"STAYING CONNECTED"
John 15:1-11
Faith United
March 15, 2009
Whenever I tell people that I'm from New Jersey
inevitably, they are incredulous
and say something like
"You mean you're in Nebraska by CHOICE?"
When they find out that I moved back east 10 years ago
and then 4 years ago
decided that Nebraska is where I want to spend
the rest of my life,
their mouth inevitably drop open
and they look at me like I'm in need of serious
psychological evaluation
It's ok, it's fun
In New Jersey, as I've said many times,
we rarely knew our neighbors
and every day when we went to the grocery store
or convenience store
or just took a walk downtown
it was pretty rare to bump into someone you knew by name
The unspoken rule is
that you don't look anyone in the eye
For God's sake, DO NOT speak to strangers,
and mind your own business
But at the time I didn't mind it so much
because it was all I knew
I didn't expect anyone to talk to me downtown
I didn't expect the store clerk to smile at me
and it was always a delightful surprise to see someone
in the store that I knew
When we lived in a place called Waverly, Pennsylvania
Sarah was in 5th grade
and she had 300 kids just in her grade
When she had trouble with math
the teacher told us that they'd be glad to help her after school
if we paid them $45 a session
When I went to concerts at her school
I knew absolutely nobody
I do understand that growing up in a small town
is not all sweetness and delight
I do understand that you don't always want everyone to know
what's happening in your life
or what your kid is doing at school
I understand that small towns are a hard place
to break into
if you weren't born here
And New Jersey and Pennsylvania certainly have their perks
as well as their annoyances
But I spent the first 25 years of my life pretty anonymous
other than at church, where I was the pastor's kid
you are just a face in the crowd there
and when the stuff hits the fan
you are basically on your own
to find your own support and help
and it usually costs you
When I went to summer camp at the age of 15,
it was my first time ever going to camp
Again, in New Jersey, camp just wasn't as big a deal as it is here
But it was that camp that got me through the often tough times
of high school
Our camp became a little community
That first year I went we learned that the camp was in danger
of being shut down due to lack of participation
So those of us who were there spent a lot of energy that year
recruiting and advertising
and we quadrupled the attendance the following year
During the year I wrote letters to my camp friends
I could call them when I needed to talk to someone
We sent pictures back and forth
had reunions during the year
It was a place I belonged, where people knew my name
and valued me
and we were all trying to find our way
through the sticky journey of high school
I fit in at camp
whereas I didn't find a place to fit in in high school
I was not an athlete
and it was a big enough school
that you had to try out for teams
and be pretty good to even sit on the bench
I was so shy that I didn't even get into the choir
until my junior year
because I'd always choke at the auditions
But I always knew I was part of a community
that valued me for who I was
and who shared my values
and they were just a phone call or letter away
I still keep in touch with the director of that camp
who is a pastor
we've known each other for 29 years now
and that is the only person I've kept connected to that long
outside of my family
We all need to be connected, for better or worse
Jesus is talking to his disciples at the Last Supper they had
together
he's loading them up with Stuff they would need
to make it through after his death
They are about to go through a horrifying loss
a terrible time in their lives
when they will have every reason to shake their fists
at God
and say, "what are you doing to me?"
Here they are called to follow Jesus, be his disciples
they've left family and friends to do it
and now he's going to get killed?
What kind of deal is that?
How can God abandon them like this?
Jesus knows those days are coming
and he knows that he can't fully prepare them for that
He can't control whether they will walk away in grief
or stick it out and carry on his work
But right now, he's giving them what he can
to ge them through
"I am the vine," he says, "and you are the branches,"
God is the vine grower.
God removes every branch that doesn't bear fruit
and every branch that bears fruit will go through some pruning
to make it bear more fruit…."
And that doesn't mean that God is going to do terrible things to them
to help them grow
I do not believe that God sends us terrible things
What kind of parent would intentionally hurt their child?
Would you force your child to go through horrible things
just so they can get stronger?
Of course not
So why would God?
Walter Wink, a longtime theologian
once wrote that he sees God as a gardener
who grieves while watching a violent storm
rip through his beloved garden
But after the storm,
the gardener lovingly and tenderly prunes the injured plants
in order to guarantee their survival
and to restore their beauty and harmony
That gardener clears away the debris that's left behind
from the storm
God doesn't send the storms
Storms happen
And God is there to pick us back up,
clean us up,
and help us use the experience to bear more fruit
Abide in me, Jesus says, as I abide in you
Do we think about that? What he's saying?
