“The Surprising and Captivating Kingdom of Heaven”

A sermon from the seventh Sunday after Pentecost. 

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
 
Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Have you understood all this? They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

“The Surprising and Captivating Kingdom of Heaven”

    When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be either an archeologist or a paleontologist. Those are two really fancy words to tell you that I wanted to dig up old stuff. I wanted to discover relics and hidden treasures from the past, treasures of myth and legend. I also want to dig up dinosaur bones. As I put it to someone who asked me who I wanted to be when I grew up - I want to grow up to be Indiana Jones or Alan Grant. Indiana Jones - the famous leather jacket and fedora wearing, whip welding archeologist. Alan Grant the paleontologist from the movie Jurassic Park who dug up dinosaur bones and got to meet them in the flesh. I had a keen sense of adventure and discovery. I fashioned myself as one of my childhood heroes because of their amazing adventures and what they found along the way. I was captivated by their lives and experiences.
    I still have a keen sense of discovery and adventure - I still want to discover new things, or perhaps uncover really old things. On our trip to Turkey last year with LSTC I was dubbed “Indiana Travis” by my friends. More often than not we would be found trying to translate the Greek texts we would find on the marble remains of the great temples now lying in ruin. We were trying to uncover something that was lost - some great treasure. I was on a great quest of discovery. I was captivated by the thought of finding something important. (I also had a really cool hat!)
    Parables work in the same way. Sure they are teaching moments - stories that break us out of the normal pattern of life. They are great teaching tools because they have such a depth of meaning. We have been debating them for thousands of years. Parables don't come with just one lesson. They help us to re-imagine the world. They help us to encounter the kingdom of heaven in our midst.
     The parables we encounter today do so just that - they show us the power of the kingdom of heaven as an adventure. They demonstrate what the kingdom of heaven can to do our lives. And it’s breath-taking.
    Today we get five parables to wrestle with, and they all start the same way; “The kingdom of heaven is like…” The kingdom of heaven is like…. a mustard seed; a measure of yeast/leaven; a hidden treasure; a pearl; a net full of fish. These items seem to have nothing in common. So why does Jesus use them as metaphors for the kingdom of heaven? Perhaps we should look at the actions of the parables for a clue.
    The five parables we encounter today show us the unpredictability of the kingdom of heaven. There is no rhyme or reason to how God’s kingdom comes into our lives other than surprise. The parable of the mustard seed is not so much about size and growth as it is about surprise and expansion. Sure the mustard seed is small - not the smallest seed in the world - nothing too remarkable about its size. But its reach is what we should notice. The mustard seed surprises us. It creeps into our well-kept flowerbeds and gardens and takes over - creating homes for the birds. It surprises with its reach. It captivates and captures us with its growth.
    The same thing happens with the leaven. The leaven, folded into a great deal of flour, hidden by the women making the dough, soon takes over the whole batch of soon to be bread. It’s unexpected. It literally captures the bread - by surprise.
    The same patter exists with the hidden treasure - it surprises a man and captivates him enough to go home and sell all he has in order to buy the field. 

     The man who finds the pearl in the course of his job of looking at pearls is so surprised by the value and beauty of the pearl that he too sells all he has in order to obtain it. 

     The metaphor of the net shows surprise by the breadth of its reach. No fish are discriminated against - all are caught. Fish who never dreamed of being caught in a net are swept up into its folds.. Each parable contains an element of surprise that takes over the person involved in the experience. The kingdom of heaven is ultimately not about us or what we find or create. It’s about how the presence of God makes its way into our lives, often in unexpected and unseen ways. And this unexpectedness has a way of taking over everything - much like a mustard seed or prospect of a hidden treasure uncovered. 
    The kingdom of heaven is not something that we can capture or control. The kingdom of heaven is something that captures us - it captivates our imaginations, it consumes our energy, it takes over our lives.
    So how does the kingdom of heaven capture or captivate us? I think the metaphor of selling can be helpful. In the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl, the person who finds the object sells everything in order to possess that object. They literally turn their whole lives over to the object. Its foolish. Its not the way the world works. They are so captivated by the treasure and the pearl that they can do nothing else but turn their whole lives over to the object. The kingdom of heaven can work in the same way.
    Do we have to sell everything we have to find the kingdom of God? I don’t think so - but perhaps its always an option. Selling everything we have may look like opening ourselves up to another point of view. Listening to another side of a story. Giving up control of what we think we know. Letting go of the idea that we have all the right answers. Selling all we have may be risking our very lives by opening them up to another point of view, one that clashes with our currently held notions of how the world is suppose to work.
    Perhaps selling everything we have looks like taking the time to learn another perspective of life. Taking the time to listen to someone else’s story of trying to make it in this world. That’s what I did with our high school youth in Chicago a little over a week ago. We traveled to that great, yet troubled city to take the time to listen. To open our lives up to another perspective on life. It was not your typical youth trip. We did not spend our days painting houses or making repairs or picking up trash or building things. We spent most of our time listening - opening ourselves up to being surprised by the kingdom of heaven.
    We took a chance. We gave our time and energy over to the opportunity to gain a different perspective, a new awareness, of what is going on in God’s kingdom in our world. We gained a new perspective on some things familiar - like when we toured the national offices of the ELCA. We spent time with our own church people and experienced the global impact of our own denomination. We learned another perceptive of our story.
    We gained a new perspective on things very different than what we previously knew. We toured the Faith Community of St. Sabina on the south side. We heard about their work with gang violence - about their hosting of basketball tournaments for members of rival gangs - tournaments designed to start conversation and break the cycle of violence. We heard about the kingdom of heaven breaking into the violent streets through the peace of God offered by the faith community. We learned about their housing for senior citizens. We encounter another story of God’s people - another rhythm of God’s work in our world. We opened ourselves up to be surprised and captivated by the kingdom of heaven in our midst.
    The kingdom of heaven is happening in the present tense. Jesus does not say - “the kingdom of heaven was like….” or “the kingdom of heaven will be…” Jesus declares “the kingdom of heaven is…” The kingdom of heaven is happening now! Right here! In our midst!
    It’s going to happen this week through Day Camp. All week long this place will be filled with kids and we will be planting seeds. Not mustard seeds or sunflower seeds, but seeds of faith. And who knows what will take root. God will take the growing into God’s hands, we will plant the seeds. And the kingdom of heaven will surprise and capture and captivate. The kingdom of heaven is present in our midst.
    Where do you see it? I haven't really done this before in a sermon, but I am offering us a challenge this week. I want you to write on a piece of paper - “The Kingdom of Heaven is _________.” Put it on the visor in your car. Put it on your fridge. Put it on a note in your spouses lunch box. Text it to a friend. Share it on Facebook. Let’s see if we can encounter the kingdom of heaven going on in our midst. Take note of what surprises you, what gets your attention, what captivates you. And lets share these stories with each other. Remember - “The Kingdom of Heaven is _________.” It’s a blank canvas, an open invitation from Jesus to encounter the kingdom of heaven in our lives.
    Blessings on your adventures this week in God’s kingdom. I pray we will be surprised, captivated, captured by God's dynamic and radical love.

