Sermons from January 24, 2010

Sermons Archives from January 24, 2010 through present date

For Sermons prior to January 24, 2010, click here

January 30, 2011|January 23, 2011|January 16, 2011|January 9, 2011|January 2, 2011

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January 30, 2011 Mixed Blessings Rev. Lori Eldredge

Matthew 5: 1-12

We begin today a walk thru of selections from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds and he began to teach them. He sat with his disciples on the mountain and offered lessons in life with others; how it is that we are to live in community. In education there is a philosophy that there are three teachable moments (and they are a lot like the Olympics) The golden moment when people first gather and you have their attention, a silver moment somewhere in the middle of the time you have them, and then a bronze moment at the closing. The golden moment here in the Sermon on the Mount contains the lesson we have come to call “The Beatitudes”. Each of the nine Beatitudes begins with the phrase "Blessed are ...." The word "blessed" is sometimes translated as "happy" or "fortunate".

Initially this seems rather odd, because the Beatitudes were originally delivered to people who were deprived of what we would normally think of as blessings. People who are poor in spirit, mourning, hungering and thirsting for righteousness and persecuted all come up short in what we think of as the blessings of life. Yet Jesus says that they are "blessed" or "happy." Blessed care the poor in spirit…. Blessed are the meek…. Blessed are those who mourn… That seems not to make sense. Human nature deceives us into believing we have to rely on our own strength, or our own personal power. And the wisdom of the world suggests that success comes from what we have and the power to take more for ourselves.

Finding the key to success has created a multibillion dollar publishing industry. 303,000 titles in 20 seconds on Google to succeed in business. The “keys” vary from 1. Don’t innovate; replicate to the key to success is an easy-to-use, fully searchable computerized personal and business very large data base. Add to this all the books on improving your personal life and your relationships. Success is relative.

There’s the story of a man who went down to the river to fish. He had quite an afternoon, catching fish of all different sizes. Now as he was fishing, he was being watched by a stranger and his behavior was very confusing because as he reeled each fish in and unhooked them, he would carefully measure each one. Some he would put in his bucket, and some he would throw back. At the end of the day, the stranger couldn’t stand it anymore. He went up to the fisherman and told him had been watching all afternoon and he did not understand why he released back to the river all the large fish and kept only the small ones. The fisherman told him that was easy…. His frying pan was only nine wide. Success to him was catching fish that fit in the pan! Life’s all relative, at least as human view it. Jesus has a different perspective.

Jesus taught that as Christians we cannot depend entirely on ourselves –on our personal power. We are to rely on God’s power. God is the source of our life and of our strength. The fact is we all go through tough times. Our economy has not been good. We aren’t alone, countries around the globe are struggling. But we who complain are in fact blessed.

Did you complain about the snow this week? Yes/no?

Thank God for a nice warm home!

Did you complain about ice on the roads?

Thank God you have roads and a car!

This week we have watched as Egypt has turned to violence in anti-government protests. Protests over government and economy, yet Egyptians enjoy more freedom than most in the Middle East and has been stable with a 4-5% annual growth….but success is relative.

In a world that is filled with hate, prejudice, and oppression we need to depend on God’s power. If we are to be agents of helping to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth then we need to depending on God’s power. If our vision and our goals are to make this world a more just place then we need to be leaning on the power of God and God’s grace. If we ever hope to restore a just order for humanity and the whole of creation, we need begin again to rely on God’s strength.

The Beatitudes are Jesus’ interpretation of Micah 6:8…did you know Micah’s name in Hebrew is mi ki yah: “Who Is Like Yahweh?” So, Micah 6:8? “What does the require of you ….to seek justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Do these three”

Middle class white America until recently has not had a good understanding of justice. We don’t usually refer to God as ‘just’- yes, God is loving, God is merciful, God is great…. But ask any immigrant, any new citizen, any descendent of those brought to this country in chains, and they will say God is just. God is just because God restores to the righteous the blessings we were as humanity originally given, from which no one is excluded.

Those who are faithful to God now, who seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God , are already deemed "blessed" even if their immediate circumstances are less than fulfilling. Each decision we make, each action we take – these are measures of our lives in God’s eyes.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^* on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,…” Matt.5:11-12a

The Quiltmaker’s Gift

Comment: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise…” Often the wisdom of the world suggests that success comes from what we have and the power to take more for ourselves.

Through Jesus, we learn that God’s wisdom is tied up in how we live and what we give. In the beginning of the story, the King exemplifies the wisdom of the world.

Over time, the King discovers the joy of giving. When the Quiltmaker finds him sitting in tatters, he joyfully tells her, “I may look poor, but in truth my heart is full to bursting, filled with memories of all the happiness I’ve given and received. I’m the richest man I know.”

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January 23, 2011

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January 16, 2011 “What Are You Looking For?” Rev. Lori Eldredge

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42

Last week in the Gospel of Matthew we read about John the Baptist physically baptizing Jesus and the voice of God declaring “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke with varying chronologies detail Jesus life. Among the three we can piece together a reasonable biography including the teachings of Jesus.

This morning the lectionary takes us to the gospel of John. John is completely different –and of note is the style with which Jesus relates to his followers. In the synoptics Jesus speaks in parables; in the gospel of John his language in more figurative, he speaks in metaphor; and this is consistent with the style of the writer of the gospel. It is important to understand this because as we hear the words Jesus speaks, or to the questions Jesus asks, and consequently that writer is asking, we might appreciate them on two levels: the literal and the metaphorical.

As the disciples start to follow Jesus he asks them, “What are you looking for?” Or in the King James, “What seek ye?” Today in the church we have a whole generation of seekers- what are they looking for? Along with the baby boomers, the gen-Xer’s , and today’s emergent generation we are all looking for something - that place we can hang our hats - that place we can call home. And right on cue the disciples respond, “Where do you live?”

It does sound like a strange question to ask, but it’s similar to ‘where is the church?’ Do they want a physical address, such as 450 Boston Neck Road? Or are they asking something deeper? What does the church represent? Where goes the church

Stand on the Lordship of Jesus? What does the church stand on the Incarnation of Jesus or on the virgin birth? What is the church’s position on war or taxation, or the law and government?

These disciples had been following John, and John is now pointing them to Jesus. John came to testify to Jesus, that Jesus was the Son of God. There is a not so subtle change underway and the disciples are in the midst of it. Anytime there is a change in our lives we ask questions. If it’s a change in job we want to know what the job entails; if it’s a change in location we want to know about the place we are going. If it is a change in leadership we want to know what or who the person represents; so the question for Jesus is where do you live? Where is your heart? Where is your home?

So as you came to church this morning did you have a question for Jesus? Pat, a former parishioner, told me she came to church every week with a question, and every week it was answered. Sometimes in the sermon but often in the music, or some conversation she had after service. Sometimes it was even in the quiet moments at the beginning of worship. She never knew when her question would be answered, but she did know that if she didn’t come seeking some answer she wouldn’t get one.

What is your question? What are you looking for?

Are you looking for the good shepherd? [10:14] The gate of the sheep? [10”7.9]

Are you looking for the true vine? [15:1,5]

If you are hungry maybe you are looking for the Bread of Life? [6:35]

Or if you are living in darkness maybe you are looking for the Light of the world? [8:12; 9:5]

What are you looking for? Sometimes our thoughts are too deep for words, but the promise is that Holy Spirit knows even the meanings of our groans and interceded for us before God… sometimes we just don’t have the words for whatever it is resides within us.

When we are facing a major illness or when someone we love is suffering?

How do we pray when a whole city or region is flooded or a portion is wiped away in a mudslide? What words do we pray when a shooter opens fire and kills innocent children and bystanders? What words do we pray when nations starve or are plaqued by cholera and other diseases? What words do we pray when our sons and daughters are taken ill and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do? What words do we pray when those we love die?

Last week we read from the scriptures about John baptizing Jesus, and I talked about the living water we have from Jesus Christ. Water images are every where… but not like we have seen them this week. Whatever we imagine about the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of the Egyptians just doesn’t seem real after we’ve seen the news clips out of Queensland and Rio de Janeiro. Floods in Australia, mud slides in Brazil, and then there are the tears of friends and family related to those killed in a senseless shooting in Tuscon.

We have heard words spoken in anger and fear . We have heard words spoken in disbelief. This is more about our shock, or just being so worn down by life and all the trials we encounter.

Words may or may not come. When they do they may seem inadequate. We want to ask “why” but when we are going through difficulties, it’s not the time. Life will throw us challenges and the time to be asking questions is daily, as we encounter scripture, as we gather as a congregation; the time to ask questions is when our hearts and our minds are still so that we can hear God speaking. People come early to worship exactly for this purpose, to settle themselves and to quiet their hearts, so that they can be attuned to hear God’s voice. We need to be sensitive to this. They are the ones that will come around us when we are in need of strength and guidance and peace.

It’s in asking the questions when we are strong, we are able to store up the reserves.

The Gospel of John has always been my favorite. I love the rich metaphor and in particular the ‘great I am’s’ that echo the “I am” of Exodus [3:14]. When Moses hears God reply to his question, “When people ask, who do I say that you are?” God says, “I AM THAT I AM”

Jesus said “I am the resurrection and I am the life” [11:25] I am the way, the truth and life.” [14:6]

What are you looking for? As Jesus invited the disciples, he invites us today, “Come and see” Jesus said I am the vine and you are the branches.” Like the birds of the air seeking rest from their journey, he tells us - come and find your home in me.” Amen.

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January 9, 2011 BAPTISM OF THE LORD SUNDAY Rev. Lori Eldredge

SCRIPTURE Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 3:13-17

SERMON “Wading in the Waters”

“Surely the Presence” #328

“Holiness” Insert

“Spirit Song” #347

“Wade In the Water” #2107

“God Claims You” #2249

“Sing of the Lord’s Goodness”

“Awesome God” #2010

“When Jesus Came to Jordan” #252

“She Comes Sailing on the Wind” #2122

One of the annual events I have yet to understand is the January First Polar Plunge. I can understand polar bears and penguins plunging into cold arctic waters, but I don’t understand human beings plunging into waters 44 degrees and with zero wind chill. Has anyone here ever participated in the event? People from Boston, Portland, Coney Island New York, Wisconsin, Iowa, people out in Provincetown on Cape Cod, people in North Kingstown participated in the polar plunge. Yes, there are persons who take the plunge in hopes of winning a substantial cash prize, and others in support of a mission or charity important to them…. but I’m not sure this is what motivates most people. What are people thinking that they go so willingly into the water?

So as we ponder this mystery, we might also ask the question why Jesus went so willingly to John at the Jordan to be baptized. What was Jesus thinking?

Jesus studied scripture, so perhaps he thought about the Biblical story, rich with water imagery. Was he thinking about creation and the waters that flowed over the earth, turning chaos into creation and the beautiful garden where all life began? Eden with the springs of water flowing upward out of the ground to nurture that life. And later when humanity had fallen into sin, there was the flood, sent to cleanse the world of all unrighteousness. We may not all agree on the reality of these stories but we do agree that they are part of the early mythology of the Hebrew people. Similar stories are found in other cultures, so mythology or reality, we look for a greater truth of humanities condition of sin in these times.

Later Biblical story tells us of the parting of the Red Sea, God delivering the Hebrews out of the hands of their oppressors and renewing God’s covenant with them. First given to Adam, then Abraham, it is now renewed with Noah. And then there is the story of God leading the people across the Jordan and landing them in Canaan. Deep water, shallow water, all waters of cleansing and renewal. Jesus don’t have to go into the water, but he did, and at his ascension he told his disciples to go and baptize and make disciples in all the nations.

What does it mean for us to come to the water? To be baptized? Looking at Biblical story and these water images, and looking further to the stories in Jesus ministry – the woman at the well to whom Jesus promises the living water, healing the crippled man by the waters of the Pool of Salome, water has a powerful healing agent in human story.

Jesus’ baptism may be symbolic of all the possibilities of healing and wholeness available to us when we are baptized. Yet, more than symbolic because ewe know that by baptism we are incorporated, adopted, into the family of God, and with God all things are possible…. Healing , wholeness……. And more, empowerment. When Jesus was baptized Holy Spirit descended and filled him, empowered him to go forth to endure the temptation in the desert, yes, but to empower him for ministry.

The Spirit comes to us, as God came to the ancient Hebrews and Jesus came to the Jordan…. To empower us for ministry to free those enslaved by sin, by fear, by oppression in whatever form we find it. Jesus’ baptism was a public event, where he went before the crowds that had gathered around John…. And while tempted as he was alone in the desert, his ministry was a public ministry. We are called to public ministry.

We are called to a ministry not only of ministering to individuals but also to change systems. We are called to be engaged in systemic change, to advocate for just causes, to liberate those ensnared by poverty and oppression. Sometimes our work is with individuals, however as Christians we are called to carry our Sunday faith over to Monday morning and through out the week.

What does it mean for us to do this? Where are we doing this? How are we actively engaging the “powers” that persons may be empowered to move toward healing and wholeness?

This is not a rhetorical question!

And if you are inspired to participate in the next year’s polar plunge know that Registration for the 2011 Polar Plunge® Winter Festival is OPEN! I’m not sure , but they say this will be the coolest thing you do all year!

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January 2, 2011 “The Richness of God’s Grace” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Matthew 2: 1-12 Ephesians 3: 1-12

I want to take a moment to wish everyone a Blessed Christmas Season and a Happy New Year. Today is the ninth day of Christmas and, for the church, it is Epiphany Sunday. It is the Sunday the church celebrates the appearance of God in human flesh, or God’s revelation of God’s self to the world. Most often it is associated with the arrival of the magi in Jerusalem and then at Bethlehem. It signifies the universality of God’s grace, with the magi representing, or symbolizing, the world that God has come to save.

The word ‘epiphany’ means to come to a new understanding, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence. [Encarta Dictionary] There was nothing ordinary about God’s revelation of God’s self, or of God’s appearance in human flesh, in the world.

Released in 2010 was a little book, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Man’s Journey to Bethlehem. Written by Brent Landau it is a translation, with notes, of a manuscript from the 2^nd or 3^rd century, written - as many early Christian manuscripts and letters were - in pseudonymity, under the name of someone else. It was discovered in the eighth century in a [Zuqnin] monastery in southeastern Turkey, written in the Syriac language. From there it changed hands, was taken to a monastery in the Egyptian desert, and then rediscovered in the eighteenth century when it was collected and removed to the Vatican. Rumors of such a document have existed in Europe for years but the story of the magi has never been taken very seriously, if at all, by Western Christian scholars.

Why? Because there is so little information, and what information that exists in Matthew and Luke does not harmonize. Western scholars could not be bothered when there was so much more important insight and information to be gleaned from other texts. Discovered by Landau as he worked on his doctoral studies at Harvard, already studying Syriac, he raises some interesting questions about the magi and offers new insights into this much neglected text, whose characters escaped anonymity and have been popularized by secular culture: the three kings, magi, the three amigos.

The book is 32 chapters set up in typical biblical notation, with a clear change in form after the 29^th chapter. According to the telling the celestial guide appears before the magi leave Shir, somewhere near the Garden of Eden in Iran. Probably near the ancient city of Ur. A word about the magi. Were they wise men? Were they kings? Both are highly questionable. What they weren’t were magicians. There was an ancient order of mystics - and the Revelation of the Magi says this order was comprised of individuals who were a people of silent prayer. These magi were said to be descended from Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve, and considered to be a pious man. Seth left the Magi a prophecy that one day a star of indescribable brightness would appear , announcing the birth of God in human form. Every month for thousands of years Magi would ascend a holy mountain in expectation of the star’s arrival. Near the summit was a Cave of Treasures where the Magi prayed in silence. Whenever one of the mystic order died he was replaced by his son or a close relative, insuring the continuance of the order. It sounds a little like a Dan Brown novel, doesn’t it? As they were gathering to ascend the mountain, the Magi saw a great celestial light that descends and leads them to the cave, beckoning them to enter. The light gradually diminishes to reveal “a small , luminous human being.” [p.9] The star-child instructs the Magi to follow it to Jerusalem to witness and participate in the birth of the salvation of the world.

As the magi talk about what happened they discover that each of them saw the star-child in different forms, with each form representing a different time in the life of Christ. (I should mention here that never in the 29 chapters is the infant called Jesus Christ.) The great light then disappears. It is soon after this that the magi learn of the Jewish prophecy of the birth of a Savior at Bethlehem. The star then leads them to a cave in the village, where the revelation they had previously witnessed is fulfilled.

What do you make of the star-child? The luminous infant revealed previous to the journey of the Magi? Some reading the document might consider it is a story… but it was taken seriously enough by the early church that it was considered necessary by someone to redact or add a new ending. After the magi have returned and witnessed to the birth of this infant child, years pass and the Apostle Judas Thomas arrives in Shir and baptizes the magi, now in their old age. We know this is a redaction because of literary changes in form and a pronoun shift regarding the Holy Spirit. In the early centuries of the Christian church, the Holy Spirit was feminine, but by the fifth century, the feminine is erased giving way to masculine pronouns. The Holy Spirit is central to the The Revelation of the Magi and in the first 29 chapters Holy Spirit is in the feminine form. Beginning with Chapter 30 it is masculine. This is not uncommon with the early writings of the church.

But why tell this tale? It raises some key questions regarding our faith and the first is this: If Christ who existed from the beginning of the world, according to the Gospel of John, what would prevent him from appearing in any other manifestation to other peoples of the world? In other words, what can stop God from doing anything? NOTHING! The fundamental message of The Revelation according to Landau is “the revelation of Christ is actually the foundation of all humanity’s beliefs and practices.” [p.29] Since Christ existed at the beginning with God and revealed himself after his ascension, what would prevent Christ from appearing to anyone, in any time, in any place?

Might Christ appear to us in 2011? Are you expecting to see Christ in 2011? Openness to the unexpected is key to a vital spirituality. Are you open to the unexpected? We have been given a wonderful gift in Jesus Christ, and we have been given a wonderful gift in Holy Spirit. Let us be open to the depth of God’s salvation and the breadth of God’s unfailing grace.

Paul wrote that the mystery of God’s grace was made known to him through revelation. He said, too, that in former generations this mystery was not made know to human kind, qualifying it with “as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Paul was of the same generation as these magi, and Paul recognized that Gentiles, the rest of the world would be grafted in and share the promise given in Jesus Christ. God’s saving grace, the riches of God’s grace have been given for all humankind and not humans alone, but for the saving of the world.

Are you open to the unexpected? Are you open to new revelation? May 2011 be such a year for us as we worship and serve Christ in this community together. Amen.

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December 19, 2010 “Included in the Promise” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Recovenanting Sunday

Today we Celebrate 40 years of faithful and fruitful ministry on our present site.

We celebrate a vision made into reality!

December 20, 1970, our charter members, with the congregation, gathered to worship for the first time on this site. Those visionary members planted a church, and the congregation was set to live into the future God had planned for it.

Forty years ago, as our website editor wrote “the future looked bright.” However, within three years North Kingstown received some disturbing and depressing news – the Quonset Base would close. Within about six weeks time almost 60% of the membership had been redeployed, and the remaining membership was faced with some financially and spiritually challenging times. They had a choice to make: to close the doors and admit defeat before they had hardly begun, or to continue forward and build the up the kingdom of God in North Kingstown.

Forty years have come and gone; and the church has grown because they chose the good! Today two of our charter members remain, along with several of those who arrived shortly after the beginning. Ida Green, who is unable to be with us this morning, but members of the congregation will see her later as they carol; and Vivian Flade, also unable to be with us today.

These faithful disciples have been at the heart of the church’s growth, having lived out their faith and into their future. Today we are called to face the future with the same determination.

We who are called as disciples, who belong to Jesus Christ, share in the same grace and apostleship. We share in the same call to obedience of faith, and we share in the same promise that God will be with us. This is not just a nice sentiment for Advent and the Christmas season; it is a covenant, a promise, that began with Adam and has been fulfilled by the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. Let me say a brief word about a covenant and how it is different than a promise. Anyone can initiate or make a promise; only God can initiate a covenant. That is a condition of covenant - it is a promise initiated by God that God is faithful to keep – and it is our choice to enter into the covenant, knowing that once we do, God will not break it.

Do you remember the first time you promised to follow Jesus? For some of us that may have been a promise made in Sunday School; for others it was at our confirmation. For all who are members, you re-covenanted with the church before God to be faithful followers supporting the work of this church and the larger church with your prayers, presence, gifts, and service, and some of our more recent members have promised to be faithful witnesses.

Beyond the reaffirmation of our faith, each local congregation is an expression of the ministry of Jesus Christ and bears witness to reconciliation with God and one another. In Jesus we are brought into a right relationship with God. We live our lives in the joy of the Lord, in the sure and certain knowledge that God is with us, and working in us.

It’s hard to hear that still small voice though. Sometimes because there are a lot of other voices playing around in our heads. There are voices of self-doubt, voices of betrayal, voices of super-responsibility and voices of super-ego where we actually think we have control over decisions of someone else. Do we think we’re God? There are voices of depression, so many voices inhibiting us - these voices are not of God. They are voices that prevent us from wholly living and holy living. They are voices that would keep us from living into the abundant life our district superintendent spoke of last week. It is our choice as to which voices we will hear and follow.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed many of the stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul Series. One story I have remembered well. It’s told by a teenager, who was home when the phone rang. He wasn’t going to answer the phone but decided to. The ironic thing is that the person making the call wasn’t going to make the call but kept getting this strange message to just pick up the phone and call his friend. So the call was made, and answered, and a conversation took place. It was a good one. Later the teenager who received the call wrote, “That call made all the difference to me. I felt so all alone. When the phone rang I was just ready to pull the trigger.” It’s a true story. We have seen it played out in so many different ways. We never know when we are doing the Lord’s call when we listen to that still small voice within. The voice that says, “Make the call.”

One day while out visiting some friends I decided to stop in and visit my friend’s mother who was living alone. We visited for a while and then I left. I got in my car and started to drive away but something told me to go back. I put the car in reverse, went back to the house to find the door open and the woman lying on the floor with severe bleeding. Later, at the hospital, she told me that when she went into the house she slipped and hit her head on the counter as she fell. We don’t always know why God speaks to us but we do know we are to discern God’s voice and claim on our lives and respond.

As we respond together in the church sometimes it is a more difficult process because first we have to agree that we are hearing the same message. How easy is it to know that it is God speaking? Mary heard from the angel Gabriel, and was obedient to God’s claim on her life; but Joseph also had to hear the call. An angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. We don’t usually have angels speaking to us …. but we do have God’s messengers. And that is really what an angel is…. a messenger of the Lord. How many times has someone you know asked you to participate in an activity or program in the church? How many times have you responded, participated, and been blessed? I believe when we are faithful to respond God will bless us! God blessed Mary! God blessed Joseph! God blesses us when we respond in faithfulness to God’s calling. Now I am not promising that the road will be easy, Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt after Jesus was born. And while there is no certainty as to what happened to Joseph, we do know that Mary had to bear the pain of watching her son suffer and die. We all will face trials… and we can know that as we do, we are not alone…. God is with us!

As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to be faithful and fruitful bearing witness to the power of God in Jesus Christ in our lives. The question this morning is how will each of us keep the promises we have made? How will we together bear witness for Jesus Christ as we move into the future? Mary made covenant with God, as did Joseph. We have made promises to God, a covenant with God, so keep in mind the common denominator - it is God who initiates the covenant. God sent the prophet, God sent the angel… God initiates sacred covenant.

How do you feel God is calling you to help grow the kingdom? God calls us to make disciples, so how are we encouraging our children and youth to grow in their faith? The church once had a vision of providing an education wing for them. The vision goes much further - it isn’t just about providing classrooms, but providing a place dedicated to touching lives for Jesus Christ. Space that is safe for conversation, for lessons filled with music, or other positive messages and reinforcement; space that is filled with child-like or youthful wonder and spirit. Space that says, “You belong.” Space that allows worship in ways that speak to our youth and emergent generation.

How do you feel called to the work for the witness of this congregation? There is always work to be done, and most of it is not difficult. God calls very few of us to be martyrs, most of us are given simple tasks. Think about your gifts: last week we heard one name lifted up for his visitation; another lifted up for her spirit and laughter; I look around and I see so many gifted people - we are here to love one another, to encourage one another, and to live abundantly and to live into the vision of God’s kingdom.

I could have asked you a while ago do you feel God is calling you to help grow the kingdom; or do you feel called to the work for the witness of this congregation? Both would have been answered with a “yes” or a “no” .

You are here this morning because you have made a commitment to this body of Christ.

You were called by God; you were and are included in the promise that God will be present with you for all eternity – guiding you, teaching you, holding you close. God cries with you and God rejoices with you. God loves you! If you are feeling God’s love this morning and you want to respond then I would invite you to join in a time of re-covenanting, not only in re-consecrating this building to God’s purposes, but our lives to God’s will and God’s work. Would you turn to the prayer in the bulletin and covenant together?

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December 12, 2010 “Signs of Justice” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Isaiah 61:1-3, 8-11 Isaiah 35: 1-10 Luke 1: 46b-55

The weatherman predicted rain for today. I wasn’t sure when I woke up this morning whether or not I would see snow on the ground, or if, true to their word, we would in fact have rain. Sometimes it seems that the earth just soaks up the water as soon as it falls…. At others, as in this past spring, the earth just doesn’t have the capacity to absorb another drop. I don’t mention this casually. This is very much the way it is with the spiritual life. Have you ever had the feeling, that whatever was going on with your life, your spirit was just drying up? For the prophet Isaiah, it was a very deep issue that extended way beyond ‘feeling’. The spiritual life was a matter of trusting in God, especially in the face of adversity, of injustice; Isaiah placed all his hope in God.

The Prophet described the desert, the wilderness, a metaphor for our spiritual life; our spirit, bubbling up inside to overflowing! “The dry land will be glad! The desert shall rejoice and blossom!” It’s a wonderful, hopeful air, quite possibly the same emotion evoked in the writing and hearing of George Frideric Handel composition “The Messiah”. It’s hope and joy you have to share.

Johnann Sebastian Bach may have experienced a similar spiritual well spring when composing “The Magnificat”, his major vocal work with orchestra and five part choir with four or five soloists. This work in D major, leaves no one who hears it unaffected.

If we however receive these as musical compositions meant for performance only we do Misters Bach and Handle a grave injustice. As with Isaiah and Mary, in Luke’s gospel, they offered hope in an unjust world. So bad were the injustices plaguing the Hebrew people that even the land, when conquered, would break forth into song! This is not a well developed part of our western theology, but for those who have a more Eastern or Celtic understanding, we may understand it more clearly.

There is a short animated film “The Secret of Kells”, a wonderful fantasy in 9^th century Ireland, about the Book of Kells. It is an illuminated manuscript of the synoptic gospels, unique, and imbued with Divine initiative - without which the world would never be the same; however, it is unfinished and may never be complete without its removal from the monastery where it is protected.

It may be Isaiah, with the Book of Kells, are both pre-Jungian - we cannot grasp the depth of either without first recognizing the dark or shadow side of ourselves or the world.

Isaiah witnessed great darkness, the Hebrew people lived in the midst of it and without confronting the darkness , the shadows, the people in the day of Isaiah would not be healed. They would not come to live in the Light . He called out to the people “ The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, then the lame shall leap like dear, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” Could he not be prophesying for us today?

Injustices abound in 2010. Watching the news this week we hear of children living in areas without clean water, where disease slowly drains them of life. We don’t have to look far to see the devastation brought to the poorest nation in our hemisphere, Haiti, to see how years of injustice have destroyed the land, and with earthquake, wind, and rains the nation has been left unable to cope, now further devastated with an epidemic of cholera. And in the aftermath of political elections, this week civil unrest erupted to accentuate the desperation felt by the poorest of the poor, the displaced and sick, in Haiti. Where is their justice? Where is their hope?

Here in the United States we face 9% national unemployment, and in Rhode Island 12%., Where is the hope? Where do we signs of justice?

Justice comes when we as God’s people begin to offer that relief that comes when we open our eyes, and we unstop our ears. Hope comes when we truly live into God’s word.

It is not easy as many would say we live in a post-Christian society, where Gods word means precious little. Brendan in “The Secret of Kells” was kept inside the monastery walls by his uncle to protect him, and at times those walls were built thicker to keep out the encroaching evils and darkness. It was only when Brendan escaped, going into the world to discover the shadows that he was able to conquer his own darkness. As Christians our mission is in the world, facing the injustices that we in many ways have helped create. When we hold on to goods that have become useless to us, but we store away rather than share, we add to the poverty of the world. We add to our own poverty. When we seek our own ambition, above the needs of the community and world, we add to our poverty.

When I first came to North Kingstown I kept hearing about the school committee, how contentious the meetings were. The headlines of the Standard Times harkened back to that time. It ought to be a reminder to the Christian community that we are not to be self-seeking , but to seek after the which is of the kingdom of God, that which is for the common good, for the good of the children – because without them the school committee has no purpose. Poverty of spirit is as deadly as the poverty encountered by those hungry, sick, homeless, oppressed, and suffering from a lack of a good education.

