sermon archive 13

SERMONS FROM FEBRUARY 22, 2009 TO JANUARY 17, 2010

For links to sermons from January 24, 2010 forward, click here

For links to all sermon archives before February 22, 2009, click here

January 17, 2010 “Wonders Never Cease” Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 Corinthians 12: 1-12 John 2: 1-11

The wedding at Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine is one of many miracles performed by Jesus recorded in the New Testament. Jesus became known throughout the countryside for his “wonders and miracles”. Weddings were important family and neighborhood gatherings, and wine was expected to flow for as long as the reception lasted; it would have been a disgrace to the host to run out of wine. As this disgrace threatened, Mary told her son about the situation, and with some orders to the servants on her part, Jesus ordered the water jars filled, and then blessed them turning the water into wine. As the wine was set to be served the chief steward commented that most people serve the good wine first, but he had saved the best until last.

In his initial response to his mother, Jesus had indicated it was not yet his time. It wasn’t time to reveal his true being. Remember, Mary had kept all that the angel had told her in her heart. But Jesus went ahead anyway. Some might explain he was a good son, an obedient son, a son every Jewish mother could be proud of. It would better be explained as a kairos moment, a moment in time that opens up and a ministry begun; no preparation, not necessarily knowing all the logistical. Time opens up and a new ministry is begun.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning peoples gifts, that everyone is given a gift by the Holy Spirit to be used for the common good. Now at some point we need to begin to use them. We don’t always know when that moment will open up for us; it’s God’s timing. In this kairos moment there is a window of opportunity to begin to use our gifts. It is a holy moment, a convergence of our time and God’s time.

I do not believe that all these convergences, or intersections, come in happy moments. A majority of these kairos moments come in the midst of chaos, tragedy and devastation. In the midst of disaster the people of God have the greatest opportunities to respond using whatever gifts they have been given.

One woman in New Orleans told us of a story that took place in the Roosevelt Hotel. You need to think back to the national news coverage of Katrina, one video shown with some frequency, was of the hotel with its windows blown out by the high winds and rain. Curtains waved outside the windows and inside the floors flooded and walls and furniture destroyed. A live cam across the street kept recording. What was not known at the time is there were 1300 people still inside that hotel. Many employees had brought their families to the hotel for safety; and while a number guests were able to get out, many were trapped. Across the street there is a pharmacy, and as winds abated, looting began. The pharmacy contained a cache of prescription drugs. One of the members of the hotel staff, I’ll call her Deborah, is a stockholder in the pharmacy and evidently there is a fiduciary responsibility to destroy any prescription drugs once the security of the pharmacy has been breached. The pharmacy had been looted, initially by vandals but then by people needing gauze, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, various items for medical treatment. They also needed food. Kairos moments may also bring people together for a brief period of time for a specific purpose. Of the people trapped in the hotel, along with those who had come to the hotel for shelter, were two groups of guests. Two national conventions were scheduled in the Roosevelt for that week and remaining was group of about twelve infectious disease doctors, with a small group of policemen. Together, with Deborah, they went across the street and found the necessary medications to be able to minister to the people in the hotel, and to identify and destroy the drugs left unprotected by the looting. Without the policemen, without the doctors and proper medication, although devastating, the outcome for these 1300 people may have been very different. It was a moment when God’s movement intersected with human lives such that God’s presence could be visibly seen and experienced.

Last Tuesday another disaster stuck. For years Haiti has been ranked as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. 700 miles from our nation’s shores people live in absolute poverty, and would today in fact be ranked the poorest in the world because of the infrastructure that is gone. Children of poor families in the rural areas sell their children into a form of indentured slavery – restivic slavery. Young children, 6, 7, and 8 years old are sold so the rest of the family can survive. The parents are promised that the child sold to work for the rich in the city will receive an education, will be well taken care of as they perform their work and studies. These restivic children are beaten, they are raped; most of the children never get to school, (all the people in Haiti, only 10% ever go to school), and they never get a break from their chores that go from sun-up to sun down.

As a nation we have turned away from accepting any responsibility we have had for the stripping of the soils by our corporations; they planted and overused the land such that it was stripped of all nutrients and unable to provide sustainable farms/crops to the people of Haiti. We’ve have turned away from any responsibility for rebuilding the nation.

Some of you may remember Bette Midler’s song , "From a Distance". Listen to some of the lyrics:

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
From a distance, there is harmony,…
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
and no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
no hungry mouths to feed…

From a distance we are instruments
marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They're the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves,
it's the heart of every man…
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.

God is watching us from a distance."

From a distance we don’t have to admit reality, we can live with delusion if we choose, but in God’s kairos moments we actually arrive into the reality that surrounds us. The kairos moment for Martin Luther King, Jr. came in the 50’s and 60’s in the civil Rights movement. Jesus had to arrive in the reality that surrounded him… No, I don’t mean not having run out of wine at the wedding, but having to arrive at the point of sin, our sin, and carrying it to the cross. There you know what suffering is… and you also understand that it may just be a kairos moment for you. This moment changes your life because you begin to understand what hunger is, and see that people are starving – spiritually, emotionally, physically; that there are countries that still have slavery and you see that the future of these lands need immediate help if they are ever to recover. The earthquake may be that kairos moment for Haiti and for the world, a moment when we are challenged once again to dig deep and we are challenged to go as missionaries to build schools, houses, and hospitals; and for those not able to travel to raise funds for the support of teachers, nurses and doctors; or sponsor a child so that he or she never needs to be sold into slavery. We can send missionaries to share the word of God that the people may have hope.

When God’s people are faithful to put their talents to work for the common good, wonders can and do happen. Humanitarian aid is needed; so is our help to eliminate unjust systems. This may be a kairos moment to end child slavery. We can pray God would show us how to work to bring about the change needed to raise this impoverished nation to a stable and self-sustainable status.

God is watching us. Yes, God is watching us from a distance...

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January 10, 2010

Most Likely to Succeed Rev. Lorene Eldredge

Texts: Isaiah 43: 1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8: 14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

John and Jesus both demonstrate success far differently than the way the world defines it.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine. [Isaiah 43: 1 d]

When a young man wanted to study to follow a rabbi, to take up the yoke of the rabbi, he would follow in his footsteps. But first he had to obtain the rabbi’s permission. The rabbi would test him, his studies, reasoning, his general interpretation and technique in the art of questioning; and if all was satisfactory, and the rabbi had confidence in the young man, he would be granted permission to take up the rabbis teaching. The young rabbi was then recognized by the community as a follower and one who could speak with authority. It was different when a new rabbi came to town; he would need two witnesses to affirm his yoke or way of being. Jesus was the new rabbi, as yet unproven, but came with two very powerful witnesses: the first, his cousin John, who with all humility confessed, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit and fire.” [Luke 3: 16]

And then Jesus had a second witness. The heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’^* [Luke 3:21-22]

John had drawn crowds to himself by his preaching and his calling people to repent, to turn back to God. It wasn’t an unusual message. The people were used to worshipping gods; they had gods in every city, and they had gods for everything; they even had an unknown god. Paul tells us about him in Corinthians. But John’s message is unusual in that he proclaims one God, and this is the voice that is heard from heaven as Jesus is baptized.

Jesus had come to be baptized. We have just celebrated Christmas and Epiphany, and we have professed that Jesus is God incarnate, God with us. So we might be thinking why would Jesus need to be baptized, because our understanding of baptism is that baptism is an outward sign or act of the invisible grace of God at work in us. We when we are baptized submit ourselves to the yoke of God in Jesus Christ, and being washed by the water and the Spirit, we die to self and become a new person in Christ. Jesus did not need to do this, yet in doing so gave us a means, the beginning of a process, to which John Wesley would say, if we remained faithful would bring us to perfection.

John, and Jesus, were giving public witness to a power greater than any the world knew, that Israel’s one true God could move all heaven and earth out of love for us and our salvation.

In our baptism we witness to that power, and to the hope we have for eternal life with God, that begins in the here and now as we are baptized. It’s not a knock on the door for some future reservation, but here beginning today. It is a work that begins with God, and it is a work made possible because of the grace of God. God’s grace begins to work in us from the moment of our conception, continues as we are born, and we are surrounded by this grace that calls us to consciousness of our need for God. It moves us forward to live as a whole people of God, justified with Christ, and sanctified, made holy, by the Holy Spirit. You and I as new creatures in Jesus Christ are a holy people. There’s nothing we can do except respond.

Are we going to make mistakes? Of course we are. We are not perfect, but we are holy in God’s eyes, and God loves us. There is some tension here…. What does this mean for us as a church? God is creating and recreating and, as we grow into what God wants us to be, there will be times when we will need to journey in the wilderness, there will be times when we may not feel particularly successful. There will be other times when we are on target.

John, even Jesus, were not necessarily seen as successes; at least by the world’s standards. And making no judgment, there are churches closing their doors. How then might we describe success? What does it mean for the church to be successful? For each of us as individuals to succeed? Both John and Jesus suffered short lives, but both witnessed to the love of God acting in peoples’ lives. John preached repentance, and when people repented and turned back to God they were set free to become the persons God created them to be. Jesus acted in peoples’ lives to bring them healing and wholeness. He healed the blind man, he healed the woman hemorrhaging for 12 years, he set the captives free – those bound by oppression in all its forms – physical, emotional, spiritual. You see, it is about binding and losing. Bound by sin and set free to grow and serve Christ. When we turn our hearts to God we are set free to increase God’s love in the world, because bottom line, increasing God’s love in the world is what we are to be about. As we do we become co-creators with God, renewing the earth, restoring the earth and everything in it to its original state. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world…” Everything is being restored, people, the earth, all creatures, all forces…. “For Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world but through him the world might be saved.”[3:17]

So what does this mean for us? For NKUMC? It means first we need to be looking outward, into the community, discerning where it is God would have us serve. This month we have begun two new ministries. Both involve the practical work of feeding people. Beginning today the ecumenical community is sponsoring hot meals on Sunday for people in the community who may need a little extra help. That help may simply be in desiring fellowship, maybe hearing a word of grace, or it may be an opportunity to get out of the cold because they are homeless. We can not imagine the implications of being homeless.

With this cold stretching to the Gulf of Mexico, it was obvious to us visiting New Orleans this week that Hurricane Katrina has had a far more devastating effect than we may understand. Those displaced and homeless not only have no shelter, they have no way to keep warm. Bundled in blankets, and huddled against buildings away from the wind, we could see all over the city groups of people. And when we turned on the TV , at the bottom of the screens we saw lists of churches and schools opened for shelters. Residents in the city with homes were encouraged to come to the shelters. Too many of these homes have poor insulation, and are heated by either the oven or space heaters. Police and fire sirens could be heard throughout the city, and there were reports of homes being destroyed by fire every night, with further loss of life. Sometimes the devastation goes far beyond what we can imagine.

The second ministry we are beginning is Angel Food Ministry. How many of you are having to consider most carefully how you spend your next dollar? How many of you could use an extra $30 or more dollars a month in your wallet? Angel food ministries will help you do that by giving you a food value of about $65 dollars for $30 dollars the extra goes back to your pocket. It is a stewardship program, designed by two pastors who saw their congregation having difficulties, and has grown to national. Once a month you order what you need for food, and then on a specific day you come and pick up whatever food you have ordered. Today is the deadline for this month. We have a team of people in place, at various points of training.

Angel Food Ministries is about stewardship of our food dollar; and it is about the love of God. If you want to demonstrate God’s love by greeting people with a smile, by helping people carry boxes to their cars, if you want the community to know that we at NKUMC care about them then come volunteer, be a disciple of Jesus. Warren Halstead is coordinating for us and he will most certainly be glad to hear from you. It is one way we can increase God’s love in the world, its one way we can make a God-sized impact on our community, to be the successful church God is making us to be. God is calling us to grow in love and to grow God’s love all around us. This morning I remind you of your baptismal covenant and invite you to join further in our liturgy and renewal of that commitment.

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January 3, 2010 The Light Has Come Rev. Lori Eldredge

The magi followed a new star that risen in the east to Bethlehem, and there they found the Christ child. God had come in human form, God incarnate was with us as a vulnerable tiny baby, the fulfillment of Hebrew scripture and prophecy.

There are people who have denied this incarnation; they can not understand it. They have said it is a myth created by the early church. They have said the early church as it grew adapted or synchronized its stories with popular culture. The popular culture of the early church included “Stargazers”, those persons who held with Aristotle (nee 384BC) that everything below the moon was changing, and that our physical world was imperfect, made of earth, water, air and fire. Please don’t confuse them with any modern element. To Aristotle and those like him, there was an invisible dividing line. Above the moon were the heavens and the perfect, made from the element aether, from which we get ethereal. Later this became known as the fifth element, from which we get the word quint-essential. The sun, stars and planets revolved around the earth in their perfect orbits, at least until the 16^th century when Copernicus began his study of the heavens. It upset what had become doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church, and he was consequently excommunicated. It was all beyond their understanding…. …as is the incarnation to our modern understanding. Such thing is impossible. How can God leave the realm of all that is perfect and divine, and enter into our common humanity? To say this is a mystery of faith would be an understatement, but there lies the truth. We aren’t always comfortable with the mysterious, we are not comfortable with that which we can not explain. We’re not always comfortable with what we can explain, and often times fear what we do not understand.

The magi studied the stars, and when this new star arose, rather than be afraid, they set out to study and understand. Several years ago, when teaching science, my classes studied the life cycle stars from their birth in the outer realms of the universe to their collapse and death. As we looked through our telescopes into the night sky I told them we were studying ancient history. The light we saw had traveled thousands of miles to reach us. All light we see today is light energy manifest well before our time. The light we would have seen this morning from Andromeda, had we not been covered with little snow storm, is over 2 billion years old. The light of that star over Bethlehem, was light that existed before Herod, the magi, and possibly even before the Hebrew nations of Judah and Israel. In fact this is what John tells us in his letters.

It happened that we studied the stars in the winter months and as many of my students were familiar with the story of the magi following the star that stopped over Bethlehem, they asked about its reality. Was it a new star or a synchronization of culture? The magi were familiar with Jupiter and Regulas, which was at its rising. Was it an alignment of stars, a conjunction, creating the illusion of a new star? Or was it some other unexplained mystery? Were they in retrograde viewed against the winter skies?

It’s these questions of science and faith that challenge us. Now, as most of us were asleep as the stars faded to daylight this morning, we may well ask what difference does it all make in my life anyway?

The fact is we weren’t there at Christ’s birth either. And we were not witnesses to the star. So what difference does Jesus Christ make in our lives? What difference does Jesus Christ make in our lives? The scriptures tell us Jesus is the light of the world, Jesus is the light that has overcome our every moment of darkness. No stargazer could claim this. No heavenly body could claim this; even the sun faded into nighttime and could be blocked in an eclipse. What has the power to eclipse the Light of Christ?

When we are in darkness we lose clarity of vision, we may lose our way. When we are in darkness, we may experience self-doubt; we may feel as though our world is shrinking, closing in on us, imploding; the Light of Jesus changes all this. The Light of Christ restores us and opens us to new possibilities. The magi may well have been frightened by the new star, but they chose to open their minds to follow the clues, the path, and found Christ. What do we find when we open our minds to the possibilities of the new light that shines in our lives? Are we afraid of what is revealed or can we follow it to its source and just possibly find God waiting and vulnerable and giving us opportunity to nurture this new birth in us?

Whatever that star, whenever its birth, it was a revelation given to open hearts and minds to the power of God, to the grace of God. Beyond our belief, it goes to the practice of our faith in everyday matters. There is nothing to fear in a tiny vulnerable infant, but how do we nurture the grace revealed to us in Christ? How do we nurture that which we feel in our hearts because he has come into the world to be our savior?

I am reminded of an old Indian tale:

A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt.

He said, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one."

The grandson asked him, "Which wolf will win the fight in your heart, grandfather?"

The grandfather answered: "The one I feed."

It’s like the Herods of the world versus the magi, those who would follow and believe. Who will win out? I pray that in 2010 we may align ourselves with our Source who is God, and that contemplating this “new thing”, ridding ourselves of all excuses, we may manifest the grace of God .

As we come to communion this morning,

we may feed this new birth within

that nurturing Christ in us ,

we may reach out with compassion to our neighbors,

and that we may be loving and caring;

letting Christ’s Light shine that God may be revealed in us. Amen.

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Sunday December 27, 2009 -- No sermon this week -- We sang Christmas Carols on the First Sunday of Christmas

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December 13, 2009 “Good News” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Isaiah 12: 2 -6 Luke 3: 7-18 Philippians 4:4-7

Good news! Isn’t that what we all want to hear? We go to the doctor – we want a clean bill of health - good news! We go to work - we want to hear our project is approved – good news! We come to church – a word of grace, good news! We want to hear a word of encouragement that will feed our spirits, that will strengthen and encourage us that we are able to go out into the world for another week to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ. Yet sometimes the word is prophetic, and sometimes we may need to hear something difficult or challenging

“You brood of vipers!” There it is! Straight up! As John preached in the wilderness there was no mistaking his message. He called them snakes! In biblical text the personification of evil. Can you imagine picking up the newspaper this morning and the headline reads, “You brood of vipers”? Now these weren’t captains of industry, or stockholders, or even top CEO’s in banking who earn their dollars at the expense of the laborer or consumer. Yes, there were tax collectors. But John preached to everyone who came out to hear him. And there was an urgency to his message because the time was at hand, God was already in the world and Jesus, God in human form, was about to pick up the mantel of his calling. “Repent! … Repent and bear fruit worthy of repentance.” [Luke 3: 7-8a]

Wow! John in a few simple words is telling us the first century message of you what we have heard so often, “If you are going to talk the talk then you need to walk the walk.” Turn around and bear fruits worthy of repentance. What are doing that you need to give up to give glory to God? And, what aren’t you doing that you could take up that would give glory to God?

Now I know I ‘m preaching to the choir, not literally, but you know what I mean. We are good people. There is something else going on here. I don’t know what the people who put the lectionary together were thinking, but I love the juxtaposition of John the Baptist and Paul: John who lived in the desert, who dressed poorer than the poor, we really don’t know too much more about him; and Paul, of Roman descent and privilege. John brought a harsh word, Paul a gentle word. John tells us to bear the fruit of repentance; Paul tells us to practice gentleness and humility. Both tell us God is near, salvation is at hand. This is good news in this season of Advent.

It’s good news; and it’s counter cultural. While we are called to peace and gentleness, we often find ourselves frazzled with the holiday preparations. We find ourselves distressed in crowds of humanity missing the point of the Holy-day. When our culture is trying to rid the world of any Christian witness and we find ourselves confronted with commercialism and greed, I’m inclined to agree with Paul – step aside from the frantic ways of the world and practice peace, practice gentleness. Practice Holy Days.

What’s the alternative to the commercialism? What are the fruits of repentance? If our sin is consumerism and greed – what can we give away? In the last month we gave away extra coats. There is a need with the winter months upon us. We can share a hot meal – feed the body and the spirit. In the months of January, February, and March the ecumenical community in North Kingstown will be providing hot meals for those who may be alone, for those unable to cook, for those unable to afford a hot meal. On Sunday afternoons the various churches will open their doors on Sunday afternoon to provide a hot meal for families who need that little bit of extra help. We will be one of the host sites and you can help. We need people to cook, people to serve, people to donate food items. Details will be in the narthex for you to sign up. But there are other ways we can practice gentleness and humility - visiting a shut-in, bringing some cheer; praying with a friend in need of support; honoring the persons we are by caring for ourselves and offering time with a someone we know may be overwhelmed with life’s circumstances.

We can spend time being the church – reaching out to a lonely neighbor. We can help with shoveling snow, or bringing in someone’s mail, or trash barrels so they don’t have to venture out onto icy sidewalks. Practicing gentleness and humility are not complicated or difficult disciplines. It is as simple as seeing a need and responding . If everyone that got caught up in holiday mania turned instead and reached out to another person to lift their spirits by some simple act of random kindness, I believe we would see the Advent of Christ sooner than later. And this is good news!

How might our acts of kindness bring about reconciliation, or bring health and wholeness to the world? How might our acts of gentleness and peace encourage a friend or stranger having a difficult time? How might our acts help someone to stand up again on their own two feet and cause them to turn to the Lord.

This is what the good news is about. The Lord is near and when we make that 180 degree turn to the Lord salvation is ours. The Lord is near! This is the good news of the gospel. Take all those things that rob you of peace and set them aside. Leave them behind as you turn to Christ. If you are feeling frazzled, turn back to Christ! Ultimately even within difficult texts, we hear God’s promise; there is grace!

I want to share with you this morning an affirmation. It’s an affirmation that we as Christians can claim in this Advent Season. As we claim it, as we bring it to reality, it will be a gentle turning that will enable us on Christmas day to celebrate the Holy Day, that we might experience true joy in faithful living:

We experience God among us as creative Spirit stimulating our thoughts,

Working through our hands and feet to make a bit of heaven on earth.

We believe God is among us – vulnerable and strong, loving and sustaining

each one who welcomes the Holy.

We know God is in the world;

we dream of fresh political structures that are fair,

respectful, and inclusive.

We trust that God is reconciling families and nations and resurrecting

the God-image in all persons.

Through every part of our human journey, God is with us;

We are not alone. Hallelujah! Amen.

Author Unknown

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December 6, 2009 “Preparing the Way” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Malachi 3: 1-4 Philippians 1: 1-11 Luke 3: 1-6

The word of God came to John. After listing the emperor, the governor, the prefect, the local tetrarchs, and even the high priests in the temple, Luke makes it very clear that the word of God did not go to the political leaders, or the high priests but to John, a wanderer in the wilderness. Recalling the passage from the Malachi, sent first to cleanse the priests in the temple and call them to return to faithfulness, one has to wonder if the high priests were so aligned with the political leaders that their ears were closed to God’s word. In the business of the temple had they become distracted, or just caught in the routine of ritual, that their hearts and minds were no longer open to engaging God’s word.

Away from the more settled areas, God spoke to John in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight a highway for the Lord.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And all humankind shall see God.” [3:4b-6]

John was an ordinary man. Okay, we are told he is a relative of Jesus, through Mary and Elizabeth, their mothers, but John was an ordinary man. Maybe a little eccentric, living in the desert, eating locust and honey, wearing clothing with horsehair - but he was ordinary, like you and like me. If anything, John lived on the margin of society, in the empty and desolate wilderness, with all its dangers. He lived amongst the poor, those who lived in the outlying regions unable to afford life in the city, inside the city gates in the protected more established areas. He lived far away from the seat of government, from any source of power, and it was there that the word of God touched his heart and called him to preach to offer hope to the outcasts, to the poor, to those who unable to find justice in a system that was corrupt, had been usurped, and was under foreign domination.

Have any of you yet this Advent Season, listened to “The Messiah”? Each year we get caught up in Handle’s beautiful musical composition. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times we have heard it sung, each time it is new and touches our hearts. John’s message “to prepare the way of the Lord” was a call to touch hearts, to change hearts, to return to God and be about the work of God’s justice. But if we ignore its meaning, its call on our lives, it is as nothing.

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight a highway for the Lord.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth. “

Do you hear what John is telling us? Do you hear God’s word of justice? When the valleys are filled in, when the mountains and hills are made low, what are we left with? There will be one thing - a level plain or a level field. When we think of level fields we may conjure up a soccer field, or the gridiron, but John was speaking about the human heart, our hearts. So many of those John related to were dispirited and needed to be lifted up. And others he knew were just a bit more proud and haughty than God would have them be.

To be aligned with God justice and mercy means we need to walk with those who have been oppressed. We need to see their faces, hear their voices, and we need to respond with God’s compassion. There can be no class distinction. We can not disregard the needs of our neighbors, the needs of our sisters and brothers in God’s created world. Leveling the field is not easy work. It can be most uncomfortable. John’s horsehair shirt reminds us of that uncomfortable itch we are confronted with as we undertake this work of straightening the highway.

Where are you uncomfortable? Where is God’s word ‘itching’ your heart? God speaks to all of us, not just prophets, and priests in the temple. God comes to us in the high and the lowly places, in the isolated and the crowded areas, inviting us to be laborers in the vineyard – in the kingdom. God offers the invitation, and where God extends an invitation there is grace.

Today as we hear the message anew, we have before us what John Wesley taught is one of God’s means of grace – the table set with the sacrament of Holy Communion. It is by God’s grace that our lives are able to be changed, transformed into the likeness of Christ. It is by this grace that we are empowered to do the work of Christ, offering hope to those needing to be lifted up – in body, mind and spirit. May we be truly grateful for what we are about to receive.

Feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick or imprisoned, set at liberty those bound by oppression, this is the ministry Jesus claimed and this is the ministry we are called to. When we reach out to meet the needs of the physical body then we will have opportunity to meet the needs of the spiritual body, and we will have opportunity to transform hearts – from despair to hope, from unrest to peace, from prejudice and hate to love. This change begins in us at the table of the Lord.

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November 29, 2009

“Sign of the Times” Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13 Luke 21: 29- 36

One of the Advent hymns starts:

“Light the Advent Candle one
Now the waiting has begun
We have started on our way
Time to think of Christmas Day…” The Faith We Sing 2090

So what are you thinking? Of everything you have to do? All the preparations? Advent is a time of waiting, some would say for Christmas Day, and in a sense as we recall Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, we do look forward to that day. We are however waiting for Christ to return. “Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again.” We declare this each time we remember him in Holy Communion. We are waiting, as the early church waited, as Christians of all ages have waited…. We are waiting for the second coming of Christ.

There is a tension in this waiting, in this in between time, beginning with all the busyness of the Advent season. We keep ourselves busy, and often times it is with things of the world. I passed several malls as I returned to North Kingstown the day after Thanksgiving. Cars were loaded down with “Black Friday” shoppers and their rewards for getting up and out early. In spite of the heavy winds and rains, people flocked to the stores to begin their quest for just the right gifts. I don’t know whether or not retailers entered into the black, turning a profit, but Americans entered into the annual race for the newest, the biggest, the loudest, supporting our materialistic consumer driven culture.

Our tension, as Christians, is in giving that is meaningful, giving that is pleasing to the person we are giving to and is in keeping with our beliefs, recalling our Savior’s birth as we await his return. How do we share the real message of the season – Christ has come and is coming again?

The Gospel reminds us of the end times. We can look to the sign of the times and get caught up in anticipating the end times – when Jesus is expected. It is the antithesis of the culture driven shopping, but I’m not sure this is very productive. Another gospel tells us Jesus is going to come like a thief in the night. Or we could take a lesson from Paul as he wrote to the church at Thessalonica. This community was not exactly gracious in receiving Paul, they caused problems for him. The community did not want a Christian presence, and when he left, they followed him to the next town and stirred up trouble for him. Early Christians in Thessalonica suffered persecution. The early church was counter cultural. Paul wrote to them as he waited to be able to return to them. He understood the meaning of waiting. The words he penned were for their encouragement; they were words of love and they reveal the deep prayer life they shared together.

I would like you to think for a moment: Who in this season of waiting could you offer a word of encouragement to? Who do you know that right now may need a word of hope ? Who could you share a prayer with? You say you can’t pray like Paul? Who do you know that might be receptive to an invitation to accompany you to worship? Who might you offer a word of hope? A cup of tea or hot chocolate shared with a friend, over quiet conversation, could be the most meaningful gift for many this holiday season.

Last night as people came together to prepare the church for Advent we talked, ate together, a few even lingered in the sanctuary, enjoying the soft lighting and the quiet music piped over the sound system. The conversation was uplifting; the love and support for one another evident in the fellowship. It seems of all the gifts we can give in the Advent Season the greatest gift is love - our encouragement and prayers reaching out to members who may need a spiritual boost. Advent could be for us a time of nurturing the bonds of friendship and fellowship, especially as we hope for God’s realm to come in its fullness – with justice and peace, God’s shalom.

Many of my friends send cards with the yearly letter, updating me on all the family news. It’s interesting and I’m glad to hear their news, but after about the third letter, I confess they all seem the same. What if in writing our family letters we left room for a personalized word of hope to the person we are writing? What if we offered a prayer or a gift of memory? This what Paul’s letter did, offer a remembrance of their time together. Instead of news, share a word of encouragement through a personalized remembrance that will bring joy and convey a bond you share as believers in Christ.

Periodically there are openings in our lives when we can create shifts - to bring about changes in our relationships. Advent is one of those times, especially as we offer good will. We don’t need the signs spoken of in the gospel, we don’t need a cosmic shift. May we in this season be drawn closer together as we share the good news by our words and by our acts that the world may receive Christ’s hope, joy and love.

