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North Kingstown UMC

June 1, 2003 - Ascension Day

Text: *Acts 1:1-11

Title: Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

 (Play radio spot)

 Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. That phrase is a trademark registered to the United Methodist Church.  You may have seen or heard it in some of the television and radio spots that have been airing around the country in the last year or so.  The phrase and the advertising campaign are designed to attract people to the United Methodist Church as a place where they can experience God's love in a welcoming and safe place.  We'd like to believe that all churches are welcoming to everyone, but tragically we know all too well the reality that this is not always true. 

As the words in this particular radio spot indicate United Methodists do not always agree about everything.  John Wesley, the person considered the father of Methodism, followed a time-tested approach to belief: In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.  In other words, there are some things that are so essential to our identity as Christians that we must agree about them.

"United Methodists profess the historic Christian faith in God, incarnate in Jesus Christ for our salvation and ever at work in human history in the Holy Spirit."1 - in essentials unity.   There are other things that honest faith-filled Christians understand in different ways.

After careful study of Scripture, examination of church tradition, the best possible use of our abilities to reason, and an understanding of our experiences, there are parts of the Christian faith or practice about which we will still disagree.  This includes things such as whether or not to baptize infants or only those able to profess their faith for themselves, how we receive communion, and the style of worship, to name only a few.  John Wesley's familiar dictum was "As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think."  The spirit of charity takes into consideration the limits of human understanding.  Wesley observed that "To be ignorant of many things and to be mistaken in some, is the necessary condition of humanity."  The crucial matter in religion is steadfast love for God and neighbor, empowered by the redeeming and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.2.

It is this framework that comes together in the goal of "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors."   As I studied the scriptures for this morning, I saw that theme outlined and reinforced. Generally the first translation of the Bible that I consult in my studies is The New Revised Standard Version.   Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus is translated in this way, "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power." (1:17-19) 

Now, I'll be the first to admit that Paul used very long, often convoluted sentences, which become even more so, when translated into English.  When I typed that sentence, my computer also sent me the message that the sentence was too long to be effective and might be hard to follow.  It suggested, rewording it and splitting it into two sentences. So let's do that. Did you hear the wonderful phrase there "with the eyes of your heart enlightened"?   That sounds to me like "open hearts" - hearts that grasp the immensity of the glorious way of life that God has for us. Hearts that embrace the utter extravagance of God's work in us, in all those who trust God, in all those who are open or seek to be open to God's incredible boundless love and mercy.

It is all too true that we sometimes do not recognize God's activity in our lives or in the lives of others. We cannot see Jesus as the disciples did.  We cannot be in his physical presence, and for this reason some people think that God is no longer active in the lives of humans.  Some of you may remember a theological debate back in the early 1960's.  The stark cover of Time magazine - emblazoned with the words "God is Dead" manifested it most clearly.  I believe it was the first cover of Time to have only words on it - no pictures.

The disciples knew that Jesus may have gone away physically, but he was still with them.  This sense of God's presence gave them a great feeling of confidence and boldness.  They didn't really know what the future held, but they were convinced that they still had a relationship with the one who held the future.

I love the little story of a boy flying his kite.  He has let all of his string out and the kite is flying so high it can't be seen.  A man walks by and looks up in the air trying to spot the kite.  He can't see it and he asks the boy, "How do you know the kite is up there?"   The boy smiles and says, "I can feel it tugging on my string."  We can still feel Jesus tugging on the strings of our lives.  We may not be able to see him but we are still linked to him.  With the eyes of our hearts enlightened, with open hearts, we can know that Christ's presence with us and yearn for others to know that presence also.

Jesus' followers did not always understand what Jesus taught them.  His death and resurrection especially required them to think outside of the box - to look at reality with new possibilities.  Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus "opened their minds to understand the scriptures."   He taught them what the prophets had said and how his death and resurrection could be understood. We can all read the words that are on the page.  We have a choice of several different translations that may help make the words easier to understand.  Some people prefer the King James Bible for its poetry and tradition.  Others prefer the New Revised Standard or another more modern reading for its ability to draw upon more recent discoveries of ancient manuscripts and other scholarship.  Still others prefer a paraphrase version like The Message that speaks in colloquialisms in an effort to be more easily understood.  

Learning about the history and the customs of Biblical times often helps the Scripture become more meaningful. It is some of this scholarship and study that have brought faith-filled Christians to have different discernment of how to understand certain passages of Scripture.  For example, an obvious one in this congregation is to look at the passage that says, "women should remain silent in the churches." (I Cor. 15:34)  Almost every week in this congregation, it is a woman who offers the teaching and interpretation of the Scripture.  In other churches a woman pastor would be forbidden.  Discussion of this difference can become passionate and operates from differences in basic assumptions about the source and authority of Scripture.

Jesus opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scripture as he taught them.  They were in turn sent out to teach others.  Today, we too, can be gifted with open minds so that we can follow Jesus' teachings as we are continually led by the Holy Spirit to grow in interpretation and understanding.

Jesus' first followers were Jews who knew better than to associate with Gentiles.  But when Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus and elsewhere, he writes not only to people who were Jews but also to Gentiles - to people originally excluded.  Open minds had been required by the earliest believers to even begin to understand that God's grace was for everyone - not just for the Jews.

We are to be people with open hearts, and open minds, but that is not enough unless our doors are also open.  After opening their minds to understand, Jesus helps them to understand that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."  He tells them that they are witnesses to these things. Throughout his time with his followers, Jesus gave them three essential commands.  First, "follow me" when he called them to a life of discipleship.  Then as they learned more, and as he prepared to leave them he summarized all that in his greatest commandment to "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor and love each other, too." 

Finally, his last commandment to them, and us, was,   "Be my witnesses." "Be my witnesses" not only here in Jerusalem.  Not only in your homes, but also in places where it is less comfortable.  Be my witnesses "in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Be my witnesses in Providence, and Boston, and Washington.   Be my witnesses in London, in Moscow, in Baghdad.  Be my witnesses in the city, the country, slums, hospitals, prisons, offices, stores and schools.  Be my witnesses everywhere and in every way. To me, that means living our lives every minute of every day in ways that show God's love in the way we treat other people, in the way we listen and speak, in our use of possessions, in all of our relationships.  It means far more than talking to people about God; it means letting Christ show through in our lives.  It means welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, comforting the afflicted and sometimes afflicting the comfortable.

Being Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth means having open doors that go with our open hearts and open minds.  In all this, we have the promise of God's great works being done in and through us.  We are not alone. Thanks be to God.

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North Kingstown UMC

May 25, 2003- 6^th Sunday of Easter

Text: I John 5:1-6

*John 15:9-17

Title: "A Deeper Kind of Friend"

Thirteen years ago, I went to a meeting where I had previously only met a couple of people. Afterwards, one of the women suggested that we go out for a cup of coffee. Three hours later we were still talking. We were sharing stories about growing up and families and a host of other topics. It felt like having a reunion with an old friend after several years and catching up on everything that had been happening. Thus began a very precious friendship.

During the thirteen years we have supported each other as our children went through adolescence and became young adults. We have been together during family crises, and many celebrations. We have prayed together and faced serious health problems. We have laughed together, cried together, and yes, we’ve even gotten angry with each other. All the little and great things that make a relationship a friendship and keep a friend for life.

Friendship must surely be one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It is what God wants for us. In today’s Gospel reading, we see that God not only wants friendships for us, but also with us. "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father." (15:15)

Jesus is saying that his disciples know him. They know whom he eats with. They know the people with whom he has had disagreements. They know what makes him angry and that his mercy is shown in the most unusual places. They have heard his parables. They have seen the healing miracles. He taught them how to pray and they assisted when he served thousands of people with nothing more than a picnic lunch.

That’s how it is with friends. They share what is most important with one another. Jesus shared many things with his disciples. He taught them about and showed them in action his close relationship with God, whom he called "Father." Jesus understood and knew his Father intimately and taught his disciples everything that he had learned from God.

Earlier we also see that Jesus knew the hearts of his disciples. He knew when two of them were arguing about which of them would have the place of honor in his kingdom. He knew that one of his closest friends would betray him. He knew that another would deny knowing him and that the rest of them would abandon him. Yet, he still called them his friends.

He called them friends and he commanded them to love one another. Normally we would not expect one friend to command another to do something – that would be crossing the boundaries of what is acceptable and expected in friendship. However, Jesus is the one who has chosen to change the relationship from master and servant, to friend. As Lord he wants them to understand that they have not chosen him, he has chosen them. He has changed the relationship to friendship because he has shared so much about God, and because he has also appointed them to share in the important work that he has done. In fact, he has already told them that he is leaving this work to them – in their charge.

In various other parables and from our own experience, we know that a servant, or an employee may or may not follow through on something if the master, or the employer, is not present and shows no sign of returning in the near future. We know that unless there is a strong personal commitment to what needs to be done, it will not be done once the immediate reward of payment is removed. Even the promise of payment cannot inspire the passion and commitment needed for the work of Christ.

Think for a moment of the work that Mother Theresa did for so long among the poor and ill in Calcutta. There is not enough money to entice most of us to do that kind of work; yet she did it – not seeking monetary rewards, or recognition. She did it out of love for Christ. She did this work as a friend of Christ carrying on his work of showing love to her brothers and sisters in the most extreme need.

"The leader calls his followers together. The situation looks grim; their hour is upon them. But the leader proclaims that all who follow him will be counted as his brothers; their status will forever change." This sounds like a paraphrase from today’s Gospel, but it is actually a description of the famous "St. Crispin’s Day" speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V. Henry and the remains of his army are seemingly trapped by the French. The inevitable defeat will come the next day. But Henry refuses to surrender, choosing instead to inspire his army. Both Shakespeare’s Henry and John’s Jesus claim that the experience that will be faced by their followers will change their relationship.

We know the reality of that in our own lives. We have been forever changed by the events of 9-11. I have been changed by my experience of responding as a chaplain to the Station Nightclub Fire. This week when I met with others who responded, there was a connection between us that had not existed before and would not exist outside of that experience. Those who have served in the military and particularly in combat situations have been bound together in a way that is not readily understood by those of us who have not experienced that kind of camaraderie and inter-dependence. My step-son is currently in Baghdad. His comment to me recently was, "No one can understand unless they are there." When a soldier, police officer or firefighter dies, the impact is felt far beyond the immediate community.

Jesus’ followers would be forever changed because of their relationship with him and what they would experience together. They would become friends of each other and of Jesus in a way that goes far beyond the meaning we generally attribute to the word "friend."

In much of our culture, friendships are evaluated in terms of their content – friends at work, different friends at church, in the neighborhood, on the sport field, or at our children’s school. In a society where many people move frequently, friendships are often thought of as a temporary arrangement. We don’t expect friendships to make real demands on us, and avoid those that do because we already have enough demands in our lives. We ignore the reality that strong, long-lasting, life-giving friendships are ones that require vulnerability, hard work and willingness for mutual sharing.

These are some of the qualities that Jesus showed in his life and ministry. These are the qualities that Jesus expected from those whom he called "friend" – even though he knew that some of them would not live up to these.

Literally, Jesus calls the disciples his "lovers" attaching the claim of friendship to the overarching theme of love. He uses both the words "phileo" and "agapao" to talk about love and about his followers. I realize that in our culture the word "lover" also has its own connotations and we must be careful not to allow that to obscure the meaning of the text. Nevertheless, there is a passion here. This is not the friendship that sits beside each other rooting for the children’s soccer game. This is not the friendship that says, "Hi, how are you," and keeps moving. This is a friendship that requires deep love for Christ and for each other.

Jesus deeply loves his followers. God deeply loves Jesus. The disciples are to follow the commands of their "lover", of Jesus, so that they may stay in God’s love and love each other. This command to "love one another" is not a return to rules and regulations. It is a statement of reality. Jesus is simply informing us of one of the natural laws of the universe: If you wish to remain in a love relationship with God and Jesus, you must obey this commandment – love other people. If you refuse to do that, you have decided to remove yourself from the relationship of love with God.

It is not easy to love each other. It is not easy to love those whom we may not even like, but the reality remains that loving God involves loving others. Kathleen Norris in her book Dakota – A Spiritual Geography, describes life in the plains and small towns of the Dakotas. At one point she compares and contrasts it with the experience of a Benedictine monastery that she reminds the reader is cohesive; "it is not a schismatic society that survives by expelling those who don’t fit into a mold."

Part of the way that this is accomplished is by the daily reading and interpretation of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which provides definition of certain agreed upon values that make for community. By the way, she says that the small-town minister who is expected to fill that role by reminding people to love one another, is usually less effective.

"Benedict was well aware that, as he put it, `thorns of contention are likely to spring up’ in communal living and he recommends as a remedy reciting the Lord’s Prayer at both morning and evening office each day. `Thus warned by the pledge they make to one another in the very words of this prayer: Forgive us as we forgive" he writes, the monks may `cleanse themselves of this kind of vice.’"

She writes that this seems to work. One monk told her "When someone in the community is driving me up the wall, we are still in church together four times a day. And that begins to make a difference. It takes the edge off."

I think this is one model of the kind of friendship Jesus is speaking about when he tells his followers – then and now – that we did not choose him, but he chose us to be his friends. That he has appointed us to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. That he has given us these commands so that we may love one another. Not a sloppy, "I’m okay, you’re okay" kind of love. Not a sloppy "whatever you do is okay" kind of love. But an intentional love that truly cares for the well-being of the other, that takes seriously the reality that we are partners on a journey that has eternal consequences.

We cannot separate this passion of love from the other passion that is facing Jesus and his followers: the passion of Jesus’ suffering. "Here is where friendship starts to make demands. Real love and real suffering are forever intertwined. … When suffering is truly shared, love will be there."

"As part of an assignment for a doctoral thesis, a college student spent a year with a group of Navajo Indians on a reservation in the Southwest. As he did his research he lived with one family, sleeping in their hut, eating their food, working with them, and generally living the life of a twentieth-century Indian. The old grandmother of the family spoke no English at all, yet a very close friendship formed between the two. They spent a great deal of time sharing a friendship that was meaningful to each, yet unexplainable to anyone else. In spite of the language difference, they shared a common language of love and understood each other. Over the months he learned a few phrases of Navajo, and she picked up a little of the English language.

"When it was time for him to return to the campus and write his thesis, the tribe held a going-away celebration. It was marked by sadness since the young man had become close to the whole village and would miss him. As he prepared to get up into the pickup truck and leave, the old grandmother came to tell him good-by. With tears streaming from her eyes, she placed her hands, one either side of his face, looked directly into his eyes and said, `I like me best when I’m with you.’

"Isn’t that the way we feel in the presence of Jesus? He brings out the best in us. We learn to see ourselves as worthy and valuable when we are in His presence. The hurts, the cares, the disappointments of our lives are behind us when we look in His eyes and realize the depth of His love. Our self-esteem no longer depends on what we have done or failed to do; it depends only on the value that He places on us. To be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (to be his friend) is to generate in other people the Indian grandmother’s simple statement: `I like me best when I’m with you.’"

Prayer:

Great Lord and friend of all, we confess that the love you have shared with us we have only half-heartedly shared with others. Because we are quick to offer criticism, we are awkward in offering praise. Because we are eager to share our opinions, we are slow to discern your potential. Because of the demands we place on ourselves, we have forgotten your command to love one another. Bless us with your generous Spirit so that we may love one another as you have loved us, through life and death to newness of life. Through Christ we pray. Amen.

Wolves are predators and their instinct is to attack the weakest, frailest member of the flock. Although the four-footed wolf is not a danger for us, there are still predators who try to attack the weakest, frailest of our community. There are those who try to lure our children into trying drugs. There are corporations marketing new products that cause damage to our bodies. There are wolves who make money, unconcerned about the effect their actions have on the environment or on the lives of others.

When Jesus talks about the great difference between the good shepherd and a hireling, he is reminding us that we must not leave the most vulnerable in our society to fend for themselves. On this day, which is celebrated as Mother’s Day or the Festival of the Christian Home, we remember that we have a responsibility to care for, to educate, and to protect the children among us. It is not enough to know their names or to dress them up so that they look cute. It is not enough to have our children come up front on a Sunday morning so that I can tell them a story, or so that we can hear their thoughts. When we baptize a child we promise to surround the child and parents with a community of love and forgiveness so that they may grow in their trust of God. We promise to pray for them so that they may become true disciples of Jesus and walk in his way. We are promising not to "outsource" this job to others, not to walk away, but to be ever vigilant watching for the wolves.

Unfortunately, there have been hirelings even within the church. We know all to well of the reports of abuse that have rocked churches and our society. We have heard too much about those who have cared more for themselves than for those whom they were promising to protect. Some of us may have first-hand knowledge of some of those individuals, who have acted as hirelings; people who we may have expected or believed to be shepherds to the flock of God but in the moment of truth have broken our hearts and abandoned the sheep. It is as people charged to help the good shepherd that we have been developing policies and procedures to help insure that our church is a safe place for all of God’s children.

Jesus did not turn responsibility for caring for the children or sheep of the flock over to a hireling. He did not "outsource" the job. He has entrusted it to us, to his sheep, to people who know and have experienced the care of the Good Shepherd. For this reason we are called also to be shepherds to God’s people.

As followers of the Good Shepherd, sheep active in word and deed, we are to help create a safe place for others. By nature, sheep are timid animals. If left to themselves they will work their way into a frenzy making it impossible for them to eat or rest properly. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is the one who is able to calm our fears. The rod and the staff that the shepherd used were great tools for driving off predators and rescuing sheep that were caught in the brambles of a bush. They truly were a source of comfort for the herd.

In the midst of our daily lives there are many things which can cause concern or fear for us. When we dwell on these issues it may only cause us to become more frightened or uneasy. It is then that we can learn from the shepherd who always knew where he was leading the flock. He had explored the territory beforehand, knowing where the poisonous plants were and where to find the best sources of clean water.

Because Jesus is our Shepherd, we do not need to be afraid of the future. Jesus has been there. He has lived this life. For three years he traveled preaching, and teaching, never knowing where he would lay his head at night. He didn’t have a large bank account or an unlimited source of interest to draw from. There were times when he was so tired, that he didn’t think he could put one foot in front of the other. There were times when his friends disagreed with him, and even times when they said that they didn’t know him, or ran off and left him alone. He knew what it was like to face death, and he even felt abandoned by God. We never need to feel as if we are alone, because Jesus has been there and is with us in whatever we face.

