And the Darkness Did Not Overcome It

“WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS THROUGH”
Luke 2:1-20
Faith United
Christmas Eve, 2007


I have a confession to make
I don’t like Christmas
Wait a minute, let me rephrase that
I don’t like the Christmas SEASON
Maybe part of it is because I’m a pastor
and before that I was a pastor’s kid
so all my life Christmas has been one of the most
insane times of the year in our family
the most stressful
the time when we see each other in the family the LEAST
because everyone is running in opposite directions
I don’t like what happens to people,
they get crazy
they get rude and obnoxious
and they cut you off on the road
as if I’m in New Jersey
they look miserable and burdened
stretched beyond their limit
and over and over again I hear frazzled people say,
“I’m not ready!”
as if there’s some big boss in the sky
who will reign down fire and brimstone
if we don’t have our tree up
if we haven’t bought that gift for that cousin
we never did like anyway
or if our house doesn’t look like a Hallmark card
I find myself in the middle of WalMart
suddenly wanting to turn into John the Baptist
in the wilderness and just start screaming
“What are we doing?? What do you want??
Why are we doing this???”
Maybe I’ve been a preacher too long…
Fortunately, I’ve suppressed the urge so far
People have been asking me for weeks,
“are you ready?”
And always my answer seems to be
an amused kind of snort
and a “no, I’m not”
And I’m still not
yet here we are, ready or not
In 1993, Larry and I decided that it was time
to have a baby
I was in my very first full time church appointment
and I just couldn’t wait any longer for a more practical time
to have a child
So we got pregnant
A lot can change in 9 months
My first church appointment turned out to be somewhat
of a disaster
and by the spring it was clear we had to move
But it was ok
Sarah was due to arrive in the world in late June
in plenty of time for us to be in our new home
We were moving to Tilden, Nebraska that summer
and so we went to Norfolk to make arrangements with the hospital there
My parents came out to help with the move
and to be supportive
We had everything in Superior ready to go
while Larry went to Annual Conference without me that year
One day, he came home from Conference earlier than usual
and suggested we drive to Grand Island to treat my parents
to a real Nebraska steak dinner
It was about an hour and half drive or more
for a very pregnant woman who had to make some
occasional stops along the way
We went to Dreisbach’s
and my father was appalled that anyone would drive
for 90 minutes just to get something to eat
so, in his own words, by the time we got there, he was “famished”
We ordered our meals
I still remember seeing the waitress come through the kitchen door
carrying our salads
my father already had his fork in hand
ready to launch in
but before the woman got to the table
I experienced something I’d never experienced before
my water broke
My father had salad on his fork, midway to his mouth
when he stopped and looked at me and said,
“are you alright?”
When I told him I think my water broke,
he said kind of painfully, “are you sure?”
My Dad is pretty out of touch with the ways of women….
I was pretty sure
Everything went into pure chaos just then
My mother took me to the restroom
Larry informed the waitress that we would have to leave
because his wife’s water just broke
and on hearing that,
she dropped an entire basket of dinner rolls
and started pushing Larry towards the door
while he’s trying to explain that his wife was still in the restroom
We made it all the way back to Superior to the hospital there
and it wasn’t till morning
that Sarah made her entrance into the world
Three days later, we moved to Tilden
on a day that was 98 degrees
with high humidity
and we drove 80-some miles to our new home
We weren’t ready
but Sarah arrived anyway
It was a very inconvenient time for her to arrive
but she came

We seem to have an idea
that that first Christmas
was a tranquil, lovely scene
We assume the whole world stopped and heard the angels
saw the star
and knew that heaven had come down to earth
But I don’t think that night was any less stressful
and except for the clothing and other details
I think that first Christmas
was just as hectic and stressful
Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem
when she was nine months pregnant
just because the government decided
it was a good time to take a census
And the census was for tax purposes
so they were doing this so they could be taxed
It took about 5 days for Mary and Joseph to travel
to Joseph’s home town
Bethlehem was a small, insignificant town
that didn’t impress anybody
My father would call it Po-dunk
or some other derogatory name
depicting a town where nobody wants to live
But that night, the place was bustling with people
everywhere
it was like WalMart on a Saturday during the Christmas season
only a grander scale
Mobs of people
all kinds of people
Not friendly, Midwestern types, necessarily
who will stop and talk to you whether they know you or not
People shoving, cursing, scrambling
People in the marketplace bargaining over deals
all the hotels were full
Ellsworth Kalas, a Christian writer and preacher
suggests that there was most likely a lot of seedy stuff
going on at the hotels
People doing what people sometimes do at hotels
having a party
having an affair
even prostitutes offering their services
loud, raucous people
keeping their TVs on too loud
or stumbling in at all hours of the morning
People far from where they live
maybe doing things they wouldn’t normally do at home
Nobody was happy to be there
they were forced to be there by some ludicrous government decree
Military officers passing through were given free room and board
at any hotel
so the innkeeper didn’t make money off of everybody that night
The innkeeper has always been depicted as a bad guy
an insensitive buffoon
who SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that this woman
was carrying the Savior of the World
I mean, what was his problem??
But I don’t think he was any different than you or me
The man’s hotel was full
He saw this desperately poor couple
the woman obviously uncomfortable
I like to think he really wanted to give them a room
but he was full
he couldn’t kick anybody out
and ever hope to stay in business
There really was no room
And how could he know who they were?
How could he possibly know?
He was just doing his job, trying to stay in business
trying to keep the crowds from destroying his hotel
he was frazzled, he was pushed beyond his limit
he was angry and frustrated
like everyone else was, at some of the actions of the government
Maybe he felt bad,
when he looked at the obviously pregnant Mary
and said, “I’m sorry, there’s no rooms available.”
Apparently the man did had some amount of compassion
that he feebly offered them the stable out back
offered to have some of his workers
clear a space for them
gather some hay together for a bed
and bring them some extra blankets
It was something….
You can’t blame him, his life was full
and I look around me at this Christmas season
where I go to WalMart and hope that nobody’s carrying a weapon
where you see plenty of unhappy, stressed people
who are trying to fulfill some expectations
as if the wrath of God will come down on them
if they don’t have the perfect Christmas
I don’t think it was so different the first time
People pushed beyond their limits
going to places they didn’t really want to go
Going through motions
and not always knowing why they’re doing it
People’s lives were hard, the government was oppressive
put undue stress on a lot of people
in various ways
People didn’t have any hope
they saw a lot of injustice, senseless violence
and lonely people
It was a very dark time
it was a very stressful time
life was hard, and sometimes it only seemed to get harder
We’re not so different from that innkeeper
we can’t help ourselves
we’re full, our lives are full, sometimes to bursting
Sometimes we are so stressed that we can’t breathe
we get to feeling pushed and shoved around
feeling as if our lives are not our own
We have 24-hour news coverage to remind us
that the world is very dark and often frightening
A lot of people are spending Christmas this year
missing someone that died
maybe a little afraid of the future
But that first night,
in the midst of cow manure and sticky hay
a terrified, lonely, clueless teenager
gave birth to a little boy
Most of the world at that time
had no idea that a miracle had just occurred
that the world had changed with a baby’s first cry
that light had come through the darkness
People still stumbled in the hotel drunk that night
there was still injustice and cruelty in the streets
The government was still corrupt
but in one little corner
a bunch of smelly shepherds awkwardly entered a stable
and stuttered and and wrung their dirty hands
as they told the impossible story of the angels lighting up the sky
singing, and telling them to stop being afraid
that the hope of the world had just arrived
Nobody was ready for Jesus to be born
least of all, Mary
but he was born anyway
The world wasn’t ready for him
but he came anyway
He was born in the midst of human stresses,
human insanity, cruelty, fear and injustice
even violence
It was a dark time, but the light of Christ broke through
a lot of people missed it
the miracle that was right under their noses
The innkeeper missed it because he was full
he couldn’t help it
you can’t blame him
Don’t our lives get too full?
Too full of activities, THINGS, obligations, jobs,
expectations that we have to fill?
Are we too full to receive the light of Christ?
Do we have room in our lives for the mystery?
the inexplicable joy?
Or are we too full?
You can’t blame us
we have jobs, we have families
we have kids with all kinds of activities
we have relatives that have expectations
we’re pushed beyond our limits
we don’t have room for one more thing
much less a miracle
I didn’t want Christmas to come this year
Especially after the two funerals we had in November
too much pain,
too much darkness
too MUCH
But last week I had to do the nursing home service
and I brought my guitar
For a half an hour, I sang Christmas hymns to those that gathered
Most of them looked like they were asleep
none of them seemed to be moved by my music
and yet somehow in the midst of that simple setting
playing guitar and singing Christmas hymns
to a dozen nursing home residents
well, the light seemed to break through to me
and in those moments it was Christmas
Or yesterday in church, when three little girls
just couldn’t contain themselves
the music that we were singing just got into their bodies
and wouldn’t let them go
and so they DANCED
danced out of simple joy, not caring what anybody else did or thought
just dancing, and giggling and swirling their skirts
and in that moment, the light broke through again
and I realized,
we don’t have to be ready
we don’t have to be feeling good or cheerful
we don’t have to have everything in place
for the light to come
for Christmas to come
we don’t have to be ready, actually, we never are
Christmas comes, JESUS comes
whether we’re ready or not
whether we’re laughing or crying
whether we’re with a group of happy family members
or feeling lonely in a crowd
Not everyone can see it
Not everyone heard the angels sing that night
in fact, I’d suspect the majority of people in town that night
missed the glory
missed the music
missed the Light
but a bunch of homeless shepherds who didn’t bathe often
were invited to stand in the Light
God’s creatures were gathered around the miracle
mooing and baaing and whatever they do
God’s creatures made room where there was no room
while the rest of the world carried on in its oblivious insanity
and for centuries since,
the light goes on, permeating the world
visible only to those who are ready to see it
visible to those who make room in their lives
for the light to come
I don’t like the Christmas season
but I love Christmas Eve
because it comes, whether I’m ready or not
and it comes to us in whatever shape we happen to be in
tears on our faces,
or so full of joy we can’t stand ourselves
As it was then, so it is now
a very dark, confused world
Just the details are different
Tonight is a night for dreaming
a night for hoping
a night for suspending cyncism just enough
to step into the starlight
A night when the membrane between heaven and earth
is very thin
and you can almost hear the angels singing
a night when we light a candle in the dark
because we believe that the darkness cannot overcome that light
When we light our candles tonight
we may remember someone who is on the other side
of that veil between heaven and earth
someone we miss very much
or we may remember all the pain of the world
countries at war, families separated
senseless violence breaking into our everyday lives
and we light a flame and hold it out into the dark
to say with trembling hands
we are not afraid
because we know that the light of the world has come
and that light keeps on coming
and someday, as promised,
that light will light up every dark corner of our world
and there will be no separation between heaven and earth
And whenever you’re afraid
or burdened by grief or fear
or just plain emptiness
light a candle in the dark
and remember that all the hopes and fears of all the years
are met through the coming of Christ once again
don’t let the flame go out
but always, always, look for the Light of Christ breaking through...

