Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

A sermon based on Luke 7:36-8:3 (Cumberland Presbyterian Church aka CPC; Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, aka CPCA)

There are so many things that I love about this passage of scripture! I love the amazing act of worship the woman completes, letting Jesus and everyone else present know the extent of her devotion to Christ. I love that Jesus points to the faith of an unnamed woman and says, this is what it looks like to be healed! I love that Jesus takes the important act of a dinner party to turn the expectations of his host on their head.

I had originally planned to address them all, but that sermon would have been entirely too long! And that was before General Assembly.

General Assembly was a wonderful experience, a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones; a chance to see what’s happening in the denomination and celebrate good news; an opportunity to see that Cumberland Presbyterians are not just from one corner of the US but cross international boundaries. GA was all of those things, to everyone who was not on my committee!

I served as the acting Chair of the Committee on Theology and social Concerns/Unification. The long and short of that is, all the hot button issues came through my committee and I was in charge of making sure we came to as close to a consensus as possible.

Oh how I longed to be on the Children’s Home committee, who finished by 2 pm Tuesday. Or even the Stewardship committee who had everything signed by 9 am Wednesday morning. Instead I was chair of the committee that worked until 7:30 Wednesday night and then met again Thursday morning for reviews and edits!

Most of what we dealt with was fairly straightforward. There was an amazing sense of the Holy Spirit at work as we heard about Unification efforts between the CPC and CPCA. I was encouraged by the work being done in both denominations. We read difficult, but wonderful papers on Homelessness, and the churches response and on Discrimination as a justice issue. We talked about their eye opening nature and got very excited about passing them on to the church as a whole.

Two Memorials were brought to us concerning our relationship with other denominations that are often perceived as more liberal than the CPC. These memorials sought to alter our ecumenical relationships. I’ll admit to being nervous about discussing them, but it was obvious that the members of the committee saw clearly that cutting the CPC off from other denominations would be a mistake.

The biggest issue that we dealt with came from a resolution presented by a commissioner on the floor of GA. It was titled “Resolution of Repentance, Apology, and Resolve” and from the moment it was read it caused a firestorm of conversation, dislike, confusion, and anxiety. The resolution named many acts throughout the history of the CPC denomination that have oppressed, hurt, damaged our brothers and sisters in the CPCA church, including allowing the division of the two churches in an effort to maintain a “separate but equal” kind of church.

And as I stood there, listening to whispers of outrage around me, I thought of this scripture.

I saw this known sinner, this unnamed repulsive woman, not fit for polite society, sneak into the room and begin to pour out a sacrifice of thanksgiving at Christ’s feet. I watched her bath his feet with her tears, dry them with her hair. I watched her bowing in front of him with no shame, only gratitude and recognition of the forgiveness she had received.

But all around her were those who couldn’t see the forgiven nature. All they saw was her past, her sin, her unworthiness. They stood their judging her and wondering why Jesus was putting up with her. Simon, the host of the party, even puts Jesus down for allowing her to touch him at all.

 And then we hear Jesus’ words. ““Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little. This phrase doesn’t mean that Simon, or any of the other Pharisees present that night had not sinned, or had sinned very little. It means that they had been forgiven little, because they had not realized their need for forgiveness. They could not appreciate the joyous worship of this woman, because they themselves were blind to their own need for repentance, for apology, for forgiveness.

As my committee considered this resolution, this uncomfortable resolution I heard many things. I heard “It’s not my fault their denomination faces prejudice.” “I didn’t have slaves.” “As far back as we can find on my family tree we never owned slaves.”  “I don’t benefit from anything that happened so long ago.”

I also heard “I am glad to read these words.” “A recognition and apology from this church are long overdue.” “I am humbled by the realization that I have benefitted from the sins of those who came before me.”

As a committee we bowed before God together. Some of us on our knees, we asked for guidance, for open hearts, for God to work even if we made the wrong choices. Then we came back together and voted to send the resolution on to a permanent committee, because we didn’t have faith that our fellow CPC members would be able to see what we had eventually all seen. We didn’t trust that others would agree that we needed to offer this apology. That we needed to open ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt and recognize that things are not as they should be, and promise to try our best to do better.

