To You, O Love, I lift up my Soul! ( Matthew 21: 23-32, Psalm 25)

It could be so easy to take this scripture and start pointing fingers.  I am sure that is what the Pharisees would have loved to do! 

“Who is Jesus talking about?  It can’t be us!”

And that is of course the atmosphere of our culture right now. Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else. It is always someone else’s fault for the mess we are in in the United States. No one takes responsibility!  (Never mind that if that cup of coffee had been cold we would have complained!)

The problem I have with pointing fingers is of course that old saying:  Always remember that when you're pointing your finger at someone, you've got three pointing back at yourself.”

So I guess I will start with the three pointing back at myself. How many times have I said no to God? Many Pastors tell the same tale. I told God there was no way I would ever be a pastor! So how did that work for you?  I have tried to say no to God many times. I remember saying I would never work with sex offenders. Well, I praise God that the Adults Only service we started in Binghamton is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year! Adults only because sex offenders could not be around children. 

But for the most part, we don’t usually say an out and out no to God. We all learned from Jonah that no’s can get us vomited on a shoreline. But we still have our ways. Like, I couldn’t do that. I can’t sing, I can’t speak in front of people, I can’t …..you name it. Or maybe it’s “I’m not worthy, I’m a sinner.”  And then one day we find out that whatever God calls us to he also equips us for. Moses (a murderer) told God he couldn’t save the Israelites because of his stuttering. You know how that story ended.

I thought I could never preach because I was too shy to speak in front of people. It is hard to imagine how much of a wallflower I was. And so I said no but later on…well here I am, preaching.

But it’s that second son that we prefer not to think about. Because that too is us. Or at least me. I say yes and then don’t.

Oh I don’t necessarily mean to not do whatever it is. I usually fully intend to do what I have said yes to.  But, well, there is this thing called life that gets in the way. Something else comes up that seems more important or, I admit, more enjoyable. Or perhaps I am too tired or too busy. And often the things I set aside don’t really seem all that big of a deal.

Morning prayer or devotion. (maybe this afternoon)

Visiting a sick friend. (maybe tomorrow)

Making a phone call, stopping to listen, apologizing. (any excuse will do)

None of those things seem like major issues, but that could change everything. And if God has called me to it, they will change everything.

And of course this isn’t just an individual problem. The church is known for not living up to its promises to God. We will follow you God until it means changing things, or giving away money, or being inconvenienced, or loving our neighbor of a different belief, race, or sexuality. Throughout history the church has chosen other options over God’s way. 

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.   Guide me in your truth and teach me,

I am good at praying the prayer but only mediocre at following God’s teachings. I won’t ask for a show of hands because we all know we all struggle to obey our Lord. We even have a word for it. Sin. (Missing the mark.)

If this is where the message ended we would be lost. But Paul writes: for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The New Living Translation reads this way: For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

God’s very breath is your breath. The Holy Spirit resides within you; working, sighing, praying. Jesus’ life taught us, showed us, the love and forgiveness of God and the resurrection that is ours to be gained. Not just a physical resurrection but a new life for the soul, the spirit within. A resurrection of your love for the one who created you!

In Paul’s words:

God [created humanity] so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17)

I miss the mark, but God works in me; God breathes in me;  God resurrects within me the desire to love him better; God imbues the power to do so.

Let me finish by rereading our Psalm (25) using the words of Nan C. Merrill:

To You, O Love, I lift up my Soul!

O Heart within my heart,

in You I place my trust.

Let me not feel unworthy;

let not fear rule over me.

Yes! May all who open their hearts

savor You and bless the earth!

Compel me to know your ways, O Love;

instruct me upon your paths.

Lead me in your truth,

and teach me.

For through You will I know

wholeness;

I shall reflect your Light

both day and night.

I know of your mercy, Blessed One,

and of your unconditional Love;

You have been with me

from the beginning.

Forgive the many times I have walked

away from You

choosing to follow my own will.

I seek your guidance, once again

I yearn to know your Peace.

Companion me as I open to your Will!

Amen.

You are a spiritual being having a human experience." (And so are “they”)

Matthew 15: 21-28

I begin today’s message with a single statement that might seem so obvious many will wonder why I bother to begin this way. But the fact is sometimes the most obvious statements need to be repeated for their value to be regained.

Simply…Jesus was human. Jesus was a human being, made of flesh and blood. Jesus grew up just like every other little Jewish boy in his time and place. He would have learned carpentry from Joseph and the religious teachings from his schooling. He was the oldest of at least 7 children.  Luke records him as being wise beyond his years, but he still grew up and matured as any human boy would. Mary would have changed his diapers, patched his skinned knees, and taught him right from wrong. 

Some find this sacrilegious, believing Jesus was a perfect child from the beginning. And I agree. He was perfectly a child. If Christ were to live the human experience, growing pains would have to have been part of that experience. 

