Barbara Blacklock in the lectern at Grace on December 28, 2008

Grace Church is pleased to share reflections, meditations, and commentaries written by Barbara Blacklock, longtime leader and teacher at Grace. Barbara’s offerings typically appear in each Sunday’s bulletin.

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – September 5

Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

When the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church decided to reorganize itself a few years ago, the plan was to downsize from 14 districts to 8 districts. The reorganization came about because of shifts in membership and especially income. The discussions were long and painful, for no district wanted to change its identity or lose its distinction and name. The conference staff warned everyone that there could be financial disaster if we didn't change, but the changes came hard.

At Annual Conference on the year the change was implemented, one of the worship services was dedicated to the consecration of the new districts formed from the old ones. The scripture chosen for the service was today's lesson from Jeremiah 18:1-11. On the stage in Hoover Auditorium there were eight different potters at their wheels, each working with clay. As the name of an old district was called, the potters went to the altar and picked up vessels representing the 14 districts. They then worked the clay together to make a large lump representing the conference. From that lump each of the eight potters made a new vessel, placing them on the altar until each of the eight new districts was represented. It was a stunning visual both for this occasion and for the lesson of the scripture.

God gave Jeremiah a visual also, an enacted parable. Sending him to a potter's house, God had Jeremiah watch the potter carefully as he worked the clay and then reworked it until the vessel was what was needed and what seemed good to him. "Just like the clay in the hands of the potter" said the Lord, "so are the nations in my hand." The Lord had warned the nation of Israel over and over concerning its evil ways and the fact that the people had turned from God. God wanted them to know that the promises to build and plant the nation could be changed very quickly into plans to destroy the nation. God seemed very angry indeed, and Jeremiah was told to tell them yet again and to use this parable he had just seen enacted at the potter's house. Tell them that the Lord is the potter and he can change them in just a moment was the message. Jeremiah had a really tough task!

Jeremiah was to be taught some theological lessons while observing the potter at his wheel. We wonder if he was startled by learning that God could change God's mind anytime based on human action and response. God was going to render to everyone "according to his works". If the people repent God will change plans for harm back to plans for peace. If they continue in their evil ways, it is inevitable that harm will come to them. It is true for everyone in every age and time.

Depth of mercy! Can there be mercy still reserved for me? Can my God his wrath forbear, me, the chief of sinners, spare? I have long withstood his grace, long provoked him to his face, would not hearken to his calls, grieved him by a thousand falls. There for me the Savior stands, shows his wound and spreads his hands. God is love! I know, I feel; Jesus weeps and loves me still. (United Methodist Hymnal #355)

The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – August 29

Jeremiah 2:4-13; Luke 14:1, 7-14

Jesus never turned down an invitation for a meal, no matter who was asking him. Perhaps he knew this was an opportunity to speak about the Kingdom of God and his place in it. He must have been heartsick at the way his own people had so convoluted God's Law and God's purpose for them. Today's story really reveals that.

We hear that the man asking Jesus to the Sabbath dinner is a ruler among the Pharisees. That means he could have been one of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious court. The Pharisees had already chastised Jesus for doing "work" on the Sabbath and the scripture says, "They were watching him closely". The scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees had interpreted the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy with so many tiny rules and instructions that it had become impossible to keep them all. And still the Pharisees persisted in trying. They had made the "Law" what they worshiped instead of God, and in doing so they had become elitists, who felt compelled to criticize and exclude those who did not live up to their standards. Even though they had confronted Jesus many times for what he said and what he did on the Sabbath, Jesus was not afraid to go to eat with them.

In the homes of the rich in Jerusalem, most big dinners were held in an open courtyard, and onlookers sometimes wandered into the place where the invited guests were mingling or eating. A man with dropsy (fluid collected in his body) was there and Jesus healed (a Sabbath sin) him and sent him on his way. It was an opportunity to teach, and that is what Jesus did by asking them if they would do the same for one of their animals. They were silent because they had no good reply. Jesus was on a roll!

The closest friends of this important ruler were usually given the "best" seats, the ones nearest the host. When Jesus noticed the guests jockeying for the most important places he told them a parable about humility, emphasizing that "those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted". It was unlike anything they had ever heard from their own rabbis and leaders and we can wonder if they even understood what he was saying. Jesus didn't leave it at that. He went to the host and told him that when he gives another luncheon or dinner he shouldn't invite his friends, the people who agree with him, the folks who are like him. He should instead invite the poor people, the people with crippling disabilities, the folks who never get invited to dinner and could never in all their life repay him. Jesus told him that he would be blessed by doing such, blessed in the resurrection of the righteous. Jesus was teaching him that all his self-righteousness about obeying the Law wouldn't please God in any way, but God is pleased by those who serve the least and the lost. Sounds like a good lesson for us too, doesn't it? We are called by God to serve God's Holy Grace to everyone who will come and feed on it. How do we do that? By living up to the motto we have printed in so many places, "Grace is for everyone". God said it before we did and God means that all are invited to the feast. We are to deliver the invitation.

Neighbors are rich and poor, neighbors are black and white, neighbors are near and far away.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.
(United Methodist Hymnal #432)

The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – August 22

Jeremiah 1:4-10; Luke 13:10-17

In the scripture from Luke 13 Jesus is in the synagogue. This seems to be the last time any of the officials tolerated the presence and teaching of this wandering rabbi. We don’t know what he was teaching until he happened to spot the bent over woman. She must have looked pitiful, a woman whose spine was so curved that she could not stand up straight for eighteen years. She doesn’t appear to have approached Jesus, but simply appeared in the synagogue. Luke, who was a doctor, writes that she had a spirit that made her crippled in that manner, a spirit of weakness. Whatever the cause, the woman must have been miserable and Jesus noticed it from his position seated at the front. He called her to him and said with great authority, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. The people must have been stunned! Certainly the president of the synagogue was shocked and angry.

The Jewish people had long before been given the Law of Moses. Through the ages, the law that said to honor the Sabbath day had been interpreted with many, many rules which identified what one could and could not do on the Sabbath. Work was forbidden and healing was one of those things considered work. Jesus broke the law right in front of the entire congregation. The president, or leader of the synagogue, was furious. The people were amazed and probably thrilled and the leader was so indignant that the Sabbath law had been broken that he could not even rejoice over the freeing of the woman from what had been a terrible burden. He couldn’t even stand to look Jesus in the face. Instead he addressed his angry remarks to the congregation. Jesus was not shy about answering him. He called them all hypocrites for they unloosed their animals and led them to water so they could be relieved from their thirst, yet they were protesting the release of one of their own people from her ailment. Jesus had turned their own system of law on them, convincing them that it could not be God’s will that one of his children should suffer any longer than necessary. He made the point that technicalities and regulations should not hold up compassion. The people responded to him and rejoiced over the healing and praised God. But Jesus was no longer tolerated by the leaders.

Jesus and Jeremiah have often been compared with one another, for they were each called in their time to do what would cause them much sorrow. One wonders if the young man Jeremiah had any premonition of what would happen to him as he spoke God’s Word to the people. It is obvious that he is fearful, for God makes it a point to tell him that he had both God’s authority to speak and God’s presence to guide and help him. Jeremiah would certainly need both, for he was much maligned through the years. He came to be known as the “weeping prophet” for his task was hard and caused him much personal grief. But, as Jesus did, Jeremiah stayed faithful to the call God had put on him.

Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help, love lifted me!
Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help, love lifted me.

There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No, not one! No, not one! None else could heal all our soul’s diseases. No, not one! No, not one! Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will guide till the day is done. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus . No, not one! No, not one!

---

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – August 15

Luke 12:27-32

Do we argue over anything more than we do over money and possessions? Perhaps it is part of our survival instinct. Perhaps it is just plain greed. Jesus had something to say about this tendency people have to focus on material gifts. He told the crowd listening to them a parable that spoke of a rich man who stored up more and more for himself in great barns. It never entered his mind to share some of it. It never entered his mind that he really didn't need that much. Perhaps this man never thought about the adage :"you can't take it with you". Our scripture today consists of a few verses of the much longer lesson, and it does indeed focus on "The Heart of the Matter."

Possessions and money make us nervous. We worry about them being stolen; we wonder if we have enough to impress people; we wonder if we can survive if we don't own certain things. The late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was killed in a tragic airplane accident just last week, was known as the nation's "King of Pork." He got this nickname because he tried every way he could with every bill that came before Congress to add into the bill funding for some "project" in Alaska. He was proud of what he did. It was widely known that not all of his projects were real and not all of the money was needed in Alaska more than it was needed in other places. Still, Sen. Stevens took the nation's tax money for his "barns" in his own home state. One could say he was doing his job; it could also be said he was looking out for what was his. Sadly, he has died, and one wonders how important the "pork" is to him now. We can hope and pray that this man who was dear to so many is no longer anxious and worried.

Jesus told the listeners not to worry themselves sick over possessions. This was a lesson for those rich in things as well as those poor in things. Jesus told them to be rich towards God. He never told anyone to live in a reckless, careless, shiftless way. He just wanted folks to know that anxiety ceases when we do our best and then leave the rest to God. What Jesus said to them very clearly was, "Seek first the Kingdom of God." Jesus wanted people to seek a way of living in which God's will was done on earth was done as perfectly as it was in heaven. Impossible? Seeking it is not impossible and Jesus said to focus on seeking God's will and way in every bit of our life. God will provide those gifts that are truly lasting, the ones you can take with you at death. He told them to build these lasting things. What in the world lasts? Doesn't wood and fabric eventually go and don't even brick and stone and metal eventually dissolve? Grass withers, trees die but only God remains. And God gives us each the good gifts that also remain: Love, generosity, honor, kindness, purity, goodness. Nothing on earth can take away these gifts and they are, indeed, the treasures of heaven.

"The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever." -- Ambrose, commenting on the Parable of the Rich Fool

The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – August 8

The Letter to the Hebrews 11:1 - 12:2

Have faith in God, my heart, trust and be unafraid;
God will fulfill in every part, each promise he has made.
Have faith in God, my mind, though oft thy light burns low’
God’s mercy holds a wiser plan than you can fully know.
Have faith in God, my soul, Christ’s cross forever stands;
And neither life nor death can pluck his children from his hands.
Bryan Austin Rees -- The Methodist Hymnal, 1964

Go forth in faith. Have faith. What does it mean to live by faith? The scripture today is a beautiful and beloved passage by an unknown author to the Jewish people. It speaks of Jesus Christ as the great High Priest and also as the final, perfect sacrifice for the sin that has separated human beings from God. The idea and the writing almost overwhelm us! This eloquent, poetic, mystical writer is at the same time direct and persuasive. Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, incredible as they are, assure us that God has accepted this sacrifice as complete and final. Our sins are not only forgiven, they are completely out of God’s mind. We are now right with God.

It is so amazing to hear about the long list of persons who went forth by faith even when beset by extremely difficult circumstances. It was faith that was not just hope for the future, but a complete trust in God’s promise for the future. This scripture speaks of their obedience even when that obedience might get them in trouble with the people around them. Can you imagine the faith of Abraham or of Moses? Can you comprehend the faith of Noah or Jacob? Can we understand the faith of Mother Teresa or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? What is it about the faith of our mothers and fathers? Our pastors? The dear members of our church family who serve day by day? What is it that made them and makes them so confident? What gave them faith? Why could they completely trust God and lean on God’s everlasting arms even while walking a difficult journey now? The writer of this letter and the testimony of the entire New Testament offer an answer. God will not desert us. God has promised salvation to all of humankind. In Jesus Christ God’s promise was fulfilled, and we do not need to worry about our future. Our future is secure and now we can live in peace and joy. Jesus was the perfect example of faith. He began true faith and trust and perfected it. He went to the horror of the cross, shameful as it was in his society, so that he could be atonement for our sin. He is now and evermore seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Because of Christ, our place with God is assured. Thanks be to God!

Lord Jesus, make me whole; grant me no resting place,
Until I rest, heart, mind, and soul, the captive of thy grace. -- B. A. Reeves

The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – August 1

Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11

It was only a little white silk coat, yellowed with age and wrinkled from years of being folded in a box. It always reminded her of how her parents must have lovingly dressed her in it that Easter Sunday morning so long ago, and carried her with faith and pride down the aisle to be baptized. Now, as she was matured in the faith, the coat was one of the reminders that she had gone “under the water” to be raised up again to live a life that was modeled after Christ. The words were easy to say, but not always easy to carry out. She was a Christian with all that meant. How did she live like one?

The people at Colossae weren’t certain of what it meant to be Christian. They lived in an age of Greek philosophical thinking and Jewish mystical influence, and they had mixed this with what little they knew of the risen Christ. The church of the Colossians was in great danger of being taken over by worship of angels and claims of exclusive “secret knowledge of God” that was not available to all. It is thought that Paul wrote this letter, although no one is certain of it. Whoever the writer, it is certain that there was urgency in the writing, as if there were great fear that the faith itself would be lost. The writer wants to make clear to the tiny church that the mysteries of God are all revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the very image of the invisible God.

Paul begins his letter to these people he has never met by expressing thanksgiving for them. He has been told they are in trouble but he is genuine in his loving care for them. Then comes the lecture he wants burned into their being. Paul wants them to know the very essence of the nature and work of Christ. Jesus is the living expression of God –active in creation, upholding all that exists. Christ is first, the head of the church, the source of its life, the source of our life. Christ is first—in existence, in power, in position. Over and over Paul struggles to make certain that the readers know that there is no secret about it -- God’s glory is shared by every Christian!

Paul then shifts to the practical. He appeals to the believers to live a life as if they were different than they had been before they found Christ. Becoming a Christian means a definite break with the old self-centered, self-indulgent way of life. There is a new direction now, everyone is being renewed in the likeness of Christ, taking on his loving, forgiving character. Paul gives the Colossians very specific ways of living that are to be given up and those that are to be taken on. The old earthly ways may be tempting, but they are no longer relevant to a good life when we live in Christ’s way. Paul wants them and now us to understand that we have gained true and real life with God when we accepted Christ. We don’t need the old ways of living. We don’t need the old superstitions and rituals. We don’t need the old ways of trying to find meaning in life, for God has sent life to us in God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. We are freed of what bound us and kept us from focusing on God. Thanks be to God!