We asked the GA to pass it along. We were wrong. But thank God, that God is faithful. Thank God my friends that God listens to and answers prayers. We asked God’s will be done, even if we had made the wrong recommendation. And it was.

From the floor of GA came the request to pass the resolution. From the other members came the challenge to apologize to our brothers and sisters. And together we asked for forgiveness from God and from the CPCA.

Together we bowed at the feet of Jesus. Together we humbled ourselves in an act of service. Together we took the position of servant, a place that others might look down on us for being, and we thanked Jesus for forgiving us.

Our eyes were opened to the sins that have lingered, and we can rejoice in our forgiveness. We can offer love from a place of humbleness. And we can commit to going forward building relationships one on one and denomination wide.

 “Let it be resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the many ways we have benefited from, participated in, condoned, and been blind to our role in racism, oppression of our African American brothers and sisters, and all forms of brutality; and be it further

Resolved, That the Cumberland Presbyterian Church apologize to our African American brothers and sisters, seek their forgiveness, and work to restore the broken relationships our sin has caused; and be it further

Resolved, That the Cumberland Presbyterian Church commit itself to preach the Word of God without compromise, and that we resolve to “oppose, resist, and seek to change all circumstances of oppression-political, economic, cultural, racial, by which persons are denied the essential dignity God intends for them in the work of creation (COF 6.30). We seek to promote reconciliation, love and justice among all persons, classes, races, and nation” (COF 6.32)

May it be so, may it be so.

(full text of resolution printed below.)

Whereas, we Cumberland Presbyterians are considering the call of God to “Go” during this 186th meeting of the General
Assembly; and

Whereas, Jesus sent the twelve with these instructions: “As you go, proclaim the good news. The kingdom of heaven has
come near. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:7-8); and

Whereas, we seek the healing of our divisions as Cumberland Presbyterians; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded in 1810 in Dickson County, Tennessee, USA, and grew rapidly
in a nation that endorsed, participated in, and benefited from the practice of enslaving African men, women and children
who were brought to this nation through the brutal trans-Atlantic slave trade; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was inconsistent in its condemnation of American slavery as an institution
-- an institution that condoned the buying and selling of persons made in the image of God; an institution in which African
American families were often separated, and individuals were beaten and abused in body and mind; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church often condoned the segregation of its African American members into separate balconies, congregations, and classes because of the influence of cultural ideas of racial superiority and inferiority; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church refused to allow its African American members full and equal membership
following emancipation and the end of slavery; organizing instead separate congregations, presbyteries, and other judicatories
that were denied representation in the General Assembly, and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church encouraged and supported the organization of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church in America (originally the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church) in 1874 in order to avoid the difficult work of
integration, and to avoid offending its members who continued to hold fast to ideas of racial superiority; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was complicit in accepting Jim Crow segregation, lynching as a means of social control, economic oppression of freed slaves, and denial of educational opportunities; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America have both suffered
from their separation, a separation that is harmful to the witness of the Church and a denial of our oneness in Christ; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church laments the loss of friendship, gifts and graces from which our life, worship,
witness and service would have been enriched had we not been separated all these years; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church affirms the providence of God, whose purpose it is “that the whole creation
be set free from its bondage to sin and death, and be renewed in Jesus Christ” (COF, 1.15); and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church acknowledges our ongoing need for repentance, so that “In response to God’s initiative to restore relationships, (we) make honest confession of sing against God, (our) brothers and sisters, and all
of creation, and amend the past so far as is in (our) power.” (COF, 4.07); therefore, be it

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the many ways we have benefitted
from, participated in, condoned, and been blind to our role in racism, oppression of our African American brothers and sisters, and all forms of brutality; and be it further

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church apologize to our African American brothers and sisters, seek their
forgiveness, and work to restore the broken relationships our sin has caused; and be it further