"Take my yoke upon you..." - Actions Speak Louder than Words

A sermon from the fourth Sunday after Pentecost. 

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (NRSV)

“But to what will I compare this generation? 
It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Actions Speak Louder than Words

- or -

They Will Know We Follow Jesus by Our Deeds

“But to what will I compare this generation?!”
    Jesus is frustrated. His ministry has led him into rough waters. The Pharisees and scribes are angry with his teachings and his progressive ministry of feeding the poor and dining with prostitutes and tax collectors. John the Baptist, who we haven't heard from since his arrest, has a great deal of time on his hands in prison. John - the one who was the forerunner, the one who prepared the way for Jesus with a career of preaching repentance - is beginning to wonder about Jesus. He sends his own disciples to make sure Jesus is the one for whom he was preparing the way. On top of all these issues, Jesus’ own disciples continue to demonstrate energy in following him, but they keep on falling short. They continue to plant their feet firmly in their own mouths - they are not always the sharpest tools in the shed. So yes, Jesus is frustrated.
    All of these issues drive Jesus to exclaim “But to what will I compare this generation?!” His contemporaries do not seem to understand his ministry and his talk of the kingdom of heaven. They do not seem patient enough to understand the rhythm of his life. So they complain and plot against him. Jesus encounters fracturing of relationships and arguing on his journey.
    Jesus recognizes their discomfort. He sees the scheming of the religious leaders. He hears the bickering and arguing - so he tells a little story. He tells of children in a marketplace, upset that no one will respond to their music of joy or mourning. Upset that no know will dance, or cry, or play along with their games. Jesus has seen this play out through the people. He has seen this behavior in the religious leaders, in the questioning of his ministry, and in his own disciples. There is division in the wake of his ministry. The world just doesn't seem to get what Jesus has come to do. So they argue. 
    John came preaching repentance and folks said he had a demon. Jesus dined with sinners and tax collects and was called a glutton and a drunkard. Those in power have had their expectations dashed. They were expecting someone from God, but they expected the one from God to play by their rules. Neither John nor Jesus fit the job description they had created. Neither John nor Jesus played by their rules. There was a division between the groups. The religious leaders, the powers, expected one thing - God delivered something quite different. There was grumbling and arguing over who was correct - who was right. And they all missed the point. 
    We know this kind of division. We know this grumbling. It’s all around us. The issue of immigration divides us. The supreme court decision in the Hobby Lobby case divides us. If we wade into the rough waters of the argument, we get lost by trying to choose sides. The division that Jesus spoke about two weeks ago becomes a reality. It’s republicans versus democrats. Fox News versus CNN. Congress versus the white house. States against the federal government. “Us” in the united states versus “them” of the immigrant. Neighbor against neighbor. Father against son. Mother against daughter. And all of it is done in the name of being correct. For some, it’s even in the name of Jesus. But the reality is that Jesus left the conversation a long time ago. The argument is about our own egos and being correct. We loose sight of the ones in need, the ones left out, the ones that Jesus has called us to help.
    Jesus does not get drawn into the argument. He does not choose sides. He does not debate and try to win over the other side. He simply names the division that is going on and continues teaching. He knows that the debate will end with fractured relationships. Nobody will win in the end. It is through action, through reaching out and putting his hands on the needs of the world, that Jesus will live into his calling to bring the kingdom of heaven into the world. He knows that the witness of his life will not be in catchy slogans or won arguments. It will be in the flesh and blood, the tears and joy, and healing and feeding of those in need. His deeds - the way he lives his life - will be the witness of God’s presence in the world.
    “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” - this is how Jesus responds to the arguing. And Matthew is quick to point it out. In Matthew’s Gospel - Jesus is wisdom. For Matthew, Jesus is a wisdom teacher who teaches in parables and proverbs. Jesus is connected to a very old movement. Wisdom is a movement that has been going on since the beginning. Wisdom moved with God at creation. Wisdom moved through the prophets. Wisdom was and is God’s will lived out in community with one another. And now wisdom has a heart beat and callused hands from helping those in need. Wisdom is incarnate in Jesus. The world will know God through the deeds of Jesus.  
    Wisdom is known by her deeds. Jesus - God’s wisdom incarnate, (God) is know by his deeds. The presence of the kingdom of heaven is made known through the deeds of Jesus. The disciples of every generation will be known as disciples of Jesus by their deeds - they will participate in the kingdom of heaven by living out the same rhythm of love and healing and relationships as Jesus. We will be known as disciples of Jesus Christ by bearing witness to God’s work in the world. God’s work of repentance, redemption, and salvation. Jesus has advice for those who are willing to stop the arguments and follow him.
    “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” The word “weary” can allude to being emotionally drained and discouraged. This is where the arguments get us - weary. No one wins, we just get worn out and disgusted at each other. The community breaks down. Jesus welcomes us who are weary of the static of the arguments into a way of life that has meaning. Jesus offers us rest from the vicious cycle of arguments through following him in a way of life that serves others.
    “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Yoke is an agriculture metaphor. A yoke is a way of tethering horses or oxen or mules together in order to pull a heavy load. And the yoke Jesus has in mind is not a single one. We are yoked with Jesus. He is with us on the journey. When we walk with Jesus we learn the rhythm of his life- the rhythm of the kingdom of Heaven. The rhythm of God’s love for the world.
    When Jesus asks us to learn from him, he not talking memorizing doctrine and having all the right answers to win the argument. He is not asking us to be students. He is asking us to be apprentices. To learn new skills for living in this world. He is drawing us into a way of life. Learn from me - watch what I do - and do likewise. Learn to pattern your lives after mine in a rhythm of healing and building relationships and loving one another. Jesus draws us into a life of humble service. Serving others as Jesus has first served us. It’s an active way of life. Which begins us back to the opening question.
    “But to what will I compare this generation?!” To what will Jesus compare this generation? Will we get caught up in the arguing - or will we follow in the example of Jesus? Will we take on his yoke and learn from his ways of serving and loving? Jesus calls us into the later - the life of humble service. The cross is our example. The cross is where Jesus served all peoples - the whole world - where God’s love and power was demonstrated for all to experience.
    We are a people of God’s creating. We are a people drawn into a way of life that does not get caught up in the arguments of this world. We are created to be so much more. God works through us. Empowering us to take on the yoke of Jesus and walk with him in the journey of discipleship. It’s not always easy. But we are not alone.
    As we go out this week, into the midst of swirling arguments enough to make any of us weary, know that Christ goes with us. Know that his yoke is one of love and mercy. May we seek to take on this yoke, instead of tear each other down in vicious arguments. May we lift each other up and reach out to those in need. May God strengthen us as we witness to God’s kingdom.