He's saying that he abides IN us
Being "in" is the language of intimacy
it describes an ongoing relationship of closeness
God is not out there somewhere
but all throughout the Bible we are assured
that God is IN us
The spirit of God abides IN us
God is a part of us, not something outside of us
We are made in God's image
and therefore the divine dwells in all of us
yeah, it's 'harder to see in some as in others
but it is there
The divine is in us, it flows through us
and in order to stay truly and fully alive
we need to stay connected to the source of our lives
to keep that Spirit flowing in us and through us
The Spirit gives us the Stuff we need to live this life fully
and not merely survive
To Abide in means to persevere, continue, stay with it
What that image means is something that we don’t see a lot of
We can all lament about how marriages just don't last anymore
that marriage as an institution is valued less and less
But it's not just about marriage
it's about all the relationships in our lives
we give up too easily
It's all or nothing
we are good at leaving and quitting
We don't have a lot of images in our society
to show us how to abide
to hang in there when the going gets tough
to hang in there when we disagree or disappoint each other
To remember ultimately that we belong to each other
and are bound to each other in Christ
But we are created to be in connection with each other
and with God
it's an innate need to be related to something bigger than ourselves
You may complain about living in a small town
where people can be stuck in their ways, stubborn
or that you get tired of the rumors
and people not minding their own business
Community with human beings is never perfect
but we can't live without it
We need to be known and loved for who we are
we need to be a part of a community
that will love us even when we screw up
even when we embarrass ourselves
even when we disappoint
And when things fall apart
we need to know that we are not alone
we may not be able to eat all those casseroles
that come to our door
but we are glad for the human beings that carry them to us
because it means we matter
that we are not invisible
and that we belong
One thing that troubles me is when the Church
starts looking like the rest of the world
Jesus never called us to be in a one-on-one relationship with him
yes, he wants us to have relationship with him
but it was never meant to be a private one
He called us from the very beginning
to be in community
Faith is not meant to be lived out alone
If it was just about me and Jesus
just about my own personal salvation
then we would get self-centered
We start seeing the Church as existing to meet MY needs
to serve ME and to do what I want it to do
But we are not consumers here
Out there we pay our money and we get what we shop for
Here it is about the community
we all serve God in community
and it's not about our needs getting met
that will happen in the process
but it's about serving Christ, giving to one another
and giving to those in need
living our lives in community
We see it all the time
people shop for Churches
like they shop for a new TV
If it's not entertaining enough
if I can't make all the decisions
if things don't always go my way
then I can just leave and find another church
We will be a member as long as our needs are getting met
but as soon as you make someone mad
they are out the door
if we don't sing the right songs
or study the right books
people are gone
that's not what Jesus called us to
He called us to abide together
to be a community
to be bound by our sole purpose
of living for and serving him in love
Of being there for each other
even when we want to strangle each other
even when we don't get our way
even when we don't like the color of the banners
We are here to do what God wants
we are here to learn how to be a connected people
in a community of love
Joan Borysenko, a doctor and retreat leader
writes that "relationship is an invitation into a parallel universe
where fear, doubt and separation are unknown
The miracle of community is the simple, homely reality of love
and God is never closer than when
the space between two hearts is narrowed…"
The author Rita Snowden tells of her visit to a small town
near Dover, England
She was having tea in the late afternoon
when she became very aware of an unbelievably pleasant scent
filling the air
She asked the waiter the source of the scent
and was told that it came from the people passing by
He explained to her that they worked in a perfume factory
down the street and were on their way home
When they left the factory they carried with them
the fragrance that had permeated their clothes
during their day's work
Snowden saw this as an illustration of what the church can be
at its best
We should be a people who allow ourselves in worship
to be permeated by the love of Christ
and the sweetness of his presence
Then as we go forth into the world
the fragrance of God goes with us
and all the people we pass experience something
God's sweet fragrance in us..
Wouldn't that be cool?
"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and abide in his love…" Jesus says
I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete….