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church commit itself to preach the Word of God without compromise, and that we resolve to “oppose, resist, and seek to change all circumstances of oppression -- political, economic, cultural, racial, by which persons are denied the essential dignity God intends for them in the work of creation (COF, 6.30). We seek to promote reconciliation, love and justice among all persons, classes, races, and nations: (COF, 6.32). (Quoted in the Resolution Marking the 50th year since the end of World War II, by Japan Presbytery of the CPC)

Drawing lines

Luke 7:1-10

What is a miracle? At its most basic definition we could say a miracle is something that we cannot understand. For some of us, the sun raising every morning is a miracle. For others who really understand the way the earth rotates may not see it so much as a miracle, but perhaps more of an inevitability. For some bringing home their child is a miracle they long for, and for others bringing home their child is a burden they are afraid to bear.

So much of what we see and experience like running clean water, ipads, instant rice would be miraculous in other settings, but to us its everyday stuff.

Today’s passage is about a miracle, a healing, but what has stood out to me in the study of this passage is the viewpoints expressed surrounding the miracle.

A leader in the Roman army sends word to Jesus asking for the healing of a servant in his household. This doesn’t really seem like much to us, but in Jesus’ day this would have been unusual to say the least. This man for all intents and purposes was the enemy, the occupying force in the Hebrew land. He was a member of the military, not a higher up, but a middle manager who was directly responsible for troops and responsible to his own leader. Nothing on the surface about this man should have granted him access to Jesus or any Jewish Religious leader. On the surface.

When we stop on the surface we struggle to see the true value in some people. When we look only at the outside we deny the possibility of something more, something greater than first glances and quick judgement.

I watched a man run out of Target the other day chasing a woman with her small child. He was in workout wear, not the best kept, but not unclean. He was yelling “Wait, stop” My first thought was not the most generous to the man. I was looking around to see what would happen and I grabbed my phone to prepare to call the police if things took a turn for the worse. The woman seemed hesitant, but turned back to look at him. As he approached her she pulled her child closer and reached for her keys. And that’s when she realized they were not in her pocket, they were in this young man’s hands. She had left them at the checkout in her rush to gather her purchases and her child. He was returning them to her, doing a good deed. And she, and I had at first glance judged that he was someone with less than good intentions.

The centurion in the scriptures was probably expecting a less than stellar response from Jesus, so he sends some people to vouch for him. He, it turns out, has been a supporter of the Jewish people, even going so far as to help with the building or financing of the synagogues.  He wants to put his best foot forward and knows that as someone who had been helpful to the community others will be willing to help him.

But as time draws closer something happens. He sends a delegation to Jesus telling them not to come to his home. He says that he is not worthy of Jesus’ presence and that he knows if Jesus will but speak the words, his servant will be healed.

This raises a lot of red flags for me. Why would he not want Jesus to visit his house? Was he afraid others might see Jesus and word would get back to his commanding officers? Was he afraid of the backlash of having a prominent Jewish teacher in his home? Was the servant who was sick his housekeeper and so his place was a wreck and he was ashamed for Jesus to see it in such disrepair? Why would he suddenly descide that the trip wasn’t worth Jesus’ time?

I’ll admit I’ve let this portion of the scripture bother me too much this week. But in some of my researched I learned something that I had not considered before. Perhaps, just perhaps he was showing grace to Jesus by telling him not to come. If Jesus had entered a gentiles house, the house of the infidel, the enemy, he would have been seen as unclean. There would have been religious and social consequences for this action. This centurion, who had helped build the synagogue would have known some of the purity codes the Jewish people followed. Could he perhaps have wanted to save Jesus the issues surrounding entering his house?

Jesus does not seem to question his motives. In fact, Jesus praises this enemy of Israel saying “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” There is something about this exchange that shows Jesus a faith he has not yet encountered. This man, outside in every since of the word, somehow has a faith that surpasses all of Israel.

Here we find Jesus praising this faith and then healing the servant. The two never meet, never shake hands. Jesus doesn’t touch the servant or give any extra instructions. He is amazed, heals and moves on.

