Well, now I've done it. I got up in the middle of the stewardship campaign and said my little piece about stewardship. It's still pending review, but I thought it went well. This is the first sermon I've given this year where I didn't really want to hear people telling me I did a good job, because I knew they would be talking about my performance. This time, I measured success by how it was received, ala Barbara Brown Taylor. Sad thing is, I won't ever know. Some people commented after service about it, but ultimately it is part of a five week stewardship campaign, so it is only a small piece of a larger puzzle. I am confident that I spoke my spin on the text though, and I can live with that.
And so, without further extended introduction, I give to you the stewardship sermon:
When you’re about my age it’s hard to claim that you’re an expert on too many things. You get past that childhood innocence, and dependency on parents, and you’re trying to make a name for yourself as an individual. Only problem is, you got your elders telling you that you’ve got no idea what life experience is, and you’ve got your youngers telling you that the music you listened to is showing up on the classic rock station. In this state of being limbo, I can confidently say that I have found something in which I am an expert. I am an expert at messing things up.
Plans for me are just one more opportunity to share my expertise. But I know I’m not alone in this venture. Because the Bible tells me so.
Jesus gets confronted with the question of divorce as a test, to see if he knows the laws and to try and get him in trouble, but Jesus switches the question. Jesus changes the focus of the topic from whether or not something is permitted, to whether or not something is intended. I have never been through a divorce, but I know people who have, as I’m sure all of you do, if you haven’t experienced one yourself. A divorce is painful, it’s heart wrenching, it seems like the end of life, and in a sense it is. As Jesus reminds us, marriage is a unification of life into one body, creating a relationship between two people so close, they now function as one unit. To pull that apart, is a tragedy, and the bond still remains, even if legally you have papers say that you are not together anymore.
This is not an opportunity to point fingers at someone who has been through a divorce. This is an indictment against all of us. That’s made perfectly clear by the disciples actions regarding the children. They bar the children from seeing Jesus because he is doing “adult things”. Then Jesus gets agitated. The disciples just don’t get it, then Jesus drops the bomb on them, “these are the ones to whom the kingdom of God is given.” The disciples are good at messing up Jesus’ intentions, in a similar fashion we are good at messing up God’s intentions.
Now, I’m looking for round figures here, but how many little children do we have on church council? 0. Well why is that? Why do you have to be 35 to run for president? Why do you have to be 21 to drink alcohol? Why do you have to be 18 to vote? Why? Because of responsibility. These limits are established, because through one form of reasoning or another, we have decided that anything under these limits is not responsible enough to hold these benefits. You don’t let a teenager vote, because they would use their vote irresponsibly and mess up the system we have in place. It makes perfect logical sense.
I wondered for a while why these two passages get lumped together. Why Jesus talking about divorce, get placed in the same reading with Jesus welcoming the children. Then I realize something. We are both the disciples and the children. We are the ones who mess up God’s intentions, we are the ones who take such a gracious gift and squander it, and keep it to ourselves, hiding it from those who need to hear it. At the same time that we squander that gift, Jesus calls us to him, and says you are the ones to whom the kingdom of heaven is given. There hasn’t been a Christian yet who has taken that responsibility and done with it what God intended. Not one no matter how old. We’re experts at taking that gift, and taking God’s intention of redemption and forgiveness, and messing it up, and turning into condemnation, based on people’s lifestyles, based on people’s beliefs, based on people’s actions.
The Psalm lays this out perfectly for us: What are human beings that you are mindful of them? Yet you have given them dominion over the works of your hands, you have put all things under their feet. This precious gift that we have been given, the dominion over all things, the right to choose what we do and don’t do day in and day out, the Kingdom of God is in our hands. What are human beings that you are mindful of them? We are the children. We are the irresponsible ones. We are the ones to whom God keeps returning and saying, your sins are forgiven, now go and live out the Gospel, you are free.
We have been given every good blessing from God, and we have the freedom to decide what to do with it. My brothers and sisters we find ourselves in the middle of a season where we ask ourselves, “what do we do with what God has given us?” We are experts of messing up the gifts that God gives us, squandering them, hiding them. But we are forgiven. We are given the keys to God’s kingdom again and again, even though we are not worthy. We are experts at messing things up. A big part of this stewardship campaign that we are all on together is figuring out what we are going to do with what God has given us. Not figuring out who has given us everything we have, but what is our response to those gifts. I cannot tell you what you have, nor can I tell you what you should do with it, but I can suggest something as you reflect on what you are going to do with what you have. Turn to the giver, ask for direction. You see the disciples get spoken to in an angry manner, when they decide what is best for the children of God. They are experts at messing up God’s intentions. But God is the only expert for declaring what God’s intentions are, and when we understand ourselves as little children, the ones who are irresponsible and completely dependent, then we shall be given the kingdom of God. And we shall hear God’s intentions for us. Pray and ask, then listen. We are the inheritors of all that we see, but the intentions of these gifts can only be discerned by God. We are the little children of God.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
A New List!
I know exactly what you're thinking: "What's a "P" doing with a list, let alone two?" Believe me, I understand. Before you have a fear of me slipping completely into "J"ness and having a list of lists, let me explain.
It has been brought to my attention, most notably by Pr. David Hively, that we are all too quick to point out when people do things poorly but very slow to announce when someone does something well. While the "People Who Need a Punch in the Face" list is quite good and extensive, it should not be left unchecked. That being said, in order to maintain dualistic tension, I hereby announce the construction of the "People Who Deserve a Biscuit" list. The story of the biscuit is told in the post directly below this one.