Hospitality is a Divine Encounter

A sermon from the third Sunday after Pentecost. 

The audio can be heard here. A note on my method - I write a manuscript, but do not use it while I preach. The following manuscript is close to the audio, but not exact.

Matthew 10:40-42 (NRSV)

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

Hospitality is a Divine Encounter

Three weeks ago I was on a bus with 12 of our youth and another adult sponsor. We were on the final leg of our road trip to Colorado for a week at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp. By mid-Sunday afternoon we were road weary and ready to start our week at camp.
    The journey was winding down to its final miles when the horizon began to darken and it became clear that we were about to pass through a storm. While it never rained hard, the driving wind pounding on the bus was enough for me. The final leg of the trip found us on a road with very little shoulder. We seemed to crawl along at 40 miles per hour. After what seemed to me like an eternity, we finally pulled off the state highway and began our final four mile stretch into the mountains. Signs for camp shone out like beacons on the road side. And then finally we saw it.
    The main lodge smiled before us as staff ran around to make their final preparations for the week. We were immediately greater with huge smiles and helping hands. The bus was unloaded and parked in minutes. We waited with baited breath for registration to begin. And then it happened - the counselors came running down the hill towards the pavilion, and in an timeless Rainbow Trail tradition, they welcomed us in with song.
    It is a welcome I will never forget. It set the tone for the whole week. In an instant I knew that the staff had been thinking about us, getting excited about us, praying about us, and could not wait to meet us. Their enthusiasm boiled over and infected the whole camp. On a damp, chilly afternoon, after a white knuckled final stretched of the road, the hospitality of that camp staff was a heavenly welcome.
    The power of great hospitality is transforming. It can help to sooth nerves. It can can indicate a level of care. It can set the tone for a whole visit. Hospitality can move us from a place of uncertainty to a place of excitement in what amounts to a heartbeat. A great welcome is a powerful thing. And it’s an integral aspect of following Jesus. 
    The mission the disciples share, the calling that we have from Jesus, moves us into a place where we are in contact with others. This is not an individualistic way of life. It involves other people. It involves a relationship - between family, friends, and complete strangers. Jesus sends his disciples out, sends us out, not to develop their personal relationship with Jesus, but to encounter others and bring the kingdom of heaven into their midst. Jesus sends us out to do the work of the kingdom, the work of God’s love.
    The hospitality of discipleship is a group activity Jesus knows this. It’s hidden in plain sight in his words this morning. The word we read as “you,” is actually plural. Jesus speaks with a Texas accent this morning - “Whoever receives you (y’all) receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” Hospitality is a communal calling. Hospitality is a divine moment. It is a thin place, where people encounter each other, perhaps at their most vulnerable.
    Jesus knows that there is a possibility, and a great one, that the disciples will be rejected on the journey. But he knows that there will be those who receive the disciples. There will be those who meet the needs of the disciples, providing them with resources - food, water, a place to stay. They will open their lives to the disciples in moments of hospitality. And in those moments, Jesus tells the disciples, the ones who are receiving them are receiving God. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    Hospitality is a central theme and marker of the people of God. In fact, the Old Testament contains a great deal about how we receive one another. Abraham is remembered for his welcome of the strangers in the desert. Abraham, sitting in the shade of his tent in the desert, sees three strangers approaching. The natural reaction would be to run inside, lock the tent, and hide the goods, because the odds are the strangers are bandits. But that’s not what Abraham does. He jumps up, tells Sarah to throw more cakes in the oven, goes out back to get a bucket of water, and meets the strangers with open arms. Abraham reaches out with hospitality - he meets the basic needs of food, water, and shelter, lifesavers in the desert. These strangers turn out to be messengers from God, bringing word that Sarah would indeed bear a son. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    Israel is reminded of the gracious welcome that they received from Egypt when there was a famine in there own land. The law contains commands for the farmers of Israel. God calls the people to farming practices that  leave crops on the edges of the fields - grain on the stalk and grapes on the vine - for the immigrant and the stranger that pass through the land. A mark of God’s people is how they receive one another, and the strangers and immigrants in their midst. Jesus continues this tradition.
