LSPS Reflections - Living Memories and Building Relationships

Thursday Reflections from LSPS - Part II

The Holy Spirit is at work! Of this I am sure.
 

Thursday's Reflections, Part 1 - "It's In Our DNA"

This is the second movement of my reflections from Thursday at the LSPS intensive.

The discussion that was the catalyst for this reflection was on practicing ministry amongst 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Latin@s (the @ symbol is a way of being inclusive - Latino/a - so I have learned!). Our presenter, Rev. Al Rodriguez, pointed out that these peoples are often left out of the Latin@ ministry discussion. The dominant culture, in this case the anglo church, often only thinks of immigrants or first generation Latin@s. This is not always the case, but the norm according to the presenter, a 4th generation Latino Episcopal Rector.

Rev. Rodriguez's presentation was about the current demographics that we have on the population, specifically on the breakdown of the generations of Latin@s present in the untied states. Certain patterns began to emerge from the discussion. One really caught my attention.

There were three things that kept coming up in the discussion that formed a pattern:
1)  There is a fear that the younger generations of Latin@s are loosing their ability to speak Spanish and are not even learning the language.
2)  There is a fear that the Latin@ culture is taking on traits of the dominant (american) culture and that the younger generations are beginning to assimilate “too much.”
3)  There is fear of the dominant (american) culture and pressure to assimilate because of the negativity (often false) spun by the dominant culture in the media, specifically in politics over issues of immigration and the border - they felt the need to prove they were “american” to avoid persecution.
 


These are general observations, but were present throughout the conversation. 

When this pattern came to the surface, I began to think of my own community in Fredericksburg, Texas - a historical German community. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by German immigrants. Residents spoke prominently German until the mid 1900s.

I have read a great deal of the history of the town. I have listened to long-time parishioners tell me stories of the church and its history. I do not have a total knowledge of the town or its history, but I think I have a good grasp being a native, German-Texan myself and knowing that my own hometown of Brenham developed along some of the same lines.

I argue that the pattern I outlined above happened in Fredericksburg in the middle of the 20th century.

1)  There was a fear that the younger generations of Germans (2nd and 3rd generations) were loosing their ability to speak German and are not even learning the language.
2)  There was a fear that the German culture was taking on traits of the dominant (american) culture and that the younger generations were beginning to assimilate “too much.”
3)  There was fear of the dominant (american) culture and pressure to assimilate because of the negativity (often false) spun by the dominant culture in the media, specifically during the first two world wars - they felt the need to prove they were “american” to avoid persecution.

These observations are general. My hope is that they can open a discussion about how we will live into our future.

Using the previous discussion on our “DNA” as Jesus followers as a model - as a historical German, immigrant people, this experience of immigration and finding our identity in a new culture is in our DNA. I use “our” in this moment to speak from my own identity and my family's legacy, and also as the pastor of a historic German, immigrant community. This story is in our “DNA.”

Our elders in Fredericksburg have a living memory of those times and how they navigated amidst the unknown of the future. They can help us to remember - giving us a living memory - that can help guide us during our times. They are a gift. Their story is important. It’s in our DNA. It is our story.

We (I write here as a historic German, immigrant) have a gift to offer to those we encounter. Not that we need to tell Latin@ folks what to do - but that we can empathize with there experience through listening to their story. We can provide a place of hospitality. We can provide a place to listen. We can provide a place to grieve. We can provide a place of hope. We can walk into the future together.

Remembering our DNA in Acts - our DNA as followers of Jesus - we can affirm that God is at work. We may not be fully aware of what God is doing, but we trust God is present.

Our living memories can help us to build relationships. For my community - recognizing where we have come from as historic German, immigrants, can help us to build relationships with the Latin@ community. Listening, learning, and sharing stories can help us. I do not know what this looks like. It's a journey we will have to take together. The first step is looking around us and recognizing our neighbors as children of God.