In the Meantime

I've been singing Christmas hymns all my life, but never until this year did I notice how many references to DEATH or hardship are in them. How did I miss this? Here I thought we were singing about starlights and angel songs, and yet among those phrases are references to death and dying. Go read your hymnal.

I notice any reference to death right now, since just 3 weeks and 1 day ago, I sat with a friend while she died. I was sure that moment would be much more frightening than it actually was. As a pastor, I've been there with many people who were dying, I've showed up at the last minute, or I've been there right after the death. It's not that I'm unfamiliar with death. But this time was different. I knew Karen as very much alive. I knew her for 2 years as a very much alive, active, joyful, funny, beautiful person. Karen's presence always filled a room. If Karen was there, there was no way to miss her. I knew her when she found out she had a mass on her pancreas. I knew her when she heard it was Stage 4. Still, through all of that, she was still Karen, my friend, and there was a bit of unreality to it all. I saw her in the hospital, before and after surgery, and I saw her swift decline over two months. In the midst of all that, we had such wonderful talks. We laughed, we cried, we talked about our pasts, our histories, we prayed, and we were more honest than most people get normally. During that time, I sensed that our friendship was deepening rapidly, even as I anticipated losing her. How agonizing!

C.S. Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed, "You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.... only a real risk tests the reality of a belief." (p. 25) I've been preaching for 17 years, and have presided over hundreds of funerals during that time. Easter is my favorite time of year. But it wasn't until Karen's illness and death when the rubber really hit the road, so to speak. Suddenly my beliefs about eternity became a matter of life and death, not just good fodder for a sermon. Suddenly what I believe about life and death matters more than ever.

Scriptures are frustratingly vague on the subject, but what else could they be? How could we possibly understand? I do believe that whatever eternity is, it is beyond human language; not easily reduced to fine print. That's comforting, yes, but on the other hand, I want to KNOW. I want DETAILS. We confuse sentimental hymns or songs with Christian theology or Scriptures. We muddy some boundaries with new agey-type testimonies of bright lights and tunnels. Jesus says in the Gospel According to John, that he is going to prepare a place for us, that he will not leave us orphaned, that he is coming to us. He tells his disciples that they weep now, but then they will rejoice! "Peace I leave with you," he said, "I do not give to you as the world gives, do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."

Well, I was afraid. We don't talk about death much in our culture, in fact, we act like it doesn't exist, despite all the death in our entertainment. Death somehow becomes benign through overexposure, or falsely sentimental. But I was afraid. I was afraid to trust my friend to the Unknown. I was afraid to let her go-- not that I had a choice-- without knowing what exactly I was letting her go to, and whether or not I'd ever see her again. I was afraid, watching her struggle to breathe sometimes, or wince in pain, or miserably throw up when there was nothing left to throw up. What a helpless feeling, to watch someone you love suffer. If I'd had a choice, I would have brought my sleeping bag into her sun room and laid down by her hospital bed-- lived there, just to be there.

Her death was surprisingly peaceful, after long weeks of hurting and struggling and being sick. At one point, her gasping slowed down, and she seemed to pass into a calm, relaxed state, like catching her breath after a long, hard marathon run. Her husband Jim and I talked to her, told her it was ok to let go, to stop fighting, that she deserved a break. I prayed. We cried. Her breathing just slowed until with one long sigh, she stopped breathing. It was so quiet that it was a few minutes before we were sure she was actually gone. It wasn't scary. It was probably the least scary moment since this cancer-journey began. For that fleeting, Emmaus-like moment, I knew she was free. I was certain she was ok, that the battle was over for her. And I am still hushed at the honor of being there to see her off.

So what is the proverbial rope that I cling to? What is the knot that I hang onto, to keep from falling into abject despair over such a great loss? I believe she's ok. I don't know the details. We experienced such profound holy moments together in those last days, that I can't believe that that's it. Jesus never said exactly how it works. He never said that if the place he prepares for us is on the same street as all the people we can't wait to see again. But he did talk about banquets and feasts in regard to the Kingdom of God. Jesus always talked in communal terms. And if God allows us such holy, other-worldly, downright sacred and holy connections to other souls here on earth, than I have to believe that those connections are just foretastes of the Heavenly Feast. Appetizers, if you will. If our friendship was that profound on this limited, sometimes heart-breaking earth, than how much more profound and joyful will it be in God's eternity?? God has given me too many glimpses of heaven on earth to let me think that this is all there is. I feel like I stood on the edge of life with Karen and reluctantly let her hand slip out of mine, trusting that I will feel that hand in mine again someday, and that we'll laugh our fool heads off in joy.