The inaugural member of the "People Who Deserve a Biscuit" list is Pastor George Haynes from Rockport, Texas. Pastor Haynes is one of the Stewardship Key Leaders for the ELCA. He is organizing and heading the stewardship campaign at St. Mark. He preached three of the most energetic sermons I have ever seen, back to back to back. Then, he got up and gave two consecutive talks sharing the vision of the future with the congregation. Beyond that, he was up at 5 on Sunday morning, and it was nearly 2:30 when we dropped him off at the airport, still as upbeat and joyful as when I first saw him that morning. Sure, anybody might be able to do that, but here's the kicker...he's 79 years old. He truly is a model of following the vision and living a full life in the faith. Bravo, Pr. Haynes. Bra-vo, a biscuit for you.
It has been brought to my attention, most notably by Pr. David Hively, that we are all too quick to point out when people do things poorly but very slow to announce when someone does something well. While the "People Who Need a Punch in the Face" list is quite good and extensive, it should not be left unchecked. That being said, in order to maintain dualistic tension, I hereby announce the construction of the "People Who Deserve a Biscuit" list. The story of the biscuit is told in the post directly below this one.
The inaugural member of the "People Who Deserve a Biscuit" list is Pastor George Haynes from Rockport, Texas. Pastor Haynes is one of the Stewardship Key Leaders for the ELCA. He is organizing and heading the stewardship campaign at St. Mark. He preached three of the most energetic sermons I have ever seen, back to back to back. Then, he got up and gave two consecutive talks sharing the vision of the future with the congregation. Beyond that, he was up at 5 on Sunday morning, and it was nearly 2:30 when we dropped him off at the airport, still as upbeat and joyful as when I first saw him that morning. Sure, anybody might be able to do that, but here's the kicker...he's 79 years old. He truly is a model of following the vision and living a full life in the faith. Bravo, Pr. Haynes. Bra-vo, a biscuit for you.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Story of the Biscuit
A long time ago in a land far, far away there was a kingdom called Eastern Michigan University. While several of the princes of this kingdom were returning from their dining engagements, one of them, Kirk, held aloft a fresh biscuit procured from the dining commons. Kirk, the drummer and heavy metal enthusiast of the group, then declared, "Alas, I shall give this biscuit to the next person my eyes fall upon." As luck would have it, a mere five steps after uttering this quote, a knight drew near. Kirk extended his hand with the most precious object and asked, "Hey, man you want a biscuit?" to which the knight replied, "Naw, dog. I'm tight."
To deny such a gift was an insult to the group of princes as they snickered at the exchange of words. Which led to a meeting of the princes. It was thus declared that a biscuit is not something that could be handed out to any Tom, Dick, or Sally. The decision to pass on a biscuit must be heavily weighed and analyzed, for some cannot handle the prize, and some are not worthy of trying. From that day forward, a biscuit would be presented to whomever the princes deemed worthy, and thus the tradition of the bestowing of the biscuit was born.
To deny such a gift was an insult to the group of princes as they snickered at the exchange of words. Which led to a meeting of the princes. It was thus declared that a biscuit is not something that could be handed out to any Tom, Dick, or Sally. The decision to pass on a biscuit must be heavily weighed and analyzed, for some cannot handle the prize, and some are not worthy of trying. From that day forward, a biscuit would be presented to whomever the princes deemed worthy, and thus the tradition of the bestowing of the biscuit was born.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Sermon Numero Dos
So after the success and acceptance of the first sermon, the second effort could only go downhill. Not only was I not impressed with this one, but neither was my supervisor. I still think I faithfully pulled something out of the text without putting too much crap into it, but it just wasn't fully developed:
I can’t speak for you, but I’ll be the first to say that having someone watch my every move gets on my nerve. Have you ever had that boss or that supervisor (look?) that looked over your shoulder and wanted to make sure you got everything right? Or maybe one of your parents, when you were growing up always made sure that you brushed your teeth before you went to bed, and washed your hands before every meal.
When we have someone that close to us, it makes us feel a bit uncomfortable. We feel the pressure of every action we perform as if the entire world depended on it. Every minute little detail becomes the most important detail ever, even if it isn’t the reality of the situation; and if we mess up, it’ll be the end.
There’s a piece of that that shines through in our reading today. “For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him”. God has established with us a relationship so close, that not only does God see the same things we see, but God sees them the same way that we see them. This God is always looking over our shoulder, always checking not only our actions, but our intentions behind the actions that others around us can’t see. When I think back about that boss looking over our shoulder, I imagine making even the slightest mistake, or even doing something correctly, but not in the manner that it is usually done. And I hear the voice hit my ears, and it makes me wince to even think about it. “Hmm, now why’d you do that?” And before you can even think to explain it, you have to try and figure out in your head a good explanation for why you figured it out the way you did, sometimes even lying in the process to make yourself to look better. But God doesn’t buy those excuses.
There is a benefit to having a God that is so intimate with us that our inmost thoughts are known, and that is, God won’t let us get into a hole so deep that we can’t get out. Much like the parent who corrects their child when wrong, God guides us down the path we should be on. But there’s another side to having someone that close, and often, I think we like to glaze over that fact.