How do we fill the spiritual well, when faced with injustice?

This is a question that has been asked in all the generations.

Mary’s response, in what has been called “The Magnificat”, is in fact a yielding to the unknown, as well as a yielding to God’s purposes. God leads us in to accepting the shadow side of ourselves, and into the shadows of the dark world. Jesus came to illumine these dark places, and as Christ’s disciples we are to carry that Light. Each time we yield to the Spirit, going into the darkness, bring light, we grow in our faith journey. We can not know where the Spirit will lead us, but we do know that when we are faithful in our response, God is with us. So whether we deliver bread to local hotels for those who are living there due to foreclosures, or joblessness, we are adding to their hope and to ours. When we serve in public office, we have opportunity to add Light. When we venture out to Maine and share our story with a church facing foreclosure we offer hope to the kingdom. When we respond to pleas from UMCOR, our United Methodist Committee on Relief, whether it be for Haiti, Afghanistan, or lands devastated by tsunamis we are offering justice. By “resisting evil” as it is stated when we are confirmed or become members, we are offering signs of hope and justice.

God has kept all God’s promises. And ours is the strength when we claim them, and live into them. God’s justice will come in due time, and “sorrow and sighing will be no more.”

May God bless us as we go forth to serve a mighty God and may God be with us that we may live into the Light.

Our work in North Kingstown is the an offering making straight the Holy Way.

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December 5, 2010 “Peace in Believing “ Rev. Lori Eldredge

Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12

What do you believe?

How do you know what you believe?

How do you know that what you believe is true?

I ask these questions because as Christians we are quick to cite the Bible as our source of information, and often times misquote or use a post resurrection lens to interpret the meaning of a text. We do this most often with the Book of Isaiah. The scripture is often seen as a prediction of Christ’s birth. However, those Isaiah wrote to would not have interpreted it this way. We need to look at the text through Hebrew eyes: Isaiah wrote about the ideal ruler or leader– a leader who has wisdom, understanding, has fair judgment and lives rightly, who is not out for self promotion or self gain. What most all readers today interpret as a vision of God’s peaceable kingdom, Isaiah saw as real communities and governments; he offered a vision of hope for the real world. For Isaiah and the Hebrew people, religion, or faith, was never something practiced apart from everyday life. Religion, by its definition, is a set of beliefs often with set rituals, that we live by every day, in every way, and it is carried with us in every interaction we make. Religion is a set of beliefs that defines our ethics, our social practices, and whether we want to admit it or not, is at the root of our laws. Whatever our beliefs, Isaiah’s vision is still our hope today.

Paul was probably the greatest proponent of Jewish law. Before his conversion he actively made it his goal to capture, and then bring Christians to public trial and execution. But when Saul was converted, becoming Paul, he began to understand differently. One Jewish writer, Amy- jill Levine, professor at Vanderbilt and a native of New Bedford, has said that Paul came to understand the kingdom of God as multi-cultural, with room for many religions.¹ While his primary view was now Christian, he could not, Christianity could not, abandon its Jewish roots. As Paul would address the Gentiles, meaning ‘nations’, he quoted Torah in his writings. Dr. Levine wrote that while the Jews looked forward to the day when all Gentiles would lift up praise to God, they did not expect all peoples to convert to Judaism. Rather, their praise would be lifted in harmony. God’s name would be known and praised in many nations, without particular adherence to any one religion. This may be a controversial notion in the church, yet it is my belief that we are all God’s children, be it Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist or agnostic - even Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples demanded proof of Christ’s resurrection. Our lens of faith is Christian, our approach to God is through Jesus Christ, because we believe God has come in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world; our hope is in Jesus Christ. Yet, it does not exclude others from believing in God, nor does it exclude others from finding peace in God.

John the Baptist believed this peace began with repentance, confession: confess our wrong doings, confess our selfishness, whatever it our sins maybe. Confess our contentment with the status quo, whether personal or with our societal values. Confess that we might enter first into a time of self-reflection and self-examination that rather than trying to change others we may change ourselves. Repent and be reconciled to God. God wants to forgive us and extend mercy and grace to us.

John the Baptist and Paul recognized Isaiah’s end vision: a peace that begins within and extends outward to the world. A peace attained with more praise and less judgment and condemnation, more forgiveness and less blame, more grace and less callousness, of self and others. It is only by God’s grace that we are filled and enabled to live into true joy and peace. It is when I experience this peace that I know that what I believe is true; it’s when I catch a glimpse of God’s peaceable kingdom among us I experience a moment of joy.

In this season of Advent we are invited again to the Lord’s table. As Jesus came to point people back to God, we invite everyone who loves the Lord, and those who desire to know him to come and feast in unity and in hope of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s peaceable kingdom. Feast and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Lecture notes, Chautauqua

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November 28, 2010 “Welcoming Christ” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Psalm 122 Romans 13: 11-14 Matthew 24: 36-44

Advent has begun! In the past few weeks several people have written devotionals for our Advent booklet; yesterday a number of people gathered to prepare the church and listen to music as we worked. And today we have gathered in expectation of the return of Christ! We have gathered to worship and to tell the story again of Jesus birth. We have gathered to worship in holy memory not only of the babe of Bethlehem but also in holy memory of our place in the house of God. Yes, today is the first Sunday of Advent and we come to prepare to welcome Christ into the world and into our hearts.

For too many people Advent is a rather mundane term. It means nothing. I think you know what I mean. The season leading up to Christmas begins with Black Friday – it is about sales, getting up at 2 in the morning to be first in line when the doors open. One of my nieces reported that when she got to the store she still had to wait in line because the store was at capacity according to the local firemarshall, and guards were posted at the door to ensure the safety of those inside and outside. Once she was inside it was like a pro football game. She had a few bruises to prove it! All this in anticipation of Christmas.

I have no objections to sales, I love sales. And I have no objections to giving gifts in celebration of the day, I love giving gifts! But unless we prepare our hearts first in celebration of Jesus Christ then what are those gifts for? Advent is the time we are given to prepare again for the second coming of Christ, and for many, the welcoming of Christ into our lives that we might be born again.

This morning we have lit the candle to welcome Jesus. It’s the candle of hospitality. We prepare to welcome Jesus, the living hope. We have lit the candle of welcome and hospitality because God knows us better than we know ourselves and offers us grace, and we want to be in the presence of this grace. God knows the thoughts of our minds and the cravings of our spirit. God knows our superficialities and the depths of our souls. God knows our joys and our sorrows. There is nothing unknown about us in the heart of God. We can lay our souls bare before God and God already knows it. You might ask then why go through the motions? Why lay our souls bare? Why prepare? Paul writes telling the church to be ready. I’d like you to hear the passage from Romans again but from Eugene Peterson’s translation The Message,:

^11-14But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”

In verse 5 Peterson translate, “It’s the right way to live.” It’s the right way to live.

Did you see the movie “October Sky”, about the rocket boys of West Virginia? The main character, Homer Hickman Jr., the son of coal minor was interested in rockets - especially as the United States was engaged with the former Soviet Union in a race to put a man in space. Sputnik flew over, just a speck of light in the sky, but it was enough. Four boys from Coalwood made rockets, perfecting them each time until they got the correct propulsion. They entered a science fair and in 1960 earned the National Science Fair gold and silver medals. In the process of studying he wrote to his hero a rocket scientist. Yet, at the National Science Fair, when the scientist shook his hand, Homer did not recognize him.

In 1998 I presided at a funeral of a woman named Nancy. She was a professor at St. Joseph in Hartford. And she was well loved an d respected, especially by the community of pastors and pastoral counselors. One of those persons was Miriam Therese Winter, a theologian you might know better as one of the Medical Mission Sisters. She is a writer and has informed my theology. I incorporated two of her hymns and a poem in the service, giving her credit. What I didn’t know is she ws sitting not too far away from me. I did not recognize her when she shook my hand and thanked me for the service. It makes me wonder, if in all our preparations for Christmas, would we recognize Jesus if he were to greet us and shake out hands? Would we recognize Jesus if he were to sit right here in the midst of us?

Homer really didn’t lose anything except the knowledge of knowing he had shaken his hero’s hand. What would we lose if we failed to recognize Jesus? Paul tells us to keep alert, we don’t know when we Jesus will return. It isn’t meant as a scare tactic, but an admonishment to keep on learning, keep focus on living right, being in relationship with God, developing our faith so that the when the day is here we will know as we are known by God.

We celebrate Christmas at the darkest part of the year, at least it is in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s the time of year when many are effected by depression, seasonal affective disorder. For those who suffer this depression there is light therapy that can help. And there is the Light of Christ. When it was darkest “God sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him.” (John 3:17) Jesus is our light, our hope, and our salvation. Advent is the time when we can again prepare to welcome the Light, that we may to live in the light, and in hope. Let me repeat Paul’s admonition as translated in The Message : “…don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God.” Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to welcome Jesus. Amen.

Let us pray:

Help us in this season to open our hearts to Jesus.

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November 24, 2010

SERMON: THANKSGIVING 2010

By Alan Brown, lay speaker

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, relatively free from the secular and commercial influences that always seem to be about to overwhelm our celebration of Christmas. There are some social obligations, and not everyone is excited about the idea of gathering with their families. And there is some work involved in preparing the house for guests and cooking the food. There might even be a little work involved in deciding what to bring, when it is someone else hosting you for dinner.

Despite these distractions, Thanksgiving is a time where it is easy to focus on the holiday’s true purpose. To give thanks for the many blessings we share in our lives. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by the unhappiness that also occurs, the hard times that we all experience. So it is good to pause and reflect on our many blessings. And the scriptures we have heard tonight certainly allow us to do just that.

But before we consider the scriptures, I want to pause to talk about another saying, from a Rabbi who lived during the time of Jesus, and who was an older man when Jesus was a boy. In fact, when Jesus got separated from his family when he was a young man, and they found him in the Temple, discussing theology, he may have been discussing it with this man, a Rabbi named Hillel. Hillel was a prominent figure in the history of Judaism, and some even credit him with being a father of the modern rabbinical tradition. Hillel rose to a position of influence by his ability to discuss, reason, and question issues of theology with great skill and wisdom. He delighted in intellectual challenges, and loved to question and to respond to questions.

Hillel is famous for an incident where a Gentile challenged him to summarize the Torah while standing on one foot. So Hillel complied with this request, by stating that "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation…” This is a wonderful summarization, boiling the entire scripture down to a call for brotherly love. We hear this statement echoed in the Gospels, where in the 12th chapter of the Book of Mark, Jesus boils the law down to two basic obligations, to love God and love your fellow man.

That is all I want to say about Rabbi Hillel right now, so we will leave him standing on his one leg, and get back to him later.

We have some wonderfully pithy texts to consider tonight. The 100th Psalm is a favorite of mine and of many. Next to the 23rd Psalm, it is probably the most beloved of all the Psalms. It perfectly captures the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, urging us to sing songs of praise, and be thankful to the Lord for his love and his blessings.

The epistle tonight is also a wonderful summary. It reminds us to be thankful for the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” I love that phrase. No matter how long I lived, if I spent the rest of my life doing it, I would not be able to explain the Peace of God. But I sure do know that I feel it in my heart!

In the Gospel reading, Jesus and his disciples were trading questions and answers as they often did, and Jesus responds to the Disciples by reminding them of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon his people, but also reminds them that the true blessing is not in the physical gifts of God, it is the spiritual gifts that are important. He exhorts them to believe in him, and promises them that if they do so, they will never hunger.

And finally, from the Torah, we have a task given to the Chosen People, when they reach the Promised Land, after being freed from bondage and put through trials, to rejoice, to gather the first bounty of the harvest and bless it to the Lord.

So we have some wonderful scriptures, perfect for a time when we should be reflecting on the grace, and the gifts, which we are given.

But even though we have some wonderful words to listen to and consider, those words are meaningless unless we take them one step further. Let get back to Rabbi Hillel, who we left standing on one leg. You remember how he said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation…“ But that is not all he said. He finished his instruction with the words, "…go and learn." And probably put his leg down with a sigh of relief, as aged scholars are not generally known for their acrobatic abilities. In other words, even though you can summarize the Law in one sentence, that is no substitute for understanding the Law. It can take a lifetime of study to understand even the simplest of concepts, to put them in context, to reconcile your heart with what they say. When I was young, I thought that if I could find a summary of the faith, like the ones made by Jesus and Hillel, and understand it, that my studies could end there. But now I know that those words are a beginning, not an ending.

And the words we have read tonight are also a beginning, not an ending. If you look more closely at the passage from Philippians, it is not just a statement of thanksgiving, it ends with an exhortation. “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do…” A call not just to listen, but to do, to make the words real by action. A thought that is crystallized in another pithy phrase that appears twice in the book of James, “faith without works is dead.”

And in the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to believe. Now, some people look at this idea of believing in Jesus, and see a call for conversion, a call to make a decision, a call to accept a set of principles. But I see it as something more. Belief is not simply the decision of a moment, it is the work of a lifetime.

I am currently reading a book by Marcus Borg, a book simply called Jesus. Mr. Borg is both a rigorous scholar and a man of strong faith. In some ways, he reminds me of what I have read about Hillel, someone who strengthens his faith by the asking and answering of insightful questions.

In his book, Mr. Borg also touches on the topic of belief, and states that there are two ways at looking at that call to believe. One way is to see it as a call to accept certain principles as fact, to accept a particular doctrine. The other way he describes, the way I prefer to see it, is the call to believe is a call to transform yourself and your way of living. This path is not an easy one. It is not something we can accomplish and then move on. It is not a destination. It is a different path through the journey of life. Let me repeat. Belief is not simply the decision of a moment, it is the work of a lifetime.

Taking some time to reflect on our blessings, and be thankful for them, is also just a beginning. It is our response to these blessings that is important. In response to our blessings, the Psalm tells us to “sing,” the epistle to “do,” the Gospel to “believe,” and the Torah to offer a blessing to God.

So, like the scholars of old, and of the present day, I leave you not with a statement, but a question. How will you respond to the blessings that God has given you?

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November 21, 2010 “A Future of Hope” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Jeremiah 23: 1-6 Colossians 1: 11-20 Luke 1: 68-79

Today marks the end of another year, our liturgical year in which we remember the Christ-event - the birth, life and teachings, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ the King Sunday. It’s often overshadowed by Thanksgiving Sunday, but it need not be because as we hold these two celebrations in tension they both offer us a future of hope. The Separatists sailing on board the Mayflower, as with every other voyager to the colonies after them, came in search of a future of hope. Oh, we have been taught they came for religious freedom, and they did for themselves, but it was freedom to worship the way they wanted to worship; and if an individual chose to worship or believe differently, then they would be driven out of the colony. The Plymouth Colony was not unlike the other colonies though, everyone came looking for freedom and looking to secure a better future than their past, especially as they were often times living under oppressive governments.

Jeremiah prophesied and Zechariah carried out his priestly duties in the same hope. The Israel of Jeremiah’s day had been exiled, and the Israel in Zechariah’s times suffered under oppressive Roman rule. The people of Israel waited for the time when God’s promises would be fulfilled. They waited for the Messiah, the anointed One. Having been given a vision or message from God, they had a grand vision of what was coming. As wonderful as the Pax Romana was, the 500 year peace the Roman Empire brought to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, the vision of the Roman Empire was too small. The power of the empire was far too limited, because in the end the Roman Empire would fall. Emperors had their enemies; conspiracies always seemed to be afoot; wars were ended by military might which by necessity brought bloodshed, death, and destruction; and people were oppressed and taken into slavery, an evil institution brought about long before the slavery introduced to our own colonial empire. The Roman Empire for all its good, was in and of itself an instrument of evil.

From the scriptures read today we know there is a better world, a vision waiting to be fulfilled. Jeremiah, although a pretty dismal guy on most days, a prophet with that looking at the glass half-empty attitude; and Zechariah whom God made literally to shut his mouth – were both joy-filled and hopeful of seeing the vision God gave them being brought to its completeness. And Paul in writing the troubled church at Colossae tells believers that their strength, and their power, comes from faithful and fruitful work in Jesus Christ. Whatever troubles you have, whatever oppressive political power you labor under, you can and will endure in the power that is available to those who are faithful disciples of Christ. Paul wrote to this oppressed little church that was laboring to be faithful because of the good news they had been taught, because of the hope they were given and claimed, and told them to keep on keeping on. Don’t give up, don’t yield to the powers of darkness, don’t forget the inheritance laid up for you in Jesus Christ. It’s waiting for you…in heaven.

The people at Colossae may have understood heaven to be that place we go when we die, but we know better. Heaven begins here and now when we acts on what we believe. With Paul we know all power lies in the supremacy of Christ – for Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promises. In Christ God had reconciled the world to him. In Christ we have been forgiven and redeemed as God’s own children. When we live in the Light of Christ heaven begins now.

All the blessings of the kin-dom are ours. I use this variation of the word kingdom intentionally as ‘kin- dom’ expresses not a world ruled by a hierarchical, distant deity but by our merciful God who wants to be in loving, grace-filled relationship with us.

Jesus is all we need. He is God made flesh. Paul wrote too, to the Colossian church because he had learned there were heresies floating about: false teaching about worshipping angels, and promoting ascetic practices. However, as Paul was writing, he was writing in thanksgiving - thanksgiving for the blessing we have in Jesus Christ. God in Jesus has defeated all darkness, he has overcome the shadows and surrounds us with a perfect and glorious Light.

Today we will serve our neighbors; we will open our church doors to amazing number of persons this week as the come to receive Thanksgiving food boxes; they come in need of the hope we have and they will find it as we meet them. Martin Buber, the Jewish philosopher said that when we come face to face with one another, we find God in between. God is in the relationship we establish. God is in the hope we share. God is present between us.

I’ve never been much for talking about philosophy but this I believe because it has been my experience that when we look for God, God does not fail to be present. God does not fail at all. God is with us, and God gives us the strength to carry on completing the vision of heaven on earth. “Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray this every single week.

Like Paul we have so much to be thankful for; we receive blessings from God every minute of everyday. We may not recognize them until much later but the blessings are present. This morning our children are writing on cut out leaves the things they are thankful for, they will then put on a tree; on Thursday we will again go around the table and give thanks for our blessings; I hope you do the same.

I would like to do something a bit different this morning - we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are meant to encourage one another. One way that we can do this is by giving voice to the blessings we have received from God. This not meant to put anyone on the spot, its not meant to be a time of one ups-man-ship, but an honest, heartfelt moment of shared thanksgiving: what blessing are you giving God thanks for today?

My prayer is that we will continue to carry these prayers of thanksgiving with us throughout the week, and our lives; especially let us give thanks to Jesus Christ, our hope and our salvation. May each of us have a truly thankful Thanksgiving. Amen.

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November 14, 2010 “Living a Full Life” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Veteran’s Day/ Baptism

Isaiah 65: 17-25; Isaiah 12; 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13; Luke 21: 5-19

Today, across the bay in Middleton, there are visiting hours for a young soldier killed in Kandahar. Not a veteran, whose service we honor today, but a soldier on active duty, who died too young. Michael Paranzino’s tombstone will read 1988 - 2010. Michael was 22, and leaves behind a wife and child. So today we remember those who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice, we honor our veteran’s, and we seek to promote an enduring peace. This is the wording President Eisenhower used when signing the proclamation for the observance.

Most of us have enjoyed a good life, a long life, but ultimately we too will die and on our tombstones there will be two dates. On mine I hope it will be something like this 1951 – 2051, at least 1951- 2031, but reality is that final date could be 2010. We really have no control over these dates; and it really doesn’t matter. What really matters is the dash in the middle.

“So when your eulogy is being read…
With your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be proud of the things they say…
About how you spent your dash?”

What matters is the life we live in between; even more so when we profess to be the children of God. This morning we have witnessed the Sacrament of Baptism and we have made promises; we made promises at our confirmation, and we make promises when we become members of the church. Now, how are we going to keep them? As Christians, as believers, we have responsibilities to work for an enduring peace, not as the world knows but for God’s peace.

This goes beyond local townships – it has global proportions, which may seem a bit daunting, but not if we all do our part to better life in the community beginning with our community of faith. It’s along the same lines as “Think globally – act locally”.

The dash of our lives begins here - lived here as stewards in this household of faith. Our faith affirms life now and it affirms the hope of the future. This is what Paul was writing about as he wrote to the church at Thessalonica.

The hope Paul carried in his heart of the future is in part based on the vision of Isaiah - when Israel was experiencing difficult times, God spoke through the prophet. A Israel was asking “Is this all there is?” God said, “no”…. “see I am about to create a new heaven and a new earth; ..” We like to take comfort in the old, remembering the good old days, thinking about what we know… the familiar. But we can miss out on opportunities , on joys and blessings, when we cling too tightly to the past. God calls us to a great vision, God calls us to live fully in the present as stewards of all creation. There are limitless possibilities.

Typically a steward managed the domestic affairs of the estate, of the home; it was extended to ships and then to trains and planes. Originally the steward was the one to collect rents, debts owed the landowner; more fully understood the steward cares for the interests of another. We are God’s stewards.

We are certainly stewards of our time, talent, and treasure; these days I’m thinking of stewardship in terms of all that we are and have and do – from our conversations to our healthcare; from the use of electricity to the use of nuclear power, from our care of our bay to the care of air.

We are stewards of the church, and of gospel.

We have responsibility for providing all God’s children with Christian Education and Spiritual Formation opportunities – beginning with baptism.

We are stewards of creation, of God’s world, promoting for the peace; providing for the protection of the environment; caring for all species not just humankind.

We have responsibility to be stewards of government and of society – to act with civility and respect.

We are stewards of God’s greater vision “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,…”. When we let go of our limited perspective, and live in the hope of what God is doing, we will see this great vision come in its fullness. The sick will be healed, the hungry will be fed, the cold will be warm, the homeless will have shelter, there will be no more tears, and will be no more war.

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November 7, 2010 “Blessed Are You” Rev. Lori Eldredge

All Saints’ Sunday

Haggai 1: 5b-2:9; Psalm 14: 1-5, 17-21; 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5; 13-17; Luke 6: 20-31

One of the famous quotes from American history comes from John Smith in the Roanoke settlement in what became Virginia. “No work, no eat.” This was a corruption of the biblical principle from Haggai. Benjamin Franklin turned the principle to say , “God helps those who help themselves.” In other words: work, step out in faith. This is what God spoke through the prophet Haggai. Act on your faith, the only thing you need to wait for is the Holy Spirit. God will supply what you need when you need it. If God can part the Red Sea, provide manna in the wilderness, and shake the cedars of Lebanon, then God is able to provide us with all our needs when we step out in faith and work while we wait for God to fulfill his promise. God will bless those who act in faith.

God blesses those who are poor, who are hungry, who are mourning, who are persecuted; and God says woe to those who stand by in self-satisfaction ignoring their plight. These ‘Blessings and Woes’ from the gospel of Luke don’t always ring true as we frequently watch the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. These words were spoken to give hope to the poor and used to describe the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven on earth when we work together to bring it into existence here and now. Many of us grew up with the misunderstanding of heaven as some future reality, following our earthly life; but heaven begins here on earth now for persons who believe in Jesus Christ and live and act on their faith.

In 1990 hurricane Bob went through Rhode Island. It also went through my home town on Cape Cod. Areas over grown were cleared and views to the ocean and marshes were visable that had not been seen on 40 years. In the height of our tourist season with the hurricane moving toward the cape the bridges were backed up as visitors evacuated. The hurricane hit knocking out power. Trees came down, and the locust trees once wet burned out chains saw. Clean up was not easy. Power was out for over week in many places. It would have been easy to be discouraged, to be negative and complain. It would have been easy to be like the people of Israel who saw the crumbled temple, all the rubble. Haggai spokes God’s word and told them to act in faith, work, clear the rubble, rebuild God is with you. The temple will be restored to its former splendor and more. You are blessed.

The ruins after a hurricane, the rubble of the temple, may be understood as a metaphor for our lives. We all suffer trials and deep wounds. Some here this morning have lost a love one in the past months or weeks, some here have filed bankruptcy; some have had their homes foreclosed on; some have experienced marital problems; some of us have face major illnesses. God speaks to us these words, “I am with you.” Yesterday, Saturday, my family gathered on the cape in one of those places cleared 20 years ago to scatter my sister’s ashes. It’s been one year since her death. We carry the pain, but we are also hopeful. We were there together in the strength we have found in our faith. We have moved forward, but we have not forgotten. And even though my sister is now gone, there was a new little one with us. She represents the next generation ready to learn by our example, to receive our faith, and grow strong as she learns what God will choose for her to know.

The remnant surviving the destruction of the temple and the diaspora, moved beyond their cynicism and complaining when Haggai reminded them God was with them; place your trust in God. Place your trust in God and move on with your lives; do the work you are given to do.

In all times and places God has given instructions for moving on with our lives: When in captivity in a foreign land God said, “build your homes, plant your gardens, raise your children…”

Here God spoke through the prophet and told the people to work, continue in faith.

John Wesley knew the reality of God’s promises when he failed miserably in Georgia in his attempt to convert the heathen. Returning to England he became discouraged, he had lost peace, the comfort of his faith. There he was told by Peter Mohler of the Moravians (with whom he had formerly found peace onboard ship), to preach faith until he had found it . He continued on and in time his peace and faith were restored.

When we face trials, when we face difficult times, God tells us to continue on in faith until faith is restored. On this All Saint’s Sunday we remember the saints of the church, living and dead, who moved forward in faith after all sorts of adversity. They learned and leaned on the lessons of faith. The saints were not perfect, but over time they came to understand that complaining did no good; it was the quiet perseverance of faith that moved them forward and in time God granted them peace.

Perfection is not a qualification for sainthood. Perseverance of faith is. Reliance of God’s word and trust in the promises of God is the mark of the saints. The saints of God know the joy that comes after mourning, for their joy is made whole as they have placed their strength in God. Today we remember the saints – those who persevered in faith and have now passed on to greater glory and those who live among us.Amen.

October 31, 2010

“Caring For our Calling”

Rev. Lori Eldredge

Luke 19: 1-10 2 Thessalonians 1: 1-4, 11-12

“Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” You have heard these words spoken at the beginning of our worship. These are words similar to those written by Paul in his letters to the early church. Grace and peace to you… And in a similar fashion we greet one another at the end of the service with a handshake or nod and say “The peace of Christ be with you.” We offer peace and love; blessings and grace, in the name of Christ who is our peace.

When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica it was a church with problems, under persecution from non-Christians with-in the city. And it was a church that was growing and thriving. Paul preached in Thessalonica for three weeks, primarily in the synagogue, and established a Jewish-Gentile church. Eventually he had to flee the city, a prominent Roman port. Jewish and Roman forces did not want the presence of the new radical sect. As Paul offered prayers of thanksgiving for their steadfastness and faithfulness, the church flourished because of the grace freely given in Jesus Christ.

This morning I would offer prayers of thanksgiving for all of you: thanking God for you, for your prayers and your help during these past few months. What I feel, what I know of you and your faithfulness goes well beyond what words can express.

When Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote to Thessalonica they wrote to the saints – giving thanks for them and thanking God for the love the saints at Thessalonica shared not only with them as visiting missionaries, but with each other. Because of this love they shared they were held up before God in prayer - that God would make them worthy of his calling and that God would fulfill by his power every good resolution and work of faith.

I believe that if Paul were writing this letter today he would address it to 450 Boston Neck Road, this church, the North Kingstown United Methodist Church. August 2^nd my life got a major reality check. I was diagnosed with cancer, scheduled for surgery, and found myself immediately supported by a community of saints: all of you. Even as you were in the midst of your own losses and trials, you came around me and supported me with notes of encouragement, meals, rides, visits. You sat with me through medical tests, and helped listen with me as doctors outlined treatment and care. You honored my resolve to use humor, telling me jokes, making me laugh, and helping me to remain positive. You are the saints.

When people from a distance, asked, “What about the church?” my response each time has been “The people are wonderful;” “ if anything bad had to happen it is good that it happened here.” [spoken by the Cuban butler in the movie “Mrs. Winterbourne”]. Paul’s prayer has been my prayer; and Paul’s boasting is mine. Friday, our new District Superintendent, Rev. Seok Hwan Hong said he wants “to meet this wonderful church.”

My prayer is that each person here may experience the peace that is Jesus Christ, our God Incarnate. That God’s word may live in your hearts; that together we may be renewed in our faith, we are able to experience the blessings that flow freely by God grace, and we are able to live in love with one another. This is not always easy.

Some of you may have heard the name Adam Hamilton; he was the speaker at our Annual conference in 2009. He is a United Methodist pastor in Kansas, and compares caring for our faith to being in love. He wrote in his book Selling Swimsuits in the Arctic, that over his 22 years of marriage, he has fallen in and out of love with his wife several times. There are times, he writes, when he has been passionately in love with her and times when he has felt nothing, when he was simply going through the motions of being in love with her.