I won't know anything, really, until I get there. All I can do in the meantime is trust, wonder, and hope. Sometimes I hate that. In my good moments, I actually feel like my love for Karen and our connection is so much bigger than it was when she was here. Because she's in a place/dimension, call it what you will, where life and love is so much more vast and large and unfathomable. I don't know if she can see me or hear me. I hope so. I saw the love born of 42 years with her husband, Jim, and it only makes sense to me that a love and connection of hearts and souls like they had DOES last for eternity, because God's really into that sort of thing.

Since Jesus was so vague on it, I do rely a lot on great country songs, or popular songs and hymns to comfort me in the meantime. I know that they are only songs, and they aren't THE Gospel, but they help my heart reach a little further toward the Gospel. The truth. Now I only see in a mirror dimly, but then I know I will see face to face. That IS Scripture. And I have to believe it. Or I'd go insane.

I miss you, dear Karen. I love you. I'll see you later.

Heavenly Bread

“HEAVENLY APPETIZERS”
John 6:25-35
Faith United
November 25, 2007


Where do you get your bread?
I like bread
I know it has a lot of carbohydrates in it
that we’re told to avoid
especially if we want to lose weight
but I’d rather give up brownies
than a good piece of bread
I love the smell of bread baking
I haven’t baked a lot of bread myself
but I love that smell
It’s the kind of smell that makes your stomach hurt
with a wonderful aching kind of hurt
the kind of hurt that anticipates biting into
a warm piece of bread
with lots of butter on it
I like good bread
I like the kind of bread that Lee and Vicki make us
for communion
it’s got substance, you can chew it,
and it tastes good… tastes like good bread
At different times, we’ve had the low fat bread
at our house,
and it’s like eating nothing at all
I like soft bread that I can chew
You already know that if I ever take communion
at a church where they give me only one of those
pitiful tiny squares of bread
or even worse, one of those Styrofoam tasting discs
that melt in your mouth
I’m left feeling unsatisfied and empty
When I come to communion,
I am hungry, and I want food
don’t just give me a little square piece of bread
that I can swallow with my shot glass full of juice
without chewing
I need FOOD
Where do you get your bread?
Do you know where to find bread when you need it?
When you’re desperately hungry
and you just need something to fill you
or to just give you a little sustenance
to get you through the day,
where do you get your bread?
My father used to have this weird habit
of taking half a bagel upstairs with him
when he went to bed
Just in case he got hungry in the middle of the night
it would be right there
Now, unfortunately, my mother gets on his case
about how many carbs he ingests
so the bagel habit has stopped
I know for a fact, though,
that he still sneaks into the kitchen
in the middle of the night
to toast a piece of bread
or get a banana
when my mother is sound asleep

Sometimes my father just needs a little bread
to help him make it through the night

At Subway of course
you have your choice of many kinds of bread
on which to have your sandwich
but I’m usually a purist
I usually stick to the plain Italian white bread
I don’t need anything fancy
One thing I do miss about the East Coast
is the sub sandwiches that you get
in a pizzeria or Italian restaurant
because there’s a lot of Italians in New Jersey
It’s hard to explain
but the sandwiches are made on a hard
Italian bread
that crunches and cracks
when you bite into it
I haven’t been able to find anything like it out here
The kind of bread that showers your lap
with crumbs from the cracking crust
when you take your first bite
It’s not neat, but it tastes really good
and you usually get to eat it
while still smelling the bread that is baking in the oven
in the back
Sarah experiments with garlic bread
and each time she’s in charge of toasting the bread
in the oven
when we have spaghetti or lasagna
Each time she tries some different combinations
of spices to go along with the garlic
and butter
trying for just the right taste
It’s a little different every time

When I was visiting my dear friend Karen yesterday
I was thinking about bread
She can’t eat anymore
She has a bite or two of a popsicle
or a sip here and there of water
Yesterday I thought about bread
as I gently fed her a couple of bites
of jello
and watched her work it in her mouth
It wasn’t much
but there’s something about the act of feeding
that is tender and holy
Jello and water have become her daily bread

What is your daily bread?
What feeds you or helps ease the hunger pangs in you?
Does someone else give it to you?
Or do you feed it to yourself?
I love communion
I love coming to you, as you kneel at the rail
I especially love seeing the little children
with their hands dutifully cupped in expectation
and I love leaning over and putting
a good chunk of bread in those empty hands
as those eyes look up at me with trust
and sometimes one of you will whisper, “Thank you.”
And that is bread to me
To feed people I love
Jesus had just fed five thousand plus people
on the hillside
people that had come to hear him speak
but also a lot of hungry people
maybe not even knowing what they were hungry for
Miraculously, they were all fed
and there was plenty of fragments left over
It was exhausting, I imagine,
to feed five thousand men plus their families
Especially when it was all over
and all the people came after him
with their hands all open
reaching for more
All had been filled that day
but they all wanted more…
So Jesus left, went up the mountain to get away
The next day, when he and his disciples
were on the other side of the sea
the crowds followed them there
like adoring fans, wanting a piece of his clothing
or a hankerchief with his sweat on it
They were confused,
because the disciples had left in the boat without Jesus
and yet here Jesus was with them….
how did he get there?
They’d been looking for him all night
how did he sneak past them?
And a very tired Jesus, I imagine,
tired because he’d had to save his disciples from that storm
on the sea
and deal with their reactions to him walking on water
a tired Jesus says to them,
“I know why you’re looking for me.
You want more bread. You’re not here
because you saw the miracle of thousands of people fed
you’re here because you’re still hungry
and you will never be satisfied….”
and he sighed
“don’t bother with the food that perishes,
but work for food that endures for eternal life
which the Son of Man will give you….”
And they get excited…
great! Eternal bread!!
How do we get it? What do we have to do?
And Jesus is exasperating
he won’t just hand it over
You have to believe in the works of God
you have to believe, he said, that such bread
comes from the hand of God….
Ok, great, they said,
what will you do now to show us?
What magic trick will you do
to convince us so that we can believe what you say?
Show us, do a trick, they said.
God did a trick for the Israelites,
by raining down bread from heaven every day

And Jesus, I bet, rolled his eyes
“That bread didn’t come from Moses
he was just the one who served it.
but it’s God in heaven that gives you that bread
that gave THEM that bread in the wilderness
when they were starving
For God’s bread is the kind that comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
And they come, all of them, with their hands open,
not reverent on their knees like little children
in anticipation
but with greedy hands open, reaching, grasping
for more….
“give us this bread always!!”
And Jesus says something they can’t possibly understand
“I am the bread of life,” he says
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…”
Well, you can bet
that he got into real hot water for that one
the church leaders were furious
who is HE to say that HE is the bread from heaven?
We know him, he’s just Mary and Joseph’s son…. nothing special
So they harassed him further
and the people stayed hungry
and they didn’t know why

Where do you get your daily bread?
Who do you go to when you can’t seem to feed yourself?
Who do you trust to give you a piece of bread?
The kind that fills and satisfies
and chases away those hunger pains
at least for the day?
We pray in the Lord’s Prayer
give us this day our daily bread
give us what we need today
to get through this day, to do what we need to do
to face what we need to face
Just for today
Sometimes I just don’t have enough in me
to worry about tomorrow
just today
where can I get my bread today?
The good bread, not the cheap kind
the bread that crunches when you eat it
that you can chew on, and savor
the kind of bread that fills the emptiness
the kind of bread that’ll get you through the night
Jesus said to those multitudes
you have seen wonderful things,
you have seen the works and the miracles of God
and yet you’re only concerned with your stomachs
You’re only interested in the food
that’ll satisfy you right now
but is gone tomorrow, forgotten
Work for the food that lasts forever, Jesus says
How does this fit when we start the Christmas rush?
How does this fit when we’re bombarded with commercials
that harass us to get to the store
at 4 a.m. to fill our carts with as much as we can?
I don’t know about you,
but as I head into the Advent and Christmas season
that kind of stuff leaves me empty
Especially as I remember quiet moments
of feeding jello to my friend
and wiping her mouth
a friend that has fed me a lot
and for whom it is frustrating to be on the receiving end
without being able to give back
because she so loved to feed people
in so many ways
But I get bread in a couple of bites of jello
in feeding my friend
who is anticipating a heavenly feast
that’ll be more satisfying than our human minds can fathom

