Say What?

John 6:51-58
August 16, 2009


I’m so glad the 24 hour news coverage
wasn’t around when Jesus was around
Better yet, I’m glad the internet wasn’t around
Can you imagine?
Jesus got enough flack as it was,
and was certainly misunderstood, misquoted,
and mis-represented
I can just see it now:
“New Religious Leader Insists on Cannibalism”
“Jesus,” they’d say, “the son of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth
who many are claiming could be the long – awaited Messiah,
was heard saying recently
that in order to follow him
One must eat his flesh and drink his blood….
Parents are outraged
religious leaders are denouncing him,
Could he actually be the Son of Satan?
More at 11….”
I can see the disciples being mobbed outside
the synagogues, microphones pressed into their faces
as they just try to get home
“No comment,” they kept saying,
pushing their way through the arms and cameras
Talk show hosts going on TV and radio
shouting, shaking their fists
denouncing this new leader, this idealist
who claims some special authority
“He’s the son of Satan!” They say
“Keep your children away from him!
He must be a communist!”
Others say…

In the 2nd century, when the Early Christians were persecuted
by the Roman authorities,
they were accused of just that
of eating flesh and drinking blood
The news got around that this new young sect,
this religious movement started by that radical teacher
who was killed on a cross around 30 A.D.,
this group of followers were engaging in cannibalism
It was horrifying
denounced as evil, of the devil
Eating the flesh of a human being was an Old Testament metaphor
for very hostile acts against your enemy
Drinking the blood of any living thing
was abhorrent to any good Jew
it was in God’s Old Testament law
You do not drink the blood of an animal --
the though of drinking the blood of any human
was too horrifying to even talk about….
The rumors just grew from there
the speculations about what those Christians did
when they went inside their places of worship
to eat flesh and drink blood
People started saying that they were having orgies in there as well
that they were sacrificing human beings
and eating their flesh, drinking their blood
all in the name of this Jesus
And you know how it is,
nobody bothered to find out the truth
nobody bothered to actually go in there to worship
where all were welcome
in order to find out if those ugly rumors
People just got worked up,
spreading the lies and the rumors
and increasing the violent hostilities against Christians
deepening the convictions
that many people had
that that Jesus person
was the son of the devil
and was leading all his followers deeper
into the darkness of evil and death
even from the grave

Jesus never explained himself when he was alive
He never laid it all out
explained that this was a metaphor
he didn’t try to justify himself
He simply spoke the words
and let those words fall where they may
The religious leaders hounded him daily
in the book of John
they were always picking apart everything he said
misconstruing every word
to paint the evil picture of him that they had
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty….”
‘But this is the son of Mary and Joseph, they said,
How does he DARE to say that he is bread from heaven??’
Remember the manna? Jesus said
remember the manna in the wilderness that God rained down
for your ancestors and mine?
They were hungry out there, day in and day out
and God rained down manna from heaven
But it was only given one day at a time
Just enough for that day’s need
“I am the living bread,” he told them
“I come from God,
and so anyone who eats of this bread
will live forever…
And the bread that I give for the life of the world
Is my flesh…”
And they raged on..
‘How can he give his flesh?
This is blasphemy! This is heresy!’
They didn’t think, they didn’t listen,
They just yelled
and shook their fists
They never did listen,
They never did try to understand
because they thought they already knew everything
they needed to know
And so they missed out
on the living bread in their midst….

Jesus taught us to pray,
“Give us today our daily bread,…”
In other words, give us today what we need for today
to have life,
to have sustenance and to live
But do we know what it means to live?
I see so many people
that go through life not truly living
they eat their food, they drink their drink
but they don’t TASTE any of it
they take it in just to get going again
But they don’t stop and savor the deliciousness of life
life is just getting through the day,
eating, sleeping
and doing it all over again
They don’t learn any new thing
they don’t think, discover and learn
they don’t know the beauty of deep, intense relationships
with other people
They just breathe in and out
The poet Henry David Thoreau once said
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life,
and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived."
How horrible it would be to come to die
only to discover that you never lived
I think that’s the kind of living that Jesus wanted
for his followers
one might say that he didn’t live much,
as he died in his early 30s,
and of course,
one has to wonder what more he would have done
and said
if only he’d gotten to live to be an old man
And yet, I suspect, that Jesus lived more in those 30-some years
than many of us live in a whole lifetime
we don’t know anything about his life
from the age of 12 to about age 30
Many have speculated that he traveled a lot
during those years
met many different people in different cultures
talked with other religious leaders
and learned what they taught
as he formulated his own teaching
We have no idea
but those speculations make sense
as when he shows up on the public scene
he has a lot of wisdom to share
He thought differently,
spoke differently than others
and so of course he was often misunderstood
The words, I think, came from deep inside of him
deep from his own learning, soaking up of wisdom
and making it his own
“You must be born from above,” he told Nicodemus,
and Nicodemus was horrified
trying to imagine the messy, embarrassing
details of being born
and certainly not wanting to deal with that again!
“I and God are one,” he told others
and they shouted blasphemy
and tried to kill him on the spot
“I am the bread of life
unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood,
you have no life in you…”
and people started making phone calls,
writing notes,
and getting on T.V. to denounce this monster
Jesus spoke a different language
because he had experienced the Divine
more profoundly than any other human being
he had an unnatural gift and wisdom
And when that happens,
the world tends to crucify that person
bit by bit
and then we pick at his bones
We have a hard time seeing the beauty before our eyes
the Divine right in our very midst

“I am the bread of life,” Jesus said,
Every day we pray for our daily bread
we want bread that will nourish us
that will fill that hungry ache in our stomachs
we want something to slake that terrible
thirst in our souls that never seems to be filled
Some of us drink a lot
to get rid of that thirst
and yet it’s never enough
Some of us eat a lot to try to suffocate that terrible hunger
and yet it’s never enough
Some people use sex or drugs or spending
to quiet that desperate longing
and it never goes away
Some people decide to find out what’s wrong with everybody else
to kill them with words
bit by bit,
to exchange volatile words and hate
to keep the focus off of their own emptiness
so they can feel better than SOMEBODY at least
But Jesus said, “I am the bread of Life,
whoever comes to me will never be hungry again..”