    Jesus tells his disciples that when they are received, they are received in his name, and are thus received as God’s presence. Jesus does not say that they will always be received as God. We know the troubles and hostility that can arise on the journey of a disciple - but that is not the whole story. Hospitality is the act of receiving others as God’s presence. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    There are two sides to hospitality. One - how are we received as people of God? For me, I have received divine hospitality since I started here at Bethany almost a year ago. Katie and I have felt welcomed. Y’all helped stock our pantry last August. You continue to ask how we are doing, how we are adjusting, is there anything we need - we have been welcomed very well in this place. I am humble and gracious for your hospitality. I am sure you can think of moments in your life when you can feel the energy of someone else’s welcome of you. Hospitality is happening in our midst.
    And on the other side - how do we received others in the name of Jesus? Our hospitality demonstrates how we recognize the presence of God in our midst. Our welcoming of others communicates if we trust the promise from Genesis 1 - that all peoples are created in the image of God. Do we recognize this? Do we welcome others in the name of Jesus, and thus welcome God into our midst? This is an integral question for us who follow Jesus.
    We do that here at Bethany. I hear over and over again how welcoming were are. We reach out to visitors. We put energy into welcoming others. But we are human. We still have work to do. It’s hard work cutting through our egos and welcoming all people - ALL peoples - as if they are God in our midst. Hospitality is a muscle that must be exercised. Hospitality is a muscle that must be stretched in order to grow. In order to learn new ways of welcoming. And the expanse of God’s presence in this world. By God’s love we are able. By God’s love we are open.
    Jesus helps to stretch us this morning. He gives a three fold example of those who are welcomed - the prophet, the righteous, and the little ones. With triads, the emphasis is on the third part of the group. And often, especially in the Gospels, the third is unexpected. As it is here, when Jesus names the “little ones” alongside the prophets and the righteous. The “little ones” are the unexpected group named by Jesus. Not children, or youth, here the “little ones” may point to those who are in need. Those who are vulnerable - those who are hungry, thirsty, in need of shelter, or cloths, or community.
    For us in the context of Texas - in the borderlands - the little ones could be understood as the immigrants in our midst. If you have been paying attention, you know that the issue of immigration has come up with renewed energy in the last few months. Especially in the last few days. The politics are messy. The media is not often forthcoming with the whole story. These are murky waters.
    National politics aside, we who follow Jesus have something to say about this issue. I am not trying to solve the problem, but the Gospel offers us something in the midst of these tense times. We are called to be a people of divine hospitality. To receive the little ones, the vulnerable ones, as if they are God’s presence in our midst. 
    God is on both sides of the border. The cross is big enough to transcend any boarder or wall we can build with human hands. God’s love is big enough to hold all peoples in love. The Gospels are a witness to this understanding. Jesus helps us to encounter the world as God encounters the world. Jesus stretches our understanding of hospitality and how we encounter God in others. Jesus helps us to understand that our resources and our impact are much bigger than we can even imagine. 
    Hospitality is a divine encounter. Hospitality has the power to change us - to transform our lives and move us to a place where we encounter the world through God’s eyes. I remember the welcome of the Rainbow Trail staff. Their energy. I knew for the minute we got there that we were thought about, prayed about, and welcomed in the name of God. It was transforming. That’s the power of hospitality. 
    Hospitality - in receiving and giving, in being welcomed and welcoming others - changes us. The divine encounter of hospitality, the thin places between the people of God - all peoples - is powerful. Practicing hospitality shapes us into God’s image of divine grace. Being welcomed - and welcoming others - especially the little ones, transforms ours lives and helps us to the encounter the height, width, and depth of God’s love.

