipe speaks volumes about my experience; it reads “first things first” and the recipe is for homemade ice cream.

The ritual of HMIC as we called it in the Cram household was quite a process. The hand-crank freezer was huge – I think it made a gallon or perhaps even five quarts of ice cream. That meant we needed a big crowd to consume all that, so there were always a lot of people present. Every birthday or anniversary or any get together of any kind almost always included HMIC.

This was before the days of ice makers and convenience stores with self-serve 5 or 10 pound bags of ice, so my Dad invented a system. In the basement we had a large chest freezer. Every time we emptied a cardboard carton of milk-I think they were half-gallons-my dad would rinse it out and then fill it with water. Then he would put the carton in the chest freezer in the basement. When it came time for the next HMIC ritual, we always had plenty of ice. The cardboard carton would hold together pretty well even when you broke the ice into small chunks with a hammer-then you could rip the carton open and empty the crushed ice into the ice cream freezer. While the guys were crushing ice, my mother was usually busy washing the freezer and creating the mixture from our now famous HMIC recipe that appears in this recipe book. Once assembled, the cranking would begin and everyone would have a turn. My dad insisted that rock salt worked better than the granulated stuff, so he would always steal some rock salt from the water softener and add just the right amount of salt until finally the mixture was frozen. Then we would indulge.

Keep in mind this wasn’t just about having ice cream to go with the cake. It was much more than that. If we just needed ice cream it was available…after all, this took place in LeMars, Iowa, home of Blue Bunny ice cream-believe me when I tell you good ice cream was available; but that wasn’t the point, most of the joy and most of the memories are from the ritual, not the ice cream.

Today, I have an ice cream freezer that resembles the one we used when I was a kid. We don’t use it often, but when we do, my parents are alive and present in that ice cream freezer. There are connections here, a connection to ritual, a connection to memories and a connection to ice cream, but mostly, there is a connection to family, my parents and my childhood. Ritual and food can bring those connections back to life for each of us.

I believe that Jesus felt these same connections. He often shared meals and food with his disciples and others that he cared about; even the some of the stories surrounding his resurrection include the sharing of food. When the Gospel of John tells us that Jesus was in the Father and we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us one of the ways we can experience that reality is through ritual and another way is through food. This is the power of communion.

If you remember I mentioned that our HMIC ritual really wasn’t so much about the ice cream, we could find that anywhere. In like manner, I’m certain you could find a morsel of bread and a little shot of juice almost anywhere-communion isn’t really about the bread and the cup. It is about the ritual and the connections that ritual represents and the connections that ritual can produce. When we partake of communion we are connecting with the Divine in such a way that we can feel the Christ within us and the Divine presence around us. We are connected to the family of God in the same way I am connected to family when I make HMIC or when I bake oatmeal jobbies when it snows.

Our communion table has been set, our communion meal has been prepared and the connections to the family of God are ours to experience.

Amen.

Text: Luke 10: 25-37

²⁵ Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.^[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii,^[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

I think many of us have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan from the time we were small kids until now. I’m sure thousands of sermons have been preached on the topic just in the last few years and you may have even heard a few of them. This message is so powerful and so important that I wanted to visit the scripture again, but I wanted to do it in a way that would be memorable, something that would be more meaningful that just another sermon. So I let my imagination loose on the topic and decided to bring the story into the 21^st century. In the text we can read that the Samaritan brought the man who was beaten and robbed to an Inn-so this is the story from the Inn keeper, but set in the 21^st century.

“You know, you just don’t think things like that will happen around here. I mean, that’s why my wife and I bought this Bed and Breakfast because we wanted to raise the kids in a small town and in a safe environment. You expect to hear about people getting mugged or robbed or attacked in places like LA or New York City, but not our here – not in the middle of nowhere…and yet it happened; and practically all in our front yard to boot!”

“I remember the night like it was yesterday. Our B&B has a nice dining hall that can seat about 30 people and there was a town hall meeting that night. The county wanted to impose a tax on recreation and travel to help pay for a new elementary school. There was to be a tax on white water rafting for example, and taxes on Bed & Breakfasts like ours, taxes on organized fishing expeditions, and other leisure, recreational and travel things that frankly keep our local economy humming around here. Many of the proprietors of the businesses that would be impacted opposed the tax; they thought it would hurt business. I was one of the few in favor because I value education, so I volunteered to host the town hall meeting. We had an overflow crowd; the mayor was here, city council members, several pastors from the local churches and county officials as well. The meeting was supposed to go for just a couple of hours, from 7 – 9 PM. At 10:30PM there were still people wanting to speak, but we decided to have another meeting rather than to keep going into the night, so we dismissed between 10:30 and 11:00 and everyone filed out.”

“Like I said I remember the night like it was yesterday. One reason it sticks out in my mind is because of the cold snap we were having. The regular temperature had already hit zero by the time the meeting let out and the wind chill was well below zero. I wondered to myself as everyone left the building how many cars would not start in the cold, but everybody seemed to get going without too much trouble. I stood in the doorway and watched the last vehicle exit the parking lot and then closed the door.”

It wasn’t two minutes later before the door opened again. There was a strange man who I had never met before helping another inside. He had his arm around him and was practically carrying him inside. The man being helped was in shirt sleeves and his shirt was torn at the shoulder; he had a bloody spot on his forehead and only had one shoe. “What happened?” I asked as I met them half-way across the floor. “I’m not sure,” the man said, “I found him leaned up against one of your parking lot lights just outside.” “I had to wait for the traffic to clear, because everyone was leaving; and when I turned into your lot, there he was.” “I can’t believe that no one saw him on their way out – there must have been twenty or twenty-five cars all leaving at the same time.” “We had a meeting” I explained. The man nodded.

We took the injured man over to the sofa that faced the fireplace and helped him sit down. By now my wife had heard the commotion and came over with a blanket and we rolled the ottoman over so he could prop up his leg and foot with the missing shoe. The ankle was swollen and red, he was shivering from the cold and I motioned to my wife to bring a hot drink. Then I stoked the fire a bit and threw another piece of wood to get it going. Soon my wife reappeared with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm wash cloth for the injured man to wipe his forehead.

“Can he stay here tonight?” the man asked-I shook my head. “We have only six rooms and are full for tonight.”

“Well, I have a reservation here,” said the man, “so he can have my room and I will drive back into town and find another room for myself. I passed several motels on my way out here. I have to be in Boise by 9 AM tomorrow, so I will be leaving early, but I’m coming back through on Friday and will check back with you then. In the meantime, if he needs anything-anything at all, get it for him and put it on my account.” Then the man handed me his credit card; “I want to pay for his room and meals until I return-just keep track of everything and we can settle the credit card on Friday.”

By now the injured man was beginning to thaw out and I overheard part of the conversation as my wife tucked in the blanket and dabbed at his forehead. He had been out walking when a pick-up truck full of teenagers jumped him, stole all his money and credit cards, took his coat and beat him up. He said he had tried to fight back some, but there were too many of them. He saw our lights and headed this way, but only got as far as the parking lot when he had to rest. He was there when everyone left, but no one stopped.