Because of this we can also stand with our brothers and sisters as they face the uncertain future. We can walk beside them knowing that they are not walking alone, and that we are not walking alone. One of the many ways we do this is through the shepherding program of our church, where we write notes on the cards in our pews or fill out the yellow prayer requests and reach out to let others know that we are walking with them and praying for them.

Jesus said that he knows his sheep and they know him. He also said that there are other sheep, not currently in the flock. He will bring them in so that they will listen to his voice and follow him. The greatest thing we can do for another person is to help him or her to come to know the Good Shepherd of the Psalm, the God who walks with us and leads us through the dark valleys and the frightening places. There is nothing greater than helping someone else to know the Good Shepherd who understands our fears and knows our sorrows, and knows each one of us intimately as a precious much loved child. There are many people who are still seeking this love, who don’t even know of its existence. The Good Shepherd has not "outsourced" this work, he has entrusted it to us. It is up to us in our daily lives to live as those who know the shepherd. It is up to use to be sheep who are active in word and deed, helping to lead other lost sheep into the flock where they too, can know the Shepherd.

Prayer of the Church for all God’s Sheep (Seasons of the Spirit, May 11, 2003)

On this day, loving God,

we think of you as a shepherd who cares for all the sheep,

big and tall, short and small,

the ones who behave and the ones who don't,

those who wander off and those who stay close by.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all.

We think of mothers:

those who gave us birth,

those who have raised us and care for us still,

for 'mother-hearted women' who make us feel special,

for aunts and grandmothers and neighbors and friends,

and all of the women who touch our lives.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all.

We think, too, of those who are sorrowing today:

those who are missing their mothers or their children,

those who mourn their dead,

those who worry and wonder,

those who dream dreams that never come true.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all.

On this day, loving God, we think of families.

In the Bible you remind us that

families come in all shapes and sizes -

couples with no children,

foster families and adoptive families,

extended families and birth families,

single people and groups of people who call themselves family -

all sharing their lives together.

Loving God,

you care for us all.

We thank you

for all of the groups of people to which we belong:

families at home and far away,

families at school and work and church.

We think of those who are separated from their families,

by distances of many types and sizes.

Help all people to feel a part of your family.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all.

On this day, loving God, we think of our homes:

houses and shelters,

cabins and apartments,

mobile homes and tents,

beaches and alleys,

hospitals and prisons -

all of those places where your people live.

We think, too, of those who are without a place

they can call home,

and those who are confined to their homes.

Move us to deeds of love

that can make any place a home.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all.

Through your loving child, Jesus,

you teach us that we are all brothers and sisters of one human family,

at home on this one, fragile planet.

Help us to love one another,

to honor our elders and our children,

and in so doing, to honor you, our God,

who like a mother, tends and cares for us.

Loving shepherd,

you care for us all. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter - May 4, 2003

Text: Acts 3:12-19

I John 3:1-7

Luke 24:36b-48

Title: Witness to Hope

A man who is paralyzed is healed. Those who observed were amazed, somewhat confused and perhaps even a little suspicious. This is what happened just prior to the passage we read this morning from the Acts of the Apostles. A man was in need and Peter responded. As he had every day for most of his life, the man lay by the gate of the Temple begging for money from the people who were going into the temple. The man begged Peter and John to give him something. They had no money but still they gave him what they had. They gave him the healing of his affliction. They did not give him what he wanted, what he asked for. Instead they gave him something far greater. They gave him what he needed.

Those in the temple saw and recognized the man who was now walking and jumping and praising God. They recognized him as the beggar who had sat by the gate and they were surprised and amazed. They went running to Peter who responded by delivering a sermon and witnessing to the work of God. Peter understood that the power to heal was not his, but rather the power of God working through him.

Peter explained to the crowd about Jesus; about his life, his death, and especially about his resurrection. He wanted the crowd to understand that even though Jesus had been crucified because of the actions of the Jewish authorities and the shouts of the easily swayed crowd, still God offers humanity a second chance, an opportunity to change and to unite with God. It was important that they understand that despite the mistakes and sins of humanity, hope still remains present.

No one knew that better than Peter. Called from his business of fishing, Peter had spent three years with Jesus. He had gone everywhere with him. Peter had been Jesus’ right hand man - until that fateful night when Jesus had been arrested. Peter, afraid for his own safety, denied three times that he even knew who Jesus was. And yet, after Jesus had risen from the dead, he had recommissioned Peter. He had told Peter and the others to go and preach the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all nations. He had reminded Peter and the others that they were witnesses to all the things that Jesus had taught, to all the healing he had done, and also witnesses to his resurrection.

Peter spoke about repentance and forgiveness with first hand experience. When he witnessed to hope, he knew what he was talking about and he wanted others to know.

Who are God’s witnesses today? While we haven’t seen Jesus resurrected, we believe that he is, and that we are the people he has chosen to witness to what we believe.

Let us hear from a few of Jesus’ witnesses:

I'm a friend of Jesus. My name is Peter. I remember mending my nets one day when I became aware of him standing beside us. I don't know how long he was standing there watching us. When he realized we saw he was standing there, he said, 'Come with me and I'll teach you to catch people instead!' And he did. Hundreds! Teaching them, healing them, growing with them, loving them. How many lives did we change? It's still going on. Jesus offers us a new way of living, a new path where love will light up the world. I've witnessed it; believe me!

(Unnamed woman):

I'm a friend of Jesus. I remember being dragged into a crowd of people who were accusing me of all sorts of things and wanted to throw stones at me. Jesus listened for a while, looked at me, looked at the crowd and said, 'Whoever is without sin, let them be the first to throw the stone.' They all left. Jesus looked around him and asked, 'Is there nobody left to accuse you? '

'No!' I said.

'Then neither do I,' he said. 'Go and sin no more.'

Jesus offers forgiveness and hope. I've witnessed it; believe me!

I'm a friend of Jesus. I had been sick for more than 12 years until I touched Jesus' cloak. Right away, I knew something was different. I could walk normally without fear of being laughed at. I felt proud again. But just then, Jesus swung 'round, wanting to know who had touched his clothing. In scared, stuttering speech, I admitted it was me. He looked at me deeply and a smile broke out on his face. He said, 'My daughter, your faith has made you well.’ Jesus healed all my brokenness with love. I've witnessed it; believe me!

I'm a friend of Jesus. My name is Zacchaeus. I used to be a tax collector and people did not like me very much. They used to call me all sorts of names. They assumed that those of us who were tax collectors were cheats - good-for- nothings - although most of us were just doing our jobs. One day, Jesus came to town. I couldn't see over the heads of the people in the crowd, so I climbed up in a tree for a better view. I kind of thought I could hide up there, too. But Jesus came over, stood under the tree, called me by name, and said he wanted to come to my house for a meal. My whole life changed that day. I used to feel shriveled up in shame, but Jesus made me feel tall as could be. I've witnessed it; believe me!

My name could be (select a few from the congregation), or any other name here. I'm a friend of Jesus. I have coped with a whole lot of different things in my life. I have celebrated, I have cried, I have laughed, I have doubted. But through it all, somehow, I know love has followed me, and forgiveness has freed me. Jesus has said to me again and again, 'I love you, I love you, I love you.' Jesus offers love to everyone. I've witnessed it; believe me!

In so many ways we have witnessed Jesus’ love. We were not there on that night when Jesus appeared to his disciples. But we are witnesses nevertheless and we are charged with the responsibility and the privilege of passing on the truth for everyone today.

In Luke’s account when Jesus appeared to his disciples he asked for food. The two people on the Road to Emmaus recognized him the in the breaking of the bread. During his life, table fellowship was extremely important to Jesus. He shared a table with many people and crossed many barriers - both cultural and religious - in doing so. He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and social outcasts. He invited the least worthy as well as the most loyal. He offered hope to everyone and we are witnesses to that hope.

Like Peter, and Zacchaeus and so many other unnamed men, women, and children in the Bible we are witnesses. A witness is someone who sees an event and tells what happens. Through our words, our actions, and our lives, let us witness to the truth we know - to the love of God and the hope of today, tomorrow and eternity.

God, we are your witnesses,

passing on the truth for everyone today.

Like all the other disciples:

we have an amazing and unbelievable story to tell.

Help us pass on the story and be your witnesses today. Amen.

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North Kingstown UMC

Second Sunday of Easter – April 27, 2003

Text: Acts 4:32-35

Psalm 133

I John 1:1-2:2

John 20:19-31

Title: Doors and Doubts

Some years ago a good friend of mine was involved in an automobile accident on a very cold icy night. As she waited for the tow trucks to arrive, the police officer suggested that she might want to wait inside the police cruiser. For awhile she enjoyed the warmth and feeling of relative safety. Soon, however, she decided she needed to get out of the car. It was then that she discovered that the back door of a police cruiser cannot generally be opened from the back seat. Still reacting to the close call from the accident, she panicked and became desperate to get out of the cruiser. She managed to climb over the back of the front seat, squeezing through the small opening between the grated doors that separated the front and back. Looking back, she thinks that her acrobatics must have looked quite funny, but, at the time, she wasn’t laughing. Fear and desperation ruled her actions.

Fear and desperation ruled the actions of the disciples shortly following Jesus’ death. Peter and John had reported that Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb. Mary Magdalene claimed to have seen and talked with Jesus. But that couldn’t be – could it? Someone would be blamed for the disappearance of his body, and it would probably be them. They gathered together inside a house and locked the doors trying to ensure their safety.

Locked doors may help us feel safe, but if we don’t control the lock they may also imprison us within a particular space. They separate us from other people – and in some cases, locked doors on our hearts may separate us from God. In John’s gospel, however, we see that Jesus comes to us in the midst of our locked doors regardless of why the door is locked.

Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." This was a fairly conventional greeting for the time, but in this context it said so much more. Jesus’ followers might have expected to be rebuked for deserting Jesus during his hour of need. They might have expected a lecture on not having paid attention to what he had taught them, otherwise perhaps they would have understood him when he told them plainly that he would be killed and would rise on the third day. But these things didn’t happen. Jesus came among them and instead of chastisement or rebuke, he offered them peace. As he had said to them on their last night together, "Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

This was no ordinary greeting of peace. This was not the ordinary "Hi, how are you?" that we say so glibly as we rush quickly in the opposite direction, not wanting or waiting for an answer. Some years ago, following a worship service, I walked into the office of the pastor with whom I was working at that time. As I entered, I asked, "How are you?" Taking my question for the customary greeting, he replied, "I’m fine, What can I do for you?" I assured him that I didn’t want anything, and had come specifically to ask him how he was doing. He breathed a deep sigh, pushed back his chair and talked for half an hour or more responding to what had been a sincere concern for his well being.

Jesus didn’t offer the customary greeting of peace. He offered a gift that far surpassed anything the disciples could imagine. He offered the key to unlocking the doors that symbolized their imprisonment to fear and uncertainty. He offered the key to a new radical understanding of life and a freedom to live without the locks and closed doors that they had thought so necessary for safety.

"Peace, be with you!" Death may have appeared to win the battle, but God’s love won the ultimate victory! Look at me. I am not a ghost. I am real. He showed them his hands and his side. This is the peace, the comfort upon which we depend when a loved one has died. This is the peace, the comfort, the strength that we hold tightly to when someone is facing serious illness and potential death or when we ourselves are in that situation. This is the rock, the gift, the promise whenever we are afraid. This is the key that unlocks the door that imprisons us deep within ourselves.

The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. In the midst of the great trials of life, when we recognize the risen Christ present with us, we too find a peace that the world cannot give nor explain – a peace that can come only from the presence of Christ with us. We do not experience the physical presence of Jesus coming to us and standing before us. But we can experience his very real presence with us in many ways – through the presence of a friend, a phone call, a note, the prayers of others or our own prayers. The risen Christ comes to us despite the doors that we have locked so tightly.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Another clear message of love and power; of something out of the ordinary. Your sins are forgiven. I have forgiven you for running out on me. I have forgiven you for not understanding what I tried to teach you. I have forgiven you for locking yourself behind these doors and being afraid. But now, you do not need to be afraid any more. I have broken the bonds of everything that has bound you. I have taken away the power of sin to control you. No longer will feelings of inadequacy or lack of self-confidence control you.

In John’s version of a Pentecost experience, Jesus breathed on them and told them to "Receive the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit – the source of empowerment given to us by the Risen Christ. The Holy Spirit will give you the words you need, the power you need, the confidence and courage you need in order to face what is necessary. I will be with you wherever you go. In the Acts of the Apostles we read about times when the disciples were arrested and forced to defend their faith and themselves. In those cases we read words like, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them:"

Instead of firing the disciples and hiring a new group of people to carry on his work, the Risen Christ reaffirmed and sent out the very ones who had proven so unreliable under pressure. He sent out the very ones who had denied him either through words or actions, the same ones who doubted, who questioned, who were afraid. It doesn’t matter whether we think we are able to handle the ministry that God has for us; it is not our ability, but God’s that matters. In fact, I am sometimes concerned when a person feels extremely confident in his or her abilities. It is good to have an accurate assessment of our own skills and abilities. However, when we are living as disciples of Jesus Christ, when we are seeking to be faithful to his call, when we are responding to the work he has for us to do, it is far better to know that these skills and abilities are gifts and graces given to us by God. It is far better to know that the Holy Spirit will fill us and empower us to do that to which we have been called.

The rest of the Gospel lesson tells us of another appearance of Jesus a week later. The doors are still locked. It appears that it takes more than one experience of the Risen Christ to really change the lives of the disciples. We probably shouldn’t be surprised though. Remember that throughout Jesus’ life, he repeatedly went off by himself to be in prayer, to communicate with God. Jesus, God’s Son, God incarnate, needed to be intentional about maintaining close communication with God. It should come as no surprise to us that a one time commitment to Jesus is not enough to carry us through all of our life. Following Jesus is a way of life, an everyday decision, empowered by the Holy Spirit, but still, one that requires our time, energy, desire and will. It would be awhile yet, before the disciples would be standing out on the street corner preaching and witnessing. There would be more experiences of the presence of the Risen Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as they learned what it truly meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to them, once again, despite the locked doors. He came and stood among them and said, yet again, "Peace, be with you!" Present with them this time was a disciple who had been missing at the previous meeting. Thomas has been called the "Doubter." Thomas refused to believe his friends until he could see the nail marks in his hands and the hole the spear had made in Jesus’ side. Let me say, that I believe that characterizing Thomas as the doubter is unfair, but I’m grateful for his doubts. Thomas is the model for us of honest doubt. Thomas was willing to ask the questions and willing to express what he needed in order to believe the incredible event.

Jesus offered to Thomas the very proof that he required. Interestingly, it is the same proof he gave to the other disciples when he appeared to them a week earlier. He showed them his hands and side, and now offered the same to Thomas. "Peace be with you!" Kristen Bargeron Grant, the pastor of Cedar United Methodist Church in Ham Lake, Minnesota describes this part of the Gospel account in this way: "’Peace be with you, for there is more to this world than meets the eye.’" She points out that Jesus invites "Thomas and all who will come after him, to believe the truth that is too good to be true." Because of this, "we can break free of our demands to touch and to see and trust the witness of the apostles."

Indeed, speaking of and for us, Jesus says, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Once convinced, Thomas uttered probably the greatest affirmation of faith found in the Bible. With Thomas, we can proclaim, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus never asks us to pretend to believe. Jesus never tells us we shouldn’t ask the tough questions. One of my favorite biblical characters is the man who came to Jesus asking him to heal his son. Jesus said to the father, "’Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, `I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’" (Mark 9:23-24) The risen Christ comes to us in spite of the locked doors of our doubt and opens the doors leading us from doubt to faith.

"Peace be with you!" Jesus has overcome death. He has released us from bondage to our sins. He has promised us that there is more to life than what we can see and imagine. Jesus came to the disciples and comes to us through the locked doors of our lives. He comes to us despite the prisons we set up for ourselves. He promises to walk with us through the doorways from doubt to faith, from sorrow to joy, from despair to peace, and from death to life.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Easter - April 20, 2003

Text: John 20:1-18

Title: "While it was still dark"

John begins the Easter story with the words, "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark..... John tells how Mary Magdalene came - not only in the physical darkness of very early morning, but especially in the emotional darkness of the previous two days. Jesus, her beloved teacher and friend had been killed. With him, Mary’s hope had died.

We know how dark our hearts can be when someone we love has died. The dark days of the heart are real. A man has been told that with the tight economy, his employer can no longer afford to keep him on, and he is worried about how to feed his family. A woman has been told that there is no more treatment available for her cancer. Someone else has heard a spouse say, "I don’t love you anymore, I want a divorce." The dark days of the heart are real. At those times we don’t know where to turn, how to keep going. It takes a monumental effort to even put one foot in front of the other. That must have been how it was for Mary Magdalene that morning. She trudged up the hill, her feet heavy, her heart even heavier. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse than they were - and then - she discovered that the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid was empty. Someone had stolen his body - there was no other possible explanation.

As heavy as the darkness had felt before, now it was heavier still. there was a lot of running back and forth. Mary ran to find Simon Peter and John to tell them that Jesus body was missing. They all ran back to the tomb to check it out. This is still what we disciples of Jesus do when he is missing. We run around a lot.

The disciples returned to their homes leaving Mary behind. Suddenly everything just became too much for Mary and she broke down in tears by the door of the empty tomb; just as we do when we just can’t put one foot in front of the other anymore, when our defenses have been shattered and there is nothing left to do but cry. As she wept she bent over to look into the tomb and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. Mary didn’t know who they were, but thought perhaps they might be able to help so she told them, "They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him."

Then a man whom she assumed to be the gardener asked her why she was weeping. Mary wanted only to locate Jesus’ body and she asked the gardener to tell her where his body was so that she could take it and put it someplace safe. As heartbroken as she was by Jesus’ death, she would find a way to deal with it, if she could just have his body back where it belonged. In the dark days of life, we, too, bargain to try to make things work out. "Please let me keep my job, I’ll work harder. I’ll even take a cut in pay." "Please, Doctor, there must be something else that you can do." "You don’t mean it. Of course you still love me, you’re going through a mid-life crisis."