It’s a little less glamorous than God always coming to the rescue. Even in today’s reading from Deuteronomy it is skipped. If you read verse 3, one of the verses left out of the lectionary reading, you’ll see the other side. Let me read verse 3 for you….(at lectern) “Deuteronomy 4:3-4 You have seen for yourselves what the LORD did with regard to the Baal of Peor-- how the LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,” You see, that flip side, is that we are accountable for every action we take, every thought that passes through our mind, every feeling that passes through our heart. This is that anxiety and fear that comes from having someone so close to us, that every mistake that we make is going to be noticed, and every slip up is going to need an answer.
Barbara Brown Taylor made a good notice of this twp sided relationship “The God who created the heavens and earth also created the flood, and the God who parted the Red Sea is the same one who ordered Abraham to slit Isaac’s throat.” We have not been granted a free ticket excusing us from everything we have ever done, or every thing that we will do, there will be a judgment, where God will ask, “hmm, now why did you do that?”
Before you get the idea that cleaning up your act is the answer, consider the path of Jesus. He that knew no sin, he who was servant to all. Our savior. And where did his life lead him? To hang on a tree, to die for the very people he served and empowered and healed.
That is our path, that is our call. We have no good answer for why we act the way we do, for why we commit the sins we do, we have no good answer for “Why did you do that?” God knows this, and the cost for ours sins is death. God holds us accountable for our actions. But if you recall, there is another part of having someone so close to us. That no matter how big of a hole we dig ourselves into, God will not let us get in so deep that we cannot be dug out. You see, death, is the last hole that you will ever be in, and it is so deep, that you cannot dig yourself out of it. But God, the God who not only sees what we see but sees how we see, does not leave us in the hole of death. Rather, when we have done all that we can do, and we are buried as deep as we can go, God does not leave us. God responds by extending a compassionate hand, and a loving tear and asks “Why did you do that?” and makes sure that what seemed to be the end, the biggest hole we could possibly end up in, is the beginning of a life that has no end and no fear.
We are recipients of this gift, as Christ has made known to us by his work on the cross and his ascension. We are a people that have been promised by a God that is so close we cannot hide even what we think. And so we hear the words of Deuteronomy 4:9 in a new light. “Deuteronomy 4:9 But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children—“ Never forget that you are God’s, not because you have elected to be, but because God has claimed you as his own. And because of that, you are accountable to everything you have done and will do. And remember that above all else, God has your best interest at heart, even if sometimes it seems just the opposite is true. The mark of this is the cross, that the God who watches our every move would be willing to be humbled to such an extent that even in the deepest hole, there is new life. Never let that slip your mind, for it is who you are, and be sure to tell your children and your children’s children of the Good News of our always watching God. Amen.
I can’t speak for you, but I’ll be the first to say that having someone watch my every move gets on my nerve. Have you ever had that boss or that supervisor (look?) that looked over your shoulder and wanted to make sure you got everything right? Or maybe one of your parents, when you were growing up always made sure that you brushed your teeth before you went to bed, and washed your hands before every meal.
When we have someone that close to us, it makes us feel a bit uncomfortable. We feel the pressure of every action we perform as if the entire world depended on it. Every minute little detail becomes the most important detail ever, even if it isn’t the reality of the situation; and if we mess up, it’ll be the end.
There’s a piece of that that shines through in our reading today. “For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him”. God has established with us a relationship so close, that not only does God see the same things we see, but God sees them the same way that we see them. This God is always looking over our shoulder, always checking not only our actions, but our intentions behind the actions that others around us can’t see. When I think back about that boss looking over our shoulder, I imagine making even the slightest mistake, or even doing something correctly, but not in the manner that it is usually done. And I hear the voice hit my ears, and it makes me wince to even think about it. “Hmm, now why’d you do that?” And before you can even think to explain it, you have to try and figure out in your head a good explanation for why you figured it out the way you did, sometimes even lying in the process to make yourself to look better. But God doesn’t buy those excuses.
There is a benefit to having a God that is so intimate with us that our inmost thoughts are known, and that is, God won’t let us get into a hole so deep that we can’t get out. Much like the parent who corrects their child when wrong, God guides us down the path we should be on. But there’s another side to having someone that close, and often, I think we like to glaze over that fact.
It’s a little less glamorous than God always coming to the rescue. Even in today’s reading from Deuteronomy it is skipped. If you read verse 3, one of the verses left out of the lectionary reading, you’ll see the other side. Let me read verse 3 for you….(at lectern) “Deuteronomy 4:3-4 You have seen for yourselves what the LORD did with regard to the Baal of Peor-- how the LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,” You see, that flip side, is that we are accountable for every action we take, every thought that passes through our mind, every feeling that passes through our heart. This is that anxiety and fear that comes from having someone so close to us, that every mistake that we make is going to be noticed, and every slip up is going to need an answer.
Barbara Brown Taylor made a good notice of this twp sided relationship “The God who created the heavens and earth also created the flood, and the God who parted the Red Sea is the same one who ordered Abraham to slit Isaac’s throat.” We have not been granted a free ticket excusing us from everything we have ever done, or every thing that we will do, there will be a judgment, where God will ask, “hmm, now why did you do that?”
Before you get the idea that cleaning up your act is the answer, consider the path of Jesus. He that knew no sin, he who was servant to all. Our savior. And where did his life lead him? To hang on a tree, to die for the very people he served and empowered and healed.