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November 25, 2009 - Thanksgiving Eve

Rejoice, Be Glad and Give Thanks, by lay speaker Richard Dunne

Rejoice, Be Glad, and Give Thanks
In each of tonight's scripture readings, the overriding message is one of joyful thanks. In the Psalm reading, David is both praising and thanking God for releasing the Israelite nation from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul encourages his brothers and sisters in the faith to pray gladly with joyful hearts. Paul also advises them to be anxious about nothing because our Lord is near. The Gospel of Luke tells us of the story of 10 men with skin diseases coming before Jesus asking to be cured. All of them are. However, only one of the 10 - a Samaritan - returns to Jesus thanking Him and praising God.

Each of tonight's readings also displays different ways of thanking God. David's psalm calls for the Israelites to worship and praise God for everything as a nation. In other words "corporate worship" as we are now doing tonight. Paul encourages the church in Philippi to be full of joy in spite of being worried or nervous about their particular condition. They are to present their worries and prayers to God full of thanksgiving for all that they have - and what they will receive in return is the peace of God which transcends all understanding. But it is in the Gospel of Luke that we see a singular, individual act of praising and giving thanks to God. The 10 men who had a skin disease did not as a group turn to Jesus and give Him thanks - only one chose to do so. Maybe the other nine men gave thanks later on during Temple worship or amongst other friends or family members. But this one individual took the time to immediately fall at the feet of Jesus for a moment of worship and thanks.

How each of us gives thanks for what we have is as individual and as personal as is our relationship with God, through Jesus. Many of you, like me, give thanks for the everyday things: family, church, co-workers, grandchildren, health, possessions, home, and food. But I would also encourage you to give thanks for waking up each day to the possibilities of serving others whose paths God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit, our Helper places us in. All of us need to be reminded that each day should begin with a prayer of thanks and end with a prayer of thanks. How and where you give thanks is after all up to you and the relationship you have developed with God. But you must give thanks.

   I am reminded of a line from that wonderful hymn that Tom Kenzia, choir director of Christ the King Catholic Church wrote. The line reads like this: "Help me Lord to live each day as though I had no more. Give me strength to take each breath and thank you for my life." That's a pretty simple prayer of thanks. Yet, it is profound in its simplicity.

   Being straightforward and simple in my approach to God is usually the best method for me. I find it hard enough trying to lead a life of gratitude toward God for all that I have, so I try to keep my conversations with God simple and ongoing. With this in mind, here are some of the things I am grateful for:

· A fire in our woodstove on cold, damp days

· My wife Nina, who was God's hand in mine when He saved my life

· The visible presence of God in my life in the form of my children. In spite of the person who I am and the mistakes that I have made, they still love me. If that's not a definitive example of Christ in my life, I don't know what is.

· A warm bed

· A roof over my head

· Enough food in the pantry

· Never being beyond the reach of God's grace

· Enough money to pay the bills - and extra money to give to those in need

· Jesus - for never giving up on me even when I have given Him every reason to

· You - my church family

· My brothers and sisters of the Emmaus/Chrysalis community

· Our pets - both of them( for the time being)

· The next person in my life whom God asks me to serve

   Several years ago, five of my dearest friends who happened to be my co-workers in the middle school where I taught, gave me a birthday gift of daily devotional readings. I use this small book every day in the morning as part of my devotional time with God. I count these people as my friends, give thanks every day for them, and pray for them and their families not just because they love me for who I am, but also because they love me for all that I can be and should be in God's eyes. They love me enough to remind me of what is important in this world and what is not. I am going to take a minute to read an excerpt from this devotional book with hope that each of us will become more aware of the need to give daily, joyful thanks to God for what is important.

(Read Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado)

The choice to give thanks to God is entirely up to each of us. What you give thanks for is between you and God. But if you haven't done so already, take this opportunity tonight to give thanks for all that God has given you. And keep in mind, sometimes the smallest and most obvious things are the ones for which we need to give the most thanks for. Amen.

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November 22, 2009

Nov. 22, 2009 “Give Thanks” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Samuel 23: 1-7 ; Revelation 1: 1-18

These words from Revelation are the beginning of John’s great apocalyptic vision, given to him at Patmos. The revelation began with the letters to the seven churches. Seven is not a literal number, but is considered to be symbolic of completeness or wholeness. Seven spirits surround the throne of God whose first words to us are “grace to you and peace”. In unity with the seven spirits, and with Jesus Christ God’s faithful witness, we are given a message of grace and peace, and the promise of Christ’s return.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega” says the Lord…. “who is and who was and who is to come.” The beginning and the end. From the beginning God has been in covenant with the people of Israel, a covenant extended as Jesus’ ministry spread and grafted in the Gentiles. From the beginning of creation, extended through David, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we are included in this great covenant – we will see Jesus.

We come to worship on this Christ the King Sunday ( the end of the liturgical year) , and we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday, and why not? Are our hearts not filled with gratitude for what God is doing in the coming of Christ? Are our hearts not filled with gratitude that we have been and forever will be recipients of God’s grace and peace? Are our hearts not filled with gratitude at the wonder of all that God has already done for us? And if God has been so generous, so loving, and caring here, how much more will we experience as the reign of Christ comes to fulfillment with all its majesty and glory?

A few years ago I was asked to teach a class on the Book of Revelation, and I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant. Everyone it seemed wanted to jump on board the apocalyptic bandwagon, trying to predict the future, to use Revelation as a lens for knowing the end times. I didn’t want to go there; there were and are so many interpretations; and Revelation is so confusing – what could I possibly have to offer?

What put me at ease were these first words “grace and peace to you from the one who is and who was, and who is to come.” God’s love is given to me in Jesus Christ and for this I am truly thankful. I know that in the time of my greatest need God is with me. It has taken a long time to trust in the promise that God loves me and there is nothing I can do that will change that. And it is the same for you, there is nothing you can do to alter God’s love for you. The message that comes on this Thanksgiving Sunday is that we who believe in Christ Jesus, who desire to follow in his way, can trust in this same promise: in joy or sorrow, in the light of day or the darkness of night, God is with us and will not leave us abandoned. Jesus, who is the first and the last, the fulfillment of all prophecy, born in Bethlehem and born in our hearts, is coming again. He will take us to himself and keep us. It is his desire that we should live forever secure in God’s abundant love and peace. For this blessing I am truly grateful.

In view of this covenant of grace and peace, we might on this Thanksgiving Sunday and in the week to follow, review the many blessings we have, and we have to share. The blessings we have I am convinced are only blessings when they are shared. As we are stewards of our many blessings, they are not intended to be buried, or hidden away. It is in our sharing, when we come face to face, that we are able to see the God who is. God is in us and between us, over us, and around us, below and beside us. God in Christ is in the connection we have between and among us.

Each Thanksgiving it is our family custom to go around the table and say something for which we are truly thankful, and I suspect this year we will have a little more difficult time with my sisters recent death, but I know we can still hold to on to the promise that even in the time of naming we will be blessed as Christ will be with us, and it will be a holt time, a sacred time. Where Christ is, there is God, and where God is there is blessing.

For what are you truly thankful? Where is it you find Christ? How is it that Christ makes his appearing in your life? And what are you doing in response to Christ’s presence? For many we do name our blessings, and then we dig into the feast – the turkey, the cranberry sauce, or whatever else is on the table. There is a greater feast, a banquet that awaits us with Christ. The seven spirit surrounding the throne are said to represent the gifts of the spirit – humility, kindness, patience, goodness, love, joy and peace. (Ephesians 4) As we go out and give of ourselves, sharing these gifts we come face to face with Christ in our community.

Serving Christ in the food pantry, sharing Christ in prayer and mutual support, sharing Christ in serving a hot meal, sharing Christ by our witness in the schools, by our patience and humility in difficult times of service; these are where we experience even greater joy.

I would remiss if I did not thank God for all of you. These last weeks have been difficult, but I have felt your love and your prayers. I believe my sister did too. The prayer shawls that were knit, the card, and your presence, have been a blessing to me, and I thank you.

Now I would bid you to carry that same love to neighbors in our community that they too may be experience God’s grace and peace through this body of believers. And may you truly be blessed this Thanksgiving.

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November 15, 2009

SECURITY IN GOD

By Lay Speaker Cibby Gardiner

I’m sure you all remember the comic book character in the Charles Schultz’ Peanuts strip called Linus with his blanket. Whenever Snoopy tries to sneak up and steal his blanket, Linus holds on for dear life. He's not going to let go of his security and comfort. As a child, I remember having a security “blanket” of sorts It was a captain’s hat. I wore it whenever I could…….always to bed at night and after school and Saturdays. I have an old black and white picture of me, sound asleep with my battered old captain’s hat on. And when I got older, I still kept it by my bed. There was something very comforting about that old hat. Regardless of our ages, we still hold on to our security blankets. We need something to anchor our lives to, to give us stability and security: There are all sorts of grown-up security blankets that we hold on to for dear life, to give us a sense of stability and certainty and comfort in an ever changing and often dangerous and threatening world. We tend to need our Family, A familiar routine we follow every day, Bank accounts, investments, pension programs for financial security, Good health and physical fitness, friends. We all need someone who will take us “under their wings” like a mother hen does to her chicks; someone who will protect us against dangers and to stand by us when we feel vulnerable or weak; someone who we don’t have to prove ourselves to and who accepts us warts and all. I know, for me, my friends are a wonderful sense of comfort and give me a very secure feeling……..but they can’t be the kind of friend that Jesus is to me. He makes me feel totally safe. Like that mother hen, God is willing to cover me under his protective, wonderful wings. Good news! Under those wings there is room for everyone!

I think that what most of us immediately think of when we hear the word SECURITY. Is Social Security. In Feb. I will be 62 and can start to collect so In December I plan to fill out the paperwork. I’ve worked since I was 16 and have paid into the system for all these years. The security of knowing that I will receive a check every month for the rest of my life is very comforting. It will allow me to be able to give and help out more freely and with less stress on our home budget.

People spend a lot of time, money, and energy trying to find some anchor, some security, for their lives. We keep trying to control our lives and our future. We keep trying to play God by wanting to make the world and the things around us work the way we think it should. But sooner or later we discover, sometimes tragically, that the ultimate answers in life, the security and safety we long for, simply cannot be found in the “things” we cling to. The answer to life is beyond us, beyond anything in this world we hold on to. The answer is God.

In the Gospel reading this morning we heard of the widow who gave up to God all she had to live on. She gave up any sense of security she had to buy food, clothing and all the other things necessary for her to live that day and the next and the next.….In God’s eyes, she gave more than all the others put together, even though hers was the smallest amount. It’s doubtful that anyone today is going to put a check in the offering plate in the amount of all the owned. It would be wonderful, but doubtful. The world just doesn’t think or work like that today. Is it because we don’t have enough faith that somehow our needs will be met if we gave up everything, or we don’t want to be uncomfortable? I don’t know the answer but I do know that that widow didn’t hesitate giving up whatever comfort or security she had. God was more important to her than her own needs. . The value of the gift meant nothing, but the spirit in which the gift was given meant everything to Jesus. We know she was rewarded for her generosity with the greatest gift of all…. God’s promise of eternal life. Talk about security!!!!

Throughout the Bible, God has promised us His protection. However, He does not guarantee to cover our foolishness when we put ourselves into potentially wrong or dangerous situations. We can’t tempt or blatantly disobey God and expect Him to rescue us, unless, in His compassion He shows us mercy.

Paul wrote “that in all things God works for good” and to me, that is a statement of faith. There are many times when we will not see the good. We may have to accept the fact that our definition of good is not always what God, in His divine wisdom and infinite understanding calls” good”, . We may not see it until that final day when our eyes will be opened and all of the troubling and nagging questions will finally be answered. I often slap my forehead and do the old “I should have had a V-8” routine when I talk about getting to heaven and finally understanding it all! It doesn’t make sense now but it will when we get there! Won't that be a wonderful day when we will finally be able to say, "Ah! Now I see! Now I understand!"

Don’t take what Paul said as a Get out of Jail Free Card….. to believe that in all things God works for good is not a reason to slide into some sort of lazy non-action that says, "Well, whatever will be will be”, or “it will all end up good in the end. So what can I do, anyway?" Yes, God's will will be done in the end, but in that end, are we going to be seen as being participants, living in harmony with His will, or is God's will going to be accomplished in spite of us?

Meanwhile, are we living in peace with what God wants for us? Or are we fighting against it by our actions or by our inactivity? This means that if you're unemployed, you don't sit around waiting for God to give you a job, but you go out looking, you fill out applications, you get additional training, whatever it takes …..And you trust God that good will come. If you don’t feel well, you don’t just say a few prayers and hope God cures you, you also go to the Drs. or a clinic for tests or medicines. And when a hurricane or other disaster hits that leaves thousands homeless, you don't sit back and say "God will take care of them. It will all work out for good." No, it means digging into your pocket book and helping that “good” to happen, or volunteering your time and energy in bringing relief to those who suffer, like Dick and so many volunteers before him, did a few weeks ago. Sometimes God's good will is accomplished through people like you and me.

In the same way, you help your sense of security by helping God…. you study for tests, you try to eat a well balanced diet and get regular exercise, you drive safely, you help the poor, you strive for justice, you work for peace, you protect the environment, you minister to the suffering, you witness, you try to do everything in your power and wisdom to be one of God's agents in bringing about His goodness in this world. But ultimately, we live by faith and not by sight. We continue to see and experience all sorts of evil, suffering, and death around us and within us.

Unfortunately there are many times, there are many circumstances, where we simply do not really believe that all things work together for good. Many times we wonder why bad things happen. Why God didn’t protect us and keep us safe.

Like At a funeral home, a loved one is there lying in the casket. We don't know what to say, but sooner or later someone always will say, "Well, God must have wanted another angel in heaven.” Or “We have to accept God's will.” Or “This will all work out for good somehow." What are we saying that God did this to this person? That the death of this person is God's will? That somehow the tragic death will bring “good” into our lives. It may, in time. It certainly isn’t saying that the person who died wasn’t “good’ in God’s eyes. No, that person was good. Their not being here in physical form is what is bad!

There's no doubt about it….. Bad things happen in our world….. Bad things happen in our lives. And when they do, we need to have faith that God will be with us and will keep us safe and secure.

.Look at Ruth widowed at a young age, destitute and in a strange land with a mother-in-law no less! Sounds bad doesn’t it? But Ruth and Naomi put their trust in God and with His grace they found the security they needed. Things worked out for them. In one of the verses in the book of Ruth, Naomi said to Ruth: Shall I not seek security for you? Naomi knew that Ruth could best be taken care of if she was married, so she suggested that she appeal to Boaz to marry her. He was a close in-law. In those days, for a woman, marriage was one of the few means of security one could have. The Hebrew word for security is the same word for rest and the word rest gives us a feeling of being settled, established, having confidence. Ruth gleaned the fields so she could feed Naomi and herself, but this didn’t give her enough security. She needed to feel assurance that she had a place among Naomi’s people. That is the “rest” Naomi wants for her…to have certainty in her future, no more doubt or needing…she wanted Ruth to have a safe place to call home and a family to take care of her. This security is the fundamental issue that we see over and over in the Bible….…..hear again what Naomi said “Shall I not seek REST for you that all may be well with you?’

The only thing that can give us security and assurance of God’s blessing and eternal life is to find the REST that there is in God. Jesus himself uses that word when He speaks to the people “Come, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” He is saying; I will make you SECURE. The kind of security He is talking about is the kind that washes away all our burdens and fears of the past, a security, a rest that is full of assurance, peace and pardon. The peace that Jesus gives us passes all understanding because it comes with the promise of eternal security, REST, for anyone who trusts and believes in Him.

Yes, sometimes things that happen just don't make any sense at all.

Sometimes we hurt and grieve and suffer, and we don't know why. We don’t see the good. We feel lost and hurt and angry. We ask why didn’t God protect us from this? Isn’t He supposed to be a kind, loving, all-powerful God? Yes….and He is all those things. The problem isn’t with God…it’s with us! We think we know what is best and when things should happen ……but we really don’t……... we are not God. Whatever happens may not make sense to us, they may seem mysterious, difficult and even painful, but they are not ours to question. We live under the protective hand of a sovereign King who adores us, and knows that we will hurt and cry and be angry, but, in the end, all that will be forgotten…..and He shall wipe away every tear, every hurt, there will be no more hunger or thirst and we will dwell in His house forever.

Life seems to be like a needlepoint, or a quilt. If you look at it from the back side, all you see is a confusing jumble of knots and threads and colors. It seems chaotic, without form or rhyme or reason. But if you look at it from the other side, from the right side, it all comes together into a beautiful masterpiece of color, design, and purpose. In our humanness, in our limited vision and perspective, we see life from the back side. We don't always see what God's hand is designing and creating. But one of these days we will. And when that day comes, we, along with Ruth, Naomi and the widow in The Book of Mark, will be able to say without doubt or hesitation:

We know that all things work together for good for those who love and trust God and because of that, we will be safe and secure forever.

God has told us in Job 11:18,19 You will be secure, because there is hope, you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid.

We can trust what God says to us. Over and over He has promised us that He will protect us and keep us secure.

That promise is our anchor in this troubling and confusing world. That promise is what gives us light when things seem so dark and bad. That promise is our security, our comfort, our hope.

Thanks be to God!

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November 8, 2009

Love the “You”

by Elaine Roffo, lay speaker

Most of you know me but just in case you don’t I am Elaine Marcia “Pinky” Roffo. I am a local lay speaker in this church. When Pastor Lori learned about her sister’s illness, each of the lay speakers of this church volunteered to cover a Sunday if Pastor Lori could not make it. Today was my Sunday and as you can see, I am here doing my best to bring the word of the Lord to you.

The focus for this week is “love thy enemy as you would love yourself”.

We sing a hymn called “The Summons” that has a verse that sums up my thoughts on love. It is Verse 4 and it goes like this. Will you hide the “You” you hide if I but call your name? Will you “quell “ the fear inside and never be the same.

What a thought provoking verse. How can you love your enemy as yourself if you don’t love yourself? Why do you hide the “you”? Are you like me, afraid to let “you” out? Afraid that the people will not like “you” That you will embarrass yourself and say something foolish. That you won’t be dressed correctly or you will sing too loud and out of key.

Guess what?? None of this matters to God. Reverend Garland reminds us to pray for ourselves because we are a precious child of God.

God loves us!!!! The soul within us. He doesn’t care what we are wearing. He doesn’t care if we sing off key. He is thankful that we our here, listening to his words and hopefully carrying them out to the world around us.

I have been reading a 31 day devotional guide titled “Seeing yourself through God’s eyes by June Hunt.

The reading for Day 3 is from Isaiah 43:4 “you are precious and honored in my sight, and … I love you.” What a gift. As you see yourself through God’s eyes know that you are of great value to him and He desires the very best for you. Knowing that God considers you precious should give you great comfort. You must be valuable to others if you are already precious to God. You just need to get beyond the fear within and go out and be the person that God already knows you are.

But, not only can you see yourself through God’s eyes but you can also see your enemies through his eyes. Hopefully you can see through the reason you consider them your enemy and see that they are also “precious” to God. With your new found release from fear you might be able to make them your friend.

The reading for Day 24 is from Ephesians 2:10 “We are…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. As a child of God, do you realize God has already prepared a meaningful work for you to do? And it doesn’t have to be something “big.” Remember, the smallest kindness or deed will not go unnoticed by God (Luke 21:3). God has made it possible for you to do precious work in the world, no matter how small it is. But don’t feel insignificant if no one notices the first time that you reach out. Remember what Matthew 25:40 says. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me. And don’t give up. Maybe the next time someone will notice and realize because of your kindness they also are precious to God and can love themselves a little better and know God’s love.

Just as Ruth’s love for Naomi brought her to a distant land, where she knew no one. She was able to find love again. God’s love can do this to you. It can remove the burdens from our hearts and set us free.

Once you love yourself, then you can start to love your enemy. Maybe you can’t love him but you can at least try to forgive him.

Remember the words of the introit today.

Don’t give up. Someone really loves you

Don’t give up. Someone really cares

Don’t give up. Someone really loves you

And that someone is the Lord

Sing it with me. Don’t be afraid

Amen.

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November 1, 2009

“Feast, Freedom, and Faithfulness” Rev. Lori Eldredge

All Saints Sunday

Isaiah 25: 6-9 Revelation 21: 1-6a John 11: 32-44

Last night the children were out, dressed up in costumes , and either trick or treating for candy or for UNICEF. Halloween as we call it grew out of All Souls Eve, and today is All Saints Sunday. People are often surprised that we have this day in the protestant church, believing that remembering the saints is somehow catholic. Well it is if you consider the word ‘catholic’ as meaning universal. So you might wonder, just what saints do we have? Who are the saints?

Well saints, as we understand them in the protestant church, are not canonized as in the Roman Catholic Church. But we do honor and remember all those who have gone before us in faith. They are humble men and women that have risen above their individual situations, adversities and personal failings, to please God. They do the work of God helping people to know Jesus Christ; they help people to know God as they witness to their faith in their work and in their speech. Saints encourage and build up the people of God. Look at the saints around you….

We celebrate communion today, remembering our communion with all the saints living and dead, rejoicing in the feast God has prepared for us. Today’s communion is a joyous occasion, looking forward to that day when we will celebrate face to face with God and the saints not only with bread and juice but with a feast and with new wine. We celebrate looking forward to the day when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, removing all sorrow and disappointment, and destroying death.

Feast - Even before Isaiah prophesized, the psalmist had told of this promise.

God has prepared a feast for us - it is a common theme in the Bible. In the 23^rd Psalm we hear the Psalmist say, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

There are a lot of people who feast regularly, those who are rich, those who are famous, but many people go to bed hungry. They are hungry either because of where they were born, or because of their income, or their race, and there are many other reasons. The feast that God has promised everyone will enjoy! All of God’s people will be included.

Freedom – There is freedom in this vision from Isaiah; and it’s carried right through to Revelation. The freedom will be enjoyed in a new heaven and a new earth. … no more weeping, no more sorrow because “God will dwell among us”. Rather than simply being citizens of North Kingstown, or Exeter, or some other place, we are citizens of heaven, of the City of God.

When I think of this freedom, I have to ask myself what keeps me from enjoying that freedom now. Is it fear? Is it a lack of trust? Is it just not knowing? It’s probably all three.

What I sometimes forget, is that ultimately it doesn’t matter, because I’m included in the family of God, I’m included with the saints… and so are you. We are included , set free from all our earthly fears, our divisions and exclusions, when we are baptized in Christ. We are given new life. Death cannot bind us: as Jesus raised Lazarus, Jesus raises us.

We come to the feast because we belong to Christ; our question should be who has been left out? Can we come to the table content because of our freedom when others are still eating crumbs from under the table? Our community of faith celebrates an open table – meaning that not only is everyone free to approach this table who knows the Lord or desires to know him, but that we have a responsibility to make sure no one is forgotten, that no one is excluded for whatever reason. As we extend the table to those who are home bound or hospital bound, we are to extend the Lord’s Table to all who are bound in any form that they may be set free in Christ.

Faithfulness- When we extend the table, when we invite those who are suffering, who are hungry, who are bound by sin, we are faithful, because in extending the Table we are offering Christ. We are offering hope. We’re not called to be perfect, but we are called to be faithful. I want to believe that the rich young man will be at the feast, along with the King David. I want to believe that the woman caught in adultery will be present along with the man possessed by demons. I know they will be at the feast because God is not willing for anyone to be excluded.

We know the rich young man went away sad; we aren’t told the end of the story. To live in faith means to live believing in that which we have not seen; living with hope and expectation. This is what we offer in Christ – the hope of salvation, the expectation of living with God, in God’s presence, and with all the saints that have gone before us, that live with us now, and will be in the future.

During our communion you will be given the opportunity to lift up the names of those saints who have gone before us. I will lift up those from our congregation who have died in the past year and after I have named them, you may speak the names of those you want to remember aloud.

God rejoices as we grow in faith! As we grow as the saints of God. Come to the feast!

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October 25, 2009

“Restored: Body and Soul” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Job 42: 1-6, 10-17 Mark 10: 46-52

Have you ever wanted to cry out to God? Something stops you, you hesitate, you think “God is too busy to hear my prayers”… be assured God is always more ready to hear our prayers than we are too pray. Whether Job, or Bartimaeus, or any one of us, God wants to hear us and be in a relationship with us. It is God’s desire that we would open ourselves to the transforming power of God’s grace, to the gospel of grace given in Jesus Christ. It is God’s desire that we would be renewed, transformed, into his likeness.

Juxtaposing the story of Bartimaeus with the story of Job, it’s clear that God, while deeply concerned for the poor, is not indifferent to those who have wealth when they are faithful. Job had a strong faith. He thought he knew God, and enjoyed prosperity; however, like many people his experience was second hand. When Job experienced a reversal of fortune, he wanted a direct relationship with God, a conversation with God to have it out with him, to lay everything on the table, yet, as he came to understand his own limitations, and entered into the presence of God his entire life was changed and he was restored. Job didn’t receive a direct answer to the questions raised and neither do we. Is misfortune always a punishment of God? Is it punishment at all? Why does God allow horrible things to happen to good people? Why does God allow the suffering of the innocent? Why does God even allow evil to exist? Where does evil come from? Job, received something so much better…God’s presence. He said, “Now my eye has seen you.” This is no small thing….he saw God and lived.

And Bartimaeus, having once enjoyed sight, had lost it. He and Job were at opposite ends of the economic spectrum. While Job enjoyed prosperity, Bartimaeus was a beggar. He had to beg for what little he had; he had to depend on family and friends for charity. He lost his sight, but not his faith and in crying out to “The Son of David” received healing of sight. He could see again. As Job was restored, Bartimaeus was restored, so are all those who call out to God. When the faithful call out, we get the attention we seek from the very God who loves us and wants to transform us. And its right here I have to place a very big ‘CAUTION’ sign. Remember how Job was restored? He receiveddouble, and with mor eresponsibility; and Bartimaeus while told to go his way, turned and followed Jesus.

What we see in Job, and what we see in Bartimaeus is something we do not always see in the world today, and I would add in the church throughout the ages. Too often when we have approached God it is with a spirit of entitlement. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have it right! We deserve the best God has to offer. We also know that God forgives, God exercises mercy. But the very thing God allowed with Satan, God does not allow with us. We are not to ‘toy’ with God. Our access to God is to be with humility. With Job and Bartimaeus, we witness humility before God, a recognition that we are merely human and God’s knowledge is so much greater than ours.

Have you ever crafted something? A piece of needlepoint, a quilt, maybe a circuit board, a weaving?

The Divine Weaver

My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors,
He works it steadily.

Sometimes he weaves sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget he sees the upper,
And I, the underside.

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skilful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern he has planned.

Author Unknown

Do we need to know everything? Why do we lose a job, or suffer with mental health? Why does one family suffer from the abuse alcoholism and another from the devastation of cancer? I want to know why my sister has cancer. Why has she had to struggle all her life? Why when after all these years, when finally she has been able to reconcile with her beautiful daughter does she have to suffer this horrible death? It’s a struggle between head and heart, between knowing and feeling, between knowing and trusting.

To know the answers, to be able to understand from God’s perspective, life would make so much more sense; but I also believe it would also detract from life’s learning curve, so to speak. Would we experience life the same? Would we experience relationships within our Christian community in the same way? Or with God? Do we need to know everything? Isn’t it enough to know God? As a new creation in Christ, my centered self [to borrow from psychology] is in Christ. It is only as we draw close to God in Christ, as we seek Christ in a close fellowship of believers that we can make sense, find peace in the midst of life’s harsh realities.

Both Job and Bartimaeus, called out to God. Through conversation with God, through prayer, our lives can be restored. With lives centered in prayer, we can draw close to God and be renewed according to God’s Spirit. Prayer can change everything… and send us in new directions, as it did with Bartimaeus. Jesus told Bartimaeus to go his own way, yet Bartimaeus followed Jesus. Answered prayer can lead us in so many new directions, some dangerous.

The church throughout the ages has experienced renewal. Today is Reformation Sunday, the Sunday we remember Martin Luther calling not for separation from the Catholic church but for its reformation. Nailing 95 thesis to the church door at Wittenberg was a call to renew the church, to restore it to a more God centered church, to see again its call to mission and ministry of making the kingdom of God a reality on earth in the present age, not simply some future hope. Martin Luther was calling the church back to its roots. When his eyes were opened to the corruption of the church he took a dangerous path, leading to his own exile and to the founding of the protestant reformation. One biographer wrote, “ Martin Luther was an earthy man who enjoyed his beer, and was bold and often totally without tact in the blunt truth he vehemently preached. While this offended many, it endeared him all the more to other[s]”. Luther wrote : "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign." [Letter 99.13, To Philipp Melanchthon, 1 August 1521.]