He says that among the things he has found helpful in rekindling his love was to begin asking God to fill his heart with love for his wife. He then began giving thanks in prayer for her, recalling the blessing she has been and continues to be in his life. He has found that these words of gratitude about her lead to feelings of gratitude for her. He then began focusing on doing more loving things toward her and intentionally spending more quality time with her. [Adam Hamilton, Selling Swimsuits in the Arctic, Leader’s Edition, Nashville: Abingdon, 2005, p.13.]

Marriage is not the only place we are tested in our faith, falling in and out of love. As Christians we are faced with issues everyday; with persons our culture would shun or cast-away. In a political debate this past week one of our candidates for governor said there are no do-overs in life. It seems to be a prevalent political philosophy, and it has been for quite some time. No do-overs? Well maybe not in politics, but I would suggest this is at the very heart of God’s grace. For immigrants wanting a just living, for criminals isolated, for addicts struggling to free themselves of addictions, for tax evaders, there are do-overs under God’s grace. Those that the world would persecute are given second, third, even fourth opportunities….or 70 x 7. Do overs are opportunities for forgiveness. We are called to forgive 70 X 7. This is the story of Zaccheus we heard earlier, the tax collector. Jesus intentionally cared for him, calling him out and forgiving him, and giving him opportunity to make right his wrong doings. When Jesus comes along, we are given a “do over,” we are extended God’s grace, God’s forgiveness, and God’s peace. I hope that as you go to the polls on Tuesday you will carry this message with you. There are many issues before us as a state and as a nation, and there are persons at home and abroad who are depending on you to vote as caring Christians. We have an opportunity to vote on Tuesday and bring God’s realm into reality.

Sometimes we go through the motions in the church and in our faith; yet it is that same kind of intentional caring that applies to our passion for Christ and for our calling. As we offer prayers of thanksgiving we rekindle the fires of gratitude to God and the joy that has burned brightly within us. Prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving help us to focus on ways to express our love for God and to spend more quality time in God’s presence.

We are stewards of God’s love. We are to constantly ask ourselves how are we caring for, or making evident, this tremendous gift of love and grace. In what ways are you expressing thanks to God? In what places are you extending the peace of Christ in the world? In what ways are you demonstrating God’s grace to those needing a “do over.” As we are called and serve each other and the world, may we increase God’s love in the world, for this is our calling in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

October 24, 2010

An Unanswered Prayer, but an Unexpected Miracle

By lay speaker Richard Dunne

The image of my cat, Wakefield joining me when I end my morning devotional time with prayer is a tender one. He actually sits on my lap while I begin my daily reading of scripture, jumps off my lap when I am finished, and then climbs up on my back as I kneel in prayer. Wakefield stretches out his two forelegs and droops them over both of my shoulders. When my prayer time is over, he jumps off my back and then begins his day with his own routine. I have to admit that I enjoy this private time with my friend but lately I have missed having him with me. You see, Wakefield is a little afraid of our two dogs, which bark loudly at him and chase him. So, Wakefield runs down into the basement to spend a good portion of his day, returning only when he feels safe. Even though my priority is praying, his is survival. Praying without my “partner” doesn’t feel right. I hope Wakefield joins me again real soon.

Many years ago when I was about 9 years old, I got a small transistor radio for Christmas. I loved listening to music and talk radio at a young age. But I especially loved listening to my beloved Boston Red Sox. I would place my radio under my pillow at night so as not to keep my younger brother awake, and I would listen to a game until it was over or when I was too tired to stay awake.

Now at the time the Red Sox were not a very good team. But in 1963 they made a trade for a slugging first baseman by the name of Dick Stuart. I was 12 at the time and really excited because I felt that He would help propel the Red Sox past the New York Yankees into first place and on to World Series glory. Dick Stuart wasn’t the best hitter but he was a really good home run hitter whose swing was especially made for Fenway Park with its famous Green Monster with the screen high above it. I got even more excited when the nickel baseball card/bubble gum package I purchased from the corner dime store contained a Dick Stuart baseball card. I didn’t even mind that he was in his previous team’s jersey, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nor did I mind that he really wasn’t a good first baseman. In fact Stuart had made so many errors at first base that he was named “Dr. Strangelove”. Not to worry – he would win more games with his bat than with his glove.

One summer’s night in 1963, the Red Sox were losing a game (hard to believe) in the late innings when Dick Stuart came to bat with a runner on base. Not having the greatest of confidence in my team due to their losing streak, I began to do the unthinkable. I prayed that God would let Dick Stuart hit a homerun! On the very next pitch, Stuart hit the ball out of Fenway and the Sox went on to win the game. I was overcome with joy. I thanked God over and over again for answering my prayer. However, later in the year I also prayed that God would let the Red Sox not only win the American League pennant but the World Series as well! It was not to be. God did not answer my prayer. And the Red Sox would not win the World Series until 2004. God had made me wait over forty years before answering my prayer.

God also did not answer my prayer to do well on a particular math test in elementary school ( I got a 72); nor have my parents take me and my brothers to Disneyland; nor get me a date with a particular girl whom I liked in the school I went to. What in the world was God doing! I prayed hard for many things. My prayers were also sincere – everything I asked for I really needed! Didn’t He know that I was a good person? I went to Church every day. I obeyed all the Commandments (I think!). I did everything I was supposed to do and God still ignored me. Where was He? Why was He ignoring me? I wasn’t asking for much. I just wanted God to answer my prayer.

In today’s alternate lectionary reading, the prophet Joel implores the Hebrew nation to stay true to God and hang on to God’s promise that better times were coming. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his brother in Christ, Paul implores him to keep going. Paul uses himself as an example of one who poured himself out for others in Christ’s name. Even while on death row in a Roman prison, Paul reminds Timothy that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” With death but a heartbeat away, Paul hangs on and encourages Timothy to do the same.

Brazilians have a word for someone who has the ability to hang on and not give up. The phrase is “garra” which means claws. Quite an image isn’t it? Hanging on by your claws, your fingernails. To persevere under the most trying of circumstances. I believe that God wants us to persevere even though life kicks us every which way. God wants us not only to persevere through life’s hardships, but also rely on Him when the going gets tough. God’s promise is to be there for us, not to answer every prayer request, as desperate and sincere as they may well be. Rather, He promises to be our strength.

My family and I know full well that desperate prayers are not always answered. When my brother Kenn got word last January from his doctor that he had stage 4 cancer, life took us on ride that we were never prepared to take. He went from chemotherapy treatments that were successful to news that the lung tumors which had shrunk, had returned larger than before. He went from a minor operation on the femur bone of his right leg to being told the cancer had spread to his bones. Then he got the news that the cancer had spread to his brain. And all the while, he tried to hang on for his wife and his children; his brothers; his co-workers; for himself. We all prayed for a miracle that God would take the cancer away. But it was not to be. Here was a 54 year old husband and father of three girls who was dealt a rotten deal by life. Yet in spite of his struggle, he refused to blame God.

On the night before his leg operation, I asked Kenn how he was feeling. He said “I’m doing ok.” I then pointed to my heart and said, “No. How do you really feel?” I will never forget his answer. “I don’t blame God for any of this. I don’t know where any of this is going to lead, but I’m going to use the rest of my days for the better. I’m going to tell people I love them. I’m going to use the time I have left to apologize for the wrongs I’ve done and ask forgiveness for the wrongs I’ve committed.”

That’s quite a statement, quite a prayer. And that’s exactly what Kenn did. The time he had left was short, but he made the most it living it the way God intended him to live his life, wholly and gratefully.

As much as I miss my brother I would not trade a single moment we shared together. We laughed, we cried. We got upset or cheered on the Red Sox. We prayed every day we were together. We shared Holy Communion together. We told each other we loved each other. Before I left every day, we said the Lord’s Prayer and reminded each other to stay close to God. In the face of life’s troubles and our unanswered prayers, miracles were found. We grew closer together as a family; my sister-in-law and I told each other that we loved each other – something I believe we had never said to each other before; we witnessed co-workers from both Kenn and Liane’s workplace visit almost daily to see them and their children and provide catered meals to the family; we helped provide necessary nursing care for my brother; we watched as Kenn’s wife Liane tenderly administered his medication and watched her mother clean up the house; we watched as his children said “I love you, Daddy” each and every time they entered or left the room where Kenn’s hospital bed was stationed. We were eye witnesses to the power of Christ’s love as we cared for Kenn and each other. Though our prayers for a cure were unanswered, we got something far greater and more miraculous in return.

Remember these moments from my brother’s life the next time you experience life’s troubles. Stay close to God. Jesus did. Jesus’ prayer on the night before He died was to pray for his disciples and for all of those who believe in Him. That’s us! On the final night of His life, incredibly Jesus took time to pray for us. As He knelt in prayer and looked up to heaven he saw us in His vision; as He walked into the garden, He saw us in our own garden of pain, with bodies that are frail and hearts that are weak. He saw you having to deal with a life you never asked for and situations that are unfair and hurtful. He saw you with a faith so weak that you wonder why you bother going to church in the first place. And it was in that garden, that night that Jesus after desperately praying for a way out, heard the gentle but firm answer from His father, “No.” It was there that Jesus made His decision to hang on, to persevere, and follow through with His mission, bridging the gap between heaven and earth, and dying for us rather than go to Heaven without us.

Try to remember that the next time your prayers aren’t answered the way you want them to be answered. Try to remember that the next time you wonder where God is or wonder if He really knows how you feel or really cares. Follow the example of my brother Kenn - stay close to God and pray hard. You may not get the answer to your prayer, but you may get something a whole lot better. You may indeed get a miracle. Amen.

October 17, 2010

Laity Sunday. No Sermon. In lieu of a sermon the Mission Team that went to Maine this summer performed a skit and presented a video

October 10, 2010

October 10, 2010

“Where’s the Miracle?”

by Stephen Finlan

What is the meaning of this Jeremiah text, “seek the good of the city”? We need to start with history. Jeremiah comes bout halfway between David and Jesus, between the beginnings of the Hebrew monarchy, and the coming of Christ the King, so it’s appropriate that he was there for the END of Hebrew monarchy, and that he was the advisor —the UNWANTED advisor—to the last Hebrew kings.

He warned the last three kings against rebelling against the prevailing empire, the Chaldeans, warning the Jewish kings that they would be killed and their families led away as prisoners. One king after another ignored him, trying to avoid paying the Babylonians the big tribute payment that the emperor demanded of all little kingdoms.

In 587 bc the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, his sons were killed, he was blinded and led away never to be heard from again, the Temple was destroyed, and the Jewish ruling class taken away into exile, the Babylonian Exile.

Jeremiah is realistic, as well as moral and idealistic—God demands wholehearted and honest loyalty to the covenant values. There is a covenant with God, but there are also the values of justice, honesty, and lovingkindness that the prophets understood to be essential to the covenant. Jeremiah is the one who accuses the priests of making Temple den of thieves.

Jeremiah has a nose for honesty. He can detect the stink of falsehood. He had some allies among the nobles and the commoners, but none among the priesthood. I wonder if these two facts are related: Jeremiah detested dishonesty, and he had no friends among the priests. He attacked the glorification of the Temple, saying that people would exploit and cheat others during the weak, and then come to the Temple and say “the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord!” He says there is no magic in the Temple that undoes human sinfulness (7:4-5).

The 2^nd half of the book of Jeremiah, written after this disaster, has a more comforting tone. Writes to the exiles in Babylon and offers words of comfort as well as sense. This passage is sensible, advising that people get used to their new location; they’ll be in Babylon for a while. Jeremiah was not the only prophet speaking to them. Other prophets were promising an imminent release from exile, loudly proclaiming that the glory and vengeance of God would manifest, and he would miraculously rescue the Jews. They were appealing to national pride and personal hope, but it was a selfish pride and a false hope.

Jeremiah could smell a rat. He advised the people not to listen the prophecy of a miracle. A political miracle is not going to happen. They should expect to stay in Babylon for some time. They should make themselves at home, buy property, give sons and daughters in marriage, and seek the good of the city to which they’ve been sent. They should contribute to Gentile society.

Maybe the exile was part of God’s plan for introducing the monotheistic message to their Gentile neighbors. Certain prophets moved Judah toward increasing motivation to become a “light to the nations” (Isa 42:6), to proclaim the one God to Gentiles. There’s no political miracle here, only the natural progress of the word of truth.

There’s no miracle here, is there? It’s practical and ethical advice. So where’s the miracle? It’s in the text that immediately follows, which I added to the lectionary. It’s the calling on God, and finding God, that’s a miracle. “You will find me if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13). When we seek God honestly, we find him. Think of this. EVERY honest attempt to find God is immediately successful, at least on the spiritual level. YOU WILL find me! That’s the miracle. There is no special learning, but honest need, that opens us to God.

Wherever you find yourself, you can find God, too. You can go with God thru every experience. Jeremiah has more to say about this miracle, in a prophecy that gives us the name of our New Testament. “I’ll make a new covenant with Israel. I will write my law on your hearts, and every one of you will know me, from the least to the greatest” (31:33-34).

When we go to the Luke passage, it’s ALL miracle—in the usual sense of word, physical miracle. So which one should we expect to happen in our lives? Which standard should we make decisions by, the realistic and ethical standard of Jeremiah, or the expectation of miraculous healing, as Luke?

Most of us operate by the realistic standard, and imagine the miracle as something in the future, in the afterlife, and we are CORRECT to imagine that, I think. But we also need to expect the SPIRITUAL miracle of a transformed life, if we align ourselves with God’s will —let the law be written on our hearts—and if we understand the new covenant of faith, where God says “your faith has made you well.”

Remember that faith means trust, trust means a relationship, and that means working on the relationship. But the miracle of spiritual transformation comes without our working on it. It comes from God. For there are some more verses that the lectionary left out, and which come right after this Luke passage. It is where Jesus tells the Pharisees “the kingdom of God is within you” (NIV, KJV, NRSV margin; “within” is the correct translation of the Greek entos).

In other sayings, the kingdom is social, or future. In this saying it is personal and present. People have the inward or spiritual capacity to experience God’s kingdom, even the Pharisees! The kingdom is available to all.

When Jesus was physically present on earth, he performed physical healings, and his miracles were linked with his teaching. He said “your faith has made you whole.” It is different now. Since we are no longer in the physical presence of Jesus, we may or may not experience physical miracles. But we most certainly should expect spiritual miracles, since we are in the spiritual presence of Jesus.

Thanks be to God who gives us life, to Jesus who gives us love and life, and to the Spirit who empowers us.

October 2, 2010

Sermon by guest preacher The Rev. Linda Shevlin (only available as PDF. Requires free Adobe reader)

September 26, 2010

CHRISTIAN BY CHOICE…SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?

By lay speaker Jay Hickey

Preaching as a Lay Speaker is a little bit like playing the lottery. OK, I know, Methodism… games of chance…the two don’t really go together, but the broader point remains valid just the same. The minister asks you to “pinch hit” and you say yes…before you even know what the lectionary has outlined for that week. Of course you can wing it if you feel inspired, but that option brings with it a whole series of unique challenges as well. Now, even though I knew the date, I really didn’t give it much thought for the longest time. Deadlines focus your attention -- if they are too far away, not so much focus. Then a series of events over the last few weeks gave me some inspiration. I told Rae that I knew what I was going to talk about and that I really hoped the lectionary fit…and, to a degree, it did. Funny how those things work out. So you get a blended approach today…part lectionary, part winging it. I’m probably not going to say anything new today. But, as became clear to me recently, there are things we needed to be reminded of now and then – or at least I do, and I’ll come back to that intersection with the lectionary later.

OK, so why the title “Christian by Choice…So What? Now What?”

Two weeks ago Steve Brooks used the image of the Lost and Found Box to very good effect. If you remember, he said that we have always been in the lost and found box. God always knew we were there…loving us the whole time – we were enveloped in what is called “Prevenient Grace” even when we didn’t know it, or actively fought back. But Steve also talked about a critical transition in this relationship. While God always knew where we were, we had to make the decision about when we were going to be “found.” We had to turn and say to God, “Here I am.” Christian by Choice.

This acceptance is, and has to be, an intentional decision. I don’t think I’ll ever forget when Saffiatu was baptized in this Church. Many of you know the longer story of her life and our collective role in it, and I won’t relate that here, but a young Muslim girl had made the decision to become a Christian…a very dangerous decision in some parts of the world. Her words that day? “I choose Jesus because He chose me! Out of the lost and found box… Christian by Choice!

When we say “yes” to God’s invitation we experience Justifying Grace…we move from being creatures of God to being friends of Jesus. One way you often hear people refer to this new reality is when they say “Although we live in this world, we are not of this world.” Again, Christian by Choice!

Now, teaching motivated graduate students is a whole lot of fun…no way am I equipped to teach Kindergarten! But one of the easiest ways to challenge adult learners when they have a new idea is to simply ask…”SO WHAT?” In other words, why does that matter?

In the context of this morning’s sermon that sentiment might be rephrased, “So, now you’re a friend of Jesus…how is that going to change your life?” The last part of that question really gets to the core of our faith. The decision you’ve made is a life altering choice. How is your Christian faith going to be reflected in your daily life? Do you need to modify certain aspects of your behavior? Do you need to walk or turn away from some people you used to think were your friends because they lead you in bad directions? Do you need to take stock of your spending habits?

This, by the way, is where the passages read today intersected with my initial thoughts…they focused on the uses and abuses of money…just one of many areas of our lives we need to reflect upon. The really hard assessment to make is…after your acceptance of Christ, and all these changes that you might have to make…can people see the “new you?” One of my favorite hymns is “They’ll Know we are Christians by Our Love” – so, will they? Now, let’s be honest, pondering these questions can be very uncomfortable, particularly in this very secular world…or perhaps if you come from a family that is not religiously grounded or if you are not yet confident in your new “skin.” But I think one of the first things our new found faith makes us realize is that we must take responsibility for all of our mistakes, blaming no one, and asking for God’s forgiveness. As Christians we are certainly not perfect, but we can be forgiven…we believe in absolution.

Now I imagine most of us can remember the peace we felt when we first accepted Christ into our lives, whether that acceptance was a slow realization, or a blinding flash of reality. It’s a wonderful feeling isn’t it, one I would imagine we would like to experience continually…so, what’s the hard part here? Quite simply, we have to live this faith each and every day in a very busy and complex world!!

It is so easy to drift away from actively practicing our faith on a daily basis because the world we live in demands a lot of us…school, work, shopping, children, you can name even more. How many times have you found yourself intentionally turning back to Jesus, maybe after a crisis or a blessed event, only to realize that you don’t even recall drifting away…suddenly realizing that you hadn’t even found time to pray – except maybe here on Sunday mornings – in months? You aren’t alone! We all do it. At the beginning of this sermon I mentioned a series of events that got my attention…this was the first. I have been very busy with my new job, which I love, and hadn’t even realized I’d lost focus. I suddenly realized that I was way out of touch with my Christian family…and Jesus. That’s an uncomfortable feeling. It makes us feel guilty…and I don’t particularly like that. But there is hope here. The same God that was sitting next to that lost and found box the first time is still right there…ready to re-find us as many times as it takes.

But we do need to keep working at it…finding time for personal devotions and prayer…the “quiet center” we so often miss...making ourselves slow down so that we can hear “the sea in the shell.” Why is this important? Well let me tell you what the third recent event was…I’ll come back to the second in a moment. Some of you were there, it happened at Lee Cone’s funeral. Lee’s son Mike was saying a few words…did you all know Lee had a son? Some people certainly didn’t, because Mike mentioned that five people said to him at the calling hours “I didn’t know Lee had a son.” Mike’s sad statement to us that day was “I am indicted by that.” I am not condemning Mike here…this was his public confession. But we can learn from his pain. What if the people in our lives don’t know we have a heavenly Father? Aren’t we indicted by that?

To the final question…Now What? Just as we know that we live in a complex, overly busy world that sometimes drags us away from our Christian priorities, we also know that every day is a new beginning…a line from another great hymn. We can always have a fresh start…He is still sitting next to that lost and found box. We don’t need to condemn ourselves, or give up hope. We simply need to reconnect, reappraise, and move forward.

You might ask yourselves some simple questions…

-- Are my actions pleasing to God?

-- Where, in my busy day, can I intentionally and consistently make time for God?

-- Does my life, or do my actions, reflect my professed faith?

-- How could I more closely walk with Jesus?

-- Porter Halyburton, a guest of the North Vietnamese for 71/2 years, often asks audiences to write down their professed priorities…and then check that list against their checkbook. Are we walking the walk that matches the talk?

As we grow with Christ we experience Sanctifying Grace…which allows our faith to blossom. So how can that play out in our lives? Well, in the Wesleyan tradition, we are taught that we are saved by Grace alone…we can’t earn our way into heaven. But we are also taught that our faith is evidenced by good works. Do you remember, every time we baptize someone, or receive new members we renew our vow to use our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our…witness. So, Now What?

As you feel called, embrace those opportunities – large or small -- to be a disciple for Christ. Let the light of Christ that is within you to shine on those around you. Back to the hymn, “they WILL know we are Christians by our love.”

Before I get to the end, I want to be very clear about one point. We are all at different places on our faith walk. We shouldn’t, indeed mustn’t, ever get caught up in a game of “comparison” with those around us. Doing so can be horribly self-defeating. Using our friends as role models for encouragement can be helpful, but thinking or believing that “I’ll never be as good a Christian as (fill in the blank)” misses the point that our relationship with God is personal. Our paths are unique…we are not running sprints, but a marathon. Another way of looking at it, one I like, is to imagine we are climbing a hill…half the time I sense myself rolling head-over-heels the wrong way. I think these realizations are most important when we falter.

There is a wonderful poem by D.H. Groberg called “The Race,” which puts a poignant face on what I am trying to describe here. A young boy is running a foot race, but continually trips and falls. He wants to give up since he knows he can’t be the first across the finish line. But he sees his Father’s encouraging face watching him…so he continues. My favorite line in the poem states: “all you have to do to win is rise up each time you fall.”

Now, the second event…a final gift to us from Lee.

Rae and I visited him about ten days before he passed. I’ll be honest, given that I knew he had fluid on his lung, I expected to walk into that room and see a sick old man in bed…probably hooked up to oxygen. What we saw was a pretty energetic man, dressed smartly in PJs and a robe, taking calls from family and friends, assuring them everything was just fine, with the newspaper and a bible by his side. We talked for quite awhile. He talked about things he’d never mentioned in the ten years I knew him…his experiences during the Depression, of combat on Guadalcanal, his views on contemporary politics, and where his real first name, Arbuth, came from.

As we got up to leave, he left us with one final thought that ties together everything I’ve talked about this morning. “You never know when, you best be ready.”

What wonderful advice.

Let us pray.

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September 19, 2010

Are You Smarter…?

September 19, 2010

By Lay Speaker Ellen Jacke

How many of you remember the taunt in elementary school, “I’m smarter then you are!” or “I’m a bluebird in reading and that says I’m smarter!’ Somehow or other, no matter how they disguised it, early on we learned to compare ourselves to others and come up lacking. It’s a little different now but not much. Now adults are taunted: “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?”

I’ve never actually watched more than five minutes of this TV show but it is only one of many where contestants stand up in front of an audience and try to show how “smart” they are. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune come to mind.

What does it mean to be “smart’? Psychologists will tell us that there are many different kinds of intelligence. Look up “emotional intelligence” on Google and you will get 7 million hits. Another “Google” for multiple intelligences will produce 7 “Smarts”: self smart, word smart, logic smart, picture smart, body smart, music smart, and people smart.

When I first read the Lectionary passages for today I felt less than smart. I read the Luke passage in the NIV translation and said to myself, ”What in the world is Jesus trying to say in this parable?” I could have ignored the parable and preached on the last few verses about being faithful but I decided to see how Eugene Peterson approached it in The Message. His words showed me this parable in a new light.

You just heard how the master was going to fire the manager for misusing funds. This shrewd man decided to fix it so that he would have some people indebted to him and take him in when he was out on the streets. Let me read the read verse 8 and 9 in the NIV:

”The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwelling.”

Why is Jesus praising this crooked manager? Didn’t make any sense to me!

Then I read the same verses in the Message and several lines stood out.

“’Now here’s the surprise: the master praised the crooked manager! And, why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise People are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are constantly looking for the angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way – but for what is right- using every advantage to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so that you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”

Listen to those words again: “I want you to be smart in the same way – but for what is right…” What I heard in those words is an admonition to be spiritually smart or “Smart for God” or “Smart with God”.

Peterson uses the phrase “streetwise” to describe people who use their wits to get along and survive. Then he goes on to tell us to use every skill we have to fully live. Listen to that phrase, “fully live”.

These words spoke to me and they tell me that God’s plan for us is to, as the Army tells us, “Be all that you can be”. Live a joy filled life. Use all your God given capacities to the fullest but… for the right things.

How then can we be “Smart for God or smart with God”?

When we first went to school we learned the three R’s, reading, ‘riting and ’rithmetic so we could become smart in the schoolroom. As these verses percolated over the weeks words starting with R began to pop up in my reading. Wouldn’t it be interesting if I could find three R’s that could be the basis for being”smart for what is right”, I thought.

The first “R” for me is the word Relationship. At Bible Study on Block Island they kid me that I can find a way to bring this into every conversation. Ok, but Jesus’ ministry was based on those two commandments: “To love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus taught us that we need to be about is building our relationship with God and building loving, positive relationships with one another. This is our starting point and our benchmark for checking out how we are doing in our day to day interactions, the vital step for being “smart… but for what is right”.

Years ago I copied the following and posted it over my computer to remind me of how I want to be. It reads: “What do I want this communication to achieve? Is it for joining with others and with God or is it for separation? Am I more interested in being loving or being right?”

I find these to be very hard questions to face when I look at my actions and listen to my words but they are vital for keeping us in right relationship with God and our families, friends and neighbors.

And, if we are to love our neighbors as ourselves don’t we have to look closely at how we view ourselves? Do we really, each one of us, know that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God? If we don’t believe in our own intrinsic worth how then can we be loving to others? After all, God sent his own son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Isn’t that proof enough that we are worth it?

The second R is an interesting word I came across in one of my daily devotions. It is the word “Reservoir”. In this case the writer was comparing the reservoirs which hold our drinking water to our spiritual reservoirs. How are our spiritual reservoirs? Are they full and available? Have we been regular in our scripture reading, worship and Christian fellowship so that we have spiritual reserves to call upon when things go wrong? Do you really know in your heart that God loves you? Have you read enough scripture to understand how God sent Jesus to be the way-shower, to help us measure our human actions and reactions against the way Jesus acted in his life on earth in human form? Or is the water level in your spiritual reservoir so low that there is a watering ban and all that comes out of the hose is a dribble?

There’s another way to look at it. Have you made enough regular deposits in your spiritual bank account that you have cash to spend when irritations and setbacks make the daily grind seem daunting? Do you know where to go in scripture for guidance? Do you really know that God sent his son to forgive our transgressions? Do you have Christian friends who can listen and support you? Only you can answer these questions for yourself and only you can take advantage of all that this church has to offer for replenishing your supply.

The third “R” is my favorite. It undergirds the other two. In Philippians 4:8 we read: ”Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say: Rejoice!” The most important word in this passage is “Rejoice’. The second most important word is “always”.

Rejoice first, not just in good times but in those dark times when you are overwhelmed. Praise God first, not just when everything is going well but when you are grieving, anguished and hurting. Rejoice! Go first to God with rejoicing, knowing that his presence is there, knowing that God loves you and will care for you. This is the most powerful choice you can make. In any situation.

When we are rejoicing in the Lord we are aware of all God’s gifts. When we are praising Him in prayer we are bringing His presence into our lives. When we are singing hymns and songs of rejoicing we cannot be anything but lifted up and energized.

Rejoicing in the Lord first can help us make the decision to be faithful in small things so we can be entrusted with more. Rejoicing in the Lord will remind us that we are serving God and not money. Rejoicing in the Lord will lead us to know him better though reading scripture. Rejoicing in the Lord will encourage us to be merciful, to work for justice and to be in right relationship with God and all of His creation.

So, ”Are you Smarter?’’ Most of the time we use this phrase to compare ourselves with others. That is not what this sermon is about. What I want you to come away with today are these questions:

· “What am I doing today to bring me into a closer Relationship with God and a better Relationship with the people in my life?”

· “What am I doing to fill my spiritual Reservoir?”

· “Am I Rejoicing first?”

You have choices, every minute, every day in your thoughts, in your words and in your actions. Will it be God or something else that is the focus of your energy and your attention? You cannot serve two masters!

Let us now go out into our lives beyond this church building to “Be smart – but for what is right!”

Amen

Let us now sing Hymn # 399 “Take My Life and Let it Be”.