So I am convinced that Matthew, in today’s reading, is giving another glimpse into what it meant to be a human Jesus. Raised in the culture where Gentiles were in fact referred to as “dogs,” Jesus would find it difficult to see that his ministry was to be far bigger than anyone might have imagined. 

Whether we like to admit it, or even are able to perceive it ourselves, it is natural to convey to our children what is good and worthy and what is not. We may never say it, but our way of being makes it obvious. In Jesus’ case, there was no denial of prejudice. The Jews did not mix with Gentiles. Jews were clean and Gentiles were unclean. This is how Jesus was raised. Pure and simple. This was his culture and his religious upbringing.

So something about this woman changed his mind. He apparently ignored her persistence. The disciples had to come and ask him to please do something to make her be quiet.  Peterson in the Message puts it this way:

“Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.”

I like the response he gives in the Message: “ Jesus refused, telling them, “I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.”

But when Jesus stops to listen to her, stops to pay attention to her, he sees something. He sees past the assumption that she is merely a Gentile woman (two strikes against her) and sees faith. He sees her heart, her soul, perhaps he sees in her eyes, faith. Faith, a belief or trust. Or as the writer of Hebrews tells us: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” An assurance that there is a possibility, a hope. A conviction that life holds more than meets the eye.

In that moment, all of the prejudice melts away and he understands and honors the humanity of this woman and all people, even the Gentiles. (Even the enemy Canaanite.) 

I personally am glad that Matthew gives us this example of Jesus’ humanity. Because it opens the door for us to consider our own. If Jesus was affected by the teachings of his culture, religion, peers etc, how much more are we? If Jesus was blindsided by the truth of his calling on earth, then how much more are we? If Jesus was willing to change his mind, then how much more should we?

My first reaction to this was “but Jesus was sinless!” And then I realize that indeed he was. When faced with truth, with another’s faith though different than what he knew, he did what was right. He was righteous. He changed his mind and saw how big and wide the kingdom of God is.

- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest once said: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."  And I suggest, that is what Matthew would have us understand about Jesus. He was experiencing what it was like to be human. He was experiencing the short sightedness of the human condition while being prompted by the Divine from within.

And I would suggest to you, so are you. So are we. We are short sighted humans, raised with short sighted beliefs and understandings, in need of listening to a Divine prompting. The difference is that we don’t seem to be as ready to receive those promptings as Jesus was.

I am greatly disturbed by the world of contentiousness that surrounds us. We don’t listen to each other. We don’t stop our own rantings long enough to look at each other. We won’t see that hope and faith and trust in each other’s eyes. If we did, we might share our gifts, our treasures, our love with each other for our healing and theirs.

We are so quick to label one another. Which Lutheran are you? Are you a Christian? Are you one of those liberals?  Are you a conservative fundamentalist? Are you an American patriot? (whatever that means.) Do you believe in small town values? (whatever that means?) and so on.

And yes, even, are you a legal citizen or an immigrant? Are you transgender? Are you gay? Are you straight? Do you speak English? (which one?)

Matthew encourages us today to stop and look into the other person’s eyes and see their hopes, their dreams, their faith. And see that they too are spiritual beings having a human experience that may not be, at this moment, very pleasant.

If Jesus was willing to stop and rethink what he thought he knew, what he probably felt in his gut, then let us follow the one who was sinless and do the same.

"You are not a human being having a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being having a human experience."  And so was the Canaanite  woman, and so are “they” (whoever they are).

Small towns and dandelions.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Ahh that Jesus, he is a sneaky one. He gives us parables that seem to be so black and white in meaning, when in fact they are far from it. And actually this parable is probably more green than black and white anyway.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.  26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.

First of all, the word translated as wheat is not a word that is that specific. It is a word that can mean grain, corn, wheat, fruits or who knows what else. Strong’s Dictionary says that it is a word of uncertain origin. This is important because it is so like us to want absolutes and we simply can’t have one here.

So, someone goes out and sows good seed. What that seed is we do not know. It is one that will produce a crop according to what the sower is looking to reap. And in the midst of that crop, the servants of the one who has sown the seed, see things growing that they are certain are weeds. And in service to their master they want to rip those suckers out.

Have you ever attempted to weed a garden as things are just beginning to sprout? It is nearly impossible. Everything looks like little green plants, which of course they are. And if you are not careful you are pulling out “good” plants and leaving the “bad.” I have learned to wait until everything has grown up a little so that they are more easily identified. This is one easy way of understanding Jesus’ parable. While not wrong, I believe it is a seriously truncated version.

The process of determining what is a weed and what is “good seed” has left our creation in a grim state. For instance, the milkweed is a weed to some but to the monarch butterfly it is life. The dandelion is a weed to some but to the pollinators of our world it is the first sustenance of the season. And now that we have become so accomplished at poisoning and eliminating these “weeds” we are finding that they are in fact good seed because we need our pollinators and our souls rely on the beauty that is nearly gone.