The Holy Spirit is moving! This I know to be true - moving us into the future. My hope is that the church can be a companion and not an obstacle. My hope is that we can be neighbors. That we can listen. That we can learn. That my historic German, immigrant community can learn from the Latin@s, who face some of the same challenges they faced in their recent past. That we can create our future together.

La Paz de Cristo, 


Travis

LSPS Reflections - It's In Our DNA

Thursday Reflections from LSPS - Part I

The Holy Spirit is at work! Of this I am sure.

Thursday morning’s lecture/discussion was inspiring. Not in a way that wants me to take what I have learned, box it up and take it home, and try to apply it exactly as it was taught - which is a model I see fail often.

I have been inspired in a way that gets me to think deep about the patterns I am hearing in the lectures and reflect on patterns I encounter in my own community.

This reflection will be in two parts. Otherwise I think it will become a lengthy essay.

This is the first movement of reflection. It connects an event from Tuesday evening that I did not write about with a pattern of ministry that came up in this mornings discussion. The pattern is something I have been reflecting on for while, but have not written on extensively. 

We had the opportunity on Tuesday evening to experience a performance by a 5th generation descendent of the battle of the Alamo. Laura Esparza, is the descendent of Gregorio Esparza, a Tejano man who fought for the revolution against Santa Anna, but desired to keep Texas as a part of the Mexican Republic. Her great, great, great, great, grandmother Ana and her four children were five of 18 Tejano survivors of the battle of the Alamo - something you didn’t read about in Texas history books until recently. 

Her family had fought for the Mexican Republic - the original cause of the battle and the Texas revolution. Until Houston and company declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, the fight was a revolution against Santa Anna’s dictatorship and not a fight for freedom. This is part of hearing the story with the Hispanic “accent” - hearing another perspective of the story (the reflection on "accents" can be read here). But I digress.
 
Laura Esparza told us about her family passing down the story of her ancestors from generation to generation. They shared the story as if they were still in the sacristy during the battle. When she was writing the story of her great, great, great, great grandfather and her family, one of her inspirations was to think - “what if my DNA remembers what it was like at the battle…” If her ancestors were there, then her “DNA” was at the battle. The battle was a part of her legacy. A part of her identity. The battle is a part of who she is today.

This idea really hit home for me.

Our lives as followers of Jesus can be understood through this lens. We who have been baptized into Christ carry “Christian” DNA. As followers of Jesus we have his legacy as part of our legacy. His life and ministry, his death and resurrection, are part of our story. Our DNA as Jesus followers takes us back to the healings, the feedings, the table, the cross, the tomb, and the commissioning to spread the good news and baptize.

Our DNA as Jesus' followers takes us back to the story of the church in Acts. We remember, through telling the story of Acts, the first Pentecost and the model of ministry that came through the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:42 tells us that “The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and prayers.”

This model of ministry is in our DNA. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. We already do these things... We spend time in the scriptures. We spend time at the table - both during the Lord’s Supper and during shared meals in our homes and community. We spend time in fellowship. We spend time in prayer. This is a cross-cultural, multilingual, movement driven by the Holy Spirit. It’s literally in our blood as followers of Jesus. It will still work in our current time and context.

This DNA remembers the story of Acts 15, of that first great church council meeting that discussed Paul’s mission of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the gentiles. It was a heated meeting - go back and read it! At the end of the day, through much discussion and disagreement, tension and prayer, the group decided Paul should continue his call to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit was moving in the early church and its leaders. Though they could not all agree, they decided that God was at work. They could have very well said - “We trust that God is at work. Paul, your mission to spread the good news among the Gentiles scares us - they are not like us (the Jewish people). But we affirm God’s working through you. Go in peace - Share the good news!” (Acts 10:22.5 - you have to read between the lines!) 