The gardener, who is really the risen Christ, calls her by name. "Mary." How precious our name sounds when spoken in the dark by one who cares. It may be a phone call at just the right moment, or a card bearing a message of concern, it may be a neighbor or friend bringing a warm meal, but something happens and suddenly the gardener is the risen Christ and we are touched by holiness and surrounded by grace and love.

Mary turned to him, recognized him, and said, "Rabbouni" which means "teacher." Mary does what any of us would do in that moment, she reaches out to embrace Jesus. She doesn’t know how it happened, but suddenly everything is all right. The last two days have been nothing more than a horrible nightmare. Jesus is back and life can go back to what it was before and even better.

"The newest report shows that sales have just picked up dramatically, you can keep your job and we’ll even give you a raise." "I don’t understand it, but your latest x-rays show that the cancer is completely gone." "I must have been out of my mind. Of course I love you. I’ll always love you. I don’t ever want to be away from you again."

But the story doesn’t go quite that way. As Mary reaches out for a long loving tearful hug, Jesus says, "Do not hold onto me." It’s not going to be the way Mary wants it to be. Although she never anticipated resurrection - it happened, but she won’t be able to write the rest of the script either. That’s what happens with Easter and Easter experiences. No one is ever really ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen. Easter is the last thing we are expecting. It is about more hope than we can handle. No one ever knew exactly what to expect of Jesus and this time will be no exception.

Following Jesus is a never-ending process of discovering that the script isn’t ours for the writing. The story line changes when we least expect it and goes in directions we could never have anticipated. We cannot control Jesus. We cannot contain him in a box - anymore than death could hold him in a tomb.

Craig Barnes, the pastor of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. wrote an Easter sermon which includes some of the ideas I’ve been sharing with you. He writes, "What we long for, what we miss and beg God to give back is dead. Easter doesn’t change that. So we cannot cling to the hope that Jesus will take us back to the way it was. The way out of the darkness is only by moving ahead. And the only person who can lead the way is the Savior. But not the old Rabbouni, we once knew, which is only one more thing that has to be left behind. Until we discover a new vision of the Savior, a savior who has risen out of our disappointments, we’ll never understand Easter."

The question that Easter asks us is not "Do you believe in the resurrection?" but "Have you encountered a risen Christ?" Have you heard your name spoken by the one who loves you so much that he was willing to die on the cross for your life? Have you seen the Risen Christ in the gardeners of this life?

"We get the feeling that Mary was never the same after Easter. Neither is anyone who has learned that what matters is not that we be confident in our hold of Jesus, but confident in his hold of us. Seeing that, we are ready for anything."

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Palm/Passion Sunday Meditation, Sunday April 13, 2003

There's a majesty and a mystery to a parade. The crowd lines the sides of the road and clears the path ahead as they wait expectantly. A sea of faces that seem to lose their individuality, yet act together in anticipation. We may glue ourselves to the television set to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York or the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, California. People gather early looking for the best spots from which to view the parade.

Palm Sunday starts with the celebration of a parade - the joyful entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It was easy for the crowd to believe God was present then. Easy to believe that God was acting in wonderful ways bringing the Messiah into the city. It could only be a matter of time before their lives changed - before Rome was overthrown, before things got better.

They were right about one thing - their lives did change, but not in the way they anticipated. What a difference a few days made. Soon the crowd would be yelling, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" It was hard not to think about that this week as the news reports showed soldiers being welcomed in the streets of Baghdad and other cities. Quickly though the scenes changed to ones of looting, and anger and frustration. Rapidly questions were raised because the anticipated results were not immediate. There are vast differences here but a universality of human nature. With the notable exception of die hard Red Sox fans, we humans tend to be fickle in our loyalties. Fiercely loyal when things are going the way we want, and quick to question, condemn, and turn away when the going gets tough.

It can be like that with our faith too. The Palm Sunday story is one that would find faith easy to grasp - but the week changes so quickly, that we are soon facing the betrayal of Thursday night, the soldiers in the garden, and the cross of Friday.

Harry Emerson Fosdick, preaching during World War II, said, "It is not difficult to have faith in God on our Palm Sundays, when everything seems to be coming our way, when the crowds shout approval, and life, as it were, strews palm branches in our path. Almost anyone can believe in God then. But when life passes from Palm Sunday to Gethsemane, with dangerous duty looming, with a possible cross ahead, and with the heart crying, Let this cup pass! - then the test comes, whether our faith in God is of a kind fitted not simply for fair weather but for foul. ...

"Surely this raises a personal question in every life here. What kind of faith in God have we with which to meet what confronts us now - fair weather faith that only amid the flowers of Galilee or the applauding crowds of Palm Sunday can believe in him? That was not enough for Christ, nor is it enough for any life today.

"There are two kinds of faith in God. One says if - if all goes well, if life is hopeful, prosperous and happy, then I will believe in God; the other says though - though the forces of evil triumph, though everything goes wrong and Gethsemane comes and the cross looms, nevertheless, I will believe in God."

We have an advantage that the crowd in Jerusalem did not. We know the rest of the story. We know about resurrection. We know that no matter what happens in life, Jesus is still risen. But for this week, we walk through the time of sadness and sorrow, the time of questioning, the time of fear. During Holy Week we take this walk, at least in part, so that we remember. So that when we are in the midst of the most difficult times of life we remember that the story is not finished. There is resurrection around the corner. It may not take the form we would always choose, but if we hold tightly to our faith even though everything goes wrong and Gethsemane comes, still there is resurrection waiting around the corner.

Let us pray:

We praise you, O God, for your faithfulness through the ages. Through times of trial you accompany your people. Amid the clamor of noisy parades, you are in the excitement and laughter. When the gathering disperses and your people are lonely, your voice quiets their fears.

Be with us now when we face our trials. Let them not be so overpowering that we succumb to their force. Give us the strength to withstand the pressure, and courage to face boldly those times when our faith is tested.

Give us patience to sit with the lonely, those for whom crowds pose an unpleasant threat. If they seek comfort, open our arms to embrace them. If they need assurance, free our tongues from stammering, so that we can offer them words of confidence. Through times of trial, you do indeed accompany your people We sense your Spirit moving among us as we go forth to serve others in Christ’s name.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Lent 5 - April 6, 2003

Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm 51:1-12

*John 12:20-33

Title: We Want to See Jesus

You may have heard about the little boy who was working hard on a drawing and his daddy asked him what we was doing. The reply came back, "Drawing a picture of God." His daddy said, "You can’t do that, honey. Nobody knows what God looks like." But the little boy continued to draw. He looked at his picture with satisfaction and said very matter-of-factly, "They will in a few minutes."

The self-confidence of a child can be a wonderful thing. The little boy was confident that he could reveal God to other people, including his father. I believe it’s a universal longing, this desire to know God, to see Jesus.

In today’s Gospel reading some Greeks came to Philip one of Jesus’ disciples with the request, "We wish to see Jesus." They wanted to see, to talk with, the man about whom they had heard so much, the teacher who taught with such wisdom, the man who healed with a word or a touch. Greeks were famous for their search for wisdom, their love for new ideas, their skill at debating. Were they seeking Jesus because he was the newest attraction on the block? Was it curiosity or a deep yearning for something more?

There have been so many times lately when I have heard the request or plea to see Jesus, although not always in those words. There are usually other questions behind it, yearnings so deep, so intense that they are impossible to ignore. The desire to "see Jesus" often translates into, "What is God like? Does life have meaning? Who am I? Why did this happen?"

The plea to see Jesus came frequently in the midst of the tragedy at The Station Nightclub. Families pleading for answers, wanted to know where God was when this happened, why it happened, how God could let it happen. The plea came when I facilitated a training for SPRC committees for churches in our district as some of them struggled with how to be in ministry together. The yearning has come from residents in nursing homes wanting to know if life has any meaning when they are not able to be independent, when they need help with all of the daily tasks of living. The desire to see Jesus came from 60 young people at our confirmation retreat trying to figure out if faith is really important in their daily lives, if Christianity makes sense, if they can find the help they need to face their daily challenges. The plea came from my family when the doctors told us that once again they were unable to remove my brother’s tumor.

Over and over the question comes from individuals facing diagnoses of illnesses that are overwhelming, from those watching the life flow out of someone they love, from husbands and wives whose relationship has gone from loving to something destructive, from people who feel hurt or betrayed by someone they trusted. I believe that the stress level among most people is considerably higher than we realize because we have been affected by the events of September 11th and the months of questions about what would happen between the United States, Iraq, and other nations. That has all been heightened by the reality of being at war, by our fear for those we love who are or may be in harms way, our concern for all people in the military, our anguish over the danger to innocent persons, and the increased stress of our differences about the appropriateness and necessity of the war.

More than ever, we plead, "We want to see Jesus." We sang about it in our prayer response: "Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. To reach and out touch him and say that we love him. Open our ears Lord, and help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus."

We want a close personal relationship with God. We want to know that God is with us - that we are not alone. We want to know that there is a meaning to life that goes beyond what happens here on earth. We want a vision of faith; a vision of Jesus Christ, the God-man who offers meaning, hope and life.

Back in Jeremiah’s time people didn’t expect a personal relationship with God. The audacity of even thinking such a thing possible was incredible. There were rules to follow and there were expected consequences associated with not keeping the rules. During the time when the prophet Jeremiah spoke, the people of Israel had broken every rule in the book - and probably a few more. Jeremiah came to them with a vision of faith - the good news of a new covenant that God would establish with God’s people - a covenant that would change everything, a covenant that offered restoration and renewal, a covenant that would make the heart of their nation sing and its hope soar.

"Jeremiah teaches Israel that there is a faith that will carry them, as contrasted to a religion that they have to carry. His words about the new covenant are a wonderful illustration of the difference between law and grace, between works and faith. More important, Jeremiah is pointing to a faith that is personal. ... The day is coming when the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be the God of every person, personally known and experienced. What a joy it is to experience such relationship! Personal faith is the secret to religious vitality."

Jeremiah taught that a time would come that would go beyond the law, beyond being told what to do without understanding why. When children are little parents decide many things, and impose even more. We physically restrain a child by holding his or her hand or carrying to prevent the child from running out into the road. Presumably we quickly start to explain to them why going into the street is a dangerous thing so that a time comes when we no longer have to use physical restraint, or when we no longer have to be present to be sure that this rule is being followed. Those of us who are parents probably remember responding to a challenge from our children with, "Why, because I said so." Most of us heard those words from the lips of our parents and vowed we would never say them to our children. Ultimately, our dream is that our children will grow up to be independent, well developed caring responsible adults who enter into healthy life-giving relationships with other people.

I sometimes wonder, why, we are then so often content with nothing more than what amounts to a second grade education when it comes to our faith. We are content to teach our children that they are to do something because the Bible says so. We are content to live our lives not really knowing why we believe certain things about God, somehow afraid to take the risk of questioning the beliefs we have been taught, afraid that they might not stand up to our questioning. It’s important for us to know what the Bible says, but it is also important for us to know why the Bible says what it says. It is important for us to know what we mean when we say that something is the "will of God." It is important during times when things are going well to struggle with the questions of good and evil, of why bad things happen to good people, of where God is in the midst of tragedy.

When that phone call comes in the middle of the night, when a fire ends a life, when a spouse demands a divorce, when the doctor uses the word you most dread to hear there isn’t time to start combing the Bible for answers. There isn’t time to sit down and figure it all out. When your world is spinning out of control, you are left with the prayer, "I want to see Jesus." At that time, the question becomes, do you know where to look?

Do you know how to turn to God in prayer or do you feel like you have to introduce yourself before you can talk to God? Does it occur to you that a phone call to someone who cares may be a way of experiencing God’s presence when you most need it? Can you see Jesus in the response of others, in the innocence of a child, in the prayers of those who will help carry you into the presence of God, in the casserole dish, the note, the phone call, the green shoot breaking through the soil?

When we come to the Lord’s table we come expecting to see Jesus; expecting to experience his presence in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup, in the bread of life and the cup of salvation.

"One Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, `Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.’ The mother said, `Oh? Why is that?’ The little girl replied, `Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?’ The mother replied, `Yes, that’s true, honey.’ `And he also said that God lives in us? Is that true Mommy?’ Again the mother replied, `Yes." `Well,’ said the little girl. `if God is bigger than us and God lives in us, wouldn’t God show through?’"

Indeed, God should show through, so that one way that people may see Jesus is to look to us as a mirror reflecting Christ’s love and compassion, bringing Christ’s love and healing, and proclaiming the hope of reconciliation, restoration, and resurrection.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

March 30, 2003 – Fourth Sunday in Lent

Text: Numbers 21:4-9

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

Title: A Sign of Life

Each year as the snow melts and the ground thaws we look expectantly for the beginning of small green shoots coming out of the ground. We look for a sign of new life against the dead remains of last year’s plants. When that happens we start to look ahead, the dead branches seem somehow less dead as we wait hopefully for more signs of life. Barry Lang’s mother saw a sign of life in the midst of tragedy while she was watching the constant television coverage of the war. Because of the 24/7 coverage broadcast into homes throughout the world, she saw her injured son being hoisted onto the shoulder of another marine and carried to safety. I suspect that at that moment she saw more of life than of death, as she realized simultaneously not only that her son was injured, but also that he was alive and would be safe.

The Hebrew people on their long journey from Egypt to the Promised Land seemed to have difficulty seeing the signs of life. In the book of Numbers, there are six "Yes…. But" stories. The people say, "Yes, we know God takes care of us, but…." First they rejoiced in their freedom; then they complained that they were being chased and would be killed at the edge of the Sea. They praised God for saving them but starting complaining about the wilderness. They complained about lack of meat, lack of water, the people who lived in the wilderness, and in today’s reading they are even complaining that they are bored by the food which God is providing for them everyday. They complained against God and against Moses. Unchecked, their doubt, their lack of faith was poisoning their spirits and their relationship with each other.

Poisonous serpents appeared among them and many people died of their bite. They probably did not realize that the poison within their spirits was ultimately as deadly as the bite of the snakes. So many times we allow ourselves to be poisoned by our attitude toward what is happening around us. We become discouraged by the events of life and focus only on the negative. We see the places where we think God is not taking care of us the way we would like, and miss the many ways in which God’s gracious love is present. The poison seeps into our souls and becomes as deadly as the bite of the serpent.

The people then came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us." They had been through this before; they knew the routine. Confess their sins, repent of them, and God would make everything okay again. In this case, God’s response was slightly different than what they expected. God did not take away the serpents, just as so many times in our lives the horrible things are not taken away. Instead, God gave them a way to live with the serpents.

God told Moses to make a model of this poisonous serpent and place it on a pole, high enough so that people would have to look up to see it. When the snakes bit people, they were then to look at the bronze serpent and they would live. They were to look away from what it was that had hurt them and look up to the promise of God that they would be saved. A response of faith was required. They had to make the effort to take their attention off themselves and place it on the bronze serpent, on the symbol of the God-given antidote. Those who continued to reject the power and grace of God died of the poison that was flowing through their system. The choice was simple. They could accept the gift of faith and live or go their own way and die.

This same choice was what Paul told the people at Ephesus was available to them – and to us. The choice is between death and life, between going our own way or accepting the mercy of God. For the Hebrews in the wilderness, for the people to whom Paul wrote, and for us it is really God who has taken the initiative. It is God who has opened up new possibilities for living according to God’s purpose.

During Lent we have been looking at some of the covenants which God made with humanity. Throughout history God has made one covenant after another with humans, and each time we have walked away and tried to go our own way. God, however, has been faithful to each and every covenant. The great news of the Christian covenant is that God has refused to give up on humanity. That’s the story of grace.

Throughout history when greed has ruled the hearts of humanity, God has not given up on us. When self-interest has replaced caring for those in need, God has not given up on us. When we have lived in immoral ways; exploited others; ravaged the earth; when we have taken over the land of others in the name of God, even then, God has not given up on us. Despite all of the evil done by one person, organization, or nation, God’s grace continues to reach out to us. That’s the story of grace.

God has ultimately decided that there is only one rule in the covenant with humanity. One rule that must not, cannot, be broken. God must obey the law of love. No matter what we have done. No matter what we may do, God will obey the law of love. Our gospel contains what is probably the most well known verse in the Bible. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believe in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

It is like the serpent that Moses lifted up in the desert only infinitely greater. When people had enough faith to look up at the bronze serpent they were saved from the poisonous effect of the snake’s bite. They were given life, but it was still earthly life, a temporary reprieve. In the Gospel Jesus is responding to questions from Nicodemus and tries to explain about God’s kingdom. Nicodemus would have remembered the story of the bronze serpent. He would have known about the serpent being a sign of life for those who were bitten. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." This gift of life is not temporary but eternal. Instead of saving us from the poison of snakebite, it saves us from the poisons of life. It is an alternative route to that offered by the world – it is an alternative route that leads to life.

God’s light is mightier than any darkness. God’s grace is sufficient to cover any imperfection. God’s love is more powerful than even death.

In our daily lives it is easy to get confused. It is easy to wander off the path that God has given us. It is easy to be deceived by the conflicting messages of our culture. Yet, even when we find ourselves on the wrong road, God does not give up on us. God has appointed road workers to hold signs, pointing out an alternative route, one that leads to life.

Somehow we must distinguish God’s accurate signs from the many deceptive ones around us. Paul reminds us that no matter how hard we try to find the way ourselves we cannot do it. We find the signs, we recognize the signs, and we follow the signs only through God’s grace.

Have you ever been really lost? There is a joke told about the Hebrew people wandering in the wilderness. The gist of it is that they wandered for forty years because Moses – being a man – wouldn’t stop and ask directions. It’s not really fair, and it pokes fun at one of our many stereotypes. However, there is a truth embedded there. Not just men, but also women, often try to make it through life on their own, without asking directions from the One who is always able to help us, the One who never gives up on us.

"In life only with God’s help can we distinguish the road that truly leads to life from the others that appear to do so." As Paul reminds us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast."