Jesus knows that our point of view is severely limited and he knows that we must rely on the wisdom of the Creator, the Sower, for better discernment. 

So what's your opinion? Is Jesus simply teaching us the better way to garden? Is he only telling us about seeds and wheat and corn and dandelions and such? My best guess is that he probably has something more to say than “save the dandelions.” (By the way, I like dandelions!)

I need to confess that I am a little nervous about taking this next step in this message but I just can’t help it. This all came together for me in one big bang if you will. So I feel compelled to talk it through with you.

A dear friend posted something on facebook that I was curious about. It read “I stand with Jason Aldean. Try that in a small town.” My initial response will tell you how out of the loop I am. I replied “Who?” She responded with “Who is Jason Aldean?” I’m guessing she couldn’t believe there was anyone who didn’t know. So I googled it. Yes, that is correct, I had no idea. And when I read the song lyrics I realized that somewhere along the lines I had in fact heard the song. I just hadn’t paid any attention to it. 

I also gathered there is some controversy over the lyrics. And that’s probably why I get a little nervous bringing it up. 

For those who might be out of touch like me, here are a couple lines out of the song:

Well, try that in a small town

See how far ya make it down the road

Around here, we take care of our own

Of course robbing and carjacking and the like are wrong. (These are things mentioned at the beginning of the song.) I am not arguing with his desire for protecting one another. But I need to ask Jason who exactly is the “our own” that  we take care of? That is the part that makes me nervous.  Are we trying to sort out the weeds according to our own perceptions and protect the crops we prefer? 

Perhaps Jason’s intent is not as limiting as I fear but it is, nonetheless, what came to mind. We have become so attuned to the “us and them” mindset that we lose the whole concept that it is actually all us. 

Peter Mayer (a singer I listen to) has a song called All the Word Is One. Here is a sampling of the lyrics.

You can say that you stand apart

Put a fence around your yard

You can build a tall rampart

And guard it with a gun.

You can dig yourself a moat

Burn the bridge and burn the boat

It won’t matter much you know

Because all the world is one.

You can march in a big parade

Every independence day

You can raise up your own flag

And sing your own anthem.

It will ring out in the air

With all the other anthems there

Till the winds of the earth declare

All the world is one.

What if we stop trying to sort out the “us" from the “them” and begin to understand that it really is all “us"? 

Now back to the good seeds. What are the good seeds that the Lord of the Universe would plant? What is the crop our creator would most want to grow? Do we know what it might be called? In my mind it is pretty easy to discern if we listen to all that Jesus lives to teach us. The seeds of love are the good seeds that are the kingdom of God. And the reason we can’t go out there pulling out what we don’t understand is because love looks so different to each person in each situation. 

A very simple example: at different times of life love will look like reading a book to someone and other times it will look like letting them read that book on their own.First as a child and later when one grows older and unable to read. Or perhaps it looks like teaching someone to dance and then later giving them the ability to dance as they hear the music. Even if they dance differently than what we taught.  The trouble is, that it isn’t always easy to discern. That is why we must learn to listen to the master planter of love to weed out our misconceptions. And wait for the revelation of love.

We are all one. We are all good seeds planted for love.  So maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we do in fact live in a small town called the world. In another song Peter Mayer writes:

Now, it’s feeling like a small town

With seven billion people downtown

At a little sidewalk fair

In Earth Town Square

Maybe we need to learn to take care of our own. And maybe we need to learn that “our own” includes everyone who lives and breathes. Every race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, political party, hair color etc.  It is ultimately not for us to weed out the “bad seeds” because they may not be as bad as we had been taught to believe. They might in fact be love in a different genus.

Let’s be a really big small town that takes care of our own, even the dandelions.

Angels Unawares (Matthew 10)

40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”  Matthew 10 (NIV)

Our gospel reading today comes just after Jesus telling his disciples many hard things. Division in the family is perhaps the hardest to swallow. Although taking up one's cross is also less than inviting.

He also tells his disciples “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” But don’t take any extra money or clothes or staff with you. So far this is not an ad that will bring crowds of applicants. We think good help is hard to find now. Try being Jesus looking for laborers with these kinds of benefits. Or lack of!

So today's three verses are meant to be a little bit of encouragement for them. People are going to want to help you because they are going to be blessed. And when they see their neighbor blessed for helping you then they will want to do so as well. So don’t worry, you will be cared for in the kingdom of God, the kingdom that is here and now, wherever love is preached.

As I read these verses another story came to mind. Do you remember the story of Abraham? In Genesis 18 we read:

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord,[a] do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said.

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

The blessing of hospitality. This is what Jesus is talking about.

Paul writes in Romans:  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (apparently not just those people who agree with you or are like you.)