This is integral to our lives today. We may not always agree on what God is doing, there may be tension, but we can affirm that God is at work. God has plans that we cannot comprehend. We are just called to follow where the Spirit leads - where God is already at work. Our DNA as followers of Jesus remembers this - and calls us to follow the same movement.

There is more to come!

La Paz de Cristo,
Travis 

Thursday's Reflection, Part II - "Living Memories and Building Relationships.

LSPS Reflections - Another Way of Knowing

The cultural aspect of the intensive continues to be thought provoking.

Today we learned more history of Mexico and its historical development. A particular focus today was on the differences between the dominant culture and the ones being dominated.

We explored of the relationship between the conquistadors and the natives they conquered. The not-so-surprising thing was that these patterns are still being played out today in Texas between the dominant white, or anglo, culture, and the Mexicans, Tejanos, Native peoples, and Latino immigrants that find themselves in Texas.

The dominant culture always attempts to press its way of life on other cultures. It can do so with an aggressive energy that sometimes leaves no room for an alternative way of life or point of view (to put it mildly). As the dominant group impresses its way of life on another group, it does not take the time to build relationships. It borrows what it wants. Renames what it often does not understand. And seeks conformity from the totality of the other.

For me, the journey through the details of how this played out on the North American continent is important. I want to understand how we got to where we are now. We have the opportunity to acknowledge the development of the dominant culture, and the destruction of those dominated. The commitment to knowing and acknowledging history can help us build a better way forward. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes twice. This responsibility lies with the dominant culture.

One of the important lessons we learned today was “another way of knowing.” The phrase has come up over and over again in during our time together this week. “Another way of knowing” refers to the understanding that there is always another perspective, another culture, another person, from whom to learn. There is always another way of telling a story, or recounting a memory from history. We (I speak from the dominant culture) have to be willing to take the time to listen.

This is an integral understanding to doing ministry. One of the issues with the dominant, “white,” church in the United States, is that we expect those who come into our doors to conform to our ways. The phrase “all are welcome” is a good idea, but often poorly executed. Sure we (as the dominant culture) want people to come to our churches, but after a while we have expectations for them to conform to our way of doing things. This can manifest itself quite simply - unspoken dress code, the actions of children, the manner of singing or prayer, and the list goes on.

“Another way of knowing” acknowledges that there is not one “correct” way of living life or encountering God. Crossing cultural boundaries opens up space to learn about a different way of life. There are multiple ways of singing - in many rhythms and languages. There are many ways of praying - with many languages and energies. There are many ways of living on the way with Jesus and proclaiming the story of the Gospel. 

I heard the story today of a church that has its roots at Mexican rodeos in its community. The church was born out of a simple moment of a girl asking a pastor to bless her horse. The church was not growing with the pastor and other leaders going door to door, so they started hanging out at rodeos. And their faith community began to grow. Their presence in the community, at the important events, was a way to connect to the people.

“Another way of knowing” is a way to follow Jesus. It’s a “Bartimaeus Effect” moment. It’s having our lives opened to a new experience - a new way of singing, a new way of hearing our brothers and sisters, and new way of telling the story of God’s love. Throughout history, the disciples of Jesus have been multicultural and multilingual. “Another way of knowing” helps us to recognize how others have told God's story. It helps us to encounter the diversity of God's presence in our world. 

La Paz de Cristo,
Travis  

Thursday's Reflection - "It's In Our DNA"

LSPS Reflections - Learning Accents and God's Rhythm

The cultural aspect of our intensive started today.

We began with Texas and its history - specifically looking at the Alamo as a focal point. I was born and raised in Texas and thought I had a pretty decent understanding of its history. I have always respected the pride of Texas. The work ethic. The grandiose attitude. The myth and legend that Texas hold dear.

This understanding has faded in recent years. The leaders of the state have left a bad taste in my mouth. I began to discover that the history I thought I knew so well was rather one sided and often inaccurate.

I still love Texas, but I no longer see it through rose tinted glasses. 