We are born to be God's people
we are born into a community of love and grace
Love is what holds us together when things fall apart
When the storms hit hard
and wipe us out, God is there to pick us up
clean us up
and get us back on track
and God sends people to our doors
bearing casseroles and hugs
prayers blankets and a listening ear
People, angels in disguise, to remind us
who we are and to whom we belong
to remind us we are not alone
and we will make together
Twelve Step groups
have a saying at the end of their meetings
"Keep coming back, it works if you work it
and you're worth it…"
And we can say that here
Keep coming back, you belong here
stay connected to the community of faith
and to the source of our lives
let the Spirit of God flow through you
to cleanse you, strengthen you, and help you grow
It works if you let it
and in God's eyes you are very much worth it….
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are
"GOD CAME NEAR"
Mark 1:9-15
Faith United
March 1, 2009
Don't you hate that word "repent"?
I do
It gets in the way, somehow
it makes me want to stop listening, stop reading
"Repent" reminds me of when I was a teenager in New Jersey
and during the summers we'd walk the boardwalk in Ocean City
and there were these guys
really weird looking guys
with long hair, long beards,
and they kind of looked like the group "ZZ Top"
They wore those sandwich boards
or carried signs that said, "Repent! Jesus is coming soon!"
It was embarrassing, it was a joke
nobody took them seriously
but that's what I think of when I hear the word repent
and I wonder, repent of what?
what do you want me to do?
But the word repent means literally, "turn around,"
take a U turn, change direction
It doesn't mean, fall on the ground, feel your own unworthiness
lament and feel like piece of garbage
and fear the coming of the Lord
Which is basically what those ZZ Top look-alikes
wanted us to do
to fear the coming of the Lord
So I have trouble with the language
it has baggage for me, clearly
And another thing I don't get
is why….
Why was Jesus sent to the desert
and why was he sent there to suffer?
Why was he tempted for 40 days
by only God knows what?
It was more than the temptation to jump off buildings
and be saved
or to turn stones into bread
or to bow down to Satan
like Matthew talks about…
He was there forty days, with wild beasts, it says
tempted by Satan, by evil…
but we're spared the details
And now we enter the season of Lent
40 days,
the same amount of time Jesus was tempted
Why?
and are we supposed to suffer now?
are we supposed to give up something we love
so that we can get a taste of that temptation?
I'm tempted to think
that my giving up ice cream or French fries
somehow doesn't reach the depth of suffering
that Jesus went through in that desert
Just a hunch
So why?
Why did he go there?
and why did the Holy Spirit send him there?
Shoot, if that's what the Holy Spirit does
than I don't want anything to do with it!
In the old book and movie, "The Greatest Story Ever Told,"
it says,
"On a hillside, Jesus found a cavern and there made his
solitary camp
His sole reason for retreating to this grotto was that
he must become acquainted with human suffering
and temptation…"
I think of the children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"
Jesus went to the desert where the wild things are
what did he hear?
what did he see?
what did he feel?
The desert is not a pleasant place
it's harsh, dry, and stark
you can become dehydrated out there
and start to suffer hallucinations
There aren't any people out there
for forty days he was without all human contact
he was left on his own to find food and water
to not go crazy
We don't know the details of what happened out there
We do know that he was sent there right after his baptism
right after being anointed for this ministry
for being bathed in the waters of baptism
and declared by God
as the Beloved one
Bummer…
what a harsh follow up to a wonderful blessing!
I wonder if when he was out there
he ever said, "Hey, why me?"
Why do I have to do this?
God, if you love me so much, why do I have to endure this?
If I'm so great, than why are you torturing me?"
If he did think those things,
he didn't tell anyone or write it down
what happened out there remains a mystery
all that we do know is that he was out there
in the harsh, unforgiving desert
where the wild things are
for forty days and forty long nights
I wonder if he heard voices out there
taunting him, daring him to relinquish his faith in God
his trust in God's love
after all, what kind of loving Parent
would send their child out into the desert to suffer?
That's what Satan could have said
how can you trust a God that would allow you to suffer?
how can you believe that God loves you
if God is letting you thirst and hunger out here
in the unforgiving elements?
Huh, Jesus? Are you crazy?
Are you stupid? He might have asked….
How smart is it to love a God who allows such suffering?
I can hear Satan say….
We've never heard that, have we?
When we've been faced with a horrible thing
like cancer or death or any kind of tragedy
have we heard that voice in our head,
"why you??"
Ask yourself, the voice says, ask yourself, why ME?
How can you trust a God that allows you to suffer?
How can you hope in a God
that allows such pain?
Have you heard that voice?