I get bread by feeding
We feed each other the bread of life
we need each other
Sometimes I’ve had to learn the hard way
where to get my bread
because being human, so many times
we look for bread in places that don’t have it
A friend of mine often tells me,
you can’t get your bread at the hardware store
We know where to get our bread
the kind that fills and satisfies and gives us life and sustenance
we get that bread here
and we feed each other with it
sometimes some of us need to be fed
and sometimes we do the feeding
but God provides the bread
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life…”
and it would take centuries for any of us
to even begin to understand what that means
They couldn’t have known back then
but someday they would
Rich Mullins, a Christian musician
has a song called “Hold me Jesus,”
and in it, he sings, “Surrender don’t come natural to me
I’d rather fight you for something I don’t really want
than take what you give that I need…”
and I get that
God longs to feed us all
and we can only get little appetizers here
that make us hungry for more
that make us hungry for things we can only imagine
for a life that is incomprehensible to our human brains
but we still hunger for it
and God gives us little tastes of it here and there
with each other, with the holy bread we share here
and through loving each other
knowing that someday we’ll all get to sit down together
at that heavenly banquet
and feast on the good things God has for us
for eternity….
Isn’t that delicious promise?

Love Is Impossible

“LOVE IS IMPOSSIBLE”
I Corinthians 13
Faith United
November 18, 2007


I’ve decided that it’s impossible
following Jesus, being the Church
being Christians
Let’s be honest
Love your enemies? Who’s going to do that?
Pray for those who hate you? C’mon…
A Republican love a Democrat? And vice versa?
Wash each other’s feet?
Of course, Jesus just meant that symbolically
he didn’t really want us to do something
that disgusting
You mean look on someone who does something
or believes something that repulses us
offends our deepest sensitivities
or just plain smells funny?
And LOVE that person?
Forgive someone who betrayed us?
Someone who shattered our heart
seemingly beyond repair?

Do you read your Bible??
It’s absurd what Jesus wants us to do
It’s just plain ridiculous and impossible
But we manage to get around it, don't we?
We can quote verses that assure us
we can justifiably hate someone else
but ignore the verses that tell us to love
for Christ’s sake
We remember “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”
in the Old Testament
when we want to justify revenge
but we forget that Jesus said that that is the OLD way
and the new way says simply, “love your enemies.”
We conveniently forget those parts of the Bible
that contradict our natural human tendencies
I understand that
I do it too
I mean, hey, I’m not Jesus
I can’t do what Jesus did
never mind that he told me to
he didn’t really mean that
he knows I can’t, surely,
and surely, he will understand?

I love this passage,
but if you really read it, it’s not a flowery poem
that you can hear without being disturbed
Maybe we’ve heard it too much
or read it too much in counter cross stitch
maybe the words don’t hit us
as radical and impossible and downright offensive
but they are

Love, as Jesus demands it, is impossible
Sometimes I use this passage at weddings,
which is not uncommon
But even then, cmon…
Love is patient?
Love it kind?
It does not insist on its own way?
Love bears all things, believe all things,
hopes all things, endures all things?
Who can live up to that?
and I think that if the couple in front of me
about to take their vows
weren’t numbed out on the words
as most of us are
they would tremble in their fancy shoes
and maybe even run….
Is that why lifelong commitment
is increasingly unpopular?
Because we don’t believe it’s really possible?
A lot of people don’t believe it’s possible
and there are a lot of forces in our world
that work at destroying such ideals…
It gets even more impossible
when you take the passage into context
This is not just about love between lifelong partners
this is not about romantic love
Not that it doesn’t work great on a Hallmark card
or in a wedding service
but that’s not it’s original context
Paul was talking to a church in the city of Corinth
a church he started
a church that I think he regrets starting sometimes
if he were honest
(I think I’ve served that church myself, a couple of times
in the past
He is far more gracious than I believe I was
when I was serving there)
Corinth is an impossible church
One can say they have a lot going against them
I mean, look at the world around them
They were surrounded by exciting pagan temples
where the members seem to have much more fun
at worship than the Christians did
Their services were louder, more exciting
they didn’t seem quite so uptight about things
The pagans often had temple prostitutes
and human sacrifices
lots of blood and sex and even violence
But some of those pagan temples
had really smart people, too
people who were charismatic
people who could stir people up
get their emotions charged up
They had leaders who were intellectually brilliant,
some of them
some of them had books on the bestseller list
TV shows, they were a household word
They gave the people everything they wanted to hear
they didn’t ask them to do anything
that was impossible
Corinth was a city in a port
where foreigners came through all the time
bringing their own cultures, their money
their ideas
that made this little Christian church
look like a bunch of country bumpkins
who knew nothing of the real world
The Christians of Corinth
didn’t want to be country bumpkins or nerds
or to be accused of being naïve
They wanted to be just as good as everyone else
Some of them among them were really smart, too
some of them were spiritual celebrities
and had a special charisma
Some of them were really talented, well-read
so they wanted people to know that
they were just as good
as the pagans down on 98th street
There were rich and poor
at First Church Corinth
all worshipping together
And it got to be that the rich would start
to look down on the poor among them
they’d take more than their share at the Lord’s Supper
so that there was none left over for the poor
Some among them decided they were better Christians
than the others
because they were so smart
or they had special gifts that dazzled and impressed
or they could talk so eloquently
or sing so beautifully it made you cry
Sure, they had a lot of fights
at their board meetings
about who was right and who was wrong
they fought about who had special privileges
because they had more money
or who really didn’t have any say in anything
because they were dirt poor
They fought bitterly over who was good enough
and who should be left out
who was righteous and who was a filthy human being
And to THIS crowd,
Paul writes this letter --
which, I think, under the circumstances,
is very gracious of him --
He sees that because of the influence
of the world around them,
the Christians at Corinth have lost their vision
of what sets them apart as the Church of Jesus Christ
Or even what being “set apart” really means
And what he calls for
is just plain impossible
What he is asking them and us to do
is impossible
it’s unnatural
Love, he says,
Love one another, just like Jesus said,
Love one another, For Christ’s sake!!
and he means that literally
If we could take ONE LINE from this passage
and focus on just that one line
what a difference it would make
Love is kind
Love is KIND
What if we made kindness our goal every day?
What if everybody did?
What if Christians stopped trying to determine
who’s better than who
who’s damned and who’s not
and just focused on being like Jesus
in everything we do
Can you imagine what would happen to the whole Christian church?
Love is KIND
It is not envious or boastful
Love is NOT RUDE
Love does not insist on its own way
Love does not insist on its own way
What if we had that as our mission statement
before every meeting?
Before every decision is made?
We live in a world where what matters most
is our own happiness
We seem to have gotten the idea
that the goal of life is happiness
Which means, contentment
which means, being comfortable, undisturbed
Which means not doing something
that is uncomfortable or difficult or risky
In our world it seems, the goal is to avoid all pain
at all costs
as if we are ENTITLED to painlessness
We are ENTITLED to not be uncomfortable
or awkward or perhaps appearing stupid
The laws in our society
are about feeling good
I understand, I want to feel good too
I don’t want to hurt, I don’t want to be embarrassed
I don’t want to do something that
I may not be very good at
But Paul is saying that the way of Jesus
is different
the way of Jesus is LOVE
not giddy, romantic, always feeling good love
Love that bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things
Not love that is only practiced when it feels good
not love that is temporary
or love that is only there as long as I get what I want
We’re called to something much much bigger than that
as Christians
People are always looking for the purpose of life
the meaning of life
like there’s some big answer
that will solve everything
like a really good pill
that will make all the hurting go away
But according to Paul, LOVE is the purpose of our lives
We were created to love
to be loved, yes, but to give love
in all that we do
What we do for a living is not nearly as important
as how we do our living
Do we give life with our words?
Do we give kindness?
Do we give peace?
But… but.. but.. we say
what about when… and then…. and then there’s this…
and we can come up with all kinds of understandable
circumstances
where we think that we are exempt from loving
the way Jesus loves
because in some situations
it’s just plain impossible
And what would Paul say?
Yep
Keep trying
Keep striving for the ideal
keep reaching for the highest point
Keep seeing the image of Jesus
and keep on living toward that
Because, the bottom line is, nothing
nothing else in this world matters
Nothing lasts forever
nothing, except love
We sometimes live like we’re going to live forever
we get offended when something hurts us
as if we should never hurt
We get offended when something too hard
is asked of us
We get offended when we’re called to look at someone
with Jesus’ eyes
instead of trying to burn them in hell
Everything else comes to an end, Paul says
Intellectual achievement, really impressive awards
huge bank accounts
really good promotions
popularity, sexiness, youth, vitality
all of it comes to an end
and the only thing that lasts forever,
is love
So don’t you think love is something worth striving for?
Paul says, when we were kids,
we could act like kids
we could insist on our own way,
we could fight over toys
and throw a tantrum when we didn’t get
what we want
but we’re not kids anymore
when we become adults
we grow up in Christ
and put an end to childish ways
Love is costly
love is worth the cost
Love is life-giving, life-sustaining
Love gets you through the most devastating of times
and gives life meaning
Love bears all things
Love believes all things, hopes all things
and Love ENDURES all things
for Christ’s sake
and love is the only thing we have
that never ever ends….
I want to read a piece that I found
written by a newspaper columnist in Ohio
on the subject of Love