That is our path, that is our call. We have no good answer for why we act the way we do, for why we commit the sins we do, we have no good answer for “Why did you do that?” God knows this, and the cost for ours sins is death. God holds us accountable for our actions. But if you recall, there is another part of having someone so close to us. That no matter how big of a hole we dig ourselves into, God will not let us get in so deep that we cannot be dug out. You see, death, is the last hole that you will ever be in, and it is so deep, that you cannot dig yourself out of it. But God, the God who not only sees what we see but sees how we see, does not leave us in the hole of death. Rather, when we have done all that we can do, and we are buried as deep as we can go, God does not leave us. God responds by extending a compassionate hand, and a loving tear and asks “Why did you do that?” and makes sure that what seemed to be the end, the biggest hole we could possibly end up in, is the beginning of a life that has no end and no fear.
We are recipients of this gift, as Christ has made known to us by his work on the cross and his ascension. We are a people that have been promised by a God that is so close we cannot hide even what we think. And so we hear the words of Deuteronomy 4:9 in a new light. “Deuteronomy 4:9 But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children—“ Never forget that you are God’s, not because you have elected to be, but because God has claimed you as his own. And because of that, you are accountable to everything you have done and will do. And remember that above all else, God has your best interest at heart, even if sometimes it seems just the opposite is true. The mark of this is the cross, that the God who watches our every move would be willing to be humbled to such an extent that even in the deepest hole, there is new life. Never let that slip your mind, for it is who you are, and be sure to tell your children and your children’s children of the Good News of our always watching God. Amen.
The Temporary Solution...
Erie Insurance was kind enough to secure a rental car for me, due to the demise of my beloved Maxima. Since, due to high demand, they were literally signing in cars and immediately signing them back out to people waiting in line, I got the next one in line. I never wanted to own an SUV, and I doubt I ever will, but for the next few days, I'll have one. This is a side by side analysis of the cars actual sized so you can see the difference between the two machines, sort of. Keep an eye out for the new car pics soon.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
DJ was wrong?!? But That's Only Happened One Other Time in History!
I know, that's what I was thinking. Well, it comes with an apology...sort of. You see "The guy who sold me my car" has to be pulled off the list. While he did have grand ideas about leaving me outside in the rain (see previous post), he did fix my car at reduced cost even though he didn't have to, and suggested some preventitive maintenance as well. This was enough to make me ambivalent as to whether or not he should be on the list, and so I decided to err on the side of grace (thank you Senor Luther). So the list has become one shorter, and if Ernesto wasn't dead already, he'd be quick to fill in the vacant spot. Expect more on that later, but for now, suffice it to say that the list has been truncated. Oh and on a side note 49ers to win the Super Bowl!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
The Lists Continue...
Thanks to Dave and his People Who Should Get Rabies list and Chrisy and her 2x4 list, I have been inspired to continue my "People Who Need to be Punched in the Face" list.
Current addition: (play on the word edition (I chuckled once then realized it wasn't funny)) The Guy Who Sold Me My Car.
The story begins with him being in the unfortunate situation of trying to replace the Green Dragon, which is a spot I wish on nobody. The new car ran smoothly until about a week ago (two weeks after purchase) when the window stopped working, locking it in the "rolled down" position. I took it to a local shop, they said, "$360 bucks", I said, "I'll talk to 'The Guy Who Sold Me My Car'". There was an issue with the door when they sold it to me that they said they'd fix so they agreed to fix the window too, in case they were related.
Well, as you may have heard, Tropical Storm Ernesto is creeping its way up the coast, and is currently making Virginia rainy. The brilliant idea of "The Guy Who Sold Me My Car" was that I should drop the car off to them the evening before their mechanic came in, so he could look at it first thing. Which is a good idea, unless it is raining and your window won't roll up.
I drove 45 minutes in the (not pouring but definitely coming down) rain. Then when I got there, he had already left for the evening. After standing outside for a half an hour, assuming that I had misheard his words for the meeting, I called the building. We could hear the phone ringing inside, and the answering machine pick up. Well, on the answering machine there was an additional number to call, so I dialed it. He picked up promptly, and told me that he had called our house about 5 minutes before we got there to tell us he wasn't going to be there, and we could drop the car off and leave the key in the slot. This being after I talked to him the day before and confirmed that he would be there at the appointed time.
Now I'm not saying that there couldn't have been an emergency, but I'm gathering from the drunken voices of men yelling on the phone when I called that he wasn't in the hospital worried about his baby girl. Jwek. He's so on the punch in the face list that it isn't funny.
Current addition: (play on the word edition (I chuckled once then realized it wasn't funny)) The Guy Who Sold Me My Car.
The story begins with him being in the unfortunate situation of trying to replace the Green Dragon, which is a spot I wish on nobody. The new car ran smoothly until about a week ago (two weeks after purchase) when the window stopped working, locking it in the "rolled down" position. I took it to a local shop, they said, "$360 bucks", I said, "I'll talk to 'The Guy Who Sold Me My Car'". There was an issue with the door when they sold it to me that they said they'd fix so they agreed to fix the window too, in case they were related.
Well, as you may have heard, Tropical Storm Ernesto is creeping its way up the coast, and is currently making Virginia rainy. The brilliant idea of "The Guy Who Sold Me My Car" was that I should drop the car off to them the evening before their mechanic came in, so he could look at it first thing. Which is a good idea, unless it is raining and your window won't roll up.
I drove 45 minutes in the (not pouring but definitely coming down) rain. Then when I got there, he had already left for the evening. After standing outside for a half an hour, assuming that I had misheard his words for the meeting, I called the building. We could hear the phone ringing inside, and the answering machine pick up. Well, on the answering machine there was an additional number to call, so I dialed it. He picked up promptly, and told me that he had called our house about 5 minutes before we got there to tell us he wasn't going to be there, and we could drop the car off and leave the key in the slot. This being after I talked to him the day before and confirmed that he would be there at the appointed time.