We all know that Bread is a basic staple food
It’s one of the oldest prepared foods we have
it can be traced back to as far as the 9000’s B.C.
Prehistoric peoples learned how to make a kind of bread
We usually have bread with our meals
we think of the most basic foods as bread and water
Eating is necessary, we know
but what we haven’t quite figured out
is that we have to choose carefully what we take in
what we chew on, and what we swallow
because there is so much out there that makes us so sick
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us
the Word, the Word of God
the Wisdom of God that existed before creation
became a flesh and blood human being
that knew hunger, that knew thirst
that knew all the physical needs of every human being
He had seen it all
he saw creation as it was being begun
he was also born in the same messy way we all are
he learned, he grew up,
he traveled, he was hungry
he was dependent on human beings for nourishment
he saw deeply into people’s hearts and lives
and saw the hunger, the need
that unsalted thirst
and he grew up to say
“I am the living bread, eat of me, drink of me,
and know richness of life and beauty that never ends..”
It’s the language of intimacy
Feed on me, Jesus says
Take in what I have to offer you
internalize the Wisdom of God, the life and breath of Jesus
Blood is the life force in every human being
take my life into yourself
let me into your system, your head, your heart
your very soul, your thoughts, your emotions
Let me live in you
let me be the force inside of you
that gives you life and sustenance
in a world that drains so much life out of you
So many people miss it altogether
they speak the words
they believe the right things
but they haven’t taken it IN
they haven’t let it be a part of their hearts and souls
and they are so, so hungry and thirsty
Jesus can be embarrassing
he talks of intimate things in intimate language
because he wants to get the point across
we need each other, we need him
we need the daily bread of his life in us
We need to search, to learn, to discover, to travel with him
to sometimes uncomfortable places
talk about things that might be uncomfortable
love people who are outcast
see beauty where the world sees ugliness
Savor, chew, taste and see that God is good
and all of God’s creation is good
and meant for us to share in the feast of abundant life and living
Most people don’t get it
they didn’t get it then, either,
they just thought he was crazy, even dangerous
they didn’t see how beautiful he was
and they killed him
because they couldn’t stand the brightness of his light
but they couldn’t put out the light
they couldn’t shut it down
nd now we’re invited to shine that light
to see the beauty, to savor it, to chew on it
and to share it with the world
We’re invited to live…
to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life,
and see if we can learn what God has to teach,
and not, when we come to die,
discover that we had not lived….

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Matthew 6:25-34
July 19, 2009


I’m taking a U.S. History class this month
because even though I was bored to tears by history
when I was back in high school
Since I’ve grown up, I feel very strongly
that knowing history is essential
to help give us insight into human nature
and hopefully help us make better decisions
for the future
One can hope!
But one thing I’ve learned is that as much as the details change
there’s a whole lot of other things that never seem to change--
that we tend to do the same things over and over
and find ourselves in the same messes
only with different names
One thing that seems to be a common element
in human nature throughout history
is fear
People act crazy when they are afraid
they say the craziest things out of fear
and sometimes do terrible things because of fear
For forty-five years we went through the Cold War
and how crazy was that?
Some of you remember practicing drills
where you hid under your desks at school
to practice what you would do in case of a nuclear bomb
when of course we know now that hiding under your desk
wouldn’t have done anything to protect you
There was the McCarthy era, when a lot of innocent people
were accused of communism--
arrested, tortured, publicly scorned,
lives ruined because of paranoia
Well, we got through the Cold War
only to find ourselves now in that abstract thing
called the War on Terror
Ever since 9/11, of course, people are AFRAID
and the terror alert is orange
we can’t fly on airlines without major inconveniences
and of course people still act a little crazy
if someone of Mid-eastern appearance should sit next to you
People buy guns who never dreamed of owning a gun before
because somehow it makes them feel better

We’re afraid
And we tend to act crazy when we’re afraid

I’ve also observed that when we’re afraid
we may try even harder to be in control
Of other people, of a group, of a situation
I find that people who are always trying to control
are usually people who are hurting a lot
who are afraid of something
Somehow afraid that if they are NOT in control
everything will fall into chaos
They can’t trust other people, and they can’t trust God

Jesus is walking along with his disciples
that are a lot like you and me
They are a little nuts
they worry about having enough food,
enough work to make enough money
They worry about their enemies
and whether their enemies will take something away from them
They worry about their lives
because they lived in very violent, unpredictable times
While they’re walking, perhaps some of them brooding
about a fight they had with their wife over money
or about how they’re going to pay next month’s mortgage payment
or about whether there’s enough food for dinner
or if the Roman government will take away any more
of their freedoms
whether the frustrations of their people will heat up again
whether there will be more violence
and who will get hurt this time

Jesus cleared his throat
and shook them out of their daydreaming,
he looked up to the sky and said,
“Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat, or what you will drink,
or about your body,
what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air,
they neither plant or harvest
or store up food,
and yet God feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?”

They looked at him questioningly
They wanted his peace, his trust
but their neck muscles were sore
and tight,
their teeth were sore from grinding at night
with anxiety
they were tired from not sleeping …
‘Do not worry…’ they thought
‘Easy for him to say…’
He spoke again, “Do any of you add one single hour to your life
by worrying?”
Well, the doctor did say they needed to cut down on stress,
that their blood pressure was high
and they needed to get more rest ….
We all know that feeling of tightness in our chests
that comes with anxiety
that sick feeling in the pits of our stomachs
that ache in our necks…
Worry, Jesus said, is not good for you
long before it was clinically proven…
Stress takes years off your life,
he said, basically, it doesn’t add to anything
and yet he’d never been to medical school
Isn’t it true that we have a hard time NOT worrying
because we figure somehow
if we DON’T worry about it
it may happen?
If we stop worrying, somehow everything will fall apart …
So in a way, we feel more in control if we’re worrying
about something
and worry, fear makes us do ugly, crazy things

Fear makes us hate
because hate makes us feel more in control
If we can blame someone for our problems
than somehow we feel more in control
Because if we have to face our problems
and what part we might play in them
then that’s too scary, too overwhelming

Whoever came up with that little acronym, WWJD
What Would Jesus Do?
was very wise --
although of course, it became so popular
it was pretty much watered down
People wore it, but I don’t think they thought about it anymore
People ask, what does God want to do with my life?
As if there’s some great calling that each of us are created for
and if we miss it, then somehow we’ve missed something
But what if we started each day
with the question, “What would Jesus do?”

Tony Campolo, a Baptist preacher, and sociologist at Eastern College,
wrote about the time he was talking on social problems
and he asked his students,
“Can you imagine what Jesus would say to a prostitute?”
One of his students raised his hand
and said, “But Jesus never met a prostitute!”
Campolo chuckled at the student’s biblical illiteracy
and flipped open the Bible to the Gospels
showing him exactly where Jesus met up
with prostitutes and what he said to them
but the student said confidently,
“Doctor, when Jesus met a prostitute, do you think
he saw a prostitute?” --
and Campolo admitted being stymied
Indeed, he believes that when Jesus sees a person
he sees what that person could be
what that person can become
Jesus believed in people, Campolo said
And we need to be believe in people the way God does

What would Jesus do?
Would he say bitter, nasty, hateful things
about anyone because they didn’t agree with him?
Would he hurt people, tear them down
to their faces or behind their back
because he didn’t like who they were?
Would he make violent comments about them
and what he would like to see happen to them
just because they were from a place
whose government might be at odds with ours?
Would Jesus EVER forget that every human being on this planet
has a beating heart, blood pumping through their veins
gets hurt like we do, can bleed like we do
and has a soul like we do?

Anne Lamott, one of my favorite Christian writers,
wrote about doing a lesson for children at her church
a bunch of rambunctious, antsy,
sugar-infused 6 year olds
She had several lessons for them that morning
But one lesson was about Letting Go
So she asked them, “what does letting go mean?”
The kids looked around and stared at her
a little confused
So she took a couple of Magic Markers
and held them out at arm’s length on each side of her,
gripping them tightly
so tightly that her knuckles turned white
And she said to them,
“What if, when we go in for snacks,
someone offers me a juice box
and I won’t let go of these markers
even though I’m thirsty?”
Nobody answered
She told them to watch,
and she said it was like she was doing a magic trick
as she slowly unfurled her tight grip on the markers
and they fell to the floor
with a echoing clunk
She smiled at them,
“Now,” she said, “Why would you let go?”
And immediately one 6 year old jumped up
raising his hand in an ooo ooo sort of way
and said, “Because you’re thirsty!”
bingo!
She got through!
And she said,
“sometimes, if you’re lucky,
you get so sick of a problem ,
or you’re worn down by tinkering with it,
or clutching on tight to it.
And letting go of it,
writing it down, talking with a friend
and sending it away,
buys you time and space,
so maybe freedom and humor sneak in—
which is what you were praying for all along.”