This is by a man named Mike Harden, who wrote:
"When Frank Steger pushed himself into an upright position
in the hospital bed, the heart monitor's fluid cursive line
disintegrated into an erratic scribble.
He was suffering from congestive heart failure.
His wife Mary returned to the room, drawing a chair to his bedside.
'Thirsty,' he complained.
She lifted the straw to his lips
as he pulled the oxygen mask aside.
The medicine made him sick then.
She fetched the basin, wrapped a firm arm around his spasm-racked shoulders, mopped the sweat from his forehead.
In sickness and in health.
They were supposed to be preparing for a Florida vacation,
not holding on to each other in a cardiac care unit.
'Help me sit up,' he whispered hoarsely.
In the end, love comes down to this;
not Clark Gable's devilish first appraisal of Vivien Leigh,
not Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling in the surf,
but, 'Help me sit up.'
A sharp-toothed rain spattered against the windowpane.
In the room, a procession of medical courtiers came and went,
trading pills for blood and tinkering,
ever tinkering, with the buttons and dials controlling the tubes
and wires to which their patient was trussed,
like some latter-day Gulliver.
One evening Frank was sitting asleep
in the chair next to the bed.
Mary paused in the waiting room to remove her street shoes
and put on her slippers.
She did not want to wake him
now that sleep was such a rationed luxury.
Soundlessly, she slipped into the chair next to his.
In the end, love is not the smoldering glance across the dance floor,
the clink of crystal, a leisurely picnic spread upon summer's clover. It is the squeeze of a hand.
I'm here. I'll be here, no matter how long the fight,
even when you want most to close your eyes
and be done with it all.
Water? You need water? Here. Drink.
Let me straighten your pillow.
'Help me into bed,' he said,
he who had once been warrior triumphant
in the business world.
He was tough, demanding,
but never as much on others as himself.
If you gave him your best, no one could hurt you.
If you gave him less, no one could hide you.
She had been with him and beside him
when the future was golden,
beside him when health sent his career into eclipse.
'I'm thirsty,' he said. 'Here,' she said,
'let me get you something.'
Along the road they once traveled so often to visit family,
the hearse wound its way past stubbled fields,
shuttered roadside markets.
The minister, clutching his Bible against his chest
as though it was sufficient cloak against the winds
whipping across the rural countryside,
passed final benediction: 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.'
He stooped to pick up his hat
as the funeral director placed the folded flag in Mary's lap.
So when all is said and done,
love is not rapture and fire.
It’s a hand steadier than one's own,
squeezing harder than a heartbeat.
Wine changes back to water.
Endearment is exhibited by what
once might have been considered insignificant kindnesses,
but which, in the end, become the tenderest of ministrations.
On the day after the funeral,
trying to busy herself with chores
that could easily wait, she plopped the laundry basket down
in front of her granddaughter.
The child tugged out the end of the sheet
her Frank had always held when they did the wash.
When the child brought the folded end
to meet the corners her grandmother held,
she kissed her playfully, just as he had once done.
'I'm thirsty, Grandma.' "
"Here, let me get you something,” Grandma said ...