If we are to be renewed, our trust in Christ must be stronger than all the evils of this world regardless of their origin.

Martin Luther’s last written words were, "Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles... We are beggars: this is true."

Like Bartimaeus we are all beggars..… and Jesus is waiting for each one of us to call out to him that we may be lifted before God in Christ’s redemptive love.

Let us pray:

O God, when we open our lives to you, you change our lives by your grace. We pray for all who suffer today. Hold us in your love, take our fears and griefs, and when we don’t understand or can’t make sense of life’s events remind us again of your mercy and compassion; of the power of redemption and deliverance through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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October 18, 2009

Laity Sunday. The sermon for this week consisted of several church members witnessing to their ministries at North Kingstown UMC. Story and Photos

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October 11, 2009 Sermon The Cost of Discipleship

Job 23: 1-9, 16-17

Mark 10: 17-31

I confess that as many times as I have read this passage from Mark I’ve never noticed that in the midst of the promise of the blessings we would receive in following Jesus are two particular words. Listen again, “ Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the good news , who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. “ Did you hear them?

In the midst of the discussion on entering the kingdom of God, Jesus tells his disciples there will be persecution. Being a disciple comes with difficult times. It’s not a message we want to hear. Following Jesus is not always easy.

This message was set in the midst of several lessons: follow the ten commandments, sell what you own, give to the poor, lay up your treasures in heaven, put the needs of others before your own – for “the first will be last, and the last will be first.” (10:31) “ It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”(10:25)

The cost of discipleship is high. It varies for each one of us. For Jesus it was suffering death on the cross; and each of the disciples also suffered in death. Stephen was stoned, Peter hung upside down on a cross as he felt unworthy to suffer the same death as Jesus. Others meat a similar end or were beheaded. John is said to be the only disciple that may have had a peaceful death, but not before escaping persecution and sentencing to Patmos.

It may be that I noticed the words “with persecutions” because the gospel is set in the course of readings with Job. Poor Job – turning to the left and to the right God was absent from him. “I cannot see him.” (23:16) He says he is terrified. Have you ever been terrified? Have you ever felt the absence of God? When we have had the blessing of Christ in our lives, when we have known the sweetness of God’s grace, how horrible to face life alone!

The cost of discipleship comes at a very high price!

This would be a great Sunday to preach on financial stewardship! Giving that the church is in the process of discerning its future and planning for the 2010 operating budget. It would be a great time to say give it all to God, you can’t take it with you! It would be a great lesson to illustrate the importance of long term planning - not for life on this earth, but for eternity with God.

I’m not preaching any of those sermons today because I believe the message is so much greater. Job decried God’s absence. Even Christ on the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Was this a cry because God had abandoned him also? Let me answer my own question quickly and emphatically, NO! I believe Jesus was calling to mind the words of Psalm 22, which begins with those very same words and continues an accounting of God’s presence with him throughout all his years. It is a back and forth call and response, of trouble and rescue. Listen:

All who see me mock me… what did those who saw Jesus carry the cross do? And then - commit your cause to the Lord, let him deliver me.

And later….Many bulls encircle me… for dogs are all around me…they divide my clothes among themselves and for my clothing they cast lots… Do you remember what the guards were doing?

And still later ... from you comes my praise in the great congregation (25) for the dominion belongs to the Lord (28)..

God did not abandon Job. God did not abandon Jesus. And God did not abandon the disciples! They witnessed the resurrection. Not only do the gospel accounts tell us this, but we can also figure out for ourselves. Would any man or woman die for something they did not believe in?!? The disciples witnessed the resurrection of Jesus and were commissioned to tell the world…. You and me, and every other living soul, that we might be disciples of Jesus, too.

Being a disciple, being a Christian is not about being respectable. The rich man was respectable…. Even Paul was respectable before his experience on the road to Damascus, but it was not enough. He had riches, he had security; he was morally respectable – but it wasn’t enough. There’s a great video series with Tony Campollo asking the question on how much is enough…. Calling us to great simplicity and responsibility in using our resources. Jesus was calling the rich man to leave his money behind and follow him; leave the money behind and move from passive respectability to active service and righteousness. Our security is not in the dollars in our wallets, it is in trusting Jesus with our lives, trusting Jesus with our security.

If our hearts desire is to have eternal live with Jesus, eternal life with God, then why not start now?!

Have you heard of the organization “Hate Busters”? It was started by a man named Ed Casteen, a 55 year old sociology professor at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mississippi. He has a passion for combating hate and prejudice. His organization, Hate Busters, throws a 3 day event called the Human Family Reunion. Hundreds of people come together from a variety of cultures. With this he also sponsors a 100 mile bike hike. Notice I said ‘hike’, not race. I should tell you , Ed Casteen , since 1981 has been afflicted with multiple sclerosis. On one of his bike hikes he came up with an audacious idea: he would bike across the country and raise the consciousness of people concerning this devastating disease. His wife was concerned this would drain their family finances. He told her, “No it won’t” He said, “I won’t spend a penny. I’ll ask people for help.” He traveled 5,126 miles in 105 days and relied on the kindness of strangers. Over 500 God loving people helped him out, with only 5 turning him away. He also, by the way, raised over $10,000 for MS research. This trip taught him something Jesus practiced in his ministry: it taught him the main component of his philosophy of social change, that concept being audacious asking.

Ed made a statement, that is important to understanding today’s gospel: A lot of people take it as a sign of weakness if they ask for help, but” he said, “I feel most powerful when I depend totally on others.” [Parade magazine, October 20,1991] The rich man couldn’t even begin to understand parting with his wealth because he thought it would make him weak. He didn’t realize how strong he could become relying on Jesus.

It’s a lesson for the church today, when so many hold on tight to either money, or possessions, or pride, or even some imagined status and power. Jesus audaciously tells us to let it all go! Jesus audaciously asks us to trust in him, come follow me. Amen.

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October 4, 2009 -- "Integrity" by The Rev. Lori Eldredge --

October 4, 2009 World Communion Sunday

Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Mark 10: 2-12

Integrity

Today is World Communion Sunday when we celebrate the Lord’s feast with Christians around the world. Not every church serves communion the first Sunday of each month, they do share our great privilege; and many serve it more often. Today as the earth rotates on its axis Holy Communion will be celebrated every hour of the day and on every continent. It is a feast that brings Christians of every color, nationality, language, gender, age, ability together with one common understanding: Jesus is the provider of the table, Jesus is Lord, our redeemer and our salvation. Jesus has claimed us as his own and because he has done so we are sisters and brothers with all humanity in the family of God. Here at Christ’s table we are forgiven and we are blessed to receive this Holy Feast.

I know we are forgiven, each one of us, but there are times when I approach the table and wonder how it is that I am so blessed to be able to partake of the bread and the cup. And today’s scripture really focuses my thoughts: am I worthy of this meal? Am I able to stand as a person of integrity and eat of the bread and drink of the cup?

Job was quite a guy. He was a wealthy man, and a man of integrity. He was blessed with a large family, and to try to prove a point Satan put him to the test. It is easy to love God when things are going well, Satan proffers, but what happens when the times are tough? Do we abandon our claim of grace, do we neglect giving thanks and praise to God? When we are experiencing success we may be tempted to think our success is of our own doing, and then blame failure or hard times on God. As Christians are we people of integrity? Are we, in hard times and in the good times, able to discern the work that God is doing in our lives, and let nothing separate us from that work, that God may bring to completion the good work begun in each one of us?

When we experience trials in our lives, are we able to see them as experiences helpful to the building of our character, or necessary to the strengthening of our faith, or even an opportunity to practice humility and grace? Sometimes there is so much garbage going on in our lives it’s difficult to see God at work through all the muck and the mire, as one psalmist phrased it.

The gospel of Mark gives us a short list of adversities we may encounter, beginning with or relationships. What’s going on in your relationships with friends? With family? What’s happening in your marriage? At the start we stand before God and ask for God’s blessing: Are you daily giving thanks to God for the blessing you have received in your wife or in your husband? Marriage is a spiritual blessing. This is not to say all marriages are a blessing, marriages fall apart every day. Yet, where two people stand in God’s grace, accepting their own human limitations and accepting God’s forgiveness, there may yet be healing. What prevents God’s blessing in your marriage? It may be that we believe that marriage is simply a relationship between two humans, and I think that’s where all the arguments pro and con on gay marriage break down. Marriage is about a relationship among two humans and God. Even when our relationships break we are still able to claim God’s grace and experience healing and wholeness. Brokenness may be experienced in adversity, in divorce: however, it is not a permanent condition. God will heal us and bless us. God is merciful.

We may experience adversity in unemployment, or in homelessness. You can name other difficulties: maybe barrenness. It may not carry the same weight as in the days of the early Hebrews, but it carries the same pain for those whose desire is to have a child.

As Jesus reframed the Pharisees question ( you might have noticed he didn’t answer the question he was asked) we might do well to reframe the way we look at the trials, the losses , the pain we experience. As a people of God, we may well ask ourselves what God is preparing us for, what God is doing with our lives to help us grow, to help us move on to greater freedom and joy. It’s not easy. I speak from experience.

God does not toy with us as a cat plays with a mouse. God is merciful, God is working in our lives to give us strength, to increase our faith, to redeem us, to bring us to wholeness of spirit, and God will not leave us alone. As Jesus was not abandoned in death, but given new life, so we are given new life in the family of God. As Jesus was redeemed from death on the cross, we are being redeemed in this life. As we come to communion this morning, may be come thanking God that we are able to approach this table of grace, and that we are able like the little children to come in a spirit of wonder and delight; That we may be a people of integrity: trusting Jesus to deliver us and trusting the Holy Spirit to work within us ‘that we may know God’s ways, that we may walk in God’s paths, that we may be lead in truth’ [Psalm 25:4] Amen.

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September 27, 2009 “Seasoning of Character” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Mark 9: 9:38-50

People are often surprised when they read the book of Esther that there is no mention of God. Why would this book have been included in the Old Testament canon? Not only is there no mention of God, there’s no mention of prayer or worship. The book of Esther is completely non-theological. The book of Esther does, however, contain the story of how a wave of anti-Semitism was terminated by Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai. The story was set in ancient Persia when Ahasaures was King. It was during the Diaspora or time when Jews had been taken into captivity.

When Hamaan had plotted to kill all of the Jews, and it was discovered, Esther had to devise a plan that she might approach the throne and speak on behalf of the Jewish people. She knew she couldn’t go to the king unless summoned. Queen Vashti, Esther’s predecessor, had been sent away by the king. Vashti had stood up to her husband, and been banished forever. Esther needed to find a way to approach King Ahasaures such that this would not happen again.

Esther had been chosen for her great beauty; she was also a person of great character. This was a test of her character. She honored the law of the court in regards to how and when she might approach the king, her husband. Loyal to her family heritage, her Jewish background, she bravely executed a plan that could have had devastating consequences for her. Instead, as the story unfolds it is Hamaan, the kings evil advisor, who is ordered to hang on the gallows – the very gallows he had constructed to have Mordecai hung on.

In one sense the story demonstrates that the harm we may wish on others is the very harm we will fall into ourselves when we are motivated by hatred and revenge. Esther was motivated by love and loyalty. She and Mordecai discovered an injustice, a wrong, and tried to right it.

Personalities aside, the book of Esther in part addresses a question of how we access authority. We in this country do not have the same restraints as ancient Persia. Not too many of us have the opportunity to feast with the president, but we do have access to our congressmen and women, and to our senators. And even though we may not dine with the president, we do have access to the White House through various communications. The greater issue then is how do we address injustice?

In Esther, if I may borrow from another title, we have an original profile in courage. How do we right the wrongs we see in our society and how do we champion those without voice? The Jewish people had no voice in ancient Persia, except in a queen who was marginalized herself. This great beauty used her charms in a power structure that excluded women, and won for her people security and safety. Her ‘charms’, were not her feminine wiles but wisdom, strength, and courage to act in community, or solidarity, with the people threatened with injustice. I would suggest these are the same “gifts” that we are all given to use to right the wrongs we see in our society today. In thinking about Esther’s character, and righting a wrong, I kept getting this picture of Cervantes, Don Quixote de la Mancha - this knight errant with his companion Sancho Panza, setting out in search of adventures “to right the unrightable wrong”. Could one man, could one woman, display such courage, and strength so as to make a difference in the world? As a people of God, believers in Jesus Christ, I think we know the answer. Yes, one person can when we stand in solidarity.

The story of Esther may not mention God, but God was present with her, preparing her in her life’s journey for “such a time as this”. I believe that each one of us is given that moment in time when we choose to be the person of character God has given us the ability to be. To be a hero or heroine, we need not stand alone, but stand in solidarity with the community we are placed within.

In our gospel reading from Mark, Jesus spoke about being the salt tried by fire. We are of the earth. Salt when used sparingly enhances the flavor of a food, when used in too great a quantity can destroy the dish. We are to be the salt of the earth, so that the ‘goodness’ God declared at the beginning may be maximized. In solidarity with those suffering injustice we are to give of ourselves unselfishly for the work of releasing those suffering oppression in whatever form we may find it.

We don’t have to look very far to see who is suffering oppression in the world. We don’t have to look very far to see those who are suffering in Rhode Island. New England has very small states… Those suffering in Providence are our neighbors. To be salt as Jesus spoke of it was to sacrifice. Esther put her life up as sacrifice for her people. As Christians we are called to do the same…. To live sacrificially, courageously.

Where do you see injustice? Where do you see need in our community? How do you see the North Kingstown United Methodist community of believers responding? People within this congregation have a vision for what that response might be. We already house the food pantry, but how do we help those who may not have a way to prepare the food to have a hot meal? How do we help the homeless? Those without electricity? Those who may not even have a can opener?

Three years ago, amid an influx of refugees into this country from the Sudan and the Congo, our eyes were opened to the reality of what it means to be community. It is not enough simply to provide housing, or even food. We have to stand with people to learn their need because it may not be voiced – or understood. When a family arrived from the Sudan, they literally set their house on fire. It was winter and they were cold. When people in the Sudan are cold they build a fire in the center of their living space. They did the same here, on a concrete floor in the basement. But sparks flew and although caught before the house was destroyed, It served as a wake-up call to the community. No one had told them how to turn the heat on. Another family was given food. We took them three boxes packed solidly with a lot of cans, and while we supplied them with housing and food, we forgot the can opener. I forgot the can opener. It wasn’t until we were visiting one day about lunch time and we watched the 13 year old open a can with a knife the size of a machete that we realized our mistake.

We are called to be in solidarity, to make this sacrifice of ourselves that we might be the kingdom of God.

This week, let us be the community in solidarity with those who are oppressed.

Let us a look to see what needs exist that we might be the community of Christ, the salt of the earth. Amen.

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September 20, 2009 “The Way of the Just” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Psalm 1; James 3: 13 – 4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9: 30 -37

There are mornings when I have woken up early to see a meteor shower, or catch a lunar eclipse. It is always beautiful to watch, but an added benefit and wonderful to experience is stillness, or quiet of a still sleeping world It is true: silence is golden… but sometimes it is also incriminating…. as in pleading the fifth. I would imagine that as Jesus asked what the disciples were arguing about, they were ashamed to admit they were debating who among them was the greatest.

It might be helpful to understand that when Jesus was talking to his disciples in this passage in Mark, he was coming down from the mountain after the transfiguration. Those debating were Peter, John and James – from this we can understand the nature of James teachings.

Who would be first or second or even third didn’t seem to be a point of contention as far as Jesus was concerned. As he responded, what was important was how they would be first or second or third. To illustrate the point he took a little child into his arms and said, “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me...”

When was the last time you had a play date with a small child? We don’t just spend time with children…. today, it’s a play date! And what fun! I had an opportunity to play with my great niece this summer. Ashlyn first wanted to play with her dolls which meant dressing all of them, and then putting them down on the floor for a nap, each with their own “blanket.” Now, I thought I knew how to dress baby dolls, but was very quickly told I had put the wrong clothes on each of the first two dolls. When I reached into a regular sized laundry basket to pull out another outfit, she told me that one wasn’t right either, and then she said to me, “It’s okay Aunt Lori, I will help you.” “Help” meant she would guide me as I dressed the next 27 dolls. When they were all placed on the rug, “asleep”, about 30 all together, she decided to play policeman. I would be a police man while she and her brother rode their bicycles. I would hold up my hand and tell her when to stop or yield if Paul was in harm’s way. She said, “I don’t want to run over him.” He, by the way, is two and learning the intricacies of riding a tricycle. I didn’t do that quite right either… it had to do with how I was holding my arms. She provided instruction. Playing with a two or three or four year old child teaches one to be humble.

As Jesus instructed his disciples he wanted them to be humble. As they argued about greatness, Jesus instructed them that to be truly great one first had to be humble and use their power to open their arms to the powerless, the least of humanity. They were to identify with the needs of the poor. Jesus redefined greatness – it wasn’t based on success or failure, winning or losing, or even achieving or falling short of our goals. Can we so radically identify with the least of humanity, that we become like them?

And having identified with the least, Jesus said we are to serve people. It’s then we truly know their needs.

You may have heard the newest public relations spots on television for the United Methodist Church… rethink church. What if “church” were not a noun, but an action verb? Rethinking church, or discipleship, is something the church has been called to do in every century, in an ever changing world. Martin Luther, John and Charles Wesley, have all challenged us to rethink church. It is not about a new theology, but ecclesiology: what is God calling the church to be in this new century?

If we are to be the greatest in the kingdom, we need to tackle the issues of this generation and be advocates for the least among us. Identifying with the least means we need to understand firsthand the problems we face: health care is a major problem for the poor and the middle class. How can we the church align ourselves with the uninsured? How can we serve those maybe insured but paying high premiums and out of pocket expenses? How can we make sure necessary tests are available and done when the need is present, not only for the rich but for those who have nothing? How can we, the church, be a voice in the health care debate? The church has always been a leading voice in humanitarian issues: a brief survey would show we were in the forefront of child labor reform, of education and the establishment of schools, of unions and fair wages, of ending slavery and ending war, and of equal rights of women.

James would argue it is only as we work for justice that we will experience the peace that Christ has promised. Our faith has to move from the personal acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, to being Christ’s presence, working out our faith that justice and peace would prevail upon the earth.

A year ago we planted a peace pole in front of our church. It wasn’t placed there as something nice to look at but to be a reminder that we are to be at work promoting peace in our conversation and in our daily witness, work, and action.

This is the way of the just.

This is the way to peace. Amen

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Sunday September 13, 2009

Spiritual Gifts

By The Rev. Lori Eldredge

September 13, 2009 “Gift Discovery Sunday” Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11

Romans 12: 1-13

What are your spiritual gifts? Paul in writing to the church at Corinth and Rome took time to address how these new Christians were to live individually and as a collective body in Christ. Each person was called by God to use their gifts for the common good, and so are we. It is only by God’s grace that we have been given gifts, Paul wrote in chapter Ephesians 4 these are given by grace and they are given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the full measure of the full stature of Christ.” (11-12)

So I ask again, what are your gifts? The diversity that we are given is a blessing! This congregation is so blessed with the gifts God has given for us to use. We may not recognize the gift we have, but it’s up to each one of us to name and to claim the gift, and then use it! If we don’t recognize them , we will fail to use them, and as a consequence miss out on the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our lives. What passion has God placed in your heart? What lifts your spirit and encourages you in your work for the furthering of God’s kingdom? And how do you know it is from God?

Let me mention as a sidebar or teaser, the past several weeks I have been preparing a study on the prophets we’ll be starting on Monday evening next week. I found it interesting that these prophets could be divided into four categories. The first are the false prophets. They touted whatever cause was to their benefit, or the benefit of those who were paying their salary. False prophets were for hire. The second category were the ecstatic prophets – they worked themselves up into a frenzy and chanted and had all kinds of hoopla, some fainted, some swooned, some engaged in unintelligible utterances. A third category, diviners, used divination – not like Harry Potter - they manipulated lots or other devices and claimed to be able to ‘read’ the will of the gods. And then there were the true prophets – those who had to speak, who were compelled by God to speak and act. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”, is the way they introduced God’s prophetic word. The same as Jesus did when he opened the scroll of Isaiah at the beginning of hid ministry. They lived morally and ethically, according to that same word. They could stand with integrity before God. When we use our spiritual gifts, we can stand with these prophets, without excuse, before God in Christ who is our maker, sustainer, and, our redeemer.

Are you using your spiritual gifts? Do you know what your gifts are? This morning we are going to work together to discover what gifts we may have. ‘Gifts’ is in the plural because God may have given you more than one – a primary gift and a secondary gift.

As we are rooted in God, we need to dig deep, to get in touch with our spiritual selves. When you came in this morning you were given a Spiritual gifts inventory and piece of paper that looks a little like a quiz. Take a look at the questions and think about your answer:

What is your earliest memory of church?

What is your earliest memory of being a Christian?

What age were you when you consciously made a decision to follow Christ?

Remember a time when God has been the most real for you?

These questions take us back to our spiritual roots and help us to see when the Spirit began to move with us. When we are using our gifts, God is present at work within us and in the congregation. When we are living out of our gifts, we are committing ourselves to God, to each other, and to the greater kingdom and we are committed to living in a covenant relationship. And here’s a scary thought: when we use our gifts we open ourselves up to the unexpected, because God molds us into a new creative self, and brings us to a new maturity in Christ. And we open ourselves to joy!

Patricia Brown in her book Spirit Gifts wrote that when we live in God’s will, using our gifts we know what to put first in our lives. We don’t have to “swim against the tide” , in fact we have a great freedom. When we’re living according to God’s will we are free to say ‘yes’ and we are free to say ‘no’. Burnout is negligible; it’s interesting she noted that anger and resentment are warning signs of being overextended. Symptoms of frantic activity, insomnia, and an out of control calendar are all signals leading to burnout. On the other hand, when we are living according to God’s will, properly using our gifts, our self-esteem, our joy, our spirits are lifted.

When we are using our gifts, it should be clear in our spiritual growth as we look at eight factors: (you will see these on the bottom of your paper)

Prayer –we relate to God – everything begins with prayer. Are you praying everyday? Are you spending time with God?

Bible Study – we learn God’s will for us. God speaks to us through the word, we grow in our knowledge of Christ.

Preaching- we hear God speaking to us . This isn’t about the preacher in the pulpit, this is about hearing the word that God gives to us through a variety of sources.

Worship – we energize our personal commitments. We gather to worship to go out renewed to serve.

Fellowship – we receive God’s love through others. It’s not enough to gather for a cup of coffee after worship, we need to surround ourselves with a network of Christian support throughout the week. We have opportunities with the men’s fish fry, or UMW breakfasts. A group of ladies meet on Thursday at noon for lunch, they offer mutual support to one another.

Stewardship – we give to help with God’s work in the world – not just giving of our money, but also the when we see a person who is hungry, we offer a meal. Or as Jesus told when we have two cloaks or coats and we see a sister or brother in need we give them one of ours. We share all the blessings gven by God,

Service - we give God’s love to others – maybe we offer a ride to a neighbor, take them shopping or to the doctor, or bring them to church. We reach out and share God’s wonderful grace that we have already been blessed with. It’s not for us alone.

Evangelism – we help others find God. I know it’s a word we don’t like to speak, but it is the heart o our ministry – to tell others about the love and joy and excitement we experience in the church, in the body of Christ. We go out and find those seeking and searching, who need a word of hope, and we tell them about Christ, we tell them about the hope and the strength we have found in Christ’s fellowship.

This morning in our fellowship hall along with ice cream, you will find many areas in which you are invited to use your spiritual gifts. We have said we want the church to grow, we want to welcome people into the presence of God – if we are going to do this then we need to begin to unlock the hidden power God has placed within us in the Holy Spirit. You know that joy of opening gifts on Christmas morning…. The surprise in each package…. That is the joy, the surprise we will feel when we are living according to the spirit. Discover your gift and let the evidence of your gift be the first fruit of your offering to God! Amen.

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September 6, 2009 “Labor in Love” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8 -9, 22- 23; Mark 7: 24 -37

Have you ever felt the need to get away? To go somewhere away from the masses of people, the demands of life, and simply take time for rest? Jesus had one to Tyre and Sidon for just this purpose. It was a Gentile area… he didn’t know anyone and nobody knew him, or so he thought. He had perceived his ministry as one to the Hebrews so this was for him an opportunity for rest; so it came as a surprise that he was immediately recognized by the Syrophoenician woman. She begged Jesus to cure her daughter. He responded with one of the more curious statements of the Bible, “It’s not fair to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”

It has disturbed me over the years that Jesus would make such a statement, it is not very Christ like to label another and especially with such a derogatory term. But this is my 20^th -21^st century understanding. I’ve also wondered if this in fact is not the beginning of his understanding of himself as the Bread of Life.[John 9]

Scholars and commentaries have tried to soften our harsh understanding, explaining the ‘children’ were the Hebrew people, while the term ‘dog’ was intended more as ‘puppy’ , a term of endearment. Others have suggested it was a test of faith.

I suppose that anyone being labeled with a name other than the one they choose for themselves would consider it a test of faith, especially as they thought about how they might respond. The woman responded by challenging Jesus, “Yes, Lord, and even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” She demonstrated a great presence of mind, and humility, and in doing so received the blessin she had first requested – Jesus healed her daughter.

After this he returned to Galilee, where he healed a man who was deaf and with a speech impediment. We know he healed lepers, the lame, and he raised the dead. Jesus ministered to the marginalized, and to those who had fallen into despair but had not yet given up hope. They saw hope in Jesus, and many like the Syropheonician woman – who lay outside his ‘sphere-of-influence” claimed it for themselves. When they did Jesus responded in love. He labored in love.

This almost implies that with our faith there is a certain quid-pro-quo: the good will be rewarded, the rest will suffer the consequences of whatever it is they think or have done. But this doesn’t address the marginalized; moral categories cannot account for the status of the majority of people today.

Jesus labored among the poor, and he was equally concerned with those who were rich, as well as those at the center of Jewish society. When I read his responses to the Pharisees and Sadducees I wonder if there isn’t a level of frustration with them…. These are the people who should have known God’s truth. They should have known the truth of his teaching, but they were caught up in the politics of the day and the cultural norms of the rich and therefore challenged him. The fact is Jesus, God, cares for both the rich and the poor. When the moral categories fail, it is then that God takes up the cause of outcast, the victim, those marginalized – and God calls us to take up this work of justice. There is room for the rich in God’s kingdom. When we share with the less fortunate, when we build schools, libraries, hospitals, other churches; when we establish foundations that will serve the public … there is room for everyone.

From the Proverbs we know God is not impressed with anything we own, it’s all belongs to God in the first place. But God does note our character. Are we generous in sharing with those in need? To whom much is given, much is required in return.”

Proverbs talks about sharing with those at the city gates…. Might the city gates be analogous to city street corners, or vacant buildings, or under bridges? Where do the marginalized of North Kingstown and Providence live in our society?

Regardless of where they gather, the church is called to offer hope and help to the afflicted. This is foundational to our ministry, if we minister in the name of Jesus Christ.

I believe the dilemma is in how we offer that hope. Isn’t that the crux of the healthcare debate? Before Jesus did anything he took time to listen to the expressed needs of the people. Vital mission is extending ourselves to meet the expressed needs of others, whether in part or in full. As we contemplate a mission trip it’s important to understand the need of those we serve.

In 1993 a group from the church I interned in caravanned from Succasunna, New Jersey to Niota, Illinois. Twenty eight of us split into three teams. We had anticipated working in three homes, helping people to get their lives back to some sort of normalcy before winter set in. When we arrived there one team was asked to help in a house, putting down flooring in the kitchen and restoring a ceiling in a bathroom. A second team was to help with sheet rocking the interior of a private business marina. And the third team was asked to help restore the interior of the town tavern. Any red flags going up? They did for us.

As we settled in the first night, we discussed the three locations. The house we agreed was no problem; the other two were more problematic. Shouldn’t there be insurance money for the rebuilding of the marina? Well, yes. Shouldn’t we work first to restore housing, to give people a place to live? Yes, that sounds reasonable; however, the marina was the largest employer in the community and unless the marina was restored quickly to give the town an influx of money the town would lose its major business, jobs would be lost, and people wouldn’t be able to afford to live in their homes. Okay, that seemed reasonable, but a tavern?

As United Methodists don’t we have rules about alcohol and drinking? Yes, we do, but this tavern in Niota was the center of all community life. It was a tavern in the truest sense that meals were served, deals were done, and even local government met there to discuss town affairs. The town needed a gathering place, a place to serve meals, and a central work depot. We went to work the next morning at all three sites.