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September 12, 2010

GOD’S LOST AND FOUND BOX

By Steve Brooks

Lay Speaker

A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A VERY POPULAR BOOK WRITTEN BY ROBERT FULGHAM. IT WENT VERY QUICKLY TO NUMBER 1 ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LIST, AND WAS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS, THAT, IF YOU WERE INVITED TO A PARTY AND HADN’T READ IT, YOU HAD NOTHING TO SAY BECAUSE THAT’S ALL EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK WAS “EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW, I LEARND IN KINDERGARDEN”. REMEMBER IT? MR. FULGHAM WROTE OTHER BOOKS AND ALSO TOLD STORIES. ONE OF HIS STORIES WAS ABOUT THE GAME OF HIDE-AND-SEEK. I DON’T THINK IT’S PLAYED VERY MUCH TODAY, WHAT WITH TECH GAMES, TEXTING, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS I DIDN’T GROW UP WITH, AND I SUSPECT NOT MANY OF YOU DID EITHER. ANYWAY, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH MR. FULGHAM WAS WRITING IN HIS STUDY LATE ONE AUTUMN SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WERE PLAYING HIDE-AND-SEEK IN THE YARD. AND AS ALWAYS, THERE WAS THE ONE KID WHO WOULD HIDE SO WELL THAT NOBODY COULD FIND HIM. AFTER A WHILE, EVEN AFTER THE OLD CALL OF “OLEY, OLEY, OXEN FREE”, THAT ONE KID WOULD STILL STAY HIDDEN. EVERYBODY GAVE UP AND WENT ON TO A NEW GAME. OF COURSE, THIS ONE KID STAYED WHERE HE WAS; HIDDEN UNDER A PILE OF LEAVES RIGHT UNDER THE AUTHOR’S STUDIO. NOW ALL THE OTHER KIDS ARE MAD BECAUSE THEY CAN’T FIND HIM, AND HE’S MAD BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT LOOKING FOR HIM ANYMORE. THE COMMOTION IS STARTING TO GET TO THE AUTHOR; HE’S ABOUT READY TO TELL THE OTHER KIDS WHERE HE IS, MAYBE LIGHT THE PILE OF LEAVES ON FIRE, THAT WOULD TEACH HIM A LESSON. FINALLY, IN FRUSTRATION, HE OPENS THE STUDY WINDOW AND YELLS OUT, “HEY KID, GET FOUND!!”

THAT’S NOT UNLIKE OUR READINGS THIS MORNING….WITH PAUL, WITH THE LOST SHEEP AND THE LOST COIN. GOD IS SAYING “HEY, GET FOUND”. NOT NECESSARILY TO PAUL, OR THE SHEEP, BUT TO ALL WHO HAVE STRAYED.

IN THE READING FROM TIMOTHY, PAUL’S MENTION OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY ENTRUSTED TO HIM, PUT’S HIM IN MIND OF HIS FORMER SINS AND UNWORTHINESS. HE PRAISES GOD AND GIVES HIM THANKS FOR HIS SPECIAL GOODNESS TOWARDS HIM, WHICH SHINES A LIGHT EVEN BRIGHTER ON HIS PAST SINFULLNESS AND UNWORTHINESS.

HE ADMITS TO BEING A BLASPHEMER, A PERSECUTOR, AND AN “INSOLENT” MAN, ALTHOUGH HE CLAIMS HIS TRANSGRESSIONS WERE DONE BECAUSE HE HAD DONE THESE THINGS IGNORANTLY AND IN UNBELIEF. BUT THE GRACE AND LOVE OF THE LORD WERE ABUNDANT, WITH THE FAITH WHICH IS IN JESUS CHRIST.

IN THINKING ABOUT WHAT PAUL HAS WRITTEN, I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE GRACE OF GOD, AND HIS FORGIVENESS OF SIN, WAS EVEN GREATER THAN PAUL THOUGHT. PAUL MUST HAVE KNOWN OF THE PROPHETS, OF THE LAW, AND OF CHRIST TO BE SUCH A BLASPHEMER AND PERSECUTOR. WASN’T HE THERE AT THE STONING OF STEPHEN? MIGHT NOT HAVE HE EVEN PARTICIPATED IN THE STONING? SO TO PLEAD IGNORANCE, AND TO HAVE GOD ACCEPT THAT, REALLY DOES PUT A BRIGHT LIGHT ON GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY. I THINK GOD IS SAYING, “IT’S OK, PAUL, ALL IS FORGIVEN EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN TOTALLY IGNORANT.” I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THIS READING EMPHASISES AND REPEATS THE TRUTH THAT GOD’S GREATNESS IS REVEALED IN SHOWING MERCY FOR THOSE WE WOULD NOT THINK ARE NOT DESERVING OF HIS MERCY. THE MOMENT WE DECIDE SOME HORRIBLE SIN IS UNFORGIVABLE, WE CHALLENGE GOD TO FORGIVE IT. GOD ANSWERS OUR JUDGEMENTAL THOUGHTS WITH HIS PROMISE OF UNEXPECTED, UNREASONABLE, AND OVERFLOWING MERCY AND GRACE. I FELT THAT VERSE 15 REALLY SUMMED UP THIS READING…

“THIS IS A FAITHFUL SAYING AND WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTANCE, THAT CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS, OF WHOM I AM THE CHIEF.” CHRIST DIDN’T COME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SOME SINNERS, OR JUST PAUL, HE CAME TO SAVE ALL SINNERS!! ME, YOU, ALL OF US. IN PAUL WE HAVE A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THE WORST OF SINNERS BEING SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD. MAY IT BE SO WITH US.

OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE LISTENED TO PASTORS, LAY LEADERS, LAY SPEAKERS, AND OTHERS TALK ABOUT SHEEP. HOW THEY REALLY AREN’T THE BRIGHTEST OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, IN FACT, SOME HAVE CALLED THEM DOWNRIGHT STUPID. THEY’LL LAY ON THEIR BACK UNTIL THEY DIE, THEY ONLY RESPOND TO ONE VOICE, THEY FOLLOW THE LEADER BLINDLY . BUT TO THE SHEPHERD, THEY ARE EVERYTHING. IN THE FIRST PARABLE IN LUKE, THE SHEPHERD HAS LOST ONE OF HIS ONE HUNDRED SHEEP. HE HAS LED THEM FROM GRAZING PLACE TO GRAZING PLACE AND THEN NOTICES THAT ONE IS LOST. HE IMMEDIATELY LEAVES THE REST OF HIS FLOCK TO SEARCH FOR THE LOST ONE. WHY WOULD HE LEAVE NINETY-NINE SHEEP TO LOOK FOR ONE LOST ONE? HE MUST HAVE FELT REASONABLY SURE THAT WOULD BE SAFE AND STAY TOGETHER AND BE PROTECTED. HE DOES EVENTUALLY FIND THE LOST SHEEP AND PLACES IT LOVINGLY ON HIS SHOULDERS TO BRING IT BACK TO THE FLOCK. SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? THE LORD SAYS THAT THERE WILL BE MORE JOY IN HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS THAN OVER NINETY-NINE JUST PERSONS WHO NEED NO REPENTANCE.

SOME HAVE INTERPRETED THIS PARABLE AS BEING ABOUT ETERNAL SALVATION, BUT I BELIEVE IT IS SIMPLY ABOUT A CHRISTIAN WHO HAS WONDERED AWAY FROM GOD’S FLOCK AND PURSUES THE PATHWAY OF SIN. HIS BEING BROUGHT BACK TO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS SAVIOR AND SHEPHERD, AS WELL AS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD’S PEOPLE, WHO HAVE NOT STRAYED, BRING THE SHEPHERD GREAT JOY, AND SO IT IS WITH GOD’S PEOPLE.

JESUS IS THE GREAT SHEPHERD! IN JOHN 21, VERSUS 15 AND 16, HE SAYS TO SIMON PETER “FEED MY LAMBS”; LATER HE COMMANDS “TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP”. WHO CAN THE GREAT SHEPHERD BE, EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST?

SOME WRITERS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE WOMAN IN THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN IS THE CHURCH ITSELF. SEARCHING FEVERISHLY FOR THE ONE LOST COIN TO REUNITE IT WITH THE OTHER NINE. SHE LIGHTS A LAMP AND USES A BROOM TO SEARCH FOR THE LOST COIN; PERHAPS SYMBOLLICALLY SUGGESTING THAT THE CHURCH EXISTS IN A PLACE OF DARKNESS AND MORAL DEPRAVITY THAT MUST BE BROUGHT TO LIGHT AND SWEPT WAY, BUT NOT BEFORE THE “LOST COIN” IS FOUND AND RESTORED TO FULLNESS IN CHRIST. CHRISTIANS DO INDEED GO ASTRAY IN THIS WORLD OF DARKNESS AND DEPRAVITY, BUT THEY STILL RETAIN THEIR IDENTITY AND VALUE TO GOD JUST AS A LOST COIN IS STILL VALUABLE NO MATTER HOW MUCH TRASH IT IS BURIED UNDER. THE CHUECH IS RESPONSIBLE TO RECOGNIZE, AS DID THE WOMAN IN THE PARABLE, THAT THE STRAYING CHRISTIAN STILL HAS ENORMOUS VALUE AND NEEDS TO BE RETURNED TO THE COMPANY OF OTHER BELIEVERS SO THAT HIS VALUE, AND THEIRS, MAY BE PROPERLY UTILIZED FOR GOD. A CHURCH IS ALWAYS RICHER WHEN A STRYING CHRISTIAN RETURNS TO THE FOLD.

ALMOST EVERY BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT HAS A “LOST AND FOUND” REPOSITORY; WE HAVE ONE RIGHT OUT IN THE NARTHEX. THERE YOU’LL FIND THE ONE GLOVE, A PAIR OF EYEGLASSES, A SCARF, SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE HAS LOST. EVEN GOD HAS A LOST AND FOUND BOX. WHAT DO THINK WOULD BE IN HIS? LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT A COUPLE THAT I KNOW WELL.

SHE HAD BEEN RAISED IN A CHRISTIAN HOME WITH HER PARENTS AND SIBLINGS. THEY WERE VERY ACTIVE IN THEIR LOCAL CHURCH.

HIM, NOT SO MUCH!

THEY MET, FELL IN LOVE AND GOT MARRIED. HE WORKED FOR A LARGE NATIONAL COMPANY AND THEY MOVED SIX TIMES IN A LITTLE OVER FIFTEEN YEARS. SOMETHING NOT CONDUCIVE TO DEVELOPING LONG TERM FRIENDSHIPS OR DEEP CHURCH RELATIONSHIPS. THEY BECAME OVER TIME, VERY GOOD LILY AND POINSIETTA CHRISTIANS. EVENTUALLY THEY DID SETTLE DOWN IN A COMMUNITY WHERE THEY KNEW THEY WOULD BE FOR A LONG TIME. BUT THEY STILL WERE GOOD LILY AND POINSIETTA FOLK. ONE EASTER A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO AS THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT WHICH CHURCH TO GO TO, A FRIEND SUGGESTED A LOCAL CHURCH THAT WAS GOING THROUGH A TRANSITION PERIOD. BUT THE FRIEND THOUGHT THAT THEY MAY LIKE IT. SO THEY WENT ON EASTER SUNDAY. THEY WERE GREETED WARMLY, AS FRIENDS AND GUESTS IN THE LORD’S HOUSE, NOT AS FOREIGNERS IN A STRANGE LAND. ON THE WAY HOME, THE WIFE LOOKED OVER AND ASKED IF HE HAD ENJOYED THE SERVICE AND THE PEOPLE. RECOGNIZING WHERE THE CONVERSATION WAS GOING, HE SAID “YES, VERY MUCH SO.” AFTER A BIT, SHE ASKED “WOULD YOU MIND GOING BACK TO THAT CHURCH MAYBE ONCE EVERY FEW WEEKS?’ REMEMBERING GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADMONITION TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS TO “MAINTAIN DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY AND AVOID FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS”, HE SAID “WHATEVER”.

SO A FEW WEEKS LATER, SHE SAID, “WOULD YOU MIND GOING BACK TO THAT CHURCH TOMORROW?’ HE REMEMBERED THEIR EARLIER CONVERSATION AND SAID”OK”. SO THEY WENT AND WERE ONCE AGAIN GREETED WARMLY AND WITH CHRISTIAN LOVE.

A FEW MORE WEEKS PASSED AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. ONE SATURDAY NIGHT, NOT THAT LONG AFTER THE THIRD OR FOURTH VISIT, AS THEY WERE FINISHING DINNER AND SHE WAS CLEARING THE DISHES, HE SAID, SO WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THAT CHURCH TOMORROW”/ WITH THAT ALL KNOWING WIFE ALMOST A SMILE, SHE SAID “YES. THAT WOULD BE FINE”.

IT WAS JUST ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS LATER THAT ZOE AND I JOINED THIS BODY OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS. NOW THAT’S BEING FOUND! IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME YEARS AGO THAT A CHURCH BULLETIN WOULD READ “PREACHING TODAY STEVE BROOKS”, I WOULDN’T HAVE BELIEVED IT!

SO WHAT WOULD WE FIND IN GOD’S LOST AND FOUND BOX. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT HE HAS TWO BOXES; ONE SAYS “LOST” THE OTHER “FOUND”. AND I SUSPECT THAT THE “LOST” BOX IS EMPTY; THE FOUND BOX IS FULL. BUT MAYBE THOSE IN THE FOUND BOX AREN’T JUST READY TO BE PULLED OUT, JUST LIKE THE CHILD PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK.

SOME MONTHS AFTER WE JOINED THIS CHURCH, I WAS SITTING BY MYSELF ON OUR BACK PORCH AFTER DINNER. ZOE WAS OUT IN OHIO VISITING HER FAMILY. I WAS JUST KIND OF PONDERING THE UNIVERSE, WHEN I ASKED MYSELF, WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RHETORICAL QUESTION;

“WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG TO PULL ME OUT OF THE FOUND BOX, LORD”? AND THEN TO MY AMAZEMENT, I HEARD AN ANSWER…”BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T READY YOU WANTED TO PLAY HIDE-AND-SEEK WITH ME. BEING AN ASTUTE CONVERSATIONLIST, I REPLIED, “HUH?” AND HE SAID AGAIN, “YOU WEREN’T READY”. I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND EVEN A LITTLE BIT. HE SAID “IF I HAD TAKEN YOU OUT OF THE FOUND BOX BEFORE YOU WANTED TO COME OUT, YOU WOULD HAVE RESENTED ME, PERHAPS EVEN COME TO HATE ME”. I SAID”NEVER” HE SAID ‘OH YEAH”. SO HERE I AM ARGUING WITH GOD (I THINK). GOD SAID “LOOK, YOU HAVE TO READY TO ACCEPT ME. I CAN’T FORCE MYSELF ON YOU, OR ANYBODY. LOOK AT PAUL. HE WAS LOST, BIG TIME, BUT I FOUND HIM AND HE WAS READY TO ACCEPT ME. JUST LIKE YOU WERE A LITTLE WHILE AGO. IT TOOK YOU SOME TIME, YOU LOST SHEEP YOU, BUT NOW YOU’RE HOME. AND WE ARE ALL JOYFULL ABOUT IT!

SO NEVER THINK YOU’RE LOST. YOU JUST HAVEN’T BEEN FOUND, YET.

PRAISE GOD AND AMEN .

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Sermon 8/29/10 Hope for the World Cibby Gardiner

All over the world people are becoming more and more concerned about the environment. I’d like to read a letter that a young Christian wrote to Dr. Billy Graham. Dear Dr. Graham, Do you think we might be on the road to destroying the world? I'm very concerned about global warming and pollution, and I'm even thinking about a career in environmental science (I'm in high school right now). — K.L.

Dear K.L., I'm not a scientist, of course—but I've talked with many scientists who share your concern, and I'm thankful for all those who are seeking to make our world a better and safer place. Perhaps God wants you to become one of them.

I believe Christians especially should be concerned about the environment—and the reason is because we know this is God's world, not ours. God created it; it isn't here by chance. And God put us here to be stewards or trustees of the world—to take care of it and use it responsibly. The Bible says that when God created the human race, He told them to "rule over ... every living creature" (Genesis 1:28). Just as a good king takes care of his subjects, so we are to take care of the world.

Why haven't we done this? Why are we so careless about the way we treat the world? The reason is because we've forgotten that this is God's world. We act instead as if we are the center of the universe. Our lives are ruled by greed and selfishness, and we don't care what happens to others or to the world.

Our greatest need is to have our hearts changed from within—and that can happen, as we yield our lives to Christ Ask Him to guide you as you make decisions about your future. God loves you, and life's greatest joy comes from knowing Him and living for His glory

In his letter to all Methodists Bishop Whitaker called for us to deepen our spiritual consciousness in regards to treating our planet with respect and asked us ” to pledge to practice dialogue with those whose life experience differs dramatically from our own.” Two Sundays ago Pastor Lori’s sermon was taken mainly from Genesis 2 and was about our responsibility to “tend to God’s garden”…. in other words, to take care of God’s creation…the earth and everything on it… and to practice social and environmental holiness. Last week Paula spoke passionately about how we can accomplish these things. She mentioned different organizations that we can join and what other countries and big businesses are doing. It takes many people, each doing a little something to make big improvements. I remember a Bonanza episode that had Pa, (Ben Cartwright) holding some sticks and twigs. He snapped one in half easily. Then he put a bunch together and bound them with string. He couldn’t break it. He told Adam, Hoss and Little Joe that alone they were weak and not as effective, but bound together they were strong and powerful and could do anything. I always remembered that scene. Like the Cartwrights, we here in this church can have “strength in numbers” and work together to make a difference. We have already started to make many changes to “be green” and to help our neighbors that are struggling financially, physically and mentally. We recycle, on a side note: did you know that N.K. schools were the first in the nation to recycle?! We use real cups instead of Styrofoam or plastic, we started the Angel Food Ministries and the Monthly Dinners held at area churches. We organized the Bread Ministry with Stop and Shop in Wakefield to get day old breads and desserts that would normally be thrown out and disperse them to the food pantry and anyone who needs it. In 2 weeks there will be tables set up in the Sunday School room with information about these different ministries and an opportunity for you to sign up to help with these programs. Yes, we are doing some things and hopefully, we, and the world will do much more. Sometimes it seems like we’re swimming upstream, taking two steps forward and one step back, but at least most of us are doing something!…There is so much going on today with the environment and a world wide recession, that it almost seems easier to throw our hands up and say “What difference will it make?” Sometimes we lose hope that we can save our planet and humankind. Don’t despair! “All things are possible with God”. Things can be good on this earth again. Because we are people who worship and live in the tradition of John Wesley, we know about renewal and reconciliation, and that they are part of the salvation that is already happening. We are not hemmed into a fallen world but are part of God’s unfolding process and we should and can participate in that renewal. You just heard Mark/Maggie reading Isaiah 43:18-21 and the hope that God said to the Israelites about their oppression thousands of years ago, is the same hope God is giving us now about our earth and people in it: “. Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; don’t you feel it? I am making a road in the wilderness and giving you streams of water there. The wild animals honor me, even the jackals and the owls will praise me when I make rivers flow in the dessert to give water to my people, my chosen, the people I made Israel for myself, and these my people will sing my praises.” Isaiah knew his words from the Lord hit home to the people in Egypt about the chaos and confusion they had suffered. Not only did they experience a disruption of life, but also a disrupted understanding of God. Their cherished expectations of what it meant to be the covenant,“chosen” people had crumbled along with the destruction of Jerusalem. They felt that God had allowed this destruction of their naïve theology and now they were exiled from both the land and the notion that God would protect them. It was this befuddled congregation that assembled to hear Isaiah’s sermon.

Isaiah didn’t pull any punches. “Yes”, he said, “they were being judged for their sins and the judgment was severe. But that was not God’s ultimate purpose in sending the Babylonians to drag the Hebrews away. The real purpose was to call them to a deeper understanding of the covenant that God had said in Genesis.” In a way, God has done the same thing to us today. Over and over in the Bible He has told us how to treat the earth and everyone on it; In Leviticus 19:23-25 He says: When fruit trees are planted, they must be allowed to crop without being picked for three years. The fourth year’s produce must be given to God, and then from the fifth year on it may be harvested normally And The law that looks most ecological in intent is that dealing with the seventh year: Exodos 23:10-11 ‘For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild beasts may eat.’ (Also in Leviticus 25: 2-7). Here the land is portrayed as needing a Sabbath though the major reason is to help the poor. Most unusual too is that this law helps the wild animals, who more frequently were viewed as a major threat to human survival.

. As Paula said last week….”. God not only gives us responsibility to care for His creation, the earth and everything on it, and tells us He will keep a covenant with all living things by never again destroying the Creation but he also gives us a plan on how to do it. How good is that?!? But, being the stubborn people we are, we do not obey or follow the plan ” So, like the Israelites years ago, we now find ourselves with an earth that is falling apart and the living things on it not doing too well either. We have countries that will soon be struggling over water rights, countries are fighting over our dwindling natural resources like oil, some of those countries have nuclear weapons that could destroy the earth. Sure, we could pull the covers up over our heads and go into a state of real fear and depression but we don’t need to! We can feel hope in God’s words “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; don’t you feel it? “. As the earth has transformed God has blessed us with the ability to read the signs and to respond to them with intelligence and faith! Scientists and experts are showing us ways to save our forests, our water and oceans, the air we breathe and human and animal ecosystems. God has inspired people to invent tools to help the environment; ways to replace fossil fuels with energy from the wind and sun, new forms of transportation that don’t pollute the air, ways to recycle, guides about reducing our “carbon footprints”. Thousands and thousands of people all over the world are gathering in small and large groups and doing things to make a change to save the world. God is bringing people together to plan and act upon the emerging realities of what is happening to our world, our society and our people. Christian communities are speaking boldly on the inter-related nature of the world’s present crisis. The “Ecumenical Declaration of Just Peace” that the World Council of Churches just drafted named justice, peace and the integrity of creation as a way to help avoid this crisis. The U.N. has instituted The Earth Charter. Its mission is to promote the transition to ways of living that can be easier maintained and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. The Council of Bishops of the UMChurch has asked all members to participate in God’s renewing work that they outline in the God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action letter. Their website www.hopeandaction.org has resources, educational materials, downloadable studies and social networking that can help us to save what God made. There are many many more organizations and projects that are available to us. All this actively is happening because the people of the world are reading the signs carefully – we see clearly that God is doing a new thing and He is inviting us to participate in this transformation. We aren’t initiating these actions, we are just responding to His gracious invitation to join Him in renewing His creation.

We have heard since our Sunday School days that we “were created in God’s image “. We have a special responsibility to care for His creation. John Wesley calls this “the political” image of God”. It means we are charged with caring for this world, not abusing it. Doing justice, building peace and fixing our planet are ways that we take care of what God has given us. We shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and take action when necessary. On the stormy waters with his disciples, Jesus told them to live in faith rather than in fear. His ministry here on earth gave us a way or pattern to resist the things that scare us and to not give in to our fears. His resurrection assures us of the new life to come. The God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God who breathes new life into our broken world. The vision of Him breathing life into the broken world gives us hope and a motive to act to help Him. Jeremiah 29:11 says; “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not to harm you, to give you a future with hope.” When we open our eyes to the presence of God’s renewing Spirit in the world we celebrate every charitable act, every just practice, every courageous stand for peace, every moment of reconciliation and every restored habitat, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God as a seed that will sprout HOPE. In order to live fully in God’s image we need to make God’s promise our purpose, to make ourselves a channel of His blessings. We open our hearts to God’s grace and our hands and words to do the work that He calls us to do. So, what does it mean to fashion ourselves in His image and to be an instrument of His Renewing Spirit? Jesus answers that question many times in various ways. In Luke 10:25 and Matthew 22:37-39 when a man asked what he must do to inherit eternal life He answers; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Taking part in God’s work of renewal looks like love shinning forth in action! We show our love for God by taking care of His creation. We pay attention to poverty, to abuse of the environment, to striving for peace. We love our neighbor by showing compassionate respect, giving assistance when we can and supporting abused people and countries in their pursuit of a just peace. When we were on the Mission Trip a few weeks ago we held Nightly Devotionals and talked about what it meant to be in Livermore Falls,Maine, a community that has high unemployment and poverty.. One evening one of the questions was: “If a group of people came to your home to help you what would you want them to know about you?” Almost to a person the answer was “respect” “Respect me as a person”, “don’t pity me” . “Don’t be ashamed for me” “give me respect”. To show love and kindness we have to let go of greed and selfishness. Some of us will have to change our attitude and maybe even our lifestyle. We may have to confront people, companies, governments who are abusing or exploiting the earth or other people. We don’t have to scream and yell or set things afire. We should be like God, like Jesus and confront the offending parties non-violently, with the force of love. We can change the world by living as good Disciples of Christ…by being people whose love of God and love of our neighbors shines forth in our actions. If we all do a little bit, we will have strength in numbers and the light will be so bright we’ll need to pass out sun glasses! We can do it! We can gather together in small groups for prayer and study and discuss ways to help with justice and the environment. We can look up organizations that work towards those goals and join them or support them financially. We can write letters to our congressmen and the government. I am encouraged by how many more fuel efficient cars are on the road, people are using more efficient light bulbs and more and more people are aware of what is causing global warning and what they can to fix it. There is a conscious awareness happening that has awakened many people to the spiritual connection between humans and something greater; the notion that we belong to a divine presence that encompasses everything, not just humans. People all over the world have come together because they all realize that protecting the environment is about protecting all species of which humans are only one. We have a moral obligation to protect what God loves and calls “good”. We are called to serve one another and leave a healthy future for generations to come. While there is lots of good news about solutions to the climate problem we still have a long way to go.

Rev. Sally Bingham, an Episcopal Cannon, has brought widespread attention to the link between religious faith and the environment through her work on The Regeneration Project and the Interfaith Power and Light campaign. As one of the first faith leaders to fully recognize global warming as a core moral issue, she has mobilized thousands of religious people to put their faith into action through energy stewardship. In her book, Love God Heal Earth, published by in 2009 she writes: “ What I believe has to happen and what I work for is somewhat along the line of what happened when Jesus appeared after he had been crucified-- the seemingly impossible appearance of a dead man. Jesus’ appearance changed the world. And his appearance to the disciples was calling them into a new way of being in the world. They were being challenged to change their behavior and readdress their role in the world and their relationship to others. They were being asked to live the life that Jesus modeled for them and to proclaim the truth of his being. God appeared in a cloud and told us to believe in him, too. (Transfiguration Sunday) Speak truth to power, love your enemies, but most of all love God and love your neighbor. This was a new way of being in relationship. Today’s seemingly” impossible appearance” is that humans are changing the climate. A hundred years ago that would have been deemed impossible, but now it is happening and people are seeing the signs. This realization calls for a new way of being in the world.”

The time is now for us to begin to relate differently to each other and nature.. I want to encourage you to be part of it. There are great glimmers of hope on the horizon. In fact, this entire journey of religion and the environment is itself a story in hope. Ten years ago, little

was being discussed and the church had not even entered the discussion. Today, that is very different. Congregations all over this country are serving as examples to the community. “Protection of Creation” has reached every mainstream tradition in America. We have earth liturgy, earth friendly practices and adult education happening everywhere. Seminaries are teaching environmental ethics. Young people are hearing more about environmental issues than any generation before us. The Ecumenical Patriarch, leader of 50 million Greek Orthodox called the dreadful conditions of the environment a sin. Recently the Pope added pollution to the list of sins in the Catholic Church. And in his address on World Peace Day he said, “if you want to cultivate peace, protect Creation.” Sadly, though, the nature of the crisis is far more complicated than any one issue, any one injustice, one disease, one case of drought or flood or the extinction of one species. The problems today are vast, complex and mostly inter-related. It is about the entire community of life. Science can give us all the facts and figures, but science cannot do it alone. It is religion and our faith that provides transforming power and a new way of being in the world. It is religion that transforms our hearts. There has got to be a sacred relationship between humans and nature. When God made the world and said it was “good”, we were given the job to keep it “good”.

Life isn’t about being comfortable. Jesus brought a new message that called for behavior change. It was not well received and yet we know He is right.. Our faith will give us the courage to make the changes we need to make. Once we fully understand the threat to our life- sustaining systems, we will change our behavior. Many of us already have and more are changing all the time.

Jesus also brought a message of peace. The environmental message is also one of peace. It is a peaceful movement rooted in love and justice. It cries for love and appreciation of all that God created. Every butterfly that flutters: every bee that pollinates the flowers and plants for our food….even the garden snakes that eat the bad insects are to be respected! There will not be peace on the earth until every species and person has access to clean air, clean water, justice and respect. Working together we can deliver a message of unity, love and peace; which will come when we can universally declare an end to the war humans declared on the earth and to each other.

When we can stand together and say, enough is enough. We want to live and we choose a resurrected life over death. We can begin showing acts of love toward our neighbor and love toward nature.

Make today the beginning of addressing the things that are abusing and threatening to our world and life with an act of faith….DO SOMETHING!! It may sound like too big a task, but like the old question; “”How do you eat an elephant?”…..”One bite at a time.” How do we tackle the world’s environmental problems? How do we bring justice and peace to the oppressed? One act at a time. We band together so we can be more effective, we do what ever we can and teach others to do the same, we pray and as Jesus told us in Luke and Matthew……we practice love.

Amen.