Faith, hope and love abide, these three,
but the greatest of these…. is love

Looking For Still Waters

It's Thursday. The day when the Sew n' Sews come to work on quilts and various projects together. They're here at the church all morning. I can hear them talking and laughing from my office. I venture out and fill my cup with their coffee, and if they're taking a break, I'll sit down and join their fellowship. (I do not sew!)
They are quieter these days. I notice it before I even get out of my car, and see their cars already here. I can feel it in the air as I enter the front door. I notice it every time the front door opens and another sew-er arrives quietly. Sometimes I find myself holding my breath for a moment, listening, and then hearing nothing, I resume my work.
Karen's not here. That's the difference. It wasn't that many weeks ago, really, that I'd see her green van in the parking lot, with the yellow ribbon magnet on the back, honoring her son-in-law in Iraq. You always heard her coming. She made several trips into the church, unloading a sewing machine from home, a plastic bucket or two of "stuff" to work with. She always brought a lot of supplies, for herself and anyone else. She never arrived quietly. She usually shouted a joyful greeting on her way in, teasingly demanding some help in unloading her supplies. Once she was settled in at her sewing station, I could hear her voice from my office, talking and laughing. She blew in like a holy wind, bringing an energy, a life, a joy to the gathering that hit you like a warm bear hug. Everybody smiles around Karen. She brought the group together in a uniqe way.
The group is a holy fire-starter group, quietly burning in faith and care. They pray over blankets that they send overseas to troops or prayer blankets for someone local who could use some tender prayers to wrap up in. Their prayers are powerful, and to recieve one of their prayer blankets is a special joy. I've seen them wrapped around people in the hospital for weeks at a time, a special source of comfort, a burst of color amidst all that hospital-white and sterile surroundings. I've held the hands of the dying, who died with a prayer blanket keeping them warm for their journey to Jesus. I've seen the blankets in the casket with the body-- because even though they couldn't take it with them, they could it least let it keep them warm up to the edge of life.
Now Karen is at home in a hospital bed by the window, wrapped in her own prayer blanket. She has pancreatic cancer. It came like a storm out of nowhere just 4 months ago and has knocked her off her feet. When she first got the diagnosis, the first group to hear about it was her Sew 'n Sew buddies. They received the news at break over coffee, and they wept together. Like a prayer blanket, they wrapped themselves around their dear sister to help strengthen her for this difficult journey.
She spends her days now looking out over the lake behind her home, sleeping, receiving visitors, drinking her iced tea, and being cared for by hospice workers and her beloved best friend and husband Jim. I visit her often, not unselfishly. It seems to do something for her, but it does more for me. I still need doses of her spirit. Just because her body is fighting her and she's losing, her spirit is still very strong. The light is still there in her eyes, and from her bed she still cares for those around her. She's saying the things she needs to say, arranging things for those who will be left behind so they're taken care of. We talk about death and life. We talk about our pasts, tell stories, and talk about what she will miss. We even laugh. We're building a deeper friendship, against everything inside of me screaming not to let myself open myself up to so much pain.
Karen used to be a middle school art teacher, and she loved her kids. She's the kind that WOULD love middle school kids in all their unpredictable energy and intensity. Karen is one of the most joyful people I've ever met. She's not afraid to tell you her opinion on things, even if she knows it runs counter to your own or the status quo. She accepts what other people think and can disagree amicably, even lovingly. She seems perpetually amused. Her favorite outfit is a T-shirt, jeans and a flannel shirt, completed by one of her many and colorful pairs of Birkenstocks. When she came to Bible Study, she came with one of her plastic buckets containing her Bible and study book, and if she thought a passage in the Bible was "ridiculous" she'd say so and why. Or if a passage bored her or was painful to get through, she shared that too. She loves Jesus and wants to follow him, but she wants it to be clear that she can still follow him with her fancy camper. She used to email me blonde jokes to pass on to my daughter, who was at first offended by such jokes, but with Karen being a sister-blond, she started to accept Karen's advice not to take herself too seriously. She emailed me funny videos that she knew might offend someone else, or recommended movies to me, not the least bit hesitant to recommend an R rated movie. I lent her some of my favorite books and she devoured them graciously. She always brings me a stack of TIME magazines that she's done with.
Her house, which is truly her home, is spacious and beautifully decorated. Very... Karen. Each room is painted in a bright color, and no one would suspect such colors would go together, but at her house they do. Her house is immaculate all the time, but she credits her husband's anal tendencies for that.
Karen laughs at herself, and often at the absurdities of this life. That doesn't mean she doesn't cry. She cries when she needs to, and when she thinks something just plain stinks, she'll express that. She's given several meals to people in need, prayed over many blankets with her buddies, and faithfully attended church in her jeans and Birks when she's not visiting her grandchildren. Her face is one I always look for in the congregation-- I know where to find her-- because every preacher needs a face out there that s/he can count on to be friendly no matter what.
She wears one of many in her collection of half-glasses, all in various bright colors, all costing about a dollar at WalMart. She loves a good bargain. She's a gracious spirit. When a lot of older women in our congregation frowned and whispered over one young adults' dreadlocks, Karen LOVED them and complimented them. She gave my daughter a bamboo plant for her birthday, something that needed very little care but would give her the satisfaction of watcing it grow and caring for it as her own.
She taught me how to play dominoes. She taught me how to play in general, to take myself less seriously, and to enjoy. At fellowship time after church, she was always in the center of things, talking and laughing, gesturing wildly at times in telling a funny story. It is a basic small town law that to truly fit in, you have to be born and raised here, or at the very least related to someone who was. Or you're never quite IN. Karen defies that rule. In just six years, she has made her presence known, and has touched the lives of people of all ages. She blew in here like a holy tornado and the fire is still dancing on top of our heads.
She knows that her time is limited, and she talks about that honestly. We cry about that sometimes. One day when she was in the hospital, she greeted me and told me she was very tired, but before I left, would I please open that bag on the chair. In it was a beautiful blue and white patterned tea and tea cup, along with Decaf Constant Comment and Earl Grey teas. She said it was a gift for being such a good friend to her, and she knew I liked my cup of tea. She also knew that I drank tea when I needed comfort, and so wordlessly, she also provided comfort to me in the midst of my losing her.
I will miss her spirit among us. Already there is a stillness, a hush over the building, that I especially feel on Thursdays. Sometimes I can't bear to see the empty parking space or to listen for and never hear her joyous, dramatic entrance. I'm learning about life and death and grief and loving even when it hurts. I'm learning about living what is truly life and not wasting my time trying to be something I'm not, or saying things I don't really believe. I learned that from Karen. I'm learning to laugh more and say "I love you" when I feel it, and to worry less about being embarrassed. I'm learning to love and grieve in community, after wandering for so long. I'm learning to be home.
Thank you, Karen. Save me a place at the heavenly banquet, will you?

“DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY!”
Text: Luke 12:22-34
Faith United
October 7, 2007


I think this is a pretty familiar passage
It sounds wonderful and soothing and comforting
but Jesus says, “don’t worry?”
Isn’t that like telling us not to BREATHE?
I mean, I’m sure you’ve been in the situation where
something is obviously troubling you
maybe it keeps you up at night
or just keeps you anxious and preoccupied
And some well-meaning person says to you
“Don’t worry about it, everything will be fine.”
Don’t worry !
And you know as well as I do
that it’s just not that easy
you can’t just turn worry off like a faucet
And one might even argue, ok, those are nice words of Jesus
but Jesus didn’t have credit cards,
he didn’t have a mortgage to pay
he didn’t have student loans or medical bills
Easy for HIM to say—‘don’t worry!’

I mean, we will admit, he’s got a point
When we worry, we don’t help the situation
we certainly don’t add one bit to our lives by worrying,
in fact, doctors tell us now more specifically,
worry can actually shorten our lives
it can make us sick, run-down
less effective
I’ve had people tell me, though,
that they’re afraid that if they STOP worrying about something
than it will actually come to pass
as if worrying somehow keeps it from coming true
Or if they DON’T worry about something,
than it will seem like they just don’t care
or that they’re not concerned
Which all, of course, sounds absurd,
but in the middle of the night somehow,
it makes perfect sense – doesn’t it?
Someone said to me recently,
“don’t ever go into your mind all alone,
it’s a dangerous place”
and isn’t it true?
When we have too much time to think
or too much time ALONE, isolated, by ourselves,
our mind can go off in crazy directions

Never go into your mind alone,
it can be a dangerous place

Sometimes it helps simply to tell someone else
what’s going on in your head
preferably someone who won’t say,
“oh, don’t be so stupid, you know
that doesn’t make any sense!”
Preferably talk to someone who may be
a bit more gentle
Never go into your mind alone… it can be dangerous

Jesus is very specific about what NOT to worry about
He’s saying,
“Don’t worry about your life,
what you will eat, or about your body,
what you will wear….
For life is more than food
and the body is more than clothing…”
But what about people who don’t have enough to eat?
What about people who don’t have proper clothing
to keep them warm?
Doesn’t he take that seriously?
The harsh fact is, there are too many people in the world,
in our own country
who don’t have enough to eat,
who literally starve to death
Is Jesus being unrealistic?
Is he somehow blind to very real need?
And like I said, he didn’t live in the 21st century
where we get bombarded by debts
where one-click buttons on websites
make it so easy to pile up expenses
or where we’re bombarded every day
by what we absolutely have to have in order to be happy
especially as we get closer to the Christmas season
we can expect
to be programmed into thinking that the only way
to have a merry Christmas is to spend, spend, spend
whether we have it to spend or not
No offense, Jesus, but we in fact
have a lot to worry about

Our children are brainwashed into thinking
that their lives are not complete without an Ipod
or Playstation or a big screen TV
or their very own laptop and cell phone
Now, don’t start shrinking in your pews with guilt
if your children have those things
those things in and of themselves are not bad
but every day, via radio, internet, TV, movies, etc.
we are being conned into thinking that we simply cannot live
without certain products