In Peter’s first epistle we read: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

And the writer of Hebrews writes to us:

Let brotherly love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.  Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Hebrew 13

It has become easy for us to find excuses to not help the stranger. We can always assume they are or would try to take advantage of us. They may have a disease or as we might have said in elementary school, cooties. But of course the biggest reason to avoid strangers is the violence we see reported on the news daily. It’s scary.

The verses I just read to you were not written in less dangerous times. They lived in societies where men were beaten and robbed and left to die in the ditch. (Good Samaritan story). They were written in times when the conquering race could be as belligerent as they pleased. (if you have any doubts read the Acts of the Apostles.) They were written in times of poverty where sharing bread with a stranger might mean you would go hungry. They were written in times when it was dangerous to be Christian and no one really knew who was or wasn’t. Much like today?

But all these stories–all these readings seem to ask one thing we tend to forget. What if that stranger is a prophet, a disciple of God, a righteous person, or even an angel? 

The news gives us all the news that we want to hear. The thrillers if you will. There are a plethora of stories of people who honestly believe that they have encountered angels in this life or who have been blessed by helping another. But somehow we don’t hear a lot of those stories.

 Instead we hear the stories that make us afraid, that are thrillers. Maybe one is more believable than the other? Maybe one provides excuses for us to not help and one stirs up something in us we don’t want to admit to? I dont have the answer here. Just guesses based on my own internal search.

Recently I was caught up in the story of the submersible that disappeared with 5 rich men in it. Rich men who chose to take their chances as thrill seekers. But the 350 migrants, all of them fleeing poverty and violence, got hardly a mention. In fact I never did see it on the news. 

Certainly one of these stories makes me far more uncomfortable than the other. One of these stories turns my heart and mind to the words of the scriptures. One of these stories makes me wonder about where the angels in need of hospitality might have been. (One of these stories reminds me of the words in Hebrews, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.)

 “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Can we know who is trying to be a disciple of Jesus? Not just who believes the right things but who is trying to follow Jesus’ example and teachings of love? Which stranger has a heart of love? Can you tell?(many of those migrants came so they might bring hope to the families left behind. That is love.)  Which stranger might be an angel? 

I googled the words “angel unaware” for this message to see what I could find. Some of you may remember the Dale Evans Rogers story. Their baby was born with severe handicaps and passed after only a couple of years.

But I also came across a breathtaking sculpture that I wish I could share a picture of with you. Please google “Angels Unawares” so you can see it.  (Of course you reading this on line can see the picture included.)

Since September 5th, 2019, a life size sculpture called “Angels Unawares” stands in a corner of St Peter’s Square as part of an initiative of the Migrants & Refugees Section. The work belongs to Canadian artist and sculptor Timothy Schmalz.  

Schmalz calls his work a visual prayer.  It is a sculpture of a boat packed with people, migrants, and rising up from the mass of people is a pair of wings. To which one of these individuals might these wings belong? When that boat goes down will anyone know or care?

We are called to open our eyes and see God in all people. We are called to believe that in the midst of the crowds there might be angels. And Jesus tells us, when we do, when we are hospitable to those in need, we will be blessed.

As Jesus is quoted as saying: Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.

Amen.

He had compassion. Go and do likewise. (Matt 9: 35-38) read at your own risk

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Matthew 9

I have probably said before that I was raised in a conservative Methodist church. And so I took quite seriously, at least for a while, Jesus’ request to pray for workers in the field. I remember praying that missionaries would be sent overseas to bring Christianity to those who were lost and going to hell. I still pray for workers, but perhaps now in the same way.

First of all, and some of you may find this offensive but I merely ask you to hear me, I don’t necessarily pray that others would be converted. Jesus is talking about bringing healing and the hope of the good news to others. What is the good news, it seems to be that Jesus says it is that the kingdom of God is here, right here. Is in our midst and in us. The place where God is, is here. And that in that place God is on our side. He brings healing, forgiveness, mercy, hope and …….resurrection! A new life, another chance, freedom from the death that sin brings. 

So it sounds to me that Jesus wants to send out the workers to bring healing, spiritual and physical to people. The disciples are going out to the Jews. They are not converting them to Christianity. They are converting them to love, forgiveness, justice. Jesus calls us to righteousness. Righteousness is simply this: right relationship—with God, others, and creation. Right relationship is found in forgiveness and justice and mercy and love.

The other thing I no longer pray for is for workers to reach the heathen of other lands. If we understand that we are proclaiming the righteousness that is in the Kingdom of God as a right relationship, we have plenty of unrighteous heathen in our own backyard. Can I hear an “Amen”?

And so our prayer is that workers would go out into the United States of America, as well as other lands, to change the hearts and minds of people.

How is this done? What is it we are called to here? 

A couple of weeks ago we heard the scripture of the Great Commission. 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28)

What are disciples? Followers of Jesus. Not believers, followers. That is a big difference. What are we teaching them? Not all our doctrine and dogma, but the commands of Jesus. Which by the way are summed up in one word! Love!    Love God, your neighbor, and one another. Love!