Years ago in Tilden, I was at the hospital with a parishioner
who had undergone some major surgery
one of many that she'd already endured
and I tried to be pastoral and helpful,
tried to be encouraging
when she finally looked up at me and asked me,
"Peggy have you ever had surgery?"
Well, no, actually I haven't
"Then," she said, "you have no idea what I'm feeling
you have no idea of the pain…"
I couldn't argue with her, she was right
I have no idea
I'm sure I won't get out of this world
without someday having to have some kind of surgery
but right now, no, I have no idea
And what she was saying is that helpful as I want to be
I can only help so much if I haven't been there
And the thing about Jesus and the wilderness
The thing about Jesus going where the wild things are
is that we can know that He has BEEN THERE
Wherever THERE is,
he knows what suffering and torment is like
he didn't go through that because
there is something glorious and admirable
about suffering
He suffered because WE suffer
and because we need a savior who has Been There, Done That
We need a savior with credentials
And Jesus has been there, done that
he has suffered despair, he has suffered incredible physical pain
and mental anguish
so that whatever we go through
we can know, he truly DOES understand
That's the strength of groups like Compassionate Friends,
Alcoholic's Anonymous, Al Anon,
Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous,
Depression Support Groups,
any of those groups
When we go through things in this life
we don't want to talk to someone who hasn't suffered
who hasn't felt what we feel
We want to be with someone who has walked the walk
that we're walking
who has suffered the pain we're suffering
someone who has Been There, Done That
Only they can understand what we're feeling
what we're wrestling with
only they can understand the intensity of emotions
we experience that take on a life of their own
Only a person who has lost a loved one
has the credentials to help others through grief
only someone who has known the ravages of addiction
can truly help someone who is battling that demon
Only someone who has lost a child
can truly help someone going through the same thing
I think the temptation story is too often reduced to a G rating
too often we think, ok, Jesus was tempted in the desert
so he understands our temptations
Rev. John Claypool, a retired pastor
wrote that he believes that our biggest temptation
our worst temptation in this world
is the temptation to despair ….
Despair can suck you under like a tidepool
till you can't breathe
and fills your mind with sick thinking
that you will feel better
you will never have hope again
Our world is full of despair
and full of people who give in to it
and allow it to wash over them like drowning waters
Claypool suggests
that Jesus opened himself up
in that desert to the temptation of despair
he was all alone, physically
hungry, thirsty, maybe on the brink of dehydration
there was nothing but howling winds
stirring up the dry sands that stung his body
wild beasts howling on the perimeters
perhaps voices in his head tempting him to give up
to let the waters of despair wash over him
to let go, let it all be over
drift away and allow himself to be take away
by the strong pull of darkness
To truly believe that that voice from God
back there at the river Jordan was only a dream
that is finally overcome and extinguished
by the very real pain of living
and practicality
I can imagine the strong pull of temptation
the voice of temptation whispering to Jesus,
"Save yourself, get out of this mess,
spare yourself the trouble and tell God what he can do
with this so-called blessing…"
I wonder how many times Jesus might have walked
to the edge of the desert
tempted to go home and resume his work
of carpentry
and live a simpler, easier life?
When we're faced with a terrible diagnosis
or a horrible tragedy or loss
we're often tempted to say, "why me?"
It's perfectly understandable
but I think it's unrealistic to think
that we can get out of this world
without suffering
People think Lent is depressing,
and I suppose it could be if you think of it that way
but I think focusing on Jesus' suffering
is a way to know to receive the good news
specifically that God has come near to us in Jesus
God took human form
with all it's physical pain and emotions
with all its despair and suffering
so that God could indeed be near to us
and know what life is like for us
and to literally walk us through
Why me? Why you?
Why not?
We live in a world of suffering
God doesn't send that suffering
humans do
God does not delight in pain
Jesus didn't suffer in the wilderness
or on the Cross just for the sake of suffering
he suffered because he had the audacity
to put on human flesh
and to lead us to a better way
to the Kingdom of God
To get us to take a U turn
and set our faces toward the Kingdom
We will suffer in this world
whether we know God or not
we are never assured any immunity from pain
because we love God
But we are given hope
we are given a vision and a companion
we are given a membership in the Beloved Community
marked by our baptisms,
blessed by God
God gives us the ability to turn our suffering into ministry
To use the bad things that happen
as an instrument of good and grace
to even offer it to God
as a gift
and say, take this, God, use it for something good
even as it still feels so bad
Maybe I've told this story, I don't know
But the Rev. Henri Nouwen,
who lived the later years of his life
in the community of L'Arche
which was a community for the mentally disabled
in Toronto
Nouwen tells the story of a woman
who was severely handicapped
but a wonderful lady
She came to him and said, "Henri, can you bless me?"