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August 22, 2010

Members of the Household of Earth

Paula J. Martasian, lay speaker

Today I continue with the message of renewal and hope sent out in the letter from the Bishops. And will frame this sermon to answer the questions of Who are we?; What are we to do based on who we are?; and where is God? Last week Pastor Lori lifted up the scriptures from Genesis that describe our responsibility to “tend God’s garden in other words to take care of God’s creation from Genesis 2. The story continues in Genesis 9 (1-4 & 8-17) where God blesses Noah and his family and tells Noah that they again are responsible for all living creatures. God does something new here and makes a covenant. The covenant is not just between God and Noah but between God, Noah and everything living and God places the rainbow in the sky as a symbol of hope of this covenant that God will never again destroy the Earth. Apparently we do not do so well at tending to God’s creation from the very beginning because in Numbers (35:34) God has to remind us of our covenant to take care of His creation. The verse in the Message is Don’t desecrate the land in which you live. I live there, too – I, God live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel. (Message, 2002; Numbers 35:34). When we still do not heed this reminder God then gives us a plan on how to take care of the Earth in Leviticus (25:10-25) God as the Master Gardner tells his people to provide a year of Jubilee in the seventh year and rest the land, do not plant it and he will provide more than enough harvest in the sixth year for people to live on. God extends this Master Gardner plan to his people and gives us a jubilee year every 50 years where people’s debt will be forgiven. God not only gives us responsibility to care for His creation and tells us He will keep a covenant with all living things in not destroying the Creation but he also gives us a plan on how to do it. How good is that?!? But, being a stubborn people we do not obey or follow the plan and that leads us to Isaiah’s prophecy (24:3-6) The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered…The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth…The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant…Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. (Message, 2002)

Pandemic poverty and disease

Environmental degradation

The proliferation of violence and weapons…

Isaiah’s prophecy certainly sounds like the focus of the message from our Bishops. The thing about the prophets is that when the people heeded their call, in this case Isaiah’s cry of doom and gloom, destruction of the creation…when the people turned around and heeded the prophets and took action, miracles happened. The Bishops’ focus on God’s renewed creation is a call to hope and action. It is a message of justice and social action. We are the people who are heeding the warning and we have solutions. We are not alone in answering this call. The world is answering this call.

Justice and Social action are not new to Methodists, The Book of Discipline (2004) states that The United Methodist Church has a long history of concern for social justice. Its members have often taken forthright positions on controversial issues involving Christian principles. Early Methodists expressed their opposition to the slave trade, to smuggling and to cruel treatment of prisoners. A social creed was adopted in 1908 and in the General Conference continues to revise these Social Principles. These Social Principles are a call to all members of The United Methodist Church to a prayerful, studied dialogue of faith and practice. (p. 84)

This section of the Book of Discipline (2004) continues by stating All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. Therefore, we repent of our devastation of the physical and nonhuman world. Further, we recognize the responsibility of the church toward lifestyle and systemic changes in society that will promote a more ecologically just world and a better quality of life for all creation. (p.85)

This document continues to address particulars on how we are to relate to the Natural World, The Nurturing Community as we are in relationship with each other, the Social Community in terms of rights of groups of people identified as vulnerable; the children, youth, women, immigrants, those of different race, ethnicity, sexual orientation. And in the recognition of Earth’s population it states, Since the growing worldwide population is increasingly straining the world’s supply of food, minerals, and water and sharpening international tensions, the reduction of the rate of consumption of resources by the affluent have become imperative. (p.94)

The Methodist Social Principles include statements about just economics and just politics including freedoms, education and opportunities for work for all. These Social Principles culminate with statements for the World Community. It states, God’s world is one world. The unity now being thrust upon us by technological revolution has far outrun our moral and spiritual capacity to achieve a stable world. The enforced unity of humanity, increasingly evident on all levels of life, presents the Church as well as all people with problems that will not wait for answer: injustice, war, exploitation, privilege, population, international ecological crisis, proliferation of arsenals of nuclear weapons, development of transnational business organizations that operate beyond the effective control of any governmental structure, and the increase of tyranny in all its forms. This generation must find viable answers to these and related questions if humanity is to continue on this earth. We commit ourselves as a Church to the achievement of a world community that is a fellowship of persons who honestly love one another. We pledge ourselves to seek the meaning of the gospel in all issues that divide people and threaten the growth of world community.

Sallie McFague states that we are caretakers of God’s creation and that as Christians we believe God incarnate; meaning God is with us, all of us, here and now, in our world, on this earth. (p.35) McFague states that Jesus did not live in order to die; rather, he died in order to live; in order that all of us might see a new way to live. His suffering was in order to open our eyes to the way of the cross, the way in which we all must live so that creation may flourish. The death of Jesus says to us that living in solidarity with others, even when it involves sacrifice and suffering, is the only way to life. And we know this in the face of Jesus Christ. We do not see the golory of God directly, but we meet God in the face of Jesus. We meet God in Jesus eating with outcasts, healing the sick, destabilizing the wealthy and powerful, welcoming the stranger, siding with the oppressed, and inviting everyone to the table. This is the glory of God that we see in the face of Jesus: we see that a different world is possible.(p. 39-40) Sallie McFague has written two books addressing the urgency of the crisis before us; one is Life Abundant and the other one is A New Climate for Theology: God, the World and Global Warming. In these books she outlines the environmental crisis before us and how if we are Christian we much respond. She makes a compelling case for the interrelationship between the issues of pandemic poverty and disease and environmental degradation and tells us how a change in the way we live in the world is a matter of life and death. Sallie McFague writes about how we need to address allocation of resources, distributive justice and sustainability. She presents a different way for us to live in the world and interact with each other through a system called Ecological Economics. This is a system of economics based on fair distribution on the viability of the whole community which begins with sustainability and distributive justice. She makes a compelling case for our interdependence, how our total dependence is on the air we breathe and the airstream is shared by our world community. What we do here in the United States will affect people on the other side of the world and visa versa. She states that our truth is establishing relationship with nature that honor and allow nature to flourish. We are totally dependent on Earth for our existence and now the Earth is dependent on our managing the Earth for long-term well being of the planet. Ecological Economics is based on the presupposition of our inalienable membership in the earth community. Our goal is to balance individual freedom with the community’s integrity. For the individual and the community to co-exist we need to maintain a healthy community so that all members flourish. In an Ecological Economic Worldview we are members of a household and that household is Earth. Who are we? We are members of the household, Earth! We live within a circle composed of networks of interrelationships and interdependence with all other beings. Distributive Justice means that all have access to earth’s resources; sharing material goods is a necessity; limiting inequality is a command by Jesus; all have basic needs met for survival; the good life is not extreme consumerism. McFague advocates for the Good Life for all where people have adequate food, clothing, shelter, education medical care, creative and spiritual opportunities, fellowship, leisure time and space. The Good Life calls for the healthy development of human beings on a sustainable planet. She calls for a new vision of how we are to live in this world with a Global Village identity with new or continued social justice and action for an ecological society. She believes a different world is possible and so do I. The world different from Isaiah’s doom and gloom prophecy is a world where we are conscious of other ways to live; where we develop visions of the Good Life; where we advocate for an ecological model by changing public policies and where we reconstruct Christian doctrines as God in the World; God radically present in the world; where we are beings-in-community living in the presence of God, God is in the neighborhood. Where is God? God is in the hood!

How do we realize this vision of renewal and hope that will save creation?

Step by step, every action of renewal gives us hope to save our household, Earth.

On the Global Level there are many Organizations and Charters that have been formed that hold a wealth of educational information and action steps for saving our house.

The Earth Charter was created out of a United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development for “the well-being of the human family and greater community of life with values and principles for a sustainable future. The Earth Charter focuses on Respect and care for the community of life; Ecological Integrity; Social and Economic Justice and Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace. Do a computer search for Earth Charter in Action and you will see their current programs, educational materials and resources for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society.

Every Year there is a Human Development Report published by the United Nations that presents research on a pressing issue that threatens our global lives with information on which nations people are in trouble based on health, poverty, medical, environmental, economic, educational and other human development factors. The World came together in the year 2000 and formed 8 Millennium Development Goals based on Human Development Indexes from these reports. These goals include (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) Achieve universal primary education; (3) Promote gender equality and empower women; (4) Reduce child mortality; (5) Improve maternal health; (6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) Ensure environmental sustainability; (8) Develop global partnerships for development.

These are real goals with real deadlines and real lives to be saved. Out of response to meeting the Millennium Development Goals organizations such as One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History; www.one.org have been organized. This campaign is ongoing and if you join it you will get information on how to support public policy and make changes to restore our household to order and justice.

There is a 20 minute video on the web called The Story of Stuff www.storyofstuff.com/anotherway explains our planet as a system in crisis and gives ways you can intervene to make a difference.

What are Methodists doing to answer our responsibility to creation and the world community?

To mention a few of our ongoing responses:

When you support the Men’s Fish Fry which is a fund raiser for the Food pantry and when you sponsor the Youth in the 30 hour Famine, or participate in any of the following programs; Project Outreach, Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Projects and Cereal Night you are working on Millennium Development Goal (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and Goal and Goal (4) Reduce child mortality. When you participate in our Bread Ministry, which needs more helping hands and when you support or are a member of a Mission Team sent out from this church you are responding to Goal (1) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger in the world.

By participating in the Dollar for a Scholar program started by the UMW you are addressing Millennium Development Goal (2) Achieve universal primary education; and (3) Promote gender equality and empower women

You have prepared and sent off birthing kits to Sierra Leone and this simple intervention has greatly decreased maternal mortality due to birthing infection. (Millennium Development Goal #5)

We have had special collections and programs to combat and reduce AIDS and Malaria (Millennium Development Goal #6) This congregation took on the Bishops challenge a few years ago and through a yard sale raised $800.00 for the Nothing but Nets Program. Areas of the world where specially treated nets to kill malaria carrying mosquitoes and protect families as they sleep have had a significant decrease in malaria. Likewise, last year we participated in the collection to decrease AIDS and the areas receiving AIDS medicine, education have had a decrease in the disease.

When you attend an Earth Day event, church or other workshop and work to make our church go green this is a response to Millennium Development Goal(7) Ensure environmental sustainability;

And certainly when you support the Sierra Leone Boutique by making items out of the cloth sent or selling or buying items you have developed a global partnership for development. (Millennium Development Goal 8)

These are only a few examples I lift up to you. You have an opportunity to do more. Do some reading on the issues raised in the Bishops letter; copies have been in the back of the church for a few weeks now. Go on to the website about God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action. Find out other ways to respond to our command and covenant to be responsible for creation. Research a topic and present a spiritual formation workshop or start a book study or Wesylian Cell or Group of mutual interest. If you find something you are passionate about that is an ongoing or new program for NKUMC put out a sign- up sheet at our Ministry Fair on Sept. 12^th. See me and we will make it happen. Take Action, be part of the renewed creation, be a messenger of hope.

Who is in the neighborhood? God!

Who are we? Members of the Household of Earth!

What must we do? Act on the messages of hope and renewal and get our house in order!

Amen

Resources

Book of Discipline (2004). http://gbgm-umc.org/connections/

God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action:

http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.5613639/k.47A9/Gods_Renewed_Creation_Call_to_Hope_and_Action.htm

Human Development Report (2007/2008) Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a

divided world.

McFague, S. (2008). A new climate for theology: God, the world, and global warming.

Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History; www.one.org

The Earth Charter http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/

The Story of Stuff www.storyofstuff.com/anotherway

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August 15, 2010 “A Future of Hope” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Psalm 148 Isaiah 40: 26 -31 Jeremiah 29: 4-11

Two weeks ago I introduced to the congregation the Council of Bishops letter entitled “God’s Renewed Creation: A Call to Hope and Action”. The bishops, in a biblically centered message, lifted three major concerns:

· Pandemic poverty and disease

· Environmental degradation

· Proliferation of weapons and violence

They then wrote “despite these interconnected threats to life and hope, God’s work continues.” They later concluded, “We cannot help the world until we change our way of being in it.” After the service I received mixed reaction – some of you agreed, some disagreed, some commented on specific points picking it apart. Well good, because the letter was meant to generate discussion. It was meant to make us think about how we as individuals and as a congregation live in the world. That we think about it is a matter of justice not only for life on earth but also for the planet itself, the earth placed in our care from the beginning of time.

Most of us are familiar with the story of creation as told in Genesis 1, but Genesis 2 tells a different story. First there is heaven and earth, then a stream coming up from the earth, then God formed man , then the garden of Eden with its river and four branches, and with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Do you know what happens next? In verse 15 God takes what is already created – man – and places him in the garden to “till it and care for it.” Even before man is given a helpmate, before the animals are called into being, God has tasked man with a singular responsibility – till the earth and care for it.

Growing up on Cape Cod I had lots of opportunities to be outside, gardening or enjoying the beaches or walking through what once were wooded areas. I would take my younger sister on a summer’s day and to hunt for wild blackberries or asparagus. Later I would take my nieces and nephews salamander hunting or we would visit the frog pond. We would come within an arms distance of a woodchuck or deer, or a great heron or turtles sunning themselves on a downed tree in the water. I hoped from our times together they learned an appreciation of the out of doors. But what was disturbing was to see the litter, the trash thrown out as though this land people came to enjoy for its pristine beaches and beauty was nothing more than a garbage dump once their vacation was over. It made me angry to think that my home meant so little to them when “they” were through with it. And somewhere in my thinking I began to question if in fact all the earth was like this… once we were through with where ever we had been, was it in fact as nothing to us?

As I began to direct camps and retreats for teens I adopted a philosophy and practice of zero impact camping - leaving our sites better than we found it. It is a practice that serves well in every place we go – whether camping, vacationing, or daily living.

In the passage from Jeremiah the people of Israel are in exile. They are told to make “camp”… live in the land, build houses, plant drops. Seek the welfare of the city. When we know we are going to be living in a place for an undetermined amount of time, we do our best to seek the welfare of the everything around us. As Christians we seek social holiness, making ourselves channels of God’s blessings especially as we think in terms of environmental holiness.

As Christians we have a message of hope to offer, and a message of action. How are we heeding God’s call to till the earth? To care for the earth?

How many of us garden? I know not all of us have green thumbs. As I served near Hartford, I had one lady tell me she was a city girl, she couldn’t relate to anything agrarian, any of the parables of Jesus to do with seeds and farming, and she killed every potted plant ever given to her. You may feel as she did. You can still do something:

· An energy audit of your home or work place to determine the most effective fuels

· Advocate for clean energy

· Recycle

· Live more simply – if you don’t need something get rid of it – recycle, regift, donate, throw it away

· Write letters or join with groups in your communities who are already doing something to promote justice

· We have a green team in the church – learn more about reducing waste

· Carpool

· There are many more things you can do and many more ways you can advocate for environmental justice.

The truth is that God has provided all the resources we need for the sustenance, education, welfare of every human being on this planet. The problem is that it is distributed unevenly. As Christians we are called to look to the needs of our neighbors - not just those in Exeter or East Greenwich – but globally. To those who are given much, much is expected. God calls us to live in the land recognizing who it is that has given us everything in the first place. Let us live more simply, sharing our resources, and caring for the land that all peoples may share in a future of hope.

Let us pray:

Holy God, we see people overwhelmed by fear and anxiety,

People find the wounds of the world too deep to address;

People see challenges to health and well-being for all as too great to overcome.

We know the workers who can no longer provide for their families and the activists exhausted by the struggle.

Lord, walk with us in the days ahead and enable us to do our part for the good of creation, for the welfare of the city, and for all of humanity.

Open our eyes to those places we may offer hope and be of service in the fulfilling your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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July 25, 2010

“Indwelling Spirit”

Galatians 4: 6-7; Ephesians 4: 1- 6

This is the third part of a three part series on the Holy Spirit. We have heard of the inward and outward work of the Spirit: the Spirit’s inner work of creating, calling, revealing, saving, guiding, transforming, and of living in us; and the outer work of helping us overcome whatever circumstances we find ourselves in and helping us to witness to the power of God. One aspect we have not touched on is how the Spirit serves to draws us close to the holiness of God.

I’m not sure how many of us want to come face to face with the holiness of God though, because some of us have understood that to come into God’s presence is a fearful experience. God is fearful. God is to be feared, so to come face to face with God is to be feared. We have not done justice to the scriptures as we have mistranslated the Hebrew, and we have failed to impart an understanding of a God who loves us. We have a God not to be feared, but to stand in awe of.

God is all powerful for our defense, and God is all loving for our salvation. God loves us and wants to keep us for eternity. We live busy lives. For people whose schedules, households, and relationships are fragmented, for people who struggle to have hope, the Holy Spirit can bring us close to God where there is healing and wholeness. Hymn writers over the centuries, after times of turmoil and personal struggle, have expressed their desire to be near to God based on this certainty: “Nearer My God to Thee”, “Draw Me Nearer”, “In the Garden”, all these speak of being near to God, of finding peace with God. This is all the power of Holy Spirit.

The desert mothers and fathers of the first centuries lived solitary lives in the desert. These ascetics hoped through long periods of meditation, practicing rigorous self-discipline of being set apart from the world, to be more like God, to be holy. ‘Holy’ is particular to God. God alone is holy. For us to speak of anyone else as holy means that this person has been established in a new relationship or covenant with God. It is different that something ‘sacred’ – the sacred is secular in nature but set aside, or dedicated, for God or use is the temple or church.

While some of us may prefer the isolation of the mountains, or the desert, too many of us are rooted in our everyday lives and so the question becomes how do we come closer to God. A few have advocated Sunday morning on the golf course. Frederick Beuchner wrote that “God’s holiness is his Godness. To speak of anything else as holy is to say that it has something of God’s mark upon it.” Later he wrote speaking of a particular place, “I have no idea why this place is holy, but you can tell it the moment you set foot in it if you have an eye for that kind of thing. For reasons known only to God, it is one of the places he uses for sending his love to the world through.” [Wishful thinking, p.45]

So maybe those Sunday morning golfers may feel that they are closer to God out on the greens. It is not a substitute for worship in church as God calls us to gather for worship as community. It is here we learn of the needs of others; it is here we may respond as community.

These holy places God is using to send his love into the world. So that holy place may be your living room, your kitchen, your garden, or your boat; you may have another place in mind. How many of us have shared a cup of coffee or a cup of tea at our kitchen table while listening in support of a friend ? How many of us have taken a friend for a sail on Narragansett Bay to give them a time of relaxation, a time to distress, or just a time to get away from the ordinary that they can clear their mind to make changes or reach a decision? These are holy times and places.

Joseph Dondus in “Charged with the Spirit” wrote, “Jesus wants us to share in his experience of the Holy Spirit, who always had been present in his life but became visible to all after his baptism. We have to help others share in what Jesus himself experienced in his own life, the realization that the divine longing for justice, peace and love of the kingdom of God is living in all and everyone.” [p. 32]

God’s Spirit is within each one of us. God is continually breathing into each one of us. We are spiritual beings, but as Christians our spirituality is distinct from other forms of spirituality in that it is not self-centered but God-centered and Christ-centered.

Susan B Anthony, one of the great women’s suffragette once said, “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because it always coincides with their own desires.” [unknown] As we discern God’s purposes, it is a process using all the resources given to us. The indwelling Spirit helps us to put our own desires aside and listen for what is best for the other, for the community, for whomever it may be. We hear God’s voice in those holy places. God is always calling us anew by the Spirit. First through baptism, and then through confession and profession in Christ. The Spirits continuing action in our lives may be in our workshops, in our work place, or in quiet times of reflection and prayer.

Holy living is not easy; to be holy is to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before everyone. To be holy is to forgive as we have been forgiven, not just seven times, but seventy times 7. To be holy is to reorder our priorities, finances, interests, so that they are aligned with God’s purposes.

Holy living is not easy, but it is rewarding in that we live closer to God, in relationship with God together with the gathered community who hears the voice of God and together are being made whole, made to live in all joy and all gladness.

I pray that this week we would search for those holy places that each one of us may have our eyes opened to the holiness of God.

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July 18, 2010 The Power of the Holy Spirit Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 14: 15-26; Ezekiel 37: 1-7 ; Ephesians 6:10-18

The scriptures today tell us of the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that washes over us at baptism. We come in our human condition and by water and the Spirit we are washed anew; in our baptism we die with Christ that we may be raised with Christ. By the Spirit we are adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit is a mystery; yet we can be certain that the Spirit does not leave us after our baptism only to return at some future date. The Spirit remains with us and is active in our lives.

Frederick Buechner wrote that “the spirit is the aliveness and power of our lives. To speak of the spirit is to speak of the power of life in us.” God is the power of life itself. Holy Spirit “is the invisible power we have that enables [us] to communicate the interior life …”[ Wishful Thinking, Holy Spirit, Trinity]

It is an invisible power…. Invisible, that is, until we see its movement as in the Valley of the dry bones. When God breathes life into these bones armies arise and are set to work for God’s purposes. We may understand this passage from Ezekiel as metaphor, or as a great miracle; whatever our belief it is demonstrates the power that God releases through the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is stirred up and released as on the day of Pentecost. Ezekiel prophesizes and God’s power is released.

The day I was ordained an elder in our conference the ordinands met together with the Bishop and the Board of Ordained Ministry for breakfast. At each of our places there was a wooden spoon and with it were instructions to stir up the Spirit in whatever places we were appointed to serve. Go and stir up the Spirit, release the Spirit in the congregation, release the Spirit that each person is empowered for the work of ministry.

This work of Holy Spirit is multifaceted, with most of it directed toward inward for the transformation of the soul. As we are transformed then we are released to be about the outward activities in the world. How is the Spirit working to transform your life? How is the Spirit transforming your life for the work of ministry?

Understanding the dynamics of the Spirit and the Spirit’s relationship with the believer, is important. This understanding can be illustrated by comparing two sailors. One sailor knows how the winds and water operate in relation to his boat, allowing him to sail the waters. The second sailor is uninformed of the winds and the mechanics of sailing and finds himself destroyed by any unexpected storm. We are sailors in the ocean of life, though saved by profession of faith in Jesus Christ, there is a method, there are disciplines, to living a successful and faith-filled Christian life. We pray, read the scripture, gather for worship…. Jesus could calm the storms, because He was the author of creation (John 1:1-3). Through God’s Spirit, we have the power of Christ, dwelling in us

to be successful sailors in this sea of life. To be successful sailors in this sea of life we need to be powered by Holy Spirit!

I said a moment ago that most of the work of the Spirit is inward. Let me break this down. First -Holy Spirit is creative - God’s first act was creation. Have you ever taken a piece of clay to mold it into a jar or bowl? As the wheel starts spinning the potter needs to be able to guide the clay, but also respond to the unique texture and properties of the clay allowing the vessel to form itself. Each one of us is unique, and Holy Spirit works within us responding to our individual personalities, strengths and weaknesses. We are the raw material being formed into a thing of beauty for the glory of God.

Second - Holy Spirit is revelation, guiding us in all truth - especially about ourselves. Do you ever watch Dr. Phil? He has this technique of having a person talk to themselves as they look into a mirror. He instructs them to look into the mirror, into their own eyes asking them questions and then having them repeat affirmations. Holy Spirit uses God’s Word and the community of faith in the same way – holding us accountable in our Christian walk and encouraging us as we grow in God’s grace. Holy Spirit comes to us and reminds us of all that Jesus has taught us, everything good and life affirming.

Holy Spirit is life-saving; redeeming. Holy Spirit calls us to Christ. Before we can be saved by faith in Christ, we need to made aware of Christ. We need to recognize our need of Christ for forgiveness – of our human condition, our pride, our hardened hearts, our puffed up self-importance, whatever it is that separates us from God. Holy Spirit calls us to profession of faith in Christ that by God’s grace and mercy we may be saved.

Holy Spirit is indwelling. Holy Spirit comes to us and takes up residence within us. Do you remember the dementors in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban? They turn everything icy cold, and suck the life of those they capture. In one scene of the movie, Harry is with Sirius Black lack near a lake. The dementors have hold of Sirius, his breath – his soul – is being sucked out of him. Harry summons up his petronus charm and finally we see little sparks of light, little sparks of life returned to Sirius so that he lives. That spark of light, spark of life, is like the Holy Spirit within us…. Warming our hearts and living within, giving us joy, stirring our souls.

Holy Spirit fills us and transforms us. By the power of the Spirit we radiate the love of Christ and demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit. We have a choice, we can be like that burning bush on Sinai, ablaze with the God’s likeness and glory or we can be like dead wood. Which would you prefer to be? I’ll let you ponder that one.

When Holy Spirit fills us we have the power to overcome all adversity – we may not rid ourselves of the cancers that eat at us, but we can overcome them in our attitude and in our living, and this is where we begin to see the outward power of the Spirit.

As Christ is revealed in us, as the Spirit fills us we are gifted, and we are given the power to witness to God’s love, we are given the power to glorify God, we are given the power to live as God’s children in a world not always hope-filled or caring of one another. We are given the power to be counter-cultural, revolutionary if you will, as Jesus was revolutionary. We are given the power to raise up armies, to navigate the stormy seas and to still the storms within us and in our faith community.

I pray that as we go out today we would be filled anew with the Spirit that by the Spirit’s power we may be a bright and burning witness in a dark world. That we might shine with the love of God, and offer to one and all a beacon of hope and the light of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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July 11,2010 SERMON “ Imagining Holy Spirit” Rev. Lori Eldredge

SCRIPTURE Luke 3: 21-22, Genesis 1:2; John 4: 6-26

After Pentecost Sunday, several people came and asked me to preach a series on the Holy Spirit. I referenced Holy Spirit as female, that was confusing. Holy Spirit is referenced as both male, and female with images of the feminine found in Proverbs, Matthew, and one of the books of the apocrypha Ben Sirach. We can choose to accept whichever reference suits our individual theology, but let’s not in our speech objectify Holy Spirit by calling this third person of the Holy Trinity ‘it’. The Spirit, or ruach in the Hebrew and pneuma in the Greek, transcends gender. One reference to God’s Spirit is offered by William Muehl of the Yale Divinity. He referred to Holy Spirit as the “ectoplasmic third dimension of the triune diety” [Living Pulpit, V5 No.1, 1996, p.12]

Scriptures leads us to more familiar images – in Genesis ‘The Spirit broods over the waters of chaos at creation’ – chaos not meaning that which is out of control, but that which is unpredictable.

In the gospels we can visualize the heavens opening up and a dove like bird descending upon Jesus. Barbara Brown Taylor writes that later we see Holy Spirit in the wind and fire as the “bird goes missing.”

One of my favorites is the Spirit in the living water in John 4, the living water that leads to everlasting life. We in our United Methodist heritage have not done justice in our preaching to the Spirit. This third person of the Trinity however, has been active since the beginning of creation and was the power that enabled many a prophet to step out when, like Jonah, they would have retreated, fled the opposite direction.

Why we have not been more clear in our theology of the Spirit is bewildering as John Wesley spoke often of Holy Spirit, especially as he referenced his heart being strangely warmed at Aldersgate. Onboard ship traveling to the American colonies Wesley had met a group of Moravians that deeply impressed him with their faith. As the ship encountered a storm Wesley was gripped by fear, yet he observed this faithful group quietly singing hymns as the ship was tossed about in the violent storm. He met a man by the name of August Spagenberg who asked him if he knew the witness of Holy Spirit that he was a child of God. John did not know how to answer the question. August pressed further and asked him if he knew Jesus Christ. John again was not sure in his answer. John wondered whether he had any faith at all; he felt a failure. Wesley’s attempt to bring a highly ordered and well disciplined approach to religion had ended miserably. As he returned to England from the American colonies he felt spiritually empty. In England he met Peter Böhler, a Moravian minister. Wesley was convinced that he had faith, but not strong enough to conquer his fears, especially his fear of death. Böhler disagreed; he convinced Wesley he had no faith at all. For Böhler, faith was either all or nothing. Wesley, so convinced, decided to stop preaching. Böhler this time convinced Wesley to keep on preaching: “Preach faith till you have it, and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.”

Whatever image we may have of Holy Spirit we may totally misunderstand this third person of the Trinity if we do not grasp the work of the Spirit, the function of the Holy Spirit within the Holy Trinity. Wesley was deeply Trinitarian, and it was the work of the Holy Spirit that was most important in John’s life. When Holy Spirit came to dwell within him, his heart was strangely warmed, but more importantly he was assured of salvation. He came to full assurance of faith and the fruits of the Spirit. Wesley had struggled with questions of assurance and the fruits of the Spirit, but over time came to the belief that a person could be justified, made right with God, by faith in Jesus Christ and over time, through a process of sanctification, be made holy in the things of faith – assurance, right living, witness, as they went on to perfection. We might still sin, make mistakes, hurt others, but Wesley believed that through the indwelling of the Spirit, through the practice of the means of grace - taking communion – he could, you could, and I could, go on to perfection.