Now I'm not saying that there couldn't have been an emergency, but I'm gathering from the drunken voices of men yelling on the phone when I called that he wasn't in the hospital worried about his baby girl. Jwek. He's so on the punch in the face list that it isn't funny.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
First sermon in a strange new land
Since the pattern seems to be that internship sermons get posted on blogs, I decided to throw mine out there. I didn't particularly like how it turned out, but I don't know why. It got a lot of positive feedback from the congregation though, with one man almost in tears. Oh well, maybe you can figure out why I didn't like it that much:
I love the characters in John’s Gospel. Typically in the Bible we come across people that really hit our situation and our place in life, and I have to say that in general, I identify quite closely to the people we meet in John. I’m speaking specifically in this reading about the Jews. While they are plural, in this part of John’s Gospel they are lumped together to act as one “person”.
There is something common to a lot of the people that we meet in John, they come off as absolute fools. Let me give you a few examples: Nicodemus, upon hearing that we must be “born again” or “born from above”, begins to wonder about how he is going to crawl back into his mother’s womb; or the disciples, when they are suggesting that Jesus eat food**, and he replies, “I have food to eat that you do not know about”, they say to one another, “No one brought him any food, right?” It is indicative of people who for one reason or another, just don’t seem to catch on.
In this particular reading, we see a similar situation develop. After all, if we can prove who Jesus’ father and mother are, then there is no way that he came down from heaven. Oh, my, you silly, silly fools. This shows a different misunderstanding which resonates with me, and maybe you can see if it touches you in the same way. You see once I get something stuck in my head, and I get it figured out, and I convince myself that it’s true there’s no way you’re getting rid of that, no way you’re gonna change my mind. I’ll give you an example – “When you’re getting ready to cook an oven bake pizza, what is the first step? (Check with congregation) Of course after removing the wrapper. The first step is to pre-heat the oven. Everybody knows that, but do you know what I do? I start the oven, and immediately stick the pizza in. Of course it’s not following the instructions, but for some reason, I have it stuck in my head that the proper way to cook that pizza is to not wait for the oven to warm up.
Anne Wilson Schaef calls that an addiction. From her book, “When Society Becomes an Addict”, she writes, “An addiction is anything that we are not willing to give up”. An addiction is anything that we are not willing to give up. It’s easy to talk about addiction when addressing things such as drug or alcohol abuse, when talking of lust, and talking of pride. These things which are either something we stand and point a finger at, or something that we lie about to ourselves and others. But addiction is so much more than the wrong that we see in others, and the behavior which we clearly recognize as wrong.
Jesus speaks of the tradition, of the manna in the wilderness. To draw that fresh in your minds, the Israelites were complaining to Moses that the Lord had led them out to this desolate landscape to let them die. The Lord responds by blanketing the ground with bread so that the Israelites may know that God is with them. This tradition is a staple which the Jews can refer to when they fear that God has abandoned them.
Jesus completely breaks down their addiction to their tradition. Do you remember that time when bread came down from heaven? When your ancestors hunger was quenched by God? Well, what happened to your ancestors? They all died! This beautiful story which reminded the people that there was hope when everything seemed tragically lost, now has lost all its punch, because the end result is that the people died…the same thing they feared before they even had bread to eat.
Imagine the things that keep you comfortable. Like your job**, or your house, or your family. These things, we have come to be thankful for because God has given them to us. But these very things, our blessings which we confess in the offertory prayer as gifts, are the same things that get in our way, and become our addictions. For the Jews, it was their tradition, their stories of God’s action with them, and maybe for us, our tradition might have that same effect.
Things just aren’t the same way they used to be. Look around, if you haven’t seen things changing then you haven’t been paying attention. But I’ll be darned if I ever let that oven get warm before I put that pizza in there.
I joke about the pizza, but I couldn’t be more serious about addictions. There’s a test to see if you are addicted to something. Try doing something different. Do your morning routine without a cup of coffee, or sit in a different seat in the sanctuary. Talk with people you don’t usually sit with. Eventually, you will find something within you that does not like being changed. That’s an addiction.
What the Gospel speaks of today is the freedom from those addictions. What I gather from Jesus’ words is that I have no idea what bread is! Everything that I’ve been given, my car, the opportunity to stand up here and preach, my dumb little oven-bake pizzas, everything I see as bread, I see it as necessary for me to do what I need to do in the world. And Jesus calls, saying, “you’ve been thankful for all those things, but let me teach you what real bread is”.
This revelation that Jesus is not only bread but the only bread we’ll ever need works itself as both Law and Gospel. First, Jesus says “that bread that you’ve been eating, that you’ve been holding onto, it’s gonna die, and as a result, you’re going to die. But this bread, my body, my flesh, this bread from heaven I am giving you, because I care too much to see you die.” You see, we may be thankful for the things we have piled up in our houses, but Jesus is the true gift we have received from heaven.
When we come to the table this morning, remember the things we have that God has given us, recall our jobs, our wealth, our freedom, remember all these things and then hear the words of Jesus, that all these gifts mean so very little. Then come and receive the true bread, for this is God’s gift, this is God revealed to us most fully, God’s grace of eternal life that will no longer die. This bread, the true presence of Christ, will give you eternal life. Amen.
I love the characters in John’s Gospel. Typically in the Bible we come across people that really hit our situation and our place in life, and I have to say that in general, I identify quite closely to the people we meet in John. I’m speaking specifically in this reading about the Jews. While they are plural, in this part of John’s Gospel they are lumped together to act as one “person”.