Scripture tells us Jesus understood the deaf man, he heard the silence of the deaf man’s world. Jesus understood even with his speech impediment. How do we come to understand others? If we attempt first to label a person, we may never understand them. Labeling another says more about us, and our prejudices, than it does about them. If we listen, if we “hear them into speech”, as Nelle Morton professor at Drew University termed it, then we might just have a an opportunity to make a difference as we labor in love with them.

Who is it that we need “to hear into speech” , to offer hope here in North Kingstown? Who is it that we might labor beside to offer the peace of Christ? Many of those same persons using the food pantry have other needs: affordable day care, affordable housing; assisted living for those who are older- not only do our elderly have to leave their homes, they have to leave their hometown. Some of our residents are unseen – they live in the woods. They have no shelter.

The story is told of a young man sitting on the steps of a church, and Jesus asks him, “Why don’t you go in?” “Because I’m gay, they won’t let me in.” Jesus Responds, “That’s okay,” Jesus says. “I’ve been trying to get in for years.” When we draw a circle on whom we will serve, we often times exclude others – and that’s not okay.

We need to ask ourselves how we can draw the circle wider to be inclusive of all those Jesus would have us serve. What justice ministries can we take out of the church and into the neighborhoods to be a witness to Jesus? This morning we come invited to an open table – to receive the Bread of Life.

We do not come eating the crumbs under the table, but the finest Bread given for everyone – Jesus Christ. As we commune together let us remember and pray for those we have overlooked, those who have gone unseen, and to those waiting for justice. Amen.

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August 30, 2009 -- A Love Song, by The Rev. Lori Eldredge

August 30, 2009 “A Love Song” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Song of Solomon 2: 8-13, James 1: 17-27
⁸The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
⁹My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
¹⁰My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
¹¹for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
¹²The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
¹³The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

Most mornings when I look out over the congregation I see something wonderful…. couples sitting together, in love with one another – you can see it in their eyes as they look at each other, as they speak to one another.… sometimes I think they are even holding hands. Love is a wonderful thing, especially as two people give their lives to one another, not because of the raging hormones of youth, but out of a deep commitment that looks down the years and is willing to go the distance, leaping over all the obstacles, all the difficulties they may encounter; like the gazelle in Solomon’s song. It is a love that has a great resiliency. It is love that accepts the other exactly for who they are, today and tomorrow and into the distant future. This love is a mature love; it is a love that says, ‘You are my dearest and greatest companion, my lover, and friend.”

In the Song of Solomon the meaning of love unfolds on many levels—literal, spiritual, and allegorical—it is a beautiful and inspirational piece of poetry, in two voices – bride and of bridegroom. It’s disappointing that this is the only selection from the Song of Solomon to appear in our three year lectionary cycle. As I work with couples planning their weddings I invite them to read this on their wedding night. Some reading the book may find it scandalous that it is even in the Bible as it s descriptive language may be too risqué. We wouldn’t be the first to feel this way. Rabbis of the first century debated its inclusion in the Jewish cannon. Some thought The Song was more of a drinking song, a bar room song if you will, not biblical text. According to the Mishnah [Yadayim 3:5] Rabbi Akiba, 50 -135 C.E., declared, "The whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies." He settled the argument.

At its most basic and literal level, the Song of Solomon is a celebration of human love - a love marked by commitment, and steeped in fidelity and mutuality, loyalty and support one for the other. Each hopes and sets their course to the look to the good and hopes for the very best for the other, respecting the other and employing all the attributes Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 13, “ … Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” and Romans 12:10, “love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”

There’s a lot that I could say about how love has come to be distorted in our Western society. Do these sound familiar? “The man is the head of the household”, or “the wife is to be submissive.” When these reminders fail, we see too many relationships dissolve into situations that end in court with either a wife who is battered, suicidal, or murdered. There are battered husbands too, but domestic violence is far more prevalent against women. Domestic violence is never acceptable. Physical, emotional abuse is never acceptable. Domestic violence is about power, its about control , often times anger, none of which are ever to be included in the foundation of a home. Let me be clear and read you the full text from which these proof texts and misrepresentations come: “For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.” Ephesians 5:23 Christ would never abuse his church. “Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. [5:24] “In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” [5:28] Listen to Paul in Colossians 3:19, “Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.” Let me repeat, “Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.” There’s one other verse I want to add as it fits into the context of this brief discussion, “Fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” [Ephesians 6.4]

When properly stated love is commitment steeped in fidelity and mutuality, a seamless garment of affection and honor one for the other. Can you feel the love?

In this Song of Solomon both the bride and bridegroom speak, and it should be noted that in no other book of the Bible is a woman’s voice heard to such an extent; she speaks more than the man. One commentary states the woman is neither shy, nor submissive. Ellen Davies in her commentary on the text argued the text is a reversal of the garden of Eden; the curses are reversed. “In a reversal of the punishment of Eve in Genesis 3:16 ("your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you"), the woman in the Song declares, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me."[Ellen F Davies, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Son of Songs, West Minister, John Knox Press]. It gives new understanding to the text.

The Song of Songs is certainly a celebration of human love but to leave it there would cause us to miss greater possibilities. Early Jewish and Christian interpreters found far more to celebrate in the text. Jewish rabbis interpreted the Song as expressing the mutual love of God for Israel, and Christian interpretations, beginning with Origen (185-254 C.E.) stated that although the Song might be modeled on the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh’s daughter, underneath was the allegory of Christ as the groom and the bride as the church, and the mutual love shared between them. It is a language we use still today.

The union of Christ and his church [the bride] is a mystical union. Thomas Watson, a Puritan 1620 – 1686] wrote, “ It is hard to show how the soul is united to the body, and how Christ is united to the soul. But though this union is spiritual, it is real.” [internet]

Sallie MacFague, professor of theology at Vanderbilt, in her book the Models of God, wrote of God as lover. Is this descriptive of your relationship for God?

The Song of Songs invites us to be in love with God. It transcends any earthly interpretation and places our existence at God’s heart. “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Can you hear the invitation? Leave all your earthly troubles, and steep yourself in the love of God. Forget what the world says but know that I am God, and I love you.

God wants nothing more than for us to take delight in the gifts and the promises that are offered to us daily. God has created us and God cares for us, walking with us lifting our souls, lifting our spirits. It is God who is continually calling us from the time of conception – calling us to enter into the grace that has been poured out for us in Jesus Christ.

I invite you this morning to consider God’s love for you and your love for God. Is there anything that has come between you and God? Is there any indifference within you for God’s love? Maybe your relationship with God or with others has regressed, or is static, maybe even frozen? Paul wrote that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord ” [Romans 8:39]. Sinners we come and as sinners God accepts us, not that we should continue in sin, but that we might be cleansed by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. Christ is our hope, our only hope. As James wrote, “every good and perfect gift is from above.” If you have not accepted Christ into your heart, or if you have lapsed in your faith, I invite you to take this opportunity now to ask Christ into your heart, to put God again at the center of your being.

Let us pray:

Holy God, you love us so much. You have sent Christ to be our Savior that we might forever be united with you. Fill us with your Spirit that we might draw closer to you and you may be found in us. We thank you for the gift of love, for the gift of loving relationships and family. Come again and renew us, restore us, redeem us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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August 23, 2009 “Facing Life’s Challenges” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Ephesians 6: 10-20; John 6: 56-69

It was the late summer of 1963, school had already begun. I was on a back road, in an isolated area, delivering newspapers on my route. At a remote intersection a young man in a green panel truck stopped me to ask for directions. I think that’s the last totally trusting thing I’ve ever done. Since that time my whole life has been lived with a strong dose of distrust, skepticism , and fear; because in that moment I was attacked and molested. Later, to add to this humiliation, at school, the state police with the principal came to my classroom and asked me to step out to talk with them. Every one of my classmates knew I was in some sort of trouble, or at least they thought they did. I did leave the classroom, and was later taken to a local police station where I was asked to identify a man they believed matched the description I had given them. In 1963 they didn’t have reflective windows we could look through in a separate room… I had to meet him face to face. At 11 I was scared to death; but had no choice.

What made it worse is that when I arrived I could see they had the wrong man, and I told them so. I remember him being as frightened as I was. The police urged me to reconsider, but I knew he wasn’t the right man. The man was older, ad lighter hair and complexion. They weren’t happy when they had to let him go. A few weeks later while with my mother and brother driving on some of those same back roads, I saw the man who attacked me again. I slid down into the seat to hide, if I hid he couldn’t see me. My brother noticed and so did my mother. She asked and I told her. The next time I went to the police station I identified him as the attacker, and for some unknown reason to me, they let him go. Later I was told he was strongly urged to leave the state and not come back.

I’d like you to take a minute and think about the biggest challenge you have ever experienced. And, think about the greatest challenge you are facing currently? Maybe it’s a test, maybe a new job or an interview; maybe it’s a health issue, or the care of a loved one. Maybe its an addiction, or your personal finances. We face challenges everyday and whatever the challenge is, at the moment we are facing it, it may seem overwhelming. We face challenges at all levels of life, deeply personal , as a church family , and as a nation. Some challenges we face as a global village…..

Where were you November 21st of 1963? The nation was in shock, as President Kennedy was assassinated; or September 11, 2001. I’m not sure what you experienced in the days following both events but once when the shock lifted I was angry, I was outraged. But almost 40 years apart there was a difference - I prayed. Sitting on the Memorial Bridge in Springfield, Massachusetts in traffic that had come to a halt, I prayed. What seemed like a page from a script from Orson Wells became a God moment.

It seemed like the forces of good and evil had collided, and disbelief, despair, fear, had replaced all reason and good sense. But there was a calm in the midst of all that was happening. There had too have been because I remember singing “Kyrie, Kyrie,Elison” Lord have mercy…. We had just sung it in choir. In English it means, “Lord have mercy.”

Reading this passage from Ephesians reminds me of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and the battle as they were locked in combat.

“May the force be with you…..” With light sabers and helmets, breastplates and capes, whatever is used, whatever is worn is there to protect the one engaged in battle.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, but I seem to remember a moment when Darth Vader and Luke are locked in battle, Luke had to find a strength within himself, something far greater than he had ever known before to be victorious in battle. Darth Vader had invited Luke to join him….. but Luke resisting evil, denied being anything like him. Sometimes though, the battle is so personal, we become a lot like our enemy.

There was a cartoon, a social and political satire, set in the Okefenokee Swamp, Pogo. Created by Walt Kelly, one cartoon square had Pogo – a possum - walking through the swamp with another character who says, “The beauty of the forest primeval gets me in the heart.” Pogo responds, “It gets me in the feet.” In the next box they are sitting, looking across a vast array of manmade garbage. The friend says, “It’s hard walking on this stuff” Pogo says, “Yes, son, We have met the enemy and he is us.” It was for Earth day 1971.

There is a swamp in Episode V of the Star Wars series. Yoda was training Luke to be a jedi warrior; later deeper in the swamp Luke sees himself in the helmet of Darth Vader.

There are real enemies we need to be aware of. The greatest enemy is the one we contend with deep within ourselves. Our fear can paralyze us, make us vulnerable to whatever forces are “out there”. Have you watched the news this week? I’ve watched some relative to the healthcare debates . They are not debate. They have been emotional attacks. Debate engages in reason, citations of facts and findings and yes, persuasive argument as in the art of debate. Health care may be the single biggest issue facing us, and we become our own worst enemy when we put a human face on the argument: the reform is not about any one human being, but about a system that fails 46 million Americans. 46 million, that’s how many are uninsured or underinsured. Universal health care at its core means a health care plan that is accessible for all of our nations residents. But we would rather tear each other apart, call each other names, make personal judgments against another, than care for them. This is not how God calls us to life. The USA Today asked the question: Would God back a universal health plan? You won’t find a direct answer in the scripture, but God does tell us not to turn our away from the care of the needy. If you don’t have Medicaid or Medicare, or you have a pre-existing condition, you may never get the care you need and what you do receive may well be sub-standard. The debates will continue, but lets hope they are in the form of true debate, not senseless yelling and attacks based on our own fears.

This is why as Christians Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God: the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, whatever shoes for your feet that will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [ 13ff]

These were the metaphors those hearing Paul understood. The Roman centurion, with his garrison, surrounded the people at Ephesus, the whole eastern region of the Mediterranean. How do we battle the enemy that lies within? What metaphors would we use today? Maybe those from the field of medicine? Is there a pill for the bitterness, the destructive forces within, to discourage wrongful and vengeful attitudes that often afflict us? Maybe a stethoscope that we might truly hear our hearts condition?

Lord have mercy! Please God don’t give to us what we deserve, but in your mercy forgive us our attitudes especially toward those who look exactly like us.

What is your greatest challenge? As disciples we are often challenged by Jesus teachings, as in the gospels. Some were offended by his teachings. Do they offend us? Care for the widows and orphans, feed the hungry, clothe those without a shirt on their back, set those who are oppressed at liberty, visit those in prison, be hospitable to the stranger…. Jesus answered them, “It is the Spirit that gives life,…”

Part of our Christian life and discipline is to practice good physical, spiritual, and emotional health: to get proper rest, nutrition, and exercise; to avoid undo stress. The challenge of putting on the armor of God is that we may take care of ourselves, that we may then take care of others.

As we are called upon to face not only our personal challenges, but the world’s challenges, we are to respond with words and actions reflective of a life of faith: to live with confidence that God will instruct us, to live with joy and hope that others may see Christ in us, to be kind and compassionate that others will not turn away but be open to the good news we share.

Let our armor be that which includes a clean heart, a pure heart, a heart steeped in the word of God. May no day too stressful and no night is too dark, or too long Let us put on the full armor of God, Amen.

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August 16, 2009 “Place the Big Rocks First” Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 Kings 2: 10-12, 3: 3-14

I want to say at the very beginning we have skipped a portion of the scripture, especially in the second chapter. You have been spared the bloodshed as Solomon began his reign, you have been spared Solomon’s darker side as he consolidated his kingdom. Solomon, like David his father, was a very complex character.

“David’s kingdom was established into Solomon’s hands” [v.12] “Established”…. Do you feel established in your life? Established connotes a certain level of comfort, or security. But you know what happens when we get too comfortable….we forget to pay attention to the details, to the things of life that make a difference, with a positive regard for the things of God. With Solomon, as with David, there is both goodness and shame. Solomon was a wheeler and dealer in the politics of his time, and he was able to establish Israel as a leading power but there also many acts that would eventually lead to his destruction. There were matters of high taxes, forced labor, and 300 wives- they were all legal, “marriages alliances”, along with the 600 concubines –but they brought with them foreign gods.

Scripture tells us we cannot serve two masters. It is impossible to follow God and serve anything or anyone else as well. Solomon knew this. Maybe the years in his father’s court he had taught him that if we try to follow conflicting authorities or values , they will eventually collide. When God came to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what I should give you,” Solomon chose wisely…. Listen to the condensed response:

7…I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,…. ⁹Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’

Solomon chose wisdom. Wisdom isn’t just knowing the right thing to do, it’s knowing it and choosing it, doing it. It is foolishness to know it and not do it, and it is how we get ourselves in trouble!

Let me relate to you a story:

There was a man who was to deliver a lecture to a group of high-powered over achievers. He began with a quiz." He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full ?"

Everyone in the group said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really ?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full ?"

By this time the group was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good !" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full ?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good !" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One overachiever raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it !"

The speaker replied with an emphatic, ""No, that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all." [internet]

What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life ? A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones ? Your education, your finances ? A cause? Hopefully, your faith!

This is my 16^th year of ministry and for the first 10 or 12 I didn’t always take a day off. I would work right through them, some vacations too. I know that to take care of myself I have to put a big “X” through Mondays on my calendar. How many of you have missed a son’s baseball game because of a call from your boss? Or missed a daughter’s birthday party because you had too work overtime on a project the boss needed yesterday? I’m sure we’ve all missed something. We need to put the BIG ROCKS in first or we'll never get them in at all…

As Christians, the rock in our lives is Jesus. Christ is the rock, the cornerstone of the church, and we have been given to practice discipleship: making disciples, telling the story the good news, to practice love, to read and study the Bible. To join with other Christians, our brothers and sisters in holy conversation. Put another way we are to be engaged in conversation that builds the other up, that asks questions such as “How is it with your soul this morning?” That’s was one of the foundational questions asked in the early class meetings, with John Wesley. How is it with your soul, with your spirit? Are you practicing justice? Mercy? Compassion? Have you been in prayer for yourself and for others?

This week we have heard of a great tragedy in North Kingstown, the death of a little girl, allegedly by the hands of her mother? We have also heard of the release of a American from prison in Myanmar for visiting the opposition leader of the regime there; he was writing a book on forgiveness and had had a vision from God he was compelled to deliver. He had acted as he believed God would have him act out of mercy. There is news for sadness and there is news for rejoicing.

We balance the joys, the sorrows, and we have in our lives built up the resources necessary to act against the temptations we face, the frustrations, and sins of the world we may encounter in our daily living. Are we so legalistic we forget compassion? Are we so lax we forget God?

As I travel throughout the state of Rhode Island I love to look at the stone walls. I’ve heard the rocks deposited here in the glacial moraine referred to as the diamonds of Little Rhody. They may well be, because if you study them you see the larger rocks are placed first. The big rocks are our priorities. They make the foundation upon which everything else is built. They are the measure by which we will succeed or fail. And they are the measure of our faithfulness with God. What are the BIG ROCKS in your life?

Augustine wrote “If one is to have true wisdom, it is not enough merely to have a handbook in one’s hand, it is also necessary that a great zeal be kindled in one’s heart.” When we are oriented toward God, we choose the things of God. We cannot serve two masters…. When we do our worlds collide. My prayer this week is that wisdom may be kindled in our hearts, that we may choose rightly the things of God. [Enchiridion] Amen.

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August 9, 2009 “R & R” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33

One of the greatest privileges I have enjoyed during my lifetime is being involved in the lives of my nieces and nephews. For several years during their young loves my younger brother and I shared a house, so that days when he had custody I helped care for the children. I also helped with my sister’s children. We have all been very close. And they were generally well behaved. I believe that in their hearts they wanted to please the adults in their lives and only occasionally, as they were older, did they engage in teenage rebellion.

R & R, for most of us this means rest and recreation, but for today it might better be interpreted ‘rebellion and responsibility’. Absolom had rebelled against his father, King David, and gaining in popularity, incited the troops and ordinary people to follow him. Our reading this morning is really the summation of several chapters, beginning in chapter 13 with the rape of Tamar by her half brother Amnon. Left unpunished by their father, David, Absolom took Tamar into his household and then bided his time for revenge, when he murdered his half -brother to defend his sister’s honor.

Absolom was forced to retreat, away from his father’s anger, but after a while was invited to return by David, with the condition Absolom is not to see his father’s face. For Absolom, this was disgrace and until he was invited back into the household of his father, into his father’s good grace, he lived apart. It did not take long for Absolom to hatch a plan to usurp his father’s throne and authority. Well, the plan unfolds, Absolom took up arms, forcing his father and his troops to flee the city, embarrassing David. In the end Absolom is the loser. He is killed by Joab. But David, too, is the loser, because he has lost his eldest son, whom he loved greatly, and he grieves deeply. There is no peace.

When I taught school, we had a particular team member who would say of our students “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He dealt with the parents a lot. While there was a certain truth in the statement, we always found it difficult as it did nothing to help the situation. Scripture also offers a difficult truth: the sins of one generation will be visited upon another.

Leviticus 26.39:

“And those of you who survive shall languish in the land of your enemies because of their iniquities; also they shall languish because of the iniquities of their ancestors.”

Lamentations of Jeremiah 5.7:

“Our ancestors sinned; they are no more,
and we bear their iniquities.” Again, there was no peace.

It is difficult for us to think that our children should suffer for the sake of our sin. I do not believe God commands it so, but let me ask, who are the primary teachers of our children? You, their parents, the adults to whom they are closest; and what they know they have learned from us. Proverbs 22:6 tells us ‘to train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it”.

Children will learn things we don’t necessarily want them to learn, but core values are learned at home - for the good or not.

Absolom was a favored child, and I think in all likely-hood spoiled, gauged upon the depth of grief his father expresses upon his death. And consider, did David grieve the rape of his daughter? Did David do anything to correct the injustice? Did he even attempt to exercise compassion upon her or try to comfort her, or relieve her distress? Amnon had violated Mosaic law. David did nothing. Why is it David expresses with such depth of feeling, “Would that I had died instead of you, O Absolom, my son, my son.”

As our children grow to adulthood they will make decisions that do not please us. As teenagers and young adults we want them to grow in independence and responsibility, but when they do wrong, what ‘s the expression? We don’t throw them under the bus. Yes, they need too be held responsible, held accountable for their decisions and actions – but we do not abandon them.

As I listen to the voice of David crying out for Absolom, “My son, My son” I hear a foreshadowing of Jesus’ cry from the cross… “My God, My God.” It is not hard to call to mind the grief God must have felt as Jesus endured his trial and death. Can any of us know the depth of grief a parent has for their child whether suffering by their own sin or the sins of others?

David suffered for his own failure to act in the lives of his children. Parenting is the toughest job anyone will ever do. Let me repeat that so our children and youth hear: parenting is the toughest job anyone will ever do. And for those who have chosen or will choose to become parents, its one you can not abdicate when the going gets tough. David did, he hid behind the crown.

We may hide in our jobs, we may hide in a bottle, and in a myriad of other places. When my father wasn’t drinking he was at the shore shellfishing. His hardest days were those he suffered immediately after my bother’s death from an overdose of alcohol and drugs…. My brother was so much like him.

At the heart of David’s story is family relationship gone awry. Did any of you ever rebel against your parents rules? Or did you want to rebel but didn’t? Did any of us ever find the discipline meted out to a brother or sister unfair? I always thought my mother unfair, especially when it came to disciplining my younger sister. My mother said that after four older children she just got tired. I’m not sure David could use that argument.

I am sure though, that whatever the imperfections and iniquities of our ancestors, God waits for each one of us. God is persistent in loving us, and it is only by God’s grace that we are restored to into full relationship with God. David and Absolom’s story reminds me of the prodigal son, or daughter, if you will. My niece was heartbroken the day I told her I was disappointed in her because of a choice she had made. She was devastated. I could not have spoken more stinging words. We all do things we do not want to do, and we don’t always do the things we want to do. God’s love transcends any disappointment or grief we may have or cause; God’s love and forgiveness can heal and transcend all of our broken relationships.

Remember Paul’s words to the Ephesian’s …”in anger do not sin… build each other up….do not grieve the Holy Spirit… be kind, forgiving one another”. Forgive one another.

This morning as we close I would ask you to pray with me:

Loving and Healing God, help us to look into our hearts and into the broken relationships in our lives. Heal us. Help us to put aside any bitterness, any anger; help us to acknowledge not only our humanness but also the humanness of others. No one is perfect except you, O Lord. Lead us to reconciliation with you and with each other ; and into the fullness of joy in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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August 2, 2009 “Overcoming Adversity” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Samuel 11: 26- 12:13a

Ephesians 4: 1-16

“Amazing Grace” is a popular hymn around the world, written by John Newton. It is especially popular among the Native Americans sung to this tune. It is sung with a variety of texts in the native languages, but it is also sung to a variety of tunes around campfires even today. If I sang one or two you might recognize them.

[ “Gilligan’s Island” and “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”]

Mid week, a truck carrying illegal aliens was stopped at the United States-Mexican border. Actually, began as a routine traffic stop, checking trucks for an equipment violation. The border patrol discovered 97 aliens, including children and one pregnant woman, on board. Most were from Mexico and Guatemala. When I first heard the story I was horrified as broadcasters said it was a refrigerator truck and the temperature inside the truck was kept at 34 degrees. Because the truck was stopped quickly, none of the people on board were harmed. Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Arizona said "This is yet another frightening example of the callous disregard human smugglers have for those who entrust their lives to them." [Source: I.C.E. Internet July 30, 2009]

This is one of the better outcomes for people trying to come into the United States. It is reported that between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants live in the United States and the vast majority come from South and Central America. Others have arrived as virtual slaves to their smugglers. It is reminiscent of the slave trade of the 17^th and 18^th centuries as millions of Africans were enslaved and traded throughout the world, if in fact they survived the voyage and the cruelty that awaited them at every stop.

John Newton had been a slave trader and was concerted by the influence of George Whitfield and the Wesleys. He went on to be ordained and a leader in the evangelical wing Church of England. He also vehemently opposed slavery.

Do you know what is written on John Newton’s grave stone? “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”

“But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” The thing John had done had displeased the Lord. David was not in a good place. He may have been king, he may have had 30,000 men under his command, but he had displeased the Lord.

David had committed adultery. Well technically, he hadn’t; but he had caused Bathsheba to commit adultery. It was unlawful for her to be in a sexual relationship with any man other than her husband. David, however, could take as many wives as he wanted – just not another man’s wife. Conceivably (no pun intended) he might have been scouting for an additional wife; but David knew who the woman was, Uriah was one of his chief commanders and an honorable man. But after Bathsheba was known to be pregnant by the king, David began a deception that resulted in Uriah’s death - this is the sin referred to.

David had put himself on a dangerous road. Do you remember how the story began? “It was in the spring when kings go out to war, David remained in Jerusalem.” (2 Sam. 11:1) That’s when the trouble began. David sent his troops out, and then he remained at home. What was he thinking?! He wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

Do you remember the cartoons, someone would start rolling a snowball and then it gets away and starts rolling down hill… it picks up more snow and turns into an avalanche. This is what happened to David. The situation snowballed. When we are not in the right place, life can get pretty messed up, and it can be painful.

What the writer tells us in terms of the geography of the sin, David looking down from his palace, speaks of the high and mighty places we sometimes put ourselves, with our human pride and greed, our sense of entitlement. David had become greedy, he had positioned himself in the wrong place, and he had been caught.

We’ve seen senators and congressmen, and even presidents, in trouble because of extra marital affairs, or corruption, and they’ve lost respect among the voters, and most all forced to resign. Some seem to get re-elected, maybe because no one sees the face of the victim.

Did David think he had gotten away with his deception? Did he not understand he was the victim of his own sin? And that ultimately God was the victim? Ultimately God is the victim of all our sins. If David didn’t understand, it wasn’t for long; however, it was only when David was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin, did David confess.

Paul wrote that we are all sinners, we all go astray. But the question that keeps coming back to my mind, is how do we avoid sin in the first place. How do we position ourselves such that we live the best possible lives we’re able to, humble and righteous before God?

If we want to overcome adversity, if we want to avoid the trouble that is certain to follow, we need to be where God calls us to be in the first place. We need to be involved in the things of God, “living a life worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ.” [Ephesians 4:] John Newton was on board a slave ship; others are on board trucks and boxcars and in all other unimaginable places.

As David discovered our sins are found out, God knows them, and only God in Christ, can redeem them. Nathan afforded David accountability. Are we conducting ourselves in such a way that others want to know Jesus?

The good news is that in Christ we are offered forgiveness, in Christ we are given the Bread of Life. As we come to the table this morning let us ask God to help us, live a life worthy of our calling. And let us ask God to keep our hearts and minds focused on the thins of God that we may be a beacon of love and hope to the world. May God create in us a clean heart and may we know the joy of salvation. Amen.

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July 26, 2009

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21;

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Kneeling Before the Father

By lay speaker Larry Price

How lucky am I? An opportunity to preach about King David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba before a congregation of men, women and children!

When you have the opportunity to preach, you also have the opportunity to make choices on your sermon based on more than one scheduled scripture. On this warm summer Sunday, if you were expecting a steamy sermon on the sins of King David, you’re going to be either disappointed or relieved.

It’s not that I’m a coward—well , maybe a little—but I’ll leave that famous R rated epic story from scripture for someone else to preach about when it comes around again in three years. I will only say that for King David, a larger than life character in the Bible, there ultimately was only one way to deal with the sins of adultery and abuse of power: face it, confess it, and ask for forgiveness. Eventually, that is what David did, as a broken man, asking for the Lord’s forgiveness. No, I will not elaborate on David’s lust today, because I am moved to spend my time talking to you about Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, a remarkable piece of scripture about God’s unlimited power and Christ’s unbounded love. Paul was a wonderfully prolific writer and witness whose scripture continues to touch our hearts.

Ephesus was part of what today is Turkey, so Paul’s ministry was stretching far from his prison cell in Rome, across a geographic vastness. And his words for the Ephesians would touch on the vastness and fullness that is God. Paul wrote, “I kneel before the Father.”