And so, I am going to step out on a limb here. (Please God catch me if it breaks.) What are these laborers supposed to be doing in the fields ready for harvest? What did Jesus do when he saw the crowds? Have compassion.

Definition for compassion? Merriam Webster reads this way: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

And then this is added to the entry:

Compassion and empathy both refer to a caring response to someone else’s distress. While empathy refers to an active sharing in the emotional experience of the other person, compassion adds to that emotional experience a desire to alleviate the person’s distress.

Folks, the desire to alleviate the person’s distress is not found in the words “get over it” or “it isn’t my fault” or “stop your whining.”  Nor is it found in words like “Well, I”m not a racist.” or “She got herself into that mess.” or “Just get out and get a job.” or “According to my religion that’s a sin.”

Each of those statements may have some truth to them, please hear MAY, but they do NOT alleviate the other person’s distress nor do they have the desire to do so behind them.

Also notice, please, that Jesus did not say build a building for them to come to. He sent the disciples out to them, where the crowds lived, worked, walked, and played.

Yes, the way I pray this scripture has changed. But something else has changed as well. I have learned that God answers prayer and sometimes I am the answer to that prayer. I am the one being challenged to evaluate how I respond. I am the one being called to look into my own heart for compassion. I am the one being called to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus, not just a believer.

God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes (to be confident or trusts) in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3: 16)

Jesus says in the 17th chapter of John that eternal life is being one with the Father.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (healed, forgiven). (John 3: 17)

We are not here to point fingers and judge and condemn each other. We are here to bring the love of God to each other. To have compassion for each other. To bring one another good news.

And so here it is, the Good news:

God loves you more than you can imagine and desires for you to be united with him. In that unity compassion for the other will grow.

Matthew 28: 16-20 "The Great Commission?"

The “great commission” has been too often used as an excuse for the attitude of “convert, leave, submit, or die.” Brian McLaren in his book “Do I Stay Christian?”  spends the first 10 chapters giving us a rather disturbing yet accurate view of some of those atrocities. It is amazing what we do in the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace.

And yet, if we stop and consider what is being said in these few lines of scripture, we might get a different perspective on their meaning than our ancestors did. 

First let’s take a minute to go up on the mountain where Jesus calls us to meet him. The air is fresh and thin, so we need to breathe deeply and rest a bit. We need to take in the sounds of nature around us and clear our minds of our schedules, our expectations, our assumptions, and of all things that are not love. Weary from the climb, we find we can do nothing else but sit at Jesus’ feet, (or fall if you will) and worship him. 

The New Jerusalem Bible says some  hesitated. Other versions say some doubted. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. Bottom line, the disciples are very much like us. Even with Jesus in sight, doubts, uncertainties, hesitations are inevitable. Let’s just stay at his feet for a moment anyway and see what happens.

With me so far? Now if it were up to me, I would stay there in silence and go no further. But that is only the first line in the pericope, so let’s move on.

“All authority has been given to me.” Here is our first stumbling block. Authority means power to do as one pleases. But what is it that Jesus does with that authority? Does he whip people into submission? Does he use it to demolish people’s homes and families? Does he use it to destroy the earth? Answer is of course no, only we do. He uses it to create, love, and heal. As Jesus might say, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

“ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” or peoples. Disciples. A true disciple is not just a student or a learner, but a follower: one who applies what he has learned. I had a seminary professor from whom I learned a lot. Believe me when I tell you he is one smart cookie.  I promise you, however, I am not his follower. My prayer is to never be like him. (I’ll just leave it at that.)  Am I his disciple? 

My biggest fear for our young people is that we are making them students not disciples. And oftentimes, we make them students of the church rather than of Jesus. In order to explain, let me read more of the text.

“Baptize them in the name of the FAther and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.”

Jesus’ instructions are about how to live, not what to believe. Jesus does not command us to learn the apostle’s creed, some pertinent dogma, or even the “Prayer Jesus taught us to pray.” Actually Jesus tells us to pray like this.  These things have their place and I love praying the Lord’s prayer together. But these were not the priorities.

Teaching them to observe the commands Jesus gave.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Or in all actuality, Jesus’ command was simply to love one another. Make them disciples, loving one another just as Jesus loved. I’m not sure our catechisms or confirmations or whatever name they go under teach this. And when we subvert a nation of people to convert, leave or die, we are not obeying that command either.

So how do we teach this? I love this. Baptize them. Now the word baptize is one of those words that has grown in meaning. In the Greek, the word baptize means to dip or immerse and was used in washing hands or dyeing material. Yes John baptized and the disciples baptized for repentance. But Jesus doesn’t mention repentance here. Baptize them in the name (singular) of the Father Son and HS (name of God). Immerse them, soak them in that name and all it means and who God is so that like material with dye, they soak it up and become like God. Is that not beautiful?