There is something common to a lot of the people that we meet in John, they come off as absolute fools. Let me give you a few examples: Nicodemus, upon hearing that we must be “born again” or “born from above”, begins to wonder about how he is going to crawl back into his mother’s womb; or the disciples, when they are suggesting that Jesus eat food**, and he replies, “I have food to eat that you do not know about”, they say to one another, “No one brought him any food, right?” It is indicative of people who for one reason or another, just don’t seem to catch on.
In this particular reading, we see a similar situation develop. After all, if we can prove who Jesus’ father and mother are, then there is no way that he came down from heaven. Oh, my, you silly, silly fools. This shows a different misunderstanding which resonates with me, and maybe you can see if it touches you in the same way. You see once I get something stuck in my head, and I get it figured out, and I convince myself that it’s true there’s no way you’re getting rid of that, no way you’re gonna change my mind. I’ll give you an example – “When you’re getting ready to cook an oven bake pizza, what is the first step? (Check with congregation) Of course after removing the wrapper. The first step is to pre-heat the oven. Everybody knows that, but do you know what I do? I start the oven, and immediately stick the pizza in. Of course it’s not following the instructions, but for some reason, I have it stuck in my head that the proper way to cook that pizza is to not wait for the oven to warm up.
Anne Wilson Schaef calls that an addiction. From her book, “When Society Becomes an Addict”, she writes, “An addiction is anything that we are not willing to give up”. An addiction is anything that we are not willing to give up. It’s easy to talk about addiction when addressing things such as drug or alcohol abuse, when talking of lust, and talking of pride. These things which are either something we stand and point a finger at, or something that we lie about to ourselves and others. But addiction is so much more than the wrong that we see in others, and the behavior which we clearly recognize as wrong.
Jesus speaks of the tradition, of the manna in the wilderness. To draw that fresh in your minds, the Israelites were complaining to Moses that the Lord had led them out to this desolate landscape to let them die. The Lord responds by blanketing the ground with bread so that the Israelites may know that God is with them. This tradition is a staple which the Jews can refer to when they fear that God has abandoned them.
Jesus completely breaks down their addiction to their tradition. Do you remember that time when bread came down from heaven? When your ancestors hunger was quenched by God? Well, what happened to your ancestors? They all died! This beautiful story which reminded the people that there was hope when everything seemed tragically lost, now has lost all its punch, because the end result is that the people died…the same thing they feared before they even had bread to eat.
Imagine the things that keep you comfortable. Like your job**, or your house, or your family. These things, we have come to be thankful for because God has given them to us. But these very things, our blessings which we confess in the offertory prayer as gifts, are the same things that get in our way, and become our addictions. For the Jews, it was their tradition, their stories of God’s action with them, and maybe for us, our tradition might have that same effect.
Things just aren’t the same way they used to be. Look around, if you haven’t seen things changing then you haven’t been paying attention. But I’ll be darned if I ever let that oven get warm before I put that pizza in there.
I joke about the pizza, but I couldn’t be more serious about addictions. There’s a test to see if you are addicted to something. Try doing something different. Do your morning routine without a cup of coffee, or sit in a different seat in the sanctuary. Talk with people you don’t usually sit with. Eventually, you will find something within you that does not like being changed. That’s an addiction.
What the Gospel speaks of today is the freedom from those addictions. What I gather from Jesus’ words is that I have no idea what bread is! Everything that I’ve been given, my car, the opportunity to stand up here and preach, my dumb little oven-bake pizzas, everything I see as bread, I see it as necessary for me to do what I need to do in the world. And Jesus calls, saying, “you’ve been thankful for all those things, but let me teach you what real bread is”.
This revelation that Jesus is not only bread but the only bread we’ll ever need works itself as both Law and Gospel. First, Jesus says “that bread that you’ve been eating, that you’ve been holding onto, it’s gonna die, and as a result, you’re going to die. But this bread, my body, my flesh, this bread from heaven I am giving you, because I care too much to see you die.” You see, we may be thankful for the things we have piled up in our houses, but Jesus is the true gift we have received from heaven.
When we come to the table this morning, remember the things we have that God has given us, recall our jobs, our wealth, our freedom, remember all these things and then hear the words of Jesus, that all these gifts mean so very little. Then come and receive the true bread, for this is God’s gift, this is God revealed to us most fully, God’s grace of eternal life that will no longer die. This bread, the true presence of Christ, will give you eternal life. Amen.
Friday, August 11, 2006
The Greatest Story Ever Told: The Worst Movie Ever Filmed
For Adult Vacation Bible School here at St. Mark, we have been doing a series called "Jesus Goes to the Movies". The premise behind it all was to show movies that were made about Jesus and then discuss the theological implications that followed. Monday we watched Monty Python's The Life of Brian, Tuesday it was Jesus Christ Superstar, Wednesday The Last Temptation of Christ, and then came the treat to end all treats: The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Apparently, this thing had a $20 million budget in 1965! Like holy smokes, man. It was an absolute flop though, and with good reason. Imagine if you got inspiration to make a movie about Jesus, and then thought, "I want to take all the dull and exciting moments in the life of Jesus and synergize them with the captivating emotional power of the genealogy narratives." Yeah. There was one redeeming quality to the movie. John Wayne plays the centurion who says, "Truly this man was the Son of God," after Jesus is crucified. The reason this is entertaining is that he says it in typical John Wayne fashion: stoicly, and as if he was staring down a bank robber.