Dear Jesus, in whose life I see all that I would, but fail to be, let thy clear light forever shine, to shame and guide this life of mine. Though what I dream and what I do in my weak days are always two, help me, oppressed by things undone, O thou whose deeds and dreams were one. (United Methodist Hymnal #468)

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – July 18

Amos 8:1-12; Luke 10:8-42

Many of us remember the “blue laws” of our communities. They were laws that prevented merchants from doing business on Sunday, and were based on the portion of the Ten Commandments that says Honor the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.  Over and over in the scriptures we hear what God considers as holy living. God expects not just beautiful worship, but beautiful living towards one another -- justice. Jesus voices this when he said in Matthew 22:37-40 that to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves sums up all the law and all the prophets. In these two statements Jesus made concrete the expressions of God’s justice and righteousness in the Hebrew Scriptures.

In the book of Amos, he calls for the civic and business leaders of the day to remember what is required of them and what is required of the communities they lead when it comes to their relationship with God. Amos condemns some of the countries around Judah (the people probably loved it when he talked that way about their enemies), but then gets way too close for comfort. He condemns Judah and warns them that they, also, are under the judgment of God. He reminds them of what other prophets have already said, that God does not appreciate or accept their worship practices. What God wants is justice, to see them do what is right. And what is right? “Don’t trample on the needy, God says. Don’t be greedy. Don’t cheat with the scales when selling goods. Don’t target the poor with inferior merchandise. God makes it clear that there are calamitous consequences to unjust practices. God will send a famine on the land, a famine of hearing God’s word.

Jesus makes the point clear in the story of the sisters, Martha and Mary. It is nice to be waited on, Jesus tells them, but the better thing is to listen to God while God’s word is near. Listen To God’s word and you will know what God really wants you to do

God is pretty clear about firmly standing for the poor and oppressed, the underbelly of life. And God expects the leaders of the land to be just and right. He expects the king (the president?) not to debauch himself, but to be constantly vigilant to speak on behalf of those who are unable to articulate their suffering   He is to judge righteously and maintain the rights of the poor and needy. And the judges are not to be intimidated by the rich and powerful, but to uphold the right of the afflicted and destitute and to help the weak and needy.

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – July 4

Galatians 6:7-16 and II Kings 5:1-14

Naaman was a big deal in Syria. He was the equivalent of a five star general. Not four stars like General McChrystal or General Petraeus. He was more like General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The story in II Kings says he was a great man and in high favor with the King of Aram, his master, because he had won many great wars for the Arameans. He was very rich, very powerful and very privileged. He had only one problem—he had a terrible skin disease.

On one of those successful military raids, the soldiers of Aram took a young Israeli girl hostage. Yes! They were enemies of Israel. The girl was given to Naaman’s wife as a servant. She had been a believer in the Lord God and when she saw Naaman’s skin condition, she remembered that there was a prophet in Israel named Elisha. He had worked many miracles and done many healings in the name of the one true God. She told her mistress about Elisha and said her God was able to heal his leprosy. (What they called leprosy could have been one of many serious skin diseases) Naaman immediately went to his king and the king said that he would set up an appointment with the king of Israel and surely the king would get Naaman healed.

So, off goes Naaman. He took huge amounts of money and fine clothing with him along with the letter which requested the king of Israel to heal Naaman. “Egad, thought Israel’s king as he tore his clothing! Am I God? I can’t give death or life! This king of Aram has ordered me to heal him and I think he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” This is where Elisha came in. He heard about his own king’s quandary and told him to send Naaman to him. “So he may know there is a prophet of God in Israel”, he said. Naaman came with all his horses and chariots and stopped at Elisha’s house. Elisha sent out a messenger who told Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times and he would be clean. Did Naaman do it? After he came all that way? No! Naaman thought he was far too important to be told what to do by a messenger. He was angry to be treated in such a way, for he thought Elisha himself should come and wave his hands over him and heal him. Then he complained about having to wash in the Jordan, for he declared the rivers of Aram to be far superior. His servants, being far less pompous than he and far more practical, urged him to try it anyway, for it was a simple enough task. Naaman probably huffed and puffed a lot, but he went and washed seven times.

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – June 27

Psalm 77:11-20; 2 Kings 2:1-15a

“You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.” -- Psalm 77:14

The stories about the Prophet Elijah invade the senses. There are vivid word pictures painted of anger, death, bloody animals sacrificed on altars, pleading and prayers, fire, thunder, floods, threats, drought, hunger and thirst, miracles of life given, and on and on. Elijah was a colorful character! In today’s scripture, the time has come for Elijah to pass on his responsibilities to the prophet chosen by God to be his successor, Elisha. This story is no less huge to our senses.

Elisha has been a faithful disciple of Elijah and now in the days when Elijah knows his end is near, Elisha seems no less faithful. Elijah was a great walker; he and Elisha were walking from Gilgal, near Jericho and the Jordan River. He seems to want to experience these last events in his life by himself, but Elisha will not let him go on this final journey alone. They first go to Bethel, then to Jericho and then to the Jordan. At each place so-called “prophets” came to meet them. Each group told Elisha that his master was about to die. Elisha didn’t want to hear it and told them so. It is no wonder Elisha didn’t pay much attention to these “prophets”, for they were generally groups of people with ecstatic gifts, and many of them were not always people of high spiritual qualities. When Elijah and Elisha reached the Jordan, Elijah struck the water with his mantle and the water parted and let the two cross over to the other side. God was still working wonders through Elijah!

Elijah asks Elisha if he has a last request from him and Elisha says, “Please grant me a double share of your spirit.” Now Elisha was not asking to have twice Elijah’s power, but rather he was asking for the inheritance of the first-born, the heir, which was always a double share. Elisha wanted the sign that he was Elijah’s true heir. Then there came an event which boggles the mind. As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire came between them and took Elijah up in a whirlwind, leaving Elisha calling, “Father, Father.” Elijah didn’t die; he was translated to heaven. It was another miracle of God and must have greatly affected Elisha, for he tore his clothes in grief. We are commemorating this when we sing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Elisha longed to know if God was with him as with Elijah. He picked up Elijah’s mantle, struck the water of the Jordan again and asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” The waters parted and even the “prophets” knew that Elisha was God’s choice to follow Elijah.

There are “Elijahs” now who are great leaders. There are “Elishas” waiting and willing to be taught to spread God’s Word. What a joy to pass the mantle to those who have learned about God from us. What a joy to know that God will swing the chariot down to take us to heaven. What a joy to rejoice in God’s wonders among the peoples!

The Third Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – June 13

Psalm 5:1-8; Luke 7:36-50

It seems very odd to us that someone could give a dinner party and that “partybargers” could so easily get in. That is exactly what happened in our gospel story today when Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to eat at his home. In that time, the homes of well-to-do people were built around an open courtyard. In good weather, the meals would be taken in the open and people from the outside would often watch, especially when someone who was a Rabbi, a teacher, was eating there. By this time, Jesus had become pretty well-known, and so folks were around the house watching and listening to see if they might hear any wise words from him. That is why the woman had access to him. Furthermore, it was custom in those days to eat Roman style, that is, reclining on one’s left arm on cushions at the table with feet extended behind. That is why the woman could be at Jesus’ feet. We are not certain why Simon invited Jesus; perhaps he just wanted to have a Rabbi of some notoriety come; perhaps he wanted to show Jesus how pious he was. Whatever his motive, he had Jesus, but he also had the town’s “bad woman”, most likely a prostitute. Uh-oh! Simon didn’t count on that!

Now Simon had really insulted Jesus when Jesus entered the home -- not by what he did, but by what he didn’t do. It was only common courtesy to pour cool water over every guest’s dusty and probably sore feet. It was also customary to touch the guest’s head with some kind of sweet scented oil. In this case neither was done. This discourtesy is why we wonder about Simon’s motives with the invitation. When the woman entered, she didn’t say anything, but just stood and then kneeled at Jesus’ feet. Most Jewish women, even those of ill repute, wore a small vial around the neck that was filled with a concentrated perfume. They were made of alabaster. This woman broke her jar and poured the contents on Jesus’ feet, as if anointing him in respect. This was a deeply emotional moment for her and the tears began to flow. As if her actions weren’t bad enough, she then did the unthinkable. She let down her hair in public! We can just hear the gasps and the muttering. Nothing was a bigger societal “faux pas” for a woman, than to do this. And then she began using her hair and her tears to wash and wipe his feet. Do you see the difference in how Simon treated Jesus and how the woman responded to his presence? Simon thought to himself that this Jesus surely wasn’t a real prophet of God or he wouldn’t have let this very bad woman touch him like that. Jesus, using a parable pointed out to Simon that this sinful woman had more love and respect for him than, he, Simon, the very circumspect Pharisee (remember, they were the “Law-keepers.”) had shown.

The sinful woman had shown perfect love to Jesus. She had recognized her sins and recognized Jesus as being from God and she had given him all she had, her whole heart. And because she did so, Jesus forgave her sins. Again, there was muttering, saying, “Who does he think he is? -- God?” But Jesus knew who he was and so did the woman and he gave her peace in her heart and soul. And to Simon, who did not think he ever sinned, Jesus did not offer forgiveness, for Simon didn’t think he needed any. How sad.

All are invited today to recognize the forgiving love of Jesus and to humble ourselves at his feet. It is certain that our Lord shall lift us up, in love, in forgiveness, in grace. Thanks be to God!

The Second Sunday after Pentecost 2010 – June 6

Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus must have been a miserable man. We can just imagine that he was lonely and friendless. After all, he was a tax collector, one of the most despised persons during the time of Jesus. The tax-collectors were most often in cahoots with the Romans and they cheated and defrauded the people. Jericho was a very busy and wealthy city, a place of much trade and also the main road to Jerusalem. With dates and balsam, Rome made Jericho a world-wide trade center and so, naturally it became a great taxation center. Poor Zacchaeus! He was not happy even though he was wealthy.

We can wonder why in the world Zacchaeus decided to go see Jesus. Perhaps he was just plain bored and wanted something different to do. Perhaps he had heard of Jesus and was just curious. Perhaps it was something else. At any rate he made great effort to see this man who was passing through his city. There is a very old sycamore (actually a fig-mulberry) tree standing in the center of old Jericho that is pointed out as the very one that Zacchaeus climbed that day to try to see Jesus. It is most likely not the same one, but it brings to mind the story of this determined man who longed to see the Christ.

Jesus came to the place of the sycamore tree, looked up and saw this man looking down at him. And amazingly, Jesus called him by name. How could that be? Not only that, Jesus invited himself over to Zacchaeus’ house! What excitement there was on Zacchaeus’ part! Company for lunch. Wow! This so-called rabbi actually wanted to break bread with him, a tax-collector, and the greatest of sinners! Jesus must have moved Zacchaeus’ heart and soul beyond all measure that day.

The crowd was angry and grumbling because Jesus wanted to go home with Zacchaeus. They had most likely pushed and shoved to taunt him and keep him from seeing Jesus. His stature and desperation to get away from a vicious crowd was probably what sent him scurrying up the tree. And maybe it was God working in his life, for Zacchaeus immediately said to Jesus, “I will give half my possessions to the poor and I will pay back anyone I have defrauded by four times.” It had to be God! Jesus celebrated it by saying that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house, and after all, this is what he, Jesus, had come to do. Rejoice, people of Jericho. Rejoice, people of Dayton.

Jesus saw Zacchaeus with eyes that were different from the people of Jericho. He looked at Zacchaeus with loving eyes, with kind eyes, with eyes that were not only all-knowing of his sins, but were also all-merciful. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as worthy of salvation. Jesus sees us that way also. Thanks be to God! We can see ourselves differently when mirrored in Jesus’ eyes

O Lord, your tenderness, melting all my bitterness; O Lord, I receive your love. O Lord, your loveliness, changing my unworthiness; O Lord, I receive your love. (The Faith We Sing #2143)

The First Sunday After Pentecost 2010 – May 30

I Kings 17:8-24; Romans 5:1-5

Elijah the prophet was thirsty! His land of Israel was in a terrible drought. God had provided water and food for him for awhile, but even those resources dried up before long. Elijah was desperate and headed northeast, out of Israel into the land of Sidon near a place called Zarephath. It was in the middle of where the pagan gods, called Baals, were worshiped. He met there a woman, a widow who had a son, and asked her for food and water. When she refused him, saying that she was just about to prepare the last food she had, a little meal and oil, for herself and her son, Elijah insisted that she bring him his food first. If she does this, Elijah promises, her resources will not fail her until the drought is over. Would you believe this guy who seemed like such a crackpot? A selfish one at that! Somehow he convinced her, and she went and did what he said and her meal and oil seemed to be there in unending supply. Elijah had spoken the word of the Lord to her, even though she had never heard of the Lord. Even the least of resources belongs to God, and God can work miracles with them. The widow of Sidon understood this, even when even those in Israel didn’t.

Soon the son got very sick and was pronounced dead. The widow screamed at Elijah, blaming him for the death. She went on and on about his bringing up all her old sins in her mind. Elijah took the son from her, took him into the bedroom and laid him on the bed, whereupon the prophet laid himself over the son, all the while imploring God to bring back his life. And it happened! When Elijah took the living son to his mother, she declared that he had told the truth about God and he must truly be a man of God. This is a woman who had never heard of the Living God. God gave life to both the widow and the son, and because Elijah called upon him. We can wonder if God noticed that this woman was getting to know God much better than the Israelites.

Many of the “older” women in the congregation will remember the mustard seed necklaces and bracelets we used to wear. They were chains from which dangled a small plastic ball encasing and magnifying a seed from the common mustard plant. They always came with a small card which spoke of faith growing large like the tiny mustard seed, which grows into a large plant. Our parents gave them to us hoping that indeed this would happen. We can imagine that they also prayed that our tiny bits of hope would also increase. And that we would someday know God’s true joy and peace, even though we barely understood then. Everything is the Lord’s and when we trust God even a little, God will give us much. After all, God brought us into a right relationship with him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And what results from that? The peace of God! Do you believe that? Do you trust God’s word? Do you have a mustard seed’s worth of faith? God can work great things in your life. Thanks be to God!!

Pentecost Sunday 2010 – May 23

Leviticus 23:15-21 and Acts 2:1-18

The Book of Leviticus is the book of Laws for the people of Israel. In Jewish history, Moses is supposed to have received these laws directly from God. They were set down mainly for the priests who were supposed to teach and direct the people. There are food laws, laws for religious practice, and laws for daily behavior. Today’s scripture is part of those laws describing the religious festivals. They were closely linked with the farmer’s year and the seasons. Some, such as Passover, commemorated great events in their history. There were three great occasions when all the males of Israel were required to attend the national celebrations in Jerusalem: Passover, Harvest, and Tabernacles. We hear today about the Harvest festival, called first the Feast of Weeks and later Pentecost. It was held 50 days after Passover. People brought their offerings to God and were reminded that the land and everything it produced was God’s gift to them. Like our Thanksgiving!