And how do you immerse them in that way of life? By living it, soaking them in the love, forgiveness, mercy. This is how Jesus wants his disciples,us, to change the world. By immersing it in the love of God. 

And finally, I am with you always!

How? Because you have been immersed, soaked in me and just like the dye is now part of the cloth, so am I part of you. What are your true colors?

Have you ever thrown something red in the wash with a lighter color? What happens? The red shares its colors with the lighter item. 

When people look at you or at the church, what are the colors they will see? If they become immersed in the culture of the church, what color will their cloth become? Is it that “love one another” color? Or is it love the institution or the dogma or the creeds color? Or is it the color of if I go to church I’ll go to heaven?

We are called to immerse people in the love of Jesus. We are called to do that by loving one another. How simple is that? 

Ever been to a dance, wedding reception, or any sort of party with a band and no one is on the dance floor? What does it take to get other people dancing?  It takes someone else getting up to dance and thus giving permission for others to.

Sydney Carter wrote the hymn the Lord of the Dance. 

He writes;

I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance. But Jesus is the one I know of first and best. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus.

Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did.

Let’s get out on the dance floor and dance the dance of Jesus. Let’s give others permission to dance that dance. It’ll be fun.

Thoughts on John 14

How many times have we heard this piece of scripture read? Separated  out and individu sentences emphasized. How many times have we heard it or read it at a funeral? Just one

or two lines. I, in fact, just did that yesterday at a funeral. 

Today I would like to back up a little and consider what is actually going on as Jesus is

speaking these words of hope and encouragement. I would like to allow questions and

wonderment to arise in us so that perhaps the Holy Spirit may speak a new thing. We

call scripture the “Living Word of God” because we believe it has life and breath. May

God’s word breathe on us today. Let’s consider John Chapter 13 first. I confess to some

paraphrasing.

Scene: Passover meal, Jesus has just washed the disciples feet, there is a feeling of

closeness, camaraderie, and the happiness that goes along with a good meal and good

wine. There is a glow about this moment.

Suddenly Jesus gets this look on his face: “One of you is going to betray me to the Jewish

authorities and the Roman leaders. One of you is about to send me to my death.”

Stunned, everyone looks at each other.  Who?  Who will betray you? Not me. I would

never.

Jesus  hands Judas a piece of bread and Judas walks out the door. Somehow no one gets it.

Friends, I will only be with you a little longer.  We have walked together  for 3 years but

now I must go some place you can not come. But I am leaving you with this

commandment, a new way to live. Love one another even as I have loved you. People

will see that love and will know who you are.

Missing the whole love thing, worried about losing Jesus, the one they were certain

would save them from the Romans, the disciples ask for specifics, a road map, a way to

get to the place Jesus is going, wherever it is.  Maybe they were afraid they were going

to miss the whole victory march.

Where are you going that we can’t go? I will follow you to the ends of the earth.

Shaking his head, sadness settles over the room. A rising fear permeates all.

No, you too will deny me. 

No! Never!

Yes you will. 

Tonight you can not follow, but one day you, in fact,will go where I am going.

The wine is left sitting on the table, the meal suddenly forgotten, the disciples are staring

at Jesus, pleading with their eyes. Frightened by what they are hearing. They had

certainly believed the Romans would be toast because of Jesus.  But now….now what?

Jesus pauses then and says to them, “Don’t let your hearts and your minds and souls lose

hope. Don’t be afraid. My father’s house, the kingdom of God, has lots of room. I am

going to prepare the way for you to dwell with us in that kingdom.

I am the way, my life is the way, I have lived in the truth, I have given you life. It is

through following my way you will get to the Father. There is no other way but through

love, the kind that lays down one's life for another. 

Show us the Father they ask.

You have known me, you know the Father. The works of healing, forgiveness, love,

radical acceptance of all people, that is the Father.  We will be together. We will be one.

You will know, be intimately one, with the Father too. And you will continue with the

work I have begun.

                            --------------------------------------------

In my Father’s house there are many places to live, many dwelling places. This is the

closer translation than mansions. As hard as it is for me to shake the idea of this being

about  heaven, where did Jesus even mention heaven in this discourse? Could it be his

Father’s house is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God that Jesus came to proclaim

The Kingdom that we pray would come here on earth? The kingdom that is here in your

midst, in you? I have to wonder, did we miss the point? 

He says that he is the way, the truth, the life. Jesus has lived out the way and truth and

life in their midst. If we want to find the Father we must love as he has loved. The

neighbor, the leper, the prostitute, the tax collector,---Judas. ( illegal immigrants, the guy

with the different political views, transgenders, you fill in the blank).If God is love then

the way to be one with God is through love. Love that lays down one’s life for another.

(Not necessarily physically).

What is God like? Who is God? Watch Jesus. See what Jesus is like. See what Jesus does.

See who Jesus is. And you will know what and who God is. 