In the race for worst film ever, Brother from Another Planet(yeah, it's about a black alien) held a strong lead until I saw this movie. The redeeming quality of the alien movie was that the guy pulled out his eye, planted it in a flower, and used it as a spy camera. And so, The Greatest Story Ever Told, you take the cake. Congratulations. My only hope is that tonight's movie, Jesus of Nazareth, won't make me rename the title of my post.
Apparently, this thing had a $20 million budget in 1965! Like holy smokes, man. It was an absolute flop though, and with good reason. Imagine if you got inspiration to make a movie about Jesus, and then thought, "I want to take all the dull and exciting moments in the life of Jesus and synergize them with the captivating emotional power of the genealogy narratives." Yeah. There was one redeeming quality to the movie. John Wayne plays the centurion who says, "Truly this man was the Son of God," after Jesus is crucified. The reason this is entertaining is that he says it in typical John Wayne fashion: stoicly, and as if he was staring down a bank robber.
In the race for worst film ever, Brother from Another Planet(yeah, it's about a black alien) held a strong lead until I saw this movie. The redeeming quality of the alien movie was that the guy pulled out his eye, planted it in a flower, and used it as a spy camera. And so, The Greatest Story Ever Told, you take the cake. Congratulations. My only hope is that tonight's movie, Jesus of Nazareth, won't make me rename the title of my post.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The heat...THE HEAT...MY GOD, THE HEAT!!!
Sheep on the right goats on the left. What does one do when they find themselves in the middle of heat that singes the skin if you spend more than an hour in direct contact with it, barring protection of course. There seems to be an element of goat-like environment here in that sense.
And before I get too far into the hell analogies, I should note that there is very little weeping and gnashing of teeth going on. We hit 100 today(Wednesday and Thursday) with a heat index of 115, 100% humidity. As choir director Dan Landis put it: "I don't know how you have 100% humidity and still be able to breathe."
My congregation sent 20 people to help me move in. If there were any more excitement around here, the "Pee your pants terror alert" would be sunburn red. I find myself, as well, overly excited about being in this place, if only they could develop the technology for effective external air conditioning.
Here's some pictures of my Hizzle:
And before I get too far into the hell analogies, I should note that there is very little weeping and gnashing of teeth going on. We hit 100 today(Wednesday and Thursday) with a heat index of 115, 100% humidity. As choir director Dan Landis put it: "I don't know how you have 100% humidity and still be able to breathe."
My congregation sent 20 people to help me move in. If there were any more excitement around here, the "Pee your pants terror alert" would be sunburn red. I find myself, as well, overly excited about being in this place, if only they could develop the technology for effective external air conditioning.
Here's some pictures of my Hizzle:
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Bam-FREAKIN'-O
Today was a DJ day at Summer Seminary Sampler. A "P"-day, finally. We had a number of "J"-days which had "P" elements such as being at a place at the wrong time. But nothing made me feel better than this morning. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the orderliness and all that it provides, but sometimes, darn it, you gotta live in the chaos. Oh, and by the way, if you want a different perspective on the event, see Dave's Blog.
Enter Franklin County MRDD Center, Stage Right. This is a center (possibly could be labeled a resort because it was amazing inside) for children with some kind of mental or physical retardation, which gets bonus points from me just for the thought. In addition to a GIANT Connect-4 board, and countless other rooms and games that made me want to stay an entire day, we got to take part in the most brilliant idea I have ever come across:
One of the teachers told her students where pizza sauce comes from(tomatoes, of course), but one of the kids answered back, "No, it comes from a jar." So the dilemna is that these kids have no clue how food gets made. What better solution, then, to see something get made from beginning to end. Unfortunately, the garden was not quite bearing fruit(read: vegetables). The geniouses(and I mean that term completely sincerely) thought up the idea to get vegetables from the store, and "plant" them in the garden so the children could come pick them. Wow, what a freakin sweet idea!!! We spent the morning pointing out vegetables to the kids so they could harvest them and put them on plates and in baskets. Eventually a chef came in and made a salad out of the things that we gathered. They officially win every award I've ever even thought of handing out.
These kids absolutely loved the whole idea of it. There were many kids encapsulated when the chef began chopping the vegetables, some of them saying things like, "I picked that carrot." With kids running around everywhere today, it felt a little bit like the crowded home I grew up in, which is probably why it felt so good. The only thing that would have made the morning better would be a nice long soak in the ball-pit.
Enter Franklin County MRDD Center, Stage Right. This is a center (possibly could be labeled a resort because it was amazing inside) for children with some kind of mental or physical retardation, which gets bonus points from me just for the thought. In addition to a GIANT Connect-4 board, and countless other rooms and games that made me want to stay an entire day, we got to take part in the most brilliant idea I have ever come across:
One of the teachers told her students where pizza sauce comes from(tomatoes, of course), but one of the kids answered back, "No, it comes from a jar." So the dilemna is that these kids have no clue how food gets made. What better solution, then, to see something get made from beginning to end. Unfortunately, the garden was not quite bearing fruit(read: vegetables). The geniouses(and I mean that term completely sincerely) thought up the idea to get vegetables from the store, and "plant" them in the garden so the children could come pick them. Wow, what a freakin sweet idea!!! We spent the morning pointing out vegetables to the kids so they could harvest them and put them on plates and in baskets. Eventually a chef came in and made a salad out of the things that we gathered. They officially win every award I've ever even thought of handing out.