In the book and the movie,
“The Secret Life of Bees,” May Boatwright is a very sensitive soul
she was a twin, and her twin died very young
and now she lived with her two grown sisters
But she never really recovered from the grief
She was always just a little bit more sensitive to pain
and heartache than most people
What her sisters finally did to help her
was to get her to build a wall of stones on their property
and that would be May’s very own Wailing Wall
When she’d get upset about something,
she’d leave the house, and go out to her wailing wall
she wrote down what was breaking her heart
or worrying her
and she’d slip that piece of paper into the cracks of the wall
She’d sit there a while, in the quiet
and the beauty
and after awhile, she’d return to the house
having left the pain behind
Having let go of it, offering it up, if you will
letting God take the burden away from her

If only we could do that, huh?
Imagine how many friendships would be saved
imagine how many marriages would be helped
if we all had a wailing wall?
If we didn’t just blow up and say what we wanted to say
in that moment
if we didn’t hurt each other out of fear
anger and our own needs for control
Imagine….
Imagine how much calmer we could be
if we could physically let go of our worries, our hurts,
our anger, our fears
and surrender them to God --
stick them in the crevices of a wall
whose stone is strong enough to bear their weight?
For after all, rocks are more solid
than human hearts

What if we let go?
What if we unfurled our knuckle-white grip
on our lives, on any given situation
and opened our hands, opened our arms
and let God in?
Because if we don’t let go,
if we don’t unclench our fists
we can’t hold another’s hand …
If we don’t open our arms and hearts
God can’t get in
And it gets really, really ugly

What does Jesus want us to do with our lives?
I think, if we all got to know Jesus and his teachings
so much so that we could ask ourselves every day
“is this what Jesus would want me to do?
Is this what Jesus would want me to say?
If Jesus were here, is this how he would respond?”

Tony Campolo talks about a friend of his
named Mike
who asked a deacon of his church to drive
a group of young people to the old folks home
and lead a worship service
This deacon was someone who just wasn’t sure
how he could live out his faith
he always hung back, didn’t get involved
he was afraid
But he agreed to drive the youth to the nursing home
That first Sunday they were there, the deacon stood at the back
with his arms folded
as he watched the kids do their thing
All of a sudden, someone was tugging at his arm
He looked down and there was an old man in a wheelchair
He took hold of the old man’s hand
and the old man hung on to his hand
for the rest of the service
The next month that was repeated
The old man wheeled himself toward the deacon
and held his hand through worship
The next month again, and the next month, and the next
then the man wasn’t there for worship
The deacon asked about him
and was told, “Oh, he’s down the hall, right hand side,
third door. He’s dying. He’s unconscious,
but if you want to go down and pray over him,
that’ alright.”
The deacon went and there were tubes and wires hanging
all over the place
The deacon took the man’s hand
and prayed that God would receive him
that God would bring this man from this life into the next
and give him eternal blessings
As soon as he finished the prayer,
the old man squeezed the deacon’s hand
and the deacon knew he’d been heard
He was so moved by this that tears began to run down his cheeks
He stumbled out of the room, wiping his eyes
and as he did so, he bumped into a woman
She said,
“He’s been waiting for you. he said that he didn’t want to die
until he had the chance to hold the hand
of Jesus one more time.”
The deacon was amazed and said,
“What do you mean?”
She said, “Well, my father would say that once a month,
Jesus came to this place.
‘He would take my hand and he would hold my hand
for a whole hour.
I don’t want to die until I have the change to hold
the hand of Jesus one more time.’

I don’t know what you think God wants us to do
as Christians in this world
I don’t know what you may think
being a representative of God means
when we’re out there, Monday through Saturday
But I think that the very least we can do
is try, every day, in everything we do and say
to be Jesus in the world
To be Jesus to those who are in need,
to be Jesus to those who are beat up by the world
to be Jesus for someone who needs a friend
And that means believing in people,
forgiving people, showing mercy to people
even if we don’t like them
even if our politics or beliefs are in direct conflict
and finally, it means to show unconditional love
If we could just do that,
imagine what our corner of the world would look like--
it would light up,
it would shine for miles
and everyone would be drawn to the light
Don’t worry,
let go, let God be at work in the world
you don’t have to run the world
you don’t even have to save the world
that’s God’s job
but in the meantime, let’s be Jesus to one another
let’s be gentle
let us be sanctuaries of grace and mercy
Let’s breathe deep of God’s enduring grace
and make room for each other

Head On A Platter

Mark 6:14-29
July 12, 2009


This is a tough story
One of those embarrassing stories
that doesn’t often get told in Sunday School
It’s not a G-rated, family-friendly movie
After all, you got lust, you got a drunk politician
who also committed adultery,
you have a vengeful queen
with a sultry daughter who is dancing
for her stepfather and getting his hormones raging
And, you have a good, religious man
in prison for no good reason
who gets executed for no good reason
How DO you explain this one to the kids?

I’m exactly sure why Mark included this story
Unless he’s like my husband
who, when he’s telling one story,
he gets sidetracked, takes a detour
and goes off on a whole nother tangent
until you forget what the original story was …

People are scratching their heads
about who this Jesus person is
who’s wowing the crowds
He’s healing people, he’s blowing them away with his speaking abilities
and he is teaching his disciples to do what he does
and they’re proving to be pretty good at it

So, who is he??
Some say, well, he must a reincarnation of Elijah,
it’s the only explanation
or that John the Baptist himself was raised from the dead
Although, to this point, we didn’t know that John the Baptist was dead
so of course Mark has to take a moment
to explain how it happened….

I have to admit every time I read this story
I get an image of Christopher Plummer
who played King Herod in the movie, “Jesus of Nazereth,”
and I must say that he did a very good job
at convincing us that Herod was a sleaze
He was a weak man in a strong position
He was a powerless man in a position of power
He was yet another politician who acted as if
the common rules of morality did not apply to him

Herod liked John the Baptist
he didn’t know what it was about John that fascinated him
but he liked him
John was passionate,
maybe Herod secretly wished that he could be more like John
passionate in the things that matter
brave, for John was brave
It was like there was a fire inside of him
put there by God
and it drove him to urgently proclaim God’s message
He didn’t seem to have a choice
it was like the message would burn inside of him
if he didn’t get it out
I think it’s true that someone with that amount of unearthly passion,
energy, focus, and drive
tends to be a social outcast
They’re not someone that we usually admire
as someone we want to be like
Most mothers would have prayed
that their sons would not turn out like John
that they wouldn’t even listen to him or follow him
Because a man like that burns out in this world
if the world doesn’t get to him first
and shut him up
John the Baptist knew the danger of his passion
that it could burn him up
He knew that his intense commitment
and his relentless preaching
would ultimately be his demise
because the world does not tolerate that kind of passion well

Maybe Herod envied him
and yet also thanked his lucky stars
that he wasn’t like him
Because Herod was on a throne
and John was in prison

John would never have made it past today’s media scrutiny
he would be torn apart
psychologically analyzed, criticized,
scandalized, and people would start rumors
to explain his bizarre behaviors
What’s with the camel skin?
What’s he trying to do?
And someone said he eats bugs and wild honey
what’s up with that?
Did his mother not properly nurture him as a baby?
Was he beaten as a child?
Is that why he’s so angry??
Back then, they had executioners with sharp axes
today we have the media….