The first lecture today was titled “Remember the Alamo - with an Accent.” The professor emphasized how we learn and remember history, and how it is often told with an “accent.” For me, I grew up with the “white” accent of Texas history. The side that remembered the call to “Remember the Alamo” as a victory chant. Today was about peaking behind the myth promoted by the “white” accent and let the “Hispanic” accent tell the story it remembers.

The details of history, and who tells the, are important, but there are too many to recount here. The thoughts I was left with are far more important to this discussion.

I have been doing some work with mythology over the last few months. Currently I hold the conclusion that we deal a great deal more with myth that we think - particularly when it comes to history and how it is remembered. Today’s discussion affirmed my conclusion. 

Though I had already begun to de-mythologize Texas history on my own, it was amazing how many things were called into question through hearing the story of Texas with a “Hispanic” accent. The debate between correct and false historical accounts has a place - but perhaps we should not always listen to just one side. 

The victor often attempts to tell the story as an absolute. Victory leads to privilege, and in my experience, privilege leads to mythologizing the past. Fact gets left behind for a far more imaginative version of history - always told by the winner. 



The losing side also mythologizes the past, but it is a story that is not given much power or place in our collective story.

Texas is a land of transition. It is a “frontera” -  a borderland. It is a place where fact and myth intermingle. Doing ministry in a “frontera” requires patience, and checking one’s ego and preconceived notions at the door. We could get lost in a fight over who is right and who is wrong - but people are always the first casualties in these skirmishes.

In the "frontera," listening to stories is important. 

From a privileged point-of-view - listening to how others tell the stories we have worn out with our own voices and memories is an important aspect of learning how others encounter the world. There is always another perspective, and it’s worth listening to - and not correcting. Perhaps its by listening to each others stories with openness and patience and different groups of others - the us’s and them’s - become brothers and sisters, a new community.

Learning to listen to the different “accents” in our midst is a necessary aspect of doing ministry and building relationships. In doing this we build a mutual future for all groups. We make a way forward for all instead of a few. We can learn to tell stories together, honoring each side, so we can write the future in partnership. 

Fittingly, we also began to learn Salsa dancing today. This was not only a great break from the class room, but also a way to learn how to move to a rhythm in unison. Though each person moved a little differently, we were all driven by the same rhythm and same goal.

So it is with God. God set the rhythm of our life together from the very beginning. Our life in God, renew and shaped by Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is set to the rhythm of God’s heart. The goal of our relationship with God and with one another is to learn how to move to that rhythm. And though we may each move a little differently, we all have the same goal. 

In learning the stories I know, and hearing them told again with a new "accent," I have encountered a diversity that has been blessed by God. The past, and present, are scattered with blood and tears and tragedy - these need to be acknowledged so that healing can begin. 

But there is also great hope. It is in building relationships that we encounter this hope. God is in our relationships. And God gives us hope through the promise of abundant life for all - already made through Christ.  

La Paz de Cristo,
Travis 

Wednesday's Reflection - "Another Way of Knowing"

Reflections from the LSPS Intensive

I am spending a week in Austin at the Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest for the third annual Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive. I want to capture some reflections along the way - I hope to engage this on a daily basis throughout the week.

I have no intention of these reflections being completely fleshed out. I want to articulate the ideas as they arrive. Hopefully this is a Bartimaeus Effect type experience - having my life opened up to new possibilities through an encounter with Jesus. I believe that it will be.

As some background, I have experience attempting to learn Spanish - about 7 years trying to learn Spanish between high school and college. This language is not new to me. I grew up in Texas. I picked up some Texan/Spanish slang and culture throughout the course of me life. I did not come into this experience cold on the language/culture front.

My initial thoughts - I came to this program with the intention of jump-starting and remembering what Spanish I know is buried in my brain. I want to learn more about the diverse and beautiful Hispanic culture. I am doing this out of a desire to deepen the reach of my ability to minister to all of God’s children. I come to this program with the hope of one day helping a faith community expand their reach in a community.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Today we worked through a number of the basics when it comes to learning Spanish.