The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

A sermon from the second Sunday after Pentecost. 

Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSV)

²⁴A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
²⁶So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
³²Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

     We live in a world of fine print. Every cell phone or cable contract we sign has fine print. Every pill we take comes with fine print. Our lives are governed by fine print. And let’s be honest - who really takes the time to read it all. The messages are in fine print for a reason. If we really knew the details of our cell phone or cable contracts, if we really knew all the details for the medicines we take, if we really knew all the warnings that come with most of the things we deal with on a daily basis, we would never go outside. The fine print is enough to drive anyone a little crazy. We sleep better at night not having the fine print. So we leave it as fine print. We know it’s there, but we get peace of mind by not reading it all.
    Sometimes we treat the parts of the Gospel as if it were written in fine print. There are some really tough sayings from Jesus contained in the pages of the Gospels. He calls us to do some pretty absurd things with our lives as we follow him. We know he says them, but we often look right past them. It’s as if Jesus says some things that ought to come with warning labels. That’s how we treat them.
    Take today’s story from Matthew as example “A.” This passage might as well be written in fine print. We know it’s there, but do we really every take it head on? This is one of the passages that gets glazed over.
    But not today.
    Jesus does not speak in fine print. So we will not treat this passage as if it were regulated to the fine print. Listen to the words of Jesus.
    “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These are hard words. And they seem to contradict some of the things we know about Jesus and have heard him say. Just a few weeks ago we heard the story from John of the resurrected Jesus’ first words to scared disciples in a locked upper room - “Peace be with you.” We have heard Jesus claim peace. So perhaps he is working with a metaphor here.
    Jesus and his followers and the Jewish people of his time knew the metaphor of “peace.” They knew of the peace of Rome - the “pax romana.” But the peace of Rome wasn't really peace at all. The peace of Rome was won with violence and brutality. Rome imposed it’s peace with war. Jesus and his people knew all too well of this kind of peace. Perhaps Jesus is alluding to this - pointing out that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom he preaches about and lives out, will not look like Rome. The peace of God’s kingdom is radically different. But what about the sword?
    Jesus does claim that he comes to bring a sword - which is puzzling. But this sword is not a sword of violence. It is not meant to take life. It is meant to give life. Jesus comes wielding the sword of the Gospel. The world-changing message and way of life that is the kingdom of heaven. And this message and way of life is divisive by nature.  
    The Gospel of Jesus Christ is divisive. It is in conflict with the powers of this world - the status quo - the complacent privileged. The kingdom of God is in conflict with our rabid desire to label people as “in” and “out.” There is no clearer example of this than the life of Jesus himself. Jesus is put on political trial for pushing back against the systems that were stripping life away from marginalized people. He took on the broken systems of health care, table fellowship and economics. These are not acts that bring peace into the community. There are divisive. And that’s the point. God acts differently than we expect.
    Jesus dared to heal the sick. He upset the broken system of healing that left so many outside of the community. Jesus reached out to the marginalized and welcomed them into the community. His way of healing was divisive to the statues quo.
    Jesus dared to eat with tax collectors and prostitutes. He changed the dynamics of table fellowship and how resources were shared. Jesus reached out to those who were not invited to the table. His fellowship practices were divisive.
    Jesus dares to turn over the tables of the money changers. He reacted in anger to the abuse of the economics of the temple that devoured the resources of orphans and widows. Jesus took a bold stance on how the economics of God works and declared with his life that there us enough for all in the kingdom of heaven - not just the privileged few. His economic practices were divisive.
    This way of life is what led Jesus to the cross - where God does God’s ultimate work. God works through the cross - the most unimaginable place of all. The cross - the ultimate symbol of death. The signal that the powers have made their decision and deemed the one crucified not worthy - proclaiming the victim insignificant and powerless. This is where God does God’s work. The cross becomes a signal of victory for the people of God. And it’s in this victory that we are invited to participate. Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him.
    Taking up our crosses means aligning our lives with the one who turns over tables and dines with all the wrong people. Whose very ministry was divisive because it did not play into the rhythm of the privileged or the status quo. The ministry of Jesus exposed the fallenness of the world and bore witness to a way of life based on the depths of God’s love. The divisive sword of Jesus - his life and ministry - cuts through the brokenness so that all can have life. The sword that Jesus wields cuts through the divisions we have so ignorantly made in our lives and relationships. The sword of Jesus cuts through the barriers and boarders that we erect between ourselves and others. The sword Jesus wield cuts through our own egos.
    It will disrupt the lives we think we deserve to lead. It will effect our relationships with family and friends. It will effect the choices we make about how we spent our money and invest our time and energy. Following Jesus on the way of the cross will lead to death. The way of the cross will lead to the end of life as we know it - But we have nothing to fear.
    Paul writes with great confidence in his letter to the Romans. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his (the cross), we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Paul knows what the death and resurrection of Christ has done for us all. He knows that the death of Jesus and the resurrection has united us all. He will write later on that he is convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love for us through Christ Jesus. He is absolutely confident in the love of God through Jesus Christ.
    The love of God is strong enough to united and build a kingdom that will not end. But it’s on God’s terms - and we are invited to follow. We are called to follow by proclaiming and living out the Gospel. And there is no fine print. Jesus is quite clear what will happen. There will be tension. There will be division. The road will get rough. But the love of God is strong enough to get is through. God’s love will see us through the storms that rage. And we will not be the same people on the other side. Our lives will be different. The sword the Jesus bears will reshape our lives and cast it anew in his image.     