He walked up to her and made the sign of the cross
on her forehead
And she said, "No, Henri, that's not what I mean…"
Nouwen was embarrassed
and said, "I gave you a blessing…"
She said, "No, I want to be BLESSED."
And he didn't know what she meant
Later, they had a worship service
and a large congregation of the community was there
After the service,
Henri said, "Janet wants a blessing."
He had on his robe and stood up front
Janet came up to him and said again, "I want to be blessed."
She put her head against his chest
and he spontaneously put his arms around her,
held her and looked right into her eyes
and said, "Blessed are you, Janet.
You know how much we love you. You know how important
you are. You knolw what a good woman you are."
She looked at him and said,
"Yes, yes, yes, I know."
He suddenly saw all sorts of energy coming back to her
She seemed to be relieved from the feeling of depression
that she often suffered
as she suddenly realized that she was a blessing
She went back to her place and immediately other people
came forward and said, "I want that kind of blessing too."
The people kept walking up to him
and he suddenly found himself embracing people
He said after that,
one of the people in the community who assisted the handicapped
a strong guy, a football player who towered over Nouwen,
said to him,
"Henri, can I have a blessing too?"
Nouwen said he and the big husky guy
stood facing each other and Nouwen said to him,
"John, you are blessed.
You are a good person. God loves you.
We love you. You are important."
And they embraced….
We all spend time out there in the desert
where we are alone with our thoughts
alone with our despair
alone with whatever it is that is threatening
to tear us down
whether it's illness, old age, broken relationships
whatever
The good news that Jesus brought
is that we don't walk this lonesome valley by ourselves
we don't live through this world all alone
and Jesus has been there
he knows, he gets it
there is nothing we suffer that he can't understand
But he calls us to take a U turn
to turn around, to set our eyes upon the Kingdom of God
the Beloved Community
of which we are a chosen part
You are my beloved, God says
You are important, you are beautiful, you are treasured
Your life has meaning
Trust that there are angels ministering to you in your darkest hour
as they did for Jesus
trust that you are never alone
and that God will give you the strength
to take another step
and find life after whatever darkness you experience
And that… is what helps us make it through the night….
Mark 1:9-15
Faith United
March 1, 2009
Don't you hate that word "repent"?
I do
It gets in the way, somehow
it makes me want to stop listening, stop reading
"Repent" reminds me of when I was a teenager in New Jersey
and during the summers we'd walk the boardwalk in Ocean City
and there were these guys
really weird looking guys
with long hair, long beards,
and they kind of looked like the group "ZZ Top"
They wore those sandwich boards
or carried signs that said, "Repent! Jesus is coming soon!"
It was embarrassing, it was a joke
nobody took them seriously
but that's what I think of when I hear the word repent
and I wonder, repent of what?
what do you want me to do?
But the word repent means literally, "turn around,"
take a U turn, change direction
It doesn't mean, fall on the ground, feel your own unworthiness
lament and feel like piece of garbage
and fear the coming of the Lord
Which is basically what those ZZ Top look-alikes
wanted us to do
to fear the coming of the Lord
So I have trouble with the language
it has baggage for me, clearly
And another thing I don't get
is why….
Why was Jesus sent to the desert
and why was he sent there to suffer?
Why was he tempted for 40 days
by only God knows what?
It was more than the temptation to jump off buildings
and be saved
or to turn stones into bread
or to bow down to Satan
like Matthew talks about…
He was there forty days, with wild beasts, it says
tempted by Satan, by evil…
but we're spared the details
And now we enter the season of Lent
40 days,
the same amount of time Jesus was tempted
Why?
and are we supposed to suffer now?
are we supposed to give up something we love
so that we can get a taste of that temptation?
I'm tempted to think
that my giving up ice cream or French fries
somehow doesn't reach the depth of suffering
that Jesus went through in that desert
Just a hunch
So why?
Why did he go there?
and why did the Holy Spirit send him there?
Shoot, if that's what the Holy Spirit does
than I don't want anything to do with it!