The alphabet (I still remembered most of the song that my Spanish teacher taught me in 7th grade!). Pronunciation. Diphthongs. Words that don't follow the rules. Syntax. Some vocabulary - but specific to a church setting. Overall - basics to learning any language. 

These things did not catch me off guard.

We used the language in liturgical settings. We prayed in Spanish. We learned to sing the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish. We read a portion of Acts chapter 2 in Spanish. 

These things did not catch me off guard either.

What caught me off guard was the process. The mindset of the learning environment. And the corresponding feelings and thoughts that popped up in my experience of this day.

First off - and again, these are pretty raw reflections - the learning environment was very sterile. It was clean and safe. We used the word "kindergarten" to express the method and mindset of the room and learning process. The professor was wonderful, supportive, and genuine. All of the things you want in a teacher leading you into uncomfortable space. I want to be clear that none of these aspects of my day are negative.

These things used to not catch my attention. But today I began to realize a different aspect of learning a language and a culture.

My reasons for this experience come from a place of privilege. I want to learn another language to gain the ability to potentially help someone who is not like me. I get the opportunity to learn this language in a safe space. I will get the opportunity this week to experience and learn about another culture from the comfort of a classroom. I have paid money for this opportunity. I have the time and resources at my disposal to engage in this opportunity.

Because of my privilege - I will not go through this intensive with the fear of deportation. I do not have to try and navigate a different language or a dominant culture out of fear or embarrassment or shame. I do not have to worry about needing this new language to fill out government documents if presented with the opportunity. I do not have to engage a new language or culture with the fear of being harassed or mistreated or physically harmed by the dominant group. My income or well-being is not based on how well I can use the new language or navigate the new culture. 

These thoughts struck me early on in the morning. I wrestled with them throughout the day. I am still contemplating them this evening.

My privilege as a heterosexual, white, educated, male, directly effects my experience of learning a new language and culture. I get to do it by choice.

As a follower of Jesus Christ - as one whose life has been dramatically changed by the love of God, the work of the cross, and the call of Jesus - I have the choice to engage the world as an advocate for those who do not have my privilege. I have been set free from the process of saving myself so that I can engage life in the effort to work for the needs of others. Part of this advocacy is learning a new language and culture.


On to Tuesday.

La Paz de Cristo,
Travis 

Tuesday's Reflection - "Learning Accents and God's Rhythm"

The Work of the Spirit: Confronting Fallen Systems

A sermon from the sixth Sunday of Easter.

John 14:15-21 (NRSV)
 