  Friends, there is no fine print. Just the call to follow. The call to take up our crosses, trust that God’s love is great enough to weather the storms Jesus knew would come, and follow Jesus on the way of the cross. May God bless you, this day and always, as you follow Jesus.

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.

Where Have You Seen Jesus?

Easter Blessings! 

This is manuscript from the sermon I preached on April 27, 2014 - the second Sunday after Easter. The sermon is based on John 20:19-31. 

We also celebrated our Confirmation. We celebrated with ten of our youth as the made public proclamation of their faith.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." ²⁶A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." ²⁸Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
  
“Where Have You Seen Jesus?”

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! 
 
    So goes our victory chant for the season of Easter. But if we look carefully at the first Easter story, the victory chant starts out rather quiet. Our story from John this morning picks up on that evening of the first Easter. And it’s an evening not marked by shouts of joy and celebration. That first easter evening is marked by locked doors and fear. The disciples huddle together behind a locked door, perhaps whispering over candle light, scared that they will be over heard by the authorities who led the shouts of “crucify” on Friday. There is fear and trembling. And who should show up, but Jesus.
    Right through the locked door Jesus appears. The first words out of his mouth are “Peace be with you.” A greeting of peace for weary disciples. Jesus then shows him his hands and sides, gets his chance to tell the story of his scars (don’t we love that!). The darkness of the room begins to lighten. The faith crisis that had set on Friday begins to subside. God does have the power to work life out of death.
    But Thomas is not with them. And if you have been around the church long enough, you are probably familiar with the phrase “doubting Thomas.” Actually it’s a phrase we use in all parts of our lives when someone doesn't believe what we have to say. A catch phrase if you will. One that Thomas is probably not proud of - and certainly one that is not deserved. Poor Thomas has gotten a raw deal for centuries. Perhaps it’s time we set the story straight.
    Thomas was absent from the locked upper room the first time Jesus entered without a key. Thomas, who probably drew the short straw and had to venture out to the grocery store to get the makings of dinner, left a room full of fear and returned to a party. He missed the key moment in-between. And by the time he managed to get everyone to stop talking at the same time, trying to tell him the miraculous story of Jesus’ peculiar locksmith abilities, Thomas is more than skeptical. But let’s not go so far as to call him a doubter. Thomas is a realist. He just wants to experience what everyone else is trying to explain to him. Jesus is risen. And Thomas wants to see him.
    And can we blame him? He asks for what any other person, any one of the other disciples, any one of us, would have asked for. He wanted to see Jesus. Thomas’ faith had gone through the same roller coaster as the other disciples, only he did not get to experience the resurrection as they had. Thomas is still in the throws of the crisis. He is having troubling believing the story. He is having trouble trusting what the disciples are trying to tell him. And have all been there - we know what it’s like to have our faith tested. And the good news is that God is still with us through the darkness.
    Jesus does not get angry with Thomas. He meets him right in the moment of his crisis and does the work of love in building up his faith. What happens next is the moment John has been working towards since chapter one. Thomas’ confession.
    Thomas’ confession of faith - “My Lord and my God” - is a climactic moment for John’s story of Jesus. Thomas confesses Jesus to be God. It connects the arch of the story that John started with his first words; “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Thomas, when pushed on his unbelief, on his lack of trust in the resurrection event, confesses Jesus to be who John says he is, God incarnate in the world. God who came to give life.
    The story that John wrote was written for us. Though he did not have Fredericksburg, Texas in mind when he put pen to paper almost two thousand years ago, John wrote this story for us. For ones who would not see, but believe. “But these are written so that you may come to believe Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name.” We are the ones who gather around this story over and over again, to catch a glimpse of Jesus, the son of God. We read and hear the signs that John recorded so that we may come to believe. Or to put it a little differently, so that we may come to trust. We around these stories from John, and others, so that we can come to trust that God is at work in our world. We have been given the sacraments of baptism and communion to give us strength on the journey of faith. So that we can confess the work of God to the world. So that we can trust that God is still at work in our midst.  
    The power of today’s story is the confession on the lips of Thomas. It’s not about doubt. It’s about Jesus moving us from a place of unbelief (lack of trust), to a place where we confess that God is indeed present in our lives.
    In this season leading up to and celebrating Easter, we have been talking about resurrection at Theology on Tap. One of the key moments from this month’s gathering has been asking the question - “Where have you seen Jesus?” I learned to ask this question while I was in Aggie Lutherans during my time in College Station. My mentor Deb Grant taught us to ask this question with our lives. Every gathering, every devotion, sometimes multiple times a week, we would ask each other - “where have you seen Jesus?” We would listen to each other’s encounters with the risen Jesus. We learned to see the rhythm of God in our midst. I still like to ask this question, so I offer it up to us this morning - “Where have you seen Jesus?” It’s a moment of confession for modern day disciples.
    I saw Jesus this week on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening we gathered in the sanctuary to celebrate the past two years of study. We lovingly questioned these young men and women about the tools that we have to develop our faith. The Bible. The Ten Commandments. The Creed. The Lord’s Prayer. The Sacraments. And they performed beautifully. We then got to sit back a listen to faith statements, my favorite part of the evening.
    With nerves running high, each one took their turn in front of the crowd and confessed their faith. Little “Thomas’” everyone one of them. Confessing their faith, their trust in the work of God in their lives. Faith shaped and inspired by parents and grandparents and friends and teachers and cabin leaders and pastors. Faith that will continue to grow. For this is not the end of the journey.
    We celebrate a step in the journey of faith today. We gather around ten of our youth to celebrate their affirmation of faith. We call it confirmation. It’s a journey that started around the font a few years ago. A journey that started with water, God’s word, and a few promises from those who would journey with these young men and women. I see Jesus at work in these young people. I see God at work in this faith community. God is alive and well and continuing to do the work of life in this place.
    So where have you seen Jesus? This question becomes a way for us to witness what God is doing in our midst. It becomes a way for us to proclaim God alive and well in this world. It becomes a way for us to talk about what we are often shy to address. I commend this question to you this week and in the weeks to come. Ask it around the dinner table. Call up your parents or kids and ask them where they have seen Jesus. If the question feels a bit strange, practice it for a while. Bring it up on Facebook. You know Bethany has a Facebook page now. Social media is great medium for sharing our faith and witnessing to what God is doing in our lives. So let’s continue to ask each other - “Where have you seen Jesus?”