Herod had a birthday party
It was a pretty extravagant birthday party
he invited all of his wealthy, important friends
Well, maybe not friends
but people he couldn’t afford to alienate
The important people whom he had to please
to keep up a good impression with
so they would keep him in power

There was a lot of drinking, dancing, music,
and a lot of food
Herodias, his new bride, who used to be his brother’s wife --
but of course when you’re king,
you can get what you want
and so Herod did
John the Baptist did express his opinion on that, of course
he didn’t like it
but so what, I mean, it’s what politicians do
why couldn’t John just be quiet about it?
Why did he insist on expressing his opinions?

Anyway, Herodias hated John the Baptist
she hated him for his criticism of Herod
for taking her away from her first husband
She wanted him dead
but Herod like John
He was perplexed by his preaching
it made him think
but it didn’t make him change anything
He just liked listening to him
He didn’t want to hurt him
he kept John in prison to make his new wife happy
but he wouldn’t kill John

Ah, but that was before he got drunk at his party
he was full of good food and lots of wine
and there was dancing and music
and he was having a good time
when his step-daughter came in and danced
Apparently it was some dance
for it made the men a little crazy
perhaps it was pretty seductive and provocative
for King Herod and all his important official guests
were mesmerized, spellbound
And in his drunkenness and lust,
Herod dreamily said to the girl,
“Ask me anything and I will give it to you…”
he said, and he couldn’t just keep it at that,
he went on, “Whatever you want, even if it’s half my kingdom,
you may have it..”
He was feeling quite good, quite sauced, you might say

One wonders what kind of relationship
the girl had with her mother
because she knew to take a time-out
and ask her mother what she should ask for
This was a big opportunity, after all,
the king had just sworn an oath
and she couldn’t be small in her request….
Of course, her mother saw an opportunity
to get what she wanted

“Ask for the head of John the Baptist,” her mother said,
her eyes lighting up with the power…
This at last was the queen’s chance at revenge
against that big-mouthed preacher
she’d shut him up forever
and her husband could not argue now
He had given an oath!
And she knew Herod was essentially a weak man
He felt he had to please the people
he had no firm convictions of his own
none that he would give his life for
none that he would even endure any discomfort for
He worked very hard to not displease anyone
to not ever cause controversy
He was not like John the Baptist
and he must have known that
He knew he was a coward
He didn’t have the passion of John
the conviction and commitment of John
Herod was a Jew
but the god he worshipped was the god of empire
of the world, the government, the power
The god of wealth, prestige, domination
Not the God that seemed to drive John the Baptist with purpose
When the beautiful girl came to Herod
she said simply, “I know what I want…”
“Anything, darling, anything,” the drunken king implored
“I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter…” she said
as if she were asking for a new dress

Herod’s heart sank
and then filled with utter horror
He sobered up quickly
What had he done?
His eyes were wild with panic
and it says that he was deeply grieved
Deeply grieved
I wonder
he could have changed things
he could have made a difference
he could have spoken up
he could have been strong and said no,
and spared a good man’s life
But all eyes were on him
All the officials of the court
He could NOT lose face in front of them
He could not appear weak in honor
He could not displease the court
He could not appear weak to his people

It was barbaric and horrific
The guard was sent to the prison,
and right there in the prison
he cut off John’s head
And then, at the time of the final course of the meal
the guard came into the crowded room
and handed the platter to the girl
a platter with the head of John the Baptist on it
The girl handed it to her mother,
who was satisfied at her revenge

And still I wonder, why did Mark have to tell us this?
He could have easily left this out
But the story is right before the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000
out in a remote part of the wilderness
where he’d been teaching and preaching
It was as if Mark had to tell us the conditions in which
Jesus went on with his ministry
under the tension of knowing what happens in this world
to people who speak truth that is not pretty
Truth that must be spoken
but most people opt for the easier way

This story shows us that it is dangerous to tell the truth
in this world
It’s dangerous to be passionate,
it’s dangerous to care
it’s dangerous to go against the status quo
or public opinion
Jesus says in the Gospel of John,
“you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…”
But according to this story,
the truth will also get you killed

Beth Neilson Chapman is a folk singer
and songwriter
who writes songs for people like Martina McBride
and other big stars
And she recorded a song called, “Beautiful Fool”
In it, she says,
“Oh, you beautiful fool,
swimming upstream, kicking up waves
dreams weren’t meant to come true,
that’s why they call them dreams,
oh, you beautiful fool.”
She mentions Martin Luther, who challenged the Roman Church
during the Reformation
and got into a lot of trouble
She mentions, Mahatma Ghandi
who worked for peaceful, non-violent strategies
in a world so bent on violence
She mentions Jesus Christ, another beautiful fool
who got himself killed for speaking the truth
in a world that would rather speak what’s popular
and be comfortable
She celebrates the beautiful fools of the world
who of course look like fools to most people
but who live with passion, commitment
and a driving spiritual sense of purpose
that gives them courage to face opposition
to go against the flow
to be labeled a traitor or a heretic

We have a whole history of beautiful fools
people who were burned at the stake
excommunicated from the Church,
shot down on a hotel balconies
or riding in a car
or giving a speech at a hotel,
Fools who were executed alongside convicted criminals
scorned by good religious people as deserving of death
Fools who were beheaded
on a lustful whim
imprisoned wrongfully for a few decades
or simply crucified by public opinion

Some of our most creative geniuses who ever lived
were the most troubled,
the most depressed, the most socially scorned
or publically humiliated
So many beautiful fools cut off much too young
because the world doesn’t handle them well
and it’s not socially prudent to be a fool

I think maybe Mark told this story
because he wanted to contrast the cruelty
and foolishness of our world
that crushes the passionate
with the power that comes from God
who seems to find the unlikeliest, weirdest people
to speak God’s truth of love, mercy, passion and grace

In the end, we have to wonder,
what is it that we want in this life?
To live with purpose and passion for a cause
that is eternal
that is empowered by the very one who creates
and sustains us?
The one who calls us by the power of Jesus Christ
who lived, taught, healed, and died for love
and never compromised his mission, his purpose
even if it killed him?

Or do we want to make sure everyone likes us?
Do we live for the approval of other people
Do we go along with the crowd
so that we won’t get hurt?
This world always proves its fickleness
and whatever pleasures we get in this world
are always temporary
I’d rather live for the eternal purposes of Jesus
I’d rather spend my life living and speaking truth
for the sake of mercy, justice, grace and love
as I know it from the one who wasn’t afraid to die
knowing that even death
is just a temporary inconvenience
That we are people of eternity
sent here to live out the truth of Jesus’ life, teachings,
death and resurrection
I’d rather be a beautiful fool for Christ….