Paul was offering a prayer for the Ephesians with four main points. He prayed that the Spirit of God would strengthen them; That Christ would dwell in their hearts; That they would have the power to comprehend the vastness and fullness of God; And that they would know the breadth and depth of Christ’s unbounded love. Don’t you love Paul? That’s a powerful message in one prayer.

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Prayer is not a gimmick by which we try to charm or coerce God into giving us what we want. Prayer is thanking God for His blessings and a sober-minded acknowledgment of our true situation before the Lord—an admission of our need for His divine help. Prayer opens the channels to God, allowing Him to unleash his blessings in our behalf. God doesn’t always answer our prayers on our time schedule. There may not be an instant answer, no text message that says, “I’ll take care of it.” No, God answers our prayers in His own time, according to His plan. And sometimes it’s difficult to know if God is answering our prayers, because his plan for our lives may be different than ours. But never doubt that the Father is listening to the concerns of His children.

Prayer is powerful. Like many of you, I read the almost daily emails from our shepherding group which asks for prayers for the concerns of a multitude of people, inside and outside our church family. What a wonderful ministry Lynn Cone and all these dedicated shepherds offer. I recall those times when I suffered a loss of a family member and then received prayers and cards from our shepherding group and how those thoughtful expressions of sympathy touched my heart. Those daily prayers cover a vast array of concerns. Our shepherding group prays for people they’ve never even met, but they are joined together as one in the body of Christ to lift up concerns to God. This is the power of prayer.

We recently finished the lay out of the pages for our new church directory and one of the pages I particularly like is called the Power of Prayer. It includes some words about the meaning of prayer, it quotes from Philippians 4:6 which tells us not to be anxious and to surrender our concerns to God, and it has three beautiful photos. One shows the Koziol children, Joshua and Bethany—heads bowed and hands folded—reciting the Lord’s Prayer during Children’s time in a Sunday worship. Their eyes are closed and you really get the feeling in that moment captured by the camera’s lens that those precious children are deeply involved in talking to the Lord. A second photo shows two men from our church praying together during Richard Dunne’s ministry of prayer which he offers after worship each Sunday—a deeply moving snapshot of two men together, heads bowed, talking to God.

The third photo shows Richard praying alone in the sanctuary in a very wide shot revealing the vastness of the empty pews surrounding him as he prays in solitude. I had come to the United Methodist Women’s meeting that day a few months ago to take some photos and noticed Richard was praying in the sanctuary for his good friend Anne Burke while she addressed the United Methodist Women’s group in the fellowship hall. Anne was telling the group about her work that led to a state law requiring education for students on dating violence, following the tragic murder of her daughter by a former boyfriend. Richard was offering his support for his good friend by praying in the sanctuary at the same time. He was so deep in prayer and song, he didn’t notice me taking pictures, until I finally spoke to him when he finished a song. I later told Richard he ought to be in the choir because he has a beautiful singing voice which I don’t think I had ever really heard before.

Prayer is powerful and a beautiful thing to observe—even more powerful when you are actively participating. Richard’s ministry of prayer and presence that he has offered our church family in times of trouble, illness and death contribute greatly to the spiritual health of this church. It is his calling. Never stop. Never stop, my friend.

When we kneel before the Father, when we bow our heads, fold our hands, or just take a moment to talk with God in prayer, we too are asking the Spirit of God to strengthen us and others. We are asking that Christ dwell in our hearts. We are seeking the power to even begin to comprehend the depth and breadth of Christ’s love and the vastness and fullness of God. And we are seeking to know the love of Christ for ourselves and carry that love to others.

Just as a few loaves of bread and two small fish fed the multitude, prayer can offer the spiritual nourishment of Christ’s love. And there is always enough love to go around. In seeking to understand the vastness of God and the immeasurable love of Christ, Paul says we cannot begin to comprehend all of it. No matter what we ask, there is more that God gives us and there is love from Christ that goes far beyond what we can measure. I think we may never fully comprehend it until our lives have passed and we go to our heavenly reward.

Listen again to Paul’s words: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” What a prayer for all of us! What a witness to God’s glory!

Even the disciples didn’t always recognize the fullness of God and the love of Jesus. It took a young boy offering five small loaves and two small fish, to demonstrate it. If Jesus could feed the multitude of 5,000 with five loaves and two small fish, He has more than enough love and food for our spirit—that is the depth and breadth of Christ’s love and that is the vastness and fullness of God. It cannot be limited in loaves and fish. It cannot be measured in feet, yards or miles.

God’s fullness and Christ’s love cannot be calculated on any scale we might imagine, but we have surely felt those forces at work in our own church.

The Lord provided us with visionary people like Eleanor Bourn, Charles Fogg, Malcome and Brian Jenne, Ken and Ida Green, Sam and Vivian Flade—some of the founders of this church who along with others, some of whom are here today, helped build our sanctuary where we worship at 8 AM and our first sanctuary where we worship at 10 on this day. God sustained us through all the difficult times and continues to be with us.

This has been a joyous time as we dream about our future while worshipping here in this church, born of the first dream. It has also been a time of sadness and poignant reflection as we feel the most recent losses of loved ones in this congregation—Sam Flade, a lovable, gentle man with a smiling face who was there at the very beginnings of this church, and Kirk MacGregor who taught us courage every day while facing his cancer.

As a congregation in the body of Christ, we grow as disciples when we respond to the needs of our church family and share the love of Christ. This congregation has always been there to support those in need. We can’t remove the pain, but we can try to offer comfort and help. We can express feelings, or we can just listen and be a presence—and we can pray. Whether preparing meals for the ill, spending time with someone gravely ill, or praying for a need, you have been there for each other in times of need.

We are a church family of so many caring people. Ida Green, a charter member who has served this church for over 40 years and who at the age of 90 still works as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, we are your church family. Mel Benson, whose faith has sustained the heartache of a wife and mother’s family loss and knows firsthand the words to comfort others who suffer loss, we are your church family. Fiona Halstead, who as a young child was helped by this church when she needed a liver transplant, and is now a young woman, we are your church family. For the Dallas family who was there when a child they had never met needed to come to America for heart surgery, we are your church family. For Cibby Gardiner, who helped create our memory garden to honor her mom and others who have passed, we are your church family. For Vivian, Carolyn, Ida, Jessie, Lee, and so many others who bravely go on without a beloved life partner, we are your church family. For our youth group which raised over $10,000 to feed the hungry, we are your church family. For our dedicated Sunday School teachers and for Jacob and all the children who have brought us the joy of learning and laughter, we are your church family. For the many pastors who have inspired us through joyous and troubled times, we will always be your church family. And for our new members who will help sow the seeds of our future, we are your church family. We are the church family of these and so many other good and caring people.

Your work, God’s blessings, and the power of prayer, do make a difference in our lives. When we give, we share the vastness of God’s fullness and Christ’s love. And when we give, we also receive.

One of our lay speakers, Ellen Jacke, a member of this church who amazes us by giving so much of her time and energy to volunteer work inside and outside this church, has a wonderful way of expressing the satisfaction and joy of helping others. She once told me about a friend in need who was reluctant to accept help even though that person always gave so much of herself to others.

Ellen said, “Whenever someone is reluctant to accept help, I tell them, ‘Why would you, someone who knows the inner joy of helping others, deprive others from experiencing that same joy.’” Her message is that you share in God’s fullness and Christ’s love when you give and when you receive.

In the Jewish faith, it was at one time traditional to pray standing up. Paul’s love for Christ made him fall to his knees in prayer in a sacred relationship with Christ: “I kneel before the Father.” It would be easy to dismiss Paul as a romantic poet until we consider here was a once hardened man who persecuted the followers of Christ until the vision of Christ appeared before him along a lonely road and instantly turned his life upside down. From a persecutor of Christ’s followers to a man on his knees in a prison cell in Rome, explaining to fellow Christians that Christ’s love is beyond measure, praying that the spirit of God would strengthen them, and that Christ would dwell in their hearts; praying that they might have the power to comprehend the fullness of God, and praying that they should know the immeasurable love of Christ.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians holds as much meaning for us today as it did so many years ago. Paul’s message is that all of us can be united as one through God’s love in Christ Jesus.

What is your prayer for this church and everyone around you today? We continue to dream of expanding this beautiful church which we love—more members, more classrooms for Sunday School. It will all be wonderful, and with God’s help, it will happen; but as we dream, we also need to hold on to what is the center of our spiritual life—our sacred relationship with God, Christ and with each other.

In this mid-summer of dreams, we worship in our beautiful sanctuary at 8 o’clock and at 10 o’clock, we worship in the fellowship hall once sanctified as our first altar. It doesn’t really matter to me where we worship today or tomorrow. We could be out on the lawn in the hot sun or under a cool rain. It doesn’t really matter, because what’s most important is that we, each and every one of us, are together, and together, we are a caring church united through Jesus Christ. Together with God, we are the church. We are so much more than the wood, bricks and mortar that may surround us on a particular Sunday. Whether we worship at 8 or worship at 10, we are still together, united as one in the body of Christ.

We have felt the joys of babies born, baptized and confirmed; and, seemingly overnight, have seen them grow into young adults and go off to begin their own lives. We have survived the trials of life and death and remain strong as one body because we are a loving family of faith, bound by prayer and blessed by the vastness of God’s power and the immeasurable love of Christ. We have a hallowed history and can thank God and many people for where we are as a church family today. And, friends, we look ahead to an even brighter future.

The American journalist William Allen White once said, “I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.”

I too have seen yesterday and I love today and I am not afraid of tomorrow. I can’t speak for all of us, but as for me, I really believe the greatest years of this church are not behind us, but still lie ahead of us, because of all of you—what you have done, what you do each and every day, and what you will do tomorrow. This is a congregation empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our greatest days as a church are ahead of us because we are joined together by the vastness of God’s power and the immeasurable love of Jesus Christ. My friends, Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is also my prayer for all of us.

Let us pray.

Lord, we pray that this church, founded on a dream and sustained by your love, will continue to flourish, grow and adapt to meet the needs of all your precious children and always be a blessing to you, glorifying Your name. We pray that we will always be part of the body of Christ, that we will never be shy about calling on the Holy Spirit to strengthen all of us and especially those with special concerns, whether they be in this, your house of worship, or people in the world whom we have never met. Father, we pray that your son Jesus Christ will dwell in all our hearts, always. We ask, Lord, that you give us the wisdom to somehow understand and appreciate you’re the vastness and fullness of your power and that we may know the immeasurable love of your son, Jesus Christ. May our prayers open the channels of your blessings and unleash your power to work in our behalf. May our prayers surrender our burdens to You and may we always offer our thanks for the blessings and grace You bestow upon us. To you, our heavenly father, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, and according to your power that is at work within us, we praise your glory in this church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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July 19, 2009

Under Construction, by The Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Samuel 7: 1-14a

This is an exciting chapter in the history of Israel. David is enthroned as king in City of David, and in bringing up the ark to Jerusalem, has consolidated the monarchy and the religious community, making Israel a theocracy. I get mixed messages from scripture though about David: he is a king who can stay home from battle and enter into an illicit relationship with Bathsheba, but he’s also a king who may have had a type A personality. David has “settled in” and now he has to find something new to do… and that ‘thing’ is to build a house for God. God is perceived in the ark and living in a tent and to David this is not satisfactory.

This reminds me of one of the episodes of M.A.S.H., some f you may remember - with Alan Alda as Hawkeye and Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T Potter? In this particular episode the doctors have a serious problem with their patients getting infected. They discover the problem is staph in the operating room, thriving in the wooden floor. The solution is a cement floor.

King David is a little like the medical staff as they set to get their floor, and David proposes a temple. HQ won’t send the cement. The doctors are reminded the ‘M’ in MASH stands for mobile; and David is reminded of how God has journeyed with the Israelites since Abraham – through the desert, across the sea, and in a wilderness. The prophet Nathan is charged by God to tell David that it is not for him to build the temple, but that God instead will build him a house. God’s blessing is to extend to all of David’s descendents. This promise is the Davidic covenant.

Let me say a word about biblical ‘covenants.’ The Davidic covenant stands in a line of covenants, promises initiated by God, and in which God is bound intimately with the welfare of humanity; the original covenant in Genesis ; three are found in Torah, in the law and teachings; the fifth is the covenant with David, and the sixth comes much later in the gospels.

1. 1. The first covenant is the Adamic Covenant – between God and Adam for all humanity.

2. 2. The Noahic or Rainbow covenant - between God and Noah establishing a new beginning for human kind and all of creation after the flood and in which God blesses Noah and his sons.

3. 3. The Abrahamic covenant - between God and Abraham; God promises to build a of Abraham a great nation, thus blessing Abraham and his descendants

4. Mosaic covenant – between God and Israel at Mt Sinai in which the law is given. Many of us think of the law as simply the Ten Commandments; the full text comes in the next book of Torah. Moses at Sinai with the stone tablets made a much better movie than the law given in Deuteronomy.

5. Davidic covenant – establishes David’s lineage as the rightful kings of Judah.

6. This Davidic covenant is important to Christians as it is believed that that it is through the House of David we receive in Jesus Christ , the fifth and final covenant or New Covenant.

Each builds upon the previous covenant, even as the previous covenant remains unchanged. There’s one school of thought that says the law and the prophets were eliminated, that they no longer apply. You might want to think about this the next time to starts to rain!

Understanding the concept of covenant is important; the covenant to Israel is like Christ to the cornerstone of Christianity. In all these covenants humanity is required to make a response to God.

Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David were all to worship God and put God first in their hearts. And as Moses gave the law to the people of Israel their response was to be the same.

Put God first in your heart, in all your going out and coming in,

the law is not abolished.

Put God first in your heart and worship the Living God , Creator of the earth.

Put God first in your heart and teach your children the sacred story

that they may grow in the love and knowledge of God.

Put God first in your heart that you may deal justly with those with whom you

do business,

that you may be compassionate to those who need compassion,

and that you may be merciful to those requiring mercy.

Put God first that we may enjoy the blessings of God, not only for the present but for the future.

God has a way of using our past, of building on our past, to lead us into a brighter future. As the Israelites, including King David, committed sin and rebelled against God we have not lived perfect lives. “Not one is perfect, we have all fallen short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3:15] We have been tempted, sometimes we have failed. Maybe we have indulged in too much alcohol, been prideful or have engaged in ungodly behavior; God has forgiven us when we have repented – when we have turned again to God and not only asked for forgiveness but have also recommitted ourselves to living according to God’s law.

And with David, God also provides time for rest, and time for us to settle into the future God has for us. David may have been a bit restless as he came to kingship – we too may be restless. Like David, we too will find our rest in God. If we ground our lives in God, we will have rest. Grounded in God our anxieties and worries disappear - whether we are in the work place, at home, or even here in church.

God journeys with us beginning at birth and baptism - God lives with us and among us. For those who are still restless God is waiting that we may begin again. My prayer as we close this morning that we may be still long enough to hear what ever word it is that God has for us, that we may claim and live into God’s grace .

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July 12, 2009 “Let’s Dance” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Samuel 6: 1-5, 12b-19, Mark 6: 14-29

How many of you like dancing? A few years ago a friend gave me a magnet that has written on it, “Sing as if no one is listening. Dance as if no one is watching.” I take that to mean just let lose with the joy in singing, with the joy of dance.

When I was at school in West Virginia I had a friend who grew up believing dancing was a sin. It was forbidden, but I’ve always liked dancing, even more so when I discovered dancing in the Bible. However, I’m not a dancer: I’ll admit I’m just a little self-conscious. Every one I’ve ever danced with limps away; it seems I have two left feet.

Last week I told you one of my heroines is Elizabeth the First; another is Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. That lady took up her tambourine and led the people through the Red Sea –dancing [Ex.15:20]. I can imagine her with bells tied onto her ankles and stitched to her headdress, dancing her way before the people in glorious procession. Dancing is mentioned several times in the Bible; and always as an integral part of their Jewish culture. It was a means of celebration, and of glorifying God.

Five of those references are in the New Testament, two in relation to Salome dancing before Herod. She danced to please him – with deception and manipulation involved. Not so with David.

As David danced before the Lord, in his linen ephod, his wife may have thought him vulgar and inappropriate, but not so with God. David had an interesting relationship with God. It didn’t seem to matter what was going on in his life, what he was doing or going through, David always acknowledged the presence of God.

Brining the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem was a strategic move for David, and again looking back it may have served as a literary device for not only setting up the monarchy but creating a theocracy – where the government and the religious leadership are merged into one. The City of David, Jerusalem, becomes not only the center of David’s rule , it is also the center of God’s rule.

I want to back up for just a moment. Did you notice anything about David? As David had gone down to Baale-judah [Kirjith-jearim] to bring the ark up to Jerusalem he saw that Uzzah was killed when he reached out to keep the ark from falling. It was apparently balancing on the cart , a cart by the way outlawed under Mosaic law [Num. 4]. The ark was to be carried on poles. Uzzah must have thought it would fall. As he reaches out to catch it, he is struck dead. David was not only angry with God for this, but he also took an immediate hands off approach, afraid of what might happen next. He abandoned the ark at Obed-edom, a Gittite, where that house prospered. It is only after three months, as David sees them prosper, that he brings the ark up to Jerusalem. How great his fear must have been! David had taken all the men of Israel with him, 30,000 in number. One the one hand, the ark represented danger; one the other hand, it represented promise or prosperity. With God there is both risk and blessing. The risk is in trusting God, to let go of our felt need of control so that God can work in and through us.

David, in overcoming whatever hesitation and fear he may have had, brought the ark to Jerusalem and he danced before it! For those of us who are reading “A Year of Living Biblically” by AJ Jacobs, you might enjoy his description of the event, of “the king doing a holy jig.” He says, “ The joy of religion; that’s what David was feeling” [p.84] Jacobs describes a party where Jewish men are dancing, in a big hall, with all the women somewhere else; it reminded me more of a giant mosh pit. Maybe you have joined in a dance at a wedding, when everyone is on the dance floor celebrating, maybe there is a line dance or something going on (like the chicken dance at my nieces wedding) jumping up and down where everyone joins in the dance, and it is wild, it’s weird! As Jacobs wrote in his book “sometimes you just have to look beyond the weirdness. It’s like the ancient temple in Jerusalem.” [p87]

David’s wife couldn’t see beyond the weirdness – the pure joy of the dance - she saw him acting dishonorably before the people, noting especially the young maidens. His dance was the height of impropriety, quite possibly more comparable to the dance of Salome before Herod. David, and God didn’t quite see it that way. The ark of the covenant contained the tablets on which the ten commandments were written; it held Aaron’s rod and a morsel of manna, David was acknowledging the presence of God in his life and in the life of Israel from its beginnings. This was a special honor. David placed the ark at the center of Jerusalem, at the center of the nation, and the center of his life; it leads me to the question how we honor God in our lives? How do we put God at the center of our lives? What do we do to acknowledge that God is with us? When we hear God speaking to us, or when we see God acting in our lives, how do we celebrate? Do we celebrate?

I’m remembering a Super Bowl celebration, and a 2004 World Series celebration. What was it, 86 years since Red Sox nation brought home the championship? God is bigger than both!

It seems to me that if our hearts and our minds are truly moved by the presence of God , then our bodies, our lips, our mouths, our lives should also be moved. How many of us danced with the Red Sox, with Pabelbon when he did his Irish jig after they clinched the American League East title in 2007 ? You look beyond the weirdness!

The weirdness is what we see with the outward appearance – David dance was a spiritual uniting with God. His heart was one with God’s. God is looking at our hearts, so whatever it is we do, let it be in response to God’s great love and grace. Let it be in solidarity with God that God may use us in powerful and mighty ways,

And that we may live in covenant with God all our days. Amen.

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July 5, 2009 -

“Super Heroes”

By The Rev. Lori Eldredge

In 1998 Tom Brokaw wrote a book The Greatest Generation. He wrote "this is the greatest generation any society has produced." His premise was that the men and women fought not for the fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do, and when they came back they rebuilt America into a Superpower. The book was well received by the American public , a best seller, but some critics and historians found it a little too simplistic. It can not be denied that this generation grew up in difficult times, the Great Depression, many fought in World War 2, and those who didn’t made some incredible contributions to the war effort at home.

Yesterday, as we celebrated again Independence Day, in parades and public ceremonies, we were reminded of not only their greatness, but of the many characters who made this nation great. Whenever I look at our Declaration of Independence, I am amazed at the wisdom of our nation’s leaders. There was an amazing balance of wisdom and youthful determination to fight and form a government that would be stable and fair, and yet flexible to meet our nation’s fledgling needs, if only we could keep it. Well we have, thanks be to God, and thanks to a long line of legendary characters.

I never really thought about superheroes, but when I applied for seminary

I was asked a two part question: who do you consider your favorite hero or heroine, and why?

That’s the question I want to ask you this morning – considering all the American greats, all the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, all those legends of ancestral fame: Who is your favorite superhero?

We are introduced to a lot of amazing characters in the scriptures, people who for one reason or another have been called into service by God. One such great is King David. He is one of the superheroes of scripture, of all of Israel. King David, with his son King Solomon, appear in a fair portion of our summer lectionary…. We’ll be hearing more about them.

King David appears in several books of the Bible, 62 chapters, he is said to have written 73 Psalms…. and everyone knows at least one story of King David… either as the shepherd boy and the conqueror of Goliath, or as King overlooking Bathsheba’s bath, or asking dancing before the ark.

But maybe, you have other super heroes. They don’t all come from Marvel comics; some are sports heroes , or historical and political ; and some are of legend…..King Arthur, … maybe he was some other knight in shining armor. My superhero is Elizabeth the 1^st. She reigned for 50+ years, knew what she wanted, and, she kept the peace!

Thinking about the range of possibilities for heroes and heroines, we might ask ourselves: what is it that makes someone a hero? (replies) We’ll come back to this in a little bit.

There are legends and heroes, and yesterday as Kirk entered his final reward I thought of John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson – all who died on July 4^th. There are biographers of their lives, but what can we know for sure about King David? What we know of David comes strictly from scripture. There are no other written descriptions, or journals of his conquests. How is he legend? It might help to add some perspective relative to his kingdom… most notably it’s size.

The City of David, David’s original fortification was limited to what was known as Mount Zion - a very small peak between the Kidron Valley and Tyropean Valley. The City of David was approximately 300 feet wide by 900 feet long. That’s 270,000 square feet or approximately 6 acres. From another perspective: King David’s city was just slightly larger than our church property of 5.5 acres. How did this king of the hill become a king of legend?

One school of thought has said the biblical story is myth; the "David Myth" -- a literary invention drawn from heroic tradition in order to establish the Jewish monarchy.

I would add that in 1998 a shard of pottery was found to bear some inscription about the kingdom of David, and after there a few other shards. But all together they only confirm the defeat of a king descended from the House of David. Well, I don’t want to lose David from my understanding of scripture, or as one of the forefathers central to my faith, nor do I want my faith hanging on a thread dependent on a 5”X6” piece of pottery from the Iron Age. So, as scientists continue to “prove” the Bible, I’ll be content to let archeology do the same. There’s plenty of time.

What is it that makes someone a “super” hero? As we consider David let’s look at

1. Character –he was on occasion selfless, he was brave, focused, sacrificial, loyal, courageous more

2. Belief– he believed in and was faithful to God; David was human and he did commit some serious sin; but he also repented and was accountable before the very god he sinned against.

3. 3. He was trusted. 4. And he inspired and offered hope – perceived as God’s chosen king for Israel he offered his kingdom inspiration and hope. Whatever they had known in previous days , with God’s chosen king, they would blessed by God as they followed their King.

This ordinary King of the hill became legend; the superhero of Israel. May we in our ordinary lives be faithful that we may touch lives for Christ, and who knows maybe we might even be someone’s superhero.

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June 28, 2009 “Grace in Giving” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you^*—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.^*

8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the generous act^* of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— ¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. ¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between ¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. ¹⁵As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.’

Usually when we read this passage from scripture it’s in the fall, at the time of our annual stewardship campaign. Paul is urging the church to give generously toward his support of preaching the gospel and of reaching out to the poor, specifically to the support of poor Christians in Jerusalem. The ‘rich’ in Corinth, he said, had a responsibility to follow in the example of Jesus, who gave up everything, to become poor and deal with the poverty of the human condition.

Stewardship is everyone’s responsibility, especially as we consider the mission that is set before us. We as Christians build God’s kingdom and serve to the extent that funds, or whatever system of barter is available. Circuit riders depended on the hospitality of the congregations they visited, to provide room and board; love offerings helped with necessary expenses. By lifting up this scripture today, we are reminded that stewardship is not simply a seasonal concern, but a year round matter. Giving is not only a mean by which to accomplish mission – giving a hand up, not a hand out – it is also a spiritual matter.

Teresa of Avila, an early 16^th century spiritual mystic, believed that the true measure of our love toward God is not in contemplation but in our acts of generosity.

One question that always seem to emerge concerning our giving is: How much should I give? What is the fair balance Paul writes about? With everything else we need to provide for our families – medical, dental, transportation, education, housing - what is a fair share for God? The biblical minimum is a tithe or ten percent. With the high debt of the nation , not everyone can afford a tithe. Some of us have been less then content with material goods and have found ourselves in debt way beyond our means. Pleading guilty to poor spending habits though does not give us permission to hold back from God. Everything we have received has come as a gift from God – our skills, our talents, our lives, all the natural resources we have been blessed with.

I want to caution us as to how we read verses 13 - 15 of this scripture

^“13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between ¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.’

Paul is quoting from Exodus, and the story of the Israelites receiving manna in the wilderness. Everyone received the amount needed and whatever that amount was, it was enough. I don’t think this is Paul’s best argument for generous stewardship!

I would suggest in trying to determine that amount we “should” give, we can find guidance in these verses.

First, give sacrificially [v. 9] - give as Christ gave. After 9/11 there was an interesting phenomena observed in our churches – while attendance increased, giving decreased. When we are fearful we turn to God, but we also tend to hold what resources we have close. Eventually, as the situation stabilized there was an outpouring of generosity. As we face an uncertain economy, fear may dictate our giving. While Paul’s prooftexting of Exodus may be a bit convoluted, his point to trust in God to provide is well taken.

Secondly, give according to what you have [v. 12]. Remember John Wesley’s spirit . In his sermon “The Use of Money” [#50] he wrote

I. We ought to gain all we can gain but this it is certain we ought not to do; we ought not to gain money at the expense of life, nor at the expense of our health.

II. Do not throw the precious talent into the sea.

III. Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then "give all you can."

We generally hear Wesley quoted on the third point, but the other are equally important if we are to be honest stewards of all God’s gifts.

If we are to acquire grace in giving we need to give out of our expression of love for Jesus. Teresa of Avila was not alone in her belief that giving is the true measure of our love and contemplation of God. If we give to meet the needs of the poor, those who are truly in need, we will be blessed.

When we follow the example of Jesus – we look at the needs people have. Food, clothing, health, and instead of a spirit of fear, a spirit of trust and confidence. What we have to give, what we have to share is not in material gifts alone, but also in sharing the gospel of love and caring and concern.

We may live out the gospel by giving of our talents, that others may find financial health and freedom.

It is not known whether or not the Corinthians had begun a collection and were wavering in their efforts and Paul wrote to encourage them but I would ask what it is you think of concerning your own giving when you hear the words of Paul. I won’t promise ten fold blessings as some do; but I will promise you that God will bless you in ways you can’t even imagine. God wants to bless us. When we are faithful , God is faithful….

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June 21, 2009

Father's Day, by lay speaker Mark DerManouelian

Well, today is Father’s Day here in the United States. Not just another Father’s Day either. According to many, this is the 100^th anniversary of the first recognized Father’s Day. Or it may be the 101^st or perhaps the 99^th, depending on what resource is being referenced.

It is agreed that the first known celebration for fathers was on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia, where it was commemorated at William Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South – now known as Central United Methodist Church. Grace Golden Clayton is believed to have suggested it to her pastor after a deadly explosion in nearby Monongah, that past December, killed over 360 men. This service was held to honor all those fathers who had died, and was not necessarily intended to spread any further.

Then, Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington thought independently of the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church at Spokane, and she arranged a tribute for her father on June 19, 1910. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance to honor all fathers.

Although I’m sue it was completely coincidental, I find it quite interesting that the first two Father’s Day services were held in Methodist churches. (I wonder if they included a pot luck luncheon- perhaps that’s what helped it catch on.)

Pot Luck or not, the idea of Father's Day became popular and embraced across the nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane and spoke at Father's Day services, but it was not until 1924 that President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day and in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the 3rd Sunday of June each year.

Around the world, Father’s Day is celebrated on this 3^rd Sunday in June in 52 countries. It is celebrated, in one form or another in another 47 countries at other times throughout the year.