In the old book and movie, "The Greatest Story Ever Told,"
it says,
"On a hillside, Jesus found a cavern and there made his
solitary camp
His sole reason for retreating to this grotto was that
he must become acquainted with human suffering
and temptation…"
I think of the children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"
Jesus went to the desert where the wild things are
what did he hear?
what did he see?
what did he feel?
The desert is not a pleasant place
it's harsh, dry, and stark
you can become dehydrated out there
and start to suffer hallucinations
There aren't any people out there
for forty days he was without all human contact
he was left on his own to find food and water
to not go crazy
We don't know the details of what happened out there
We do know that he was sent there right after his baptism
right after being anointed for this ministry
for being bathed in the waters of baptism
and declared by God
as the Beloved one
Bummer…
what a harsh follow up to a wonderful blessing!
I wonder if when he was out there
he ever said, "Hey, why me?"
Why do I have to do this?
God, if you love me so much, why do I have to endure this?
If I'm so great, than why are you torturing me?"
If he did think those things,
he didn't tell anyone or write it down
what happened out there remains a mystery
all that we do know is that he was out there
in the harsh, unforgiving desert
where the wild things are
for forty days and forty long nights
I wonder if he heard voices out there
taunting him, daring him to relinquish his faith in God
his trust in God's love
after all, what kind of loving Parent
would send their child out into the desert to suffer?
That's what Satan could have said
how can you trust a God that would allow you to suffer?
how can you believe that God loves you
if God is letting you thirst and hunger out here
in the unforgiving elements?
Huh, Jesus? Are you crazy?
Are you stupid? He might have asked….
How smart is it to love a God who allows such suffering?
I can hear Satan say….
We've never heard that, have we?
When we've been faced with a horrible thing
like cancer or death or any kind of tragedy
have we heard that voice in our head,
"why you??"
Ask yourself, the voice says, ask yourself, why ME?
How can you trust a God that allows you to suffer?
How can you hope in a God
that allows such pain?
Have you heard that voice?
Years ago in Tilden, I was at the hospital with a parishioner
who had undergone some major surgery
one of many that she'd already endured
and I tried to be pastoral and helpful,
tried to be encouraging
when she finally looked up at me and asked me,
"Peggy have you ever had surgery?"
Well, no, actually I haven't
"Then," she said, "you have no idea what I'm feeling
you have no idea of the pain…"
I couldn't argue with her, she was right
I have no idea
I'm sure I won't get out of this world
without someday having to have some kind of surgery
but right now, no, I have no idea
And what she was saying is that helpful as I want to be
I can only help so much if I haven't been there
And the thing about Jesus and the wilderness
The thing about Jesus going where the wild things are
is that we can know that He has BEEN THERE
Wherever THERE is,
he knows what suffering and torment is like
he didn't go through that because
there is something glorious and admirable
about suffering
He suffered because WE suffer
and because we need a savior who has Been There, Done That
We need a savior with credentials
And Jesus has been there, done that
he has suffered despair, he has suffered incredible physical pain
and mental anguish
so that whatever we go through
we can know, he truly DOES understand
That's the strength of groups like Compassionate Friends,
Alcoholic's Anonymous, Al Anon,
Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous,
Depression Support Groups,
any of those groups
When we go through things in this life
we don't want to talk to someone who hasn't suffered
who hasn't felt what we feel
We want to be with someone who has walked the walk
that we're walking
who has suffered the pain we're suffering
someone who has Been There, Done That
Only they can understand what we're feeling
what we're wrestling with
only they can understand the intensity of emotions
we experience that take on a life of their own
Only a person who has lost a loved one
has the credentials to help others through grief
only someone who has known the ravages of addiction
can truly help someone who is battling that demon
Only someone who has lost a child
can truly help someone going through the same thing
I think the temptation story is too often reduced to a G rating
too often we think, ok, Jesus was tempted in the desert
so he understands our temptations
Rev. John Claypool, a retired pastor
wrote that he believes that our biggest temptation
our worst temptation in this world
is the temptation to despair ….