The gift of life that God gave to the Hebrews in the desert was a free gift; all they had to do was direct their attention away from the source of their hurt to the bronze serpent, the sign of life. We, too, can confront the serpents in our lives that take the shape of fears and anxieties. We, too, can overcome those things that threaten to poison our lives and separate us from other people and from God. When we lift them up to God we will be able to find our way through the desolate and deserted places of our lives to a place of new life. Knowing that God has given us the gift of eternal life through Jesus being lifted up on the cross, how much more so, will God help us through the difficulties of life if we will lift them up to the sign and gift of life. God always offers hope. God always offers life. God always offers the gift of faith.

"Indeed God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." It is the desire of God that all people, in all places, will come to know the God of love. God’s plan potentially includes all people – not just those whom we choose. God developed a strategy to transform all people from imperfect beings into people united by God’s love, witnessing to God’s love, and holding signs of life for others to see and follow.

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North Kingstown UMC

Lent 3 – March 23, 2003

Text: Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 19

*I Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-22

Title: "The Foolishness of Christianity"

Many of you are probably familiar with the story of the mother who was tucking her little daughter into bed one night while a storm raged outside of the house. The thunder was loud and the lighting intense. As the mother went to leave the room, the child asked her to stay because she was afraid. Mother reassured her that everything was all right and said, "Don’t forget that God is with you." Then her daughter replied, "But Mommy, tonight I need a God with skin on."

Isn’t that a human reality? Isn’t that what we all need – a God with skin on? Especially now as we sit by the television and listen to the latest news coming out of Iraq and the surrounding areas – aren’t we looking for a God with skin on? A God to comfort us and make us feel safe! Aren’t we looking for a God to hold our hands and help us face the uncertainty?

And yet, I read an article in yesterday’s New York Times which involved a survey about who or what had influenced persons in their thinking about how to deal with Iraq. The numbers became somewhat complicated but they were enlightening. "Looking only at the groups having `a great deal’ of influence, 11 percent of respondents named religious leaders. ….. On the other hand, except for (Hollywood) celebrities, religious leaders were also the group named most often as having had ‘no influence at all.’" The survey’s sponsors concluded, "On balance very few people say their religious beliefs are shaping their views on Iraq." They did add however, that those interpretations do not take into account many religious traditions’ moral teachings about going to war and how they shape people’s consciences.

It would seem to me from the results of that survey that either there are not many people who really experience this God with skin on, or there are many people who are not clear about how they form their opinions about events around them.

I cannot speak for other religious traditions, but I can speak as a United Methodist Pastor. We believe that Jesus was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with skin on. Remember during Advent we sing, "Emmanuel – God with us." We proclaim that Jesus is God made flesh, who came to live among us. The disciples believed that they were with this God with skin on – this God who would be with them always – and especially be with them as the Messiah, the One whom they believed would overcome the Roman government and bring about God’s kingdom on earth.

However, in today’s reading from the Epistle, from Paul’s letter to the Christians at Corinth there seems to be a question about this God with skin on – and what that means for the world and for their lives individually. Paul found himself trying to explain this whole concept of why Jesus had died on a cross. To many Jews this was a terrible mistake – a proof that Jesus must not have been the Messiah for whom they waited. They expected the Messiah to free his people from oppression, and naturally, they had expectations about how this would be done. They hadn’t expected a man from a dusty village – a poor traveling preacher who interacted with prostitutes and tax collectors. His death on a cross was the death of a common criminal. They thought that those who saw Jesus as Messiah, or worse, as God in the flesh, were blasphemers. At the very minimum they were fools.

In a city like Corinth – the center of Greek and Roman culture – those interested in Greek philosophy might have viewed Jesus’ teachings differently. They might have been willing to add him to their collection of wise teachers along with Socrates and others. They could even have handled Jesus’ death on a cross. But his resurrection made no sense to them at all. They sought to escape from the body – why would any wise person want to return to physical form? The "wise" Greeks easily rejected Christianity as "foolishness."

Christianity seemed to be foolishness to both the Jews and the Greeks. Through the years there have been many who have looked at this foolishness of Christianity and struggled with the whole concept of a God who would die on a cross. It simply makes no earthly sense! And therein lies the key. It is not earthly sense at all, but it is heavenly sense. It is wisdom, but not human wisdom. It is God’s wisdom.

Paul readily acknowledges that for many, the cross and Jesus crucified upon it is a stumbling block, a sign of foolishness. He argues however, that it is really a sign of God’s power and God’s wisdom.

Philip Bence who wrote the study guide that we are using in one of our Lenten Bible studies, discusses the way in which God reached out to humanity. Along with Paul, he asks the question, "Why did God choose a method that would be "foolishness to (many of) those who are perishing?" (vs. 18) He explains that many of those who considered themselves wise in 1^st century Israel were people who were part of the small minority that enjoyed the privileges of wealth and education. They were convinced that God must love them more than God could possibly love the common people. When Jesus revealed his strong love for all people, the "wise" could not understand, anymore than many today are able to understand this radical inclusive love.

Philip Bence points out that if God had come as one of the wealthy ones, those who collected their riches at the price of slavery, this would have denied God’s loving character. "Despite his overwhelming power, and because of his infinite wisdom, God entered the world as one of the oppressed, choosing to live and die among them in order to `save those (among the poor or any group) who believe.’"

Through the years there has been a tendency to water down Christianity. We tend to not like the cross so we focus only on the Resurrected Christ and try to ignore his suffering. In many ways, Christianity has become so much a part of our culture that it has been pared down to but a shadow of its reality. Harry Emerson Fosdick preaching in 1944, during World War II, said that "Christianity becomes vital in our lives when it meets a deep and consciously felt need." Lacking that, for many, Christianity has become a form, a set of rituals, rather than a force, a power for living. He wrote, "One major reason why Christianity has been to many only a conventionality is that they have felt no crucial necessity that only Christianity could meet." In other words they have not felt the need for a God with skin on. For many, the wisdom of God, the power of God was measured against the world viewpoint and came up looking like foolishness.

See if Mr. Fosdick’s words written in 1944 speak to our situation today. "Personally and socially we are up against destructive forces. Discouragement is a force; pessimism, fear, disillusionment, cynicism assail our souls with a power, before which only a resistant power can stand. … What if in some of us a deep and conscious need should reveal for the first time that Christ, his faith about life, his way of living life, his power for sustaining life, is food for our hunger, water for our thirst, medicine for our sickness, and power to carry on – not a form, but a force!" What if we were to really discover that even God’s foolishness is greater than human wisdom, that even the foolishness of Christianity is greater than the wisdom of human councils?

Mr. Fosdick shared a letter from a man who was a member of their church and was now a captain on the front lines. He wrote that the soldiers were very practical about their religion. "That is, they actually look to it for strength to bear their immediate problems." Mr. Fosdick went on to proclaim the truth that confronted with war one of two things happens to someone’s faith. Either it is discarded as useless or else you discover in your faith an inner secret of personal power.

It is my prayer that the men and women, of all nations, who are serving in the military will discover an inner secret of personal power in their faith. It is my prayer that each of us will help that to happen by holding these men and women in prayer.

It is my hope and my prayer that many more will discover that there really is power and comfort in faith whether they are at home, glued to the television set, reading everything they can get their hands on, worshipping on Sunday mornings, or marching to support or oppose the decisions of our government. In our Gospel reading, we discover Jesus in the outer court of the temple, the only place were Gentiles were allowed to worship. In the midst of temple practices of selling animals and exchanging money in ways that had turned the worship space into a marketplace, Jesus became angry. Philip Bence points out that the Jewish leaders had come to believe that the temple belonged to them, rather than to God. They had trusted their own wisdom in developing a system that worked for them. They most likely thought that any plan that worked must be God’s plan. That style of logic remains popular to this day where we ask God to bless the plans and actions we develop, rather than asking God to show us the plans and actions which God blesses.

Jesus made a whip of cords and drove the merchants out of the temple. Willing to remove anything that hindered people from approaching God, Jesus took strong action. Are we willing to be strong in making sure that nothing hinders the ability of people to worship God in our sanctuary? Are we willing to stand with the so-called "foolishness of Christianity" against the confused wisdom of the world? Will we help others to know and experience the God with skin on?

Let me share with you the letter that was sent on Friday from the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church:

Dear United Methodist Brothers and Sisters,

In this season of Lent, with the world caught in the grip of war, we United Methodists remember Jesus’ words, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations." (Mark 11:17) I call on all our churches in every place to be such a welcoming house for all people.

In the midst of our feelings of insecurity and lack of control, Jesus’ words invite us to gather in prayer.

Let us pray for all the leaders of the nations who are involved and affected in this present crisis.

Let us pray for all the military personnel and for their families and friends who wait, worry, and wonder.

Let us pray for a just resolution of this conflict.

Let us pray for the innocents in harm’s way, especially the children.

In the midst of the increasing international polarization over the appropriateness of this war, Jesus’ words teach us that our church sanctuaries are houses of Christian hospitality.

Let our sanctuaries welcome the anxious and fearful, providing for them a place of safety and power that we know through the saving power of Jesus.

Let our sanctuaries be gathering places for respectful and honorable Christian conversation across political perspectives.

Let our sanctuaries be centers for inter-religious dialogue, especially between Christians, Muslims, and Jews, that we may grow in understanding of one another.

Let our sanctuaries generate support for humanitarian relief for the citizens of Iraq now and in the future.

Let our sanctuaries be venues of peacemaking in our families, our local neighborhoods, and our global community.

God is calling us, the church of Jesus Christ, to be "a house of prayer for all the nations." Please join us, your Council of Bishops from around the world, in prayer and witness to God’s vision in which the lion and the lamb lie down together in peace.

In the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace, Sharon A Brown Christopher, President, UMC Council of Bishops.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Lent 2 - March 16, 2003

Text:     Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

            Psalm 22:23-31

            Romans 4:11-25

            Mark 8:31-38

Title:    A Covenant of Hope

            “The world is full of hopes and expectations that motivate men and women.   Some of these hopes prove illusory and empty when time has passed.  Some have put their hopes in fading realities.”  When Douglas McArthur returned from Korea over forty years ago, he addressed Congress.  His memorable speech included these sad lines, “I am closing my fifty-two years of military service.  When I joined the army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams.  The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished.”

            There is a profound sadness when the human spirit loses its capacity for hope.   Thornton Wilder wrote, “Hope is a projection of the imagination; so is despair.   Despair all too readily embraces the ills it foresees; hope is an energy and arouses the mind to explore every possibility to combat them … In response to hope the imagination is aroused to picture every possible issue, to try every door, to fit together even the most heterogeneous pieces in the puzzle.”   

             It can be so easy to lose hope.  This week we heard from a family that never gave up hope.  They used their hope to introduce and bring about some new ways of alerting people to the disappearance of a child.  They pushed the authorities to pursue an investigation in other directions.  They continued in hope despite all odds to the contrary.  Suddenly, Elizabeth Smart was returned home safely.  

            It’s a wonderful story that our country needed to hear this week.   We needed to hear it because there is so much happening around us that encourages us to give into despair rather than to hold on to hope and to allow the energy of hope to motivate us.  I do not mean to imply that if things will work out the way we want them to just because we keep hoping. Our experience teaches us differently.

            However, hope is a powerful emotion and one that we all need to grasp tightly.  Abram and Sarah grasped the hope in the promise that God would give this elderly couple a son and that through this son their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on a beach.  In this promise that God made to them, is the hope that God can do the impossible.

Even more importantly, I think, is the invitation, or instruction found here that Abram should “walk before me, and be blameless.”  This didn’t mean that Abraham would never make any mistakes, but rather than Abraham - as he was now to be called - should walk back and forth, or walk about, or live out his life in the very presence of God.   Last week, we talked about the promise that God made to Noah, the promise not to destroy.  Today, in this story, the promise goes much deeper.  To Abraham, God makes the promise to forever remain with humanity, interacting, guiding, protecting, and providing.  It is a promise or a covenant of hope.   It is a promise that God will always be in relationship with us.

            It is this promise that can sustain families like the Smart family as they are guided and strengthened even during the worst nightmare parents can imagine.  It is this promise that can sustain us during the most difficult time of life, the times when it is tempting to give in to despair.  It is this promise - the presence of God - that so many witnessed to following the tragedy at The Station a few weeks ago.  It is this promise that my family and I hold onto now when our hopes of how my brother’s surgery would go this week did not turn out to be the reality.   It is this promise - this hope - that we cling to even as we stand on the brink of war.  A hope and promise that God is forever with us, we are not alone. 

            It is this hope, this promise to which the Apostle Paul points when he uses Abraham as an example of what faith is all about.   In his letter to the Christians at Rome, Paul writes his most extensive explanation of what he believes Christianity to be all about and what the practical implications are for believers.  He came from a time when the law was paramount and many believed that they were being good people of faith by following the law.

            Paul goes back to a story that is foundational for over 3 billion people in today’s world who honor Abraham as the ancestor of their faith - 2 billion Christians, 1.2 billion Muslims, and nearly 15 million Jews.  “Muslims remember Ibrihim in their prayers and see him as the first who believed the truth that there is only one God.  Jews believe that they are the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, as God had promised.  For Christian believers, Abraham and Sarah received the promise of God and became the forerunner of those who believe in God through Jesus.”

            Paul argues that God chose Abraham because he knew that Abraham would receive God’s gift of faith.   God did not choose Abraham because he was so good at following the law; the law which Jewish people tried so hard to follow had not yet been given.  Abraham teaches us that it all depends on faith.  Religious practice is not always the same thing as faith.  When religious practices grow out of faith then they are good.  However, when religious practices become a substitute for faith then they can be evil.

God did not choose Abraham and Sarah because they were such great people on their own.  On the contrary, when God first presented the promise to them, they did not at first believe.  In fact they laughed.  They were honest about their preliminary doubts.  They were willing for God to work in them and through them.  Are we honest with God about our doubts?   Are we willing to let God work in us and through us?   Paul wanted his readers to understand that just as God reached out to Abraham, so God continues to reach out to each one of us.  The very act of faith depends upon God.  It is a gift from God, freely offered to us.  All we have to do is accept it. 

It is a gift that can keep us from taking our religious structures too seriously.  Faith does not depend upon the buildings we have, or the form of worship we follow, or the persons who lead the worship or program of the church.  When we start taking those things too seriously, we have the word from God that it all depends upon faith, and even faith depends upon God.

The faith of Abraham will bring revolution wherever it is found because God will respond to faith with the fulfillment of the promise.   Abraham is a central character in several biblical stories, but he is not the only one featured in the Bible, by any means.  The story is not really about Abraham but rather about God.  It is about how God responds to faith - past, present, and future. 

Abraham probably had a plan for his life.   All that changed, however, when God called to him.  That is part of what Jesus tried to teach his disciples in the Gospel passage today.   There are words that are hard to hear, words that can be confusing.  However, I think, it boils down to the words God spoke to Abraham, “Walk before me and be blameless.”   Live your life in my presence, following the path that I will show you.  Keep your mind on the things of God, not the things of earth. 

Philip Yancy, a writer, divided the people he interviewed into two categories of people, the stars and the servants.   The stars were the people who were the icons of our civilization: great television, sports, theatrical, and political personalities.   The servants were people who were relief workers in Bangladesh, the PhD.s who translated the Bible into obscure languages in South America, and those people who worked in inner cities.  

He said that he was surprised as he got to know the stars at how generally unhappy they were.  He was shocked and surprised to discover how much he began envying the people he called the servants.  Most of them worked long hours, for low pay, without being noticed by most people. As he got to know them, he believed that they - rather than the stars - were the ones who were blessed, who were graced.

We may not see ourselves in either category, but we are.  The question becomes what do we value in life?  Where do we place our hope?  Jesus told his followers, that “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”  In some cases, it may truly be a case of saving or losing our physical life, but for most of us it is more a question of the focus of our life - our eternal life.  Are we focused on the “me, me, me, dog-eat-dog world” where material things count more than anything else?   Or are we living our lives in the presence of God? 

We can take care of our souls by getting in touch with real life - with the things that are really important.    What will it profit a man or a woman, or a church, or community, or nation if we gain the whole world but lose our soul?  That is the question Jesus asks us.  Jesus rejected the self-centeredness of those who would remain loyal to him only while the going was good.  Jesus calls his followers to sacrifice not for its own sake, but for the life they gain by giving up being the center of their lives.  What will it profit us, if we gain the whole world but lose our soul?  It is the question that we must answer if we seek to live faithfully in God’s way. 

For us, as for Abraham, it will mean a revolutionary change in the way we look at life, the way we approach our jobs, our families, our friends.  Revolutionary, in that, it is not the way the world looks at these things.  Revolutionary because it all depends on faith, and even our faith is a gift that depends on God.  In Abraham’s “hope against hope,” he became dependent on the one who is the Author of Hope and the Keeper of the Promises.

In our daily lives, in the tragedies of life, in the face of the seemingly impossible, the invitation to us is to walk with the one who called Abraham, the one who is the Author of Hope and the keeper of the Promises. 

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Lent 1 - March 9, 2003

Text: A Covenant of Grace

I haven’t seen it, but I understand that there is a wonderful new commercial playing that features Noah struggling valiantly to get the animals into the ark. He hears the thunder roll and rushes to get the animals on board. First it shows him pushing a donkey who responds by giving him a good strong kick. Then he is in a tree holding onto a rope but a giraffe pulls him out of the tree. He bravely pulls an alligator up the ramp by the tail all the while the alligator is snapping at him. The elephants are easier; they at least seem to be cooperating - until they get to the door and bump their heads on the doorway. Noah lures the lions with a leg of lamb, but finds he has to try to outrun them down the road. Finally, however, he is rewarded for his efforts. All the animals are on board and he sits down exhausted on a bale of hay. One of those pesky mosquitoes starts buzzing around and in a moment of exhaustion and frustration, Noah instinctively swats the mosquito killing it. The tag line that follows laments, "No one ever said promises were easy to keep."

Fortunately God is much better at keeping promises than we humans. Perhaps that’s why some of the most important promises - or covenants - which God made to humanity are one-sided, dependent upon God, and not upon us. In this morning’s reading from Genesis - the end of the story of Noah and the Ark - God establishes a covenant with humanity. Looking at this passage, I am struck by how many times we hear the words as coming from God, "I am establishing, I establish, the sign of the covenant that I make, I will remember, I will see it and remember, the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth." The responsibility is completely on God - there isn’t even any response from Noah.