That so many countries choose to celebrate fathers is, in itself, great evidence that the importance of fathers is not to be overlooked or taken lightly. After all, none of us would be here today without one.

What do we think of when we hear the word father? The term father is used in a lot of different ways, the primary, of course, referring to a biological father. But there are many other meanings. George Washington is called the father of our country, even though he had no children. And we have many other “founding fathers”:

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and others.

Other “Fathers” include:

Robert Boyle- “the Father of Chemistry”

Diophantus of Alexandria, called "the Father of Algebra”

Charles Babbage, a British Mathematics professor, is regarded as “the Father of Computers”.

Hippocrates, known for healing is largley considered “the Father of Medicine”.

Fredrick Winslow Taylor is “the Father of Industrial Engineering”

The Father of the Automobile is not Henry Ford, but George B. Selden, who was granted the first autombile patent. Henry Ford used mass production to make cars affordable to, well, the masses. And on and on we could go, but the point is that many men have been given the title of “Father”, not because of biology, but because of their influence or contributions in a particular field or in society.

One man who actually encompasses all these categories is Abraham.He is widely regarded as the patriarch, or father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims and the founder of monotheism. According to Genesis 17:5, his name was changed by God from Abram (probably meaning "the father is exalted") to Abraham, a name which Genesis explains as meaning "father of many".

Abraham was the tenth generation from Noah and the 20th from Adam . Abraham entered into a covenant: in exchange for recognition of YHWH as his God, Abraham will be blessed with innumerable descendants and the land would belong to them.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions" because of the role Abraham plays in their holy books.. God promised Abraham that through his offspring, all the nations of the world will come to be blessed. This is interpreted in Christian tradition as a reference particularly to Jesus. Jews, Christians, and Muslims consider him father of the people of Israel through his son Isaac, by his wife Sarah. For Muslims, he is a prophet of Islam and the ancestor of Muhammad through his other son Ishmael - born to him by Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant.

In his letter to the Galations, Paul writes “that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

We are those children of Abraham. We can trace our faith from Abraham, to King David and to Jesus. As we heard, in Matthew 11, Jesus instructs us that it is he who completes the lineage to God.

I acknowledge, and can understand that, for many, the reference to a Father may stir up many negative images and memories. But, Jesus calls God, not only “Father”, but even refers to Him in words that translate to “Daddy”. I believe Jesus wants us to consider ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ, all children of our Heavenly Father.

As the saying goes,” Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”

God wants to be the “Daddy” in our lives. If we have experienced positive relationships with the men or fathers in our lives, Jesus says that we can have an even better relationship with God, our Father. If our experiences have been negative, then God can, and will be, the Father we never had or always wanted to have. His promises are always true and will never be broken. He will always be there for us and wants to hear our joys, our concerns and everything else. God is the ultimate Father.

Now, I understand that not everyone still has a father in their lives. Whether no longer living, or due to any number of reasons, there are many who do not have a father. And I also understand that there are those who do not, or cannot, celebrate Father’s Day. This may be because of things that may have happened in their relationships with their father. I can only relate to the experiences I had with my father and what Father’s Day means to me.

I have been blessed to have a father that was not only in my life when I was young, but is still a very important part of my life. We still have a good and active relationship. We see each other and talk about many things on a regular basis, share our love of the Red Sox and even worship together again, here at N.K., after several years in different churches. Some of my earliest memories with him are of driving home with him after church, excitingly telling him of the things I had just learned that morning in Sunday school. He would listen and let me tell him, as if he didn’t already know the bible stories I was repeating. This was not just “quality “ time together, but made me anxious to hear and learn more about Jesus, God and the Bible. Although I enjoyed learning the stories, I treasure the time we spent, sharing the history of our faith. He has been an ardent supporter of my interests and activities throughout my life.

As a young adult, I had a touching and educational Father’s Day experience. Although we had been married for a few years, Eve and I had not yet become parents. I was, however, helping to coach a church youth basketball team. Because of this involvement, I was recognized with other men in the church, and presented with a Father’s Day award. We were told we were all father figures, responsible for the education of the children in areas of teamwork, sportsmanship, integrity and other virtues. Other men were recognized as Sunday school teachers, ushers, various committee members and so on.

I learned that, as mentors and role models, all men can be father figures when it comes to influencing youth in matters of education, life and, especially, our faith. These kinds of Fathers come from all walks of life, and from all over the world. They can be relatives, friends or even strangers. They can be anyone who has a powerful influence on people of any age or background.

Another reason Father’s Day is special to me is because my wife, Eve, was born on Father’s Day, although I won’t say the year. In fact, today is her birthday. My father-in-law always let me know how he felt that her birth was extra special.Not only was Eve his first daughter, but he regarded her as the ultimate Father’s Day gift. He had a way of letting me know that, even though we were married, she would always be his, because she was a Father’s Day gift to him. I think there was an implied threat somewhere in there, making sure I would treat Eve with all the love, care and respect that I could.

After several years of marriage, although we still had no children of our own, we were very active in the lives of our nephew and nieces, whose own father had left home and was not active in their lives. We tried to be involved with them, giving them love and attention and doing a variety of things with them, to the point that they would give me Father’s Day cards and gifts.

Our lives became even more parental, when one of those nieces came to live with us during her high school years. Although suddenly living with a teenager created many different, and sometimes difficult situations, it was a learning and blessed experience. It was during this time that we experienced the birth of our own daughter, Marina. Two years after Marina’s birth, we had another niece come to live with us when she was just fourteen months old, for a little over a year, while her parents were going through divorce proceedings. During her time with us, she called me Dadoo, which is what Marina called me. Although she ended up living back with her father, she will always hold a special place in our hearts.

As for Marina, although she is our only child, she is an extra special blessing from God. She was a gift to us, after 18 years of marriage and, oh, and by the way, she was born on Father’s Day, 13 years ago. Now, I know how my father-in-law felt. She was an awesome Father’s Day gift.

These are some of the reasons why Father’s Day will always be special to me.

On this Father’s Day, I would like to close with

“A Father's Day Prayer” by Kirk Loadman

Let us praise those fathers who have strived to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice.

Let us praise those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become a good father.
Let us praise those fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

Let us pray for those fathers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.
Let us praise those fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives.

Let us praise those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing.
Let us praise those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and earned their step children's love and respect. Let us praise those fathers who have lost a child to death, and continue to hold the child in their heart.
Let us praise those men who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own.
Let us praise those men who have "fathered" us in their role as mentors and guides.
Let us praise those men who are about to become fathers; may they openly delight in their children.
And let us praise those fathers who have died, but live on in our memory and whose love continues to nurture us.

Amen

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June 14, 2009 “A New Creation” Rev. Lori Eldredge

2 Corinthians 5: 6-17

“In Christ there is a new creation”

These mornings as I have awoken to the sound of rain gently falling on the trees I have been reminded of an old Celtic poem found in a beautiful little collection called Celtic Prayers (Abingdon, p.30).

“All around me the most beautiful music plays;

The songs of birds’

The lowing cattle, the leaves rustling in the wind.

The cascade of river.

No king could hire such music with gold; it is the music of Christ himself, given freely.”

It would be so easy to take for granted all that lies around us. But this rain also reminds me of baptism, being drawn to the waters, where we die with Christ and rise with Christ. And because we rise with Christ we are given new eyes, new vision.

As a fifth grade teacher my science room became a bit of a zoo on occasion – snakes, turtles, multiplying hamsters, a tarantula for one day only, fish - and on one occasion, for a very long time, we were home to a chrysalis. One of my students had watched a caterpillar encase its body in a dark cocoon. Feeling the cocoon had to be protected he placed it in a jar with the tiny twig it dangled from, and then he brought it to school. We placed the jar on a protected window ledge and placed watch on it. As we were a team of about 90 students divided in three classrooms we agreed that the student sitting closest to the window would keep watch for any movement, and all the teachers agreed that no matter where the students were when the cocoon began to split open we would allow all the students to come and watch. It was not a difficult proposal to defend as the teachers were quite eager to see the butterfly emerge.

The jar sat on the shelf for the longest time and I had forgotten about it. I also taught math that year and it was in math class that I heard the alert. “It’s moving.” What? “It’s moving. The cocoon, it’s beginning to split.” Two passes that hung on my wall disappeared in a heart beat as designated runners went to the other classrooms. Soon 90 students filled he classroom.

And I have to tell you, I had the darnedest luck with administrators. “What’s going on?” It was the vice principal, and as if with one voice the classroom responded, “Shhhhsh, it’s the butterfly.” For the next 15-20 minutes, 90 students, 3 teachers, and one vice principal watched the most beautiful butterfly emerge from its cocoon. When it had emerged, the boy who had brought the cocoon in, led the procession to the nearest door, down the hall and out the front lawn of the school where the butterfly was released to the breeze. After sitting for a bit, drying its wings, it lifted in flight and was gone. I think we were all given new eyes that day – new eyes to appreciate the wonders of creation, new eyes to appreciate the fragility of life, and new eyes to understand this process of growth and metamorphosis or transformation.

Life is too brief, too fragile, to take it for granted. As those baptized in Christ we are called to live as those who see the entire universe, or cosmos, with new vision. Have you ever seen a picture from the Hubble space craft astronomers have called the finger of God? In the Keyhole Nebula the star Eta Carina was dying and magnificent pictures were captured.

Life and death are such fragile moments, and what we have is what lies between.

Like the butterfly we are born to spread our wings for Christ. We are given every moment of our days to be in ministry for Christ, witnessing to where we have seen Christ at work in our lives and witnessing that the world may be reconciled with Christ. We have been given a ministry of reconciliation.

Sounds lofty doesn’t it? But here’s the real deal… it’s not about us. We are baptized, we are saved. We have this confidence. The real deal is that our life in Christ is about witnessing to others. Did any of you seen “Sister Act 2”? I love the song at the very end as they school choir is in competition. They have prepared to sing “Joyful, Joyful.”

Joyful, joyful we adore thee, God of glory, God of love, … you know it , we sang it last week. Panic spreads through the choir as they hear it sung by their strongest competitors. This choir from San Francisco takes off their robes at the last minute, ready to give up…. But Sister Mary Clarence, wonderful Whoopee Goldberg, …. Tells them to get out their and sing, do what they do best…. Out on stage they sing like no one has heard “Joyful Joyful” “Joyful, Joyful”

“Joyful, joyful we adore thee God of glory, God of love, before hearts unfold like flowers open to the sun above. “

With rap, upbeat, incredible energy they sing and in singing ask the question…. What have you done for God lately? They’ve got it right. The question isn’t, “ What has God done for you?” It’s “What have you done for God?”

Have you begun to appreciate the love of Christ in your life? Have you begun to appreciate the smallest things done for you – maybe by your parents? Or your children? Your wives? Your husbands? When was the last time you thanked your mom for cooking? When was the last time you filled up the car for your spouse without being asked? When was the last time you reached out to help someone who needed help? These are rhetorical questions , because as I look around the congregation I know what many of you have done for God lately. I’ve seen it in meals prepared for a family so there life might be a little less stressful this week, I’ve seen it in the compassion you have shown each other as together we have mourned the loss of a friend, as we have ministered to several who have been fighting illness or have been recovering from surgery. I’ve seen it in the way you have responded to people in the greater community needing food, and clothing. I can tell you those who have been on the receiving end of your caring and generosity have been in awe of the wonder and heartfelt responses you have given. As I watched I am reminded of that butterfly emerging from the cocoon…. And spreading its wings. You are indeed a new creation.

So this morning as we are gathered here, let us not take our faith for granted, but remember and be in awe of all that Christ has done and let us continue to dream and do the good work that we may be disciples and the world may be changed forever for Christ. Amen.

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June 7, 2009 “ Pneumatic Drills” Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 3: 1-17

In the late fall of 1968, in my senior year of high school, I was invited to attend a Methodist Youth Fellowship gathering in New York City. With other youth from Southern New England I would attend the United Nations and hear peace talks on Vietnam. As we traveled about the city it was noisy, especially with the sound of jackhammers, or pneumatic drills. They were busy tearing up sidewalks and streets. While destructive in the work being done, they would bring new life to the city. The once condemned city block was being rebirthed, reborn. Have any of you ever used a pneumatic drill?

About two weeks ago I found myself wishing I had a jack hammer. I started to dig a hole in the ground; the perfect spot for a blueberry bush…or so I thought. As I started digging I discovered a rock. In the end I left it to Brian, but I wanted a pneumatic drill, or jackhammer, to be able to blast that rock into a few thousand pieces.

I never knew exactly how they worked, but I did know it required some strength and some focused thinking. Where 20 thousand years ago we might have dug a hole with a deer antler, or 200 years ago used a pick axe and shovel, now a pneumatic drill does the job 150 times faster, and easier. It has to do with the power of compressed air – millions of tiny molecules colliding with each other – circulated through a hose to power the jack hammer. Heat them up and those molecules exert even more pressure and energy. The pneumatic drill hits the ground 1500 times a minute, making once back breaking work almost as easy as the flip of a switch.

The word ‘wind’, or ‘air’, is the same word in Hebrew as the Spirit…. Pnuema. John wrote, “We know not where the wind comes from nor where it goes”. We do know that the Spirit descended in wind and fire and filled the disciples. And it is by this same spirit Jesus told Nicodemus, that we must be born again. As compressed air has the capability of bringing new life to a concrete city, the Spirit brings new life to hardened hearts.

Today is Trinity Sunday. We celebrate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the traditional language of the ancient church; or the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer in more modern language. God’s creative word has called everything into being; God incarnate, Jesus of Bethlehem and Calvary has redeemed the whole world, reconciling us to God, “For God so loved the world he sent his sent into the world not to condemn the world but the world through him might be saved.” God’s Spirit calls us and sustains us in our walk or daily journey as we grow closer to our creator. The Spirit was been active from the beginning speaking through the prophets, breathing new life into the ancient cities, and calling peoples to new faith, to God’s peace…. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” What greater peace can we have than that of being reconciled to God forever?

Today is also Peace with Justice Sunday in our United Methodist Church. This peace from Jesus will only be attained when we as a human family put God purposes first in our lives - with first among those purposes to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, ad all or souls; and love others as we love ourselves. Did you read the Bishops email “Partner in Ministry” this past week? He’s put a lot of miles on his car as he has traveled about New England. He has known he needed a new one. He’s been concerned about breaking down while traveling on some of the back roads …. While traveling in Maine, someone in one of the churches gave him a bright red Ferrari. What love! The Spirit moved in the heart of a child and he gave the Bishop what he needed. It was a toy car, that came with the assurance that God knows his needs and God will take care of him.

It is by the Spirit moving in our hearts that we may give the world what it needs…

By acting out of a spirit of justice we may give people the hope, the assurance God loves them, that God has not forgotten them. When depressed housing areas are revitalized and the homeless are given shelter, when there is no need for a food pantry food or kitchen; when schools are built and properly equipped that children and adults may learn and grow to be self-sustaining; when people are fully employed; when people are assured of healing when afflicted with disease; when people are welcomed and loved in the family of God, then there is justice and then there will be peace.

When Nicodemus went to Jesus in the night, he had a lot to lose. He had position and power; he had security. All this would have been at risk if he had approached Jesus in the light of day….. but Jesus didn’t ask him to give these up. He asked him instead to be born from above, something that is far more difficult. When the jackhammer hits the pavement we don’t know how things will begin to break apart. It depends on the flaws and faults within the concrete. There’s a reason those operating the machinery wear hard hats and protective goggles.

When the Spirit moves in our hearts, there may be things we have to let go of: maybe it’s the predictability and rhythm of life, our routine; maybe it’s the way we try to control situations; maybe even other people; maybe it’s our fears, our resistance. Just as men working the heavy machinery wear protective clothing, we can wrap ourselves in prayer, asking Jesus to enlighten us, to give us understanding, and with joyful acceptance and peace.

To open our lives to the direction of the Holy Spirit is to open our lives to the unexpected. The Spirit will shake us up a bit.

May our imaginations and our hearts be open to the Spirit, that we may be led in new directions and be open to new possibilities. “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” [V.8] Amen.

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May 31, 2009 -- Sermon at 10 AM was extemporaneous remarks by Pastor Lori on Pentecost Sunday, covering confirmation and new members received. The original sermon, delivered at 8 AM is below.

May 31, 2009 Confirmed in Christ Rev. Lori Eldredge

Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8: 14-17

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’ ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness^* with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” This morning three of our youth will be confirmed in Christ. Then they will be invited to join in membership with the church, along with four adults that are coming by transfer from other United Methodist churches, or churches of other denominations. All have been baptized, all profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Confirmation is not something we do lightly. The youth have studied, and read, and asked questions. It is not like joining a country club, or a baseball team, or even a choral or musical association. All of these you can walk away from at anytime: cancel your dues, change your location, just stop showing up. It’s not quite that easy with God, or the Church, the body of Christ. There is no place you can go to get away from God. If you want to hide from God - God sees right through your hiding place. Jonah found that out! If you want to forget God - or at least put worship on hold for a bit – be careful because God will not let one of his chosen perish. And if you are feeling lost, or lonely, God does not have to find you – God has never left you.

Confirmation is affirming, claiming for yourself, God’s grace, God’s activity in your life. You acknowledge you recognize God’s presence with you from the beginning, from conception, and that God has been active in helping you grow. In confirmation we remember our baptism. Do you remember your baptism? When we are immersed in the waters of baptism it is symbolic washing away any sin that separates us from the love of God [Hebrews 10:22] , and of our burial and resurrection with Christ. [Romans 6: 3-5] When the water is poured or sprinkled over our heads it is a symbolic pouring out of the Holy Spirit [Acts 2 :38]. In confirmation we make our personal profession of faith, we are saying we want to continue in relationship with God in Jesus Christ. With gratitude , with joy, we look forward to what God’s wonderful race will complete in and through us in the future. Today is a new beginning, and the vows taken when we join in the family of God and confess our faith, are vows that will need to be nurtured for the rest of our lives.

After the youth are confirmed, Rachel, Tyler, and Jason, will be invited into membership of this United Methodist Church. Confirmation is different than joining in membership with the local church. We are all part of the body of Christ, but not all hold their membership in this specific church. Some of us here today may hold our church membership in other denominations, maybe the Roman Catholic; and some in other protestant churches, maybe the Baptist or Episcopal. This morning I want to remind us of our membership vows in the United Methodist Church.

As we join in membership we make a promise, or vow, the support the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.

We know the power of prayer. When we listen to what God is saying, hear how God in Jesus Christ is speaking to us each day what joy it is to know God goes before us, surrounds us, and empowers us, to be whole persons, experiencing joy, experiencing the fullness of God’s grace. Prayer gives us opportunity to hear and to petition God, not only for ourselves but for others. While God already knows our hurts, our needs… it is our opportunity to be in relationship with a God who loves us , cares for us, and wants nothing but the best for us. Prayer can take many different forms, but all prayer is holy listening and holy conversation with God who has acted on our behalf from the beginning of time.

We promise our prayers, we promise our presence. It was Jesus command that the disciples remain together, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. As they were assembled together [Acts 2:1], when they were together in one place, God poured out the Holy Spirit! The disciples and all who gathered with them were empowered to do the work of the church, the body of Christ. Gifts were given to each one – preaching and teaching, for service and mission, for administration, for encouraging each other, for the building up of the body, and for praise and worship. How can we encourage one another when we are not present to each other? How can we be a part of the body of Christ when we keep ourselves at a distance? Only as we are present are we able to be in relationship with the body of Christ. The body of Christ gathers that it may be whole and that together we may witness to the blessings of God in our lives.

We promise our prayers, our presence, our gifts. The work of the church is ours to do and ours to support. Our gifts may be monetary, our gifts may be supportive in others ways. Whether acolyting and carrying in the Light of Christ or singing in the choir, ,or preaching, this is our work. It is up to us to plan with God’s presence our ministry, it is up to us to support it. God called for a minimum of 10% of our first fruits to be placed at the altar. Some days, especially in this economy, it that may seem as though 10% is a staggeringly high amount. Let me remind you that all you have, 100% of everything you consider yours, is first Gods. Everything has been given to us – our homes, our jobs, our lives.

We promise our service. As we are called the children of God, and the gifts are poured out upon us, they are given for the good of the church! Don’t hide your gifts. There are many opportunities - would you like to start a coffee house? Would you like to have a Vacation Bible School? Would you like to sing? I know we have many talented men! Do you like to pick up a hammer and would creating something or helping some one? There are so many opportunities we need only seize the moment!

And new to our membership vows is our witness. We are to witness to the love of God, to repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We are to witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in everything we do and in every place we go. Our witness to Christ is professed in the presence of the congregation, but it does not end at the door as we leave today only to be renewed the next time we walk through the doors. As our acolyte carries out the Light of Christ at the end of the service, so we are to carry out the Light of Christ into the world…. To North Kingstown, Providence and Westerly, to Cuba, and to the ends of the earth….where ever it is God calls us to go.

As we go out today let us consider how it is that we would extend our witness to the world.

Yesterday I was asked to participate in the House Blessing of Habitat’s Housebuild 2. In my closing prayer, I challenged those gathered to continue their work for House build 3, and 4, and 5….. to continue the good work and witness they give to Jesus.

Our task is to increase God’s love in the world. May we go forth and witness to this great love by our words, by our deeds, in gratitude for all God’s love given to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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May 24, 2009, Witness to Joy, By The Rev. Lori Eldredge

Acts 1: 1-11 Luke 24: 44-53

Have you seen “Flashpoint” …. It’s one of this past season’s new shows about a special tactical police team and the situations they are called to respond to. Their arsenal includes some high tech, state-of-the-art weapons, but also includes skills in negotiation and a gift for knowing people. They know when to talk and when to act. Once they are called to a scene they are in charge, which isn’t always appreciated by the local police. They have a high stress job and each officer could be described as a risk taker with type-A personality. Sometimes they are able to talk down the individual before a major crime is committed; sometimes they end up shooting it out and sometimes with casualties. At the end of the day , and this is the part I really like as brief as it is, after each crime scene is secure, the team comes together to report, to debrief.

Now many of you have had military careers, and you know the importance of debriefing. Debriefing has been considered important for a number of reasons:

to receive information from the returning on the scene individuals
to evaluate the success or completion of the mission.
to determine what information can or can not be released to the general public, and state that to those involved
to access the psychological condition of the returning individual before returning him or her to regular duty, especially where they may have experienced major trauma

[However, crisis debriefing has recently been listed in the March 2007 Association for Psychological Science Journal as having the potential to cause harm to individuals.]

What does this have to do with Ascension Sunday? The opening of the Book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, reminds us right away that Jesus had given his disciples instructions and appeared to them following his death and resurrection for forty days before ascending into heaven. He appeared to them to ‘debrief’ – to follow up on their spiritual condition and give final instructions for continuing his ministry or mission. Were they focused? Were they ready to follow Christ’s objective, to “be [his] witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”?

Do you remember the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis? It is something that may play in the back of our minds as we see some of the changes happening in diplomacy with the recent Summit of the Americas. The movie “Thirteen Days” focused on the government and military response to the crisis. Viewers were taken into the oval office, the situation room, and into the minds of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Kenny O’Donnell, White House Special Assistant. It opened our minds to understand the internal struggles of the White House as it developed effective strategy.

As important as it was [and is] for the White house to spend time focusing their energies on effective strategy for the safety of the nation, it is more important for the church to focus its energies to effectively witness for the kingdom of God. Jesus clearly told his disciples to witness “to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

As the disciples were to be witnesses to Jesus Christ so are we; so rephrased for this congregation, Jesus would say, ‘to North Kingstown, all of Rhode Island, Cuba, and to the ends of the earth.” We are to witness to Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, and we are to witness to repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

I want to keep the focus here on our mission, but just for a moment let me add a side bar that repentance is a multiple step process according to ancient Jewish tradition. We need first, to recognize our sins; second, show remorse; third depart from sin , stop sinning; fourth, make restitution where it is possible without doing further injury; and finally step five, we are to make our confession. Any specific action or objective has a plan! If we are to carry out Jesus’ instructions then there needs to be time at the beginning of the day to determine our course of action , and there needs to be debriefing or reporting at the end of the day to measure our effectiveness. Did we accomplish whatever steps were necessary and where did we fall short?

Who do you debrief with at the end of the day? Who do you plan with at the beginning of the day? Are you reporting to Jesus? Are you enlisting the power of the Holy Spirit?

Men, you wouldn’t go out on the football field and play without a strategy for moving the ball to the goal. Ladies, you wouldn’t serve a six course meal at a dinner party without first planning the menu! Would any of us attempt to participate in the Save the Bay Swim without first, surveying the waters and developing a plan. We need to be intentional.

If we don’t have a plan for witnessing to the amazing grace we experience in Jesus Christ, then how can we expect to grow the kingdom? If we don’t have a plan for doing the work of Christ, then what are we doing here at all? Are we going to stand like the disciples looking up or out into space? What’s the expression? If we want to hit the moon then we had best aim for the stars. Now maybe ‘witness’ isn’t a word you feel comfortable with…. And ‘love’ and ‘grace’ aren’t words you want to use…. Maybe you would prefer to use the word ‘power’…maybe ‘presence’… however we say it, we have our marching orders, “repentance and forgiveness are to be proclaimed to all the nations”. We have been commissioned by Christ to go out and offer hope to the world.

Have you experienced God in your life? How? What is your story? How has God given you hope to get through your tough times, to live today with generous hearts and victorious spirits? Where and how have you experienced God in your daily living? Over the years I have become convinced that if we don’t expect God to share our daily journey, if we don’t look for Christ’s appearing, we will surely never see God. If we don’t look for the presence of Jesus with us, we will miss his return.

Let me share a story: During the summer of 1957 my parents were adding an addition to the house. The addition would double the size of our living space. My parents bedroom would become a dining room when the two bedrooms, bathroom, and basement were completed. In addition to my parents bedroom there was kitchen and a living room, and the one bedroom the four of us shared. It was barely big enough for the two bunk beds and the one bureau. As children we played outside when it was warm enough. We played outside even when it wasn’t warm enough. On this particular summer day, we were playing miner. We had out trucks and back hoe. I should say also that we were 3, 5, and 7 years of age. The sand on the cape had these deep veins of deep burnt orange sand we thought of as iron. So the basement hole was exciting as it opened new possibilities for mining. Down in the hole, off limits for play, we dug into the side of the walls excavating ‘iron’. At a certain point, I went into the house for a glass of water. Mining is hard work. A minute or two later my younger brother came into the house screaming and crying. He kept saying, “Billy”. I don’t remember that he actually said what happened but it was one of those cries that any mother knows something horrible has happened. My mother knew something was terribly wrong. As we went outside she saw the side of the hole had collapsed exactly where we had been playing. My brother was buried alive.

God was already acting. A minute or two earlier all three of us would have been trapped and no one around to warn my mother the hole had collapsed on us. But God was doing more than that. My grandparents had decided on a rare unannounced afternoon visit. They were pulling into the driveway at that moment. My mother began digging, my grandfather called the police and rescue, my grandmother was able to keep us out of the way. When my grandfather took the shovel from my mother she instinctively knew when to stop digging. Not only had she dug in exactly the right spot, but she knew instinctively when to stop. My brother was just below the surface and by the time rescue arrived my brother was already freed. Oxygen was minimal and he was saved to live another day.

God acted mightily in our lives that day. But it wasn’t just once back in 1957. God acts in so many ways, everyday. No, they are not all quite so dramatic! But God is acting to bring us joy, to keep us safe. On this Ascension Day, when we mark the transition from Jesus’ time to the time of Christ’s reign, our time, let us move from our fears, our self-centeredness, our skepticism, whatever it is that keeps us from hitting the mark, and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that we may demonstrate God’s power in Christ to North Kingstown, to Providence, Cranston, Westerly, and all of Rhode Island; to Cuba, and to the ends of the earth. Let us hit the mark God has set before us.

Amen.

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May 17, 2009 Friends Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 John 5: 1-6 John 15: 9-17

Three weeks ago I was blessed to be able to spend a week in Orlando, Florida. No, it wasn’t to visit Disney Land, but to spend a week with my best friend. Melissa and I have been friends since fifth grade… well, except for the two year we didn’t speak to each other in high school. We had a major disagreement over someone we still disagree about today. Well, we learned to work out our differences, and over the years I have been her bridesmaid, and Godmother to her younger son ; she was my matron of honor, and she was a shoulder to cry on a few years later. With her husband we traveled together in Europe. When they returned to the US and moved to Florida, Melissa and I kept ATT fully funded. Each time we talk, it is like we talked yesterday…. Some of our favorite memories are from high school and Easter Sunrise services on Coast Guard Beach. Friends hold a special place in our hearts.