If we take Wesley seriously in his understanding of Holy Spirit, we cannot be content to reduce Holy Spirit to a simplified image or idea of spirituality. Holy Spirit is mysterious, like the wind, whose movements are complex and difficult to predict. [John 3:8] Did you see Twister, with the storm chasers chasing tornados? Storm chasers with all their meteorological instruments cannot tell exactly where winds will begin or go, where tornados will touch down, or what will be their result. It was the ruach, the wind, that parted the Red Sea [Exodus 14:21]. It is the ruach that empowered prophets.

Holy Spirit, in whatever image, indwells our being and it is Holy Spirit that leads us in faith. As the ancient Israelites were guided through the desert and into the land of Canaan, we are guided in the church and the world today. What does the Spirit look like today? How is Holy Spirit revealed in us?

How many of us live in contentment? Or live in joy? Or with patience? How many of us practice random acts of kindness? How many of us are reaching out to our neighbors, or to the world? I do not believe the prophets were always joyful people, in fact rarely do I find them to be joyful, but on occasion they reveal themselves to be content in whatever circumstances they found themselves. They could be content because they were assured of God’s presence with them. We can also be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves because we know God is with us.

Being content does not mean that we stop dreaming or planning for the future, but that we can rest content in the knowledge that God is bringing about that future, and that when we move into that future God will be there ahead of us. Transitions are often filled with the unknown - moving from high school to college, from college to career, moving from one coast to another, from being single to being married, and from married to parenthood – there are so many unknowns, but we need not fear because God has already gone before us. When we are bearing witness to Holy Spirit, we are content because we are assured that God is with us.

As we go out today may we take the love of God with us, may we share the good news of Jesus Christ, and may we bear witness to the Holy Spirit by peace, joy, loving kindness and contentment. Amen.

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July 4^th , 2010 “Freedom” Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Rev. Lori Eldredge

As we begin to reflect on this text and on the freedom we celebrate this Independence Day I would like to share a poem by the great American poet and writer Langston Hughes. It was written during the civil rights era of our nation. It rings true still today.

Let America be America Again

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

Langston Hughes [from the internet Poemhunter.com]

Freedom. What does it mean to you? For too many it is about rights and greed, and self-satisfaction, and omits any concept of responsibility. Paul said of freedom:

“You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence.” What does freedom mean to you?

For me, freedom is being able to realize the full use of the gifts God has given me, not only for my inner peace, self-actualization and enjoyment but for the good of those persons God has placed in my life. I have to place freedom in religious context because my freedom is first dependent on Jesus Christ, and the power I have from Christ in my life. I am grateful to live in a nation that is based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but often times it is that very pursuit that breeds corruption, war, and unhappiness.

Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly!" ‘They’ are you and me.

These words of Jesus , those words of Paul, are easily corrupted; especially as we may place the values and riches of our socio-economic culture above the values and riches of the kingdom. We remember from Luke 4 that Jesus came to set the captive free, to proclaim liberty to the oppressed, the restore sight to the blind, and to proclaim that this is the acceptable year of the Lord. True freedom can only come from Christ.

We are free from having to earn your way into God's favor. We couldn’t do it anyway.

God’s favor, God’s grace cannot be earned, and therefore there is no set of rules or laws that can lead us to freedom in Christ. If we are to live in God’s freedom we begin by being in relationship with God. Freedom is about having an authentic relationship with God who loves us. We have a God who loves us, who cares about us, we need only accept it. But there were those who would argue with Paul, argue with Jesus: but the law, you have to follow the law. Trapped in the law is not living in God’s grace, it is living in slavery. Why return to slavery, trading in one form of bondage for another.

I have spoken with many women over the years who have asked permission to worship in the church I was serving. I found that perplexing at first, I thought anyone could walk into a church and worship. But after getting to know them I discovered they were living in abusive relationships, at home and in church. These women fell into depression as the relationships continued; it was only when they found themselves in healthy, loving spiritual environments were they able to free themselves of the pain, and abusive relationships. They were freed from sin and shame, as they accepted the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.

In Christ, we are free to let love lead us. Remember the Three Simple Rules: Do good, do no harm, love God and neighbor. As we love God we will love one another and live accordingly. It is not about making anyone do anything, it is about letting God’s love lead.

I confess I am surprised that so many are here in church this morning. I’m glad, I just know that if ever there were a perfect day for people to be in other paces this would be one of them. We don’t have to come to church; yet we do attend because here we are in relationship with God and God’s community of the beloved. We come to be in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We come to worship as a gathered community. God wants us to assemble together for worship, not because it is law, but that we might gather and worship and learn of the needs of our brothers and sisters and those we might reach out to in God’s love. We come, not for ourselves, but for others. Our freedom is not for self-indulgence but for others. We are set free to live life in a genuine, love-centered community. Healing comes in community, and when that love is without limits or conditions we are free to be nourished, and nurtured, to live to our maximum potential that America may be America again.

We all have our struggles, Paul provided a list. We are all vulnerable. But when we live in the Spirit we are free to reject any part or all of the list. We are free to be joyful, to be kind, generous and all the rest.

This weekend as we celebrate our national freedom, let’s remember the words of Paul concerning our freedom that comes from God. Our freedom from God can lead us to a better America, to a better world. May we all have the courage to live according to the freedom God has given us, and let America be America again. Amen.

INVOCATION

As we enter into worship this Independence Day, may we recall St. Paul’s words to the Galatians: “You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence. (Galatians 5:13)

May God guide us to use our freedom for the service and love of neighbor.

A Prayer of Dedication
O God, if we should ever begin to count Your gifts to us,

we could not rise from our knees.

Words fail as we seek to number the blessings that have blessed our lives.

We ask again your blessing, that we may experience the joy of seeing

these gifts touch other hearts with the glory of who You are! Amen.

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June 27, 2010 “A New Creation” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Galatians 6: 1-16

You might wonder why there are m&m’s on the Lord’s Table this morning. There’s nothing like a little chocolate to start the day, unless of course it’s a chocolate covered m&m peanut. Mmmmm …… good! Good for everyone! Unless you are allergic to peanuts or chocolate.

I have a friend in New Hampshire who was once sent a dozen roses. I’m sure that most anyone here would have loved them, but she refused them and quickly shut the door. It might seem rude to some, but for her it is a matter of being able life and death, being able to breath. She is allergic to roses. Sometimes what we think of as good for everyone isn’t. We don’t all fit the same mold. We are not all square pegs that fit in square holes. Some of us may be round pegs, and some of us aren’t Pegs at all. …. we may be Peters or Pauls.

Differences abound in the church, and our differences we celebrate. Where would the church be without those who are at little older… who bring their wisdom and have been here since the beginning, yet are the church today. Where would the church be without young people – not only the hope of the future but are the church today? When we come together as the church we are many, bringing many gifts – and we can celebrate our diversity.

This isn’t what Paul was dealing with however. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, in fact in all his letters, wrote to address a special situation. In the case of this particular letter Paul’s apostleship was under attack. Paul was a man of strong character leading what Barclay was a revolution in religious thought. It is nearly impossible for a person with strong convictions to speak them and not come under attack. An apostle in the first century was understood to be a person who had witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. So that makes Mary the first apostle, not usually counted in the 12; and neither was Paul. But Paul answers this concern saying that an apostle is one who answers a call received from God, and he had received a call from God while on the road to Damascus. The question of apostleship was a minor problem.

At greater issue in this church in Galatia was a marketing problem. There was this question of circumcision. Did Gentiles need to become Jews first? For many the answer was yes. Circumcision was necessary for Jews; it had been since the law was given. To be circumcised was to take on the burdens of the world. [It was also a great opportunity to disable the enemy, as in the case of Shechem the after he defiled Dinah, the daughter of Leah by Jacob.] But for Paul, this answer was not acceptable. It was contrary to the gospel. In his thinking and understanding of the gospel was the teaching that there is nothing we can do to become Christian and be saved. Salvation is not dependent on our ability to do anything, but upon the grace of God. Our faith is by grace. Our living and breathing is by grace. The only thing we have to do is accept God’s grace. Everything we have, everything we do is a gift of God’s grace. Just previous to this passage from Galatians, in chapter 5 according to our numbering, Paul has discussed the gifts of the spirit: love, joy, peace, fidelity, gentleness, kindness, patience, self-control. I’m working on the last two. Haven’t to them down yet, but by the grace of God I am going on to perfection. We all are. And these gifts given are for the good of all. What we do as a church is not for any one of us but for the good of all, not looking backward to what has been but forward to what will be when the kingdom comes in its fullness by the grace of God.

Paul faced a marketing problem: how to market the gospel, how to market the good news of Christ’s saving grace. It’s news everyone needs to hear, it news Paul wanted to share. The problem was a lot like what is happening right now with BP. BP can put anyone on television and make promises for the complete clean-up of the gulf and other areas that may be effected by the oil spill, but it isn’t helping them sell product. Friday, returning from Massachusetts, I passed two gas stations, one on either side of the street. One was full of cars refueling or waiting while the station across the street was empty. Customers would rather wait in line than go across the street to BP.

Paul did not want to exclude anyone from the kingdom; to exclude anyone is to exclude them from God’s family. He had a marketing problem. When the church is not behaving as Christ, when the church was not exhibiting the gifts, the fruits of the Spirit, it wasn’t fulfilling the promise of the gospel.

And it is a lesson for us. Are we the church we are called to be? What is our marketing strategy? Are we the open church we claim to be? Open hearts, open minds, open doors? Looking back at what used to be or looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s kingdom and Christ church we are called to be?

Now I know some of you have been looking at these m&m’s and wondering what they have to do with anything. Well, it’s just this:

It used to be that you could buy m&m’s with brown, yellow, red, green, and orange outer shells; and it was major when the company added blue candies. Then purple…. what were they thinking?

Certainly they have changed since their introduction in 1941 as a treat for the military, with chocolate that melts in your mouth not in your hands. For a while red m&ms were eliminated from the mix because of the red food dye controversy, but in 1987 there was a demand they be added back. In 1995 consumers were asked how they wanted their m&m’s – blue, pink, purple, or no change at all. Blue won by landslide.

In 1996 m&m’s were introduced in 20 colors but the biggest surprise of all came in 2004 at midnight…. m&m’s lost all their color and were only available in black and white. Customers went searching to find a bag with colors. Once found, a celebration in Los Angeles on March 11^th brought the return of that wonderful mix of colors. The crowds couldn’t be fooled. They cheered “Chocolate tastes better in color” and that’s the way it’s been since.¹ And God forbid it, now they are putting pretzels in them. Do we really know what’s inside when we bite into one of these little candies?

Paul wrote at the end of his letter to the Galatians about life in the Spirit. We can imagine all kinds of things but only God knows for sure what is going on inside, in our hearts and minds. The Galatians were hung up on circumcision. Paul reduces his letter to one phrase: tottcinc. The only thing that counts is new creation. [6:16] Everything is being made new – everything is being changed – everything is being transformed…… God is making all things new. M&ms and the church.

Rev. Dr. Zan Holmes, whom you may be familiar with from Disciple 1, preached several times at annual conference. He said our best day is tomorrow. Our best year is next year… let us accept God’s grace and become the church God wants us to be…not looking back but looking to tomorrow. The only thing that counts is new creation - tottcinc. Amen

^1.www.sensationalcolor.com/color-trends/most-popular-colors-177/mam-colors.html

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6.20.2010 8AM “What Has God Done For You?” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Luke 8:26-39

“Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,^* which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn^* no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— ²⁹for Jesus^* had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) ³⁰Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. ³¹They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons^* begged Jesus^* to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes^* asked Jesus^* to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus^* sent him away, saying, ³⁹‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.”

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Jesus, in speaking with the man healed of demons turned him away saying, “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” I would imagine from the initial description we are given of this man, any healing by Jesus would be obvious. He would not have to say very much, if anything at all. To be possessed by demons was one way of expressing the unknown, disease or mental disorders that couldn’t be explained. Today they might be explained through medical science, but we are left only with the testimony he had seizures so violent that even when restrained would break his chains and run lose, naked, in the tombs.

There are a number of angles with which we can approach this scripture. At breakfast earlier this week, colleagues suggested we might look at the economic impact of destroying a man’s herd. If you were a pig farmer and all the swine were run into the sea and drowned it would certainly be devastating to the man’s survival. And I suppose there might be a corollary to banning the harvesting of lobster. What will those persons do to survive if the southeastern waters of New England are closed to lobstering? What do people do when the harvesting of trees is stopped due to the possible elimination of a rare species of owl? Or what do people do when whole regions are closed to shrimping and other fishing due to egregious pollution by oil companies or other industry? The swine herder would have been helpless before the Sanhedrin, what did they care about the raising of pigs? They were banned from Jewish diet, so if anything this man was supporting the opposition, their oppressors, the Roman army. A footnote in the Wesley Study Bible notes that the Roman tenth legion had adopted the boarshead as their standard, so this may have been a way of poking fun at them. (WSB, 2009, Abingdon). Well, maybe we might explore this a later time ….

I have another question, but first let me return to a couple of phrases in the story…. “as he stepped on land a man met him.” The demoniac came to meet Jesus; that’s important because even possessed of demons, he recognized Jesus and his power. “…the man ran naked among the tombs” and later “he sat at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind.” This man, although possessed of demons, whatever they were, was able to come to Jesus. And he recognized who Jesus was because the text also tells us he fell before him. That’s powerful… to stand naked before Jesus, to stand naked before God. Luke is telling us we can’t hide. God knows everything we do, God knows everything we say, God knows what is on our minds, what is in our hearts; and only God knows! Every single one of us stands naked before God: the pretentious, the humble, those in power and those without. God knows and God sees right through us. If anything is going to humble us, that ought to. With all his demons this man, standing naked before Jesus, bowed before him and was healed. His demons were cast out and he was able to sit at Jesus feet, before Jesus sent him home.

Oh how he wanted to stay, he begged Jesus to let him stay, but it’s like going to the mountain top, eventually you have to come down, eventually you have to go home.

So, Jesus sent him home. And he said to him, tell everyone what God has done for you.

So the question I have for you, is what has God done for you? We sit here week after week, we sit here and, yes we share joys and concerns, and then we go out, but we don’t talk about what God has done for us, how God is acting in our lives, healing us, allowing us to be whole people.

God is doing marvelous works among us, God is renewing creation in and through us, but we keep it a secret. Maybe because we’ve heard too many passages of when Jesus said, “don’t tell anyone”. Well here, God is saying ‘go and tell’ what God is doing.

I believe that is why some of the support groups may in fact be more effective at bringing about healing and wholeness, because people are not ashamed to talk about their demons. Did I mention that before …. When we stand naked before God , God knows our shame. We can’t hide anything. The same way God knows our pain, God also knows our shame.

So confess it and be healed. Confess it to God, confess it so that you may be made whole..

One of the great churches in our United Methodist connection is located in San Francisco. It’s the Glide Memorial Church where each week people stand up in the congregation and tell what they are struggling with. One man stands and says he’s battling his demons with alcohol and immediately he’s surrounded by people who pray for him, and then walk with him into the week ahead to help him face his demons. They go to AA together. Another man stands up and says he struggling with a drug addiction, he’s too is prayed for and helped so that he gets to NA Narcotics anonymous. A woman stands and tells how she is struggling with young children and how she is not sure she won’t harm them, and she is surrounded by people who not only pray for her but offer to help her. They give her phone numbers of people to call, agencies to help when she is at wits end. Would we here in North Kingstown be able to do the same?

When Jesus met the demoniac he didn’t look back at what the man had done, he looked to the future of what was possible. Jesus didn’t demand an accounting of all the things he had done, he healed the man and then he blessed him to lead a productive life. Go home, go and tell what God has done for you. What has God done for you?

Now I know this is risky, but I want to open this up to some conversation. But I can’t do that yet, because I know someone here is thinking how can we share something when you , meaning me, hasn’t shared. So let me tell you a few places God is working in my life…

For me my greatest healing falls under, to borrow a title, of pride and prejudice. Fear of homosexuals. Growing up on Cape Cod not far from Provincetown, I saw too much and at the age of 14 when I started working I felt the prejudice in my mind and heart. My heart was cold toward anyone that fell outside the ‘norm’. I lived with that prejudice and fear throughout high school and college, but I could pride myself on the fact that least I wasn’t prejudiced toward blacks. You see we can do that, while hiding from one sin we step right into another.

It took a long time to work through the prejudice against homosexuals, and it took time to gain an understanding of their pain: the pain of having to hide who they are as persons, the pain of being denied opportunity for loving relationships, the pain of being denied family relationships, the pain of even being able to provide end of life care for partners. So much pain and why? Because of our fear? Because of our pride of being straight?

It was only after a painful marriage and divorce from a man who is gay that I began to understand the pain he had lived with all his life. And why? Because the fact is he was and is the person God created him to be.

When we stand before God, God knows our pain, God knows our shame. And the wonderful thing is when we acknowledge it God will heal the pain, God will remove the shame. God will clothe us again in garments of righteousness.

What has God done for you? When we tell our story, we invite others in. When we speak of the demons we battle we give hope to others. When we speak of the demons we discover we are not alone. We have Jesus willing to stand with us, and we discover we have a community willing to surround us with love and care. Will you tell your story? Go and offer hope, go and offer Christ. Amen.

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June 13, 2010 “Singled Out by Jesus” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Micah 6: 6-8, Luke 7:36 - 8:3 NRSV

We are familiar with this story. We have heard it before, especially as we have focused on the anointing of Jesus. There are four versions of this story, appearing in each of the gospels [Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8]; the characters vary, but there are a few common elements.

The event takes place at dinner - Jesus was at table, relaxing. This would have been an opportune time for a woman to approach. She could approach bringing food, water, wine… or as in this story oil for anointing.

There is also an opposing character – whether Judas, a disciple, or a Pharisee that questions the waste of oil in this anointing. Luke has an unusual twist in that the questioning is not out loud. “ The Pharisee said to himself”, or from another translation “The Pharisee said within himself”.

Jesus knew what he was thinking. Some of us may pretend to have this ability, certainly there are psychics, but Jesus knew what was inside this man’s mind and heart, as he knew what was in the woman’s heart.

As Luke tells the story, the woman is a sinner - a woman with many demons. And Jesus, by his words implies, there is much to be forgiven. According to Josephus, first century historian, the Pharisees were at times considered a social movement, at others times a political party. The Pharisees believed that people had free will but that God also had foreknowledge of human destiny. They claimed prophetic or Mosaic authority for their interpretation of Jewish laws; they were considered the most expert and accurate expositors of Jewish law¹and while they were strict in their adherence to Mosaic Law, they were also the most liberal in interpretation, such that the Pharisees earned the backing and goodwill of the common people.²

I don’t believe Jesus’ forgiving this woman was the problem; it was what the Pharisee viewed as the excessiveness of her behavior - Jesus describes how her tears fall to wash his feet, and she uses her hair to dry them, she annoints them with perfume, and all the while she does not stop kissing him. As Jesus responds to Simon, his host, he uses a parable: A lender was owed a debt of 500 denarii by one man and fifty by another. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Were her sins so much greater? Was she excessive in her behavior?

If so, did she not need to experience excessive forgiveness in order to be healed? That forgiveness could only come from God, from Jesus. And Jesus does not disappoint her, he tells her, her sins are forgiven.

We don’t like to talk about sin, we don’t like to think about how we separate ourselves from God, how we turn away from the very things God desires for us. But the pain, the hurts the world experiences, the healing we need to overcome our greatest traumas requires an excessive love. When the hurts come from unjust laws and systems that prevent us from living as whole people our answers can only be found in God’s love and justice.

Last week we talked about widows who were forced into prostitution as a means of survival. We don’t know this woman’s story. She is simply a “sinner”. Understanding there was no other means by which she might survive, we might revisit the question as to where the sin is properly placed. It is a matter of justice.

As we look at issues in our time God calls us to ask similar questions:

When our earth is spewing oil into a region killing its wildlife…it easy to blame our government, or BP, but what about our own greed?

When regions of forested lands are stripped of vegetation endangering or eliminating various species, we may blame the harvesters or large corporations, but can we admit to our own complicity in the deforestation?

When people are hurting economically because of unfair trade, do we blame the middle men or are we able to see how we contribute to a global problem?

When people, especially children, are trapped in jobs that deny them access to education or healthcare, yet afford us privilege can we admit our responsibility?

Where we contribute and exacerbate poverty, we stand in need of the excessive love of God; we need forgiveness; we need God’s radical, excessive love.

Jesus was all about radical love and forgiveness; he constantly singled out people for healing and wholeness. He forgave this woman, he healed the lame man and the blind man, he healed the woman who hemorrhaged for 12 years; at the same time Jesus challenged the system he also practiced charity, kindness. It is only when we act and ask questions that we are able to bring about systemic change, that we are able to correct injustice and become agents of God’s grace.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote that we cheapen God’s grace when we forgive too easily, too quickly. I believe we also cheapen God’s grace when we simply give handouts without doing the work that changes the system that allows the degradation and poverty in the first place. If we just give handouts without working for justice we are complicit with the powers that be, be it our local, state, or federal government, or our social norms.

Every time Jesus singled out an individual, [whether they approached him first did not matter, he chose to respond] he used it as an opportunity to teach a greater good, a better way, teaching God’s justice and excessive love, radical love. The Pharisees were experts on the law. They memorized all the rules of Torah, they could expound on any point at any time. Unfortunately often times it lead to legalism; and what good is the law when the law and its interpretation leads to greater social ill. Just because there is a law that allows gambling doesn’t make it just. Just because there is a law that allows drinking doesn’t mean it’s good for us. Just because there is a law that allows the drilling of oil in the ocean doesn’t mean we don’t seek better ways to meet our energy needs and obtain justice for the rest of creation.

There were two major schools of thought in Judaism: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were far more legalistic. The wisdom of the Pharisees was compiled in one book of the Mishna, [the written review or redaction of oral law]. Their wisdom and attitude can be exemplified by a story about Hillel, a leader of the Pharisaic. He lived near to the end of the 1st century BCE. He was challenged to explain the law while standing on one foot. Hillel answered his challenger standing on one foot. "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your friend. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation -- go and study it."³ In other words, love your neighbor as yourself. [Matthew 19:19]

Catherine of Sienna wrote “The pearl of justice is found in the heart of mercy.”⁴ That pearl may be in the heart of a 10 year old boy with an idea to feed people from monies collected from that which we have sacrificed; an 11 year old girl asking why another child’s life can’t be saved just because she wasn’t born n this country; a 33 year old man singling out the least of the least, the outcasts of society. Or that pearl may be found in you or me. God is calling each one of us “to seek justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.” [Micah 8:8] Amen.

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1. The Works of Josephus, Life, 38.191.

2. Ibid.

3. Internet

4. The Spiritual Classics, Upper room, Catherine of Sienna.

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June 6, 2010 “The Widow of Nain” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Luke 7: 11-17

The movie “The Castaway” was repeated last week. The lead character is Chuck Noland. He is flying aboard a Fed Ex transport when it crashes south of the Cook Islands. Adrift in a storm, he lands on a small island. He carries with him a pocket watch just given to him as a Christmas gift by his fiancé, Kelly. It is an appropriate gift for him, as he is always “encouraging” people to work faster, to push harder, the clock is always ticking… “tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.” He’s isolated, except for his imaginary friend “Wilson.” [On the way in this morning it was stated Wilson is the best psychiatrist that ever lived. He’s a great listener and totally non-judgmental.] Wilson is a volleyball with a painted face, and Chuck played by Tom Hanks talks to him and manages to survive…. for four years. For four years his life stands still as all the world around him moves on. Eventually, he makes a break from the island on a raft he’s constructed and after days adrift, and his elation spirals to despair, he is rescued. He is reunited with his Fed Ex family and then with Kelly. In a brief span of time they reunite only to separate all over again. Kelly is married and has a daughter. Chuck tells his friends at the end, “I found her, only to lose her all over again.”

I thought about this widow of Nain who lost her son. She was preparing to bury him when Jesus came along and out of compassion raised him from the dead. She was reunited with her only son, and for her this would have meant the world. A widow, without children or at least a son to care for her, would have been destitute. There was no safety net. As it was, she was dependent on the community to bury her son. How alike she was to the widow of Zarephath, yet Jesus, out of compassion, spares her this humiliation, or worse yet – a slow death. The widow of Zarephath was preparing to go home and die with her child. Well good for him. He saw a situation and corrected it, expecting nothing in return. This is considerably different than the situation with Elijah.

The situation with Elijah and the widow appears to be an act bargaining – if she gives from her scarcity, he will promise abundance. Was Elijah bargaining for God? Was the deal quid pro quo? Give to God so he can bless you? I won’t deny there are blessings in giving to God, but our giving is first to be spiritual. Our giving is to be out of love; not expecting anything in return. We give a gift and it Is up to the recipient to determine what happens next.

The question is what did Jesus expect in return? What does God expect?

God does not want sacrifices on the altar, God doesn’t want blood offerings, God wants us as living sacrifices. God wants us to give of ourselves, using whatever gifts we have, for the good of the kingdom.

But the thought lingers: how will the of Nain feel when her son dies a second time, when she loses him all over again? Would the joy of this resurrection sustain her then? Who would she turn to then? She would still be a widow and destitute unless there was a shift in the culture, unless there was change in the basic understanding of human value, because nothing had changed from Elijah and the widow at Zarephath to the time of Jesus and the widow of Nain. Even though as wives they were equally responsible and hard working in their homes, raising their sons, loving their husbands, tending field, making clothing, preparing meals, if you need a more comprehensive list check out Proverbs 33. There’s nothing in scripture that says they weren’t good wives.....

But that’s all the value given to them as human beings because when their husbands died they were castaway, destitute with no voice, no hope. No one to turn to, not even a make believe construct of the mind like Wilson. They were walking death. Jesus changed all this.

Restoring her son, Jesus restores her life.

Restoring her son, Jesus restores her hope.

Restoring her son, Jesus restores her voice.

As the body of Christ in the world today how are we serving to restore or give voice to those “castaway.” Who are those devalued anyway? How do we offer hope, offer Christ, to those cast off by society if we can’t even recognize who it is we dismiss with our words and action? Sometimes it is so subtle… but we know when our hearts are moved. We know when we feel our hearts fill with compassion, caring….. whether we are moved by encountering a destitute widow, a lost child, or an environment crying for justice; when our hearts are moved to act compassionately, to give life, then we act as Jesus. We become the life-giving body of Jesus. As we come to the table this morning may we offer ourselves as the Bread of Life that we may be a more compassionate church, a more world, and a more compassionate people. Amen.

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May 30, 2010 “Wisdom and Peace” Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 16: 12-15, Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31

“In Flanders Fields the poppies blow…” Located on the western front in Belgium, Flanders’ Fields lay at the crossroads of marching armies, at the crossroad of life and death. We pass through many cross roads in our lives; usually they come as milestones we remember such as the birth of a child, or a graduation or anniversary. These occasions are opportunities to reflect on our years and to ponder the wisdom we have learned along the way. Wisdom is not something we can learn in books or a lecture. I would challenge any of our professors here to point out a text book that might contain the wisdom learned in that which is often referred to as the school of hard knocks - or Life. It’s curriculum is experience. King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, implies that experience is our greatest teacher and wisdom our great reward.

I graduated from Drew University School of Theology in 1994 and I remember that as we walked in to receive our diplomas we passed under an arched gate constructed of blue balloons. That gate represented a passage. With the graduation held out of doors that gate represented passing from academia to life in the real world. It represented the passage of learning theory to practical application in the job market. We pass through the gate and stand at a crossroad that can lead us to the ordinary or the exotic; to the familiar to the unknown, to the placid or the turmoil of life all.

We didn’t have to wait for turmoil though. Before graduating from Drew we were surrounded by a great controversy within our denomination… the Sophia Controversy, stirred up by the 1990’s women’s conference exploring the feminine images of God. Participants in the conference were accused of pagan worship. The controversy spread to our campus when a member of the Good News movement, a professor at Drew, accused several women of furthering this worship. I was present in the chapel, in worship, so I can say that absolutely nothing of the sort happened, but the episode did stir up and keep the controversy. What played out in our denomination was a trial with a very serious aim to have certain women removed from ministry, they were not; and many of us were moved to laughter in dismay and incredulity.

When I say Sophia, what comes to mind? For some you may think of Meryl Streep in “Sophies Choice”. Sophia Loren? For others you may recognize Sophia as Lady Wisdom in the Scripture. Most all Biblical wisdom references trace its roots to Proverbs; some to Ben Sirach in the apocryphal writings. Lady Wisdom is playful in character (v30) delighting in God, and God delighting in her.

She is depicted in Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man” in the Sistine Chapel. God, centered in the cosmic egg from which all creation comes into being, is portrayed extending his all powerful, life-giving, right hand to touch the fingertip of Adam. Held in Divine love near to God’s heart by his left arm is the female figure that has intrigued commentators from the beginning and has been interpreted as the uncreated Eve, or Sophia, divine wisdom, existent with God in all time. This is the wisdom lifted in Proverbs. The wisdom that was before all time with God.

It is wisdom far more familiar in the Eastern Orthodox Church. And it is wisdom associated with John’s Spirit of truth. When the Holy Spirit comes we will be guided in truth.