I took the man’s credit card over to the front desk and took an imprint of it and then handed it back to him. “I’ll be back on Friday” he said, “I think we should call the police, report what we know and maybe help him cancel any cards he may have lost.” “If he needs any medical attention, I will cover that expense as well, but for now I need to find another room and get settled. I have an early morning.”

“Let me make a call” I said, “a lot of us know each other and I’m sure I can find a room for you.”

I went back to the desk and started calling other facilities that might have a room. The first place I checked was full, but I found a spot on the second try. I told the man exactly where it was and that they were expecting him. As the man put his coat back on the injured man managed a hoarse “thank-you” and raised his right arm about half-way up wincing through some kind of shoulder pain. And then he was gone.

The next couple of days were a whirlwind of police reports and urgent care visits, but as promised on Friday, around 3PM the man returned. This time things were not quite so hectic and we actually had a chance to introduce ourselves to each other and exchange formalities. The injured man was feeling much better as well.

“I’m Jared” I said when he arrived and reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Amad,” the man said, “Amad Rasheed, nice to meet you.”

“What do you do Amad?, I asked. “I’m an insurance adjuster” he said, I had to get to Boise to look at a suspicious fire that they think might have been arson, so it was time sensitive; “sorry I had to rush out the other night.” “How is the patient anyway?”

“I’m feeling much better, thank-you” came a voice from the kitchen.

“Where are you from Amad?” I asked.

“I normally work in Missoula, but the Boise fire was something the company wanted me to look at” he said.

“Oh,” I said, “but where are you from?” I asked again.

Amad smiled, and explained that we he born in Los Angeles and moved to Missoula about five years ago when the company transferred him there. Then he went on to explain that both his parents had come to the United States in the early 1950’s from Pakistan during a period of civil unrest.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” I said; Amad nodded; “are you Muslim?”

Amad grinned from ear to ear and said, “I follow some of the traditions of Isalm”.

“Well, what you did was certainly Christ like,” I said.

Amad nodded his head again; “We’re not so different, you and I; your New Testament says to love your neighbor and so does my Quran. Allah is merciful to those who show mercy is what it actually says, but the bottom line is the same.”

I nodded in agreement as he headed out the door. As I watched him leave the parking lot I thought to myself about who is my neighbor; how ironic I thought…as our world gets smaller, our neighborhoods get bigger.

“God bless you, Amad,” I said under my breath as we exchanged waves as he drove out of sight.

Amen.

Text: John 10: 14-16

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Quite a number of years ago I was finishing up my under-graduate work at Northern Michigan University and while I was in school there I also worked for Dominos Pizza to help pay the bills. Most of the time at Dominos I did deliveries, but every so often I had to jump on the line and help make pizzas as well. When we made pizza there was a cool contraption that put the cheese on the pizza for us. The main part of this contraption was this upside down colander looking thing. Once assembled, there was a cheese hopper on top that you would fill up and then push a button and the cheese would fall down through the colander thing and spread out over the pizza. At first, this doesn’t seem like much until you fully understand what is going on-there are two very important things this contraption accomplished for the Dominos where I worked. First it monitored portion control and second it made things faster.

To fill the hopper with cheese you always used the same cup, it didn’t matter if it was a small, medium, large, or extra-large pizza-always the same cup. That saved time. The way the cheese spread out because of the colander thing, only the right amount of cheese would land on a small pizza for example, even though you dropped enough for an extra – large. The cheese that missed the pizza was collected in a bin and used again so there wasn’t any waste.

The manager of the Dominos told me that this device saved him enough in cheese costs the first month to pay for itself and he knows it has increased the speed and efficiency of how fast they can make pizzas when they get really busy.

Now that is management. His name was Jeff and he was a good manager of that Dominos. He also owned it, so that made a difference as well.

When I read this text again a few days ago, it struck me that we don’t have shepherds anymore here in the United States, we have managers. There are managers that know how to save a little bit of cheese on each pizza and make their store more profitable; managers that monitor labor costs and constantly watch the bottom line. There are risk analysis managers and foreign asset managers and all kinds of managers that constantly watch and monitor to make certain spending and expenses stay within certain guidelines. They are managers, but they are not shepherds.

In this text, Jesus says that he is the good shepherd and a good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep. A good risk analysis manager wouldn’t allow that to happen. You see one or two sheep are acceptable losses, Jesus is too important to lose over just a couple of sheep. The good risk analysis manager would never suggest to Jesus that he leave the 99 sheep to go look for the one that is lost. The one lost sheep can be considered collateral damage or acceptable loss, but you don’t put the other 99 at risk for the one. You don’t if you are a good manager…but a good shepherd looks at things differently. At least that is what the text says.

I understand that a business must make a profit to stay in business and good management is the way it stays in business. But it seems to me that a good shepherd has a commitment that goes well beyond that of a manager. For the good shepherd that one lost sheep is the most important thing, for the good shepherd there isn’t any such thing as acceptable losses or collateral damage. Every single sheep is important and every single sheep is worth laying down So that raises an interesting question for the church. I believe the church is called to be a good shepherd to the lost sheep; we are called to reach out to those who have no flock; we are called to reach out to those who wander and are not connected to community. We are called to be good shepherds to those sheep.

While we are called to be good shepherds, we also have to stay in business and be able to pay the bills. We have to be good managers while we are being good shepherds and that can be a tricky business.

While you are thinking about that particular dilemma let me call your attention to the second half of this text. This is the part where Jesus says that he has other sheep that do not belong to this fold and he must bring them in also. In a historical context, most Bible scholars would interpret this scripture as a reference to the ministry of Jesus expanding from just the Jews to include the Gentiles as well. But part of good Bible scholarship is not only knowing the historical, but finding ways to bring the Gospel forward into the 21^st century and find meaning in today’s society and today’s culture.

One of the ways I look at this scripture is that those sheep that do not belong to this fold are those persons we have been talking about so much over the last few months. Sometimes I call them the unaffiliated or you may have heard me describe them as those who say they are spiritual but not religious. They are the demographic that the Pew research has identified as the fastest growing group of people in the United States.

I think it is important for us to recognize that these are real people and they are in many ways lost sheep. These are good people, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, children and grandchildren. They have names and faces and families. It is not some abstract demographic or some statistic on a page of research. They are human beings and they are looking for a spiritual connection that will help them cope with everyday life. But they have not found that comfort in the traditional church; they have not found that comfort in a traditional approach to Christianity. They have been driven away from the church by messages of hostility, messages of judgment, messages of hypocrisy and narrow thinking and now they are lost. They are sheep that no longer belong to this fold, but Jesus says that he must bring them in as well.

As the church called to be a good shepherd I believe it is our responsibility to provide a space for these lost sheep. It is our responsibility to find them, to inform them and to offer them a place to connect, a place to ask questions, a place where we can challenge stereotypes and break free of creeds and dogma. These sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles are longing for a place of spiritual development, they are seeking a place that resonates with what they think and feel. They are looking for such a place, but not many exist. All across this country and even around the world, there are millions of people with names and faces and spiritual needs, who wander but would rather connect, but they don’t know how and they don’t know where.