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

God is still at work in our world. Let’s go out and witness it with our lives.

Between Shouts of “Hosanna”and “Crucify Him”

This is manuscript from the sermon preached on Palm/Passion Sunday, April 13, 2014. 

The Passion of Jesus Christ according to Matthew can be found here.  

Between Shouts of "Hosanna" and "Crucify Him"

 

  Welcome to Holy Week. The week that has been proclaimed by our theological ancestors as “the Great Week.” The week that takes us from the table of the last supper, to the garden of prayer, to the courts of fallen justice, to the cross. And finally to the empty. The Sunday that we move towards is the Sunday of Sundays, the day of victory of our God. Welcome to Holy Week.
    We mark today, the start of Holy Week with palms and passion. We celebrate the parade of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem where he is hailed as a savior. He hear the shouts of “Hosanna” and we join our own voices to that chorus. And then we turn quickly to his passion. To his arrest, trial, and execution. We hear the crowd boil into cries of “crucify him.” The hour grows dark indeed. 
    We live between these shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” The story from Matthew that flows through our worship today contains moments of both joy and anger, Shouts of praise and shouts of hate. A rally of support and an absolute abandonment. Jesus celebrated as a triumphant king. Jesus killed as a criminal.
    We live between these moments. Our lives are lived out between the joy and anger. Between the moments of celebration and desertion. We live in between the shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” We know the moments of great joy when we praise God and give glory to the one who blesses us beyond measure. We know the moments of doubt when we wonder if there really is a God our there. We know the moments of suffering when it seems that could not possibly be a God, in our time or ever. These are all real emotions. And God can handle them. Through the joy and pain, the happiness and anger, God is with us.
    This week, Holy Week, is not about raining down guilt, charging our emotions, or blaming ourselves for the cross. This week is about how God acted in human history. On our behalf. For us. Out of love, not anger.
    Holy Week is about being drawn into the story of how God took on the fallen powers, the brokenness of sin, and the power of death that runs rampant in our world - and destroyed their power on the cross. We encounter the story of Jesus passion’ - where God chooses to enter into our suffering and our sinfulness in order to create life out of death. God chooses to act on our behalf. We celebrate a love story this week - the story of God’s love poured out for the world.
    Our lives are lived between the shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” And right in the middle of those moments is the garden of Gethsemane. Where Jesus prays and the disciples sleep. Where Jesus acts on our behalf, and we struggle to stay awake. But that’s exactly what we are called to do - to stay awake. To witness the power of God to take the sin of the world and destroy its power on the cross. That’s what Holy Week is about.
    So stay awake. Jesus knew the temptation of averting our eyes all to well. It’s easier to sleep through the hard times, to sleep through the truth about ourselves. We don’t like to watch what’s about to unfold. We encounter enough violence and death to last us a lifetime. But Jesus calls us to stay awake, to witness how God acts on our behalf. How God binds our brokenness and sin to the mystery of the cross and through the cross God destroys their power.
    So stay awake friends of Jesus. Come back on Thursday and join together around God’s table. Receive the break broken and the wine poured for us. Come and celebrate with our youth who will take the bread and wine for the first time as they celebrate their first communion.
    Come back on Friday and sit at the foot of the cross. Come and hear John’s passion of Jesus - where Jesus is lifted up for the sake of the whole world - where God’s love is poured out for us and for all people. 
  Join in the moments of Holy Week that carry us to the words of victory at the empty tomb on Easter morning.
    Stay awake friends of Jesus. Witness the story of God's love.

Isaiah 35 - Living Waters in the Parched Places

This is the manuscript from the fifth and final movement of my congregations 2014 Lenten theme - God's A-gonna Trouble the Waters. We are exploring images of where God is at work in the waters of the Old Testament.

The first week we read the creation story of Genesis 1 - Creating Waters.

The second week we read the Noah story of Genesis 7 and 8 - Flood Waters.

The third week we read the Exodus story - Redeeming waters.
My sermon manuscript can be read here.

The fourth week we read Psalm 23 - Still Waters. 

This week we explored Isaiah 35 Living Waters. 

 Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly,
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
    “Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
    He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
    He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8 A highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
    but it shall be for God’s people;
    no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain joy and gladness,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

    Today we return to Isaiah, where we began the season of Lent five weeks ago. We marked the beginning of Lent that day with an ashen reminder of our own mortality. We told the truth about ourselves - we are creatures with numbered days. We are dust, or should I say, we are dirt, and to dirt we shall return.
    Wrapped up in all the talk of dirt and death, we heard a word that evening from Isaiah about the power of water. We returned to the waters or perhaps God led us to the waters that day, as God always leads us to the renewing waters where we are made new creations by God. We heard a word about becoming watered gardens, and having springs break forth in the parched places of our lives. That is the power of God, to make waters break forth in parched places. As we have put it throughout this season of Lent - God’s A-Gonna trouble the waters.
    God has indeed troubled the waters.  Over the past several weeks we have heard stories about how God troubles the waters. We began with creation, with God’s spirit moving over the primordial waters of chaos, creating life that God called good. We moved on to the story of Noah and the flood waters, how God saw the world called good unravel into brokenness. The flood waters came crashing, cleansing the earth, the ark delivering Noah and family, God’s hope for the future, to safety.
    Two weeks ago we encountered the waters of the Exodus, God’s redeeming waters for the people of Israel, held for so long in the clutches of slavery. God made a way through the waters, creating a people out of the chaos of slavery, out of the stronghold of death, to new life. Last week Pastor Casey led us to the still waters of the 23rd Psalm. “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” Sometimes God leads us to waters of refreshment and renewal.
    Tonight we begin to bring our time of lent to a close. We have come to the edge of Holy Week, with the “Hosanna’s” of Palm Sunday just on the horizon. But before we get there we hear a promise of what’s to come. We get a glimpse of what God has in store for us. We hear the promise of how God will once again trouble the waters on our behalf. This promise is found in Isaiah - a fitting bookend to the story we heard five weeks ago.
    Isaiah 35 sounds like rain on parched land, refreshing and full of hope - “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom…” As the lines unfold the images bring to mind a vision of new life breaking forth in a desolate place.
    God is active and moving and the people are called to respond - “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” The prophet calls the people to a state of readiness, their waiting is over. The phrase “those who are fearful of heart” has an interesting nuance in the Hebrew understanding. This phrase can also be translated to mean “ones whose hearts are racing.” The prophet calls out to those who hearts are racing - “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.”
    This story from Isaiah was written in the darkness of exile. The racing hearts belonged to those who had known for too long what is was to live in the shadow of death. Held captive in Babylon, the people were torn from land, from family, from the temple, far from everything that gave them a sense of who they were. It was Egypt all over again. And the people longed for God to intervene.
    Out of the darkness of exile, the clouds break and light begins to shine through. There is hope on the horizon. “Tell the ones whose hearts are racing - “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” God is going to act once again in the midst of the people. A way will be made for their rescue. In the parched place of the exile, God will stir up the waters and make a way for the people to cross over into new life.
    This story mirrors the Exodus. God will once again redeem the people. Life will break forth in the wilderness, the likes of which the world had never scene. Waters will break forth, streams will run in the desert. The haunts of jackals shall become swamps. The burning sands shall become life giving pools.
    And in the midst of this budding oasis there shall be a highway for God’s people. This highway will be a Holy Way - God’s way - and it will be for the redeeming of God’s people. Just as God created a way through the waters of the Exodus, God will create a way in the wilderness. God will once again trouble the waters on the people’s behalf.
    God will redeem the people. For the audience of this story, for the meta-narrative of scripture, this redeeming has economic and political implications. To redeem a person literally means to buy them out of slavery. The person redeemed is set free. Their standing in the community has changed. Out of the death of slavery God claims the people as God’s own - creating new life. This is what God has done for us through Christ.
    Our baptism is a political event. God’s redeeming us marks us as a member of God’s kingdom. We are a redeemed people, bought out of the slavery of sin and death.
We are redeemed from the fallen powers of this world, not removed from them, but set free from them to do work among them on behalf of God. We are citizens of God’s kingdom first. This is a far greater mark on our identity than a driver’s license or passport or voter’s registration card. This citizenship defines who we are and how we engage the world. We are God’s redeemed people.
    We are also a people who are familiar with parched places. We just have to walk outside to encounter parchedness. We are in the midst of a drought. For mouths and years we have pleaded for rain - for refreshment and hope. This is real for us, and also a metaphor for our lives. We know the parched places of sin. Of broken relationships. Of Sickness. Of Death. We know the places where our hearts race for hope and healing.
    The reminder today, through these water stories, is that God is at work in the parched places. God moves on our behalf - has already claimed us as God’s own through the cross. God does God’s work in the parched places of our lives. 
    When our own hearts are racing in the parched places of our lives, the reminder of our redeeming by God comes like rain in the drought. This is our promise. Today and always. When our lives become worn out and dry through sin and brokenness, God promises to be there with the waters of healing. In the wilderness of sin and death, God promises to bring new life and make a way upon which we can cross. God claims us as members of God’s kingdom. God troubles the waters on our behalf, over and over meeting us when we are parched and in need.
    So wade in the waters friends. That hymn that we have marked our time with here in Lent. Wade in the waters of God’s creating. Wade in the waters stirred up by God’s promise. Wade in the waters where God claims you. Now and forever.