In the Book of Acts we find the apostles waiting anxiously for what Jesus promised them would happen. They were told they had a big mission, to take Jesus’ message to their neighbors, and not only them, but up into the enemy territory of Samaria and then (GULP!) to the ends of the earth. Can you imagine their fear? They needed help and they knew it. On that day of Pentecost they were gathered in a large room and suddenly the time of waiting was over. The Holy Spirit came upon those gathered there in a big way. There was first a huge sound, described as a mighty wind blowing. It could almost make us think of the sound and power of an approaching tornado. Then, flames, like tongues of fire, appeared over each apostle’s head. They were transformed, no longer afraid, and ready to take on the mission of God through Christ. And Peter, the person to whom Jesus had given the task of building and nurturing the church, preached with the power of the Holy Spirit to persons from many, many nations gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, with some there just because it was a major trade route. Great Day!

On Thursday, May 13, nearly 400 people gathered in Grace Church sanctuary for a meeting of Vote Dayton, a community group organized to encourage people to exercise their voting privilege. As the economy worsened and crime rose, this group realized that the needs of Dayton reached far beyond the voting issue. Gathered were people from many Christian denominations, Jewish and Muslim congregations and communities. They came from Dayton proper and from the surrounding greater Dayton. It reminded one of the Pentecost. And the Holy Spirit descended that night as we heard music from Jared Roper and friends, as we began hearing stories from people who were jobless, from young people who felt unsafe on their own streets and even in their own homes, from persons who yearned for persons to have better education. And so, as the Spirit came, the group, in unity and renewed hope, adopted a new name, “Lift Greater Dayton” and adopted three principal issues: jobs, education, and safe havens for young people. This was God at work, just as in the time following Jesus’ resurrection. Let us seize the mighty power of God and” Lift Greater Dayton.!” Jesus Christ lives! Today we celebrate by confirming young people in the peace and safety of the faith. We celebrate by spreading the Kingdom of God to the community! We celebrate by supporting a school for children. O, Holy Spirit, continue to rain down on us and give us the power to take your message and love to the ends of the earth.

The Seventh Sunday of Easter 2010 – Ascension Sunday – May 16

Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11

At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him King of Glory now; ‘tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord, who from the beginning was the mighty Word. Humbled for a season, to receive a name from the lips of sinners unto whom he came, faithfully he bore it, spotless to the last, brought it back victorious when from death he passed. Bore it up triumphant with its human light, through all ranks of creatures to the central height, to the throne of Godhead, to the Father’s breast; filled it with the glory of that perfect rest. (United Methodist Hymnal #168)

The writer of Psalm 47 states unequivocally that God is most high and reigns over all the earth. One of the modern paraphrases says “God most high is stunning!!!” Hear and read the scriptures from today, close your eyes and picture what is happening and you, also, will call it stunning, incredible, amazing! The Psalmist writes in a vivid manner “God has ascended with a shout …He sits on his holy throne.” Glory to God in the highest!

Luke writes the story in two places in the Bible. In the final chapter of his gospel Jesus appears yet again to his disciples and proclaims peace to them. He shows them his wounds and even eats a piece of broiled fish in their presence. Then he speaks about the law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms, and that they had proclaimed what was happening. He opens their minds to understand all those scriptures. We can imagine that the disciples were trembling by now. Just wait to hear what happened next! Jesus told them that they were witnesses to his death and resurrection, and that they were to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations. Can you imagine being told such a thing? He tells them that they would have the power come from on high to do such a thing, for it was promised from their Creator. Then he led them out on the hill outside Jerusalem and blessed them and was taken up into heaven. It must have been almost overwhelming to them.

In his second book, The Acts of the Apostles, Luke writes more details. Jesus is very specific about telling the disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them in just a few days. He reiterates that they are to be witnesses of his life and death and message. While they were listening to him, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. They must have been stunned, and were staring up when two men told them that Jesus would come again, riding in the clouds, just as he went to heaven.

As we speak in the Holy Communion liturgy, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” In the meantime, until he comes, we have a story to tell and work to do for our living Lord. The Holy Spirit will empower us. We are never, never alone. Christ now sits on the throne in heaven and loves the church and the world. Anticipate the return of the living Lord! Alleluia!

The Sixth Sunday of Easter 2010 – Festival of the Christian Home – May 9

John 14:23-29; Acts 16:9-15

In the Gospel of John we find Jesus speaking to his disciples during his final discourse with them before his crucifixion. He is telling them about the Holy Spirit, and that he will not leave them alone as if they are orphans. The Holy Spirit will be sent from the Father, in Christ’s name, and will remind all of them of Jesus’ words and teachings. In that way they will not forget what Jesus has said. Jesus speaks to them of his own love for the Father and the Father’s love for him, and of their love for all humankind. He tells them what they should do if they love him, and that the Holy Spirit will help them to be able to do that. Jesus wants their souls and minds and hearts to be at peace and he tells them as much. The peace he leaves them will not be an absence of conflict, but the inner peace of God. Jesus just wants the disciples to know that they are not alone even though they are absent from him. They will be able to carry on his work, the work that teaches humankind to be obedient to God. Obedience leads to love of God and then love of each other. If they love Jesus, and the Father, then they will follow the lead of the Holy Spirit to seek and to love all people.

In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we find Paul on his second missionary journey. He had traveled a long way on the first one and had been very ill when he reached the towns of Galatia. His “thorn in the flesh” which he said God gave him, may have afflicted him on this second journey also. Clues as to what was wrong with him have been speculated about and it is a very good guess that he suffered from horrible headaches resulting from a virulent malarial fever that haunted the low coastal strip of Asia Minor. Today’s scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit did not allow Paul to go to Asia. It does not tell us if the message was conveyed by vision, by voice or though someone else. We do have a clue in this passage. All of a sudden in verse 10 the narrative switches from third person to first person. Luke is telling it now from his own perspective. Perhaps what kept Paul from going to the towns named was illness, and now Doctor Luke has been summoned to help them carry on. Nothing would stop Paul from seeking believers.

And so they went from Troas to Philippi, a Roman colony named for Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the great. There was apparently no synagogue there, for these Jewish Christians sought out the local Jewish place of prayer. They met there a woman named Lydia. Now Lydia would have been an almost unknown person in their world, for she was not only a woman who was willing to speak up for her household, she was also a woman who was a merchant, a tradesperson who was probably very rich, since she traded in the extremely rare commodity of purple dye. Only the rich could afford it. In Jewish society in Palestine the woman’s value to a man was to bear sons and carry water. She ranked after the animals. Lydia was not like this. She listened to Paul and the Lord opened her heart, and not only she, but her household was baptized. She invited them to stay with her. And so they stayed for a while and preached Jesus Christ.

Go forth for God, go to the world in peace; be of good courage, armed with heavenly grace, in God’s good Spirit daily to increase, till in the kingdom we see face to face. Go forth for God; go to the world in peace. Go forth for God, go to the world in love; strengthen the faint, give courage to the weak; help the afflicted, richly from above God’s love supplies the grace and power we need. Go forth for God, go to the world in love. (United Methodist Hymnal #670)

The Fifth Sunday of Easter 2010 – May 2

John 13:31-35; Acts 11:1-18

Grace is for everyone! That’s what we read on our new sign outside, on bulletin boards and t-shirts, on Grace Notes and lots of other publications. About 15 years ago a small committee came up with the slogan and we had it put on mugs and shirts and whatever else we could think of. At that time we were thinking of adding new people to the church and thought it was catchy and had obvious double meaning. Today’s scriptures prove that the committee and later the Administrative Board that approved it were on the right track, not just for church membership, but because God gives unfailing grace for all people.

In John’s Gospel we hear the story that tells of Jesus’ last words to his disciples. He is well aware of what Judas is about to do. If the rest of the disciples had caught on to what was going on with Judas, he would never have left that upper room alive. But Jesus spoke to Judas intimately and the others did not understand. The betrayal was already plotted and planned and Jesus told Judas to get on with what he had to do. The story picks up as Judas has just left the room. Jesus turns to the rest of the disciples and begins to speak about Glory, his own and the Father’s. Verses 31 and 32 can confuse us; Jesus’ words seem to be about four kinds of glory. 1. The glory that was the Cross. It was especially for Jesus and was a glory that came from giving the highest sacrifice for others. 2. When Jesus obediently went to the cross for humankind, God was glorified. How can anyone show honor and love towards someone more than through total obedience? 3. In Jesus, God glorified himself. That sounds odd, but just think about it; God came to earth and experienced pain and suffering. Because God was with us in Jesus, we learned to love God. What a glory love is! 4. God will glorify Jesus when Jesus comes again to us. Glory again! Hallelujah! The whole world will see his Glory.

Jesus then gave them his farewell commandment. “Love one another as I have loved you”. Jesus loved his disciples and forgave them all their foolish mistakes and sins. That is the kind of love Jesus wants us to express to everyone. Gracious love. God’s kind of gracious love. Get it? Grace, God’s grace and love is to be given by us to everyone.

Luke gave a great deal of space to the story of Peter and the sheet of clean and unclean animals and its meaning for the spread of word about Jesus. You can read it in Acts 10 and then again in Chapter 11 as Peter tells it to the apostles in Jerusalem. All of the followers of Jesus were Jews, at least at first. Most of them did not believe Gentiles (non-Jews) should be allowed into the fellowship of those who had been saved by Jesus. This story of Jesus’ chief disciple, who had been charged with building the church on earth, told them how important it was to include Gentiles. When Peter realizes that God’s Holy Spirit has been given to the Gentiles with him, he realizes that there is no table that is unclean when one is sharing food and the news of Jesus. There is no one who should be denied baptism just because he or she is not a Jew. Jesus is for everyone! Grace is for every living soul!

Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found; brought here together by Christ’s love, by love are we thus bound. Love can exclude no race or creed if honored by God’s name; our common life embraces all whose Maker is the same. (United Methodist Hymnal #549)

The Fourth Sunday of Easter 2010 – April 25

Psalm 23 and John 10:22-30

This congregation has learned several verses of scripture during Lent and the Sundays of Easter. It makes us feel good and so much closer to God to hold scripture in our heart and in our memory. Today’s Psalm is one most of us know by heart, at least in part. Why is the 23^rd Psalm so special to us? There must be many, many reasons, and these would be just some of them: This is a Psalm we have known since childhood. This Psalm helps us remember that the Lord is our shepherd and the shepherd knows us and loves u;. This Psalm helps us feel that we are not alone when we are facing danger or death. This Psalm is special because we know it in our hearts and souls and minds. Today we will speak this Psalm together and celebrate how close we can feel to our God, who is also our shepherd. In this Psalm we hear God speak our name and we recognize that voice and follow it.

Jesus had been teaching at the temple in Jerusalem during the Festival of the Dedication , the festival we know as Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights. Its date is the 25^th of the Jewish month of Chislew, which corresponds with our December; it is still universally observed by Jews. Jesus was in Solomon’s porch, a long, roofed over row of huge, magnificent pillars. People walked there to pray and meditate. Rabbis strolled there as they talked to their followers. It was there that Jesus’ fellow Jews questioned him.

There were people who truly wanted to know if Jesus was the Chosen One, the Anointed One, the One who was Promised. There were also some who just wanted to trick Jesus and try to entrap him into saying something that would make him libel in the Jewish court. When Jesus answered their question about whether or not he was God’s Anointed One, he told them that he had already told him who he was. It was true he hadn’t been going around saying it in so many words, except to the Samaritan woman and to the man born blind, but these were claims made in private. Jesus told them that his deeds should tell them who he was. Each one of Jesus’ miracles reflects what the prophet Isaiah had said would be signs of the Chosen One.

Jesus spoke with the authority of the Messiah, but there were those who did not accept his voice as their shepherd, even though they were all invited. He had spoken of himself with the image of shepherd and as the way the sheep entered into the relationship with the shepherd, but still many did not accept it. To those who did accept him, Jesus promised three things. He said they would have eternal life if they accepted him as Lord and Master, if they became members of his flock. They would know life lived in the presence and magnificence of God. He promised them a life that would not end, a life when death would not be the end but the beginning. He promised a life that is secure. In even the darkest hour they would feel God’s everlasting arms around them.

Blessed Jesus, at thy word we are gathered all to hear thee; let our hearts and souls be stirred now to seek and love and fear thee, by thy teachings sweet and holy, drawn from earth to love thee solely. (United Methodist Hymnal #596)

The Third Sunday of Easter 2010 – April 18

Psalm 30 is inscribed with the following: A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the temple. One can wonder if some of the words of this Psalm went through the mind of the resurrected Jesus as he went about for the days after his time in the grave. He surely must have known them, for he was well acquainted with the Psalter, his hymnbook. It is not hard to imagine that Jesus would have spoken and sung praises to God for raising him from the Pit, for delivering him from his enemies, for making more of his death than at first seemed possible. Joy does, indeed, come in the morning! No one knew that more than Jesus after his resurrection.

The first story in the Gospel of John is like a living parable. It happened for the disciples by whom it would have been understood, and only later, added to the written Gospel, because it was so important to speak of the truth and reality of the resurrection. Night was the best time for fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Even today one can see the lights of the fishing boats all over the large lake. In the very dim light of early morning, the disciples did not recognize their Lord standing on the shore doing what people still do. Oftentimes the fishermen have guides on shore looking for schools of fish to come along. They call to the fishermen who are close by the shore to try one side or the next. This was not a miracle and was not called one. Jesus was acting as the guide for his friends and followers. Peter was stripped down to his underwear loincloth for work and when he recognized it was the Lord, he quickly put on his robe, for in Jewish law, a greeting was a religious act, never to be carried out unclothed. Peter was not about to wear just his skivvies to greet his risen Lord.