If you think I am overstating the numbers, consider for a moment how the Pope has been received this week. I believe Pope Francis is saying things and demonstrating things that resonate with these lost sheep. He is open and inclusive, he is non-judgmental, he believes in honoring all faith traditions, he believes we are called to care for the environment, he believes the poor are people of worth-and his message resonates with many who have not been to church in decades.

We have the opportunity to be the place where these other sheep can find a home. We have the opportunity to minister to the needs of many people here in the valley that have not found comfort anywhere else. We are that church. We are the good shepherd. We can do this.

We can do it, but we also need to be good managers. That is the tricky part because almost anything we want to do costs something and right now we don’t have a lot of disposable income in the church budget. As a matter of fact, we don’t have any disposable income in the church budget.

But we have a plan. This plan is a compilation of ideas, research and brainstorming on the part of much of your leadership in this church. It is still in formation and nothing has been officially set, but it is beginning to take shape. It has taken enough shape for us to share a few ideas with you and to give you a glimpse of what we see for the future of this church.

The plan is really very simple. We will become a place of comfort and safety for those other sheep who currently wander. But we need to let them know we are here. Part of that has already started to happen if you have noticed our ads in the Tribune over the past few weeks. As people are encouraged to visit and they experience a different kind of church, some will stay and connect. As they come, we will grow and some of our financial instability will be relieved, but more importantly, we will be ministering to a greater number of people and meeting needs that are not currently being met.

How many of you remember the movie “Field of Dreams” that was popular a number of years ago? In that movie there was a line that kept getting repeated…do you remember? “If you build it, they will come” – remember that?

The same is true for us. But we need you. Each and every one of you knows someone who is currently unaffiliated. Maybe it is someone as close as a son or daughter; perhaps it is the person who mows your lawn or fixes your hair. One person told me they have been talking to a particular server who works in a restaurant they frequently go to. Maybe it is someone at the office or someone in another group that you belong to. But everybody here knows someone. This plan will not work without you; we can advertise and hold events and put up billboards and be on the radio, but nothing can take the place of a personal invitation and a personal recommendation.

The time is now and the person to do it is you. We are called to be good shepherds, every one of us; we become good shepherds by looking for and finding those lost sheep. The plan is a framework; but we need you to fill in the blanks. We need you to spread the Good News. We need you to be excited and enthusiastic about what your church is doing and why it stands apart from any other church in the Valley.

The plan needs you, the church needs you and the lost sheep need you. Will you answer the call?

Amen.

Text: John 6: 35-40

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; ³⁸ for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

I would have to admit to spending a little time on Facebook; I’m sure there may be others who spend a lot more time looking and reading and posting than I do. But even what little I am on Facebook, I have noticed a couple of things that I think are interesting. The first thing is that I hardly ever post anything-I guess my life isn’t that interesting, or else I figure that not everbody needs to know that I’m on my way to the DMV to get a driver’s license or standing in line at Starbucks. I’m amazed at what some people post-I keep thinking about the relative importance of any particular post. Of course there are the photos of the grandchildren and some information about what our own kids have been up to, but there are a lot of posts from the grocery store or some restaurant or traffic jam some place. I don’t want to appear completely heartless, but I don’t really care if you are stuck in traffic or not, it is what it is, so deal with it-you don’t have to put it on Facebook.

I have also noticed that most people only put the highlight reel on Facebook; in other words you might see a picture of a report card with all A’s, or a special performance at the piano recital, or even the declaration that 10 pounds has been lost. To the best of my recollection, I don’t recall ever seeing Facebook posts about how I really lost my temper today and I should apologize to that person. Or maybe the post about how I manipulated things in such a way to get my own way, or maybe there was that little white lie that one time, or I didn’t tip my waitress or waiter as much as I probably should have and I could go on, but you get the idea. I wonder what it would look like if in an alternative universe somewhere there was a Facebook equivalent that was only for the “B” reel. You know, the stuff we would prefer never saw the light of day…wouldn’t that be interesting reading? I might have to confess to spending even more time of that kind of a Facebook – it would make for much more interesting reading.

Interestingly enough, today’s scripture made me think of this. I know what you’re probably thinking about now…”he’s been on the edge for a while now, but he finally went over.”

But I don’t think so. Let me explain.

If we look at the scripture again, there are a couple of things I would like to point out. The first, which is obvious, is that this text comes to us from the Gospel according to John. I know I have said this before, but it is worth repeating, the Gospel of John is 100% metaphor-the entire thing-and that is not just my opinion, it is upheld by many of the world’s greatest theologians. So when Jesus is saying that we will never hunger or thirst again, how are we to interpret that exactly? We know we can’t see a literal interpretation here, so what comes next? Are we talking about a spiritual hunger or a spiritual thirst? I don’t think so, because everyone I know who currently has a powerful and dynamic relationship with Jesus is always hungry for more. They want more knowledge, they want more understanding, and they want more personal experiences of the Divine in their lives. We all want more all the time. So I don’t really think that is an accurate interpretation; although it is a very common one.

So I will ask the question again, what does it mean to never be hungry or thirsty again when we have a relationship with Jesus? I don’t think we are talking about money or material blessings; there are people who walk with Jesus daily that represent both ends of a broad economic spectrum; it can’t be wealth or material possessions. So what else? It’s not spiritual, it’s not material, could it be emotional?

Let me say that again. Could it be emotional?

Now what do I mean by that; to never be emotionally hungry or thirsty again? I can tell you what I don’t mean-I’m not suggesting that we will never feel bad again, I’m not suggesting we won’t ever experience loneliness or heartbreak or frustration ever again-these things are all a part of life and they continue pretty much regardless of your relationship with Jesus. As a matter of fact, I am suggesting that this scripture basically promises us that those things will continue.

You see, I think most people read this portion of the text as a good thing. They read it like those of us who have a relationship with Jesus will somehow be better off than those who do not have such a relationship; and in a way I suppose that is accurate. But the accuracy is not what you think.

Remember when I suggested how interesting it might be if in an alternative universe somewhere there was a Facebook for all the “B” reel stuff? All of the things you would rather not talk about or admit to; all of the things that emotionally you keep hidden behind your back? All of that stuff? I know we all have some.

What if Jesus is that alternative universe I keep talking about and simple prayer is the Facebook?

Could it be that when Jesus said that we will never be hungry or thirsty what he really was saying is that we will never run out of things that qualify for the “B” reel. We will never run out of things that are less than stellar to post on the Jesus Facebook where all of our truth comes to the light of day whether we want it to or not. Maybe, just maybe, never being hungry or thirsty again means we will continue to have lots of material in our lives that isn’t fit for the highlight reel. We are not exactly at our best moment or the top of our game as they say; in other words, we will always have plenty to post on the alternative Facebook. And we post on the alternative Facebook when we pray-and that of course is what makes us better off. We have not escaped the suffering, but at least we have a place to put it and share it and maybe even get a few likes from the community at large.