A Poem by Langston Hughes

I just discovered this this morning. What else could we substitute for "black"? There are many.


Bible Belt
By Langston Hughes

It would be too bad if Jesus
Were to come back black.
There are so many churches
Where he could not pray
In the U.S.A.,
Where entrance to Negroes,
No matter how sanctified,
Is denied,
Where race, not religion,
Is glorified.
But say it --
you may be
Crucified.

Heart Disease

Mark 5:21-43
June 28, 2009


It’s good to get out of town
every once in awhile
When we drove west before heading up to the Black Hills
I could feel all the stress falling off of me
like something I was carrying on my back
before it all slid off
The more wide open and barren the landscape became
the more I felt myself breathing better
Coming into South Dakota, it’s hard to explain
but just staring at those Black Hills mile after mile
every little thing that troubles us on this earth
seems so small
petty, trivial
It’s not hard to get swallowed up
in the beauty of God’s vast creation up there
in the roaming elk, buffalo, deer and donkeys
or laughing at the antics of the bears with their cubs
or the comedy of the prairie dogs
petting a 400-lb tortoise on his leathery head
made me feel connected to the age of dinosaurs somehow
with the prehistoric-looking head and leathery skin
The air was clear
and the weather was beautiful,
all of God’s creation lit up with color and life

How DOES the air get so polluted?
How does it become so filthy that you choke and can’t breathe?
Choked with death, choked with hate, murder, and meanness?
That woman
we’ve seen her
we’ve known her
The woman in the crowd
with the wound that never stops bleeding
the hurt that never stops hurting
the pain that rules her life somewhere in the unseen recesses of her body
it drains her physically, yes
but day after day, it drains her spirit, her vitality
sucks out her joy and hope
till she just wants to crawl up into a corner and weep
She’s tired of being tired
she’s tired of being alone
she’s tired of people talking about her
pointing fingers and whispering
sometimes shaking their heads in shame
“She’s unclean,” they say
“poor woman,” they say
but they don’t come near her, they don’t TOUCH her
If they touch her, if they get too close,
they might be unclean too
they might catch what she’s got
besides, it might be too painful
Maybe they’re afraid that if they care
if they let themselves care about her
they will get sucked into a bottomless pit
and never get out
Maybe they’ll get blood on their clothes and skin
that they’ll never be able to wash completely off
because really, when we get involved
other people’s pain often becomes our own
UNCLEAN, they always said
backing away
careful not to bump into her
There was fear in their eyes
they didn’t know what she had
and that made it worse
Fear makes people do crazy things
mean things
irrational things
but word got out
that there was a person out there
who was different
A person who wasn’t afraid of anything
or if he was, he didn’t let it stop him
A person who CARED
who was willing to care so deeply it hurt him sometimes
A person who was willing to touch people
who couldn’t remember the gentleness of a hug
A person, they said, who could HEAL

She covered herself so no one would know
she covered herself so they wouldn’t steal her gift
she covered herself because she couldn’t be rejected one more time
she couldn’t risk that,
it would send her over the edge,
to a dark place where she might never recover

“Wait!” Jesus said, stopping in his footsteps
He turned around,
“Who touched me?”
People laughed, everybody touched him
everyone wanted a piece of him
everyone wanted to inhale the air around him
because it was sweet and beautiful
Who touched him? yeah, right …
He ignored the people, crowded all around him,
He ignored his disciples who were urging him to keep moving
He looked around until he saw her
the woman, covered completely in black,
huddled on the ground, trying to grow ever more invisible
She looked up at him, her eyes full of guilt and fear
her hands trembling, waiting for her punishment
“It was I,” she whispered
and wept
Jesus leaned down and lifted her chin
and then took her hands, lifting her to her feet
he threw back the hood that hid her face
and cradled her face in his hands
He ran his fingers through her hair,
pushing it out of her face, wiping the tears beneath her eyes
There was a collective gasp in the crowd
at his intimate behavior
They could just it,
the headlines would be on Yahoo in minutes

“Religious leader caresses unclean woman in public,
church leaders say he is a lecherous fraud…”

“Daughter,” he said
and just the word, the name, washed over her with
overwhelming gentleness,
“Daughter,” he said, “your faith has made you well;
go in peace, be healed…”
and he gave her a hug
She collapsed into sobs and sighs too deep for words
and she felt the renewed strength fill her body
all through a gentle touch
all through the invisible being made visible
all through truly finding herself loved

The little girl, they said,
had already died
most of the crowd didn’t know what the big deal was
daughters died all the time
Shoot, many times, they were left to die as babies
because daughters were no good
to a father
they were essentially a burden
A man wanted sons
and lamented when he had daughters
who were so unlike sons
Why, they often wondered, did God even bother?
except, of course, to make babies
to produce more sons
The men in the crowd didn’t understand
what the fuss was all about
they didn’t understand Jairus
why he was so broken up over a daughter
He wouldn’t be burdened with needing to come up with a dowry
in the future
it was one less mouth to feed
that didn’t contribute much
But Jairus was different
They all knew that
He was inconsolable
when he found out his daughter had died
The other men were embarrassed
at his public breakdown
they cleared their throats,
made circles in the dirt with their toes
They rolled their eyes at the weeping and loud wailing
of the women surrounding the house
Women were just emotional
prone to embarrassing displays of emotion
Then Jesus walked through,
pushing his way through the mourners
the women, clutching each other
“Why do you make such a commotion and weep?” he said
“The child is not dead but sleeping!”
And they laughed
Those who had turned away, toeing the dirt
looked up and burst into laughter
that sounded above the wailing
They laughed!
In the midst of all that grief and sorrow,
they laughed
Who is this guy?
Where did HE come from?

But Jesus ignored them
and went inside
He took the child’s parents inside with him
and knelt down at the side of the child’s bed
“Hey,” he said, gently nudging the little girl
with his hands,
“Hey, you,..” he smiled
He took her hand, laying by her side
and said in a whisper, “talitha cum… talitha cum!”
Get up, little girl, get up!
She groaned and stretched
while at the same time her mother let out a startled yelp
The little girl
shook her head as if shaking off a night full of dreams
and let Jesus pull her up and out of bed
she reached out and hugged him
as if to simply say, “good morning..”
Her mother wept loudly, embracing her daughter tightly
covering her face with kisses and tears
Her father reached out and gently cradled her face in his hand
“Thanks be to God,” he whispered so lowly only Jesus could hear
“Thank you,” he whispered to Jesus, tears welling up in his eyes…
“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, outside there were people with notebooks
writing things down
“Religious leader touches corpse,
renders himself unclean.”
“Religious leader touching bleeding woman,
disregards church’s traditions…”
“Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, who is he?
Magician? Sorcerer? Demon? Devil? You decide…”