What is truth? Certainly not what we find in the news. Certainly not what we find in courtrooms. News is biased, and lawyers seek to win. The guilty go free and the innocent jailed. Truth is found in being open to the Spirit. Truth is found when we apply reason to experience, , and tradition. Truth is found in asking questions. Why? Why me? Why now? Our lives, our truths, are shaped by the questions we ask, or don’t ask. Our questions shape our perspective and our ability to play with possibility. When we are faced with major issues in life – war, hunger, racism, homophobia – we are first to seek wisdom, “playing” with possibility, that we might with God’s help find the answers we are truly looking for. When we seek God’s wisdom, when we allow Sophia to enter spread her delight, we have everything to gain – especially God’s peace. Not the peace the world understands, but the peace that comes from God and allows us the knowledge, gives us the assurance, that God is holding us and keeping us secure.

Great devastation came about in Flanders Fields, lives were lost in two great wars that were thought to be the wars to end all war. On this Memorial Day Sunday, this day when we are reminded of the Holy Trinity, let us be reminded of God’s wisdom and truth. Rather than fighting, rather than pointing fingers, rather than holding so fast to personal opinion, I pray we might be open to the Spirit of wisdom, learning from our past, that we might delight with Sophia and enjoy God’s peace.

We remember with gratitude those who serve and have served and given of their lives: may we live in wisdom, open to God’s possibilities, that no more may die. Amen.

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May 23, 2010 Children of God Rev. Lorene E Eldredge

Acts 1: 1-21 Romans 8: 14-17

According to the book of Genesis, Chapter 11: 1-9, at the beginning of time all the earth had one language, everyone used the same words. Being able to understand one another was essential to forming community and understanding each other. But human ambition changed all this. With the Tower of Babel and its destruction confusion reigned . With a multitude of languages, there were misunderstandings and humanity divided itself, clans and tribes going their separate ways.

Pentecost changed all this. In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the birthday of the church, God sent Holy Spirit that we would be adopted as the children of God, one family with Christ our brother. The same Spirit that moved over the waters at creation, that brought the world into existence, and created us in the divine image, breathed into us the breath of God. Whether we call God “Abba” (father) or “Imma” (mother), we are the children of God with full membership in Christ’s Holy Church. As Paul writes later, “We are no longer servants or slaves…”

A while later nine members of our confirmation class will affirm the promises their parents made for them at their baptism. Baptism is one of the two sacraments we celebrate in the United Methodist Church. It is an outward sign of God’s invisible grace at work in us. Baptism is our response to the love of God, a response as ancient as the church, and in obedience to Jesus Christ. By our baptism we are washed in the water.

There is a powerful link between the Holy Spirit and water…. Beginning at creation, extending through Jesus’ baptism, to the living water offered by Jesus to the woman at the well, to our baptism. Whether baptized as infants, children, youth, or adults, God pours out His Spirit upon us and creates of us one distinct human family a key understanding - we are one family with Christ our brother.

One of the most beautiful stories of human history comes from a conversation between a 7-year-old child and her teenage teacher.

The little girl was Helen Keller, who lost both her hearing and her sight when she was 18 months old. She was unable to hear and unable to see, yet with a memory of a time when she could do both, she became - as she herself later said - "wild and unruly," giggling and chuckling when she felt pleasure and screaming, kicking and scratching when she was frustrated by the imprisonment of her peculiar, quite terrifying world.

Then one day the patient young teacher, Annie Sullivan, spilled water on Helen's hand, and spelled out w-a-t-e-r on the little hand. And as Helen Keller explained later, "The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that 'w-a-t-e-r' meant the wonderful, cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, set it free!" Now that Helen Keller's brilliant mind had a language, there was no stopping her. She became one of the most famous women of the 20th century, author of books printed in more than 50 languages and the recipient of endless honors around the world.

And it all began when she was able to write and then to speak in her native tongue.

When we are baptized our spirits are awakened, and turned toward the mystery God. We are redeemed as God’s beloved. We are given a unique identity – we no longer need to wonder in darkness – we know whose we are and, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:38, “³⁸… I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Pentecost originated as a day to celebrate our Creator’s blessings of the grain harvest. It is the day the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and all those who waited with them. It is the birthday of the church and what better day to celebrate the assurance we have in Christ Jesus that God holds us secure. Whatever may come in this lifetime we are held secure for eternity.

Today nine of our young people come to affirm their faith of God’s continuing and renewing action in their lives. May we them, be empowered by Holy Spirit to witness in word and deed to the love of God through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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May 16, 2010 “He Blessed Them” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Luke 24:44-53, Acts 16:16-34

Next week is Pentecost Sunday and eight of our young people will stand before the congregation and confirm for themselves the baptismal vows their parents took for them 12-13 years ago. More than this they will confirm, or witness to God’s activity in their lives. In preparation for their confirmation they have been studying and learning basic principles of the Christian faith. Their study includes the questions asked of new members: Will you support the church with your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness? “Witness” is new to the list as of two years ago, but the concept of witnessing to our faith is as old as Jesus, with instructions given at his ascension. Today is Ascension Sunday.

On the fortieth day after Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, after he had broken the bonds of sin and death, he instructed his disciples so that they would understand he was the fulfillment of the scriptures, teaching them everything. As witnesses to his life, death, and resurrection they were empowered to preach repentance and forgiveness in his name to all the nations. “And leading them out to Bethany, he lifted his hands, and blessed them, as he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.” [Luke 24:51]

Bethany, you will remember, is where Jesus was anointed. I do not believe it was accidental that this should be the place where Jesus ascends to the heavens. At Bethany Jesus told the disciples that where ever the good news is proclaimed she [Mary or the unnamed woman] would be remembered. In anointing Jesus, she blessed him, so it is not incidental that his final words are a blessing. Jesus blessed his disciples, as he had been blessed, that they would be a blessing to others, and that blessing would be found in sharing the good news, witnessing to the life and work, the death and resurrection of Jesus. As Jesus ascends, blessing and witness, repentance and forgiveness, are inextricably linked.

With the story of Paul and Silas in prison and this passage from Luke I am reminded of the story of Nelson Mandela. Maybe you have seen the new movie “Invictus”? In it Mandela joins forces with the South African rugby team, before and after the 1995 Rugby World Cup, to inspire unity is the apartheid torn country. Mandela had spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison for his political activities to end the apartheid. He had been convicted on charges of sabotage, but was later elected President of South Africa in the first fully democratic election. He was 27 years imprisoned for his political and social activism, something he may have learned at Healedtown, a Wesleyan secondary school where he had been sent by his father [a Chief of a region in southeast South Africa]. One source sites, “ The Methodist schools not only inspired the temperance and discipline of Mandela's lifestyle but proved to be a training ground for liberation,…” and “Without these schools for Africans, there would have been neither transfer of power nor any black presidency, Mandela has pointed out.” [internet] 27 years in prison may not seem like a blessing – but it was there Mandela learned his political strategies and practiced debate with fellow prisoners and his wardens. He learned Afrikaner, the language of South Africa. Robbin Island was his university training. He learned of Ghandi and his non-violent resistance – Mandela was not always non-violent. After 27 years in prison he was released to be elected president and to bring about the end of apartheid, he was able to bring about the end of colonialism, and bring peace to South Africa - to see his vision for South Africa fulfilled.

Our witness to our faith is intended that we would change the world, that we would be a blessing. I think too many of us limit ourselves, we limit our vision. We get bogged down in our anxieties. We are bound by internal chains. We get bound by “what others think”. Our fears about how others will react. I was questioned when I planned for Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock.” Remember when Elvis first came on the scene? He wouldn’t be allowed to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show unless he agreed not to be quite so suggestive in swiveling his hips as he sang. Was it “Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog”? Sometimes we are so caught up in what we think we forget like Paul and Silas we have been freed to witness not to fear, but to the love of God in our lives, to the power of God in our lives. What has God done for you? How has God kept you? How is God holding you? What difference is the power of God making in your life? Has the power of God set you free from your inhibitions about witnessing to your faith? Has the power of God set you free to act in Christian faith with integrity? Where do you talk about your faith? In Sunday School, where it is safe? In your living room or around the dinner table? In your neighborhood or the greater community?

The Psalmist said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great.” [Ps. 104:1-2] If we want to be blessed then we need to testify to the power of God in our lives.

Now, please, let me know if my next statement is false. If it is I really want to talk to the one who can claims so. [*] None of us can claim to live problem free. [ *] The individual problems of life is our university of learning… the real problem is what we make of our problems. Do we allow them to chain us, bind us, or do we see them as opportunities for learning? If we want to change the world then we need to start right where we are. It will mean sacrifice, it will mean stretching your limits, seeing and understanding things in new ways. When Mary anointed Jesus in Bethany, her act brought new understanding to the disciples. New light was shed on why this seeming extravagance was of good service. They did not understand. Jesus did not allow one voice to deter the blessings given to many through this one act.

I have been asked by several people about the Bread Ministry… did you know we have a Bread Ministry? Bread comes to us from the Stop and Shop in Narragansett , its dated for the week end and would otherwise be thrown out. It is still good and regularly it has been taken to several areas and distributed. But in recent weeks there has been a complaint from a major distribution site, from one of the tenants where its delivered. The bread was hard. Even though many families expressed appreciation for the bread, we were asked to stop because of the one complaint. We are revising our plan, but in the meantime you are welcome to take some for your use, or maybe you know of someone who needs a little extra. We will also pass it along to the Food Pantry. We will not allow one voice to keep us from doing God’s work.

I want to close with a story you may have seen on the internet. There is a man who arrives at judgment day and he is asked by St. Peter where he wants to spend eternity. The man is unsure so St Peter takes him to a room. The room has a large banqueting table, full of food, with people all around it. They have utensils, long spoons, but they can not bend their arms. The people are sitting there moaning and growing, and starving. The man knows he does not want to spend eternity there. So St. Peter takes him to another room. It looks very similar. The people there can not bend their arms either. However, this is where the man decides he wants to spend eternity because there is a difference. Here, the people there are happy, and laughing, and well fed. Here, in this room, everyone picks up their spoons and they feed each other.

How has Jesus blessed you? Where is Jesus blessing you? How are you being the Bread of Life in North Kingstown?

My prayer this morning is that you, we, may be set free to follow the vision that God is giving us here at NKUMC and that as we do, we may be blessed to be a blessing to others. Amen.

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May 9, 2010 “Women of God” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Acts 16: 9-15

The scripture this morning would make a great geography lesson, unraveling all the sites Paul traveled. Paul, in his first missionary journey, went to Macedonia and after a few days assembled with the women at a customary place of prayer. The location was outside the gates of the city and along the river. I don’t think the location can be trivialized. In every place where the spirit is renewed we hear of life-giving water. Civilizations are founded near rivers. Fresh water is necessary to the sustenance of the body; life–giving water is necessary to the sustenance of the soul. So here Paul preached and Lydia listened closely. God touched her heart and she was converted. She and her household were baptized.

It may be that as John Wesley preached in the fields he had this passage in mind. Take the Word of God to the places where people gather. Take the Word of God to those places where people would be receptive to open their hearts to Christ. Paul, as with Wesley, called women to service for the church. Both believed women had a role to play and equal to men. John Wesley in his sermons called women to do their part, and Paul by going to the river called women to take up the life-giving work of Christ.

Lydia was from Thyatira, from a city in Lydia a region of Asia Minor today known as Turkey. Later Thyatira is one of the seven cities John lists in the Book of Revelation. In his vision the church receives a letter beginning with the words: “I know your works – your love, your faith, your service, and patient endurance. I know your last works are greater than the first.” [Re. 2:19] In Lydia’s day, when the church was not yet established, it was a city known for trade and its idolatrous feasts. The chief object of worship was Apollo, a sun-god. She had left Thyatira and gone to Philippi, in modern day Greece. She sold dyed goods, trading specifically in purple goods, a luxury item in those days, indicating she was a woman of means. There she worshipped with a group of women, probably Jewish. She was not Jewish, but she was a “God-fearer”, meaning she held God in awe and worshipped God, accepting the basic Jewish teachings.

This passage about Lydia falls with the conversion stories in Acts. Who may be converted to Christianity? What was the process? More than a few men would not be baptized because there had been an understanding that first they had to convert to Judaism, which meant circumcision. More than a few women were not baptized as they were unattached to a male convert. We don’t know all of Lydia’s circumstances, but we do know she was wealthy and she was in worship; and listening to Paul her heart was opened. Lydia is the first documented convert in Europe and the founder of a house church.

She is a model for women today – whether single by choice or not, widowed, a woman of independent means, or a professional. She was a woman of God, using the gifts God had given her. She provided Paul hospitality on his missionary journeys, she provided financial support, she encouraged her household in their faith, she was a leader in the church, she was fervent in her spirituality, and she was persistent - “she would not take no for an answer.”

We know she hosted Paul and those he traveled with, and we know from a later passage in the Acts [16:40] she hosted Paul after he and Silas were released from prison. She continued with her work and she encouraged others. As she was successful and supported this mission, she remained aglow. That’s not a word I use often, its subjective, but its often noted that as women in the workplace we may allow everyday concerns dampen our spirituality. Lydia was a spiritual being, as are we, men and women, and sometimes we allow the weight of the world to put a damper on our faith, our spirituality. We need to discover ways to more closely integrate our faith and our work. It’s a challenge to be a good Christian in professional and commercial settings. There is no indication that Lydia left her profession after conversion, in fact there is every reason to believe she continued in trade.

All the necessary components were present for Lydia’s conversion: she was close to God, worshipping God regularly, she in the community of faith on the Sabbath, she listened to the word of God preached, and she was receptive to the working of the Spirit. I believe that as women of God if we make ourselves available to God in our worship, in our prayer, our study, our meditation, God will open our hearts to even greater experiences. We will be given opportunity to share the gospel, the good news of Christ. O There is a danger here… how many of us have answered the call and then found ourselves being called to do more. When God calls us, we are equipped for greater service, the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ. The daily practicing of our spirituality opens us to greater service, in big and in small ways, but it makes no difference the “greatness” of the task. What is important is that we are faithful in our response. Lydia opened her heart and responded.

Your workplace may be in an office or in your home. And it may be difficult at times for us to grasp the blessings God has given us in the midst of our everyday reality. We can’t always know where God is leading us. We’re not alone. Who can know for certain where God is leading when we first open our hearts? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and martyr, wrote, “I don’t always know where I am going but I know I am following Jesus.” Did Lydia, this business woman, know she would found a church? Did Peter know he would be the rock on which Jesus would establish the Church?

People of God, like Lydia, our task is to make a daily conscious decision to trust God. We may not know where God is leading, but we do know God has a purpose for us. When we are given a healthy vision for our lives, and we yield to God’s will, the angst of lives falls away. When we place ourselves in God’s hands God holds us, and keeps us. Amen

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May 2, 2010 “A New Vision” Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 13: 31-35 Acts 11: 1-18

‘Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.’

-Paul Tillich

Sometimes we can be in a room full of people and be totally alone. And some times we can be totally alone and be in glory! Peter, I’m sure, experienced the latter; but too many experience the former. Persons God brings into our midst may feel totally alone as the “good” church folk sit in judgment of persons they would prefer to exclude, yet they are persons God has brought into our midst. Peter in the text we have just heard read, was being called to account for his actions. The council in Jerusalem wanted him to account for what he had been up to. Mind you, it wasn’t because he had deemed to judge the uncircumcised unfit for the work of the kingdom – but for precisely the opposite. He had reached out to them, to include them in God’s kingdom.

Peter had had a dream of radical inclusion! And when questioned he responded with a question: “Who am I to hinder the work of God?” Peter was about the work of God from start to finish. While Peter’s dream was of hoofed animals and crustaceans, it clearly showed him that those formerly excluded would now be included. Those formerly “unclean” would be considered “clean” in the kin-dom.” Who are we to exclude whom Jesus has redeemed?

Most of you know I grew up on Cape Cod, a summer tourist area, much like South County. I remember summer tourists coming to church in shorts; others, it being the 1960’s, came in their blue jeans! It was perfectly scandalous. How dare ‘those people’ walk into our church dressed so disrespectfully? It split the church! While some were scandalized, others said God doesn’t care what they wear, God cares about what is in their hearts, what’s on the inside. Later we had a black Caribbean pastor, and some of those very same people failed to use their previous defense as they asked the bishop to send someone else. We were a white congregation, and blind to the work God was performing among us. Instead of letting our hearts and faith rule, we let our fears control. Thankfully Bishop Matthews held his ground as we received one of the sweetest and gentlest of souls to serve the church and community. It was God’s work.

I believe, that as a church we have progressed; and we have plenty of work to do. There are still ways we fail to reach out to our community, to the “uncircumcised” among us. Who are the uncircumcised among us? Even when we include those we would prefer to exclude, we still fail to practice radical inclusiveness. I use the pronoun we, because I struggle, as does the greater church. We invite persons to join us, but fail to allow them to participate fully.

A number of years ago, in speaking about being inclusive, I used the word tolerant. We are to be tolerant as we include others. But it is so much more than that. We are to be accepting, and following the passage read earlier from the gospel of John, we are to be loving…. Which includes patient, kind, forbearing. “They” may be teenagers with colored hair, aging hippies in blue jeans, persons who have been imprisoned and are now free – yet unable to find housing, food, or jobs. Or “they” maybe those God brings us who speak little or no English – refugees from Pakistan or Iraq, or Iran - or maybe “they” are mentally ill and unable to hold a job. As Peter was sent to Cornelius by God, we are sent by God. And those we meet may not be like the persons we see in the mirror.

There are times when the ‘good’ church folk – especially those who have been around for a while – tend to be skeptical of change. [And I’m convinced that’s at the heart of our itinerant system.] New ideas, new mission initiatives are often met with resistance – either active or passive/aggressive. Where are we resisting change? Is it in our style of worship? Is it in our style of music? Is it in the ministries we extend to the community? Or is it who we share our pew with on Sunday morning?

In a town the size of North Kingstown, we enjoy a large cross section of peoples. We are a culturally diverse community. Do we at NKUMC reflect that diversity? Might we do more to be inclusive of our neighbors who are missing? Who are the least and the lonely God is calling us to reach out to?

When Peter ate with the Gentiles it was a preview of coming attractions. I love previews at the movies, don’t you? It gives me a chance to catch a glimpse the what’s to come!

While we are deliberating on whether we’ll see a new movie, God is reigning! While we are deliberating on who we might invite, God is reigning. [congregation repeat]

And while we make the choice wisely, God is reigning!

And when we decide foolishly, God is reigning.

When we serve God self-assertively, God is reigning!

When we withhold our service, God is reigning!

When we serve humbly, God is reigning!

When we in humble service gather at the Lord’s Table, God is reigning.

We are not alone. We gather in God’s glory – the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, God Almighty.

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April 25, 2010

CHANGING THE WORLD: THE POWER OF ONE!

By Ellen Jacke, lay speaker

Today we are challenged to “Change the World”.

When I first looked up the information about this Sunday on the internet and saw that the theme for today was “Change the World” I took a deep breath. “Okay, Ellen,” I said to myself, “Just remember what Dad used to say to you when you were facing some big challenge as a little girl, ’Don‘t forget, Ellen Carol, how do you eat an elephant?’ I would reply, ’One bite at a time’”. As a little girl it always made me giggle but that silly reminder has gotten me through many overwhelming situations before and it came in handy again as I thought about the overwhelming task of changing the whole world.

Last Monday was the Boston Marathon. Have any of you run a marathon? I haven’t but I know quite a few people who have. I wonder how they do it since I would have trouble running one mile much less twenty six miles. I have been told by those who train for this run that the most important step is the first and then it’s one step at a time, step after step after step. The power of one step at a time, time after time, gets them to the finish line twenty six miles later.

What is even more important is to know why you are running. Last Monday some people ran in Fiona’s name to encourage organ donations. Others ran as a personal challenge. Every runner out there ran for his or her own reason and that kept them going, one step at a time. For each one who runs their reason is bigger than their fears and excuses. We are all runners in this race we call life. We have chosen to run it as followers of Jesus, one day at a time.

Life is certainly like a marathon not a hundred yard dash. We have many opportunities day after day to show the love of God. That reminds me of the story which begins the book we are reading in our Sunday morning Bible Study.

A little boy is being put to bed by his mother and he doesn’t want her to turn out the light and leave him. She assures him that God will be with him all night long and he won’t be alone. He looks up at her wistfully and says” But Mommy, sometimes I want God with skin on!’

We can all be “God with Skin On” to everyone we meet, every day. Mother Teresa told us to “Do small things with great love and God will multiply the harvest”. If anyone is an example of the Power of One and being “God with Skin On” Mother Teresa is! Each one of us can take one step at a time, and do one loving act at a time to follow Jesus when he asked us to “do it unto the least of these”.

How then can we at North Kingstown United Methodist Church respond to this challenge to “Change the World”?

This morning our own United Methodist Women will share some of the ways we are responding to this challenge and invite you to join together with us to make a difference, sharing your time and your talents.

First let’s go to Scripture. In our Gospel reading Jesus said, “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me”. If we are to Change the World the question then becomes, “What gifts can we bring that, put to use one by one, in the name of Jesus can make a difference in North Kingstown and in the global community and testify that we are followers of Jesus Christ? “

We have an example shown to us in the reading from Acts. Appropriately for UMW Sunday it is a story of one of the early women disciples, Dorcas. Peter was called because Dorcas had died. When Peter was shown to her upstairs room all the widows stood around “weeping and showing the tunics and other clothing Dorcas had made”. As a disciple she was “devoted to good works and acts of charity”. She was changing her world in her way with the gifts she had. Peter used his gift of healing to raise her from the dead and that changed the world for the people of Joppa.

Then the words of our last hymn went through my head. “I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart”. However overwhelming the challenge, we are asked to take one bite at a time, take one step at a time, help one person with one act at a time, knowing that when we follow Jesus’ example, God is there to lead us, to give us strength and wisdom for the journey. God stands in the gap!

This is United Methodist Women’s Sunday. You have already been invited to join the Youth in their fight against famine. ( and to join with the Book Study Group to build schools in Afghanistan).

Every time we have a UMW meeting we open the meeting with the UMW Call to Prayer which we all prayed as our opening prayer today. The planning group asked me to use this as a framework for the sermon. UMW members will share in one minute examples of how we are responding to this prayer to literally “Change the World” for many of God’s Children.

In the first line we are called to appreciate God’s gifts to us; the gift of His Son, the gift of this planet, the gift of our lives, the gift of all that we have. Remembering God’s generosity, our Christian response and response-ability is to give to others using our God given gifts

The second line of the prayer says: “God, in every way you have enriched our lives”. Here are some of the ways we have responded:

“In gaining knowledge” Through our book groups we have gained knowledge reading “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”, as well as two books by Greg Mortenson: “Three Cups of Tea”, and “Stones Into Schools” In response we have started a new ministry to raise support for education in Afghanistan and Pakistan….Paula Wilberger
We will be starting a new book “Just Wives” this Tuesday at 3:30 …..Paula Wilberger
“In seeking justice”…Stay tuned for an upcoming program on the homeless. After reading “Dinner At Six”, which is a series of interviews with homeless people who come to a soup kitchen, our Book Group decided we need to know more about the homeless in our area…Paula Wilberger
“In learning compassion”…We have knitted prayer shawls which bring comfort to the recipients and the knowledge that they have been and continue to be prayed for…Sandra Brown;
We have knitted helmet liners and neckgators for our military who face the cold and hardships of the Afghan mountains.…Missy Smith,

The prayer goes on to say: “May we not be lacking in spiritual gifts as we work and give to improve the lives of women, children and youth in our world.”

UMW is collecting materials for 50 birthing kits which will be taken to Sierra Leone by Dorcas Kamanda. Each kit fits in a quart size plastic bag and has all the simple requirements for a safe, clean birthing experience for mother and child. The introduction of these kits has significantly decreased the infant mortality rate….Lisa Dallas
In Afghanistan and Pakistan at the schools built by Greg Mortenson it costs just one dollar to educate a child for one month. Dollars for Scholars is a new ministry in response….Diana Warburton

Each of these ministries started because someone saw a need and had an idea of how to respond. In the words of our next hymn each spark started a fire.

At the last Charge Conference we were challenged to “Rethink Church”, to move outside the church walls. To make church something we Do, not some place we just visit on Sunday mornings. Our prayer asks us to be “a blessing to our communities” You have seen and heard some of how the UMW here in North Kingstown is making that happen.

But the women of the church are not the only ones responding. We invite you to Fellowship Hall after this service where you can get your cup of coffee and visit a Mini Mission Fair. This includes not only information about the projects you have just heard described but also other Opportunities for Discipleship.

You will be able there to take other steps toward Changing the World. Each decision you make will be one more next step.

You will be able to sponsor one of our youth in the 30 Hour Famine.
You are invited to form a bowling team for the Habitat Bowlathon on May 20th,
sign up to help at the May Breakfast and Yard Sale this Saturday morning or
sponsor the Project Outreach Concert coming up on Saturday evening.
Information about volunteering for Habitat to build a house for a family or donating to the Habitat ReStore will be available as well as
how you can help slow global warming by “Going Green” and recycling.
The United Methodist Men invite you to participate in Angel Food Ministries and ongoing support of the Food Pantry.

We invite your participation!

But never underestimate our power to change someone’s world very simply sometimes by a smile, a hug, a listening ear or a kind word, being “God with Skin On”. In every church pew sit men and women and children who are weeping on the inside and trying not to have it show on the outside. You never know when your loving action may change their whole day and renew their hope. In the words of our prayer we are called “to keep doing the things we have learned…and seen in the life of Christ.”

The words of each of our hymns today could have been this sermon. We have been summoned to respond to God’s love given to us in the gift of His Son. He has called us and we have responded, ”Here I Am”. The spark has started a fire of good works and we will close our worship today joyfully singing, “Freely, freely you have received, freely, freely give.” As we go in Christ’s name, as we follow Jesus’ example, one step at a time, we, like Jesus will testify to God’s love.

We invite each one of you to take one more step beyond what you are doing now so that together we can Change the World, one student, one healthy mother and child, one house, one full stomach, one warm head, one person comforted, one smile, one prayer at a time. Each one of us can be the change we want to see in this world! That is the “Power of One”.

Amen

Let us now sing our closing hymn # 572 “It Only Takes a Spark”

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April 18, 2010 “Casting the Net” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Have you ever wondered what is the right side of the boat? Jesus told them, cast the net over the right side of the boat….

It is my understanding that fly fishing season opened last weekend in Rhode Island, the second Saturday of April. Well , evidently it was fishing season on the shores of Galilee, too. The disciples had returned to their former occupations after the death of Jesus. This time, however, Jesus was about to do a different sort of fishing. He saw the disciples from the shore and he could tell their boats were empty. Sometimes when we go fly fishing our boats, or baskets are empty, and for fly fisherman that might mean a successful trip as there is a practice known as “catch and release”. The fishermen cast out their hook, catch the fish, reel it in, measure it, and then release it back to the wild. It doesn’t necessarily feed you, or make you rich, but there is satisfaction in reeling in the biggest trout, or whatever fish you are looking for. A neighbor of hours would fish all day and come home empty handed, but very satisfied and very much at peace with the world. As the disciples were out fishing, they were caught a second time – only this time it was different – they were caught, released and commissioned, filled with the Spirit.

This was the third appearance of Jesus to the disciples recorded in the gospel of John. When Jesus found them fishing, and their boat empty, he told them to cast out the net on the right side of the boat. What did he know about fishing? didn’t he know port and starboard? Who was this stranger on the beach? Following his instructions they cast out the net and it was immediately filled. They caught on a bit faster this time, especially Peter who jumped into the water, swam to shore, and hauled the net as the boa approached behind him. This was Jesus! Tending the fire on the beach, where fish are already cooking, Jesus feeds them and after being filled, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me more than these?” [3x]

Third appearance, three questions: Peter’s opportunity to come back into the fold. Peter is given opportunity to undo that tragic night when he denied Christ. Each time he responds in the affirmative and each time he is given instruction. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep. “Follow me,” Jesus says. Peter is forgiven and released for ministry,…. but not without a warning.

One day people will dress you and lead you to places you do not want to go. It is a reminder of how Jesus was bound and led away to die on the cross. It is Jesus warning that discipleship comes with a cost.

It is a warning that we may miss or fail to understand. When Jesus said, “Follow me,” it was not a superficial invitation to some merry adventure or parade. At times in ministry it feels more like a circus. Jesus’ calling is life changing, and we don’t know where we are being called to do, it involves risk. I have always been fascinated by the trapeze artists. How they could jump from a platform 50 feet or more in the air, hanging on to this little piece of wood, and swing to catch another is frightening. There is a trick to it: it’s a leap of faith. Yes! But there is yet another trick - before you can catch that second bar you have to let go of the first. For a moment it’s like the aerialist is suspended in air. And if you have ever watched closely, you have very little time to make up your mind to do it. You have to trust the net is below you, even when it blends in with everything about you, and make a decision that either keeps you trapped in fear, holding on to the old, or frees you to become all that you are destined to be.