But that isn’t all the text says. If we look closely at verse 39 it says that Jesus will not lose any of what has been given him. In other words, nothing is lost, so everything is used and everything is important. Can you get your mind around this? It is all useful, it is all good, and when we post to the Jesus Facebook, we don’t have to worry whether or not our post is part of a highlight reel or part of a lesser reel. It is all used and it is all good. Because the good is so good and the bad is so useful.

Can you begin to see that in Jesus? Look who he spent time with; Jesus didn’t exactly hang out with the “A” team all the time, as a matter of fact, Jesus didn’t even hang out with the junior varsity, Jesus hung out with those who had been thrown off the team altogether. Jesus hung out with the outcasts and the ridiculed; he hung with the sick and the lonely and those who had not one good thing to post on Facebook. Why did Jesus spend his time with such people? Was it because he just had bad taste in people? Was it because he was a poor judge of character? I don’t think so.

I think Jesus hung out with those people because nothing is lost. Everything is of value and every person is of value, and what better way to demonstrate that than to validate the outcasts and ridiculed than with his presence and with his compassion?

I think this scripture is also saying that God wants all of us. Sure God will take the highlight reel of the straight A report card and the son or daughter scoring a goal in the soccer game, but God also wants what we have hiding in the closets or our minds right now. God wants the “B” reel and everything that has fallen on the editing room floor. God wants it all because nothing is lost and nothing is wasted. The good is so good and the bad is so useful, God wouldn’t have it any other way.

So we can continue to cherry pick our regular Facebook posts and create this illusion of perfection for all of our friends and family. We all live Pollyanna lives on Facebook with the exception of the occasional traffic jam or flat tire; but the Jesus Facebook is looking for something else. The Jesus Facebook wants it all, the good the bad and the ugly, all of it. And don’t worry, you will never run out, because we are promised that when posting the realities of our lives on the Jesus Facebook, we will never hunger for material and we will never thirst for another post. There will be plenty.

And that is food for thought. Go in peace and go with God.

Amen.

Text: Luke 4: 16-21

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

I don’t think I ever really believed in a tooth fairy and to the best of my memory I don’t remember putting a lost tooth under a pillow. But we did have a tradition in my house as I was growing up, that we could put a lost tooth in a glass of water and then in the morning there may be a coin or two in the water and the tooth would be gone. Somehow I always knew it was a parental act, but it was fun just the same; perhaps being the youngest of five and subject to the views and opinions of older sisters and an older brother made me less naïve. However it happened, that is what we did when I lost a tooth.

So as a very young boy I have a memory of losing a tooth and placing it in the glass of water. The next morning with great anticipation I rushed to the counter above the sink to retrieve the glass of water. The tooth was gone, but I must admit to a certain level of disappointment; there in the bottom of the glass was just a single coin, a nickel.

I had lost other teeth and I was pretty sure I normally did better than just a nickel; even a few more pennies would have helped, but a nickel? Really? Oh, well, I thought-at least it will get five penny candies at the corner store. Like I said, this was a long time ago.

When I poured out the water to retrieve my nickel a miracle took place. The nickel shifted sideways just a little bit and hidden under the nickel was a shiny new dime! Fifteen cents! Whoa baby! How things can change in just a few seconds; my reward had just tripled in size and I was ecstatic! Part of the thrill was the discovery, thinking at first I might have been short-changed, so to speak, and then to discover in just a moment my take had tripled. It was great.

I think it is also significant to realize the treasure of the dime was hidden under the nickel-it wasn’t until the nickel was removed, that I realized there was more underneath. I think that is also true of this scripture. There is an interpretation on the surface, which is valid, but I think there is another that lies beneath the first interpretation, that many people miss. You have to look for it if you are going to find it, because it is easily obscured by the first.

Let me explain what I mean by this. When Jesus told the people in the synagogue that the scripture had been fulfilled that day, right in front of them, with their hearing, Jesus was defining his ministry. He was sending notice about what he was here to do, and what he was going to be paying attention to. If we look again at the text, we can see that Jesus said he would bring good news to the poor, he said he would proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. He also said he would let the oppressed go free and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

So on the surface, we can see many of these things being brought out in later episodes of Jesus’ ministry. He did heal some that were blind, he did perhaps bring good news to the poor. If you were held captive by your past, as was the woman at the well for example, Jesus offered release from that captivity. If you were oppressed by disease or physical problems, Jesus also brought release from those ailments. We can see the fulfillment of this scripture in the stories and the descriptions of Jesus’ ministry all throughout the four Gospels. This is the surface interpretation; it is the interpretation which is the most obvious. It is also the point where many people quit looking for anything more…but there is more, a lot more. And we should talk about it, because it is very relevant to the situation we find ourselves in right now, here in the 21^st century.

If you look closely at the text in Luke, you might discover that the same basic story appears in Matthew and Mark as well, except those two other Gospels leave out the specific scripture that Jesus quoted. The main idea of all three stories is not the scripture being fulfilled, but rather the idea that Jesus was not welcome even in the synagogue of his home town. The story is referenced in all three Gospels as “Jesus is rejected at Nazareth”-it is not labeled as “the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled”. So we need to think beyond the obvious here and look under the first interpretation and see if there is something more for us that is hidden by our original instincts. Just like the dime was hidden by the nickel.

I think many people would agree that one of the things that Jesus wanted to accomplish with his ministry was to reform Judaism. Jesus also wanted to challenge some of the ways Judaism had gotten bogged down or stuck in the mud with too many rules, too many regulations, too much tradition and too much authority in the hands of too few individuals. If we look at the text again, with reforming Judaism in our minds, it becomes very interesting.

For example, in what ways was ancient Judaism poor and what good news was Jesus offering that would offset that particular poverty? How were people blind in ancient Judaism or how were they oppressed or held captive by the laws and tradition? If you begin to think about Jesus’ ministry as a reformer of Judaism, each of these items mentioned in the Isaiah text has a direct correlation to the conditions found in ancient Judaism. They were blind, they were oppressed, they were held captive and Jesus wanted to change all of that. Jesus could see that the common experience of God for the common Jew was quite poor, it could be much richer; Jesus wanted to change that as well. Jesus wanted to bring the good news of a dynamic personal relationship with God to the common person, even to the peasant, even to women, even to Gentiles and Samaritans, prostitutes, tax collectors and thieves. Jesus wanted everyone to experience what he experienced; a personal, close encounter with the Divine.

But the real message here, the message that we have to dig for a little bit, the message that is hidden under all the others is this: we have come full circle. We no longer need Jesus to reform ancient Judaism; we need Jesus to reform Christianity. Let me say that again; we need Jesus to reform Christianity.