Despair can suck you under like a tidepool
till you can't breathe
and fills your mind with sick thinking
that you will feel better
you will never have hope again
Our world is full of despair
and full of people who give in to it
and allow it to wash over them like drowning waters
Claypool suggests
that Jesus opened himself up
in that desert to the temptation of despair
he was all alone, physically
hungry, thirsty, maybe on the brink of dehydration
there was nothing but howling winds
stirring up the dry sands that stung his body
wild beasts howling on the perimeters
perhaps voices in his head tempting him to give up
to let the waters of despair wash over him
to let go, let it all be over
drift away and allow himself to be take away
by the strong pull of darkness
To truly believe that that voice from God
back there at the river Jordan was only a dream
that is finally overcome and extinguished
by the very real pain of living
and practicality
I can imagine the strong pull of temptation
the voice of temptation whispering to Jesus,
"Save yourself, get out of this mess,
spare yourself the trouble and tell God what he can do
with this so-called blessing…"
I wonder how many times Jesus might have walked
to the edge of the desert
tempted to go home and resume his work
of carpentry
and live a simpler, easier life?
When we're faced with a terrible diagnosis
or a horrible tragedy or loss
we're often tempted to say, "why me?"
It's perfectly understandable
but I think it's unrealistic to think
that we can get out of this world
without suffering
People think Lent is depressing,
and I suppose it could be if you think of it that way
but I think focusing on Jesus' suffering
is a way to know to receive the good news
specifically that God has come near to us in Jesus
God took human form
with all it's physical pain and emotions
with all its despair and suffering
so that God could indeed be near to us
and know what life is like for us
and to literally walk us through
Why me? Why you?
Why not?
We live in a world of suffering
God doesn't send that suffering
humans do
God does not delight in pain
Jesus didn't suffer in the wilderness
or on the Cross just for the sake of suffering
he suffered because he had the audacity
to put on human flesh
and to lead us to a better way
to the Kingdom of God
To get us to take a U turn
and set our faces toward the Kingdom
We will suffer in this world
whether we know God or not
we are never assured any immunity from pain
because we love God
But we are given hope
we are given a vision and a companion
we are given a membership in the Beloved Community
marked by our baptisms,
blessed by God
God gives us the ability to turn our suffering into ministry
To use the bad things that happen
as an instrument of good and grace
to even offer it to God
as a gift
and say, take this, God, use it for something good
even as it still feels so bad
Maybe I've told this story, I don't know
But the Rev. Henri Nouwen,
who lived the later years of his life
in the community of L'Arche
which was a community for the mentally disabled
in Toronto
Nouwen tells the story of a woman
who was severely handicapped
but a wonderful lady
She came to him and said, "Henri, can you bless me?"
He walked up to her and made the sign of the cross
on her forehead
And she said, "No, Henri, that's not what I mean…"
Nouwen was embarrassed
and said, "I gave you a blessing…"
She said, "No, I want to be BLESSED."
And he didn't know what she meant
Later, they had a worship service
and a large congregation of the community was there
After the service,
Henri said, "Janet wants a blessing."
He had on his robe and stood up front
Janet came up to him and said again, "I want to be blessed."
She put her head against his chest
and he spontaneously put his arms around her,
held her and looked right into her eyes
and said, "Blessed are you, Janet.
You know how much we love you. You know how important
you are. You knolw what a good woman you are."
She looked at him and said,
"Yes, yes, yes, I know."
He suddenly saw all sorts of energy coming back to her
She seemed to be relieved from the feeling of depression
that she often suffered
as she suddenly realized that she was a blessing
She went back to her place and immediately other people
came forward and said, "I want that kind of blessing too."
The people kept walking up to him
and he suddenly found himself embracing people
He said after that,
one of the people in the community who assisted the handicapped
a strong guy, a football player who towered over Nouwen,
said to him,
"Henri, can I have a blessing too?"
Nouwen said he and the big husky guy
stood facing each other and Nouwen said to him,
"John, you are blessed.
You are a good person. God loves you.
We love you. You are important."
And they embraced….
We all spend time out there in the desert
where we are alone with our thoughts
alone with our despair
alone with whatever it is that is threatening
to tear us down
whether it's illness, old age, broken relationships
whatever
The good news that Jesus brought
is that we don't walk this lonesome valley by ourselves
we don't live through this world all alone
and Jesus has been there
he knows, he gets it
there is nothing we suffer that he can't understand
But he calls us to take a U turn
to turn around, to set our eyes upon the Kingdom of God
the Beloved Community
of which we are a chosen part
You are my beloved, God says
You are important, you are beautiful, you are treasured
Your life has meaning
Trust that there are angels ministering to you in your darkest hour
as they did for Jesus
trust that you are never alone
and that God will give you the strength
to take another step
and find life after whatever darkness you experience
And that… is what helps us make it through the night….
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