The rumors were rampant
Jesus raised a little girl from the dead
others said she wasn’t dead
Or Jesus touched that woman who was bleeding
others said, no, that wasn’t her,
she just looked like her
And he just kept going
He kept on walking, traveling,
looking for more people to teach, to heal,
to listen to him
But most people didn’t want to listen, he found
most people thought they already knew him
already knew everything they needed to know
and so they disregarded him
But some listened,
Thank God
Some heard what he said, what he taught
some people paid attention to his behavior
not to look for faults or mistakes
but to look for clues of the coming Kingdom
Because they knew that every miracle
no matter how small,
every miracle is a preview of the Kingdom of God
Everywhere he went, he said, “Do not fear….”
because Jesus knew that fear makes people crazy
fear makes people hurt people
fear makes people kill people
fear makes people tear each other apart
“Do not fear,” he said
“trust in God.”
And he healed people, not just to make them feel better
but he healed people to show that God is the God of life
God is the God of restoration and balance
and goodness, wholeness and health
body, mind and spirit-health
He healed people to give them a chance to truly
experience the joys of life
to take away any barriers to real life, lasting life
eternal life
He healed people of heart disease
He found so many people so sickened by heart disease
hearts full of hate, rage, bitterness
hearts full of darkness and cruelty
hearts that full of pain that caused people to inflict more pain
He found people beaten down by life
beaten down by other people
declared unclean, immoral, unfit, undeserving of life and breath
He touched them
and he saw them for who they really were, inside
underneath all the burdensome labels and abuse
that others had laid on their backs
He healed some with hearts poisoned by evil
by hate
but those hearts were much harder to heal
and sometimes even Jesus just had to walk away
But he shared the Holy Spirit
and said to all of us, “Do not be afraid…”
the forces of life and resurrection are much stronger
and relentless than the powers of evil
So he gave all of us the ability to heal heart disease
to touch another human being
who otherwise would never be touched
to dry the tears of another, to embrace another
to see the beauty in someone who is convinced they are ugly
He gave us the power to purify the air
to rid it of pollution that chokes people to death
to fill the air with gentleness and love
He gave us all the power to heal
to be transformed daily and to have a transforming impact
on each other
He knows that we live in a world where there are too many people
spreading heart disease
people who attempt to kill our spirits
to choke us with hate and cynicism
“Do not fear,” he says
He knows many of us have hurts inside of us
that just won’t stop bleeding
that daily hemorrhage
and take away our vitality
He wants to touch those wounds
and heal them, to stop the bleeding
and to infuse us with new life here and now
Fred Buechner writes:
“Jesus gives life to those who are dead
and to those who are only partly alive
who much of the time live our lives closed to the wild beauty
and the miracle of things
including the wild beauty and miracle of every day we live
and even the miracle of ourselves….
and so Jesus says to us,
you who believe, you who sometimes believe
and sometimes don’t believe much of anything
and you who would give up almost anything
to believe if you could….
Get up! Get up!
All of you!.... Get up!”

In the Dark

John 3:1-17
June 7, 2009


Barbara Brown Taylor tells the story
of a woman who set out to discover the meaning of life
First she read everything she could get her hands on
history, philosophy, psychology, religion
She became a really smart, intellectual person
but none of it gave her the answers she was looking for
She sought out other smart people
and asked THEM what they thought about the meaning of life
Their discussions were long and interesting,
but none of them agreed on the same thing
and she still got no answer

One day she put all her belongings in storage
and set off to travel in search of the meaning of life
She went to South America, India, Tibet
No matter where she went, no one could tell her the meaning of life
Finally, some said that they knew of a man
who did know, but they weren’t sure where he lived
She continued to travel all over the world until finally,
deep in the Himalayas, someone told her how to reach his house
It was a tiny little hut perched on the side of a mountain
just below the tree line
She climbed and climbed up the mountain to reach his house
When she got there, she was exhausted, and numbed by the cold
But she knocked on the door
“Yes?” she heard a kind voice say.
The man opened the door, and she was so relieved
“I have come halfway around the world to ask you one question,”
she said, still straining to catch her breath
“What is the meaning of life?” she asked
The man smiled
“Please come in and have some tea,” he said,
motioning for her to come inside
“No,” she said, trying not to cry with frustration,
“I mean, thank you, but no. I didn’t come all this way for tea.
I came for an answer.
Please, won’t you tell me what is the meaning of life?”
“We shall have tea,” the old man said,
and so she gave up and went inside
While he was brewing the tea,
she caught her breath and began to tell him
about all the books she’d read,
all the people she had met, all the places she had been
The old man listened, which actually was all he could do,
because she hardly gave him a chance to get a word in….
While she was still talking, he placed a fragile tea cup
in her hand and began to pour the tea
She was so busy talking that she didn’t notice
when the tea cup was full,
so the old man kept pouring until the tea
ran over the sides of the cup
and down to the floor in a steaming waterfall
The woman jumped back and nearly dropped the cup
“What are you doing??” she yelled, the tea burning her hand
“It’s full, can’t you see that? Stop! There’s no more room!”
“Just so,” the old man said to her, handing her a towel.
“You come here wanting something from me,
but what am I to do?
There is no room in your cup.
Come back when it is empty and then we will talk.”

Meanwhile, several thousand miles to the west
a leader of the Jews named Nicodemus
was skirting around in the dark
He looked a little silly, really,
all dressed up in his fancy robes and hat
looking over his shoulder every few minutes
stumbling around in the dark
But he found the campfire,
and Jesus looked up at him
as if he knew he was coming and wondered what took him so long?
Nicodemus was a very intelligent and highly educated man
He had read many, many books,
and had countless discussions and given as many lectures
on God and religion
He had a respectable place in the Church Structure
He had made it
But he still had questions, and who could he ask?
Jesus was not so respected among his colleagues
Some of them called him a communist, a demon,
they had all kinds of names for him
but they all agreed on the idea that Jesus was dangerous
So Nicodemus could not allow his colleagues to know
that he was coming to talk to Jesus
He could lose his job
He’d seen other colleagues discredited and shamed
for much less…
So he had to be careful

He came to Jesus at night
in the dark
“Rabbi,” he said, “we know that you are teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you do apart from
the presence of God…”
Jesus smiled
He didn’t challenge him on that
but “We”
Who’s “we”, Nicodemus?
Your colleagues think I’m from God?
Your colleagues think that what I do comes from
being connected to God?
He might have chuckled to himself
That’s not what I heard….

But Jesus ignored the brown-nosing
and poured tea all over Nicodemus’ hand ….
“I gotta tell you, Nicodemus, no one can see the kingdom of God
without being born from above, or born again…”
Nicodemus jumped a bit
but looked over his shoulder one more time
and sat down
“What are you saying? How can anyone be born after
having grown old?....”
Why was Nicodemus there?
If he had all the answers, which clearly his uniform
represented one who had all the answers,
why was he out sneaking a meeting with Jesus?
Everyone came to Nicodemus and his colleagues
for the answers
he could not be seen as questioning
or exploring, or doubting …
And engaging Jesus in conversation
was certainly a terrible risk
If he entered into conversation with one
that was seen as the enemy
then his colleagues would see that
as a betrayal not only of them
but of their traditions, their religion
their institution….

Why is it that our doubts, our questions
often arise in the middle of the night?
When we’re all alone, everything else is quiet
and there are no distractions?
Nicodemus seems to be hungering for more
He has all the answers,
he has all the answers to all the questions
that he thought needed to be asked
His colleagues seemed satisfied
they don’t seem to want any more
they seem satisfied
and if they’re not, they are not telling anyone
Maybe they ask questions
but it’s not safe for them to admit that to each other
because it could get them kicked out,
fired, and disgraced
they had an image to uphold
after all, if they, the leaders of the Church
didn’t have all the answers,
people might panic—
if THEY don’t have all the answers, then who does?