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

The Work of the Spirit: Confronting Fallen Systems

    His passion had already begun. Jesus had watched Judas walk out of the room, on his way to hand Jesus over to the powers. He knew his time with the disciples was limited. And he knew his disciples would need words to get them through the coming ours of trial and death. So he leaves them with a promise.    
    “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it. You know it, because he abides with you, and it will be in you.” The disciples will have many struggles in the days ahead. Even after he appears, after the resurrection, after the appearance, after Jesus ascends, his disciples will still remain in the world. They will watch Jesus go. So Jesus leaves them with this promise. The promised Advocate will come, but did you notice, the world will not receive it. The disciples, those who are connected to Jesus will receiver it, but not the world. Curios. 
    The world is a complex metaphor in John’s story of Jesus. John uses the Greek word kosmos throughout his story. The word kosmos has a rich variety of meanings - anything from world, universe, creation, humanity, the planet earth. For John this world has rich theological meaning, and depending on the context, John could be meaning a particular nuance. The English rendering of world is correct, but it misses this nuance that adds depth to John’s story.
    One of the possible meanings of kosmos has to do with a fallen system. For instance, “a human sociological realm that exists in estrangement from God (as defined by Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers, 51).” For John, kosmos has the meaning of a broken system that is unaware of its estrangement from God. This system could be religious or economic or political. This system is separated from God. It is a system that does not recognize Jesus. It a system that reacts violently at times, to Jesus and his follows (even today). It is a system that Jesus has power over. This begins to become clearer when we look at various instances in the Gospel where Jesus himself is making this distinction.
    We can understand this meaning from the beginning. In creation poem of the first chapter of John, John is poetically interpreting how the Word became flesh came to be. In verse 10 John writes, “The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light.” That’s a lot of kosmos without a whole lot of clarity. Perhaps we could think of it this way: “The light was in the creation, and the creation came into being through the light, but the fallen system did not recognize the light.” We know that God created the world, but that the world is also fallen. The nuances of this understanding are lost when we only translate kosmos as world and miss its other meanings. God created the world, the light Christ is in the world, but the fallen system, the very brokenness of our world does not recognize God at work.   
    Jesus’ main conflict is with Pharisees and religious leaders - the religious fallen system. They do not recognize the light of Christ. They do not see God at work in Jesus. Through all of the signs and wonders, they fail to recognize what Jesus is doing, until they decide to kill him after the raising of Lazarus. The fallen system of the religious leaders do not see God at work in Jesus.
    Another conflict with the fallen system arises in the conflict between Jesus and the political fallen system represented by Pilate. Pilate is the one of the people who questions Jesus during his trial. He represents Rome, and thus fallen system of empire. Pilate does not understand nor recognize that the kingdom Jesus represents is not part of his system of his understanding - the system of empire (pax romana). He does not see God at work in Jesus. So he does the only thing he knows how to do - he lets Jesus be killed. This is how the fallen system works - if it does not understand, it ends the relationship.
    Take today’s story from John contains another example of kosmos as fallen system. One thing is clear from Jesus about the Paraclete the Spirit of Truth- the world will not recognize it. In this instance we can understand the word kosmos, here translated simply as world, to mean this broken system alienated from God. This fallen system will not recognize the Spirit of Truth, this advocate, this Paraclete, because it does not comprehend its separation from God. We could read this statement from Jesus in this way: “The Spirit of truth, which the Domination System (fallen system) is not able to receive, because it can neither recognize it nor comprehend it. You know it, because it is already in your midst, and will be inside your very beings (Wink, Engaging, 56).”