Jesus is looking at his disciples, his closest friends, knowing what they will be going

through over the next few days. He feels their pain, their fear, their confusion. And he

says, It’s going to be okay. You will not see me and then I will return. And because I

have done this you will be able to know and be one with God even as I am. Don’t

worry. You won’t be forgotten. You won’t be left behind. You won’t be alone. My

father’s kingdom, his house, is so big it will hold all of you, even when you don’t agree,

or don’t understand. It will be okay.

Certainly, Jesus could be talking about what comes after we die. Fact is I don’t know.

But Jesus, throughout his teachings, talks more about the kingdom here and now then

he ever does about after death. 

And what about everlasting life, eternal life?  In his prayer for his disciples in chapter 17

Jesus says this:

“And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you

have sent.” 

And I quote “in biblical language knowledge is not merely the conclusion of an

intellectual process, but the fruit of an experience, a personal contact.”

This is where the kingdom of God is found, this is eternal life. To know and be United

with God through Jesus. There is room enough for all. Thanks be to God!

Suddenly. Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday 2023    Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV)

Suddenly Jesus met them. 

The women had looked into the place where they fully expected to see Jesus. They had looked into the dark place and found something very unexpected. I wonder what emotions had overwhelmed them as they looked to find the broken, beaten body of their beloved Jesus. I wonder what emotions overwhelmed them when they had not found him there. I wonder what emotions overwhelmed their thoughts as they turned to go tell the others. I’m not sure I can imagine.

Were they simply sad that Jesus wasn’t where they expected him to be? Somehow, I think there had to be more. 

Confusion? He was there before. This is exactly where we left him. He should be there now. Fear? What if we can’t find him again? What if he is lost forever? What will we do if we cannot touch Jesus again? 

Resolved? In John’s gospel, Mary continues at the tomb. Were they resolved to stay there until they found him again? He has to be here, we put him here. Here, right here!

The angels, those voices that we so often can’t quite hear or make out, maybe the whispers in the wind, tell them to go away and spread the news that Jesus has moved on from the tomb. I can almost hear that conversation. 

“They are going to think we are crazy. They will never believe us. I’m not sure what to say to them.”

And as they walked away from what they thought they knew, suddenly Jesus met them.

And suddenly Jesus met them.  And what does he say? The most repeated statement in the Bible. Don’t be afraid. 

And they clasped his feet. The word in Greek means to hold fast or to take power over.  Kind of a “you’re not getting away from me” hold.

And Jesus says don’t be afraid, you won’t lose me. Go and tell. You’ll see me in another place.

I have been on a faith journey for most of my life. And it seems that Jesus is always leading me somewhere else. Just when I think I've arrived, Jesus says go. I'm a lot like the disciples in that I don’t always get it. Too often I have gone my own way or try to do my own thing. But there is something I have always found. Even when I go to dark places, to places that house death, Jesus meets me there. Always!

For me this is what the resurrection story is all about. Even when life has taken a turn for the absolute worst, Jesus rises up and meets me there.

I am also very much like the women in this story. I want to grab ahold of Jesus and keep him right where I can find him. I don’t want him to move on. I want to gain some control over this Jesus that I have met and I don't want anything to change. I want it to stay the way it was. The way it has "always" been.

You remember the story of Nicodemus? Jesus tells him: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Life does not hold still for any of us. And fortunately neither does Jesus. Wherever we go, we can find Jesus. He says: “They will see me there.”  But tell me, what does Jesus look like? We don’t know, do we? In John’s gospel, Mary mistakes him for the gardener. An ordinary laborer. 

How will we know Jesus when he suddenly meets us along the way?

Recently, in one of the nursing homes, I was talking with a woman who said she didn’t recognize me at first because I was wearing a mask, but she knew my voice. Will we know his voice? That’s how Mary recognizes him in John’s gospel. He speaks her name and she knows him.

If we are to be people who benefit from the resurrection, then we must be people who recognize his voice. We must learn to listen for him. Perhaps in the birdsong outside your window or perhaps in the angry voices of people protesting on the street. One phrase in the hymn of St Patrick is Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Will we know him when he meets us in others, in foreigners, in people we don’t like or agree with, or  even in nature. 

We are in frightening times. The well being of our churches is in question. Well being of our planet is in question. World peace is in question. Financial stability is in question. Will we know Jesus, when suddenly he meets us in those places. Will we trust him when he says go, and you will see me there? Or will we miss the resurrection story completely? 

Wherever you are in your faith journey….fearful, doubting, confused, or even assured,Jesus will meet you there. And Jesus will remind you, if you will listen, the most repeated statement in scripture. Don’t be afraid. Go on and you will see me there.

Suddenly he met them,

Even as they walked away.

Their hearts within them so confused

By what the strangers had to say.

He is not here, not in the tomb,

There’s no reason for your tears.

He’s in your midst, at every turn,

Now go back and face your fears.