Before Jesus started this conversation
a man in the crowd came up to him
and said, “Rabbi, tell my brother to divide
the family inheritance with me.”
It was pretty common for folks to come to the local rabbi
to settle their disputes
and Jesus said, “Are you kidding?
who set ME to be an arbitrator or judge over you?”
Instead of telling this guy,
yeah, dude, you have every right to fight for that money,
you should get a lawyer and take him for all he has…
instead of even addressing whether the man
had a just complaint or not,
Jesus says, “Take care! Be on your guard
against all kinds of greed;
for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
possessions.”
And he told them a parable
about a rich man whose crops produced abundantly
And he thought, what do I do?
I have no place to store all my crops!
So he said to himself, I know!
I’ll pull down my barns and build larger ones
and there I will store up all my grains and my goods
and possessions,
And I will make a toast and say,
“Self, you have ample goods laid up for many years,
relax, eat, drink and be merry!”
But, Jesus said,
God said to the man, “you fool!
This very night your life is being demanded of you.
And the things that you’ve prepared, whose will they be?”
In other words, you can’t take it with you, buddy

Kasey (my secretary) was looking for a picture to put on the bulletin cover this week
and she came across a picture of this parable
and the picture showed a rich man being approached
by the Grim Reaper
Needless to say, we threw that one out…

Wednesday morning
I looked out my kitchen window
and saw the Grim Reaper in the school parking lot
I didn’t know what was going on,
but I was more concerned about the ambulances
and firetrucks and police cars gathered in front of the school
I was more worried about seeing two people
put on stretchers and put into the ambulances,
too worried to think that it might be odd
that the Grim Reaper was in the parking lot….
Fortunately, I had the presence of mind
to run out my back door and ask one of the officers
what the HECK was going on…
and of course he assured me it was all a mock drill
What I found out later, though,
was in that moment, that crowd of students in the street
didn’t yet know that it was all fake
Of course, the whole point of the project
was to let our kids know that there are consequences
to the choices they make
that choosing to get drunk and get in a car
is not a simple decision
or a decision that is no big deal to anyone else

I think – and I pray—that a lot of those kids got the point

Our media shows us endless pictures
of people having a good time in a bar
of drinking themselves silly
the message out there is that you can just have fun
and that’s the goal
and there’s no problem
They don’t show the consequences
We are conned daily into thinking that we can just do
whatever feels good in the moment
and it won’t matter
Jesus is saying, it matters
The choices we make have an impact on our lives and on others' lives
We can charge all the stuff we want
and max out our credit cards
or MOM”s credit cards…
We can buy stuff that we don’t have to pay for
until 2009
ain’t it great?
But Jesus is saying, You can’t take it with you
it’s not worth it
In other words, what are you living for?
What brings meaning to your life?
Having the most toys?
Getting the job that will pay the most
even if you hate it?
We see time and time again
how money doesn’t solve anything
Having STUFF doesn’t make us happy
in fact, it often makes us more miserable
Because we never have enough
I read recently that there are 51,000 storage facilities
across our country
and that last year as a nation
we paid 22 billion dollars to store our STUFF
22 Billion dollars
to have a place to put STUFF
Jesus told the story to say, hey, this guy had everything
he had more than enough
so much so, that he had to build bigger buildings
to put it in
but then the Grim Reaper showed up
and all of that stuff meant nothing
What would they say about him at his funeral?
That he had a lot of STUFF?
This is called the parable of the Rich Man’s folly
his folly was his self-centeredness, his greed
and his his preoccupation with possessions
at the expense of his life
He didn’t need anyone else,
he died alone
We know how greed divides families
who gets what, and who deserves what
and in the end, families are split and angry
Relationships are broken
over a Persian rug or an antique desk

Jesus isn’t talking to people who don’t have enough to eat
or enough to wear to get them through the winter
He’s talking to people who HAVE what they need to eat
and what they need to wear
and who just want MORE…
Don’t worry, he says,
don’t worry about food and clothing,
you know you have enough, that each day
you have what you need
you have your daily bread
Look at the wildflowers, how beautiful they are
they get their nourishment every day
look at the birds flying freely in the sky
they have enough to eat and drink
they have places to find shelter
if God cares that much about the flowers that fade and die
and the birds of the air
how much more do you think God cares for you?
Don’t use all your energy striving for what you are to eat
and drink and wear,
and do not always be preoccupied with those things
For it is the nations of the world that strive after these things
that kill for these things
that leave countries devastated over such things
and God knows what you need
Instead, reach higher
reach for the things that matter
put your energy into the things that do last forever
the Kingdom of God
Love
love for your soul, for your neighbor,
for your family, your friends, your community
love for your world
the world that Jesus came to save from itself
Strive for relationships that are eternal
that don’t burn up in the furnace
at the end of our physical lives
things that moths and bugs can’t destroy
things you can’t pay to store away
but the things that give you life and sustenance
that fill your soul and your heart
and heal the hearts and souls of others
THAT’s what you are to strive for
the rest is just details
Seek the Kingdom of God first,
seek after all the things that God is passionate about
and all the other stuff will fall into place
It’s all about trust
basic trust in God
beginning each day with the simple prayer,

ok, God, TODAY I trust you to provide what I need
to face this day, this life
and whatever it brings

Just today, one day at a time, we can do that
And no where does Jesus say this life in this crazy world
will be easy if only we believe
life in this world is tough
but how much tougher is it
if we rely on things that don’t last forever?
Love lasts forever
So work for the things that you CAN take with you
when you go
the things that are in fact, ETERNAL
and FOREVER
It is, after all, possible
to keep your head about you
when everyone around you is losing theirs
Just breathe
breathe in the life-giving Holy Spirit
to give you strength, love and a peace that lasts forever
The peace of the Living Christ
be with you now… and forever

A Work of Art

“PLIABLE PEOPLE”
Text: Jeremiah 18:1-11
Faith United
September 9, 2007


I love Jeremiah, he’s my kind of dude
He’s so out there, and so real
He got really ticked off, and he got really depressed
and he made no bones about telling God about it
If you think being one of God’s people
means that you have to be all neat and pretty,
holy and upright, look at the prophets
If Jeremiah were here now,
his doctor would most likely recommend medication
or a long sabbatical that included time in a luxurious spa
He’s just not in good shape---