Now there’s a thought. Jesus the reformer, Jesus the rebel, Jesus the troublemaker is the Jesus that can reform Christianity if we let him. Christianity has become poor. We are a poor example to the rest of the world if we profess to be a Christian nation. We are poor when people feel judged or outcast or belittled; when Christianity is willing to divide a nation, or split a church or oppress certain groups of people, we are poor. But the message of Good News that Jesus brought to reform ancient Judaism is the same message that can make us rich again.

We are held captive in so many ways. But Jesus promised release from that captivity. We practice oppression on a regular basis, but Jesus can free us from that oppression. We often are blind to some of these things, but through a new lens, and a new vision of what Jesus really said and what Jesus really taught, we can see again. Our sight can be restored!

We are about to embark on a new journey as a church. We will be ministering in new ways, we will have new spiritual experiences and we will see Jesus in new ways. As we move forward, we must understand that reform is not easy; change is hard. But the freedom and the rich rewards are worth the effort.

I am certainly not Jesus; but I am your Spiritual leader. Listen to this text again with new ears. Listen again to the proclamation of where your Spiritual leader is leading, listen again for what our purpose as a church really is and what our ministry will be about. Listen-

¹⁸”The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
Bring good news to the spiritually poor, those who are starved for a meaningful spiritual experience.

He sent me to proclaim release to the captives
Release to the captives; held captive by tradition, held captive by denominational barriers, held captive by antiquated creeds and customs.

and recovery of sight to the blind.
Recovery of sight to the blind; those blinded by the bright glare of exclusiveness, those blinded by feelings of superiority, those blinded by their own self-absorption.

to let the oppressed go free,
To let the oppressed go free; those groups of individuals held in oppression because of gender or belief systems, held in oppression because of race or nationality, held in oppression because of gender orientation or even faith tradition.

¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Today, we begin a new chapter. Today we begin to really move forward. Today we are taking the first few steps toward a revitalization of our church. And yes, today-here in the 21^st century-this scripture has been fulfilled by your hearing.

Amen.

Sermon – August 30, 2015

Text: Mark 5: 24-34

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵ Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶ She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹ Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰ Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” ³¹ And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² He looked all around to see who had done it. ³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Perhaps a year or so ago I was on line looking at our bank balance and debit card activity when I noticed a charge that I didn’t recognize. It had originated in Shanghai, China and I was pretty sure I hadn’t been to China lately, so I knew something was not quite right. It was the week-end so I had to wait until Monday morning to go in a talk with the bank. When they opened I went to a teller at the bank and explained that I thought there had been an unauthorized transaction on my account. She listened, took my information and then retrieved a list from another desk. “You are already on here” she said, pointing toward the list, we already figured this was unauthorized and we have cancelled your current card.

That was pretty impressive, at least to me, that they already knew something was amiss-the unauthorized withdrawal was fairly obvious if you knew what to watch for. There was something that alerted someone, or some computer, to let them know that something fishy was going on. Impressive on one hand, but kind of scary on the other; it kind of leaves you wondering what else they know about you but just are not sharing that information right now…

Any way, we got the mess figured out, I eventually got my money back, ordered a new debit card and all was well.

I tell this story because the text I read a few minutes ago reminded me of this experience. You see Jesus was immediately aware that someone had made an unauthorized withdrawal; the text states that Jesus was aware that some form of power had left his body. There were lots of people touching his clothing, the disciples were a little confused when he asked who had touched him-and they responded by saying, look around, everybody is touching you, how can you say, who touched me?

But of all the people who were pressing in on Jesus and coming into contact with him, only one was able to withdraw the power to heal from him. Only one. Have you ever wondered why just one and what made it possible for that one?

We need to go back to the text and look again, but the woman had told herself that all she needed to do was to touch the hem of his garment. That was it; just touch the garment and she knew she would be healed. This is remarkable, but we have to really think about it before we begin to fully realize the true implications of this text.

You see the act of touching the garment by itself was not the key ingredient. Lots of people were touching the garment without any consequences. It was the fact that the woman had already decided in her mind, she had told herself, if I touch the garment, then I will be healed.

Does this give us any clues about how important it is that when we talk to ourselves we guard the kind of language we use and we pay attention to what it is we are saying to ourselves? Everyone talks to themselves-we are constantly having conversations with ourselves; but what are we saying? Are we telling ourselves how stupid we are, how silly we look in this new haircut, how inadequate we are, how we really blew it at work or how we wished we hadn’t said that one thing? What is our self-talk? One lesson of this text is to watch our self-talk, because it determines to a large extent what the outcome of our actions is. Without self-talk this woman would never have been healed; if she had not told herself what would happen when she touched the garment, when she did, nothing would have happened. That’s exactly what happened when everyone else was touching Jesus, nothing. But this woman was different and that difference was what she had told herself, in her own mind. Self-talk is powerful and we need to pay attention when we begin to tell ourselves things.

But as important as that is, I don’t think that is the truly liberating part of the story. I want us to look at verse 26, where it said she had endured much under many physicians and she had spent all she had. Boy does that sound familiar. As a matter of fact, this story is repeated in the Gospel according to Luke, and Luke says that even though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. I guess in a twisted sort of way there is some comfort in knowing that some things never change.

So this woman tells herself that if she could just touch the cloak of Jesus she would be healed; and then she manages to get close enough and touches his cloak, and immediately she felt in her body that she had been made well. Then it gets interesting, because Jesus knows that something is up-kind of like my bank knew that there was unauthorized activity on my account, Jesus knew there had been an unauthorized power withdrawal from his cloak.

So Jesus stops and starts asking questions. I find it interesting that in all three stories, for this story appears in all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, the woman eventually comes forward, but is scared to death. She falls before Jesus in fear and trembling is what the Mark version says. So, why would she be afraid? She had done nothing wrong. Was she fearful that Jesus would be upset; did she consider her power withdrawal to be some sort of violation? Was there an unwritten law somewhere?

One explanation that speaks to the context of the story in terms of history and tradition, is that the woman would have been considered unclean in her condition, and so for her to touch Jesus, would have also made him unclean. So some scholars believe that the woman was afraid that Jesus would be upset because the woman had made him unclean. She didn’t know Jesus very well, if that was the case. It seems that Jesus didn’t pay a lot of attention to that kind of stuff.

With all of the references in the three texts about how the woman had spent so much money on all those physicians, I’m wondering if the woman thought there may be a charge of some sort. I can see her wondering in her own mind; “uh-oh-I been found out, I wonder what this is going to cost?” I can see this woman asking the question in her own mind; “is this going to be free?” She had already spent all she had and we can assume there wasn’t anything she could offer, even as a gift. I think in her poor financial condition and in her poor health condition, she wanted to remain as anonymous as possible. But Jesus calls her out. So there is some anxiety as she approaches Jesus.

All Jesus says to her is that her faith had made her well.

Now we need to think about this a minute and link all of this together. We established earlier that the woman’s self talk was instrumental in her healing. Others were touching Jesus and nothing was happening, but for her, healing took place. Now Jesus tells her that it was her faith that made her well. I want to ask a question: Is faith and self talk the same thing? Have you ever thought about it in that way? Who is that voice in your head and what is that voice saying most of the time? Is it positive or is it negative? Think about what you say to yourself as faith-think about what you say to yourself as the voice of God. Does that change what you might say to yourself in certain situations? I think it might.