    Jesus also speaks quite clearly that he has conquered the fallen system (chapter 16), to give the disciples hope after he has been crucified. He says, “I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” The world as fallen system is present here as well. Think of Jesus’ statement in this way, “I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the fallen system you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the fallen system.”  It does not make sense to say that Jesus conquered the world. Jesus is not in conflict with the world, Jesus has come to give the world abundant life. Jesus has conquered the worst in us, in order to set us free.
    John has created a contrast between the creation God wants to redeem and the fallen system of human sin and brokenness, our struggle to gain power and play God. The fallen system reacts against the signs of Jesus, because they do not understand them to be the work of God. This is why Jesus is crucified. The religious leaders could not see God at work in Jesus and neither could Pilate. They were still stumbling around in the darkness of the fallen system.   
    It is this fallen system that Paul confronts in the story from Acts today. Paul’s journey takes him to Athens, the intellectual capital of his time. Paul confronts the religious aspect of the fallen system. While walking through the city he is greatly disturbed by the “forest of idols” he encounters. There were literally shrines for everything. Including, as Paul notes, an unknown god. The understanding with these idols was that if you made a sacrifice to them, you could appease the deity and get them to hopefully act on your behalf. If you threw some money to the weather god, you might get some rain or weather of your desire. If you threw some money to the athletic god, you may be blessed with an athletic ability, or maintain what you already had. It was a system of power and control. Paul cleverly engages this broken system, pointing out that God is the who “made the world and everything in it.” It is God who gives life to the world, not the plethora of false idols - it is not the fallen system. Paul addresses the fallen system he encounters and proclaims that God has acted to judge that system through the one God appointed, Christ, whom God raised from the dead. Paul reveals Christ’s light to the world.
    Though Christ has conquered this fallen system, we still journey through the tension between God’s kingdom and the fallen system present in this world. Our lives play out amidst a scene very similar to the one Paul confronts in Athens. We are still plagued by idols of the fallen system, we just encounter them in different ways. Think about the things that compete for our attention and allegiance. Things that compete for our time and resources. Things that give us a short lived breathe of happiness or sense of control. If we pray heard enough our football team is sure to win. If we invest enough, we will reap a great financial reward. If we dress the “right” way, we will be accepted in the “right” circles. But these are all false powers We are still plagued by the fallen system. But, we have been set free.
    We who have had our names called by God know that in God we find our true being. “In God we live and move and have our being,” as Paul so eloquently put it to the Athenians. We are set free because of the love of God. We have received the promised Spirit of truth who helps us to encounter God still at work in our world.
    We are confronting the fallen system with our work here at Bethany. I see the Spirit of truth revealing God still at work in those who invest their time and resources, their very beings into the life of proclaiming the good news of God’s love for the world. The volunteers who come for the prayer circles. The witness of our bold women. The countless volunteers that work with our youth to provide them with the time and resources to grow in their faith. We are confronting the fallen system dear people. We are proclaiming the light of Christ and the power of God. 
    May God bless you on the journey of faith. And may the Spirit of truth move you to tell the story of God’s love.