There stood Jesus, alive and well and building a fire for breakfast. He asked them to bring the heaving load of fish to shore, all the types of them and then he cooked some of them. He portioned out the cooked bread and fish and fed them. It was the third time he had appeared to them after rising. After breakfast Jesus talked to Peter, asking him three times, “Do you love me?” When Peter answered in the affirmative each time, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Tend my lambs.” Think about the three times Peter had denied Jesus. These three questions were very pointed, for Jesus was appointing Peter as the shepherd of the Church, the one to care for and lead all those “fish” that had been caught. Jesus knew that Peter would also face hard times because of the Good News of Christ and told him so. (Peter was later crucified in Rome, asking to be placed upside down, because he felt unworthy to die in the same was as his Lord.) Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

So, what are some of the things we can learn from these stories? We can learn that if we rely on Jesus to be our guide, he will provide our abundance. We need to depend on him. We can think of the heaving, heavy nets and think of the time Jesus told the disciples they would fish for people. Did the heavy catch of many varieties represent that all kinds of people would be caught for Christ and the net, the church, could hold them all? Did this Jesus seem like a vision? Or a ghost? Can we listen to these stories and see the reality of the resurrection in them? Thanks be to God for those who recorded these stories for us. Thanks be to God for the joy that comes in the morning! Amen.

The Second Sunday of Easter 2010 – April 11

Psalm 150; John 20:19-31

Psalm 150 is the great climax and finale of praise for the entire Book of Psalms. It is hard to imagine something so grand! The Psalmist calls for praise in the Sanctuary (the Temple) and then in all the firmament. This is a symphony using every instrument in the Temple orchestra and then everything that has life and breath in the whole creation. All are called to join in a loud crashing song of praise to God. What could be a more appropriate scripture to celebrate Easter?

The story, from the Gospel of John, seems to take place on the first Easter Day in the evening. We find the apostles and other disciples locked behind closed doors because they are fearful that they also may be killed like their Master. Most scholars believe that they would have gone back to the large upper room where they had their last meal with him. It was here that Jesus just appeared in the midst of them. Although his body was the resurrected one, he appeared as the crucified Jesus. He greeted the disciples with a common greeting, “Peace be with you.” It meant much more than just wishing someone to be saved from trouble; it meant that Jesus was bestowing everything good that God had to give upon them. He did not want them to fear. What a gift.

Immediately Jesus spoke of God sending him to earth to bring God’s message to the world. Since he was now leaving earth, he needed them to spread the message, to do the work. How could anyone know the love and grace and peace of God unless the followers of the Son of God spread the word? Jesus had come with the message and now he was going home to his Father. Jesus needed the church to take the message to the world. And so he commissioned those first believers, and he sent God’s Holy Spirit to breathe life into the task. As God had breathed life into all creation at the beginning, so now God would breathe life into the church of Christ. The only way Jesus could be God’s true messenger was to be completely obedient in love. It seems to follow that the only way we can convey God’s message in truth is to be the same, obedient and loving. We are not to promote our doctrines or policies, but only God’s message. We are to follow the will of Christ instead of the way of the world. What a challenge for the church!

Thomas wasn’t there in the room that evening. Perhaps he was grieving in solitude, for it was obvious he loved Jesus and the events would have wounded him deeply. His absence tells us how much we miss by not turning to those others in the faith community. Thomas had to suffer an entire week before he could find relief from his grief, and meet the risen Christ. Jesus again greeted them the same way and offered Thomas an opportunity to touch his wounds. Thomas had boldly proclaimed that would be the only way he could accept and believe. But something happened to Thomas when he met the risen Christ. Immediately he knew that this was his Lord and God. Immediately he spoke the faith that he had previously not yet claimed. Life came to Thomas and to all the disciples and to the church that night. Thanks be to God!

Jesus, we look to thee, thy promised presence claim; Thou in the midst of us shalt be, assembled in thy name. Thy name salvation is, which here we come to prove; Thy name is life and joy and peace and everlasting love. Present we know thou art, but O thyself reveal! Now, Lord, let every bounding heart the mighty comfort feel. ... Charles Wesley

Easter Sunday 2010 – April 4
Christ is Risen!

Luke 24: 1-12 and Acts 10:34-43

Almighty God was introduced to the world through the Hebrews, the Jewish people. They followed sacred rules for living, including those for eating what were then considered clean and unclean foods, and those that laid out what types of people were acceptable at table. Jesus was one of the Jews, as were his closest followers. When we hear today’s story from The Acts of the Apostles, it is a new time, a time after the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. Up to this time the gospel has been preached only to Jews, converts to Judaism and Samaritans (who observed the Law of Moses). Now God steps in to make it plain that the message is for everyone. God prepares the Roman centurion, Cornelius, as well as the Jewish apostle, Peter, for an amazing experience.

We find Cornelius, who though a Roman military officer, has been taken by the Jewish religion, and although he is not an official convert, he is a faithful adherent to Jewish law and practice, a God fearing man. It must have been a huge shock when angels appeared to him telling him to find Peter at the house of Simon, the tanner. We can wonder if Peter was already preparing to expand beyond the strict Jewish law, because tanning was considered unclean because of the handling of dead animals. And yet, it was in Simon’s house that Peter was residing. At the same time, Peter also had a vision from God, one that took God three tries to make Peter understand what was being said. When Peter saw a sheet seemingly filled with all kinds of life, both that considered clean and that considered unclean, Peter finally realized that the gospel, the good news of Jesus the Christ, was for all people, not just select ones. What a freeing experience that would have been. Peter went to tell Cornelius’s family and friends about the experience, for Cornelius had sent men to fetch him. That is where today’s story of Peter begins. He tells the Gentile (non-Jewish) people that he is a witness to the true story of Jesus Christ. Jesus was anointed by God’s Holy Spirit to do good and to heal. Jesus was killed on a cross, but rose from the dead. God sent Jesus to the Jews and he preached peace to all. Now the believers understand that God does not show partiality to any certain persons, but that God’s message of peace, and salvation, through Jesus, the Christ is for everyone, all peoples of the world! All who seek him are sure to find him for he lives! Alleluia!

Today’s story from Luke, a Gentile physician, who was converted after Jesus’ resurrection shows how important women were in Jesus’ story, even though not in that society. Early on the morning of the third day, the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, went to the tomb. Three of them are named, and the rest are just called, “the others.” It was these women who found the tomb empty with the stone rolled away. It was they who talked to angels who asked them why they sought the living among the dead. It was they who took the message to the apostles. But the men thought it was just an idle tale. How could Jesus be alive? Only Peter went to check and he went home amazed. What a story! Alleluia!

He is Lord! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and he is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! (United Methodist Hymnal #177)

Palm Sunday 2010 – March 28

Psalm 118:1-2,19-29 and Luke 19:28-48

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates; behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near; the Savior of the world is here!

Fling wide the portals of your heart; Make it a temple, set apart
from earthly use for heaven’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come, we open wide our hearts to thee; here, Lord, abide.
Thine inner presence let us feel; Thy grace and love in us reveal.
Georg Weissel, 1590-1635

Lift high the triumph song today!
From Olivet to Calvary we tread again that ancient way Our Savior rode in majesty.
Let now the loud hosannas ring! The Prince of Peace is passing by;
The Lord of Life, our Savior, King, goes bravely forth to reign and die.

We climb again the wooded slopes of Olivet and Calvary;
we share with him those radiant hopes, which led at last to victory.
Let now the loud hosannas ring! The Prince of Peace is passing by;
The Lord of Life, our Savior, King, goes gladly forth to live -- and die.

We join the throng to welcome him from Olivet and Calvary --
descend the heights to shadows dim, thro’ death with him to liberty.
Let now the loud hosannas ring! The Prince of Peace is passing by;
The Lord of Life, our Savior, King, goes humbly forth, to serve -- and die.

We open wide the gates of Love! By Olivet, by Calvary,
acclaim him Christ, from God above, our King, thro’ all eternity.
Let now the loud hosannas ring! The Prince of Peace is passing by;
The Lord of Life, our Savior, King, goes nobly forth, no more to die.
Ernest F. McGregor, 1879-1946

So lowly doth the Savior ride
A paltry borrowed beast,
Nor pomp, nor show, nor lofty pride,
Nor boast above the least.

His scepter is His kindliness,
His grandeur is His grace,
His royalty is holiness,
And love is in His face.

’Tis thus the great Messiah came
To break the tyrants’ will,
To heal the people of their shame,
And nobleness instill.

Ride on, O King, ride on Your way,
While men of low degree
Exalt and usher in the day
Of peace we long to see.
Almer T. Penniwell, 1876-1969

The Fourth Sunday in Lent 2010 – March 14

Luke 15:1-32 and Psalm 119:169-176

Return with Rejoicing

Welcome home! For most of us those are some of the most wonderful words ever. The three stories in Luke 15 are bursting with God’s joy at finding the lost and welcoming them home!!!! Like the shepherd, like the woman, like the father of the lost son, God cares about those who are separated and lost from God. God goes far out of the way to welcome back those who have strayed, those who have chosen a path that is not righteous. The words by Elizabeth Clephane (1830-1869) tell a beautiful story of just how far God will go to find God’s own.

There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold, but one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold -- Away on the mountains wild and bare, away from the tender Shepherd’s ear

“Lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine; Are they not enough for thee?” But the Shepherd made answer ‘This of mine has wandered away from me
And although the road be rough and steep, I go to the desert to find my sheep.’

But none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed; nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed thro’ ere he found his sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert he heard its cry -- so sick and so helpless and ready to die.

And all thro’ the mountains, thunder-riven, and up from the rocky steep, there arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven “Rejoice! I have found my sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne, ‘Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own!’

We in Grace Church have reason to rejoice as we hear the stories of God told to us each Sunday. Praise God! Katherine Hankey wrote this old, old hymn giving thanks for those storytellers who passed on the stories to her.

Tell me the old, old story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love;
Tell me the story simply, as to a little child, for I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in-That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.
Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon, the “early dew” of morning has passed away at noon.

Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and grave; Remember, I’m the sinner whom Jesus came to save.
Tell me the story always, if you would really be, in any time of trouble, a comforter to me.

Tell me the same old story, when you have cause to fear that this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear.
Yes, and when the world’s glory is dawning on my soul, tell me the old, old story: “Christ Jesus makes thee whole.”

The Third Sunday in Lent 2010 – March 7

Isaiah 59:1-9 and Psalm 63:1-8

“Come, ye sinners” this invitation to return to God’s grace and mercy starts; Joseph Hart wrote the words in 1759. That is old, for sure, but the original call from God is older still. Let us respond to it as we worship and live in Christ’s community called Grace UMC.

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love, and power.
He is able, he is able, he is willing doubt no more.

Refrain I will arise and go to Jesus; he will embrace me with his arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome, God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh,
Without money, without money, come to Jesus Christ and buy

Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.
Not the righteous, not the righteous -- Sinners Jesus came to call.

Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him.
This he gives you, this he gives you; ‘Tis the Spirit’s glimmering beam.

For some of us the words to these hymns are new and for some they are old friends. Either way, it can be good spiritual practice to take them home and use them for meditation. As we return to God’s mercy and grace walking on our Lenten journey to the cross, we find just what it means to give ourselves to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. By W. MacDonald

I am coming to the cross; I am poor and weak, and blin
I am counting all but dross; I shall full salvation find

Refrain I am trusting, Lord in thee, blest Lamb of Calvary;
Humbly at thy cross I bow, save me, Jesus, save me now

Long my heart has sighed for thee; Long has evil reigned within;
Jesus sweetly speaks to me, “I will cleanse you from all sin”.

Here I give my all to thee -- friend, and time, and earthly store;
Soul and body thine to be, wholly thine forevermore.

The Second Sunday in Lent 2010 – February 28

Psalm 27 and Luke 13:31-35

Jeremiah was a prophet, who watched the city he loved destroyed, because of the people’s disobedience to God. Over and over he warned them. Over and over he was scorned, mocked, abused and ignored. Jerusalem was devastated by crime, starvation, child abuse, rape, wretched things one can hardly imagine and was eventually taken by enemies. It had not improved by the time of Jesus. While Jeremiah was often called the ”Weeping Prophet”, Jesus, too, was abused and deeply saddened about how prophets and representatives of God were treated by the people. Today’s story is his lament over the city. One can imagine that tears came to his eyes, for he knew what was ahead. William Billings’ words are fitting for this setting.

When Jesus wept, the falling tear in mercy flowed beyond all bound. When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear seized all the guilty world around.

Beautiful Psalm 27 celebrates the joy the writer has when he goes to the place of worship, the place where he feels closest to the presence of God. He rejoices in the refuge and shelter God always provides. He feels secure on the rock of God’s presence. He knows that he can return over and over and God will always be near. Traditional Pakistani words reflect some of the feeling the Psalmist must have felt. The word “Saranam” means “refuge.”

Jesus, Savior, Lord, lo, to thee I fly: Saranam, Saranam, Saranam. Thou the Rock, my refuge that’s higher than I: Saranam, Saranam, Saranam.

In the midst of foes I cry to thee, from the ends of earth wherever I may be. My strength in helplessness, O answer me: Saranam, Saranam, Saranam.

In thy tent give me a dwelling place, and beneath thy wings may I find sheltering grace. O lift on me the sunshine of thy face: Saranam, Saranam, Saranam.

Our Methodist songwriter, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), knew firsthand of God’s mercy and grace. He wrote from deep in his heart, words that resonate for us today

Depth of mercy! Can there be mercy still reserved for me? Can my God his wrath forbear—Me, the chief of sinners, spare? I have long withstood his grace, long provoked him to his face, would not hearken to his calls, grieved him by a thousand falls. Now incline me to repent; let me now my sins lament; now my foul revolt deplore, weep, believe, and sin no more. There for me the Savior stands, holding forth his wounded hands; God is love! I know, I feel, Jesus weeps and loves me still.

The First Sunday in Lent 2010 – February 21

William B. Collyer (1782-1854) wrote the following hymn, one that seems appropriate for this Lenten season and the invitation to return to God

Return, O wanderer, return, and seek an injured Father’s face; Those warm desires that in thee burn were kindled by reclaiming grace.

Return, O wanderer, return, and seek a Father’s melting heart; His pitying eyes thy grief discern, his hand shall heal thine inward smart.

Return, O wanderer, return; Thy Savior bids thy spirit live; Go to His bleeding feet and learn how freely Jesus can forgive.

Return, O wanderer, return, and wipe away the falling tear; ‘Tis God who says, “No longer mourn;” “Tis mercy’s voice invites thee near.