People have often said to me in the past
` that sometimes they get more out of the children’s sermon
than they do the adult sermon,
which I’m not always sure how to take that
but I think it has a lot to do with how we learn
I firmly believe that God is the originator of the concept
of children’s sermons
ond that method was passed on to Jesus
because God is always taking the stuff of life
and using it to make a point
to teach a lesson, to give the Word
Taking something we can see and touch
something that we understand, the very stuff of our lives
to talk about something we may NOT understand as well
God had the prophets and other messengers
act out the lesson sometimes, to literally act out a living parable
to give an image that speaks for itself
That whole concept reminds me of my former Bishop back in the Wyoming Conference
at the ordination services back there
Her name was Bishop Morrison, and she’s retired now
The ordination service at Annual Conference
is always a high holy event
and it’s an inspiring occasion for everyone there
Well, Bishop Morrison was dressed in all her Bishop finery
what is called a cassock, that is often worn by Catholic priests
residing over communion
and underneath the cassock she wore a purple shirt
with a clergy collar
because purple is the color for bishops
She carried a shepherd’s staff
as a symbol of being a shepherd of the flock
But near the beginning of the ordination service
Bishop Morrison would hand over her staff
and unbutton the many, many buttons on the sleeves
of her fancy bishop’s robes
And then she’d literally roll up those sleeves
as if they were on a common workshirt
she knelt before each person
that was about to be ordained
and she washed their feet
It was a powerful image
and I know of no other bishop that has done it
To see a BISHOP of the United Methodist Church
in all her fancy purple robes, exuding her authority and position
to see her roll up those fancy sleeves,
kneel at someone’s feet
and wash them with her bare hands
was a very moving and inspiring moment
One of those JESUS moments, I’d say
Nothing had to be said
Her actions were the message
that this is what Jesus calls us to do
to be humble, to serve one another,
no matter who we are, or what position we hold
to do as Jesus did
The one who came not to be served, but to serve
It is a powerful living parable of the Gospel
that I will never forget
God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house
that God had a message,
that he had to give to Jeremiah first
Potters were very common in that time and in that place
and still are
But back then, almost every household vessel
was made out of fired clay
so it was a much needed profession
It was a common sight
to walk through the village
and see the potter at work at his potter’s wheel
Look at what you see, Jeremiah, God said--
It’s a potter, it’s something one is likely to see every day,
What’s the big deal?
As Jeremiah watched the potter do what the potter does for a living,
He saw that when a clay vessel turned out badly
the potter mushed it back together
and started again with the same clay
he didn’t throw out the clay
but started again
Has your life always turned out the way you expected?
Are you doing what you thought you’d be doing
at this point in your life
when you thought about it many years ago?
When you were a teenager, trying to figure out what to do next,
whether to get a job or go to more school
what to do with your life
trying to figure out where your life was headed…
did it always turn out the way you planned?
I’m suspecting not… at least not always
I don’t know about you, but I had images of my life
all along the way
and usually it turned out differently
Sometimes we assume that we’ll go here or there
get a job, get married, have 2.5 kids
have a nice house and live a nice life
But too often things change
sometimes it all comes crashing in
whether it’s bad decisions that we made
or it’s just life that happens
Sometimes the plans get changed
More often than not, it’s against our will
whether it’s a spouse that decides to leave
or we get laid off from a job
that we thought would last
or we suddenly face a diagnosis
that changes everything as we know it
Or a loved one dies
a car crashes
planes hit towers in the city
Essentially … LIFE happens
and things don’t always turn out the way we planned
As a young adult
I envisioned myself living out the rest of my life
in New Jersey
I was going to be a psychologist
and a writer
Then I thought maybe I’d be a Christian educator
in some large church somewhere
Then I went through a time that I thought I’d be a
Certified Addictions Counselor
and marry my current boyfriend in Pennsylvania
And during that time
there was absolutely no way
in heaven or earth
that I would even be involved in Church
Nothing has turned out the way I planned it back then
and I thank God …
I know some of your stories
I know that some of you had had other plans as well
that didn’t work out the way you planned
plans that came crashing down around you
maybe more than once
Because, well, that’s life
I’ve seen people whose lives and plans have been crushed
or sometimes exploded open
or completely cut off
and I’ve seen people react in different ways
Sometimes they give up
Sometimes when it happens too many times
they can’t take it anymore
they become bitter and angry
and STUCK
They stop growing, they stop thriving
they stop searching and believing
And I’ve seen other people who have faced enormous tragedy
or one thing after another
and those who know them wonder
if they’ll get through it this time
because the same circumstances might simply
crush someone else
But this person rises above it
gets up out the dirt, washes off the mud and the blood
nurses the wounds
and chooses to begin again
Chooses to say, ok, God, here are all my broken pieces
What do you think we can do with them?
Can we make something beautiful?
On Friday I was at the Nelson-Atkins Art museum
in Kansas City
and looked at all kinds of art
sculptures, paintings
modern and old
I’m always fascinated by the different visions of art
some of it totally baffles me
but some of it is just amazing
that a human being could create such beauty
I particularly love the marble sculptures
It’s fascinating to me
how someone could take a piece of hard marble
and chisel into something so smooth and beautiful
with ripples of muscles
the creases in toes and toenails
and biceps and thighs
And this being done several hundred years ago
There was a painting by Rembrandt
of a young man
and we were told that if you look closely at his hat
that Rembrandt had made a mistake or simply
changed his mind
and decided to reshape the hat in the painting
in doing so, he simply blended the colors
that were already there
and painted them into a different image
He didn’t wipe off the paint
He used what he had
And that’s ‘like what God is saying to Jeremiah
This is what I will do with my people
I will work on you, my people
I will mold you and shape you into the people
I want you to be’’
But the people weren’t cooperating
They’re thumbing their nose at God
like some rebellious child
‘’Why should we listen to YOU?
We’ll do what we do, we’ll do what we want to do
Whatever the consequences ‘’
And God ached for his people
But he didn’t give up
God doesn’t give up
I don’t believe that there is one solid plan
for each of our lives that is mapped out at birth
so that if we mess up, get off the path
or get lost somewhere along the way
then the whole plan is messed up, scratched
useless
God has a plan for all of us
but God doesn’t control us like a bunch of robots
God gave us the gift of freedom
and by doing that, made more trouble for himself
But God included in his blueprints
a crazy, unheard-of gift called GRACE
so that when we messed up
when the world crashes in
when we as nations and communities
decided to kill each other, destroy each other
instead of build the kingdom of God
we’re always given another chance
that we simply don’t deserve
God, like a wise parent,
will let us suffer the consequences of our bad choices
I don’t believe that God blows up buildings
or sends a hurricane or deadly epidemic to destroy
Would you do that to YOUR child?
I believe that some things, like war and terrorism
happen as a result of the choices we make as a people
whether here or over there
Our choices, their choices, affect everyone
And God’s heart is broken again and again
when we choose death over life
I believe God’s heart is broken when we give up
when life gets to be too much
when another obstacle or tragedy or loss
comes crashing down on us
and we choose death over life
we give up
I believe that we are all works of art
created at the hands of our God
our individual lives, our lives as a church
as a country, as a world
So many things threaten to undo us
so many things crush us and wound us
and sometimes deliberately seek to take us down
That’s life in this crazy, sin-sick world
As it was, also, in Jeremiah’s time, and in Jesus’ time
only the details of the same story seem to change
But God says, nonetheless, ‘’you can thumb your nose at me
but I will not give up
you can go your own way, you can seek to control
your own lives, thinking you know better
and I’ll still be here when you come home
God, the Great Creator, the Great Potter
will take the stuff of our lives and reshape us, renew us
remold us, remake us….
The Creative Spirit of God will take those cracked places
and broken places, and smooth them out, making them stronger
than they were before
It ain’t easy being clay
We have to surrender ourselves each and every day
sometimes each and every moment
to the creative, trustworthy hands of God
and say, ok, I get it, I can’t do it, I only mess it up
Take my life, in all its brokenness
in all of its darkness or confusion
and mold it with the baptismal tears of new creation
We can really fly all out of whack when life gets to us
but like the pottery on the wheel,
being shaped by the Master’s hand
we need to stay centered, focused
The potter applies pressure to the clay
steady pressure from opposing directions
all while spinning on the central axis
Sometimes when the pressure is too much on the outside
we simply cave in on the inside
but we have the power to stand strong in the center
to fill our insides with the Spirit of God
So that when the pressures of this world
push on us from the outside,
we can push back with the power of God
with the centered, steady faith and trust
in God’s amazing grace
You may know the legend of the Phoenix bird
The legend of the Phoenix has been around for centuries.
the Phoenix is a supernatural creature,
living for 1000 years
Once that time is over, it builds its own funeral pyre,
and throws itself into the flames.
as it dies, it is reborn anew,
and rises from the ashes
to live another 1000 years.
We are the people of God
We are fashioned out of a clay made by the one
who made all the worlds
we have a power within us, by the Spirit of God
to recreate, renew, and be born again and again
but we can’t do it
We have to let it go, we have to surrender to the one who made us
in the first place
allow ourselves to be remolded, remade
renewed and reshaped daily
at the hands of the Master Potter
We are promised that we will never be left
or forsaken
God will never give up on us, no matter how badly
we get out of whack
But God will simply take the stuff that we’re made of
and continue fashioning all of us into
a gorgeous work of art