Nothing has changed about humanity during the flood. Evil has not been eradicated from the world although it might lie relatively dormant for awhile. God knows that for a little while Noah and his family will try very hard to follow God’s way, but God also knows that humanity being what it is, they will fail to live the way God wants them to. In fact, if we were to read on in Genesis, it would only take a few more verses for us to see that human goodness was not able to prevail. Thankfully, God’s Word and God’s goodness does prevail.

God is presented in this account as a God of new beginnings. "This story comes to us from the ancient past, from a time when nature and the elements were often seen as the playthings of the gods. When drought or flood threatened survival it was not difficult to imagine that for some reason the gods were angry or just being capricious. Into this world comes an extraordinary story. Not only is there one God, a rare and surprising notion, but this one God is not going to use the natural elements to manipulate humanity."

There are two essential elements of the covenant which God makes with Noah. First - it is universal. It is for all of creation for all of time. Secondly, this covenant is unilateral. The covenant is an act of faith on God’s part. Cause and effect have been forever disassociated. God makes this promise independent of what creation is doing. The promise will stand whether or not creation is obedient. It is purely and simply a covenant of grace. There is nothing that humanity has done or can do to earn or deserve such a promise from God.

Where is the rainbow today? The thunder rolls loudly. The headlines are dark and ominous. We are moving closer to the brink of war. Recently a tragic subway fire in Korea killed over 130 persons. The space shuttle exploded killing all of its crew. Twenty-one people died in a nightclub fire in Chicago. An American heart surgeon made a tragic mistake giving a teenage Mexican girl an incompatible heart transplant. Just two weeks ago almost one hundred people were killed in a fire here in Rhode Island and many more still battle for their lives. Where is the rainbow today?

"The painting by one of Iraq’s best-known artists should have been done three weeks ago, a vibrant image of a peace dove and blue Islamic-style dome, with an emerging deep red backdrop." So begins a recent story in the Christian Science Monitor about a family in Baghdad, which is living daily with the anxiety, and uncertainty of an impending war. Selma al-Allak and her husband Moayad al-Haidari are artists. They are an upper middle-class family of four, well educated and erudite. They speak fluent English, have traveled in Europe to exhibit their work, and are familiar with America through close relatives living in the US and other Iraqi friends and family who have been educated here. They also have experienced two devastating wars and nearly 13 years of economic sanctions. "We can’t imagine what will happen, and it frightens us, because we remember where we hid the children in 1991," says Allak. The vibrations from the bombing were "like an earthquake," and brought most of the window glass cascading down inside the house. Reports from the Pentagon suggest that any new bombing campaign will deliver 10 times as much power.

While the signs of God’s abiding presence and love are not front-page news these days, we are called to find and celebrate them in our own lives, and in the news. I shared with you two weeks ago some of the many ways God’s presence was so evident at the Crown Plaza Hotel and in other places following the devastating fire at The Station. If we look around, we can find signs of God’s presence in so many places.

At the end of the story of the fear and anxiety which colors every day and night for Iraqis, hope was rekindled, if briefly, by the antiwar protests that surged through the streets of London, Rome, Paris, New York, across the US, and around the world. "I cried when I saw that," Selma says. "I felt that the people are with us. But stop the war? I don’t think so."

The story then concludes with the family’s personal tale of hope, which they believe tells more about Americans than any other. Two years ago in Paris, Allak found the purse of a young American tourist at a photography museum. He returned the purse with all its money intact to its grateful owner. The family stills keeps in contact with the young woman, who sent an e-mail this week saying she had been on the streets of San Francisco over the weekend—marching for peace with Iraq.

As the storm clouds of war gather, where do you see rainbows of hope and promise? I found some rainbows this week in reading a book called, "A Great Time to be Alive." We would certainly not describe our current world situation or some of our personal ones, as a great time to be alive. In fact sometimes it seems like a ghastly time to be alive. The title came not from a gentler peaceful time, but from 1944 during the heart of World War II. The title came not from a hopeless optimist but from a pastor, Harry Emerson Fosdick, who chose that title for a sermon of hope and challenge during a terrible time in World History.

Remember that he was writing in 1944, so the language he used is far from inclusive. However, the signs of the rainbow are there. Among other things, he wrote, "This is a great time to be alive if only because it drives us back to the fundamentals: What shall it profit a man or a nation to gain the whole world and lose the soul?" He wrote that many think that the gospel has become needless but that on the contrary, "the more mature society becomes, scientifically and educationally, the more critical is man’s need of the principles of life, the sustaining faiths, the goals of endeavor, and the kind of character that Christ brought to the world."

He went on to describe a cartoon drawn following World War I, "showing a group of men sitting down as a governmental cabinet to organize the new world. At the head of the table, sat the President, and there too were the familiar portfolios, Secretary of war, Secretary of state, and all the rest, but a new figure was at that council table - there sat Christ with his portfolio, Secretary of Human Relationships." I thought about a similar meeting in our Oval Office - the new figure would be the Secretary of Home Security - and following Sept. 11th that is a position that many would agree is absolutely necessary. Still, I am intrigued by what a meeting would be like if Christ sat there as the Secretary of Human Relationships.

Mr. Fosdick in other sermons proclaimed that "war presents to sensitive minds two battlefields." One is the outer battlefield where the world events take place. The other is fought in the hearts and souls of individuals. He wrote that "Here is one of the mysteries of history, that battles fought behind closed doors in human hearts, that make no noise, can be so much more enduring in their results than the outer wars that shake the earth." Here in the church our special business is with the battle that takes place in human hearts, the witness that we as Christians carry into the world.

I am very aware that in our own congregation there are wide divisions in terms of our opinions and perceptions about the appropriate action that should be taken. I think of Noah who brought onto the Ark animals which would normally attack others as a source of food and I pray that we will not attack each other. I know that we have sons and daughters, and spouses, and friends serving in the military and that some of them have already been or may soon be in places far from home. One of my prayers is that we will not allow our differences to divide us, that we will not confuse policy differences with concern and support for God’s children who are serving their country in many places throughout the world.

My prayer for each one of us is that we will be able to see the rainbow, the covenant of grace which God established with us. I pray that we will not confuse the actions of men and women with the actions of God. As we begin this Lenten season, we may feel like Noah on a ship being beat around by the wind and the storm. Yet, even as we are blown about, even as our traveling companions may be those about whom we feel a need for extreme caution, we can also draw strength and hope from Jesus’ experience in the wilderness and from the angels who came to minister to him. Especially during Lent, we can draw courage and hope from the greater covenant of grace which God established with us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

With Mr. Fosdick, I urge us to believe that Christianity can and must speak in an era like this! In many cases we have pared down the gospel, shrunk and reduced it until we seem to be trying to see how little a person can believe and still be a Christian. "Our problem is not to see how little we can believe but what great things we can see in the Christian message and make real to the world that desperately needs them. This is a great time for great convictions."

An e-mail that circulated not long ago said, "All I really need to know about life, I learned from Noah’s Ark." It’s an over simplification but it carries some truths that we would do well to remember. (1) Don’t miss the boat. (2) Don’t forget we’re all in the same boat. (3) Plan ahead - it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. (4) Stay fit - when you’re 600 years old someone might ask you to do something really big. (5) Don’t listen to critics, just get on with what has to be done. (6) For safety’s sake, travel in pairs. (7) Two heads are better than one. (8) Build your faith on high ground. (9) Speed isn’t always an advantage; after all, the snails were on the same ark as the cheetahs. (10) When you’re stressed, float awhile. (11) Remember, amateurs (given directions by the master builder and teacher) built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. (12) the woodpeckers inside were a larger threat than the storm outside. And finally, and perhaps most important (13) No matter what the storm, when God is with you, there’s a rainbow waiting.

Let us pray:

Make us to know your ways, O God;
Teach us your paths.
Lead us in your truth.
Do not remember our sins and our transgressions.

Show us the sign of your covenant that we may know your constant presence in our lives. We search for hope in the midst of pain and despair, light in the darkness, a rainbow at the end of the storm. We put our trust in you, O God.

May your wisdom be in our minds.
May your peace be in our hearts.
May your Spirit be in our words and our actions.
Amen.

As I have reflected on the calm with which we endured that storm, I realize that our experience had taught us not to lose hope.  We'd seen enough storms in the mountains to know that they do come to an end.  Sure, it occurred to me that we could be hit by lightening. But that was not a major concern because, I was in a place I loved, with someone I loved, and I was at peace in my faith.   Hope, when it is tempered by wisdom, is the means by which a person claims the future.  Without hope we live in the terror of the present which is magnified by the failures of the past.  We who seek to be faithful must not lose heart and we must not forsake hope. 

In the Divine Comedy there is a section where Dante describes the entrance into the Inferno.  At the entrance there is a gate over which is inscribed the purposes of Divine Justice.  

"Through me you go into the city of grief, through me you go into the pain that is eternal, through me you go among people lost.  Justice moved my exalted creator; the divine power made me, the supreme wisdom, and the primal love.  Before me all created things were eternal, and eternal I will last.  Abandon every hope, you who enter here."  

There are times when it seems that we are walking towards the very entrance to the inferno itself.  And we see the signs: “Abandon every hope, you who enter here.”  But, it may well be that those who choose to abandon hope create their own hell.  When we are tempted to say “Stop the world, I want to get off,” we must remember that our most faithful enterprise is to keep our hope secure.  In the days to come, gather around you the people you love and trust; let the wisdom of your faith keep you prepared for any event; and allow the fullness of your experience to remind you that hope can endure through and beyond any storm.  

Listen again to the ancient hymn of hope: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” And this “grace, as it extends to more and more people, will increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”  

My Brothers and sisters in Christ, remember in the coming days that there is no storm in which God is absent, and there is no circumstance of life where hope is gone.  I pray that you shall be secure in the knowledge that justice moves your creator; that the divine power made you, the supreme wisdom, and the primal love.  Therefore, in that faith, come to the Table of the Lord.  There and there, alone will you find a settling inner calm that will carry you through the night to the dawn of a peaceful day. 

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

February 23, 2003

Text: Isaiah 43:18-25

Mark 2:1-12

Title: With a Little Help from our Friends

As I walked through the rooms at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Friday I thought of Mark’s words in today’s gospel. "Some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay." Then, now listen to this, "When Jesus saw their faith," In other places in the gospels we hear Jesus telling people, "Your faith has made you well." but here, in this story, it is the faith of the friends.

I thought about this as I saw families arriving in disbelief, in some cases tears streaming down their faces in others a sort of numbness and lack of apparent emotion as they lived through the shock and fear of what had happened to their loved ones. As I met with other pastors who were there to help provide some pastoral care I realized that we were there as a witness to our faith that there is a God who loves each person so much that each one of us is needed to help show that love, to help others come to experience it.

I remembered last year when my son was hospitalized suddenly. During those long hours in the emergency room and the even longer ones waiting for the surgeon I don’t remember praying. But I do remember that I knew that others were praying and I felt carried by them just as the paralyzed man was in today’s gospel.

It was my privilege and that of each of us, to help carry the families who were and are waiting for positive identifications, families who are sitting by the bedside of their loved one not knowing if the person will live or die. We are the ones who witness to our faith by holding them in prayer. The outpouring of support from the community was astonishing. People were showing up with bottles of water, boxes of donuts. Companies were donating sandwiches, drinks, candy, stuffed animals. Volunteers by the droves were there to help in whatever way they could.

Sometimes in a situation like this the best way for most people to help is to do what we are called to do so well - to pray, to help carry those in need, and to help carry those who are providing much of the hands-on support.

There are so many times in our lives when we are called to be the friends who help carry and support another. The crowd, gathered in and around the house where Jesus was, created an obstacle which could have prevented getting the paralyzed man to Jesus - except for the creativity of his friends. They made a hole in the roof through which to lower the man. Now, we might not appreciate their method of getting the man to Jesus, but we do have to admire their creativity.

There are many obstacles today which keep people from coming to Jesus. Some of these obstacles are things that we do in our churches. There are some obvious and many less obvious barriers, and often it takes creativity to identify them and find a way to remove them. Churches are recognizing the physical barriers of stairs and curbs. In this church because of the foresight of those who built this church, that is not a problem. In recent years we have attempted to remove some other obstacles. For awhile, I was printing out my sermons so that those who couldn’t hear them were able to read them. Now, our hearing assisted devices make it possible for people to hear what is being said and sung.

Our evangelism committee has been and continues to be hard at work to help identify less obvious barriers that prevent or hinder people from coming to Jesus in this location. One of the very real needs that we often identify relates to the reality that at any given worship service, there are always people who worship here on a regular or semi-regular basis whom most people do not know. That can make it hard to identify a visitor. But you know what, visitors are not the only people who need to be welcomed. When you see someone you don’t know or someone who’s name you don’t know, it is often a welcome thing to simply introduce yourself to the other person with a smile. Yes, I know that’s a difficult thing for many of you to do. It’s a difficult thing for me to do. Personally, one of the hardest parts of being with families Friday and Saturday was to walk up to a stranger who was in obvious distress and speak to them, unaware of their faith background, not knowing whether they would welcome my approach or be further upset by it. Let me tell you that without exception every person I spoke to was eager to tell me about their loved one, eager to have someone who would simply sit with them and listen, or sit while they needed to be quiet, eager to have someone who would bring them a bottle of water or sit with them while they filled out a missing person’s report.

Were these things specifically Christian ministry? If by that, we mean talking about Christ, then, "no". But if by Christian ministry we mean doing what Christ would do, sharing his compassion and love, then, "yes" it was Christian ministry. We call it a ministry of presence - and it is a ministry to which each of us is called. There are times when we do not know the words to say - and sometimes that is good. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to be quiet and present. A ministry of presence takes place anytime you sit with someone in a doctor’s office or hospital waiting room, anytime you write a note to let someone know you are thinking about them and praying for them, anytime you leave a phone message or send an e-mail, anytime you smile or lift another in prayer. Whenever we do any of these things, we are helping to carry the other person into the presence of Christ.

When you do these things do them out of Christ’s love - do them not expecting or needing a response. When my son was in the hospital I was amazed at how overwhelmed I felt. For the most part I communicated with only one person at this church and asked that one person to communicate with others. The thought of sending out an e-mail to people, or picking up the phone to answer it or to make a call was just too much to handle, no matter how much I love all of you. However, I felt sustained by the messages that I received and the prayers I knew were taking place.

The families at Crown Plaza do not know the names of most of the people who were and are there for them in so many ways. None of us will receive thank you notes or anything else from them. Being a friend of Jesus’ means being a friend of those for whom Jesus cares and doing so with that being our only motivation - not with thoughts of acknowledgment or appreciation or anything else. It is a ministry of being present in whatever way is called for at the time, and helping to carry another into the presence of Christ - even if we do not mention his name at the time.

This weekend our youth have been fasting for 30 hours to raise money to bring others into Christ’s presence through the gift of food. Our 4th grade Sunday School class wrote notes to share with those who were fasting so that they would know in tangible ways that our younger children were also part of this effort.

When we raise the names of people in prayer during our worship service and in your private prayer times, you are participating in carrying others into the presence of Christ. There are many theological pieces to today’s miracle in the gospel - pieces about forgiveness and healing. The man who was healed didn’t care about that. For him it was a miracle as much about limbs that now moved freely as it was about friends who stick with you no matter what.

In all of this, we have a God who sticks with us no matter what. No matter how desperate the situation may seem we are not alone. The prophet Isaiah proclaims this. This is the way the Message, a modern reading, puts it. "Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?"

The Recovery Devotional Bible - a Bible designed to be used by those in recovering from addictive, compulsive or codependent behavior patterns - has this note: "Recovery requires us to understand our past, but it never asks us to live or dwell in the past. God wants us to focus on the "new thing" he is bring about in our lives - growth and healing. Notice that it happens now, today, not in the vague unknown future. If we take time to look and listen each day, we will be able to perceive it."

The passage from Isaiah goes on to describe rivers in the desert - not just puddles or small streams, but rivers! God does the impossible. No matter how dry the desert where we are living, no matter how wild the wilderness where we find ourselves, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, our God is the God who does the impossible, who gives water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

This is the message, the witness we proclaim to those who are in the midst of the worst nightmare they can imagine. This is the strong cord to which we hold tightly when we are in the midst of whatever the nightmare may be. God provides a way out of the desert, through the wilderness, around the crowd even when it means going through the roof. We are the friends who are called to help carry our brothers and sisters into the presence of Christ.

Let us pray:

Teach us, O God, to risk much for friendship, to forgive much for compassion’s sake, to celebrate much in the assurance that you come to transform and make everything new. Amen.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

February 16, 2003

Text: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Mark 1:40-45

Title: More Than Skin Deep

Sometimes when we hear Scripture passages like the ones for today, we find ourselves asking questions about healing. We ask why some people are healed and others are not? When we read Mark’s Gospel, we have to get used to asking those kinds of questions, because one third of the Gospel of Mark is stories of healing. It has been my experience that when we get too hung up on the questions of who gets healed and who doesn’t, or why, we miss some very real truths contained in these stories. Both the story from Mark and the story from I Kings are stories about men being healed of something described as leprosy.

Leprosy as described in the Bible included much more than the disease that we today know as Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease. There were many skin diseases called leprosy then, some more physically serious than others, but the one thing that they had in common was the way they separated people from society. I don’t know how the society reacted to leprosy in Aram, where Naaman lived, but in Israel, "Leprosy was the worst thing that could happen to a person. It was a living death. A leper was physically isolated to prevent the disease’s spread. The victim was separated from family and community. The diseased one was required by the law of Moses to live outside the camp and to keep a six foot distance from every other person. The victim was required to wear torn clothes, to let their hair grow and hang loose and to cry a warning, `Unclean’"

For a person to be considered clean or cured of leprosy, he would have to go and present himself to the temple authorities who would examine him for any sign of the disease. Only after being pronounced cured by the authorities was a person allowed to resume a normal life. To be healed of such a disease was far more than the healing of the skin, it meant restoration of a life within the community. It was a healing that was more than skin deep.