In the Book of Common Prayer, USA, 20th Century Alt., we find this prayer:

Almighty God, your blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan. Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations. And, as you know the weakness of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Our mothers and fathers found great comfort and heard the call to return to God when this hymn by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871) was sung. Perhaps we, also, have gone to the altar when we heard this hymn.

Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am! Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because The promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Transfiguration Sunday 2010 – February 14

Exodus 34:19-35 and Luke 9:28-36

When we look at the reading from today’s Hebrew text, we find Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai where he has been with God while God gave him afresh the Ten Commandments of the covenant. In fact, Moses spent such a long time in God’s presence that when he returned to the people he reflected God’s own glory. Moses’ face was shining! The people saw his face and were afraid to look at him, but Moses called them and gave them the tablets. Then he veiled his face and kept it that way until he went again to be with God. It was the same way each time; when Moses had told the people God’s word, he again veiled his face. God was never fully revealed.

It was on another mountaintop where Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James and John. They thought they had the knowledge of who Jesus was, but after this time on the mountain, they must have been convinced beyond a doubt. Jesus was transfigured, transformed with God’s glory. His entire being was shining as God. And in that blinding light stood Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. When God’s voice came claiming this shining Jesus as his own, the three disciples knew this was the Messiah, the Christ. God’s glory had come to earth incarnate and revealed in Jesus!

In II Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul talks about the veil that Moses wore. He speaks of the only true way to see God completely- to allow Christ into our lives. He says in the last verse (The Message), “And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

So what does all this mean for us? Poet and Director of Invitational Preaching at the GBOD Safiyah Fosua, has written this: (Copyright 2007 The General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church.)

Lord of the Mountaintop, God of dazzling clothes, be with us when we come down from the height of worship to face a world that didn’t see what we just saw in you. Show us what to do.

When demons rage through elementary schools let it not be said that you disciples could not cast the devil out. When violence threatens to engulf our communities let it not be said that your disciples cowered in fear or walked on the other side of the road. When there is peril or fire or flood, let it not be said that your disciples cleared the unwanted junk from their garages and called it charity…

Lord of the Mountaintop experience, God of dazzling clothes, show us how to be. Change us; transfigure us so that this world might see what we have just seen, and worship you. Amen.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight, and all the twinkling starry host: Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast. (United Methodist Hymnal #189)

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 2010 – February 7

Isaiah 6:1-13 and Luke 5:1-11

I saw the Lord! We can wonder how Isaiah felt when he realized what was happening to him. Was he shaking? Weeping? Breathless? Later he made an amazing attempt to describe the experience, but no words could ever be adequate to describe actually seeing the Lord God and all God’s angels. The Temple filled with smoke and the foundations shook, and Isaiah was overcome with his own unworthiness. “I am a man of unclean lips and I live with a people of unclean lips”, he said. An angel flew to him with a burning coal from the altar fire, touched his lips and told him his guilt was gone and his sin departed. Could Isaiah even stand at this point? He had experienced God’s forgiveness! And now there was more. God’s voice called him to service and Isaiah responded, “Here am I; send me!” The verses that follow seem strange to us for they seem to tell Isaiah the result of his preaching as if it were the purpose of it. God did not intend to stop his people from repenting, and sent Isaiah out with the express purpose of saving them from judgment. The prophet’s message is clear, but the people would not listen and would not turn back to the Lord. The nation would be destroyed and the people taken captive. It is not a bright picture! It is only in verse 13 that we have a tiny hint, just a glimpse of a new beginning. God is good and merciful.

What in the world does a story about a big catch of fish have in common with Isaiah’s experience in the temple? Plenty! Matthew and Mark simply record Jesus’ call to the fishermen to follow him. Luke tells a story that shows this was not just a casual contact. Jesus was already known to Simon Peter, James and John as a teacher and healer. He had already healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and had taught there in Capernaum, so it was no surprise that Jesus asked Simon Peter to use the boat as a pulpit. But it seemed ridiculous to them that he asked them to go to deep water and fish when they had been trying unsuccessfully all night. (Fishermen still fish that lake at night,) When they had such huge success that they had to call in help, Peter realized that this man was more than just a man. And, like Isaiah, Peter realized his own uncleanness in the presence of the divine. Peter saw the Lord and fell at God’s feet! When Jesus made the call to Simon Peter to fish for people instead of fish, Peter went immediately. And so did James and John, for they were amazed at what had happened.

So what do we learn from these stories? God shows God’s self when there is something big about to happen. God calls people to do those big things. God equips when God calls. God uses even unclean and ordinary people to spread God’s word. Here am I; send me.

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place in earth’s harvest fields so wide, where I may labor through life’s short day for Jesus, the crucified. So, trusting my all unto thy care, I know thou lovest me! I’ll do thy will with a heart sincere, I’ll be what you want me to be. I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, over mountain, or plain or sea. I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord, I’ll be what you want me to be. (Cokesbury Hymnal)

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany 2010 – January 31

Jeremiah 1:4-10 and I Corinthians 13:1-13

“How could this be happening to me?” We can almost hear Jeremiah saying that to himself as he heard the Lord speak to him. There can be no doubt that Jeremiah knew the message was from God, for through all the 52 chapters of this writing “the word of the Lord came to me” is like a refrain running from first to last.

Jeremiah lived in a time of political upheaval. Countries were coming into new power and asserting it militarily. Because Jerusalem had been spared destruction a century earlier there was a dogmatic belief amongst the people that they were invincible. Into this turbulent, changing, atmosphere Jeremiah was called to warn his people that their own sin and stubbornness would destroy them. His own people refused to face the realities of the changing world; Jeremiah’s life and ministry were greatly affected and shaped by this.

He calls himself a boy in these opening verses, but scholars think he may have been an older adolescent, perhaps in his early twenties. At any rate Jeremiah was reluctant to take up this mission on which God was sending him. God told him that it was planned from the beginning for Jeremiah to be a prophet, even from when he was in the womb. God dismisses Jeremiah’s objection that he cannot speak because of his youth and inexperience and says to him, “Do not be afraid of them”, “I am with you”, “I have put my words in your mouth”. Then God defines the mission for his newly called prophet. He is to “pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” That was a heavy load, and for over forty years Jeremiah carried it faithfully, even though he objected strenuously. His suffering at the hands of stubborn and mean people has been compared to the passion of Jesus. Jeremiah became convinced that sometime, somewhere there had to be a new beginning where God would reveal him/herself as a compassionate, loving God

Paul has written a letter to address squabbles in the Church at Corinth, first speaking to them of moral issues and answering questions regarding proper behavior. Then he goes on to speak of spiritual issues. He tells them that all their arguing over who has the most important spiritual gift from God shouldn’t be what they strive for. The most important gifts are faith, hope and love and the most important is love. Without love everything is raucous and loud and empty. It is this great hymn of love that we have all heard, at least in part, and many of us know by heart. This portrait of Jesus himself must be what Jeremiah yearned for.

Sent by my Lord, on you I call; the invitation is to all. Come, all the world! Come, sinner, thou! All things in Christ are ready now. (United Methodist Hymnal #339)

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany 2010 – January 24

Psalm 36:5-10 and John 2:1-11

The setting of the story from the Gospel of John is a village wedding to which Jesus, his disciples and his mother, Mary, have been invited. Some other ancient accounts say that it is the wedding of Salome’s (Mary’s sister) son. That would make the bridegroom Mary’s nephew and Jesus’ cousin. Mary seems to be in charge of some arrangements, maybe the food and drink, as attested by her caring about the lack of wine and also, by her authority to order the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. In the Middle East, hospitality was very important and the family would be greatly embarrassed if they ran out of wine. The way Jesus speaks to Mary in this story seems very harsh and disrespectful to our ears, but in fact, is exactly the opposite in Jesus’ time. It is as if Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry about those things; you don’t quite understand, but I do and my hour of revelation has not yet come. “ Remember, Jesus and his mother shared a secret that only they knew. Jesus was far more than a person having fun at his cousin’s wedding. In him was the Divine Christ.

In ancient Palestine, a wedding was an enormous occasion. The wedding vows took place late in the evening and the couple and guests would then celebrate with food and drink and visiting for the rest of the week. It is important to remember here that the writer John was writing for Jews, but also wanted the Greeks to understand and believe. Every word had a meaning and John used them masterfully to speak to both Jews and Greeks. The large stone water pots were in virtually every Jewish home. An observant Jew would wash his feet on entering a home and wash his hands before and after a meal and between each course. Each held twenty or thirty gallons of water. If we calculate it at the most, the jars would hold 180 gallons of wine. No party, no individual would need that much wine. Perhaps John was saying that when the grace of Christ comes to us, there is enough and then to spare for all. No need on earth can exhaust the grace of Jesus Christ; there is a beautiful and glorious abundance, superabundance. Thanks be to God.

“Got water?” Water is the very basic need for life; without it we die. With it we can thrive. Wine is a symbol of abundant living. Remember how John wrote that Jesus called himself the “Living Water”? The Psalmist speaks of God as the “fountain of life”. If we have a relationship with Jesus then that “water” lives in us. If we allow him to work in us and change us to be like him, our life can become bubbling and moving, alive with possibility and new things, just like wine. The Gospel says much more than just telling a story of a wedding. This event was the first of the “signs” or miracles recorded in John. It was something Jesus did as a kindness for his family, to keep them from being embarrassed, but it was also the beginning of Jesus revealing his glory.

Now Jesus lived and gave his love to make our life and loving new; so celebrate with him today and drink the joy he offers you, that makes the simple moment shine and changes water into wine. (United Methodist Hymnal #642)

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany 2010 – January 17

Isaiah 62:1-5 and Luke 4:14-30

Do you remember the song “They’ll Know We are Christians by our Love”? There is a passage in Isaiah that says “…all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.” Do we live as blessed people? Do we act as if we love our Lord God? Do we take our covenant with the Lord seriously? Do we listen to what Jesus said and take that as our guide? The questions may give us pause.

When Jesus entered the synagogue it was a place with which he was very familiar. It was the habit for the president or leader of the synagogue to choose someone of repute to read the scripture of the day and then to lead a question and answer teaching session. The Temple in Jerusalem was the only place of sacrifice and teaching and prayer was the synagogue’s function. Jesus had been teaching in other synagogues around Galilee and was being praised by everyone, and so this day he was chosen to lead the service of teaching scripture. He read from the prophet Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Now that wasn’t all Isaiah had to say, but it seemed to be enough for Jesus to make his point. He closed the scroll and sat down to begin teaching. (sitting to teach was another custom.) He began to say to them that the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing. This seemed fine and dandy to them. He was a hometown boy and he was beginning to build a good reputation, so they were amazed and thrilled with what came out of his mouth—for a while.

Jesus then talked in a way that was very strange to them. He talked about God, their very own God, showing favor and help to those who were from other lands and who were not believers. It had not angered them that he had claimed God’s anointing, but now they were furious, for, after all, wasn’t the Lord’s favor for they who were chosen and they alone? It angered them so much they tried to drive him over a cliff.

Jesus made it clear that good news is to be preached to the poor as well as the rich. He said it with his actions as well as his words that day. He told people who were imprisoned with chains and who were imprisoned with sin that God can save them. He healed blind people and those who could not see because of how they lived, and let them know God’s mercy and grace was for them also. He taught people to praise God by loving people, all people. Jesus never changed his story, God’s story, God’s good news, that we all belong to God as precious, beloved children. That means we are to treat one another as brothers and sisters.

When we look back at the history of Christianity, we see much of which to be ashamed. In the name of Christ, we have enslaved people, murdered people, treated people as less than we. There have been those who showed the way for us to follow, Isaiah, Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. Do others know that we are Christians by our love?

Bind us together, Lord bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together in love. (The Faith We Sing #2226)

Baptism of the Lord 2010 – The First Sunday after the Epiphany – January 10

Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-22

We are part of a family. It’s true. We are part of God’s family and it is a big and good family. In the United Methodist Book of Worship we read, “The Baptismal Covenant is God’s word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace, and our word to God, promising our response of faith and love.” In other words, we are accepted as part of the family, the church. At some point we declare where we want our membership to be held, but at the point of our baptism , God is acting and through the action we become a member of the family of God. God wants us! God loves us!

Isaiah chapters 40-55 are considered to have been written by the “compassionate” Isaiah. The prophet here expresses God’s love for people, God’s connection to us. Isaiah tells us what the Lord says to us and these are truly words of comfort. We are told that God calls us from every direction on earth because we are precious and beloved. We are told not to fear, for God is with us through every disaster that may befall us. This was written during the time of the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people and is meant to comfort and reassure the people that they will be released. The words have enormous meaning for us today as we face captivity by the sins and cares that bind us. God created us! God claims us! God saves us!

It was clear that God had the ultimate relationship with Jesus when Jesus was baptized by John. We have a difficult time understanding why Jesus needed to be baptized. He wasn’t a sinner and John’s call was to repent from sin and be baptized. And yet, perhaps there was reason for him to go publicly to the river Jordan and ask John to baptize him. John knew deep in his soul that this man was God’s Messiah and that he had been called to be his forerunner. This baptism declared that Jesus was the one. Jesus, the man, came to go under the water just like all of us. He “died” in the water just like all the others who came before and all who come after. He was born again to his particular earthly ministry, the one to which he was called. And God did indeed act in this covenant. God’s glory descended on this earthly/divine son in bodily form like a dove. And God spoke in affirmation of what Jesus was doing and names him, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” God in Jesus, God incarnate, God manifest. In Jesus, God’s Glory is present, so present that in just three years that Glory chose to be led down to death and then to rise again to new life, just as is symbolized in baptism.

Because of the Baptism of our Lord, we also go down to the water. We know that heaven will be opened for us and love will pour down upon us and be made manifest through us. God names us then as one of the Lord’s own family and tells us that we are loved and accepted and called. Praise God!

Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; one Lord, one faith, one source of every merit. Here now renew your church through this water given; grant peace from heaven. (United Methodist Hymnal #604)

Epiphany Sunday 2010 – January 3

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

We three kings of Orient are, we sing. And yet, do we really know who these wise men were and why they would come seeking a Jewish baby born to be a king? Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David and it was through David’s line that the Jews expected the Messiah to be born. When Herod’s census called Mary and Joseph to go to the city of their ancestors, it was to Bethlehem they went because they were of David’s lineage. The Jews had long looked to Bethlehem as the place from where the Messiah would come. The prophets had spoken of it and the people expected it. And the wise men? They were named Magi, which is difficult to translate. Some ancient writers speak of them as Medes. Medes were part of the Persian Empire and at one time had tried to overthrow the Persians, but failed. The Magi became part of the Persian society as the teachers and instructors to the king and the priests of the Persian people. They were gifted in dream interpretation and astrology and no doubt knew all about the Jewish scriptures and beliefs. At their best, they were good and holy men, who sought truth. We do not know exactly which heavenly body they followed, (there were several possibilities) but we know they believed there was something special at the end of their journey. In the world at this time there was a strange yet abiding feeling that the one who would rule the world would come out of Judah and this might have driven the Magi on their very long trip.