These kids absolutely loved the whole idea of it. There were many kids encapsulated when the chef began chopping the vegetables, some of them saying things like, "I picked that carrot." With kids running around everywhere today, it felt a little bit like the crowded home I grew up in, which is probably why it felt so good. The only thing that would have made the morning better would be a nice long soak in the ball-pit.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Reflection on July 4th, 2006
A couple of things popped in my mind:
1) Watching the third Terminator movie is kind of ironic on the 4th of July.
2) Mucho thankso to North Korea for celebrating Independence Day with us...jweks. They are so on the punch-in-the-face list it's not even funny. The next few days should be exciting to watch quick slingin' Bush Cassidy from the podium (or is it a lectern?).
3) Fireworks are exciting because they burn, and flash brightly, and make big bangs; three things which every youngster should not take part in, but they get exposure to every year. Maybe we'd have less burn accidents if we celebrated the Fourth of July by tying our feet to the bumper of a car and trying to do a handstand on a skateboard behind it. I admit, I blew my hand up with a bottle rocket once, and it wasn't because I watched fireworks the night before, but because burning, flashing, loud things are cool (thank you beavis and butthead); but i still have a right as a geezer to complain about how kids were smarter in my day and how they had more productive things to do than throw fireworks at eachother (don't take that as a suggestion).
4) How can we celebrate when our *snicker 5th ranked soccer team got annihalated by two, shall we call them, non-superpowers. We should be suspended from celebrating our nation in any way until we can at least tie the fourth graders from Iceland.
I've said my piece, Happy Fourth!
1) Watching the third Terminator movie is kind of ironic on the 4th of July.
2) Mucho thankso to North Korea for celebrating Independence Day with us...jweks. They are so on the punch-in-the-face list it's not even funny. The next few days should be exciting to watch quick slingin' Bush Cassidy from the podium (or is it a lectern?).
3) Fireworks are exciting because they burn, and flash brightly, and make big bangs; three things which every youngster should not take part in, but they get exposure to every year. Maybe we'd have less burn accidents if we celebrated the Fourth of July by tying our feet to the bumper of a car and trying to do a handstand on a skateboard behind it. I admit, I blew my hand up with a bottle rocket once, and it wasn't because I watched fireworks the night before, but because burning, flashing, loud things are cool (thank you beavis and butthead); but i still have a right as a geezer to complain about how kids were smarter in my day and how they had more productive things to do than throw fireworks at eachother (don't take that as a suggestion).
4) How can we celebrate when our *snicker 5th ranked soccer team got annihalated by two, shall we call them, non-superpowers. We should be suspended from celebrating our nation in any way until we can at least tie the fourth graders from Iceland.
I've said my piece, Happy Fourth!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
The Declaration of the Jubilee Week
Samplarian has ended, and the score is: DJ - 12, everybody else 0. If you want an explanation, you're asking the wrong person.
It occurs to me that aside from feeling very old at times (which has made for the declaration of the Jubilee Week), this group that has just packed up and left has given me great hope for the church of the future. We had a full cross-section of the fruits of the spirit represented: those well versed in scripture, those with the gift of speaking very very quickly (some might say in tongues), the jokemakers, the scholars, and those with the gift of smelling badly.
I now prepare to pack as the summer has almost come to a close for me, and I am tired, but I trust that all necessary energy and strength will be given to me, when a lack of time and rest demand that I go with the pull of the spirit.
It occurs to me that aside from feeling very old at times (which has made for the declaration of the Jubilee Week), this group that has just packed up and left has given me great hope for the church of the future. We had a full cross-section of the fruits of the spirit represented: those well versed in scripture, those with the gift of speaking very very quickly (some might say in tongues), the jokemakers, the scholars, and those with the gift of smelling badly.
I now prepare to pack as the summer has almost come to a close for me, and I am tired, but I trust that all necessary energy and strength will be given to me, when a lack of time and rest demand that I go with the pull of the spirit.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Why does Yahoo news give me ideas?
So I wake up this morning, get through my standard half-hour of drooling over myself as I look in the mirror, and march gallantly off to chapel. When what to my wondering eyes should appear1 but freakin nothing cuz my eyes were all blurry.2
Sure enough, as soon as I sit down in front of a computer, Yahoo news shows a story about how vision loss is going to double in the next fifteen years. Why don't I jab my eyes out now, and help move that statistic along. I blame Yahoo news, who, in their attempt to monopolize the internet search industry, crept into my bedroom while I was sleeping and sprayed petroleum jelly in my eyes with an aerosol can. Expect a news story tomorrow about how communion bread that makes you cough could be giving you kidney problems.
1 Wrong season, but it was freakin cold outside recently.3
2 Are you sure that doesn't rhyme?4
3,4 Footnotes suck.
5 Endnotes suck too. 5
Sure enough, as soon as I sit down in front of a computer, Yahoo news shows a story about how vision loss is going to double in the next fifteen years. Why don't I jab my eyes out now, and help move that statistic along. I blame Yahoo news, who, in their attempt to monopolize the internet search industry, crept into my bedroom while I was sleeping and sprayed petroleum jelly in my eyes with an aerosol can. Expect a news story tomorrow about how communion bread that makes you cough could be giving you kidney problems.
1 Wrong season, but it was freakin cold outside recently.3
2 Are you sure that doesn't rhyme?4
3,4 Footnotes suck.
5 Endnotes suck too. 5
Monday, May 15, 2006
Episode I
Remember that one time at seminary when we did that funny thing in that one place, it was freakin sweet.
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