As I read these two passages the healing of the leprosy certainly stands out, but there is much more. In Mark’s gospel the man violated several laws in approaching Jesus. He failed to keep the distance required; instead he came right up to Jesus and kneeling before him said, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Mark uses this story, at least in part, to cue us in to the power of God in Jesus. Those first hearing Mark’s gospel would understand something that we might easily miss. They believed that only God could heal at will, so when the man begs Jesus, "If you choose, you can make me clean," he is identifying Jesus with God’s power.

Jesus responds in a similar way, "I do choose. Be made clean." The words themselves would have been enough, but Jesus went beyond words. He reached out and touched the man. He reached out to an outcast and touched him. Jesus, himself, crossed the line of acceptable behavior. We consider it quite acceptable to bring in cans for the Food Pantry - but how often do we get involved in working in the Food Pantry? We consider it a good thing to make a donation to help those who are homeless, but most of us would be afraid to walk in some of the places where they curl up at night trying to stay warm.

Think what this touch must have meant to the man in Mark’s Gospel. He had not been touched by another human - not even his wife or children - since he had been declared a leper. Jesus’ touch was a great and significant act that brought healing to the doomed man. More than simply healing his physical disease, it expressed Jesus’ great compassion and his acceptance of the leper as he was. Jesus takes us as we are - even if diseased and destined for death. Jesus’ touch brought with it a healing that changed him from a leper - an outcast - to a man accepted and cared for even before his physical disease was healed.

The story of Naaman is one of my favorites. There are so many remarkable things that happen in this story - so many different kinds of healing taking place. Naaman’s story involved a long journey which included several miracles before the actual healing of his disease.

A young slave girl in his house had enough compassion, and courage to approach Naaman’s wife with her belief that a prophet in Samaria could cure Naaman. She was a young girl who had every right to be bitter and to hate Naaman. She had been taken from her home and family during one of the many raids against Israel. She reminds me of how important it is to pray and have compassion even for those whom we consider to be our enemies - when we do, we may soon discover that they are no longer our enemies, but rather people who need hope, love, and compassion as much as we do.

Naaman’s wife could have easily dismissed the words of her young slave girl. Why should she have trusted the words of this child? What kind of reliable authority was she? She reminds me that sometimes we are too quick to dismiss the insights that our children offer, the wisdom that comes not with age, but with innocence and openness to God.

Think about how Naaman must have reacted to this preposterous information presented by his wife, as coming from her slave girl. Go to the place where he had previously conducted raids - go to people who would likely consider him to be an enemy and ask for help. And first, he must go to his king and ask permission to make the trip. Could you imagine Colin Powell asking President Bush for permission to go to a doctor in Afghanistan or Iraq?

The King of Aram had a very high regard for Naaman who is identified as a valiant soldier. He is quite willing to send Naaman - not directly to the prophet in Samaria, but to the King of Israel. He sends him with gifts of gold, silver, and fine clothes and a letter asking the King of Israel to cure Naaman of his leprosy. As we might imagine, the King of Israel reacted with great suspicion and anxiety. He sees this as a trick to give the King of Aram an excuse to attack him yet again.

Fortunately for the King of Israel, word reached the prophet Elisha and he sent a message that Naaman should come to him. Naaman ventured further into unfriendly territory and went to Samaria, to Elisha’s house. If the story wasn’t sticky enough already, it gets stickier at this point. Naaman expects the prophet to come out to greet him and give him all the honor and respect due a man of his position. He expected the prophet to wave his hand over the spot on his skin, call on the name of his god and cure Naaman of his leprosy. And Naaman had brought enough gold and silver with him to handsomely compensate him for his efforts. It was a simple business transaction.

What Naaman expected was not what Naaman got. The prophet didn’t come out - he sent a messenger who told Naaman to go wash in the Jordan river seven times. Naaman may have had leprosy - but he had a bigger case of pride. His pride was so great that he simply couldn’t deal with this lack of respect. He became furious and was ready to go home. After all, how could he be told by an as yet unseen prophet to go wash in a muddy river like the Jordan when there were wonderful rivers in his own country - obviously much better rivers. Didn’t this prophet know who he was? Didn’t he understand how important Naaman was? He should have been honored that Naaman had traveled so far to come to him? Where was his sense of propriety?

Once again a miracle happened. Another servant risked his wrath, and dared to approach him suggesting that if the prophet had told him to do something difficult Naaman would have done it, so how much more should he be willing to try this very simple thing. To Naaman’s credit, he listened, and responded. Twice now, Naaman has acted upon the advice of a servant, someone inferior to him. He washed in the Jordan seven times and his skin became clean and restored. The story goes on beyond what we read, to tell us that Naaman went to the prophet, and became a worshipper of the God of Israel.

But this was a miracle - a healing - that almost didn’t happen - wouldn’t have happened at all, if it had not been for two servants who had the courage to approach the person who held life and death power over them. Naaman received much more than a healing of his physical illness that day. Through listening to servants, following the directions of a prophet who had refused to come out and honor him, and washing in a muddy river that he thought was beneath his dignity, Naaman learned a lot about how things really work, not just how he expected them to work.

Naaman learned that God could and did use the unexpected, the least likely persons to bring about great things. He learned that he couldn’t classify all of the Israelites as inferior to him. He learned that he had to be open to great possibilities from unlikely and unexpected places.

I think that in both of these miracles of physical cures there is a healing that is more than skin deep, there is the greater miracle of blowing away preconceived ideas and prejudices. Naaman discovered that something good could come from the inferior land of Israel, and his servants. Jesus demonstrated clearly to those who were with him and to the unidentified man that leprosy or other conditions are not what define us in the eyes of God.

This God of Israel, this God of Jesus, this God we worship is a God who offers healing that is much deeper than the superficial healing of a skin disease. It is all too easy for us to miss the way God brings healing in the most unlikely of ways. That is a theme that runs all through the Bible and yet, we still don’t get it. We allow ourselves to be locked into little boxes of preconceived ideas about how someone is going to think or act based on some notion we have in our minds - sometimes consciously, but often subconsciously.

We see, hear, and understand things based on many things other than objective reality. Indeed, sometimes I wonder whether or not there really is any objective reality or whether everything we see and hear is filtered through what we believe about ourselves or about other people. Think of what would have happened, or rather not happened, if each of the persons involved in Naaman’s story had not been open to something that went beyond the normal expected behavior of people in certain roles. Think of what would have happened, or not happened, if the people involved had not been open at least in some degree to the working of God in a different way. Think of how each of them became an instrument - a vessel - for healing. Think of how their lives were transformed by the actions in which they participated.

Naaman reacted to preconceived ideas and almost lost not only the cure to his leprosy, but also the healing of his attitudes.

The man who came to Jesus hoped for a cure, but never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Jesus would not only cure his illness but heal his self-image as he was transformed from a leper to a man for whom Jesus cared even though he had the disease of leprosy. He received far more than he expected. Often we tend to limit what we expect God can and will do.

When we do this we limit our response to God. We may decide that we couldn’t possibly do anything for God because we just don’t know enough, or aren’t religious enough, or don’t have enough abilities or training. Friends, if a little girl far from her home, could set in motion the events that led to Naaman’s healing, then God can use each one of us in many ways. If you are in school you can refuse to stand by and watch when someone is being ridiculed or picked on. You can refuse to participate in gossip and name it for the destructive evil that it is. If you are in business you can refuse to participate in sleazy underhanded practices which make you as unclean as the leper but in less obvious ways. In your homes you can treat each other with respect - learn to listen rather than accuse, realize that your example is one which your children will carry with them all their lives as they establish other relationships and form their own expectations of how to treat people.

These may not seem like big things in the light of the world, but they are bigger than we will ever realize. In many places recently individuals have gathered to pray for or rally for peace. Thousands of individuals who could just as easily have stayed at home and kept their mouths shut have been standing up to be counted hoping, praying, believing that it will make a difference.

God uses the most unexpected ways and persons to make a difference in the world. Each of us needs to learn to expect God to work in unexpected ways, through unexpected people - including us - to bring about God’s kingdom on earth - where God’s will is done and we live in peace, love and harmony with all of God’s children, not just with some.

Jesus’ touch brought wholeness to the unidentified man. Jesus’ touch can bring that same wholeness to our souls.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

February 9, 2003

Text: Isaiah 40:21-31

I Corinthians 9:16-23

*Mark 1:29-39

Title: Can You Stand the Pressure?

Every morning when the sun comes up, a gazelle wakes. He knows that he must outrun the fastest lion or he will be eaten. When the sun comes up, the lion wakes. He knows that he must outrun the slowest gazelle, or he will starve.
In the end it doesn't matter whether you are a lion or gazelle; when the sun
comes up, you better be running. When I talk with people in this congregation - parents, adults - single or married, youth, even children - and when I talk with people in other places, I often get the sense that many of us feel like either the lion or the gazelle - from the moment our eyes open in the morning, and often even before, we’d better be running. Our days are scheduled so that every minute is filled with demands - and most of them for things that are worthwhile or important in one way or another. The daily pressure of this kind of schedule takes a subtle toll on us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It saps energy needed for relationships. Do you ever feel as if you want to shout, "Stop the world, I want to get off?"

In our community, in our state - and throughout the world, there are too many people who face a different kind of pressure - the pressure to find enough food to keep from starving, the pressure to find a warm bed in which to sleep to keep from freezing to death in the cold winter weather, the pressure to make a paycheck last from one pay period until the next while trying to provide the basic necessities of life. This kind of pressure also takes a serious toll on the spirit and life of people.

As a nation - and as a world - we face another kind of pressure. One which many in the world have lived with all their lives but which is new to most Americans. We face the fear of impending war. We face the anxiety of elevated terrorist alerts. We sit and watch our national and world leaders present their arguments and realize that for the most part all we can do is observe. Yes, we can write letters, we can participate in rallies, we can debate the issues as we know them, but ultimately the decisions are out of our hands. This kind of pressure can cause us to feel helpless, afraid, angry, frustrated, and any number of other emotions. Can you stand the pressure?

Immediately following September 11th, many people made telephone calls or visits to family to let them know how much they were loved. For a short time people went running to churches seeking consolation and strength. For a very short time people started looking at their calendars and asking what was really important in life. It didn’t take long though for most of us to go right back to our crazy schedules, our frantic pace and our fractured relationships.

Do you remember not very long ago, when one town decided that the schedule was too much? They decided to plan one night when there would be no school activities, no sport events, no church meetings, no homework for children. The sad thing is that it took them months to work out all of the logistics and set a date when nothing would be scheduled in town, so that families could spend one night without all of the distractions.

There is one line in a book I’m reading which has been haunting me all week. The line is this: "For if one does not have knowledge of what to do or think, he will be told by another what to do or think." How easy it is for us to let our calendar, our culture, our government leaders, our friends, employers, or someone else tell us what to do or think!

This is, of course, not a new condition, although I’m inclined to think there may be more pressure upon us to listen and to conform. Perhaps we have become more susceptible to forgetting who we are. Even in Jesus’ day there were many willing and ready to tell him what to do and think. Our Gospel reading today tells about Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law and then later that evening healing many others who were brought to him. Mark writes that "the whole city was gathered around the door."

That kind of work can be physically and emotionally draining. The next morning instead of sleeping in, Jesus got up very early while it was still dark and went out to a deserted place and prayed. "Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, `Everyone is searching for you.’" Can’t you just picture the scene? It doesn’t take long for good news to spread. I imagine people had heard about the healings that had taken place the night before. Now people were coming from the next village. The streets of Capernaum filled with people coming to see Jesus, bringing their sick, expecting Jesus to heal them. It was important for Simon and his companions to find Jesus, to get him busy taking care of all those people. It was an important and a noble task to which they called him. I wonder how they responded to Jesus’ answer. Jesus didn’t say, "okay, I’m coming. Tell them I’ll be there in a couple of minutes." No. He said, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."

Repeatedly throughout the gospels, Jesus is able to stay focused on what is important, rather than on what everyone else thinks is important. Jesus offers us a model for how to handle the pressures in life. He was able to stand under the pressure because he first cultivated a prayer life. Despite his busy schedule, and the many demands on him, he made it a regular practice to go off early in the morning and go pray in a deserted place away from the distractions. He found a time and place to be alone with God. It was those times alone with God which gave him the focus and the direction for his ministry, for his life.

And it is true for us too. It may sound like an over simplification, but it is one which I have proven in my life over and over again. When I am intentional about spending time alone with God, life is much more manageable. It doesn’t mean that everything goes the way I want it to, or that I can control it any more. It means that I am not controlled by what is happening around me. My response is not dictated by other people or circumstances but by being grounded and centered in God. It’s not quite a magic formula and it doesn’t happen immediately, but it does happen. An occasional good meal is not enough to keep our bodies healthy - a steady, well balanced diet is essential for that. A steady diet of time alone with God is essential to our spiritual well-being.

Sometimes people have asked me why our worship services do not always focus on the days of the secular calendar - days like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day, 4th of July, and others. Those days and others are all important ones, but they are not the reason we come together on Sunday morning. We come to worship God - to take time out of our already hectic demanding schedules so that we can be intentional about focusing on God for at least one hour a week. We come not to focus on what the world tells us is important, but to be open to what it is that God tells us is important.

While the world around us totters on the brink of war, we come together apart from the rest of the world, to seek God’s direction for our lives, to find out how to handle all the pressures around us. We come to experience and to proclaim that it is God who raises us up above the storms of life as if on eagle’s wings. It is God’s hand which holds us while our world - either public or private - seems to spin out of control. We come to proclaim in song that Jesus is all the world to us, the one who is our strength from day to day; the one to whom we go when we are sad, the one who watches over us day and night. We come to proclaim that it is with Jesus that we have the promise of eternal life.

In our worship time we come to be surrounded by and supported by others who are also seeking to walk on God’s path. There will be times when we may not all understand God’s will in the same way, but if we are together in prayer we will honor each other as companions on the journey.

When we are intentional about taking time to be with God on a daily basis we may begin to discover that our anxiety level decreases; we realize that what we proclaim is truly what we believe. The power of others to hurt our body or even to kill it - does not give them the power to kill our soul. Friday we were put on high alert for a potential terrorist attack. We were urged to be cautious. Caution or awareness is one thing - fear is another. Fear is allowing someone else to tell us what to do and what to feel or think. Fear makes us less able to function as God’s people and it contradicts all that we profess to believe. Certainly there are times when all of us are afraid. That is a normal human reaction - but when we allow it to take control of our lives we are living out of a different set of beliefs than what we profess when we gather to worship. Someone once told me that courage didn’t mean not being afraid, it meant doing what needed to be done even in the face of fear. Was Jesus ever afraid? I don’t know but I do know that he always acted out of courage even in the face of those things that might produce fear.

Jesus drew strength from his intimate relationship with God - with the God who, as was proclaimed in the reading from Isaiah, created all of the starry host and knows their names. We heard part of that passage last Saturday when President Bush spoke to the nation after the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia. We heard the words of the prophet that "not one of them is missing." This was Jesus’ scripture - these were the words he went to daily, and which flowed through his body like life-giving blood. Jesus stood up to the pressure around him, and we can too because we worship the God who "gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless." We have the promise that "those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength." It is not necessary for us to hit the floor running every morning. It is not necessary for us to be running even before we open our eyes. It is very much necessary for us to do as Jesus did, to take time to be in God’s presence. Instead of rattling off our wish list to God, we need to slow down long enough to listen. That is how we can live our lives without being consumed by the pressures around us.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

February 2, 2003

Text: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Mark 1:21-28

Title: Authority in a Troubled Time

Like most of you, I sat yesterday in front of the television, knowing that I still had a sermon to prepare for this morning, but feeling mesmerized by the news reports coming about the explosion of the shuttle Columbia. Like many of you I remembered another day when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift off. Suddenly the notes and words that I had been preparing for today felt irrelevant. I listened to the official word from NASA, informing us of the limited information available at that time. Later I listened to their very extensive press conference and was impressed with the level of sharing of one responder in particular. He spoke with what seemed to be a real candor and openness as well as authority. We will turn to them in the days to come looking to them for answers about what happened. I listened to President Bush as he addressed the nation and noticed that he drew upon the prophet Isaiah for comfort.

His brief speech yesterday was as different as night and day from the State of the Union address 4 days earlier. The news yesterday was just as different. Yesterday there was no talk about weapons inspectors in Iraq. There was no discussion about health care or any of the other issues facing our country and our world. In our world where there is so much conflicting information and so many opinions coming at us, we search for authority that can be trusted. When we look to the teaching of Jesus we are not disappointed. So, I turned again to the Scripture for today, to the one who spoke and taught with authority. I thought about the response of those in the congregation who after listening to Jesus and witnessing a healing asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching - with authority?"

Unlike so many in our world, Jesus claims authority in order to liberate and heal others - not to raise himself up or to accumulate power for himself. That, in itself, is a new teaching - a new experience. We have not always responded to new teachings with open minds. For centuries, people believed that the earth stood still and the sun and moon and, indeed, all the stars moved around the earth. It was thousands of years until Copernicus challenged this belief, and many more before Galileo supported Copernicus. The authorities within the church could not accept this new teaching and Copernicus and Galileo both faced censure and banning of their works which were labeled as heresy. Yesterday as I watched the news coverage I was mindful of the profound irony and how what had once been accepted teaching about the bodies in the solar system would today be considered ridiculous. How important it is to be open to new teaching - to test authority for its authenticity and accountability.

Jesus challenged the conventional and expected teaching and we know that much of what he taught was met with opposition. But here in this gospel passage, his teaching is hailed as not only something new, but received as coming from one who spoke with an authority that could be trusted.

Jesus made the city of Capernaum his headquarters when he was in Galilee. It was Peter’s hometown. If you visit the Holy Land you can see the remains of still erect walls of a small first century home that has been widely accepted and identified for over 1600 years as Peter’s home. About 100 feet from the front door of Peter’s home are the remains of the synagogue of Capernaum where Jesus preached, some of its columns impressively standing tall. From Capernaum you can look out on the Sea of Galilee and picture Peter and Jesus walking up from the Sea, walking across the street with others and attending services in the synagogue. Since this was Peter’s hometown, he may have been influential in arranging for Jesus being invited to teach. Jesus taught there regularly. Here as he began to teach, Mark tells us the people were amazed.