But I will also confess, I’m not always a very good friend. I have not always remembered her birthdays, and she reminded me more than once that it had been almost thirty years since I had visited her in Florida; she remembers this well as previously the last time I had visited was when my godson Richard was Christened. I’m not always very good at relationship maintenance.

I actually fell asleep on another one of my friends as she was talking to me long distance. I woke up just in time to hear her ask, “Are you listening?”

So Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants, but I have called you friends…”

Jesus wants me for a friend?

I’m okay with being called a child of God, or a sister with Jesus, an heir and joint heir with Christ: I’m even okay with being called a servant, but I’m not sure about this idea of being a friend of Jesus. As you think about some of your friendships you know some have been nurtured over a lifetime, some for a season, and some for a shorter period of time, for a specific reason. All of these have been special people….so the questions that begs to be asked is: what does it mean to be a friend, especially a friend with Jesus?

Well, there are a few requirements. The gospel of John has quite a bit to say about friendship…. But it’s helpful to understand it in first century terms, when the gospel was written. Friendship had some very demanding rules: loyalty was essential. When the gospel was written the church was already undergoing persecution. Friendship meant sharing everything they had –their homes, their food, the clothes on their back. Friendship was more than giving of themselves to help with another’s physical needs; it also meant devotion for a higher good – for a shared wisdom, or knowledge, or truth that transcended whatever their current circumstances. Their joy would be complete whether they lived or whether they died, because they knew the truth of God.

We may share certain likes, and we may be devoted to certain causes; in this Christian friendship- relationship we are called to begin with our commitment to God first, last, and always. We may not be able to be friends with everyone, but we strive to be. And according to Acts 4: 32 we are to live as though we have one heart and one soul and hold everything in common. The early church was open to the working of God’s grace, and they shared their lives according to what might be considered very demanding rules. The best friendships involved sharing commitments not only to their faith, to God; they also served as a means to encourage, advise or mentor, and sometimes be critical of each other, but only when offered in love and for the others good. It was constructive, it was gentle and lovingly shared.

Has Christian friendship changed? We want to encourage one another, and I believe that together we strive for a shared wisdom of God. We are still called to love another as Christ loved us. When someone loves us, it’s usually not to difficult to love them back, except Jesus went to the cross for us. He died for us. Could we, would we, be willing to do the same for him? Or for someone we call friend?

As difficult as this may seem, there may be something more difficult. If we are to be friends with Jesus we are to live our lives transparently. Jesus said, “I have made everything known to you.” Friends share what is in the hearts. Jesus shared everything in his heart with us. Nothing was hidden. Continue in Love with transparency - Are we transparent? Sometimes we engage in conversation and don’t really say what we are thinking. And then there are times we engage in conversation questioning everything the other says; there is a basic mistrust, maybe because of an earlier experience and incorrectly transferred. Christian friendship requires that we remain open and listen to one another, to ask questions, and seek clarification without suspicion, allowing the Holy Spirit to be at work among us, revealing over time what God’s will is for us. There may be other things that interfere with friendships: our life styles and mobility – although cell phones and computers keep us connected .

Friendships are important because , I believe, friends can help each other see themselves more clearly. In seminary we studied the desert Fathers and Mothers, reading selected writings that have come to be considered spiritual classics. (If you ever want to read any of these The Upper Room published a series of small books inclusive of writings across the centuries.) One of the Desert Fathers, John Cassian, 360 AD, agreed with Aristotle (16.3ff) that friendship is nothing else than agreement in all matters, divine and human, along with benevolence and love…. Without virtue there can be no friendship at all. He advised against criticizing a friend or making any judgment concerning behavior. The use of discretion was paramount. Those he lived with in community thought that criticism given in gentle and loving ways, let me repeat – in gentle and loving ways - was in fact a good thing and something that we should accept from one another for our own good, practicing humility as we learned about our faults and sins. If we could but do this gently and lovingly then we would most likely to be more careful in our faults and far less likely to criticize others. “first tak[ing] the log out of your own eye…” Matt 7:5 [ John Cassian, The Conferences,]

How transparent are we able to be? The best friendships are rooted in personal, intimate knowledge .

Jesus gave everything to his friends – his knowledge of God, his life. He gave us a model for friendship in that he loved without limits, and because of his love he has made it possible for us to live a life of friendship because in following Christ, and loving one another, we are changed, or transformed.

Human being were intended for life in community, not isolated as so many have become in our society. People are lonely; they are hurting as they are isolated and in need of friends. If you are feeling isolated or lonely, the best way to overcome it is to make a friend, and the best way to make a friend is to be a friend. I don’t remember what program I was watching this week, but in the closing one of the characters made the statement, “Where ever God is, its where we are there for each other.” [Criminal Minds?]

Jesus went to the cross for us, he gave his life for us. Jesus has us covered. Christ is with us. Where ever two or three are gathered, not just in prayer, but in all walks of life, Jesus has loved us and continues to love us unconditionally. We are called to so the same. It is because of his unconditional love that I can joyfully rest in this friendship with Jesus.

Friends are gifts from God for constructive purposes, for our assistance in growth. We need not fear that love for our friends will detract from our love of God . It is by living in, abiding in, friendship that we come to learn what loving God truly means.

Let me close with this story. You may be familiar with the writings of Elie Wiesel. He reflected on his childhood and recalled his friends who were devoured by the Nazi war machine. It led him to philosophize on friendship. The Talmud, he wrote, says “friendship or death.” Without friends, life is sterile and meaningless. In a person’s life friendship rates ever higher than love. Love may lead a person to kill, but friendship never. Cain killed his brother Abel because he was only his brother and not his friend. We remember David as a great king not because of his conquests but because of his great friendship with Jonathan.

After the Wiesel family had been herded into the ghetto, their Christian housekeeper, Maria, a dear friend of the family, managed to get in so she might implore them to follow her to safety in her country cabin. The didn’t yet comprehend their fate and so they refused her gracious offer. The bonds of community kept them together with their neighbors. Elie reflected that if only more Christians had acted like Maria, there would have been fewer crowded trains arriving at the death camps. If more people had raised their voices; if more people had spoke out, if more Christians had spoken up…..[Parade Magazine, 8/27/95]

“Where ever God is, its where we are there for each other.” Amen.

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May 10, 2009

May 10, 2009 New Life In Christ Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 John 4: 7-21 John 15: 1-8

While at a retreat a number of years ago, we were asked to imagine ourselves as a piece of fruit. “What kind of fruit would you choose to be?” The leader asked.

There’s a great variety in fruit…..

Bananas - high in potassium that helps fuel us

Lemons - sour, but refreshing

Apples – crisp and sweet, or tart if you like the granny smith

Passion fruit – a little exotic surrounded by mystery

What kind of fruit would you choose to be? Why?

At the time, and I think still, I’d prefer to be a grape. I’ve always loved the imagery of John’s gospel and the thought of being connected to Jesus the vine. As I thought more, what I found as appealing, is I’d naturally be a part of a whole cluster of grapes bound together with one purpose – to feed people (or birds) - to nourish souls. As a grape I might even have the possibility of representing Christ –offered in the cup, and offering new life to anyone wanting to know Jesus.

Have you ever grown grapes? I tried for several years. I got some beautiful green leaves. But never did I produce any grapes. There was not enough sun; I planted it in the shade of the old maple. But I loved watching the vine grow, along with the wild grapes I found along my paper route. Little tendrils wrapped themselves around the arbor, helping it climb. The leaves came in on the smaller branches and almost seemed to unroll themselves. I saw the wild grapes flower and then send out tiny fruits, that grew in beautiful clusters….. big fat green grapes. All the while the vine continued to grow nourished by the rain and the nutrients of the ground. As long as the cluster was attached to the vine, the grapes grew larger until they almost seemed to burst open.

Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” Jesus was describing was a holy relationship. He was also describing what 19^th and 20^th century philosophers would describe as existentialism. To be connected to the source of life is to have life, and life abundant. Humanity exists to be in relationship with God, through Jesus. Apart from God we are disoriented, confused in a rather meaningless and rather absurd world. It is our faith, our relationship with God in Jesus Christ, that gives our life its meaning and value. The branches apart from the vine are nothing. To be separated is to die, to cease to exist.

However, existentialism aside, John is describing more than this: In the eight verses of the gospel reading we heard earlier, the word fruit is used six times. The vine and the branches exist for one reason, and one reason only: to bear fruit. We are to bear fruit, the fruit of love, which is manifest in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. [Galatians 5:22]

John’s first epistle is a beautiful revelation of God’s love for us. The love that John writes about is God’s agape love. There are other forms of love: eros – the sexual love between a couple, and philia - brotherly love. The term agape is used in scripture by early Christians to describe God’s self-sacrificing love toward us , given in Christ. It is unconditional, active, intentional, and thoughtful and as it is used almost 230 times it is most important!

What we have this morning is an encapsulated description of Christian character, the Christians life. Do you make lists? Paul did, he was great at lists. In his first letter to the Corinthians [13:4-8] he created a list of the results that spring forth from God’s love – things we are, things we do. In Phillipians 4:8 he tells us what we should think about, put on the mind of Christ, and in Colossians 3: 12-16 he even tells us how to ‘dress,’ clothe your selves with compassion, etc. You can look up the passages later to et the rest of the details. With Paul we get a very long list, and if you are anything like me, long lists often times overwhelm me.

God bless John. He reduced Christian living to simple, understandable phrases. I am the vine and you are the branches.” “…God is love.” [8] Those who abide in God, God abides in them.” [16b] “We love because God first loved us.” [19] Jesus nourished us with love, and this we pass on in our works. As Jesus has given us a Spirit of love, this we pass on to others, as we abide in Christ. The dilemma for the Christian then is to determine how we are to abide in Christ? To abide means to continue in, to remain in. John Wesley struggled with this idea of abiding. When he condensed Christian living to its core requelements (yes, I made that word up – I needed a new word for those required central elements), he said: 1) do no harm, 2) do good; and 3) attend to the ordinances of God – public and private prayer, study the scriptures, public worship, communion, fasting. According to Wesley, if we attend to what he called ordinances we will experience God’s grace, God’s blessings, to the fullest. We will experience new life. Remember, God is making all things new, the old is passing away and those who alive in God will live forever.

I think I know why Wesley struggled so…. It is one thing to know about God’s love in your head; it’s quite another to experience it in your heart, and then live balancing the intellectual with what is heartfelt. To abide in God’s love is to do both. When we live in God’s love there is a marriage of belief and love, of faith and action, of knowledge and feeling. How can we say we love God and hate our brother or sister? How can we say we love God and practice prejudice, greed, murder, or self-centeredness? How can we say we love God and refuse to forgive those who wound us? These are not easy tasks, I struggle with them, we all struggle with them, but over time, when we live in God’s love, we can move on to perfection. God’s love is inclusive… God’s love is the ultimate reality.

Last week I was blessed to attend the Walk to Emmaus. I know many of you were praying for me. I want to say thank you for those prayers. In that time I experienced God’s love in new and tangible ways.

God’s love is made visible to the world, when we are faithful in showing love to one another. This is an important part of our life together….making God’s love visible. When the rest of the world glamorizes love in the movies, or trivializes love in the soaps, we as Christians have a responsibility to be witnesses to the awesome agape love of Jesus Christ. So as we leave this place today to live in God’s love and show the world God’s love – intentional, active, holy, unconditional, self-sacrificing, and thoughtful - let me leave you with three questions: What will you do today to make God’s love real in your family? What will you do this week to make God’s love real in the world, to those who may not know God or have never experienced the love of God? And, how will you help others to know and live in a new life in Christ? Amen.

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May 3, 2009

LEARNING FROM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

By The Rev. F. Richard Garland

John 10:11-18 (Psalm 23; I John 3:18-24)

Fourth Sunday in Easter

"The Lord is my shepherd." Generations of faithful people have found comfort in, and have been nurtured by these familiar words. So, when Jesus says of himself, "I am the good shepherd," the response of most people is to say, if quietly, "Amen!" But, in a world that has lost its rural roots, sometimes we don’t grasp the richness of the image of the good shepherd. It is helpful to explore this image of the good shepherd, to hear what people heard in that image when Jesus first spoke it, and to search for the meaning which it has for us today.

Since few of us have ever had first hand contact with sheep, let me begin with a brief primer on sheep. In ancient cultures sheep represented the primary wealth and sometimes the total livelihood of early pastoral peoples. In Jesus' day sheep were kept by families for long periods of time - they provided milk to drink, and wool for the weaving of cloth. It was only near the end of the their lives, having fulfilled their primary use, that they were used as food to eat, or their skins used for covering of tents. In the pastoral economy they were as a medium of exchange - if you will, the money of their day. In the practice of faith they figured prominently in the religious sacrificial system. In most instances the nature of sheep is affectionate, unaggressive, relatively defenseless, and in need of constant care and supervision. The image of sheep in scripture, aside from the references to them as a part of the ancient economy, is as a symbol for the people of God, who are called the sheep of God's own pasture.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of the role of a shepherd: "He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young." Those who know Handel's great Oratorio, "Messiah," cannot hear these words without a tune coming to mind. The image of shepherd and sheep is a part of the religious roots of many people. The shepherd was a Presence in the lives of the sheep, and, they knew the voice of their own shepherd. He provided care and comfort, led them to food, restricted them to keep them safe, protected them from danger, sought and found them when they were lost, even disciplined them when it was necessary. It is hard to picture a shepherd without also picturing the staff. But this staff was more than just a part of a pretty picture. It was used to divide the flock, to lift a sheep out of danger, to strike an enemy of the flock. The staff was a symbol of security and threat.

In Jesus’ time there was what was called a sheepfold. There were actually two sheepfolds: In the village was the communal sheepfold to which the flocks returned in the evening. A walled enclosure, it was protected by a strong door. But out on the hillsides there was another sheepfold. Used in the warmer seasons when the sheep were brought back to the village each night, it was also walled. But there was an important difference. There was an opening, but no gate. At night the shepherd lay down across the opening, and literally became the door, protecting the sheep from outside danger and preventing them from leaving the safety of the enclosure. William Barclay writes that, in that day: "A real shepherd is born to his task. He was sent out with the flock as soon as he was old enough to go; the sheep became his friends and his companions; and it became second nature to think of them before he thought of himself. But the false shepherd came into the job, not as a calling, but as a means of making money. He was in it simply and solely for the pay he could get."

One must be very careful not to get too warm and fuzzy about the image of the shepherd. A shepherd accepts significant responsibility. A shepherd has to know what needs to be done and, it is never a part time job. It is hard work and there are times when you might just lose your life. As for the sheep, being part of the flock means a submission to discipline - you will not long be a part of the flock without accepting the discipline of the shepherd. Further, that discipline includes obedience. So, being the good shepherd (or even like the good shepherd) is not an easy task, and being sheep of the pasture means more than just lying down beside the still waters.

There are two truths in all this: when Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd," we have a picture of who Jesus thought himself to be. He has compassion for each one under his care. As did the shepherd, Jesus knows each one of his flock by name, takes care of them, and protects them from danger. As did the shepherd, Jesus seeks out the lost and returns them to the flock. As was the shepherd, Jesus is one with strength and courage, one with ceaseless vigilance, one with infinite patience and unwearied kindness. Born out of the Love for those who are entrusted to him, he is willing to give up his own life. Jesus is the good shepherd. He comes in strength and courage to lead us back to God. Unceasingly he watches over us, and stays with us always. With gentle kindness he heals our disease and comforts us when we are in sorrow. He offers to us living bread. With unwearied patience he bears all our follies, our mistakes, and our sins. And in perfect love he gives himself up for us over and over again.

The second truth is that there are expectations of those who would be faithful to Jesus. As the shepherd gathers the flock around him, so Jesus gathered disciples around him, inviting them to follow him, and learn from him. Jesus came to preach the good news and make disciples out of those who heard the Word. It hasn't changed today. I believe that it would be not far off the mark to say that Jesus is more interested in people becoming his disciples than becoming church members. Church membership without discipleship is a pale reflection of the call of Christ. It becomes little more than a club where people are measured by their qualifications, not their obedience. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, expects us to follow him, to learn of him, and to witness for him. The second truth then is this: The Lord is our shepherd. If we offer ourselves into the care of the Lord, nothing will ultimately have power over us, and we will be able to live the full life which our creator has given us.

In a world that has become increasingly mechanical and wired, the image of a shepherd has lost part of its power for many people. But we can still learn from ancient images, perhaps must learn! Ultimately, even, perhaps especially, in this modern world, there are choices to be made in relation to faith. Those who want the comfort of the 23rd Psalm must also come to terms with whether they intend to accept the guidance of the Good Shepherd of which it speaks. So come again into the presence of the Good Shepherd. In weariness you will find rest for your soul. In grief and pain you will find comfort for your spirit. In times of dis-ease you will find healing for your body and soul. In times of injustice and unfairness, you will find righteousness and peace. In times of sorrow and unhappiness you will find encouragement. By his hand he will lead you beyond the valley of dark shadows to pastures green and waters still. Come to him, put your hands in his, and you will be content.

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April 26, 2009

“Lavished in Love”

By The Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 John 3: 1-7

Good morning, Children of God. Yes, we are God’s children here and now! This is good news! Amen!

As John wrote, he stated “the problem” in a very straight forward fashion. The reality was and still is “the reason the world does not know us is that it did not [and does not] know him.”

Reality. What is our reality? What was the reality of John’s day? John witnessed the life and death of Jesus; and he witnessed the resurrection. He saw the best of times and the worst of times: blessing and persecution, life in its fullness and life at its worst.

With all our “reality” television, for those watching, it’s hard to know what is real. A person’s reality is shaped by many different factors, but with reality tv the major factor seems to be deception. Make a deal and break your word, lie, cheat, and manipulate the other, all for the reward of at the end of the game. This is not how God calls us to live, and it is not the message of John’s letter. Life is not a game, our reward is not a million dollars at the end of the game. The world would have us believe that if we have enough money – whatever enough is – or wear the right clothes, or drive the right car, or even have the correct job, then we will achieve true happiness and success. Great will be our award! I’m sure you have heard the expression: he who dies with the most toys wins. Not so! We win the crown of righteousness when live a life right with God. As the children of God, our reward is stored for us in heaven - and our reward is given because we live a life that is righteous. So, “Let no one deceive you.”

The producers of these shows may have one thing correct: reality is about action. Just as these shows are popularized by action, love, rather than being a feeling, is also an action. Love is an action verb. Love requires work, it requires effort. I think every married couple here knows that while love may seem easy at first, when the passion is roused and love is exciting, for the marriage to last it takes hard work. Everyday there is a conscious decision and action to grow the marriage relationship. For marriage to last it is a likeminded effort.

When we love one another, in a community of likeminded neighbors, it can be exciting, and it too requires action. Those who put on the mind of Christ are called to be like Christ, and put our words into action. We are not called to just talk the talk, but to walk the walk, to put love in motion.

Yesterday, I saw a community of believers come together to work to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity and support other church programs. Last night our youth put love in action as they learned about homelessness and hunger. They constructed a “card board city” on our front lawn and slept outside to experience a little of what it might be like to be on the street, to be cold, and to be hungry.

What they experienced wasn’t total reality, it was fun running around and playing games, and maybe a few of them thought about the dangers outside they had leaders watching over them to keep them safe. This is not the case of people on the streets - where there are guns and drugs and all manner of behavior. You have heard some of the hard realities offered by our youth.

Jesus talked a lot about love, he said, “The greatest commandment is this, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart , with all your mind, and with all your soul’; and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He talked about love, and he put it to work. He lavished love on the world that the world might know God, who he related to as Father. The personal relationship he experienced with God, he took and lavished on humanity – those marginalized, those outcasts, those suffering in a hurting world.

Did you know the word ‘lavish’ comes from the old French word laver which means to wash? By our baptism and faith we are washed in God’s love and grace. “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) For God so loved…. This is the incredible news of the entire recorded scriptures. Again and again God called to his people, and when they had sinned, God provided a means to repent to return. And in time God sent Jesus to reconcile the whole world. And we are to be like him – to lavish love on everyone. That doesn’t mean we don’t exercise tough love from time to time. Jesus did that with the Pharisees, and he used love on those ready to stone the woman caught in adultery. John wrote, “Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.” Lavish love and do right.

My prayer is that we may so order our lives that we may carry God’s word to the world that the world will recognize Christ in us; and that we may live our lives such that we are able to graciously and gently lavish love on those hurting souls that the world may know God in Jesus Christ. May we offer encouragement and give the world hope.

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April 19, 2009

Second Sunday of Easter & All Creation Day

(Earth Day is April 22)

Living in Relationship

By lay speaker Ellen Jacke

Last Sunday our voices were raised in the joyous, ”Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!”

Today we begin the “rest of the story”. How will we respond to this greatest evidence of God’s love for us? How will we carry out the two greatest commandments: To love God with all our heart and mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves? Both of these admonitions call us to be in relationship.

This morning we have an interesting juxtaposition. This is the first Sunday after Easter, when we celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus, and it is also Earth Day Sunday, the Sunday on which we celebrate God’s Creation. Our scriptures for today tell two stories- the story of God creating the earth in Genesis and the story of the Easter People creating a new kind of community in Acts. Both stories call us into relationship, a relationship with God as evidenced by the way we live our lives in relationship with God’s people on this earth which he has given to us and how we live in relationship to that earth.

In Genesis we learn that God created His natural world and it was good! God then created men and women to care for His creation. We are to be stewards of God’s creation showing our love of God by caring for His earth and its creatures. In the very beginning of the Bible we are given our job description: Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God put man into the garden to till it and keep it.”

In Leviticus we find laws which show that the ancient Israelites understood that the land belonged to God and that the land should be managed as a gift from God. No land was to be owned in perpetuity but to be held and worked for the good of the community. We are guests, not owners!

The few short verses from Acts give us a picture of how the earliest church tried to live out these precepts. They gathered together, sold all that they had and collected everything in a common treasury. “No one claimed that any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4: 32b). What a different kind of experience in our modern society.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves a few questions.

Whose world is it anyway? Psalm 24:1 tells us, ”The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” All we have to do is recall the words of our two hymns: “All Creatures of our God and King” and “This is my Father’s World” to bring us back to a realization of how far we have moved away from a productive, sustainable relationship with not only our natural world but with each other.

Where did we start to go wrong?

God’s natural world is holistic and circular. Consider the water cycle we all studied in elementary school science. All we have to do is look at compost bin or a worm box to realize that God designed a God designed a circular system for his world in which everything is recycled for our use and reuse.

When my husband, Stan, was learning about composting he remarked, “I found God in the compost pile.” He was referring to the process of composting which breaks down the leftovers of the house and garden into just the right formula to grow the next generation of plant life. God’s plan for His people is that we should be fruitful and multiply if we stick with the principles He has taught us.

All primitive people understood this and lived in close relationship to natural cycles. Nomadic societies knew that they had to move regularly so that they did not overgraze their pastures. In the Old Testament we are warned against overusing our resources. Land was to be rested every seven years. Man was to rest every seventh day.

Something happened when the Industrial Revolution began. We moved away from the daily interaction with nature and natural rhythms. Electricity allowed us to turn night into day. Instead of using natural resources in such a way that they would recycle naturally we manufactured items which ended up in huge piles of trash in landfills which would not naturally degrade in our lifetimes. We have turned a circle into a straight line to the dump! The healthy relationship with our natural world was broken.

We made and continue to make decisions about where we live, the bottled water we drink, the food we choose, that result in huge amounts of toxic emission from the cars and trucks which clog our highways moving us and our consumer “wants” across the miles. Unfortunately, we can say with Isaiah, “The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants..” Is. 24:5. We have moved out of relationship with God’s creation and our planet and its people are suffering the consequences.

What are we passing on to our children? But even more insidious, we are bringing up a generation that has no real experience with nature. Many of our children are spending so many hours in front of the television and computers that there is now a national “No Child Left Indoors” movement to get our kids outside. We are now “manufacturing” programs to help them learn outdoor “play” and discover that food comes from fields and not supermarkets. How can they “till and keep” if they don’t even know that there is a garden?

Where do we go for some answers? In Colossians 1 : 17,20 Paul tells us that,”(Christ) himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together … through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.”

What a statement on this Earth Day Sunday, the first Sunday after the Resurrection! Christ died for us to bring us into closer relationship not only with God and our neighbors but with the whole of God’s creation. There is but one response which we can give if we are to call ourselves followers of the risen Christ. We must begin to mend our ways.

We must begin by proclaiming the message that this world is God’s, it is a holy place and one for which we must express reverence toward nature as well as toward all our fellow creatures. God’s creation is amazing and the more we learn the more amazing it becomes. It still astounds me that you and I are a conglomeration of moving particles and mostly water. What seems solid is really waves and motion. It boggles my mind but that is what our scientists are telling us today. What other astounding insights will we discover in the next twenty years? Our God is an awesome God!

Our God is also a loving and forgiving God. There is no competition for God’s love. It is big enough to include all creatures and all creation.

We are all connected in a web of life. When we repent and turn away from our wasteful and polluting ways we can turn things around. If we begin to change our habits and right our wrongs we can begin to slow and then stop the degradation of our planet. Small changes by each family here can begin the process if we once again claim a more circular relationship with God’s creation.

Some suggestions:

Dig a garden in your back yard as Michelle Obama has done at the White House

Turn in your gas guzzler for a more efficient car

Use green bags at the grocery store

Change your light bulbs to CFLs (compact fluorescents)

Bike or carpool as often as possible

Turn out lights when not in use

Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater

Use water saving devices in showers and toilets

Recycle – Paper, plastics, cans and bottles

Recycle -bring your stuff to the Yard Sale so others will use it instead of buying new stuff

Buy at the Habitat ReStore when remodeling and bring your gently use appliances, furniture, etc. there

Get a water filter instead of buying bottled water which is in plastic bottles and is trucked many miles

Join a CSA and/or buy produce grown locally at a farmer’s market

Use mugs instead of paper cups

Conduct an energy audit of your home and insulate

If each one of us here today made these changes we could shrink our carbon footprint considerably and become a part of the solution instead of exacerbating the problem.

When we work together as a congregation we can make even more of a difference.

Next week at 11:30 there will be a Spiritual Formation workshop as ”NKMUC Goes Green!” Attend this workshop, give your input and plan together how we can have a greater impact when acting as a congregation.

As a denomination the United Methodists have passed several resolutions on “Environmental Justice for a Sustainable Future” and “ U. S. Energy Policy and United Methodist Responsibility”. We are taking this challenge seriously. We must all work together to fulfill our responsibility to God’s world and the generations to come.

Our personal lives have changed, too. In this fast paced, busy world we have moved away from the small town experience where everyone knows everyone. We tend to “cocoon” into our own houses at night. I am as guilty as the rest of you. I don’t know my neighbors right here on Boston Neck Road.

How many of us really know the extent of hunger and homelessness in North Kingstown? How many of us really know the concerns of those we work with or live next to? How can we better tune in to their needs and respond to them?

How would we react if next Sunday there was a call to sell all of our possessions and turn them over to this church so we could go out collectively to meet the needs of all our neighbors? I don’t think we have to be that radical.

We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. In this church we do a very good job of taking care of our own congregational “neighbors” . It is important, however, that we do not become complacent. Every day we need to be intentional about staying in relationship with our neighbors in the larger community.

God so loved the world – the earthly world and the human world - that he gave His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life. It is up to us to work in harmony with God in the way we relate to each other and to our planet.

On the Earth Day Sunday, this Sunday after Easter, let us renew our determination to be a Christ-centered people, honoring the earth that is God’s gift to us and showing our gratitude to God by reaching out to the people He has put in our lives.

In the words of our Pre-service hymn:

“For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies;

Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful

praise.”

Amen

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April 12, 2009 EASTER

He is Risen, by The Rev. Lori Eldredge

Easter Sunday April 12, 2009 “He Is Risen” Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 20:1-18

The wonder of the gospel stories, in each of the four accounts, is that in each, at the time the women go to the tomb to prepare Jesus for burial, to fix forever his body and soul among the dead, He is not there! He is Risen!

Jesus who went ahead of us in life and in death, has gone ahead of us where we will see him alive again and we be with him forever. Christ is Risen! (Congregation: Christ is risen indeed.)

Years ago, I used to love exploring cemeteries. I could spend hours there, joyfully exploring the history of my hometown and Cape Cod. Cemeteries are full of history carved into the headstones, and there are so many historic sites. Early in the 1800’s some calamity hit the area as about 35 people were buried in one section, all within six months of each other. Life must have been hard that year (and for several years after) in Eastham; full of tears and sadness. I confess, my time in the cemetery was more an adventure, I hadn’t experienced death yet. We didn’t have family plot then: now we do, where my brother and my grandfather lay, not far from the gravesites of my grandmothers. There is nothing adventurous anymore when I visit their graves.