With regard to the woman’s financial condition, I want to give you another thought. If there was some kind of financial value to the healing, which the text indicates there was not, but if there were-when Jesus responds to her what I hear in that response is that you already own the healing. It was yours all along. All you had to do was reach out and take it. In other words, all that Jesus has to offer is already ours, it is on the shelf, in stock and ready to ship, we just need to place the order-and shipping is free!

As you begin to think about this, can you begin to see a relationship develop between our own self talk and our ownership position of all that Jesus represents? Can we find the courage to actually speak to ourselves with the same kind of knowing that the woman in our text had? Can we take ownership of what is already ours and make it our own? Can we reach out and touch it and make it part of our lives? Can we listen to the very voice of God in our own self talk and recognize it for what it is?

I’m asking a lot of questions. But when we begin to answer the questions and live those answers to the fullest, our lives may never be the same. And that is food for thought.

Go in peace and go with God. Amen.

Text: Mark 10: 13-16

¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

There are a number of observations concerning this text that I want to make that I think are very critical to our understanding of Jesus’ attitude toward others and I also want to zero in on this word indignant. The word exploration may shed some more light on what we began talking about last week when we dealt with the subject of anger a little bit.

So we will begin first with a few observations about this text. Many of you I’m sure have seen artists pictures of this scene with Jesus surrounded by cute children; if the painting or drawing is particularly outdated, many of the children will be white with blonde hair and blue eyes! Not an exact depiction of reality and to a great extent, I think the scene has been glamorized a great deal. Have you ever stopped to ask the question as to why the disciples would want to keep the children away from Jesus? Doesn’t everybody love cute, adorable kids? What’s the big deal, anyway?

As you begin to try to picture this scene from the disciples’ point of view, there might be a couple of things you should try to think about. The first thing that pops into my head is that Pampers didn’t exist in the first century-I’m not sure what they used for diapers, but I’m pretty certain the diapers were not as efficient or as effective as a modern day Pamper. In other words, sometimes they leak-if you have had kids, you know what I’m talking about.

There was one morning I remember well. Our first born, Matthew, was just 18 months old. I was in college and had an 8 o’clock class and Heidi was working at a day care center that also opened early. It was always a mad dash to get everybody where they needed to be on time. We just had one car, so I would ride my bike to class and the student housing we were staying in was close enough that I could do that. On this particular morning we were just about to leave when we had to deal with a particularly messy diaper-I will leave the details to your imagination, but the extra time it took to change the diaper put us behind schedule. We were a blur of motion, working together, we got the diaper changed, Matthew loaded into the car seat, Heidi on her way and I’m on my bike riding full speed to not be late for class. I arrived at class with a few minutes to spare. I sat at a desk and for the first time in about 30 minutes or so, I was actually still enough to catch my breath. When I did actually come to a complete stop and took a few deep breaths-well…sniff, sniff-there was something on my shirt! I missed class that day.

The text says people were bringing children, it doesn’t say infants, but toddlers could still be in diapers, but the truth is we don’t have any idea what age the children might have been. It could be there was a wide range of ages, and some could still have been in the diaper stage. It could be that some of the kids were not all that pleasant to be around-I don’t know how often you got changed as a toddler in the first century, but I’m thinking not all that often. I know for sure there were not any baby fresh wipes or sweet smelling lotions or powder either.

I was always amazed when our kids were young at how quickly they could get dirty. After a bath the kids would stay clean for maybe 10 minutes, 20 minutes max. Kids are dirt magnets. When they eat something, half of the food ends up on the outside of them someplace and then the food gets sticky. Then the kids find a tree to climb or a dirt mound to roll in and you know what happens then. I’m sure there were incidents and minor accidents for the kids as they played that would cause a few tears and so the tears streak the cheeks in the dust that is already there, and more dust sticks to the tears as they flow. Then the kid wipes the tears and there is a big smudge across the cheek-we have all seen this. Then there was the heat; in that part of the country it is hot most of the time and kids sweat just like adults. So more dust sticks to the sweat and when they wipe the sweat out of their eyes, more smudges and more dirty faces! Just imagine how compounded all of these things would have been in the first century-I’m thinking the kids were not pleasant to be around at all.

Then there is the issue of the runny nose. It sure seems like kids and runny noses just go together; you know, apple pie and ice cream, peas and carrots, sunshine and palm trees, ocean water and sandy beaches, kids and runny noses-it’s just the way it is. It is also a safe bet that in the first century there wasn’t always a box of Kleenex handy or even a handkerchief-but I do know they had sleeves! Chances are that is where most of the dribble ended up, somewhere on the sleeve of the child and of course one more thing for the dust to stick to!

I’m thinking these kids would not have been the greatest example of cleanliness. They would have been highly undesirable, smudged-faced, dirty clothed, probably smelled bad and were a general nuisance; now we can begin to understand why the disciples would be stern with the parents. The disciples were just trying to keep the situation as pleasant as possible.

So with perhaps a new image of a first century child in our minds, we need to revisit the text where Jesus says to the disciples that it is to people just like these children that the kingdom of God belongs. Not the cute, smartly dressed, clean faced and sweet smelling children in the artists pictures, but the undesirable, smelly, dirty and sticky-fingered kids of the first century. What does this tell us about who we are to be ministering to? What does this tell us about who we are to be sharing the Good News? I think the children in this story represent for us the undesirable, the under-belly of society, the outcasts and the people who we would rather not associate with. The text goes on to say that Jesus took them up in his arms and blessed them.

To these belongs the kingdom of God. Wow. Can you see it?

The disciples were just trying to keep Jesus from catching anything awful from one of the runny-nosed kids, trying to keep his nice white robe from getting soiled with smashed dates or whatever the last meal was for these kids. They were just trying to keep the area free from a bunch of kids underfoot and perhaps trying to keep the air around fresh and breathable…and to this Jesus becomes indignant!

That is an interesting word, isn’t it? Indignant. The text doesn’t say angry or frustrated, the text doesn’t say he yelled at them or became violent; the text says he was indignant. I think that is so interesting. The Greek word that is translated into indignant is ag-an-ak-teh’-o. Some of the other meanings in Greek indicate that it is a form of grief, or almost sadness; it is compassion felt so strongly that it creates disappointment or melancholy. Even Webster’s definition I think is helpful-“anger aroused by injustice” is how Webster chose to define indignant. What Jesus felt goes beyond being annoyed or frustrated with his disciples, it goes beyond just being angry with them. To be indignant is to be moved emotionally to a place of intolerance.

This is what Jesus was feeling. He was moved to a place of intolerance and he became indignant. Don’t you dare assume these children are unworthy of my attention. Don’t you dare judge these to be less than others because of age or dress or cleanliness. Don’t you dare think God cares less for these who struggle, or are smudged-faced, or that smell bad. Don’t you dare.