The wise men are surrounded by legend. We have no idea how many they were and yet somehow we see them as three. The Isaiah prophecy for today speaks not only of the flocks of sheep that will attend God’s “Light”, but also speaks of multitudes of camels that shall bring gold and frankincense. We do not know if there were multitudes that came, but it seems likely there may have been more than three for the trip would have been dangerous for such a small group. One ancient writer spoke of at least twelve along with all their servants and animals. These Gentile men came to pay homage to God’s own light, God’s own Jewish Son named Jesus. They brought him gold for a king, frankincense for a priest and myrrh for the sacrificed Jesus, our Savior.

Matthew, the Gospel writer, was very interested in demonstrating that all the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus, and that, therefore, he must be the Messiah. He would have been familiar with Isaiah and with our Chapter 60. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” are words to remember as we look for the light in our own lives.

And where does Herod fit into this story? Herod the Great has many stories about himself that take whole books to tell. In this story it seems obvious that he was one who was living in great darkness of soul and great darkness of intent towards others. Perhaps that is why God sent the wise men another way, for Herod never intended to see this light of God. He feared it as he feared coming out of his darkness. Herod was a sad, sick man and did not want the Son of God who came to save us all, even Herod.

From a distant home the Savior we come seeking, using as our guide the star so brightly beaming. Lovely eastern star that tells us of God’s morning, heaven’s wondrous light, O never cease thy shining! Glory in the highest to the Son of Heaven, and upon the earth be peace and love to all. (United Methodist Hymnal #243)

The First Sunday of Christmas 2009 – December 27

Luke 2:41-52

It was Passover time in Jerusalem. Passover was one of three compulsory feasts for adult males to attend, at least those within fifteen miles of the city. Those who lived at greater distances made every effort to come at least once in their lifetime and often more. This was Jesus’ twelfth year and it was in that year that every Jewish boy became a man in the eyes of Jewish law. Now as a son of the law, it was natural that Jesus would go to partake in what was most likely his first Passover Feast. We can only imagine the sights and sounds and smells of the experience. As a first-timer, Jesus must have been fascinated.

It is a long walk from Nazareth in Galilee to Jerusalem in Judah, about 65 miles south. Because so many would travel to the city, the journey was done in caravan with the women and children walking ahead of the faster men. They would meet up at the evening halt. It was very likely how Jesus, Mary and Joseph traveled and so it was not unusual that Jesus would not be missed. Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary thought that Jesus was with Joseph and the adult men. It must have been a frantic recognition that occurred when they realized Jesus was not with them on the way back home

In the Passover season, it was the custom of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, to meet in public to discuss religious and theological questions. The 71 members of this council came from all the leading groups of Jews, the elders, lawyers, Pharisees and Sadducees. They would likely be seated in groups in the public courtyard around the Temple surrounded by those eager to learn and ask questions. It was in such a situation that Mary and Joseph found their son. The scripture says that this bright and searching boy amazed all who heard him with his knowledge and understanding.

There is one passage in this scripture that stands out vividly. When Mary says to Jesus, “Your father and I have been searching for you with much anxiety,” Jesus replies with a very significant answer. He says to them, “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?” It is the first indication we have from Jesus that he recognizes who he really is. All the early inklings he had, perhaps from hearing the birth stories from Mary and Joseph, came into some clarity for him as he listened in the Temple. He was meant for something special for he was God’s true Son. His parents were confused by what he said, but Mary, who had many memories kept in her heart and mind, kept this one also as a treasure, for this special child of hers was indeed a treasure. We can rejoice with Mary. Thanks be to God!

I know not how that Bethlehem’s Babe
Could in the Godhead be;
I only know the Manger Child
Has brought God’s life to me.
Harry Webb Farrington

The Fourth Sunday of Advent 2009 – December 20

Luke 3:2-20

What do you do to prepare for Christmas? There are so many things to keep us busy as the big day approaches. We make Christmas gift lists. We go to the malls and the stores just to take a look at what’s out there, and then we go again so we can compare prices. We look online for gifts and then we start buying them. We buy in stores and buy via our computer and buy from catalogs. We bake cookies and cakes and casseroles. We buy paper and ribbon and wrap our packages. We put up our decorations and decorate the tree. We go to parties and Christmas concerts. We listen to Christmas songs and carols. Some of us go to church and some of us read and listen to the Christmas narratives. Some of us wait patiently and expectantly for the Christ to come yet again. Whew! It can make us exhausted just to think about it. And yet think what was done for a king’s coming in the time of Isaiah! The Isaiah passage quoted in Luke’s Gospel refers to when a king would visit some of his kingdom and would send a person ahead to make certain the journey was made as easy as possible by smoothing out the rough places. Luke spoke Isaiah’s words here because he believed without a doubt that John was the forerunner of God’s Messiah, the Christ. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we heard about the birth of John? Luke writes that the angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah, John’s father, that his son would make the people ready to meet their Lord. When John was born, the people knew that God’s Holy Spirit was with him, and when Zechariah spoke his prophecy he said of John that he would go before the Lord to prepare his way. What an amazing prophecy!

John certainly seemed to know what role was his, for he preached and baptized in preparation for the Lord’s coming. His was a preaching of repentance, of change of life, of fear of the Lord’s coming if people were not ready. He told the people not to count on being a Jew, a child of Abraham, to save them. He told them very forthrightly that they were to share their money and their food, to be fair and just and honest, to be satisfied and not greedy. This was not what the people were used to hearing and they were confused and asking questions. John stirred up the people so much that Herod the ruler had him arrested and jailed.

In worship, we have been talking about the coming of Jesus Christ for the last four weeks, and yet we must still ask the question, “What do you do to prepare for Christmas?” There is nothing wrong with all of the activities we have listed above, yet are they enough? Does our frantic busyness welcome the Lord, our God and King with the best we have to give? What about doing something for someone in a foreign land? (Think of the three kings) What about doing something for someone in our community? (Think about our community centers and food banks.) What about doing something for someone in our neighborhood? (Think about a lonely person, a hungry person, a sad person) A real welcome for Christ, the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace is one that gives love to those who feel unloved, gives kindness to those who are seldom treated kindly, gives joy to those who are sad and lonely, that helps make the rough places of life smooth. A real welcome tells and lives the Good News to those who so very much need to hear it. Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall? ‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story! ‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory; at his feet we humbly fall, crown him, crown him Lord of all. (United Methodist Hymnal #190)

The Third Sunday of Advent 2009 – December 13

Luke 1:25-55

We are at a place in our storytelling and story hearing that is full of wonders. The writer Luke shows that God is intimately involved in all the events that lead up to the birth of Christ. Last week we heard a dramatic, spiritually charged encounter between a priest of the Lord and the angel of the Lord. The angel told the priest, Zechariah, that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son after many year of childlessness. This son was to be named John and he would be voice heralding the coming of the Messiah, or Christ. It was a stunning event and we heard of the dramatic muting of Zechariah’s voice until after the birth. Six months after the encounter with Zechariah, the angel Gabriel has another encounter and this is where our story opens today.

This is a story told from a woman’s viewpoint and it celebrates the wonder and joy that two women have taken in knowing that the Lord has been working in their lives. Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she has been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. This is a breathless moment and we can imagine how a young girl must have felt to hear such. She asks how this will happen and the angel tells her that God’s Holy Spirit will come upon her and the child will be conceived. Mary simply accepts the news as the Lord‘s will. She is soon on the road to visit her kinswoman, Elizabeth, who is in her sixth month of pregnancy. Elizabeth greets Mary as if both she and her baby are greeting the Lord God. She speaks a beautiful blessing that recognizes the roles both she and Mary are playing in this incredible story. Mary responds to Elizabeth by singing a song of praise to the Lord, a song that is full of Old Testament echoes, especially of the song of Hannah from I Samuel 2. Mary must have known and loved many of these words from her childhood and she sang them in this glorious song to her Lord who had gifted her with this baby. This baby was to be the Son of the Most High. He would be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Savior, the Prince of Peace. One wonders how this very young woman could take in all of this.

In Luke’s writings the Lord comes within the everyday activities of the people of God. Dr. Norman Beck, a Lutheran writer, scholar and pastor, once wrote something that inspired what follows. During the early decades of the 21st Century, while Barack Obama was President and Ted Strickland was Governor of Ohio, within a local congregation, the Lord God came to a woman stricken with cancer and sustained her and her family in their grief. The Lord came to a man who had terrible difficulties at home, but lived faithfully and in service to God. The Lord came to a girl who lived in a world of violence, and yet who found a safe haven in a family called Grace Church. And the Lord was born here and the angels in the choir sang “Glory to God in the Highest” and the shepherds in the congregation told and lived the story and Jesus was Savior, Christ and Lord among all of them.

My soul gives glory to my God. My heart pours out its praise. God lifted up my lowliness in many marvelous ways. (United Methodist Hymnal #198)

The Second Sunday of Advent 2009 – A Service of Lessons and Carols – December 6

The United Methodist Book of Worship contains a prayer for use in an Advent Service of Lessons and Carols. It reads like this:

Beloved in Christ, as we await the great festival of Christmas,
    let us prepare ourselves so that we may be shown its true meaning.
Let us hear, in lessons from Holy Scripture,
    How the prophets of Israel foretold
        That God would visit and redeem the waiting people.
Let us rejoice, in our carols and hymns,
    that the good purpose of God is being mightily fulfilled.
Let us celebrate the promise that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
    Will bring all peoples and all things
        into the glory of God’s eternal kingdom.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk,
    the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear,
    the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
But first, let us pray for the world that God so loves,
    for those who have not heard the good news of God,
        Or do not believe it:
For those who walk in darkness and the shadow of death;
    And for the Church in this place and everywhere,
        that it may be freed from all evil and fear
        and may in pure joy light up the light of the love of God.

It is exciting, almost overwhelming to think about God’s Glory being revealed to us at Grace Church. The prophet Isaiah tells us there will be great preparation for the arrival. Even the earth will be made smooth and level in anticipation of a king. Isaiah further tells us that this king will be a child who will reign on the throne of David and have his own kingdom, will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He will uphold justice and righteousness. Micah tells us that God’s ruler will be born in Bethlehem and will be a peaceful shepherd for his kingdom. These prophecies are fulfilled when the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will have a baby and his name should be Jesus. Then from the Gospel of Luke we hear of the birth, a manger, a star, angels and shepherds. The ancient story has been told again and we are again blessed. This second Sunday in Advent, prepare yourselves and your hearts for the biggest and truest story God has ever told for us. Sing our carols and hymns to God! Our Redeemer is born! Thanks be to God!

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light, and usher in the morning; O shepherds, shrink not with affright, but hear the angels warning. This child, now weak in infancy, our confidence and joy shall be, the power of Satan breaking, our peace eternal making. (United Methodist Hymnal #223)

First Sunday in Advent 2009 – November 29

Luke 1:5-25, 57-66

Zechariah was a priest of the temple in Jerusalem. Both he and his wife Elizabeth were descendents of Moses’ brother, Aaron. Every male descendent of Aaron was automatically a priest, and that meant there were way too many priests for ordinary purposes. We are told that there could have been 20,000 in all and, in each of the 24 sections into which they were divided (Zechariah was in the Abijah section), there were up to one thousand priests. Imagine all of them wanting to serve in the temple! Imagine Grace Church with 20,000 clergy! Usually a priest got to serve two one-week terms during each year. If he got to burn the incense, it was a really big deal and would maybe happen only once in his lifetime. This was Zechariah’s time, a thrilling, heady time!

But Zechariah had long- time concerns on his mind and no doubt he took this opportunity to set them before the Lord. He and Elizabeth had no children despite many years of marriage. The Rabbinic law said that there were seven types of persons who could be excommunicated and one of them was a man who had a wife but no children. Here were two extremely devout persons who were in great need of help from the Lord! And so Zechariah prayed, and the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that he and Elizabeth would have a son who would be named John, would be consecrated to God, and would turn the hearts of many people to the Lord. Zechariah could hardly believe his ears. Gabriel told him he would be mute until these things occurred. We can imagine that Zechariah was in a daze when he left the sanctuary. In fact, when he could not even speak, all those around knew he must have experienced a vision. He went home after his week of service and some time thereafter Elizabeth was pregnant.

Elizabeth gave birth to a son and the neighbors and relatives rejoiced, giving credit to the Lord for the great mercy shown to her. The baby was eight days old and it was time to take him to the temple to be circumcised and named. Everybody wanted to name him Zechariah, Jr. because this baby’s birth was a big deal indeed for his father! But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John.” ‘What do you mean, John? That’s not a family name. We want him to be named after his father!’ They went to the father and he wrote on a tablet that the boy’s name was John. And immediately, Zechariah’s tongue was loosened and he could and did praise God. The effect was amazing, for everyone was talking about this event and they were wondering what God had in mind for little John. They couldn’t imagine what was ahead for him and for all of them. God works miracles for us. The forerunner had come and Christ was on the way! Thanks be to God!

Blessed be the God of Israel, who comes to set us free, who visits and redeems us, and grants us liberty. The prophets spoke of mercy, of freedom and release; God shall fulfill the promise to bring our people peace. Now from the house of David a child of grace is given; a Savior comes among us to raise us up to heaven. Before him goes the herald, forerunner in the way, the prophet of salvation, the harbinger of day. (United Methodist Hymnal #209)

Christ the King (The Reign of Christ) Sunday 2009 / Thanksgiving Sunday – November 22

Joel 2:21-27 and John 18:28-37

“Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice, for surely the Lord has done great things.” This part of the writings of the prophet Joel includes this wonderful response the Lord gives when the people look to God and rend their hearts. After their plea to remember and care for the people, this is what God says to them. “Be not afraid” for the Lord will care for the land, the animals and plants. God will send rains that bring abundant harvests. God recognizes that there have been years of locusts and drought, but there now will be years of plenty. God has worked wonders for the people; there is no other God and the people will praise God. What a wonderful word picture of what God has done for us! Our land, even when in great need and suffering, will be restored. God remembers us! Sing praises to God! God is great and worthy to be praised! Let us give thanks.