Too many of us lived trapped in fear. We never make a total commitment. We play it safe. We rationalize our fears and never move forward. This is not how Jesus wants us to live. Peter could have chosen to hold on to the old bar – his old life fishing and providing for his family and never built the church Jesus put on his shoulders to build. But when given the opportunity, Peter jumped. He grabbed hold of the bar and his life was changed forever. This was the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Peter, and is at work in those of us who truly want to follow Jesus.

Anthony DeMello in his book The Song of the Bird tells this Arabic fable:

There is a tale of a man walking through the forest. He saw a fox that had lost its legs. The man wondered how it lived. Then he saw a tiger come in with game in its mouth. The tiger had its fill and left the rest of the meat for the fox.

The next day God fed the fox by the same means. The tiger again came with game in its mouth. The man began to wonder at God’s greatness and said to himself, “I too shall rest in the corner with full trust in the Lord and he will provide me with all I need.” He did this for many days but nothing happened, and he was almost at death’s door when he heard a voice say, “O you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox.”

DeMello continues with his own life experiences and concludes with this:

On the street one day I saw a naked child, hungry and shivering in the cold. I became angry and said to God, “Why do you permit this? Why don’t you do something?” For a while God said nothing. That night he replied, quite suddenly, “I certainly did do something. I made you.”

We can allow ourselves to be wishful thinkers, waiting for someone else, or for some supernatural event to take place, some miracle, or we can answer the invitation to follow Jesus, our joy, and be led through doors in places where we would not have thought doors would be opened to us, and where, by the way, doors may not be opened for anyone else.

Doors opened for Peter, and Paul, for Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr, doors opened for Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for missionaries around the world, and they open for you and for me.

By our baptism we are invited to follow Jesus. The door is open. May we go forth and cast our nets on the right side of the boat. Amen.

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April 11, 2010

WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT

By Lay Speaker Steve Brooks

IN OUR READING FROM ACTS THIS MORNING, THE APOSTLES ARE CALLED TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTIONS IN DISOBEYING THE EXPLICIT ORDER OF THE SANHEDRIN. PETER’S RESPONSE, AND HIS DEFENSE OF THEIR ACTIONS, IS QUITE SIMPLE. THEY (THE APOSTLES), MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MAN. PETER MAKES IT QUITE CLEAR THAT IS WAS THEY WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRUCIFIXION , AND HOLDS THEM GUILTY OF HIS DEATH. BY THE CONTINUED PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES, THE SANHEDRIN INTERPRET THEIR ACTIONS, AND RIGHTLY SO, AS HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH IN THE EYES OF THE POPULOUS. SOMETHING THE SANHEDRIN ARE AFRAID OF BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS A SERIOUS CHALLENGE TO THEIR AUTHORITY. THE BASIC FOCUS OF THIS PASSAGE IS THE COMMUNICATION OF THE GOSPEL, EVEN TO THOSE WHO WOULD SILENCE IT. THE APOSTLES CONTINUED TO BOLDLY PREACH THE “GOOD NEWS”, JOYOUSLY TELLING THE PEOPLE ABOUT “THIS NEW LIFE” IN JESUS CHRIST. THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS SOMETHING THAT THEY FELY HAD TO BE SHARED SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT EXPERIENCE THIS NEW LIFE. THE EVENTS OF EASTER HAD FOREVER CHAGED THEIR LIVES; THEY FELT EMPOWERED TO PREACH, TEACH, AND HEAL IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

I GUESS THE BASIC QUESTION FOR US IS….IS IT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO FOLLOW THE LAW OF CHRIST, AND NOT MAN? THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT CHOICE TO MAKE. JOHN WESLEY WROTE IN HIS COMMENTARIES ON THIS VERY PASSAGE “ OH, THE CUNNING OF THE ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL. THEY MAKE LAWS AT THEIR PLEASURE WHICH THOSE WHO OBEY GOD CANNOT BUT BREAK. THEN THEY TAKE OCCASION TO CENSURE AND PUNISH THE INNOCENT”. THE GENERAL RULE IS WE SHOULD RESPECT AND OBEY HUMAN AUTHORITY, UNLESS THEY ASK OR TELL US, TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS EXPLICITLY AGAINST THE WAY OF GOD. IF YOU ASK YOURSELF, “WHO PAYS THE PRICE FOR MY DISOBEDIANCE”? AND IT IS SOMEONE ELSE, THEN PROBABLY WE ARE NOT FOLLOWING GOD’S WILL, BUT INSTEAD ARE ACTING OUT OF OUR OWN SELF INTEREST POSING AS GOD’S WILL.

OUR LANGUAGE IS LACED WITH BIBLICAL REFERENCES. A GOOD, SOLID CITIZEN IS REFERRED TO AS “THE SALT OF THE EARTH”. AN OVERLY MODEST PERSON IS TOLD NOT “TO HIDE THEIR LIGHT UNDER A BASKET”. AND, OF COURSE, WHENEVER SOMEONE QUESTION SOMETHING THAT’S SAID, THEY’RE QUICKLY ASKED “ARE YOU A DOUBTING THOMAS?”

HISTORY HAS NOT BEEN KIND TO THE APOSTLE THOMAS. I SUGGEST, HOWEVER, THAT THOMAS WAS PERHAPS THE MOST FAITHFUL, AND THE BRAVEST, OF ALL THE APOSTLES. REMEMBER EARLIER IN JOHN’S GOSPEL WHEN JESUS HEARD OF THE DEATH OF LAZARUS IN BETHANY, HE INSISTED ON GOING THERE. THE OTHER APOSTLES WERE AFRAID BECAUSE OF EARLIER THREATS ON JESUS’ LIFE IN THAT VERY TOWN. IT WAS THOMAS WHO SPOKE UP AND SAID, “LET US ALSO GO THAT WE MAY DIE WITH HIM”. NONE OF THE OTHER APOSTLES SPOKE UP. ONLY THOMAS.

DURING JESUS’ LONG FAREWLL DISCOURSE ABOUT THE MANY ROOMS IN HIS FATHERS HOUSE, AND WHERE HE IS GOING, AND WHERE YOU KNOW THE WAY TO WHERE I AM GOING, THOMAS, LIKE A PRECOCIOUS THIRD GRADER RAISES HIS HAND AND ASKS, “LORD, WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING, SO HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?” THOMAS IS RATHER PLAIN SPOKEN; HE WANTS TO UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION. NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS.

NOW, LET’S LOOK AT THE SCENE AS PRESENTED IN THIS MORNING’S GOSPEL READING FROM JOHN.

HERE WE HAVE TEN APOSTLES COWERING IN FEAR IN A LOCKED UPPER ROOM. JUMPING AT EVERY SOUND, AFRAID THAT THEY TOO WILL BE TAKEN BY THOSE WHO ARRESTED AND CRUCIFIED JESUS. THOMAS WAS NOT WITH THEM. SO WHERE WAS THOMAS? PERHAPS OUT LOOKING FOR THE RISEN CHRIST DISPLAYING THE COURAGE HE HAD SO OFTEN SHOWN, LEAVING THE OTHERS IN THEIR FRIGHTFUL STATE. MAYBE HE WAS JUST LOOKING FOR FOOD AND WINE ANTICIPATING A LONG STAY IN THE UPPER ROOM. HADN’T THE APOSTLES HAD BEEN TOLD BY MARY MAGDALENE, THAT CHRIST’S BODY WAS NOT IN THE TOMB; IN FACT SHE HAD SEEN AND SPOKEN TO HIM. BUT STILL THEY COWERED IN THE ROOM. ARE THEY ANY LESS DOUBTERS THAN THOMAS? IT WASN’T UNTIL CHRIST APPEARED TO THEM, AND SAID “PEACE BE WITH YOU”, THAT THEY BELIEVED IN HIS RESURRECTION. NO ONE EXPECTED THAT JESUS WOULD RISE FROM THE TOMB; IT WAS A SURPRISE TO ALL. BUT YET THOMAS CHOSE TO GO OUT. WHEN HE RETURNED TO THE UPPER ROOM, AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD SEEN THE RISEN CHRIST, THOMAS’ RESPONSE WOULD FOREVER LABEL HIM AS “DOUBTING THOMAS” WHEN HE SAID TO THEM “UNTIL I SEE THE MARKS OF THE NAILS, AND UNTIL I TOUCH THOSE MARKS, I’M NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IT”. BECAUSE OF HIS RESPONSE, THOMAS IS OFTEN PRESENTED AS LESS THAN A BRIGHT, DOUBTING FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

WHEN JESUS APPEARRED TO THE APOSTLES THE SECOND TIME, HE DIDN’T SEEM TO BE PARTICULARLY TROUBLED BY THOMAS’S REMARK, AGAIN SAYING “PEACE BE WITH YOU”, BUT IT MUST HAVE CREATED SOME PALPABLE TENSION BETWEEN THOMAS AND THE OTHER APOSTLES. I MEAN HE BASICALLY CALLED THE LIARS RIGHT TO THEIR FACES. DESPITE THIS AWKWARD MOMENT, THE APOSTLES REMAINED UNITED TOGETHER IN THEIR LOVE OF CHRIST. THOMAS WANTS PROOF, AND HE WANTS JESUS. WHEN JESUS DID APPEAR TO THE APOSTLES THE FIRST TIME, IN THE EASTER EVENING,HE SHOWED HIS WOUNDED HANDS AND FEET TO THEM. IS THIS ANYTHING LESS THAN THOMAS WOULD ASK FOR? THOMAS WANTS THE SAME ASSURANCE THAT THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN GIVEN. YES, MAYBE HE DOES TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER BY ASKING TO TOUCH THE WOUNDS, BUT MAYBE THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF HIM WANTS TO BE SURE THAT THIS ISN’T AN APPARTITION OR VISION. JESUS DOESN’T SCOLD OR ADMONISH THOMAS…HE WANTS HIM TO BELIEVE AND WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. EVEN IF JESUS CONSIDERS THOMAS TO BE A DOUBTER, HE WELCOMES HIM INTO HIS PEACE AND GRACE, JUST AS HE WELCOMES US. JESUS OFFERS HIS WOUNDS TO THOMAS TO TOUCH. WE DON’T KNOW IF THOMAS ACTUALLY DID TOUCH THE WOUNDS, BUT BEFORE THOMAS CAN EITHER APOLOGIZE OR DEFEND HIS ACTIONS, WE DO HAVE WHAT IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST AFFIRMATION OF FAITH, AND WHAT SOME BIBLICAL SCHOLARS CONSIDER THE HIGH POINT OF JOHN’S GOSPEL, WHEN THOMAS PROCLAIMS, “MY LORD AND MY GOD.” THIS VERY PERSONAL ENCOUNTER MAKES JESUS’ RESURRECTION VERY REAL TO THIS BELIEVER. WHEN TOMAS GETS IT, HE GETS IT! NO ONE ELSE HAS NAMED JESUS AS GOD. ONCE THOMAS WAS GIVEN WHAT HE HAD ASKED FOR, HIS DEDICATION, LOYALTY, AND FAITH WERE UNSURPASSED. WHEN JESUS TOLD THE APOSTLESTO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, MOST STAYED CLOSE TO HOME; IT WAS THOMAS WHO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE TRAVELED TO PERSIA, INDIA, AND PERHAPS EVEN CHINA SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE SALVATION THAT HE BRINGS. THOMAS IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY TO INDIA WHERE HE BUILT MANY CHURCHES, AND IN FACT WAS MARTYRED AND BURIED THERE.

THOMAS HAD TO MAKE THIS PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH JESUS FOR HIMSELF; NO ONE ELSE COULD DO IT. JUST AS NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR YOU OR FOR ME. I MEAN REALLY, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ACTUALLY SAW JESUS? PERHAPS YOU’VE SEEN JESUS IN THE WORK DONE FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, OR MAYBE ON BLANKET SUNDAY, OR MAYBE WHEN THIS CONGREGATION GAVE SO GENEROUSLY TO THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND. OR MAYBE, JUST LOOK AT THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO YOU. IF YOU WERE HERE AT LAST SUNDAYS LUNCHEON, YOU SAW JESUS IN EVERY FACE. WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE OUR OWN PERSONAL CONNECTION TO JESUS. IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, WHEN A HEARING IMPAIRED PERSON WANTS TO USE THE NAME JESUS, IT IS DONE BY HOLDING THE PALM OF THE HAND UP AND TAPPING THE PALM WITH THE OTHER HAND’S FINGERS REPRESENTING THE NAIL WOUNDS. WHAT A MARVELOUS CONECTION WITH CHRIST.

DOUBT IS TERRIBLE EMOTION. DOUBT CAN LEAD TO ANXIETY, WHICH CAN LEAD TO FEAR. REMEMBER THE APOSTLES EARLIER? THIS IS WHY WE TEND TO REJECT THOMAS. HE DARES TO BRING DOUBT INTO OUR LIVES OF FAITH. BUT DOUBT DOES NOT MEAN REJECTION. DOUBT SIMPLY REQUIRES ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT WE ALL HAVE. LAST WEEK PASTOR LORI TALKED ABOUT FAITH…AND WHY DO WE HAVE IT? I THINK WE HAVE FAITH BECAUSE WE DO BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION; WE DON’T HAVE ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF IT, WE JUST BELIEVE IT. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR TO REDEEM US FROM OUR SINS. BUT STILL, AT SOME POINT IN OUT LIVES, WE ALL HAVE DOUBTS. A FEW WEEKS AGO I WAS IN OHIO. DURING THE SUNDAY SERVICE I ATTENDED, THE PASTOR TOLD A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT AN OLD FARMER WHO WAS A VERY FAITHFUL MEMBER OF THE CHURCH. DURING THAT PART OF THE SERVICE WE CALL PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE, A YOUNG MAN SITTING NEXT TO THE FARMER COULD HEAR HIM VERY SOFTLY PRAY “PROP ME UP ON THE LEANIN’ SIDE. LORD”. THE YOUNG MAN DIDN’T QUITE KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF IT. THE NEXT WEEK, IT WAS THE SAME. THE FARMER PRAYED SOFTLY, “PROP ME UP ON THE LEANIN’ SIDE, LORD.” AFTER THE SERVICE WAS OVER, THE YOUNG MAN APPROACHED THE FARMER AND ASKED HIM WHAT HE MEANT BY HIS PRAYER. THE FARMER LOOKED AT HIM KINDLY AND EXPLAINED THAT ON HIS FARM, HE HAD AN OLD BARN THAT WAS LEANING PRECARIOUSLY TO ONE SIDE. SO HE WENT OUT AND GOT SOME LONG TWO BY FOURS AND WEDGED THEM BETWEEN THE GROUND AND THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING FOR ADDED STRENGTH AND SUPPORT. HE WAS PRAYING THAT THE LORD WOULD HELP HIM ON HIS LEANIN’ SIDE. THE FARMER, LIKE ALL OF US, HAVE A LEANIN’ SIDE THAT WE NEED THE LORD’S HELP IN SUPPORTING AND GIVING ADDED STRENGTH TO. MAYBE THE FARMER’S LEANIN’ SIDE WAS DOUBT, LIKE THOMAS. MAYBE HE NEEDED THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD TO HELP HIM THROUGH SOME TYPE OF CRISIS. WHAT’S YOUR LEANIN’ SIDE? ECONOMIC DISTRESS, PERSONAL TRAGEDY, LONELINESS? ALL WE HAVE TO KNOW, IS THAT WE CAN MAKE A PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE LORD, AND HE WILL GIVE US THE ADDED STRENGTH WE NEED. AND WE CAN DRAW STRENGTH FROM ONE ANOTHER.

IN A TOUCHING MOMENT IN C.S. LEWIS’ NARNIA CHRONICLES, THE YOUNG BOY DIGORY IS HEARTBROKEN BY THE REALIZATION THAT HIS MOTHER IS DYING AND THAT HE CAN DO NOTHING TO SAVE HER. HE RAISES HIS DESPAIRING FACE TO THE GREAT LION ASLAN AND IS STARTLED TO SEE “GREAT SHINING TEARS” IN ASLAN’S EYES. “THEY WERE SUCH BIG, BRIGHT SHINING TEARS COMPARED WITH DIGORY’S OWN THAT FOR A MOMENT HE FELY AS IF THE LION MUST REALLY BE SORRIER ABOUT HIS MOTHER THAN HE WAS HIMSELF”.

“MY SON, MY SON”, SAID ASLAM, “I KNOW. GRIEF IS GREAT. ONLY YOU AND I IN THIS LAND KNOW THAT YET> LET US BE GOOD TO ONE ANOTHER.”

THINK ABOUT OUR OWN METHODIST CREED, “OPEN HEARTS, OPEN DOORS, OPEN MINDS”. AN OPEN MIND DOESN’T SHUT OUT QUESTIONS; AN OPEN MIND CONTINUALLY SEARCHES FOR THE TRUTH AND FOR ANSWERS. FOR US, THE ANSWER IS GOD, AND GOD IS LOVE….WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT. AMEN.

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Easter April 4, 2010 “Christ With Us “ Rev. Lori Eldredge

Christ is risen! Christ is Risen indeed!

This is the good news we share on this Easter morning. Christ who died, is alive!

This news came first to the women. In the early morning they had gone to the tomb, and with the stone rolled away, Mary and the other women, soon discovered that the tomb in fact was empty. The women were distraught and that is where the action began. Mary went running to tell the other disciples. When they came running and looked inside the tomb. Mary, bends down and looks inside from outside the tomb, saw angels, and talked to the gardener who asked why she was crying. Calling her by name, Jesus revealed himself as our Risen Lord and Mary stood believing. Running, looking, bending, weeping, believing…these were all simple acts: yet nothing that yields any physical evidence for us. Like John and Peter, we have to go with our heart more than with our head; because our faith rests on very little tangible evidence.

There are many people who would deny the resurrection; they there is no proof. Similar in thought are those who would declare the resurrection a hoax, a trick. Jesus is the original great Houdini. There is a whole school of thought that says Jesus survived the cross and went to live in seclusion in the northern region of India. But these are not bourn out by the scriptures, the accounts that follow. All sightings of Jesus in the upper room with the disciples, on the road to Emmaus, by the seaside fire, …. all those sightings over 40 days can be traced back to this one morning when Jesus is first seen risen from the dead, by Mary.

Where are you this morning in your belief? How many times have you frantically searched for some miracle of faith? How many times have you yearned for God’s presence in Jesus Christ? How many times have you looked for understanding only to be confused? And finally after all these, come face to face with the reality that God in Christ stood with you?

I’m sure that with the rain that began a little over a week ago, and left some of us without electricity and heat, we have called out more than once. In our frantic search for basic items – hoses and pumps – or our efforts to bail - we have been left with doubts. Some have asked, “Why us?” [Why not us?] We have been left in a place of uncertainty; left without answers, not able to see as though blinded. Humanity has been here before - with earthquakes, hurricanes, and raging fire. It may seem that the elements of earth conspire against us. They don’t, but it is o[ to us to choose how we will accept these events …. In the hope of the resurrection or in the darkness of an empty faith.

Robert Browning, in his poem “The Ring and the Book” tells of a night when the city of Naples was so dark that one could see nothing of the earth, or sky, or sea at all. But, in his words, “The night’s black was burst through by a blaze.” One flash of lightening had brilliantly lit up the sky it revealed the surrounding mountains, the sea, and all the city. So Browning wrote, “The truth may be flashed out by one great blow.” For Christians everywhere, this blow has been struck, the victory won!

The lightening of God’s grace and mercy has illuminated our dark world and our present life. As sharp as the chasm of death and darkness portrayed in Mel Gibson The Passion of Christ, so strong is the light of Jesus Christ that has overcome the darkness. Jesus, said” I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance.” Nothing can change this!

Yes, we have been tested, and our faith is stronger. We have our lives, we have our faith; we have been given the Church universal in which to grow and practice our faith. Earlier as we received new members into the church we with them pledged to give of ourselves by our prayers, gifts, our presence, our service, and our witness.

We will emerge from these times stronger not only as individuals and families but also as a faith community. While the death and suffering continue, injustice abounds, and we are confronted with the cruelty of life….we need not fall into despair because life, and hope, is given to us as we marvel over the triumph of the resurrection. We can eagerly believe because we know this spiritual road, this spiritual path we travel, leads us to renewal, and to the fulfillment of the Easter promise of victory over life and death.

The Easter story affects each one of us differently. We each have stories to tell, and like Mary we may stand weeping for a while. The power of the empty tomb is that our tears may be turned from ones of mourning and despair, into joy and gladness. We are not alone. Christ who came, is Risen, and is among us. Christ is present in our every gathering. Where two or three are gathered in Jesus name…Jesus tells us “there I am also.”

The paradox of Easter morning is that we find ourselves in a place akin to Christmas…. but now knowing the whole story. Where once we wondered how a newborn baby might lead us to salvation, we now know our salvation has been won through Jesus death on the cross and Christ’s victory over the grave. As we look to the cross, we can be assured of Christ’s great love. We are not alone and never will be as long as our faith is placed in the Risen Lord. This morning we worship a Risen Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ! Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed.

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Maundy Thursday – 2010

A Lesson for All, by lay speaker Richard Dunne

The final walk in Jesus’ life has begun. The stage has been set. The players are in place. The last week of Jesus’ earthly life began in triumph with palm leaves, “Hosannas”, and a crowd eager to place a regal crown on Him. It is about to end with bitter herbs and vinegar, shouts of “Crucify Him”, thorns for a crown, and abject isolation.

But in between these two polar opposite scenes is a lesson for the ages. With time being a precious commodity, Jesus does what only He can do. He teaches His friends the ultimate lesson on servant hood. Think about that for a minute. With time slipping through the hour glass, He doesn’t perform a great miracle or tell a great sermon. He doesn’t heal anyone or cast out demons. The gospel doesn’t even record time spent with His family! Instead, He serves others.

What would you do if you were in Jesus’ place? What would you do if you knew you had only a few short days to live? Would you live it up at the best restaurant in town? Break your piggy bank and go on a spending spree, shopping for all the things you had denied yourself for so long? Would you take time to say good-bye to your family members? Write notes of appreciation to people who have been important in your life? Seek others out and apologize for wrongdoings you may have committed? Don’t get me wrong – all of these could be considered valid actions by many of us, whether we are dying soon or have many years to live.

But, let’s take a moment and look at what Jesus did.

The following is from an extended excerpt from Max Lucado’s book, Just Like Jesus.

It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests, most of whom clamor for a glimpse of the Teacher. The spring sun is warm. The streets are dry. And the disciples are a long way from home. A splash of cool water would be refreshing.

The disciples enter the room, one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but no one does.

After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. He wraps a servant’s girdle around his waist, takes up the basin, and kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces the sandal and gently lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works his way down the row.

In Jesus’ day the washing of feet was a task reserved not just for servants but the lowest of servants. Every circle has its pecking order, and the circle of household workers was no exception. The servant on the last rung of the ladder was expected to be the one on his knees with the towel and basin.

In this case the one with the towel and basin is the King of the universe. Hands that shaped the stars now wash away filth. Fingers that formed mountains now message toes. And the one before whom all nations will one day kneel now kneels before his disciples. Hours before his own death, Jesus’ concern is singular. He wants his disciples to know how much he loves them. More than removing dirt, Jesus is removing doubt.

You can be sure Jesus knows the future of these feet he is washing. These twenty-four feet will not spend the next day following their master, defending his cause. These feet will dash for cover at the flash of a Roman sword. Only one pair of feet won’t abandon him in the garden. One disciple won’t desert him at Gethsemane – Judas won’t even make it that far! He will abandon Jesus that very night at the table.

Behold the gift Jesus gives his followers! He knows what these men are about to do. He knows that they are about to perform the vilest act of their lives. By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, he wants them to remember how his knees knelt before them and he washed their feet. He wants them to realize those feet are still clean. “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later” (John 13:7).

Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.

In this simple, yet profound act, Jesus offers us both mercy and a message. Jesus offers us unconditional grace, so we are to offer others unconditional grace. The mercy of Christ precedes our mistakes; so too our mercy must precede the mistakes of others. Jesus offers us forgiveness ; we must offer forgiveness to others. We can act as Jesus acted that night so long ago only if we allow Him to look into the filthiest part of our hearts and give our hearts and lives to Him. We must admit our sins and allow Jesus to wash us clean of the darkest parts of our souls and become new again. Tonight, we have that opportunity. We have the chance to allow Jesus to wash our past away by having either our feet washed or our hands washed. Come and let Jesus do what only He can do – make you and I whole again. Amen.

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March 28, 2010 Palm Sunday “Even the Stones Will Cry Out” Rev. Lori Eldredge

Luke 19:21- 40

When the Pharisees had demanded that Jesus silence his disciples he told the them that if “these were silenced, then even the stones would cry out. “

The day he arrived in Jerusalem, his path was strewn not only with Palms branches and cloaks, but also with rocks; stones lined the streets. The palms were symbolic of royalty and of victory; and waved jubilantly.

The stones had symbolic meaning, too. Stones are heavy weights - used as ballast in ships, and used from the time Jacob buried Rachel to build memorial sites, or markers, of where the dead were buried. These were nomadic peoples and so the stones not only served to mark the grave site but as they were piled up, they also served as physical acts to express the weight of their feelings, their grief. We often times need physical acts, or rituals, to express these things for us, our emotions, to make them concrete. Stones may remind us too, when we pick them up, of the weight we carry. They remind us of the people or the burdens given each one of us.

Stones were powerful weapons – used to slay giants, and used to kill the condemned, to silence them forever. So, now, several days after his entry into Jerusalem, as Jesus had not silenced his disciples, so he was silenced; but not with stones. The Romans didn’t do things that way, they used a cross, and with the Jewish leaders they intended that Jesus to be silenced forever. Hung high on a hill, on a cross, his death would be a reminder of Roman power, and of what happens when people align themselves with the wrong sources of power.

The good news on this Palm Sunday, is that we know the ending to the story. His followers were not silenced forever. Everything was turned upside down on Easter Sunday, at least upside down too the Roman world. For Jesus and those who follow him, were and are aligned with the highest power. God who call us his children, blesses us as we live a life in Christ. We each have our own burdens; and because we know that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that the cross is empty, we can lay our burdens down and we can pick up the cross with the knowledge that Jesus carries that cross with us, and that because he shares our every burden, we too will have victory over whatever burden it is that God has given us to carry.

As you leave today, we invite you to pick up a stone, let it represent your particular concern or burden, and during the week reflect on them; ask yourself if you are ready to give it to Jesus. Then on Thursday evening, or next Sunday morning, bring the stone back and place it at the foot of the cross. As you do pick up a cross, an empty cross, claim the victory Jesus has in store for you knowing he will grant you strength, mercy, and love.

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March 21, 2010 “Lessons from Suburbia” Rev. Lori Eldredge

John 12: 1-8

The anointing of Jesus appears in some form in each one of the gospels. The story involves either Mary or an unknown woman ,who anoints either Jesus feet or hair. John adds to the accounts of the synoptic gospels by identifying the woman as Jesus’ friend Mary of Bethany. He also identifies Judas Iscariot as the one who objects on financial grounds. He inserts that Judas is the treasurer of this little band of disciples, he carries the purse, so it seems this is his rational for questioning her insane act of taking a pound of pure nard and anointing Jesus. A pound of pure nard was worth a years wages. 300 denarri or minimum wage (7.40 RI) x 40 hours x 52 weeks or about $15,392 a pound! Think about what you could do with$15,000 plus dollars aiding the poor. Let me point out though, that this is the only reference in the gospel of John to helping the poor; John is much more focused elsewhere.

Can you imagine paying $15,000 for perfume! Do you know what the most expensive perfume is? Some of us might think its Channel #5 but, no, the single most expensive bottle is Clive Christian No.1 and labeled “Imperial Majesty,” a limited edition. Imperial Majesty is available in a heavy Baccarat crystal bottle with a 5-carat solitaire diamond set in its collar and has a value of around $200,000 per ounce. Only 10 have ever been made – 5 of which have been put in Clive Christian’s personal collection. [the internet] You have to wonder what makes it so expensive.

What made the nard so expensive? Nard had to be imported. It’s origin was in India, from a little plant that grew in the Himalayas. This jar of nard would have arrived by camel caravan or by Phoenician traders . Bethany was just outside Jerusalem, and certainly traders would have passed through there. Many of our suburbs benefit from their location outside a center of trade, and Jerusalem was not only a center of trade but also the center of the Jewish state and temple. This perfume was so expensive, so dear.

So……………. Judas questioned Mary’s judgment, but Jesus quiets him up. He tells Judas to leave Mary alone for what she has done is a beautiful thing.

If someone were to pour out the Clive Christian perfume on the Lord’s Table I wonder how many of us might have said the very same thing Judas said. Would we have been concerned about the expense? Would we have missed the point, as Judas missed the point?

Oh yes, Judas missed the point – it wasn’t about the bottom line, the cost - some things just can’t be reduce