The message can still be heard today. Don’t you dare limit the love of God to a single group of people. Don’t you dare think certain clothes or certain shoes or certain haircuts are the only ones acceptable for church-don’t you dare. Can we welcome those who we would rather not be around? Can we welcome those who make us uncomfortable? Can we welcome those who need the love and compassion of God so desperately? Don’t you dare think the love of God is limited to the sweet-smelling, nicely dressed, SUV-driving, gainfully-employed population. Don’t you dare.

Can you see the children? Can you see Jesus standing in the midst of the disciples explaining to them, it is people like these kids that belong to the kingdom of God. Do not hinder them, but let everyone come to me.

Perhaps we need a little more indignation. Go in peace. Amen.

Text: Romans 12: 9-21

 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This is so hard. Some days I get the feeling that everyone is angry about something and they are just waiting for the one thing that will push them over the edge. Don’t you think that is how road rage happens sometimes? It is not the one thing that happened on the road, it is just that when the one person cut the other off, it was the last thing that happened; the last thing in a long string of events that we allow to pile up within us. Sometimes I think we are always ready to assume the worst, ready to jump to horrible conclusions and are ready to flash in anger at the slightest provocation.

I am reminded of a story about a young man who had gone out for a Sunday drive in the country-he thought it would do him some good because he knew he was a little stressed out. As the man drove he started around a large curve in the road; on that curve he met on oncoming car that was in his lane. The car was a convertible with the top down as it was a very nice day, and he also had his window down. Because the car was in his lane, the man laid on his horn and gestured toward the woman who was driving the convertible. The woman swerved out of the way and yelled back at the man, “Pig!”.

Well, our driver was furious, “I can’t believe she called me that” he said out loud even though no one else was in the car. He beat his fist on dash board and said again out loud to no one there, “she was in my lane! Who does she think she is?” He was still fuming when he finished going around the corner and had to swerve again in order to miss the pig in the middle of the road.

Sometimes I think that anger helps us feel powerful. It helps us feel like maybe we have some control in the situation when actually we have zero control. When we face overwhelming obstacles getting angry will at times help us to get the courage we need to overcome those obstacles. I also think that getting angry is sometimes just a habit. It is something we allow ourselves to fall into out of habit rather than through thought. I say that because if we actually thought about it, we would realize that our anger in no way changes the situation most of the time. It is only for our benefit that we get angry, it feeds our ego and we become addicted to the drama of the anger. We do this even though it causes us frustration and pain and more often than not it also negatively impacts anyone else who may be around. There simply are not very many upsides to anger-and this is what the scripture is trying to tell us. For the most part, anger is a waste of time and energy and has zero upside. If you really want to change things, you first have to embrace those you want to change.

This is what Jesus meant when he said for us to love our enemies. We must embrace those we seek to change; we must love one another with mutual affection. That can be a tall order and yet that is what the text tells us to do. It really is the only way to affect change in a situation. We know this to be true in history. Nelson Mandela had little success as a radical extremist committed to violence in his youth, but through love and tolerance and non-violence he accomplished a great deal, as did Desmond Tutu. The message of Martin Luther King Jr was always one of love and non-violence and of course the greatest example is Jesus himself. History has proven over and over again that love wins and violence and anger lose. But, alas, we are slow learners.

I have always appreciated the greeting “Namaste” which has its roots in the Buddhist faith tradition. I have heard a few different interpretations of this greeting but generally it means that the Divine in me recognizes the Divine in you. Some say the spirit of goodness in me recognizes the spirit of goodness in you, but however you choose to interpret the greeting, the idea remains the same. Everyone you meet has a level of the divine spirit of goodness that is within them-and we should do our best to try to recognize and see that in everyone.

This is also what this text is telling us; to look for the good, to see the good and respond to only the good. In spite of what our emotions are telling us, in spite of that anger that flashes up through our being, in spite of the fact that we might think someone called us a pig, we are to look for the spirit of divine goodness.

But toward the end of the text it gets really interesting. Verse 20 is a little confusing to me, because it tells us to do all these things and then when we do, we can actually get a little revenge! We can respond in this way and by doing so we are heaping coals upon their heads. There is more than one person out there I would like to heap coals on, this sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I like the thought of these fiery hot coals burning the heads of everyone I don’t agree with. One commentary I checked with about this text said the coals represent the burning shame that will come with the recognition of how poorly they have treated others when they are treated with kindness.

Is it just me, or does the idea of revenge here seem a little out of place? Is that really to be our motivation? To heap coals on the heads of those we would otherwise be angry with? Is there something else we should be able to uncover in this text, but it isn’t real obvious and even the commentaries miss it? I’m thinking we need a new way to see the last part of this text.

A few months ago you may remember that I traveled to Denver to attend the Festival of Homiletics. It was a weeklong event that gathered together some of the best preachers in the world and there were workshops and Q&A sessions that went along with everything else. It was a great experience. One of the preachers I heard while I was there was a black man from Zimbabwe and he spoke of this text. But he had a different interpretation.

One of the stories he told was ancient history of things that had taken place in his tribe for thousands and thousands of years. The story was about cooperation and friendship and how the greatest gift of friendship was shared among the people of his tribe.

During that time thousands of years ago, one of the greatest commodities was fire. It was difficult to survive without fire. The tradition of the tribe was that it was one of the duties of the women of the household to maintain the fire while the men were out hunting and gathering and so forth. On very rare occasions there were times when someone’s fire would go out. At times like these, the woman whose fire had gone out would turn to her friends and ask for help. She would bring a clay pot to her friends dwelling and the friend would bestow upon her the greatest gift imaginable, the gift of fire, because the gift of fire was the gift of life itself. You could not survive without it. Together, they would heap hot coals into the clay pot and the woman would carry it back home on her head. This was considered a great honor to be asked by someone for the gift of fire and it was a great honor to bestow the gift as well.

And so when we heap coals upon the heads of those who treat us with evil, we can think about this story and how when we respond with love, we give the greatest gift that can ever be given. We give the gift of fire, we give the gift of life itself.

When we respond to evil with love, we have the chance to not only change for the good who they are, but we have the chance to change who we are as well. Go in peace. Amen.

Text: Matthew 16: 5-12

“Why Yeast?”

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” ⁸ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ¹² Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at ways to interpret scripture and sometimes we have to decide whether or not we are going to look for metaphor in a particular scripture or not. That is not the case with this particular pericope, because there is an obvious use of metaphor by Jesus. He warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees, using yeast as a metaphor. But the disciples miss the point the first time around-they think he is talking about bread; they are looking at the yeast in a literal sense, rather than the metaphor. Finally, when Jesus explains it all, the disciples sort of understand that Jesus was talking about the teachings of the Pharisees and not actually yeast, but I’m not certain they understood fully what Jesus was trying to say.

In order for us to fully perceive what Jesus was trying to warn us about, I think we need to ask a few more questions and then try to apply the answers to those questions not to just this text, but apply them to what is happening now, in the 21^st century. With that in mind, let’s begin to explore this text by asking some of those questions.