This Thanksgiving Sunday in our land is also Christ the King Sunday in the church. It is the Sunday when we remember how Christ reigns over all of the world and the heavens. It is the Sunday that ushers in the time of Advent when we remember the birth of Christ the King. In the Gospel of John, chapter 18, we find Jesus being taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, in Pilate’s headquarters in Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus declares what kind of king he is and what his kingdom is like. He declares to Pilate and all assembled that his kingdom is not from this world. What does that mean? It means that Christ’s kingdom did not begin with nor does it live with what the world does. Things like greed, evil, hatred, warfare, envy, malice, and all else that makes us live like less than God wants us to live do not belong in Christ’s reign. All earthly rulers are caught in the midst of these lesser attributes. Where Christ reigns there is love, joy, peace, hope and above all truth. What Christ tells us is truth. The way Christ lived with us on earth was true. The way Christ can live in our hearts now is true. When Christ lives in our hearts we know the love, joy, peace and hope that God wants to give us. All we need to do to live with the truth of Christ is to accept him, allow him into the center of our very being. It is true for Jews and for Gentiles, for people of any race or ethnicity, for women or men, for gays or for straights, for old people or young children, for poor or rich. Jesus Christ the King is a king for all. His Kingdom offers all the best of living to everyone. On this day let us thank and praise God for coming as the Christ to give us a glimpse of Christ’s great Kingdom. Thanks be to God for all blessings.

Seek the Lord who now is present, pray to One who is at hand. Let the wicked cease from sinning, evil-doers change their mind. On the sinful God has pity; those returning God forgives. This is what the Lord is saying to a world that disbelieves. “Judge me not by human standards! As the vault of heaven soars high above the earth, so higher are my thoughts and ways than yours. See how rain and snow from heaven make earth blossom and bear fruit, giving you before returning, seed for sowing, bread to eat. So my word returns not fruitless; does not from its labors cease till it has achieved my purpose in a world of joy and peace.” God is love! How close the prophet to that vital gospel word! In Isaiah’s inspiration it is Jesus we have heard! (United Methodist Hymnal #124) (based on Isaiah 55:6-11)

The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – November 15

I Samuel 1:4-20 and I Samuel 2:1-10

No one can understand the depth of Hannah’s passion unless they, too, have experienced such a yearning as hers. Hannah had no children. She had a good husband, Elkanah, who loved her dearly. She knew the Lord. She seemingly had all she needed. But in a day when a woman’s worth was measured by the fruitfulness of her womb, especially for male children, Hannah felt worthless. It is an empty, lonely place to be. It was made even worse, because Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, had many sons and daughters. Peninnah mocked and derided Hannah because Hannah had no children. This mocking seemed to get worse when Elkanah and the entire family would make their annual pilgrimage to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice. (This was during the days when judges ruled instead of kings and before the large temple in Jerusalem was built.) Elkanah made certain Hannah got a double portion of the sacrificial meat because he loved her so much, but it didn’t help her much. To the echoes of Peninnah’s provoking, Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.

One such time after all the eating and drinking, Hannah rose and went to present herself to the Lord. Eli, the old priest, was sitting at the doorpost of the temple and heard her bitter weeping. She was fervently praying and made a vow to the Lord. “O Lord of Hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant and remember me, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. (A nazirite was a consecrated person, one who took vows, perhaps much like a monk.) Eli observed Hannah, who was praying silently. She was so fervent and passionate in her praying that Eli thought she was acting as if she were drunk and he chastised her for it. She begged him to realize she wasn’t drunk, but was deeply vexed by her situation. Eli told her to go in peace and blessed her by saying, “May the Lord of Israel grant your petition.” When they went back home, Hannah was more at peace and soon she became pregnant with a son. She named him Samuel.

The next year, when they made the annual trip to Shiloh, Hannah did not go. She vowed that she would take Samuel there when he was weaned, and there she would consecrate him to the Lord for all time. When he was three, Hannah took him and prayed to the Lord, acknowledging the Lord’s remembrance of her. She gave Samuel to the Lord for all of his life and left him there in the care of Eli. Then Hannah prayed, speaking words to remember the Lord’s greatness and faithfulness. She gave all that was dear to her to God, for the Lord had given so much in answer to her prayer. She said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory. There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God”. Hallelujah!

What gift can we bring, what present, what token? What words con convey it, the joy of this day? When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing, what song can we offer in honor and praise? Give thanks for tomorrow, full of surprises, for knowing whatever tomorrow may bring, the Word is our promise always, forever; we rest in God’s keeping and live in God’s love. (United Methodist Hymnal #87)

The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – November 8

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 and Mark 12:38-44

In the twelfth chapter of Mark we find Jesus strolling around the temple from place to place teaching his followers in the manner of the best-qualified rabbi. He wasn’t, of course, but was a carpenter from the north with no formal training in the law. It is no wonder that the religious “professionals” were constantly questioning his authority. On this day there were Herodians and Pharisees, Sadducees and the scribes (religious lawyers) hounding him with questions. His answers in general amazed them. Jesus had made a point to the scribes about David’s relationship to the Christ and they may or may not have understood the teaching. Jesus went on, to the delight of the crowd, to tell them that the scribes with their long, flowing robes (denoting someone notable), their love of being addressed as a noble, their places of honor at feasts or in the synagogues, and their long-winded very public prayers said to impress others was not God’s way. Jesus rebuked that behavior strongly. Perhaps the worst behavior was reflected in those few words, “They devour widows.” Certain religious professionals felt themselves so superior in religious law-keeping that they would easily convince women, particularly the vulnerable widows, to give all their money to keep the scribes in comfort, in hopes of gaining heaven. It was a disgusting practice and Jesus said they would be condemned for all their practices. He then sat down by the Treasury area where there were 13 trumpet shaped collection boxes each designated for a separate use in the temple. All kinds of people were throwing in their offerings, some quite large. When Jesus saw a poor widow throwing in two coins, the smallest in the land, he said she had given everything she had. This widow was not used, but was elevated above those who would use her.

Ruth was also a widow. She and her widowed mother-in-law were at the mercy of a male dominated society. Ruth had already shown just how much she was ready to give for this woman she loved; she had left her homeland of Moab, despised by the Jews, and loyally gone with Naomi to the land of the Jews which was Naomi’s home. Ruth knew that she could be treated badly there. It was the law of the Jews that the next of kin male would take care of the widowed women. If they didn’t marry them they would try to find husbands for them. Naomi has been planning a way for them to survive. She has spotted Boaz who seems to be second in line as kin. He also seems to be known as a good man. Ruth has been scavenging food for them in Boaz’s fields and he has graciously allowed her to continue and has even made certain she had enough. This is when Naomi’s scheme comes into play. Ruth goes to the field at night where Boaz is sleeping, uncovers his “feet” and lays down there. The term “uncovered his feet” meant she made a sexual overture. She offered herself wholly and completely to this good man, hoping she would be accepted as his wife. He assured her that he would accept her offering, but could not ask her to be his wife until the first of kin had declined. You can read of his decline and of how Ruth and Boaz were blessed by the people and by God. In Ruth and Boaz’s baby, Naomi had a male heir to carry on the lineage of her husband. He became the grandfather of David.

What do these two stories tell us? They say that true giving is sacrificial. Real generosity gives until it hurts. They tell us of just how much God can do with true sacrificial giving whether it is two mites or a person’s very life. They tell us that, tragically, we usually hold back something from Christ.

Give of your best to the Master; give him first place in your heart; Give him first place in your service, consecrate, every part. Give, and to you shall be given; God his beloved Son gave. Gratefully seeking to serve him, give him the best that you have. (Cokesbury Hymnal)

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – November 1 – All Saints Day

John 11:32-44 and Revelation 21:1-6

“O, I’m Goin’ Up to Glory” was sung by the choir several weeks ago in worship. We’re all hoping we will someday get to glory. We can imagine the time when we will be reunited with loved ones, when troubles will be over. O, how we long for such a place and time! To bask in the glory of God is something we can only faintly imagine.

The Revelation of the elderly John the apostle was written while he was in exile on the Isle of Patmos. His purpose in writing down this vision was to give hope and encouragement to the Christians who were suffering severe persecution for their faith. Today we also read it for hope and encouragement. John confirms that God controls what will happen to the earth. God’s plans are to totally overcome evil and to establish an everlasting kingdom with a new heaven and new earth. In chapter 21 we have a little glimpse of life then. God will dwell with the people, will be with us forever. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things will be gone and all things will be new. Can you even begin to picture what it will be like when we are living with God in God’s glory? Don’t you want to be one of those going there?

In John’s Gospel we read the story of the raising of Lazarus. Read the entire story in John 11 to get the setting of the story. The idea of someone being resurrected from the dead after being four days in the grave is an astonishing story, perhaps almost beyond belief. But the words of Jesus are the most important part of the story. He says to Mary, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God”? He wanted everyone there to get a glimpse of glory, to understand the Jesus is really God’s Messiah, God’s Christ. He wanted them to understand that he is truly the Resurrection and the Life, God’s life! Earlier he had told Martha, “ The one who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The story illustrates much more than the startling raising of Lazarus. It also tells us that if we are dead in our sins and have even become dead to God, we can believe and trust in Jesus Christ and we will experience him as a true Resurrection out of the pit we are in. Jesus is THE Resurrection and THE Life, God’s life. This story tells us to trust that truth, and John’s Revelation shows us just how glorious God’s life is. It is a new, wonderful life for us.

Today as we speak the names of those saints who have passed from this earthly life, and light candles in remembrance, let us celebrate that their new life will be glorious indeed. We will remain faithful on earth, and when our time comes, we will join them in that glory. ALLELUIA! AMEN! If you are dead inside, we invite you to believe what Jesus says. He is the Resurrection and Life. When we trust that, we know that we can live free from that death that comes from guilt and sin. We also know that we will live someday in God’s glory in heaven. Thanks be to God!

Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days; a world without saints forgets how to praise. In loving, in living, they prove it is true: the way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you. (United Methodist Hymnal #708)

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – October 25

Psalm 34:1-8 and Mark 10:46-52

One of the most common ways for a rabbi to teach in Jesus’ day was to walk from place to place with his students crowded around him. He would talk with them as they walked. Jesus and his disciples had been doing exactly that as they had walked from the Galilee region to Judea. It was almost Passover and they had arrived at Jericho, about 15 miles from Jerusalem. Many people were on this main road, for all men were to go to the city to observe the feast, if it was at all possible to do so. Sometimes those unable to go would sit at the roadside to watch and listen to the excitement and the sounds. Bartimaeus may have been one of those sitting wishing he could go. Jesus and his followers were just about to leave Jericho when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing. Bartimaeus had heard of this man. Jesus had been healing people and teaching them and he was the talk of both Galilee and Judea. It was an opportunity that Bartimaeus just had to take. He was determined to get to this Jesus.

Bartimaeus was totally blind, a condition most of us can’t imagine. At this point he felt some hope, had some faith that Jesus could help him. He had only heard talk about Jesus, that he had healed, had done miracles, that he might be the Messiah. When Bartimaeus shouted at Jesus, the people around were embarrassed and hushed him. But Bartimaeus had enough faith, even if built only on hearsay, that he wouldn’t be stopped. The shushing made him shout louder. “Son of David, have mercy on me,” And somehow, in all that noise and hubbub, Jesus heard him and stopped and said, “Call him here.”

The Psalm for today says, “I sought the Lord and he answered me” and “The poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.” Doesn’t that sound like this story? Bartimaeus was so eager to get to Jesus that he threw aside his cloak and got there as fast as possible, and the Lord asked, “What do you want for me to do for you?” The blind man knew exactly what would make his life better. “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus did exactly that while declaring that the blind man’s faith had made him well. Bartimaeus immediately followed Jesus on the way. “O taste and see that the Lord is good” says the Psalmist, “happy are those who take refuge in him.” Bartimaeus was happy, happy enough to choose to follow Jesus gratefully and with loyalty.

On this healing Sunday, this story makes us ask questions: Why was Bartimaeus healed and not others? Are there any such healings now? Would God ever listen to our cries for help and healing? What kind of healing do we really need? The story also teaches us some truths: When we are determined to reach Jesus, he stops and calls us to him. Even if we have only a little knowledge of him, he knows enough of us to care about us. Jesus wants to do something for us that will make our life better and we just need to reach out and take the gift. Thanks be to God for the healing of our hearts and lives, for the promise of eternal joy! Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ!

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain; restore my hope, remove my fear, and bring me peace again. Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take bitterness away; let me forgive as one forgiven and bring me peace today. Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin; dispel the memories of guilt and bring me peace within. Fill me, joy of Jesus; anxiety shall cease, and heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace! (United Methodist Hymnal #262)

The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost 2009 – October 18

Psalm 104:1-13 and Mark 10:35-45

In the story in Mark, Jesus made it very clear to his disciples, James and John, that God has the final prerogative when it comes to assigning places in the Kingdom. The Psalmist certainly was clear on that when this praise psalm was written, for he writes that God is very great and that even the winds, and flames of fire are God’s servants. Even the waters of the earth obey and serve God and will never again cover the entire earth. In other words, God has the final word on the order of things and mere humans shouldn’t second-guess God’s intentions.

In the Gospel, the disciples John and James, who were the sons of a fairly successful fisherman, came to Jesus trying to get a private moment with him. It was all too clear why they didn’t ask this favor in front of the rest once they asked it. They wanted assurance from Jesus that they would be the ones who would sit on either side of his throne when he was seated in heaven at the head of his Kingdom. Jesus asked them if they could drink the same cup he did—in other words, could they live the life that God gave to him. He also asked if they could share the same baptism. The word used here has nothing to do with a regular baptism, but rather means being submerged in an experience. Jesus wanted to know if they could stand to be submerged in hatred and pain and death, as he would have to be. When James and John told him “Yes”, they had no idea what they were saying. We can wonder if they understood a bit more, however, about their request when Jesus told them that decisions regarding places in the Kingdom were not his to make.