But Jesus seems to be saying to Nicodemus
‘hey, you’ve got all the answers,
I can’t help you…
there is no more room in you
to put any more…
we’re not even talking the same language…’
How can Nicodemus make room for new truth?
Or for more questions?
How can he make room in his heart for faith?

We people in the Church who have grown up
with all the church language
take it for granted, I think
So much so, that I’m not sure we ever think about it
People, especially political leaders who want to win over
a certain group of voters,
may say, “I’m a born again Christian.”
and some people feel very good about that
But I want to say, “what does that mean?
What does that mean to you?
Tell me your story…
tell me what gives you life,
what gives you hope….”

What does it mean to be born again?
or born from above?
If I were to say that I’m born again
I’d have to say it’s happened many times
there have been countless times in my life
when I felt dead inside
or so wracked with grief
that I didn’t think I could go on
and then God brings someone into my life
to help me walk again
to help me breathe again
someone who believes in me
and convincingly says, “you’re going to be ok,”
and slowly I have healed over time
and with lots of love
and each of those times, I would say I was born again
because I felt like I was dying
and then I came back to the land of the living
Anytime I have grown in wisdom
often gotten the hard way,
any time I have experienced healing in a relationship
or the pain of losing someone
is a little less debilitating
each of those times
I am born again
transformed, strengthened, healed
given new life
And I have many stories to tell about those times

Jesus said we must be born from above
above, to me, and in my understanding
means heaven
I am born of heaven
Yeah, I was born the normal way, through my human mother and father
but I am also born of heaven
I believe I am a child of God
and I believe that God is always seeking to create me anew
to challenge and refresh me
To be born again, means that you have to grow up again
and it’s humbling to admit
that we all need to grow up again
that sometimes we need to start over
Nicodemus was entrenched in the traditions of his faith
and that’s not bad at all
but it is a problem
when the religious words, religious traditions
keep us so full
that we don’t have any room for more
If we have all the answers, set in stone tablets
then we’re not going to grow or be challenged
If we think we know everything already
that God wants us to know
than we can’t grow anymore, and we’re kind of dead
I am very suspicious of anyone who thinks they have all the answers
I think, to be born from above
means that we are not from around here, ultimately
We don’t just buy everything we are given here on this earth
we don’t believe everything that we’re expected to believe
because “everyone else believes it”
We are willing to stand out
We are willing to say, “Hey, have you ever thought about this?”
I think it’s growing increasingly dangerous
to stand out in the crowd
there’s so much violent conversation everywhere
that if you stand out and question
what people are saying
you, like Nicodemus, could lose your credibility
Someone will call you a communist
a socialist, a radical, whatever, we have all kinds of names
to shut up people we don’t want to listen to

I like Nicodemus
He was brave
he could have lost everything, he could have been labeled a traitor
He could have been completely discredited in the community
for just giving Jesus the benefit of the doubt
He saw something in Jesus
even though his colleagues dismissed him as a dangerous radical
And he saw something he wanted to explore
something that touched a hunger deep in his heart
something that made him risk everything
So he was halfway there
There is hope for Nicodemus
He already stepped out into the uncertainly of the dark
to find the more that he was looking for
He seemed to have gotten only more questions
but it seems that the questions that Jesus offered him
would keep his digging, searching, exploring
taking him ever deeper into the spirit of God
allowing him to let go of all the control he thought he had
so that God could do something with him
Make him a curious child again
so that he could grow up again and again
growing ever wiser in the things of the heart and spirit
He already had plenty of knowledge
now he needed faith
he needed a relationship, a connection, a living connection
with the Spirit of God
He learned that believing doesn’t mean having all the answers
believing means trusting,
means living in relationship that is always new
always full of surprises
which means there is always risk of pain and confusion
But God, Jesus said, did not send the Son into the world
to condemn the world…
but in order that the world might be saved through him….
Did you get that?
Because it seems like a lot of people don’t get that
Jesus didn’t come here to condemn and to damn
he came to save
but he didn’t come to save individual souls
just so we could see the golden streets of heaven
He came to save the world, the whole world…
Why?
Why does the world need saving?
I don’t think we have to ponder that one too long…
God longs for the whole world to be saved, to be healed
to be in peace, to be ONE….
If you really think about that, that’s a really scary thing
do we want the whole world to be saved?
Even people we hate?
Even countries that have weapons pointed at us?
The WHOLE world?
That’s the reason Jesus came into the world
that we may have life and have it abundantly…
that we can act like him, speak like him,
behave like him…
and that through our lives, one more corner of the world
will have a little more light in it…
will be a little further along in being saved
But we have to get past all the religious language
and figure out what it all means
God wants to save the world
and God sent Jesus to get that started
and Jesus sent US to continue that mission
But we have to be brave
we have to keep walking into the dark
not always having the answers
but to be willing to listen
to be a little empty, so that God can fill us up
to be willing to stumble around in the dark
as we keep looking for Jesus
and allowing him to lead us by the hand
trusting and believing that God will supply us
with everything we need to help Jesus save the world….

Ridiculous Hope

Text: Acts 2: 1-21
May 31, 2009


Have you ever noticed that
when there’s that one person in a group
who is positive or upbeat
people tend to think there must be
something wrong with them?
We think or even say, ‘boy, they’re flighty,
or they don’t have a clue
or they just don’t know what’s going on’?

At the same time, it’s easy to look at the negative side of things
to predict disaster or failure
to keep our hopes low
or to find every little thing that’s wrong
with a person or situation
People jump on THAT bandwagon in a hurry…
“Oh, it’ll never work,”
“Nobody’s going to show up,”
“they’ll never win…”

The recent news about Susan Boyle
on “Britain’s Got Talent,”
says that the woman is just about
to have a nervous breakdown
because of all the pressure she’s under
She just entered the contest
because she loves to sing
and since she wowed so many people
she has to hide in seclusion!
People criticize her hair, say that she really can’t sing
she should wear more make-up
lose some weight
and then, if she can’t handle all the pressure
from these crazy people
they call her names for getting upset about it!

Face it, we live in a painfully cynical and negative world
that tries to destroy any good thing that crops up
Joy seems naïve in our world
we are suspicious of positive people
we even make fun of them
or if someone has a good idea
we knock it down
nip it in the bud before they even try….

No wonder some people in Jerusalem
thought the followers of Jesus were drunk!
They were ridiculously happy!
They MUST be drunk!
How else could anyone be THAT happy??
If we’re not happy, we don’t want anyone else to be happy!
If we have no hope,
we don’t want anyone else around us
to have hope!
They must be drunk!
Or just plain stupid….