Visiting the gravesite is emotionally difficult as I remember their lives, their deaths, and their love: there are so many feelings. Thoughts emerge racing between head and heart but all of them end with the knowledge that their earthly lives are ended and their physical bodies permanently fix within the grave. I think this is what Mary Magdalene thought and experienced that first Easter morning.

It was terribly emotional, and a case could be made that she was in shock. After the experiences of Good Friday and even the days before, she had experienced emotional upheaval. To see Jesus welcomed into the city, then anointed, to see the tables overturned in the temple, and to be there as he knelt before his disciples and washed their feet, and then as he broke bread and fed them at the Passover meal. But now three days had passed. The scripture tells us she went to the grave while it was still dark out. It was a dangerous time, but as she went with the other women on this first morning after the Sabbath to properly prepare the body for its final resting place she received a double blow. The stone was rolled away and the body removed.

What happened? Who could have done this? Who would have done this? For what purpose? She ran back to tell the disciples the news, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have taken him”. This was not good news and definitely not what anyone wanted to deal with in the early morning hours. For the disciples it must have come as a jolt to the nervous system: asleep and now suddenly awake. But for Mary it was all she could bear.

As they ran to the grave, the disciples went in to discover that what Mary had said was true; thenthe disciples returned to their homes, ^“for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.“ (John 20:10) Mary is left alone, again….

"Woman, why are you weeping?" the angels asked. Where did the angels come from? In the midst of her grief, had she missed something? But, “Why are you weeping?” It seems as though someone had missed something! Who in Jerusalem didn’t know? - The whole city had turned out – it was a public execution. Jesus had been made to carry the cross beam through the city, an innocent man had been out to death. A loving man, a gentle man, with two criminals convicted of thievery – it appeared as though death had won, and evil had triumphed over goodness.

There are many days when it appears that evil has triumphed. When unemployment forces people out of their homes, when an unexpected medical crisis wipes out bank accounts because insurance is astronomically expensive, when elected government officials line their own pockets and fail to provide for the general good of the electorate, and when the electorate deceives itself with alcohol, gambling, and all its other addictions for a brief moment of gratification; when a gunman can turn his weapon on the elderly in a nursing home, or on a student population; when sharp tongues are turned on one another in a lack of civility and contempt and pride…. well, yes, evil has won out, and there are tears, and shock, and dismay.

Its definitely not the world Jesus envisioned; ultimately he came to believe his ministry as a beginning to a very different world – a world wide community based on love and servanthood, of self-sacrifice and discipleship, of prayer and worship of God who loves us and wants nothing more than to bless us. In the early morning darkness this hope had faded away, the light having gone out of the world.

“Why are you weeping?” The question is asked a second time. Mary supposes him to be the gardener. “If you know where they have taken him, tell me.” And then he calls her by name, “Mary.”

Her tears were as water on cotton candy dissolving the bonds that held her once and for all. When Jesus spoke her name she recognized him. Too good to be true? No; too good not to be true. The powers of evil and death had been overthrown!!

Mary became the first witness to the resurrection! “I have seen the Lord!” Mary had loved Jesus before his death, had followed him to the cross, and was the first one ever to witness him alive. Her love turned to tears, now turned to joy! Jesus was raised from the dead, and he broke once and for all the bonds of sin and death. Death could not hold him. As Jesus is raised from the dead, so we too will be raised and are set free .

In 1998 I presided at my grandmother’s funeral. My nephew was there, quite young at the time, and not fully aware of what was going on. He was adventurous and not the least bit shy. He came up to me as I was about to begin the graveside service. He threw his arms around my legs and did a pirouette, balancing on to me. He looked down into the grave and said, “That sure is deep.” “Yes,” I said, “ it has to be deep.” He continued to study the grave, “It’s dark down there,” he said. And then after looking a while longer very confidently stated, “I could climb out.”

In his innocence had no idea what he had said. What a hope filled statement! Jesus had left the darkness of death, and climbed out! Jesus conquered death and darkness and became the Light of the world; the world would never be the same again. And Mary had been given a mission: to lead others into the light of the new day.

The hope we share on this day of resurrection is that Jesus lives! Each time we feast at the Lord’s Table, each time we bow in prayer or sing God’s praises – each time we reach out in love to serve our neighbor, we know the truth of the resurrection! We too have seen the Lord, we too are set free to climb out of the grave – to say with Mary, “I have seen the Lord!” We are set free to be disciples, to bring the light of Christ to the world, bearing to love justice, to do mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

On this Easter day we celebrate God’s great love in Jesus Christ! Our Good Friday tears have been turned to joy. Christ is risen. (Congregation: Christ is Risen indeed.) Alleluia! Amen.

Will prayer with me?

Gracious God, on this day of resurrection, we give you thanks. We thank you for the promise of life, life after death and life before death. In Help us to share the wonder of this day, and through your grace , help us to be all that you have created and redeemed us to be, through Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen.

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April 5, 2009 Palm Sunday

April 5, 2009

“Loyalty: It’s Cost and Benefits”

By The Rev. Lori Eldredge

Mark 14: 10 -21

I want to congratulate you on coming to church today. Palm Sunday is a difficult day to come to church. We come anticipating celebrating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and end with anticipating Jesus death. The signs are all around us - signs of victory and signs of defeat: the palms waved greeting Jesus as crowds gathered to offer praise, the alabaster jar emptied of the oil used to anoint the Christ, ….. while the empty cross stands waiting ….

Yes, today is a difficult day to come to church. We are given two chapters of Mark today, that is 119 verses, 4 days of plotting and execution. Mark was able to cover quite a bit with his rather concise style. We can’t look at all of it, but we can begin this Holy Week together by asking ourselves some questions that we might have asked had we been present with Jesus these last days of his life.

Have you ever considered the people gathered at the city gates to greet him? The crowds gathered to praise him? If we were able to post a picture of the crowd on Facebook we might see tagged the leper he healed, and the prostitute; hidden in the crowd might be the adulterer and the woman caught in adultery with him. I know, we only hear about the woman who was told to “go and sin no more”, but he was there too, and probably quite grateful his name was never mentioned. How many of the sinners he forgave were there? How many of the sinners he ate with? How many of those were marginalized by society? They were there and they were full of hope because they knew what he could do. What would it have meant for you to have been a part of this celebration at the gates of Jerusalem?

The closest we get being in the parade is attending Webber and Rice’s rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”… Hey sanna, ho sanna, sanna, sanna, hey sanna ho sanna hey superstar. Hey JC JC won’t you smile for me sanna, hey sanna hey superstar.” It may fun to be there but there is tension because we would also see those who were gathered to incite the crowds. For a while now the Pharisees and Sadducees were plotting his death: to find a way to have him arrested and then see him dead. They couldn’t actually put him to death though. In Roman occupied territory only a Roman official could order a criminal put to death.

But Jesus wasn’t a criminal. He challenged authority, …but that’s not a crime. He had had the audacity to call the Pharisees and the Sadducees to task. He was a troublemaker . They didn’t like it; and they didn’t like it when he broke the Sabbath, or when he befriended publicans…. These were not crimes.

Mark has Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on an unbroken donkey, and I’ll confess I have a problem with this. Riding on a donkey was for women. It was Mary who rode on the donkey as she was carrying Jesus, and again when he was an infant as they escaped into Egypt. He was as vulnerable then and in and need of protection as he was on this day today. Jerusalem was a crowded city with pilgrims arriving for Passover, and Roman soldiers and chariots, and those already desiring to get rid of this nuisance Jesus.

There are so many things about this story that bothers me, first his entry into Jerusalem, and then his quick exit to the home of Simon the leper. where he is anointed with the oil of nard. The story is actually told in each of the gospels, and each telling is different. What is the same is the point that he is anointed - the Messiah, the Christ - and in the anointing, love does not count the cost. The woman, in whichever version you prefer, did what no one else had done… she anointed him and in doing so performed an act of intense love that cost everything. What would we have given out of love and devotion for Jesus? True love is costly, as is discipleship.

It’s hard not to notice the relationship between the anointing and the betrayal of Judas. Was the squandering of such a resource the tipping point for Judas to betray Jesus? At 300 denari was this anointing the last straw for Judas?

When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray him they experienced terror. “Could I, could I be the one who will betray Jesus?” Could we be the ones to betray him? To then sell out for thirty pieces of silver? What would our price have been?

Loyalty has its costs. We come celebrating, and we come remembering. Do we come prepared to take action for Jesus when called to do so? Jesus came as the Messiah but in quite a different position than was expected. He was vulnerable to the point of death. When any innocent suffers – whether it be from cowardly abuse, or narcissistic manipulation – are we willing to stand with them to help, or do we run? Are we able to stand the taunts and the verbal abuse for the sake of Christ? Would we put ourselves in harms way for the sake of Jesus? Loyalty often comes at a very high cost.

Loyalty also has its benefits. We know, as Paul Harvey would have said, ‘the rest of the story.’ As Jesus is resurrected, so we who are baptized with the water and the Spirit will also be resurrected. “For we shall be like him”. Jesus gave his life for us, once and for all we through Christ are reconciled with all the world to God. We have been forgiven for all our sins – those of commission and those of omission. Jesus has already paid the price that we might spend eternity – starting today – with God. Forever our lives are covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This was not patricide, as some think God sent his son to die on the cross; this was sacrifice when God came to take up our sins on the cross in human form in Christ Jesus. Jesus willingly turned to face Jerusalem and die on the cross, for you and for me.

If you have not invited Christ into your heart I would invite you to pray with me now; and if you have then reaffirm your prayers. Pray with me:

Lord, come into my heart and cleanse it that I may love you. Cover me with your love that I may face whatever comes my way today. Send your light and guide my feet that I may walk in your path and grow in your Holy Spirit. Amen.

As Jesus gave his life for us he also left us this Holy feast.

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March 29, 2009

“Grief and Glory”

by The Rev. Lori Eldredge

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12 (UMH 785) ; John 12:20-33

Yesterday, I picked up a mug, with seabirds on it. Each of the three birds was labeled , “Tern,” “Tern,” “Tern.” You know the little birds protected as they nest in areas along our ocean’s edge. It reminded me of a song from the 60’s; maybe you remember the Byrds. One of the songs they sang was Pete Seeger’s “Turn, Turn, Turn”…

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn).... and so it continues

It was based on the writing of Ecclesiastes . The writer reflected on the nature of life, there is a time for everything – to be born, to marry, to die, to go to war, and time to make peace. It may seem that the world, with its time for everything, is a fickle place, maybe even a bit unreliable, and that being so because we do not know the time or the hour for anything.

How many of you remember being able to pick up the telephone and talking to an operator to get you connected to anther party? It seems like only yesterday, now we’re texting and twittering. We connect by way of the cell phone and if there is a teenager in your house you know they are able to keep in contact with friends at a moments notice. It’s very different from 40 and 50 years ago. I mention this because it does remind me of the text this morning.

Very truly, I tell you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,

it remains just a single grain;

but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Those who love their life lose it,

and those who hate their life in this world

will keep it for eternal life.”

(John 12:24-25)

As followers of Jesus Christ, we’re called to let go of the old and embrace the new. Isaiah said it best:

“Do not remember the former things,

or consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19

What do we let go of? What do hold on to, particularly as we consider the faith handed to us by our foremothers and forefathers, so that we don’t get stuck? This is a serious question as we think about how a church transitions that it may be involved in the ministry it has to do at any given time in its history. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant promised by God; a covenant to restore the old as people continued to break covenant . God said, “The days are surely coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…” (31:31)

With Jesus, in this time of Lent, we are in the middle of a paradigm shift, as we are in the growth of this church. And a question for us to think about is: how are we going to grab hold of new expressions of faith (ie new paradigms) without losing sight of where we have come from and whose we are?

Remember at the beginning of the gospel, as Jesus was at the wedding in Cana? Mary, Jesus’ mother, spoke to him concerning the wine. Jesus told her, “My hour has not come.”

If you watch the movements of Jesus in the scriptures there were times when Jesus withdrew from debate and controversy – his time had not come; but now, there was no escape. Now was the time to embrace a most difficult task, and what Jesus told Philip and Andrew is that time would not only be a time of grief and sorrow, but it would also be a time of glory, of victory.

There is tension in this text, for Jesus knows the time has come and it means his death. Were the disciples ready? Was the world ready to embrace this new paradigm? This is edgy. We look at the shift, at the scriptures as personal to Jesus, he’s the one to be nailed to the cross, but are we prepared to even look at the cross? Do we really want to see Jesus crucified? We want to go to the manger and see the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, but do we want to see Jesus nailed to the cross, crucified, bleeding, and suffering? I don’t think most Christians do. We want to go from the celebration of Palm Sunday to the celebration of the resurrection, of Easter, without stopping to consider the cost. Oh that our churches would be as full Maundy Thursday and Good Friday as they were at Christmas and will be at Easter. The crucifixion was personal to Jesus, and it is personal to each one of us. Jesus said, “When I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself.” All people – texters and twitterers, dial-up and over the fence neighbors, letter writers and emailers.

God’s saving grace was given once and for all, in Christ Jesus. Jesus was willing to lay down his life, embracing the new paradigm as difficult as that was, and called his disciples to follow, to give up everything for a far greater gift: the gift of eternal life.

It makes me think of some of our Lazarus churches - congregations have closed doors, combined in new ways, and have been resurrected to new life. They blessed the old and entered a new paradigm, allowing space to open up for new ministries and new way of expressing their faith in worship, programs, outreach, and spiritual formation classes.

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,

it remains just a single grain;

but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

As we venture closer to the cross, we need to ask ourselves: What am I willing to let go in my life that I may be faithful to the transformation God is working in me?

What are we willing to let go of that we may be faithful to the transformation God is working in us?

It may be difficult and it may bring us certain grief, but it will also bring God glory ; and, bring us face to face with our God almighty. Amen.

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March 22, 2009 ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING Rev. Lori Eldredge

Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; John 3:14-21

So… the people were roaming in the desert, and in one area there was an abundance of snakes. If the people were bit, they would die. So they asked God to remove the snakes. God didn’t happen to have it in his plans to remove them, but wanting to be in relationship with the Hebrews, did provided an antidote. Now, if you are bitten by a snake it would be good to have snake serum particular to the snake that bit you. God instructed the Hebrews to place a bronze snake on a stake and when the people were bitten, they were to look up to the snake and be healed. This was not magic! It was doing what God told them do, being obedient, and even more. When they looked up to the snake, their eyes went beyond to the heavens, to God, to the source of their faith. No, there was no magic in the snake on the stake; they received a cure because of their obedience and faith.

It seems like such a simple solution to all the moaning and groaning of the Israelites - they didn’t like the food, there was little to no water. What do you do with such a people?

The serpent has always been a symbol of death and sin since Adam and Eve, and now it was to be a sign of healing. I confess, I’m having a hard time seeing it. I think of those scenes in Indiana Jones and all those snake pits, squirming with those dreadful creatures. This morning I remembered the boxcar “Anything but snakes.” I don’t see the healing. Any healing has to come from within as I wrestle with my fears. It has been suggested by a number of people that snakes are beautiful creatures. They may be right. The serpent in the garden must have been very beautiful to tempt Adam and Eve to turn away from God. Snakes, in fact may intrigue us to the point that they detract us… they turn our attention away from God. Fear, at its basic level, prevents us from healing and keeps our focus away from God. We have to move beyond looking at the snake.

The cross is a similar symbol for Christians. Jesus in talking with Nicodemus makes the connection of this bronze snake on pole and the cross of Jesus. He says that like the bronze serpent he too must be “lifted up” (John 3:15) , both function to save God’s people. .not by magic, but by faith. The cross is also a symbol of suffering and shame, of Christ Jesus, and of his death; and now for us it is a means of healing and wholeness, of rebirth.

Can a man be born again? What does it mean to be re-birthed? It’s no coincidence that today is the designated Sunday across the denominations to take a special offering for the One Great Hour of Sharing. The offering is used to support UMCOR, the acronym most heard in our United Methodist denomination, as well as other relief organizations in the faith community. UMCOR is the acronym for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Sometimes I think it should be UM Committee on Rebirth… because when UMCOR is there people are given new hope, they are reborn. There is no place we are given to understand rebirth in a more hopeful way, save the cross.

Do you remember the fall of 1992? Neither do I. But, from the autumn of 1992 to September of 1993 the Mississippi River Basin in several areas received 400-750% above normal precipitation, and the river began to rise and breach the levees. By the time the waters began to recede 30,000 square miles had been flooded, with 15 billion dollars in damages to crops and property , and homes. Measured in duration and displaced persons it was the most costly and devastating disaster the United States had ever known. (HHS.gov) UMCOR was there. In November of ’93 I served with our church’s mission team, which by the way was 10% of our church membership and headed by the entire church council, as we served in Niota, a small town where the levees broke after a long hard fight to keep them strong. When their town went under they lost hope. Houses were flooded with five and six feet of sludge. It was a matter of minutes. A mechanics pit flooded almost immediately and the dirty oil in the pit was left as a reminder marking the levels of the water when the river finally peaked and then receded. The people of Niota know what it means to be reborn, not like Dumbledore’s phoenix in Harry Potter, but as in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, from a watery grave.

The people of the subcontinent of India to Southeast Asia also know what it means to have this hope. On December 26, 2004 a tsunami resulted in the Indian Ocean when an earthquake with its epicenter near Sumatra, Indonesia unleashed its devastation. Wave after wave moved over the coasts of eleven countries, an estimated 225,000 people died, with billions of property damage. UMCOR was there.

On August 29^th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, paralyzing New Orleans, and cutting a swath of destruction approximately 250 miles wide. More than 1800 people lost their lives and there was 81 billion dollars of estimated damage. (HHS.gov) On September 25 Hurricane Rita added insult to injury. UMCOR was there with preparations and then with recovery. UMCOR is still there!

UMCOR , well known for its success in helping disaster survivors in the long term through case management, was recognized by FEMA and the US government for its expertise, directing it to be the organization to coordinate and lead a group of nine case management agencies called Katrina Aid. Foreign governments directed their aid to the U.S. through UMCOR.

And much closer to home, in May of 2006, Mother’s Day spring rains caused flooding in regions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine again causing loss of life and property damage . I was in the church in Concord, watching it’s courtyard gardens literally begin to fill like a pool. Three of the four walls with doors began to let In water, even as the trustees set up pumps to drain it, running hoses through the building and out the perimeter windows. We were blessed, our building suffered little damage; others lost houses, churches sustained damage, roads and communications infrastructure were washed away. UMCOR was there working with the New England Annual Conference to assist those displaced.

UMCOR is at work today around the globe and 100% of every dollar given to disaster relief goes to disaster relief because churches supporting the One Great Hour of Sharing provide an infrastructure in place, year round, around the globe. Your offerings to the One Great Hour of Sharing helps extend our mission outreach to the world, and offer hope of rebirth. Hope when people are devastated, hope when governments fail, hope when only Jesus Christ and Christ’s church is the answer.

While many of these disasters seem to result from natural disasters a strong case can be made for the high cost of their devastation resulting from the consequences of human behavior. Near the beginning of the text read this morning is the famous passage John 3:16. You see it everywhere - on placards at football games, ‘tips’ at restaurants, on billboards along highways, and almost every Sunday School child it memorizes it at one time or another : “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It Is taken out of context and claimed it as a verse for our salvation. This is not what John intended. Relate it to the verse that follows it. “For God sent not his on into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. (17) This is about God’s provision already made….

God provided for the Israelites in the desert, God provides for people today. Lest we should we make a mistake, let me add, God’s provision is not about the length of our lives here, but the character of our lives. Jesus told us that those who do not believe are condemned already. If you don’t look up to the snake of the pole , you’re poisoned already, and will die. If you don’t believe in the power of the cross, you’re dead to any hope of rebirth.

Where do we place our hope? To whom will we turn in the face of our fears? Let us in this life turn to the cross that we may reflect the saving power of God in Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

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March 15, 2009

Cleaning God's House by The Rev. Lori Eldredge

Exodus 20: 1-17 ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ~ *John 2:13-22

We are accustomed to hearing the various teaching of Jesus in parable, or through confrontation with the Pharisees. Sometimes, as in the beginning chapters of John, his deepest passions are set in actions – actions that are met with strong responses. In the temple we find Jesus clearing out the moneychangers, those engaged in profiteering exchanging coins with human images, notably the emperor, for acceptable currency, and selling animals to be used for sacrifice. The Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke - clearly indicate his actions as protest against the exploitation of the temple and of the people of Israel. John, however, raises a different question – by whose authority is Jesus acting?

It is also of interest to note that in the Synoptic Gospels this story is set with the passion narratives. Here, we find it near to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Just a few verses before our text this morning Jesus has first mentioned the “hour” that is to come. (v.4). What is the significance of the “hour” to come? How we answer should then lead us to consider our response to Jesus in our lives. Now maybe we don’t engage in profiteering by selling sacrifices, and I don’t believe any of us are engaged in money changing - but we do need to ask what meaning this text has for us today. We can look at it in terms of the resurrection, but John hasn’t set his telling in the passion. He sets the story at the beginning of, what is considered by many, a gospel rich in metaphor, rich in statements about not only Jesus’ authority, but also his identity, and his offering of God’s saving grace to and for us.

If Jesus speaks of his body as the temple of God, that the temple will be rebuilt after three days, then it is reasonable for us as the body of Christ also to speak of our bodies as the temple of God (Paul makes this reference in Corinthians) ; and as grace is offered through Christ, then we, too, are to offer grace.

Last week, I was away on the Confirmation Retreat with some of our youth. And I want to thank them for sharing with me some of their thoughts about the church and its meaning for them. Although they don’t always express it in ways we understand, the church is a positive place for them. It has meaning in their lives, and they know that in this place they will be accepted without judgment or ridicule.

The reason I mention this is one of the questions in our conversation together was, “Do you know you are a temple of God?” Their bodies are the place in which God dwells. God is within each one of us, so that what we do to ourselves, what we put into our heads, what we do with our physical bodies, says a lot about our relationship with God. While Paul speaks about our bodies being temples of the Living God (2 Cor. 6:16), Deuteronomy (6:5) gives us the great commandment telling us to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ And then Jesus in Matthew (22:37) adds, ‘The second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.’ When we love ourselves, we keep that temple holy and clean. The rules, or laws, or commandments, aren’t given to restrict us, to imprison us, but to give us freedom, to set us free. When we follow the laws of God, we are following a means of relating to one another that keeps God first in our lives.

Our God is a jealous god, and God requires uncompromising faithfulness. Other gods compete, disguised is a variety of masks. I don’t need to list them. Ask, what is it we put before God? What or who gets first place in our lives?

It doesn’t mean we aren’t going to make mistakes. Youth ought to be that time in our lives when we can make mistakes and have opportunities to learn from them and correct them. Parents place parameters around their children to protect them, knowing the potential for trouble, and when that trouble comes, work with their children and teens to make better decisions. In other words there is a chance for youth to redeem themselves as they grow in understanding of who they are and whose they are. God’s grace, God’s undeserved and unearned love, is always available for our asking – whether we a children, youth, or adults.

Cleaning God’s house is about truth telling. Truth telling, or repentance, is a spiritual discipline that we as protestants generally perceive as a very personal act. Catholics practice repentance through confession and the confessional. We have taught in the protestant church that we do not need to confess before “man”, because we have a high priest who goes before us, Jesus Christ. We have direct access to God through Jesus if we in fact desire God’s forgiveness.

Repentance - rather an easy word to say, not always easy to live. My family has a long history of alcoholism. It goes back a number of generations. Over my years in ministry I’ve noticed that as United Methodists we open our churches to AA and Al- Anon, and Alateen, and whatever night these groups meet, these nights are some of the busiest times in the week, including morning worship. Parking lots are full. I’ve wondered why. Why do people acknowledge this higher power to help them with their dependency, or co-dependency, on an evening during the week, and then on Sunday morning seemingly ignore the One who gives them the very help they ask for? They have found God at the bottom of the bottle, are the ashamed to come before him in worship? And why is it that people can be more honest about their behaviors in AA and Al-non than they can in church? The same question could be asked about Overeaters Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and most of the other self-help groups. Is it because participants in these groups know their relationship with God is a matter of life and death, or prison and freedom, and we don’t at church? Or is it because people know they can speak the truth about themselves in these groups and know that it will be accepted without judgment, criticism, or reproach?

As Christ’s body, the church, we are to be in relationship, first with God, and then with one another. When the first is skewed, then everything else is skewed. It is easy to become isolated and feeling we have no where or no one to turn to.

One of the spiritual practices of Lent is truth telling, repenting, but not before making that moral inventory. That’s the fourth step of the 12 step groups. Before we can clean the house, clean up God’s temple, we need to look deep inside ourselves. When we do we find that we are all sinners, we have all at one time or another, taken our eyes off Jesus. But let us not commit further sin by judging one another.

The hour is coming, folks, when we will all be accountable before God. I know I’ve sinned, I have fallen short of God’s glory and expectations. And I also know God still loves me. Jesus has already paid the price for our sins and God’s grace abounds. We have the assurance that God who began a good work in us – will bring that work to completion in and thru Jesus Christ.

We may fall short in our attempts to live according to God’s law. Let us repent and asking God’s forgiveness, remember to do good, do no harm , and stay in love with God. Amen.

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March 8, 2009

Our End of the Covenant

by Lay Speaker Mark Zaccaria

Since Mark's preaching style is based on notes and he does not use a manuscript, a verbatim transcript of his sermon is not available.

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March 1, 2009 “Survival Training” Rev. Lori Eldredge

SCRIPTURE Genesis 9: 8-17

Mark 1: 9-15

Psalm 25: 1-10

It was a number of years ago that I began to think about survival in the wilderness. I was the director at Adventure Camp at Camp Aldersgate and we lived in the “wilderness” . The first year, when I was new to the camp , the director was a Master Army fitness trainer. He trained troops to the California desert, in Death Valley. After a week in Adventure Camp I was glad I hadn’t met him in the military! Gary was a great teacher, and really inspired the kids. He taught us a lot about camping in the wilderness – creating a tripod to cook on, making fire pits, and cooking over an open fire – starting one even when it rained for what seemed 40 days and 40 nights. He also taught us to watch out for the wildlife. although I confess the wildest creature we saw was a fox who was quite comfortable walking through a gathering of teenagers by the fire on its way to its den. There were maybe a few snakes. We had great fun around the campfire, living in tents, and being challenged with wind and weather.

We tend to think of the wilderness as an isolated place, maybe like the desert – hot and untamed. But the wilderness in many places is teaming with life. Yes, scorpions and rattle snakes, but also beautiful species of birds, fox, flowers, and cacti. Each one with its own particular beauty and use.

This, however, does not typify the wilderness of Jesus’ day. This desert country, near the Jordan was uninviting: nothing grew there and, empty of human habitation, it was fit only for wild beasts. Scripture tells of the “fiery serpents and scorpions” [Deut.8:15]. But it was not Mark’s intent for us to focus on this literal wilderness. Mark’ gospel can be viewed from the context of a spiritual wilderness, and in the prologue, from which our text is taken from this morning , Mark took care to establish the line of continuity of God’s saving grace, beginning with God’s covenant with humanity.

You might think it odd to link the story of Noah’s ark with Jesus’ temptation. During a three year cycle we would during Lent travel with the people of Israel to fifteen of the their mountain top experiences and their deepest valleys. These stories or experiences are the foundation of our Judeo-Christian faith. In the Hebrew Scripture this morning, a covenant is made – a promise is initiated by God, with Noah, and therefore humanity , for all time. We need to understand at the outset of Lent that as Americans we view Biblical story individualistically, while the Hebrews believed God’s Word to be for the entire human community. Therefore , whatever happens in Southeast Asia or Africa or South America, effects me, effects us. This covenant though effects more than humanity, this covenant is given for the entire world, all creation.

We are only into the ninth chapter of Genesis and God was done with us. From the time of the beginning of creation, when everything God created was good and very good, to the first drop of rain God was prepared to eliminate everything on the face of the earth. But even as all this was being brought about God was enacting another plan. In Chapter 5, verses 28 and 29 that plan was put in motion.

“When Lamech had lived for one hundred and eighty-two years, he became the father of a son; ²⁹he named him Noah, saying, ‘Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.’”

After the flood, when the ark comes to rest and the door opened, there is a door opened for the very first time revealing God’s saving grace: God’s saving grace throughout all of history, is set on the foundation of the ancient Hebrew covenants . It is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. When God places a rainbow ov