My first question is why yeast? Why would Jesus use yeast as a metaphor to warn about teachings that he may have considered to be dangerous or off base or just flat out wrong? What is there about yeast that makes this a good metaphor?

In order to answer those questions, I think it is necessary for us to understand a little bit about yeast, about what it is and how it works and what it does. I guess there isn’t any way to know for sure that 1^st century yeast was the same as a package of yeast you buy today at the grocery store today, but my assumption is that they would be close to being the same. Or at least work in the same way.

Most of us know that yeast is used in several ways, the most common is when we bake bread or rolls, and we have to add yeast to make the dough rise before we bake it. What does rising bread have to do with bad or false teachings of the Pharisees? Does anyone see a connection here? Why would Jesus use yeast as a metaphor in this way? Are the teachings of the Pharisees puffed up like rising bread? That could be, I guess. Yeast can also be used to help things ferment, so if you are making wine or beer, yeast can help with the fermentation process. Are we to see a connection here? Is Jesus saying that the teachings of the Pharisees can be intoxicating? That is one possible direction we could go, I guess, but it still doesn’t seem quite right to me.

Maybe it would be helpful if we looked more closely at how yeast actually works. Maybe if we look into what happens with yeast, there may be a clue about why Jesus would use this metaphor to warn us about bad teachings. I’m looking for something more than the teachings are puffed up or intoxicating, but I do think those things are true.

Does anyone remember Pac-Man? Anyone ever play Pac-Man at one of the video games you might see in a store or a lobby of some sort? It’s OK, you can admit it – I played a lot of Pac-Man, but Q-Bert was my favorite, but that is another story. I mention Pac-Man because I think it is a good visual for us to think about when we think of yeast.

Yeast is a collection of millions of single-cell organisms, kind of like Pac-Man, that when we dissolve the yeast in warm water, we kind of wake them up. Once awake, these single-cell organisms race around and begin to consume sugar; so instead of Pac-Man eating all those little dots, imagine the dots to be granules of sugar and we will get pretty close to a visual image of yeast at work. As these organisms consume the sugar, they also create a byproduct of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide collects in the fabric of the bread and causes it to rise over time as more and more CO2 is released.

This may not be an exact translation you might find in a science book, but it is close enough for our purposes. The conclusion that I’m looking for here is that the addition of yeast begins a chemical reaction of sorts that actually changes the structure of the material the yeast is added to. The original dough is transformed into something else, it is physically changed. The addition of the yeast also changes the intent or the meaning of the dough. You could think of it in this way; the original dough was to be used for crackers, but you add yeast and now the dough is used for bread. So the intent changes along with the physical nature of the dough. Yeast can transform one thing into something else; that also describes the fermentation process as well. What begins as grape juice transforms into wine. It gets changed-and I think that is the point. That is the metaphor. The Pharisees take a scripture or a teaching and they change it to suit the circumstance or to create an advantage for them.

Now, I think we are getting somewhere-this is something that would make Jesus unhappy, to twist scripture around to make it mean something else. To take a teaching and add yeast so that it is transformed into something else and more often than not, that transformation is to the advantage of the one adding the yeast!

We know that Jesus was at odds with the Pharisees and the Sadducees on any number of points and they were always trying to get Jesus to say something that could be damaging so they would have evidence to bring against him. Often they would add their own version of yeast to a teaching or a scripture and ask Jesus to interpret what they had to say in order to trip him up. This was in part, I think, the warning that Jesus was giving to the disciples. In other words, watch your step fellas, watch what you say, because they will transform what you say and turn it into something else. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

I think an appropriate question for us to ask is; does this still happen today? For me, the answer is a resounding Yes! I think it happens all the time. I am probably guilty of this to some degree as we all are, but there does seem to be violations that are more severe than others. There are teachings or scripture twistings that become harmful, hurtful, oppressive and downright dangerous-and generally I think most of us know it when we see it.

For example, a couple of weeks ago we received an anonymous mailing in the office here at the church. Apparently someone has decided that they have an inside connection with God and as a result, God has shared with them all sorts of interesting information about the book of Revelation. For example, in January of 2013, the anti-Christ was sworn into office here in the US. Now I don’t know if you happened to vote for Barack Obama or not, it’s none of my business. But even if you did not vote for him, I kinda doubt you consider him to be the Anti-Christ. Seems like yeast to me.

The mailing goes on; On September 11, of this year-a little more than a month from now, we are to experience a global financial crisis and then about a week later the 6^th Seal will open and we can look forward to massive earthquakes, meteorites and volcanic activity and tsunamis that will put the East Coast, the West Coast and the Gulf Coast all underwater for up to 100 miles inland. Then this is the one I really like; on October 21, 2015 the First Trumpet will sound, as described in Revelation, and accompanying that event the Yellowstone Super Volcano will erupt. Well, so much for the Pumpkin Patch. It goes on, but you get the idea. Seems like yeast to me.

And we wonder why some outsiders looking in are suspicious of the church?

There are others that are more subtle. How many of you watch football on a regular basis? When there is an extra point or a field goal about to happen and the TV cameras are focused on the goal posts, what do you see in the crowd? That’s right, someone is holding a sign that says John 3:16.

Some of you may think this is an appropriate witness and there isn’t anything wrong with holding a sign for millions of viewers to see as an evangelism tool. You have a right to that opinion and the people holding the signs have a right to do that as well. But I wish they wouldn’t. It seems like yeast to me. Here is the problem; I think the verse is taken out of context and the implication with the verse is that you had better believe in Jesus, or else you are doomed. The verse by itself can be taken as being very judgmental and very rigid and very exclusive. In all the years I have been watching football, not once have I ever seen a sign that says John 3:17-anyone know what that says? Yep, it says that God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world…but we don’t see that one. Seems like yeast to me.

Then of course there is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth right now about the issues surrounding the LGBT community, equal rights for that community and so forth. There are many who gleefully quote all sorts of scripture in support of their bias and fear without any recognition that the scriptures they quote appear sometimes right next to others they choose to completely ignore. This is yeast to me. If they quote from the New Testament, citing perhaps some of the writings of Paul, generally they do so without any clue as to what Paul is actually addressing in the text. The meaning of the text is transformed into something it is not and that looks like yeast to me.

These are just three quick examples, but there are many others. What we need to remember are two things that are critically important. The first thing we need to remember is that Jesus issued a warning about anyone who adds yeast to scripture and teachings. The second thing we need to be aware of is that there are many people on the outside looking in. When they are exposed to teachings that contain high levels of yeast, they make the only conclusion that they can. We must be intoxicated.

Unfortunately for us, many people on the outside looking in think all Christians are generally alike. They lump us into the group that keep mass quantities of yeast handy. Because it is the news, they figure it must be true! And that is where you come in. We are not all alike. Each of us has opinions and beliefs and questions that are different from the person we are seated next to, let alone all the Christians everywhere. But if we want people to know about the differences, we have to tell them. No one else will. And that is food for thought. Go in Peace. Amen.