Then suddenly he met them,

And they knew the truth of love.

It raises up and finds us here,

In the Undying Heart of God.

"Jesus gives us real eyes to realize where the Real lies." (Rohr) John 9

John 9: 1-41

John’s gospel is not a book that can simply be read like any other. Well, yes it can just be read for the stories it tells about Jesus, but if that is all that one sees in this gospel, then there is a lot that is missed. It is a lot like a treasure hunt. Look for the clues and find the treasure.

John doesn’t want us to simply learn the stories and teachings of Jesus. In fact John has absolutely no parables. Instead John hopes we will search out the depth of Christ hidden in symbols and mystical analogies throughout the writings. I think this gospel is one meant for contemplation and imagination. It is meant to give us opportunity to experience the very meaning of Jesus’ ministry and Christ, the savior.

For example, it is easy to simply read that Jesus saw a man blind from birth and go on from there. But let’s contemplate that. Jesus “SAW” him. Did the disciples? I would say no. They saw his blindness and looked for blame. Jesus, on the other hand, saw a man, and all that made up this man. 

I like the thought that Jesus SEES us. Not just our weight, our hair color, our race, our clothes, the dirt under our fingernails. Jesus sees who we are and why we are. All that makes up who we are becomes potential for showing the love and the glory of God. Yes, even, or some say especially, the hard stuff. 

Jesus always seems to see the potential.

I also had to notice that no one asked Jesus to heal the man, not even the man. Just a sidebar.

And then Jesus makes mud by spitting in the dirt and slathering it on the man’s eyes. Everyone say it together….ewwwww! Knowing John’s propensity toward symbolism I simply had to do my research. Interestingly enough, people once believed that saliva had healing qualities. We know that diseases are passed through saliva but there are in fact qualities in saliva that may have medicinal effects. But I believe that John was not referring to Jesus conjuring up a medicinal salve. 

Instead, I am drawn to John’s overall message of a new creation through Jesus the Christ. We all have heard in the 1st chapter of John the words that sound so much like Genesis.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

While Genesis does not refer to spittle as being part of creation, there are other Hebrew scriptures, not in our canon, that talk about God adding spittle to the dust to form us. One finds the same type of story in the Dead Sea Scrolls.And in fact many other ancient creation myths incorporate the saliva of the gods in the making of creation. Including some native American tales. If the potter is to form the clay it must be moistened.

One theologian suggested that Jesus is making new eyes for the man. New eyes that would bring the man out of the darkness of his blindness. New eyes that would cause this man to see light. And thus, when one is born again, created anew, given sight, one is given a new way of seeing the world and God in it. 

But I wonder if John isn’t suggesting a new beginning for all of creation. A New way of being together. One that will bring into our lives new wine, new birth, and new sight. One that is without blame or shame but rather filled with potential. And so, perhaps John would want us to notice that Jesus mixes the dirt with his own saliva and ultimately with his own blood to form a new creation. And, at least in John, Jesus, after his resurrection,  breathes life, the Holy Spirit, into them. A beautiful creation motif.

But while there are other things we might consider in today's reading, there is one more thing I want to look at. I mean, really the depth of John’s writings could take up our entire day, but we have a pancake breakfast to go to.

Have you ever heard, or maybe even experienced, once you have seen something you can never unsee it? This is usually used in relation to horrifying sights. But perhaps it is also appropriately used in relation to things that are beautiful, mystifying, awe inspiring. Like the true light.

I bring this up because now that this man has received his sight, now that he has seen light, he will never be able to unsee it. Even if he were to go physically blind again, the memory of that light will remain and will affect him. 

What does this mean for his everyday life? It means he is about to be thrown out of the temple. He is about to learn to walk in a new way, separate from the old way of the temple’s religiosity.  This is why his parents refuse to make a statement to the Pharisees about their son receiving his sight. They feared being thrown out of the temple. Their entire way of life and understanding of God is wrapped up in the temple and its practices. And so they refuse to confess what has happened to their son and basically throw him under the bus. “He is old enough. Let him tell you.”

I’m reading a book by Richard Rohr, “Jesus’ Alternative Plan.”  Rohr writes:

“ We can become so self-protective we will lie through our teeth, as the saying goes. For the person—or the church or the society—caught in the trap of denial, security becomes an idol. WE become incapable of loving and incapable of truth.”

Security becomes the idol. The way it was and has always been becomes an idol. Jesus came to shake all of that up. 

I’m not sure what the man did after this encounter with Jesus and the Pharisees, but he must have had to rethink his entire way of being and seeing creation, God, mercy etc. His sight would now need to find God outside of the temple.

New eyes, new creation, new ways of worship, new birth, new wine, all leave us in an uncomfortable but hopeful place. The birth pains are inevitable, but worth it.

Rohr writes;
"Jesus gives us real eyes to realize where the Real lies"

May we have the courage to see.