The Jewish teachers of Jesus’ day usually drew upon the writings of the prophets to support their teaching - much as we, today, draw upon the scriptures and teachings of Jesus to support what we are saying. But Jesus did not quote human authorities - he spoke with an inherent authority that came from God. He spoke about what was happening to the people - the concerns of the day. He responded to the needs of the people around him. In the Gospel he healed a man in the synagogue - even though it was on the Sabbath - a day for teaching, worshipping, a day when work was not to be done. Still Jesus in his authority, responded to the needs of the individual rather than the restrictions of the law.

Earlier this week, I attended the Spiritual Formation Retreat for Pastors in the New England Conference. Some of what I heard or had to think about made me uncomfortable. I’ve learned to accept that this frequently happens there because "spiritual formation" means been formed by the Holy Spirit, being stretched and perhaps changed a little, having your perspective altered. It’s about growing in our faith, maturing, learning more, developing into the people God calls us to be, even if it feels a little uncomfortable at first, this being stretched and having to look at what you believe.

Yesterday, I met with this years Confirmation Class for our first time together. One of the things we did was to play a game that many of you may remember. It’s about going on a journey and what you are taking with you. Everyone takes turns, and when it is your turn you repeat all of the things the other people are taking on their journey and then add your own item. When we played this yesterday, our young people - most of them 7th graders - were embarking on a new chapter in their faith journey. In the game they took with them many things including Jesus, a Bible, faith, God, hope, love, friends, a religious spirit, and several others that I can’t remember exactly right now. They shared ways in which they have experienced God in their lives - and let me tell you that our young people know God’s presence in their lives on a daily basis.

They have experienced God not only in worship, but also in specific and general life experiences. They witnessed to God helping them in times when they were feeling scared, or had to do something they knew they couldn’t do on their own. They recognized gifts, talents, that they have received from God and their responsibility to nurture and develop these gifts and to use them in ways that will please God. They recognize the authority of Jesus in their lives - and I want to celebrate that.

Last Sunday when Al Brown was preaching, I was able to spend some time with the Senior High Sunday School class during the opening part of worship. I heard them thinking about moral and ethical decisions and discussing the authorities they accept or reject in seeking help making those decisions. I also heard concerns about our world and the fears that have become so prominent since September 11th.

During the children’s sermon a few weeks ago, our younger children gave us a list of some of the things the church should be doing and how we should be living as God’s people in today’s world.

Somehow our children and youth have gotten the message that the people in Capernaum recognized - this is a new teaching. Jesus’ teaching is one of authority and one which connects with the daily lives of the people he teaches and with our lives today as well.

While our nation grieves the tragedy of yesterday’s explosion, we can hold fast to the knowledge of God’s love and presence with us each and every day. President Bush witnessed to that faith when he said that the crew of the shuttle were safely at home, even though they had not arrived safely on earth.

In the days and weeks ahead, when our national attention turns once more toward Iraq, when we once again find ourselves perhaps divided about who and what to believe, and what to do about those beliefs, we can continue to hold on to the witness of our faith, to the presence of God with us.

We, too, are called to go out as those who have received release from the demons in our lives that have bound us and caused us to be less than we could be. We are called to go out witnessing to the transforming power of God’s love. We are called to share the courage to face the uncertainties of life with the peace that only God can and does give. We are called and sent out to heal the wounds of the world, and of our corner of the world because we follow the One with authority. We are sent out to live as God’s people walking in God’s way.

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FOLLOWERS, BOTH RELUCTANT AND WILLING,  By Al Brown, Lay Speaker
January 26, 2003
[Sermon 7]
Jonah 3: 1-5, 10.
Mark 1: 14-20.

CHILDREN'S SERMON--I DON'T WANT TO.
Did you guys hear what Mr. Dermanuelian had to say about Jonah?  What was it?
Does anyone else know anything else about Jonah?
[Either fill in the rest of the story, or tell the story of Jonah if no one remembers.]
Jonah didn't want to do what God wanted him to do.
Have you ever felt like you had to do something you didn't want to do?
[Discuss]
And how do you think Jonah felt when he was in the whale's belly?
But then what happened?
It turned out that the whale was a good thing for Jonah, and that God had sent it to save him, and help him do what he was supposed to do.
Even when God was mad at Jonah for not doing what he was told, God still loved him enough to send the whale to save him.
So all of you remember that when you get in trouble with your parents.  Even when they are angry, they still love you very much.
And even though His people are sometimes bad, God still loves us all.

[LORD'S PRAYER]    YOU CAN GO TO SUNDAY SCHOOL NOW

SERMON
We have two powerful stories to consider today.  The story of Jonah, the reluctant, depressed and cranky prophet.  And the story of the fishermen who dropped everything to follow Jesus.  But before I talk about these stories in particular, I need to talk about the difference between truth and fact, between fiction and parable.

TRUTH AND FACT, FICTION AND PARABLES
If something is fact, you can actually see it, touch it, feel it.  Or if it is a fact about the past, you can read a record of it in a reliable source.  A scientist can verify it in a laboratory experiment, or by observation.  Ever since the days of Sir Francis Bacon, the father of the scientific method, our culture has valued facts.  If a story is based on facts, we tend to give it more credence than a story that is not based in facts.
Lately, I have read a couple of books by John Dominic Crossan, a noted biblical historian, who has specialized in researching the actual historical record for clues on Jesus.  He is scrupulous about the historical accuracy, working hard to find what Jesus was like, how he acted, the world he lived in and how that might have shaped his life.  And Mr. Crossan has reached some conclusions that are uncomfortable for many.  He states that many of the stories contained in the New Testament are not fact, but are instead parable, especially stories of miracles.  This has made him the target of much criticism, and I admit that I myself am uncomfortable with some of his conclusions.  He has been attacked for calling these stories worthless, and of stripping them of meaning.  But despite his doubt about particulars, Mr. Crossan is a very pious man who believes in God, and believes that through Jesus, God touched us here on earth.  He is hurt by these accusations that he has reduced these well-loved stories to fictions.  But Mr. Crossan reminds the critics that he has called them parables, which are different from fiction.  "Fictions," Mr. Crossan says, "are for entertainment, parables are for message."  A parable, whether or not it is rooted in fact, can be full of truth.  Facts speak to our mind, while truth speaks to our hearts.  Parables are important and powerful.  There do not need to be facts involved for something to be true.
  To illustrate this, lets look at Jesus, who just happens to be one of the world's most noted tellers of parables.  Lets imagine that he has just finished telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, and in the audience, there is a skeptical newspaper reporter from the Jerusalem Times looking to make a name for himself (or maybe I should say newspapyrus or newsscroll reporter).
[Do Jesus and the Reporter schtick, with Jesus peppered with questions like, "What was this Samaritan's name?  Where did he live?  So if none of this is true, this is all just a load of crap, right?"]
I think you get my point.  Even if the story of the Samaritan is not rooted in fact, it still illustrates many important truths.  Now, many parables are based on fact, but facts are not essential to a parable.  The power of a parable is not diminished if it lacks underpinning in facts.  The power of a parable is in its truths, the messages it gives us, in the meaning we draw out of it, and in how we respond to it.
Some people argue that everything in the Bible is literally factual.  I myself don't agree.  And the exercise of trying to explain some of the old stories can make us miss the point entirely.  People get so wrapped up trying to explain how a meteor strike or earthquake or volcanic eruption might have caused the temporary draining of the Red Sea, they miss the fact that the story of Moses and his people crossing safely is about salvation, not physics.  Now, the story of Moses may be factual, but again, the important thing is the truth in the story, and how it speaks to us.  And on the other hand, if some of those Bible stories ARE true, we face some pretty uncomfortable concepts.  Think of the story of Job and his suffering, as God and the devil wager on what his reactions will be.  Do you like the idea of a God who uses a person as a laboratory rat?  The story of Jonah could be totally factual, or it could be based on some facts, or it could be a fictional parable.  But again, worrying about facts can actually cause us to miss the meaning of a parable.  So instead of examining how it might be possible that a whale really did swallow a man, who then lived inside of it for three days, lets look at the story of Jonah to try to find the truths it contains, and the messages it brings us.

THE STORY OF JONAH
To recap the story of Jonah, our reluctant prophet, we have a man who is charged by God to give a message.....[USE BIBLE AS GUIDE, RE-TELL STORY--JONAH, ONE OF THE WORLD's FIRST EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS].
Now the big message that people have drawn from the salvation of Nineveh is that if you don’t listen to God, you are punished, and if you listen to God, you are protected from harm.  Many people today still see that as the most important message of the story.  Certainly, the psalmists thought that was true.  It is reflected in the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." But I‘m not sure that the fortress of God is one that exists in the physical world.
I don't think God protects us from harm just because we are good.  This is a point that I found expressed in the book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," by Rabbi Harold Kushner.   The corollary to the statement that being good protects us from harm is that, if harm comes to us, it is because God is punishing us.  Just like it is hard for me to think of God experimenting with Job's pain, it is hard for me to see that God is meting out justice by intervening in our lives here on earth, spreading illness or bringing healing based on some sort of scorecard.
And I do not just get that message from Rabbi Kushner.  If good people were protected from harm, there would be less empty seats in this church.  I have had to say goodbye to too many good, pious and God-fearing people to think that believing and obeying keeps us from harm.  It is hard enough to lose someone who has lived their full three-score-and-ten, let alone lose someone who has more living to do.  And we certainly have to lift up too many names when we express our concerns in prayer each week.  So no, I do not think that piety necessarily brings us protection.
Now that sounds pretty bleak, almost like something Jonah might say.  It almost sounds like a statement that God does not intervene in our lives.  Yet, there have been many moments in my life when I stopped and thought, "what just happened here?"  But God’s interventions are subtle, mysterious and hard to pin down.  And it is clear that many times when I hope for direct intervention, it is not meant to be.
So if I don’t see a story about Divine Protection here, what messages do I draw from Jonah’s story?  To me, the story here is a personal one, not about cities or kings or whales or storms at sea, but about a man and his relationship with God.  A man who came to religion reluctantly.  A man called by God, who just didn’t want to listen.  A story that speaks to us in our darkest hours.
Now, lets do a little survey.  I want to see a show of hands here.  How many of you remember sitting in church not because you wanted to be there, but because mom made you go?  Be honest now.  [Don't forget to raise own hand.]  So, I guess a lot of us have something in common with this reluctant prophet...........
And let's look at Jonah after God delivers him to Nineveh.  He walks only halfway into the city, mutters a few words, and stalks out.  How many of us, at some time in our faith journey, have felt that we are being pushed past our comfort zone, been pressed into a committee we didn't want to serve on, have participated in an activity not because it brought us joy, but because it was what was expected of us.  And how many of us did not give that activity our whole heart?  I don't know about you, but I certainly have had moments like that.
And let's look at Jonah's reaction to the salvation of the Ninevites.  He is sour and suspicious.  But is that so hard to believe?  Imagine that Saddam Hussein called a press conference, and announced that he was bringing all his hidden poison gas to the borders to turn over to the U.N., that he was allowing freedom of the press, and that elections would be held in ninety days, and that until then, he would be turning his government over to a committee made up of a cross section of Iraqis--Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni.  Think of Donald Rumsfeld, "Goodness gracious, after all that man has done, I just can'tt see how we can swallow this story."  Think of the National Guardsman who has been uprooted from his life, shipped to Kuwait, and just wants to get this over with.  I think we all have our suspicious moments.  It is hard to forgive.
Some point out that the city of Nineveh was a city of gentiles, and suggest that Jonah was a victim of his own hatred, trapped by his own prejudice against foreigners, people who were different.  If he were alive today, a doctor would probably diagnose Jonah with clinical depression.  Even after saving a huge city from destruction, instead of being happy, he continues to be miserable, even to the point of wishing he would die.  Jonah is a man at the end of his rope.  And while we may be uncomfortable with the idea, being faithful and being pious does not shield us from doubt and depression.  I often grapple myself with feelings of inadequacy and doubt.  All of us have our dark moments, and the parable of Jonah goes directly to the heart of those dark moments, and gives us hope.
Now, after hearing this litany of doom and gloom, you may wonder where that hope comes from.  Why should the story of this curmudgeon give us hope?  It is because of the role of God in Jonah's life.  Through all of Jonahâ's grumpiness, cantankerousness and lack of enthusiasm, God stays with him.  Even when Jonah doesn'tt see that He is there, God is present in Jonah's life.  Now, God doesn't protect Jonah from harm.  Jonah wishes he could die, gets thrown overboard during a storm, gets to spend days in the belly of a beast considering the hopelessness of his plight.  Jonah questions the value of his mission, and in the end of the story, is not protected from the burning heat of the sun.  But through it all, God sticks with Jonah, supporting him, helping him reach his goal, and reasoning with him when Jonah argues.  God is with Jonah the whole time.  Even in Jonahâ's darkest hour, in the whale's belly, God is using that whale to deliver him where he needs to go.  For me, the message of this parable is that God is with us, even when we are not necessarily with him, even when we are depressed, bleak, half-hearted.  Let me get back to a point that I left dangling earlier.  If, as Rabbi Kushner argues, and I agree, God does not protect the faithful from harm, then what does God give us?  The message of this parable is that God is patient with us, never withdraws his love, and always has a message of hope for us.   All we have to do is reach out to God, and we will be abundantly blessed with the best gifts of all, the gifts of the spirit, the gifts that allow us to face anything life throws at us.  One of the intriguing parts of the story of Jonah is that it finishes with God's lesson of the tree, without giving us Jonah's reaction.  The story doesn't end, and like a lot of good stories, it leaves it to us to fill in the ending.  I guess I am an optimist, because I like to imagine Jonah finally getting the point, letting go of his anger, and coming to peace with himself and his God.  To me, the story of Jonah is a story of God's faithfulness, and a story of hope. 

THE STORY OF JESUS AND THE FISHERMEN
I could talk about Jonah for the entire sermon, but let's put him aside for now.  Instead of a reluctant prophet, let's look at some who answer the call freely and willingly.  Let's examine our New Testament lesson, the story of the fishermen.  [USE BIBLE, RECAP STORY HERE] 
This is a story that not only has a message like a parable, it is rooted in fact.  Even a meticulous historian like Mr. Crossan agrees that Jesus said to people, "Follow me," and they did, dropping everything in their lives to follow Him.  This story has the ring of history, not of drama.  There are no flashy or showy miracles being performed here.
Or is there a miracle here after all?  And is that miracle perhaps a greater one than changing water into wine, or making a lame man walk?  Here is a situation where, even after we strip away everything but the bare facts, we see a message of incredible power.  Jesus was a lowly peasant, born of a conquered and oppressed people.  He had no possessions, no office, no title, no patronage.  But people flocked to him, and to his message.  And not just people predisposed toward piety and contemplation, but ordinary people from all walks of life, fishermen and laborers, officials and soldiers, protesters and prostitutes--the well and the weak, the hopeful and the hopeless.  From a life as gentle as the wings of a butterfly came a wind that blew change throughout the world.
Jesus brought a message of hope and charity.  He distilled the old laws into their essence, love for God and love for humanity.  He opened the door for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives.  He sacrificed himself for us all.  He sparked a movement that transformed lives, spread across the globe, shaped the destiny of nations.  As I said earlier, even a skeptical historian like John Dominic Crossan can examine the record, and see that for a glorious moment, God touched the earth.
And, just as the story of Jonah left the ending up to us, the story of the fishermen is also not over.  The next chapter is in our hands.  The challenge is not an easy one.  We are not immune from pain and doubt.  But we have the gifts of the spirit to draw on, the strength of our convictions and the support of our community.  And we know that through it all, God is with us.  Now it is up to us to answer that call to "Follow me," to be disciples of Christ, and to spread the message of hope and salvation to the world.                      AMEN. PRAYER

And now brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray, first silently, seeking to open ourselves, our hearts and our minds to God--to feel the call to be His disciples.  Let yourself answer that call, and say yes to God.  And then, let us raise up our joys and our concerns, our blessings and our burdens.  You can raise them out loud, or silently--remembering that God hears all prayers.

SILENCE

RAISE SPECIFIC PRAYER CONCERNS

LORD, we do not always follow you willingly.  And we often stray from your path.  But be with us Lord, in all that we do, and everywhere we go.  Watch over us, and pour your grace upon us.  Be our strength, our support and our salvation.  Help us to see how we can serve you better, love our fellow man more freely, and follow your lead.  We pray in Jesus' holy name.

AMEN

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

January 19, 2003 - Human Relations Day & Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday

Text: *I Samuel 3:1-10

*John 1:43-51

Title: Answering the Call

In our Gospel this morning, Philip comes to Nathanael and proclaims that he has found the one whom Moses wrote about. He is Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael’s response probably revealed a cynical sneer or an expression of disbelief when he asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see." When he accepted Philip’s invitation and came to see Jesus, Nathanael was convinced. His earlier skepticism and prejudice was replaced with conviction and he instantly became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth whom he recognized as the Son of God.

There is a world out there full of people who, if asked about it, would think you were wasting your time coming to church on Sunday mornings. "Can anything good come out of the church?" They may be thinking about the recent scandals involving some priests in the Catholic church. Perhaps they are thinking of the way believers of Christ are generally portrayed in the media. Maybe they are remembering long boring sermons and worship services which filled them with guilt - or even worse never seemed to connect with "real life". Whatever the reason, there are many people out there who think the church is totally irrelevant to modern life and, at best, a waste of time.

Let me ask you, "What was it that Philip saw in Jesus that moved him to follow, and that stirred him to invite his friend Nathanael? Come and see what? What is it that brings you to church on Sunday mornings? Is it important enough for you to invite others to `come and see’?"

The story is told of two men who met for breakfast one Sunday morning. They had been business partners for over twenty years. As they were leaving the restaurant one of them asked, "Where are you going this morning?" "I'm going to play golf. What about you?" The first man responded rather apologetically, "I'm going to church." The other man said, "Why don't you give up that church stuff?" The man asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, we have been partners for twenty years. We have worked together, attended board meetings together, and had lunch together, and all of these twenty years you have never asked me about going to church. You have never invited me to go with you. Obviously, it doesn't mean that much to you."