God's House - The Community of Faith

 A sermon from the fifth Sunday of Easter. 

John 14:1-14 (Common English Bible)

“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. 2 My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. 4 You know the way to the place I’m going.”

5 Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves. 12 I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. 14 When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

God's House - The Community of Faith

    Upon arriving in Chicago in the late summer of 2009, I could tell the city was steeped in architectural diversity. Just a brief walk through the neighborhood of Hyde Park was enough to open my eyes to a vast array of architectural styles. Hyde Park came into being after the 1893 World’s Fair. The University of Chicago was founded shortly after. These two events brought people to Chicago from all over the world, including architects. As the neighborhood grew, architects began to compete against one another to construct the most lavish and beautiful houses. I am no architect, but I can appreciate the beauty of their world.
    Downtown is another architectural world. From stout buildings of thick concrete, to towering skyscrapers of steel and glass, there is no mistaking the beauty of the various ways humanity has found to build structures. Again, I am not much of an architect myself. The complexities of designing a building are lost on me. But I can appreciate their beauty. And while in Chicago I was thankful for their shelter from the icy winds of a midwest winter.
    I do not think Jesus is much of an architect either. He talks about his Father’s house having many rooms, but he describes the house no further. If he were an architect, I imagine he could describe the rooms in their rich variety and purpose. He could give us details on the kitchen and living rooms. More importantly, he could give us the details on those many rooms that he was just talking about. For centuries people have speculated about those rooms. Hoped for those rooms. Longed for those rooms. So some detail from Jesus would have been helpful to us who want to know what those rooms look like. And perhaps there is if we look closer at the story John is telling.
    There are details in this story that help to shed some light on what Jesus is talking about when he references these rooms. The first big clue is the phrase “my Father’s house.” This phrase alludes to a very clear frame of reference; the temple.
    The temple was a central part of the Jewish life. It was the center of their religious, economic, and political life. Though the one in Jesus’ time was a rebuild, the legacy of the temple stretched back to the days of Solomon. The temple was literally God’s house on earth. The temple housed the ark of the covenant, where God’s presence  was located. The temple was God’s dwelling place among the people. Jesus has already addressed the temple a couple of times in John’s story. These encounters help us to shed some light on what Jesus is talking about this morning.
    In chapter two, Jesus clears the temple. He turns over tables and drives out the animals with a whip made of cords. He then tells those who are listening that he could rebuild the temple in three days if they destroyed it. Again, Jesus is not much of an architect. The people point this out by explaining to him that the temple had been under construction for 46 years. But Jesus is not talking about the physical temple, he is talking about himself. He is referring to himself as the temple. In that moment Jesus shifts the metaphor. His “Father’s house” is no longer the temple, it is Jesus himself.
God no longer dwells in a building of brick and mortar, but in the beating heart of Jesus, the Word made flesh.
    In chapter four we encounter the Samaritan women. In this exchange, Jesus declares that soon no one will worship the Father in Jerusalem, nor on the mountain where the Samaritans worship. Soon the place of worship will change; “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.” Jesus is again talking about a shift that is taking place, from worship in a physical place, to something new entirely. God is changing things through Jesus.
    With these two stories in mind, the image of the “Father’s house” begins to shift. No longer is Jesus talking about the temple, or some place removed from the physical world, Jesus is talking about himself.
    Let’s play out the metaphor that Jesus is working with in this story. The idea of the “Father’s house” being a physical place has been shifted by Jesus. In his encounter in the temple and his talk with the Samaritan woman, Jesus spoke of the Father’s house as something other that what people already knew, or a physical place. God was doing something new through Jesus. God was no longer present in just a building. The Word has become flesh. The incarnation has changed the nature of the relationship between God and humanity. 
    This is what Jesus is talking about when he tells the disciples he is going ahead of them. These words are spoken on the same night as the foot washing and the new commandment to love one another. Jesus is giving his disciples a promise, words to remember in the tough hours that are still to come. They don’t get it in the moment, but after the resurrection they remember.
    “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.”
    Jesus is going ahead of the disciples to prepare a place for them. And not just for them, for all people. This moment is connected to what Jesus will do on the cross. Jesus will be lifted up, has been lifted up, for the sake of all people. On the cross he will be lifted up, drawing all people to himself. It is through the cross that Jesus creates the many dwelling places in the Father’s house. There is room for all people in Jesus, in the relationship that has been renewed. There is room for all people in God’s love.
    God creates a new reality through Jesus. A reality based on a relationship and not a set of rules. A reality based on the incarnation of Jesus, and not the temple. A reality based on love and not on requirements. God’s kingdom is a reality born out of the incarnation. The way we encounter God changes through Jesus. God comes to earth through Jesus, not only to save us, but to be in a relationship with us - that’s the incarnation. The love of God is known to us because God was incarnate through Jesus on this earth. Right where were are.
    The kingdom of God is grounded in the community of faith. God has created this community in us. “I go ahead to prepare a place for you….you know the way.” These words from Jesus are a promise. They tell us who we are in relationship to God. We are loved. We witness what Jesus is doing through the stories of John and through our own lives, and we trust that God is at work. God is no longer a distant entity of platitudes and doctrine. God is an intimate part of ours lives. God is in our relationships with one another. God is in the love we demonstrate.
    God is the ultimate architect. But God does not work with brick and mortar or steel and glass. God works with flesh and blood and beating hearts. God works with people. God built a community of faith through taking on the form of one of us…the Word made flesh. God built a community based on a relationship of love.
    Don’t get me wrong - we still need buildings. God does not do away with them. But it’s the community that demonstrates the kingdom of God. We can build the most beautiful buildings in the world, and those buildings can be dead because there is no one inside them to give them life.
    In a little while we are going to gather around a meal and our long range planning committee is going to make a presentation on what our future as Bethany might look like. And that future will involve buildings. As we begin to imagine together what this future will look like, let us not forget that God lives in us. What ever we may build, we are the ones who will make it alive with the presence of God’s community. We will be the witness that God is alive in those buildings, and in this community.
    We are God’s beloved people. And Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us in God’s kingdom. In the world to come. And in this world. Right here and right. May God bless us as we tell this story with our lives.