Can’t you imagine the buzz amongst the other disciples when they got drift of the Zebedee brothers’ request? “Who do they think they are? Just because their father has money doesn’t make them any better than us! Did you notice how sneaky they were about it all? Are they just trying to grab all the power?” This could have certainly broken their bonds of brotherhood! Jesus went on to say to them that in the Kingdom, greatness was not measured, as it is on earth, by how much power one has over others. Rather than trying to reduce others to be one’s own servants, true greatness means that you will reduce yourself to be a servant to them. Serving is a hallmark of a citizen of the Kingdom of God. God is the only great one and God makes the decisions regarding the greatness of others. Christ himself came not to be served, but to serve. Jesus didn’t ask anything of us that he was not willing to do himself. Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; leave to your God to order and provide; in every change God faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still my soul: your God will undertake to guide the future, as in ages past. Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know the Christ who ruled them while he dwelt below. (United Methodist Hymnal #534)

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – October 11

Exodus 20:1-17 and Mark 10:17-31

The Ten Commandments—we all know about them. Even those who know very little of God know that God gave ten commandments. We have seen them in front of courthouses and carved into buildings. We have heard them argued in the Supreme Court. We have heard them taught in religious classes and in secular settings. Why are the Ten Commandments so important for our life today?

The Ten Commandments were God’s gift to people, a basic ethical norm that was applicable to all people in all ages. The first four concern people’s relationship to God, the remaining six their relationship to one another. As Jesus summarized them, the commandments are all about loving God and loving our neighbor. God made us, and here God lays down the best way of life for us.

In the Gospel of Mark we find Jesus approached by a very emotional young man. He is rich, a good man who has kept the Ten Commandment since his youth. He is the kind of man that most parents would want for their daughter. He has obeyed all the “thou shalt not” commandments, but has failed to understand that he must do FOR others and not just for himself. To understand this man, we need to understand the culture. To the good Jew, wealth was a sign of God’s approval. This man couldn’t understand why he should give up any of his possessions for others. In effect, the man was telling Jesus he wanted the Christian life, but not THAT much. Jesus loved him and was sad that he turned away.

Jesus then looked at his disciples and spoke to them about the difficulty of entering God’s Kingdom. They were very frustrated, for they had all given up much in order to follow Jesus and yet here he told them that nothing they did was enough to earn a place in the Kingdom of God. They were hearing that no one is good enough on his or her own merit to be saved. Whatever can we do, however can we enter God’s Kingdom if the disciples were not good enough? However could anyone reach heaven and dwell with God forever? Jesus told them about God’s grace. “With man it is impossible to be saved, but with God nothing is impossible.” To receive God’s grace any person needs only to believe in it and receive it. Jesus died on the cross as a final sacrifice for all our sins, and God graciously grants each believer the gift of salvation and entrance into God’s Kingdom. We don’t earn it, yet we receive it. Both the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ words direct us to love God for such a gift by obeying the laws laid down as the best way to live,but we will never obey them well enough to earn salvation for ourselves. For that we must depend on God’s Grace. Only Grace.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see God’s face, will you this moment God’s grace receive? Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse with in; grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin! (United Methodist Hymnal #365)

The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – World Communion Sunday – October 4

Psalm 100 and Mark 9:38-50

Truth is bigger than anyone’s mind can fathom. That is what the disciple John forgot when he stopped a man from casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John stopped him because the man wasn’t one of the elite band of the chosen disciples. Thus begins a big lesson about inclusiveness. Jesus says to John not to stop the man, for “Whoever is not against us is for us.” It is a lesson that many Christians forget. There are many ways to love God and many persons who do do.

Today is World Communion Sunday, a day set aside to celebrate the universality of the holy meal instituted by Jesus Christ. Even as we celebrate the day, there are those who call on Jesus’ name who do not allow others to commune, there are those who fuss and fight over how the meal is to be served, there are those who allow church rules to “rule” concerning outsiders at the table. One of the battles the apostle Paul had to fight was to teach the young churches that no one way was correct when it came to partaking of communion. Today’s gospel lesson gives us a look at how Jesus felt about acts of love done in his name, even if not in his style.

It was the common belief in Jesus’ day that demons were the cause of every illness, physical and mental. It was further held that to get rid of these demons, one had to know the name of the demon and call on an even greater name. That is what the man was doing. Jesus rightly defended him, saying that no one who calls on Jesus name could be completely evil. The lesson in tolerance is thus laid forth: There are many ways to God, and no one person has the whole truth about God. It is a lesson easier spoken than lived. Jesus wanted John to know that many persons may invoke Jesus’ name and not do it in the same way the other does, but the God they seek is the same God. The Psalmist in Psalm 100 declared such when he spoke of God’s faithfulness to all people in all generations.

Jesus went on to talk about “cutting off” the parts of us that cause us to do evil. He didn’t mean to literally gouge out an eye or cut off a hand, but to rid ourselves of those aspects of ourselves that cause us to do wrong. Thinking we have the exclusive truth about God is one of those things of which we should rid ourselves. There are many voices who cry out to God and many persons who serve God. There is only one God and that one God is faithful to us and thus listens to the many voices and accepts the many persons. Thanks be to God for God’s grace, bigger than our understanding.

God of many colors, God of many signs, you have made us different, blessing many kinds. As the old ways disappear, let your love cast out our fear. Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways. In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise one Giver, on Lord, one Spirit, one Word known in many ways, hallowing our days. For the Giver, for the gifts, praise, praise, praise! (United Methodist Hymnal #114)

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – September 27

Proverbs 31:10-31; Esther 7:1 - 8:2

The book of Proverbs is a collection of brief sayings by some of the teachers and sages of Israel. It is part of what is called the wisdom literature of the Bible, called that because it focuses on wisdom-- practical decision-making in everyday life. Watching and observing patterns of living has brought about these writings. Loving and listening to God brings about the beginning of wisdom. Loving God and listening also helps us continue in our lifelong search for wisdom.

In today’s scripture from Proverbs we hear a poem about a woman who is well loved and highly respected. She is described as what we would call a modern day “Super Woman”, one who does everything well. This scripture is often used as a love poem to describe a wife, or a mother, or a sister, aunt or sweetheart. But perhaps it is meant in scripture to be Wisdom Woman herself. It describes someone who loves so much and who listens to God so much that all her actions and feelings are good ones, loving ones, serving ones, productive ones. That is a true description of a wise person. It is something to strive to be! The gift of wisdom connects us with God and, in good ways, to each other.

The story in Esther tells of a woman set among an alien people. Add to the problem of dealing with differing customs, she also has the problem of knowing that her Jewish people could be exterminated because the Persians, among whom she lives, have declared war on the Jews. In an earlier story, Esther has found favor with the king and has been made queen. Now, in this story, she uses her connections with the king and the wisdom coming from her faithfulness to her religion and to her father to overcome the evil leader, Haman, and his declaration of war. She stands courageously for what she knows to be the right thing to do, even at the risk of her own death. Her connection with her faith and God helped her be wise in how she dealt with the king and with Haman, and thus, she was able to save the Jewish people.

What do these scriptures mean for us? They tell us that the wise ways to live are the loving ways, the ways that look to God for guidance. They tell us that a person who lives by God’s wisdom becomes a person that others truly love and cherish. They tell us that a person, who lives without God’s wisdom, builds a life filled with hatred, anger and fear. They say that a wise, obedient person can do amazing and good things. Thanks be to God for the gift of wisdom! Thanks be to God for the gift of each other!

O Wisdom on High, by you the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly. Grant us, in all doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that we may be saved from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble. Through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. (From the Book of Common Prayer, USA, 20th century)

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – September 20

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37

We cannot be certain who wrote the letter of James (actually more of an address than a letter), but the most likely candidate is James, the brother of Jesus. He became an ardent follower after he saw the risen Christ and he went on to become the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He speaks here with great authority about Christian conduct.

James says that there should be no discrepancy between faith and works. Real faith shows in how Christians behave. He speaks of taming a tongue that wants to speak evil. This week we hear about what happens when we are envious of others’ status or possessions. James says that the quarrels that happen because of envy and covetousness, boastfulness and ambitiousness are worldly. And he doesn’t mince words about acting worldly. He lays it on the line when he says that this behavior is unspiritual and downright devilish. The wisdom that comes from God is different. God’s wisdom is pure and peaceable and gentle. It is willing to yield, merciful and it bears good fruits. It is not partial or full of hypocrisy. Those who sow their life in God’s peace will yield a righteous life of peace. Now that is straightforward talk! And he doesn’t stop there. James goes on to explain that the conflicts and quarrels we have result in jealous and devilish behavior, an extension of the war we have within ourselves. We want to have good things, but we ask for them selfishly, and so murder and mayhem and all sorts of devilish things result. If one wants to become a friend of the world, (meaning of the devil) one becomes an enemy of God. “Resist the devil,” James says, “and the devil will flee from you. Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.”

The passage from the Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus speaking privately to his disciples. It seems that he wants them to “get it.” He knows they are vague in their understanding of who he really is and he knows his time with them is going quickly. He wants these followers to remember, to know the truth about him and what he teaches. When he speaks bluntly and for the second time of his upcoming betrayal, murder and resurrection, they don’t know what to make of it. Perhaps they just want to avoid such talk. We are told they are afraid to ask questions. Perhaps they are secretly wondering who is going to be the right hand man for such a wonder as a risen rabbi. Envy, envy, envy! It results in a quarrel about who is the greatest among them. They simply ignore the forthright facts about Jesus’ death. Jesus must have given a big sigh. He sets them straight about greatness by telling them that true greatness means putting oneself last and serving others. He goes on to tell them that serving just a little child means welcoming Jesus, and thus God into their lives.

Everything here is right in our face! Choose God first and only. Filter words and actions through a discernment process of whether they are from God or from the worldly, devilish world. Serve others instead of ourselves. The peaceful choice is the Godly choice. God is love! Draw near to God.

To know you in all of your mercy, to serve you with all that I am, with all of my heart, Lord, this is my prayer: To know you more. (The Faith We Sing #2161)

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – September 13

Psalm 19 and James 3:1-12

Listen! The entire creation is telling the glory of God! The Psalmist tells us that everything heavenly is speaking of how glorious God is. We read that from day to day speech is pouring forth from heaven and at night the heavens are declaring the knowledge of God. Really? Can you hear any words? Can you hear voices speak? The writer goes on to acknowledge that we aren’t really hearing voices as we do on earth, and yet, the voice of God’s creation speaks and we can certainly hear all over the world. The voices ring true and are surely acceptable to God, their creator.

The writer goes on to talk about God’s law on earth. It is something to be revered and cherished. It is sweeter to us than honey or gold. It is something to be spoken and held close. By keeping the laws and ordinances the believer’s life will be warmed and rewarded. The Psalmist then goes on to pray about his own sin of not keeping God’s law. “Forgive my secret, hidden sins”, he pleads, and goes on to ask for help in staying away from insolence that could have bad influence on his own behavior and thoughts.

It is at the very end of the Psalm, in verse 14, that the writer gets back to the subject of words. What does God hear from his mouth and heart? Are those words and thoughts acceptable to God and worthy for God to hear, as are the words from God’s heavenly creation? The prayer is a good one for all of us to use each and every day, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

In the letter of James we read about the dangers of not taming our tongues. The writer speaks of the terrible damage and evil that can be done when we allow ourselves to speak inflammatory words. He tells us that we praise the Lord with our tongue and voice and with the same tongue and voice we speak vile, disgusting words that hurt God. “This ought not to be so”, he declares. We are left to think about how we use our own tongue and whether or not we are guilty of filling it with hurtful, ugly words. The prayer of the Psalmist and his vision of pure, heavenly, God-pleasing words are something on which we should dwell daily. Thank you, Lord, for scripture that guides us!

If I have wounded any soul today, if I have caused one foot to go astray, if I have walked in my own willful way, dear Lord, forgive! If I have uttered idle words or vain, if I have turned aside from want or pain, lest I myself shall suffer through the strain, dear Lord, forgive! Forgive the sins I have confessed to thee; forgive the secret sins I do not see; O guide me, love me, and my keeper be, dear Lord. Amen. (Cokesbury Hymnal)

The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2009 – September 6

Proverbs 3:13-23, 33-35 and Mark 7:24-37

One of the characteristics of God is Wisdom -- complete perfect understanding -- complete perfect discernment. We can only hope and pray that we achieve wisdom. Ours will never be perfect as is God’s. But for those who look to God for the gift of wisdom, life will happy and blessed. Having understanding and discernment from God is a gift more precious than the richest treasures of this earth. This gift will keep us from stumbling on our life’s path. We hear some precious words this morning from Proverbs celebrating the gift of wisdom and how we must cherish and nurture it

In this morning’s Gospel Lesson we hear two stories that are really part of just one story. We know that Jesus has been hounded and threatened because he has challenged the traditions of the Jewish people. This story finds Jesus leaving his homeland and going north to the cities of Tyre and Sidon, cities of Phoenicia, which was a part of Syria. Jesus may have gone there to have a respite from the harassment. It is surprising to find him in an unclean, forbidden place, a Gentile land that was so despised by the Jewish people. And despise is not too strong a word. One of the Syrian Kings, Antiochus Epiphanes, was determined to root out the Jewish faith. When the Syrians overran the Jewish lands, the king defiled the sacred temple, killing swine on its altar and allowing the pigs to run rampant. This was against the Jewish law that pigs are unclean. Antiochus Epiphanes declared that all Jews should be forced to eat pork. Most of them would rather die, and indeed many did just that when they refused. The torture, killing and lack of respect for their faith expression left the Jews hating the Syrophoenicians even up to the days of Jesus. When the woman came before Jesus and knelt before him, he must have been a bit suspicious of her. The word “dog” was a term of contempt for the Jews and this story about Jesus using it against the woman is disturbing to the modern-day reader. Some scholars believe Jesus was using the word with a hint of teasing sarcasm. Others believe he was being cautious, testing the woman’s intention toward him. Either way, Jesus seemed satisfied with her answer and he healed her daughter.

This must have been a very long trip many months long, for Jesus went further north to Sidon before he turned back south toward Galilee. When he reached his home region, he stopped on the Gentile side of the lake, called the Decapolis, or Ten Cities. Again he chose to stop and interact with non-Jews. A deaf and mute man was brought to him for healing, and Jesus not only showed compassion for this man who was often outcast, he also treated him with dignity, as a real person, not just a case. In both stories, Jesus has shown that God’s kingdom is open to all, even those who had badly mistreated God’s chosen people. Jesus modeled that all people are chosen to be recipients of God’s love and grace.

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty. For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. (United Methodist Hymnal #121)