In fact, it had been a long time
since the followers of Jesus had felt any joy
They felt like they’d been put through the mill
these last months
Jesus’ horrible, horrible death
and then he shows up in their rooms,
on the beach, on the road
ALIVE!
That just about scared them as much as his death!
I mean dead people just don’t rise from the dead!
And there he was….
And just when they got used to him being around
just when it started to feel natural for him to be alive again
he said he had to go
He told them to wait in Jerusalem
He didn’t say what to wait for
just wait for the gift, the Advocate, the power
well, as usual, they had no clue what he was talking about!
So they waited
They ached, they paced, they cried,
they doubted,
they thought that he must have abandoned them
all over again
and then WHAM!
they got hit by a holy hurricane
right there in the house
their spirits had been exhausted,
they were anxious, a little jumpy,
looking for clues of what was to come
Some among them must have said
“he’s not sending anything
there’s nothing more to wait for
he was just trying to ease our pain again,
it’s over, guys, this is it…”
They couldn’t stand to hope
and then get disappointed,
so it was better to just start off disappointed
they had less distance to fall that way
But then it happened
There were crowds in the streets
getting ready for the festival of Pentecost
the Romans were patrolling the streets
everyone from every known country was gathering in the city
nobody could understand each other
because no one spoke the same languages
except those who had traveled together
there were no translators
so it was hard to get around the city
and ask directions or for help
and some in Jerusalem
wrote editorials as usual, asking
“why can’t they all just learn OUR language
if they’re going to come to OUR city every year??”
It was a mess
Romans trying to keep the crowds from killing each other
The followers of Jesus stayed inside,
away from it all,
that is, until the holy hurricane hit them
and caused holy chaos among them
All of a sudden
these anxious, depressed, nervous followers
started rambling on loudly
in a different language
saying things they themselves did not understand
and it all reached such a fever pitch
that the people in the streets could hear
they could hear their own language
being spoken
in this strange city!
so the crowds moved toward the strange sound,
toward the building where the followers of Jesus
came pouring out,
newly energized, their faces radiating with excitement
babbling on and on
words they didn’t understand
but someone in the crowd did
Something weird was going on!
There was buzzing from the building
there was buzzing in the crowd,
“What does this mean?” people kept saying
in various languages
but others just waved them off
“ah, those are just those crazy Jesus people,
they’re just drunk….”
But Peter got up,
ran out to the front of the crowds
and waved his hands
and in his own native tongue
he spoke,
“We’re not crazy!” he said
“And we’re not drunk!”
THIS is what we’ve been waiting for
and we didn’t even know it until now!
It’s just like the prophet said,
Ïn the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy
and your young men shall see visions
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women
in those days, I will pour out my spirit
and they shall prophesy….!”
It was crazy, but true
among Jesus’ followers
there were young men, old men,
young women, old women
rich and poor, big and little
fat and skinny,
light and dark-skinned,
all of them, bound together by the Spirit
that came rushing through them,
on them, into them, around them
it was everywhere
No one could see it
but they remembered Jesus say,
“The wind blows where it will and you do not see it,
so it is with the Spirit of God…”
They were not drunk with new wine,
in fact, they WERE the new wine
Jesus had said once also,
that you can’t put new wine into old wineskins
because the wineskins will burst
but you must put new wine into NEW wineskins
that it may be preserved
That day, the day of Pentecost
Jesus’ followers were the new wine
and the old ways would not, could not contain them
things had to change, now, with the Holy Spirit
The difference was amazing
All of these followers
before and after Pentecost
Before, they were frightened, anxious, weary
cynical, immobilized
separated from each other
by various languages, beliefs,
cultures and habits
but on the day of Pentecost
no one was left out
no one was better or worse than anyone else
no matter what country they came from
no matter what language they spoke

And so I wonder,
what languages keep us apart?
Politics? Religion? Denominations?
Whether we were born here or moved here?
What keeps us apart?
What keeps us divided?
And what makes us ever think that God is ever pleased
when we keep those walls between us?
Pentecost was a day when God gave everyone a vision
of what God wants for all of us, finally someday
A world where no one is left out
a world where God’s people are ALL equal
no matter what age, race, religion, whatever labels we have
we are all equal in God’s sight
No matter what language we speak
not one language will be THE language
but we will all be bound together by the Spirit of God
that makes us all one
The good news of Pentecost
is that humans crucify and murder
but God resurrects
humans divide and dominate
but God communicates
God has the last word
and that word is wild
because it changes everything
and it is never what we thought it would be
The place was smokin’, I tell you
smokin’ with the Holy Spirit
and nobody was left out
if anyone missed it, it was because they chose
to not be a part of it
they CHOSE to reject it…
but the Gift was for everyone
Have you ever been out of breath?
I know what it’s like to be out of breath
because in the last 5 years or so,
I’ve somehow developed asthma
It is a horrible, horrible feeling to not be able to breathe
to not be able to catch your breath
Or what about when you’re waiting for news
on a loved one?
Someone told you to come home
that something’s happened,
and all the way home,
your heart is racing
and you hardly breathe ….
Or you get a phone call in the middle of the night
and just the sound of the phone after you’ve been asleep
makes you hold your breath
knowing it’s going to be bad
You just can’t describe the feeling
when you get a call from someone
a child, someone you love
just to tell you they are alright…
Or if like me, you have asthma
and you get the inhaler
and you can breathe again
You can’t describe the relief
of catching your breath
or having the ability to breathe again
That’s how God’s Spirit is
it’s like being given the chance to breathe again
after you’ve been holding your breath
or being held when you felt so alone
and in someone’s comforting arms
you find yourself breathing easier again
Or it’s like having that oxygen mask
put over your face
when you’re short of breath…
it feels like new life…
When Jesus came back from the dead
to see his followers
they were all crowded into one room
grieving, hardly breathing
aching, missing him, devastated
and it says that he breathed on them the Holy Spirit
it was like he put oxygen masks over their faces
and restored them to the land of the living and thriving
God’s breath, the Holy Spirit
is full of passion and of life
just like the before and after versions of the disciples
on Pentecost,
God’s breath blows
and shy people become bold
scared people become gutsy
broken people become whole again
people bent-over by grief and pain
can stand up again and start walking
And when we let God breathe in us
just like those Jesus people who became foreign language scholars
in just one day,
we too, might start sounding like Jesus when we speak
we might start saying things we never thought we’d say
we might start giving words of life and hope and resurrection
we might give words of light amidst the darkness
hope amidst despair
and joy amidst the epidemic of cynicism
Like John Lennon wrote,
“People may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”
Let them say that we must be drunk
let them say that we are fools
let them say that we have no clue
We are the people of God
reaching for the oxygen supply that is God’s holy spirit
we’re tired of being hopeless and cynical
just because it’s easier
we’re tired of crying or complaining
Like the whole earth, Paul says,
we are aching and groaning for new life, new birth
new hope
we are all leaning forward with God, waiting for birth
waiting for the redemption of all the earth
It’s ridiculous,
we may look like utter fools
but I’d rather look like a fool
and spread the aroma of joy and ridiculous hope
than be a part of the forces of decay and cynicism
that grips our world
Breathe deep of God’s life-giving spirit
Breathe in, inhale God’s spirit of life
and then get out there and breathe out,
be a part of spreading the life-giving spirit
until that final day when all people, everyone
of every nation, every language, every category that exists
that day when all of God’s creation
breathes together
sings together, prays together
and rejoices together in the long awaited fulfillment
of God’s biggest dreams for us all….
Breathe deep, breathe long
be God’s dreamer, and let the life spirit of God
always live and move and spread through you
It doesn’t get any better than that….