Now I am all too well aware that we have rules in our society about sharing our faith in public settings. Teachers, among others, have to be very careful what they say to students so as not to violate the laws of public education. It is much too easy for us to interact with people on a daily basis over a period of years and have no idea what it is that they believe, or what motivates their thinking and decision making. Perhaps that is part of what contributes to the false perception that faith and religious practice is irrelevant to daily life.

"Former President Jimmy Carter is not shy about sharing the Faith. He and wife Rosalynn have been on numerous faith-sharing missions in America and overseas. In his book "Living Faith," Jimmy Carter recounts a humbling experience. He says that when he was preparing to run for governor a second time, he was invited to speak to a Christian men's group about his activities as a Christian witness. In preparation for that talk, he took account of the witnessing he had done. He added up the times when he had shared the faith with other people, one on one, and they had made commitments to Christ. The total number came to 140. But then, said Carter, "The Lord must have been looking over my shoulder because immediately I remembered my 1966 political campaign when Rosalynn and I had traveled the state and had shaken hands with 300,000 Georgians, extolling my good points, and asking them to vote for me. I had asked 300,000 to support me, but only 140 to affirm Jesus. The terrible difference in those numbers brought me to my knees."

Many of you are effective when it comes to your careers. You are in the business of teaching others about what is important. You are engaged in marketing products and ideas. You are entrusted with the safety of our nation and its citizens. You do your jobs well.

Each of us has another job - which we take more or less seriously, but which has not only daily, but also eternal consequences. We are each chosen and called by God. The question is often, "How do we recognize God’s presence in the world and in our lives?" The Biblical stories for today challenge us to respond to God’s presence while we are still learning how to recognize it.

Samuel was still a boy. He lived in the temple, and worked with the priest Eli. One night, when everyone had gone to bed, Samuel heard God call his name. Samuel wasn’t expecting to hear God calling him, and thought that it was the voice of Eli who was old and almost blind. So Samuel ran to see what Eli wanted. Eli told him that he hadn’t called, and to go back to bed. This happened three times. It reminds me of the song that was popular some years ago which included the phrase, "knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipe if the answer is no." God knocked three times. After the third time, Eli finally figured out what was happening and told Samuel to reply, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Fortunately God didn’t stop with three times - God can be very persistent. So the next time, Samuel finally responded to God’s call. Samuel became one of the great prophets of Israel.

Sometimes we cannot hear God’s voice because of the noise surrounding our lives. If we are to hear God’s voice we need to quiet ourselves from the outside distractions and simply listen. That’s one reason why a regular time of daily prayer and devotions is so important to our spiritual life. We need to take time to be silent, to step back from the noise and concentrate on the still small voice that still whispers in any ear that will listen.

Nathanael was at first skeptical of Philip’s announcement, but he went with him. When Jesus spoke to him and identified him as a man with nothing false in him, he was making a strong statement about Nathanael’s character.

I wonder if Nathanael remembered the words of the Psalm which we heard today. "You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You ... are acquainted with all my ways."

Nathanael had been sitting under a fig tree. In ancient Palestine a fig tree functioned for many as almost a private room. The fig tree grows to a height of about 15 feet and has branches that spread out as much as 25 feet. It was customary to have a fig tree near the door to a house. When people sought quietness to pray they would often seek out the privacy of the shade of a fig tree. Jesus seems to be saying to Nathanael, I saw you and know you because of the time you spend in prayer.

With Samuel, we can say, "Here I am," as we listen to God. Listening, however, is not enough. We need to have a spirit of persistent availability to God. It is one thing to listen and another to be actively available. Samuel could have stayed in bed instead of responding to what he thought to be Eli’s voice, but instead, he consistently went to Eli and said, "Here I am!" How available are we for God’s use? How available was the man who for twenty years never invited his partner to come with him to worship? Jimmy Carter realized that while he thought he was available for God’s use, he was much more available for his own interests - 300,000 to 140. Being available to God includes being available for others - and this is the way that most of us are called to respond to God. Availability includes listening to others, affirming, forgiving, helping, giving, caring, impacting lives with the light and the love of God.

There are ways that this can be done, even when you may be prohibited from actually mentioning God. This week a teacher in a public school, whose faith is very important to him, had a great impact on a student simply by engaging that student in a conversation where the student truly felt heard and understood. This is only one way that you can begin to answer the question asked by many, "Can anything good come out of the church?"

We answer the call and respond, "Here I am" through listening, through persistent availability, and through service. Tomorrow is the day set aside in this country to remember the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. He had his own story to tell about listening to the voice. He had gone into the ministry mostly because his father was a pastor and he always did what Daddy King wanted him to do. Martin wanted a quiet life as a professor, possibly President of Morehouse College in Atlanta someday. He did not intend to be a national civil rights leader.
Through an odd turn of events, as a young pastor he was thrust into the forefront of the Montgomery bus boycott. He came home late one night, tired, frightened. The phone rang. An angry voice on the other end said, "We're gonna get you, Nigger!" Martin Luther King stood in his kitchen, frozen in fear.
He wanted to call Daddy King for reassurance and advice. But Daddy King was not there. Then he said it was like a voice. "Martin, you do what's right. You stand up for justice. You be my drum major for righteousness. I will be with you." He had heard his name called. He knew what God wanted. His life was forever changed and through his life, so was the world.

God called Samuel to be used. God called Philip and Nathanael to be used. God called Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Jimmy Carter and infinite numbers of others we could name. God calls each one of us by name.

We are called like Nathanael was to "come and see". Philip would eventually go to many places unfamiliar to him, he would talk with people whom he didn’t know, but his first response was to go to his friend and invite him. That is the call to us also. A wonderful definition of evangelism is introducing a friend to a friend. I hope that one or two or more of you will think about what it is that makes your faith important enough for you to come on Sunday mornings. Think about why it’s important to you to devote some of your very busy time to serving on a committee in the church or teaching a Sunday school class or doing whatever it is that God has called you to do. Think about your response to the world, "Can anything good come out of the church?". Invite someone to come with you and meet Jesus.

I remember some years ago spending several hours on the phone one night with a woman who was struggling with some serious personal concerns. She had not attended church for quite some time and I wanted desperately to urge her to come back to church. However, I had to be honest with myself. I realized that the church I was attending at that time, would not be a healthy supportive community for her to become a part of. It caused me tremendous pain to realize that I could not invite her to come and meet Christ in that location.

We have a responsibility as a church to be prepared to make good on the offer someone makes to come and meet Jesus. Can the Nathanael who is invited by someone else, or called directly by God, come and meet Jesus in our church? Each of us has a part in making sure that this can and does happen. It is part of our answering the call, "Here I am." It is my job to offer Christ in the sermon and design of worship in a way that people may meet Christ. If I’m not doing that, then it is your job to help me learn how to do that. It is your job to help people meet Christ in the spirit of the congregation, in the fellowship before and after worship, in the music, prayers, and Sunday School classes and in the way your live your life both inside and outside of our doors.

We do not know everything about what God wants us to do, but we are called and challenged to respond to God’s presence while we are still learning how to recognize it. We are called, invited, and pushed to look and listen in new places and to new messengers, and to be carriers ourselves of God’s message in new ways.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Baptism of the Lord - January 12, 2003

Text: Genesis 1:1-5

Psalm 29

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

Title: The View from the Baptismal Font

In her book "The Glorious Dawn of God’s Story", Anne Graham Lotz tells about a model of the solar system which Isaac Newton had in his office. Another "scientist came into his office and exclaimed, ‘My! What an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?’ Sir Isaac Newton replied, `Nobody.’ The scientist looked amazed as he said skeptically, `You must think I am a fool. Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius.’

"Sir Isaac Newton got up, walked around his desk, and put his hand on the shoulder of his friend as he said earnestly, `This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you and I know. I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker. Now tell me, by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusions?’"

Genesis, the book of beginnings, opens with the story of creation. There is no attempt to prove God’s existence, but God’s pre-existence is presumed as a statement of faith. The author of the Gospel of John begins with this same affirmation of faith, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.... All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being." In the story of creation the emphasis is on God’s involvement, not on how God did it. The theories of evolution and Big Bang attempt to explain the how, but the basic tenet of faith is that God was involved regardless of which method was used. That is the proclamation of the hymn we just sang, "Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness". It is the witness of all of the Scriptures we have heard this morning.

If you were asked to introduce yourself and tell a little bit about who you are - where would you begin? Most people will start with their name - but after that the stories will go in different directions, highlighting different things of importance. We already noticed that John began his gospel of Jesus by going back to the beginning of creation. Matthew and Luke begin by telling about Jesus’ birth and the events leading up it.

Mark begins with Jesus’ baptism. He starts with a reminder of a prophecy that there would be a messenger sent to prepare the way - and that this messenger was John the Baptist. John is preaching about the need for people to repent - to turn away from their wrong doings and to turn back to God. Baptism as John urged it was something that people were to do - an action and a promise that they would make. John also told them about the one who was coming who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit - with God’s presence.

With Jesus’ baptism everything changed. As Jesus came out of the water, Mark tells us that "he saw the heavens town apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, `You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’" Here was God involved again! The action shifted away from what the people were doing and promising. Now the action became God’s. God testified to who Jesus was. Jesus’ baptism established his identity and authority and marked the beginning of his public ministry.

By the time Mark finishes his first chapter, Jesus has already healed many people. People have started to look for him to seek healing and to hear his teaching.

On this Sunday each year we are invited to remember Jesus’ baptism, but we are also reminded to celebrate our own baptism and what it means in our lives. Last week I mentioned that the grace of God had a sort of "time-release" factor to it. Nowhere is this more true than when we think about baptism.

In baptism God names us and claims us -but for many of us it may be quite awhile before we begin to really understand what that means.

In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul questions people about whether or not they have received the Holy Spirit. Paul is asking an important question because he reminds us that it is the Holy Spirit that gives renewal to our lives and to our worship not a gimmick or a show. This week I attended a workshop on Media in Worship. I learned a little bit about Power Point and Video and I learned a little about how they are being used in worship by some churches. There are times when they can and are being used very effectively - and other times when they may seem more like entertainment.

We are a fast food, sound bite, entertainment seeking society looking for quick answers and input that doesn’t strain our short attention spans - and yet, most pastors, myself included, preach for longer than most television shows ask you to go without a commercial break. In an age where religious values are spoken but not always lived, Paul calls the church - and those of us in the church - to be faithful to our baptism.

Baptism empowers us for prophetic ministry - that is true whether or not you consider yourself a minister. A minister is anyone who acts as an agent of another person or thing. We are all ministers of Jesus Christ. We are called and sent through our baptism to be agents of Jesus Christ in the world. We are called to represent Christ to other people.

In the church of the 4th and 5th centuries and today still in Orthodox churches, when people are baptized, they are anointed with oil on their eyes, ears, and nostrils. A few weeks ago, I attended the baptism of my great nephew in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. At a certain point in the service the priest took oil and made the sign of the cross upon him first on his forehead but then on his chest and back for "the healing of soul and body". Then he was anointed on his ears "for the hearing of faith", on his feet with the words "That he may walk in the way of your commandments, O Lord," on finally on his hands with the words, "Your hands have made me and fashioned me. Explain your commandments for me to learn."

For me, it was a vivid reminder that baptism claims every part of our being - every part of who we are. Baptism tells us who we are - and whose we are. It sends us out to represent Christ in all our relationships and in all of our actions. That doesn’t mean that we become perfect - we know that all of us have said and done things for which we are sorry. We know that all of us have fallen short of the potential God gives to each of us. That is why God’s grace is so wonderful - still loving us, accepting us, picking us up, dusting us off, and putting us back on the right road.

But we too have a responsibility. We are sent out to be witnesses by the way we live each day. The time-release factor in baptism and grace is constantly being released and born anew within us. Whether we were baptized many years ago or very recently, our baptism connects us with all the saints of the church who have been baptized through the years - and most importantly with Jesus in his baptism. With him, at our baptism too, the words are proclaimed, "This is my Son, my Daughter, my beloved. With you I am well pleased."

In creation God brought form and substance out of nothing. God created order out of chaos. God created light that penetrates darkness. The description of earth at the beginning can be frightfully similar to the lives of many people living today. People whose lives are formless, have no shape or center, are void of meaning, joy and satisfaction. Lives which may be attractive on the outside but empty on the inside. Lives which may be dark with depression, ignorance, or separation from God.

The story of creation and the witness of baptism invite us to let the Spirit of God enter our own lives. If we allow God into our lives, God will bring order out of chaos, and will illumine the darkness of our world with light. God will empower us to go out as ministers of Christ, walking in his way. In Baptism God claims us and we are no longer our own - and thankfully, no longer on our own. We have been made new, made beloved, and made whole. We are blessed and empowered and sent forth, wet and wild with hope, to be a blessing ourselves.

Let us pray:

Creating and Baptizing God, help us each to remember our baptism. Remind us that your sacred waters give us drink, cleanse us, and allow us to grow. Baptism does for us what water does for us. In our time, many of us fail to realize just how short our lives would be without water. So dry, too, are our lives without you. As Jesus had the Holy Spirit fall upon him at his baptism, may we, this day, sense a new spirit within us as we remember the sacredness of the baptismal moment. May the sacred memory of you continue to nurture and sustain our lives before you, O God. Grant us our prayers and once again make us your people. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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North Kingstown United Methodist Church

Epiphany - January 5, 2003

Text: Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

*Matthew 2:1-12

Title: "Are You Down Here?"

In her book At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon writes about a time when The central character, Father Tim, an Episcopalian priest, entered the sanctuary and noticed a man kneeling in a pew. The man "uttered such a desperate cry that the rector’s heart fairly thundered. .... `If you’re up there, prove it! Show me! If you’re God, you can prove it!’ In the visitor’s voice was a combination of anger, despair and odd hope. `I’ll never ask you this again,’ the man said coldly, and then with a fury that chilled his listener, he shouted again, `Are ... you ... up ... there?’ ..... Father Tim slid into the pew across the aisle and knelt on the worn cushion. ‘You may be asking the wrong question,’ he said, quietly. ... `I believe the question you may want to ask is not, `Are you up there?’ but, `Are you down here?’"

What an appropriate question for us to ask when our celebration of Jesus’ birth has been put behind us. Father Tim’s explanation to the visitor is the message of Christmas - and of Christianity. "God wouldn’t be God if he were only up there. In fact, another name for him is Immanual, which means `God with us. ... He’s with us right now, in this room.’"

The Christmas decorations are gone from the stores - or at least on sale at greatly reduced prices. The wrapping paper has been discarded and many of us have put away our decorations. Yet, in the Christian church we are now in the season of Christmas - the 12 days of Christmas which culminates tonight, the night before Epiphany. Epiphany means "manifestation" and we use it to mean particularly the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ. Since we generally hold worship services only on Sundays, we celebrate Epiphany today. So as we enter the season which especially proclaims how Jesus Christ manifests God to humans, let us be careful not to discard Jesus with the wrapping paper, or wrap him up with the nativity set to be brought out again next year. When we do that, we show a lack of joy and awe that is central to Christmas and to our lives.

There is a tendency to want to "get back to normal" but after the birth of Christ, there was - and is - no normal anymore. Christmas and Epiphany are not just days to check off the calendar but they are something to take with us into the new year, something that will last.

In this flu and cold season there are many medications which claim to be helpful in controlling the symptoms and hastening our recovery. Some claim immediate relief, but others proclaim a "time-release" factor something that is released into our bloodstream over several hours and has a longer lasting effect. I would suggest to you that part of the message of Christmas and Epiphany is that God’s grace has a "time-release" factor.

Christmas happened a while back, but now we begin to see the time-release factor. We can hear that in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He proclaims that because of God’s grace he is able to do the things God chose him to do. That is true for us also. We are able to do what God wants us to do because God’s grace in Jesus Christ makes such a difference not only on December 25th, or January 5th, but also on March 3rd, July 10th, and every day of the year. God keeps coming into our lives in unexpected ways and unexpected places.

The Magi whom we heard about in the familiar reading that we know as the "Story of the Three Wise Men" experienced God’s presence in ways that most good Jews of Jesus’ time would not have expected. These Gentiles came seeking the child who had been born king of the Jews. They went to Jerusalem, the center of Judaism, thinking that the logical place to find the new king. They did not know that the Messiah was to be born in the City of David - Bethlehem. Matthew tells us that when they found the child they were overwhelmed with joy. Think about it, during your Christmas preparations and celebrations did you encounter the Christ - and were you overwhelmed with joy at this presence in your life?

The Grace of God is not limited to the scene at the manger. God did not stop touching the lives of the shepherds, the holy family, or anyone else in Bethlehem after the angels departed. In the coming of the Magi, the grace of God broke again into the calm of human existence. The grace of God continues to break into both the calm and the chaos of our lives - and we, too can be those who follow the light, who bring gifts to God. We too, can be one of the Magi.

This year, as in every year, we are invited to decide where we stand in relation to the Christ. Where do you see yourself located in this year’s manger scene? For each of us in this Epiphany there is a star to discover, a journey to take, and a manger to rest within.

Instead of asking God, "Are you up there?" as Father Tim suggests, the more appropriate question is, "Are you down here?" The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!"

There are many human experiences in which Christ is presented to us, or re-presented, through another person. There are no limits to the ways in which God comes to us and affirms our relationship with God. The church, the community of faith, has accepted certain acts of worship which were instituted or begun by Christ and which have been celebrated by Christians through the years - acts in which we are visited in a special way by God’s Holy Spirit. These are sacramental or incarnational moments, moments in which Christ becomes real for us and we experience God’s grace again.

At the table of our Lord we are invited to receive God’s grace through fellowship with the One who calls us from and sends us back into the world. All of life can be a sacrament. When we are open to God, we can find ways to transform our daily routines into vessels to convey God’s truth and grace. We can be aware of the gifts of the things that fill our days. Our cars which make it easier for us to get from place to place. Our jobs which give us an opportunity to interact with our brothers and sisters. Transitions in life which while not always pleasant or welcomed are times when we may be somehow more open to the working of God in our lives and the witness of God’s love through other people. Every event can become an opportunity to open ourselves anew to God’s activity in our lives.

We can begin to see our relationships as sacraments. How would our lives change if we made a special effort to make everyone we meet feel better than they did before we met? When we embrace the epiphanies of God in our lives, we begin a journey that leads us to share the light with the world.