And I’ll admit, this is what troubles me the most about this passage. There is no admonishment to go and sin no more. There are no instructions to sell all you have and follow me. There are no words of calling that come from Jesus’ mouth. Jesus is amazed at this outsiders faith, holds it up to be praised and goes on his way.

I’m not really sure what to do with that. Does this mean that there are those that are not followers of Jesus but might still have the faith that amazes even God? Does God use people from outside the known boundaries to share the gospel? Why would Jesus heal a servant in that household, the household of the oppressors? Was it because the servant was Jewish? And there really are so many more questions that fill my thoughts. And honestly, I have no answers. And that’s okay. Sometimes part of our faith is in the not knowing, in the questioning, in the stretching of our minds and hearts.

The church I learned faith from stretched that faith by participating in Habitat for Humanity frequently. It became one of the go-to churches for the local Habitat leaders as far as seeking volunteers, finances and other efforts. One such effort was a house that they built after 9/11 with the local Mosque and Synagogue called the House of Abraham. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was the church who joined with these two other organizations in providing a home for a family in the area. The relationships that were formed during that time were a testament to real faith. They all asked God’s blessing upon this family and the dwelling being built, and while all three groups met with opposition from members of their own religions they did not pull out of the project, but instead insisted that God was there in that work.

God was there, present, working through these people of faith to give shelter to the homeless, cloth the naked and give food and water to a family in need. Where people had drawn lines, these religious groups boldly stepped across them.

We like to draw lines of in and out, us vs them but as a seminary professor, Dr. Priebe, has said “every time you draw a line between who’s in and who’s out, you’ll find Jesus on the other side.”

I think there is a lot of truth to those words. God’s ways are not our ways. God does not have the same criteria, the same thoughts, the same ways as us, and boy am I thankful for that!

I think at its heart this is a story about grace. Grace shared, by both the centurion and by Jesus. It’s about faith that moves mountains, even the mountains of social norms and expectations. And even with the questions it raises, its value to us as Christians today is tremendous.

May we strive to have the faith of the centurion, faith to step out of what we know and trust in the wildness and unpredictability of God. May we stop drawing lines and instead join Jesus on the outside!

Freedom in Chains

Acts 16 sermon Easter 7 year C

Acts 16 Freedom in Chains

What does it look like to be free? We in America certainly have our own views about freedom. We tend to paint freedom with a brush that leads to financial success and a lack of trials or tribulations of any kind. Here in the south our image of freedom often includes the right to have firearms, to wear or carry a certain flag, to keep others from stepping into our space. We tend to have a limiting idea of freedom. “Your rights end where mine begin,” is not an uncommon phrase. Freedom is only freedom when it benefits us.

In today’s scripture lesson we begin with an instance of freedom. A girl who is doubly enslaved, by an earthly master and a spiritual oppressor stumbles upon Paul an Silas as they are teaching and preaching in the area. Instantly she recognizes them for what they are, truth speakers, those with the words of salvation, those with the knowledge to set people free.

She follows them around for days, scripture tells us and finally Paul has had enough. He is annoyed by her presence. He is annoyed by her words and proclamations and in this annoyance he casts out the demon inside of her. In one way she is set free. But what did this leave her captive too?

In his annoyance, Paul set her free, but seemed to pay no head to what might happen to her in this new found freedom. Just a few verses earlier Paul brings the good news to Lydia, a wealthy merchant woman and then stays at her house, uses it for a base of operations. But this girl, doesn’t get so much as a backwards glance.

In fact, I’m convinced she wouldn’t even have been a footnote in Christian history had she not been of value to someone else. Not emotional value, but financial value.

You see, people haven’t changed too much over the centuries. Mess with our money and we will come and get you! Paul had annoyed the wrong person with his action. He had taken the financial stability of someone else and the marketplace would not stand for that. This poor slave girls life has been dramatically changed, there are real possibilities for healing and restoration, and instead the money people get involved and we witness the marketplace at its worst.

They gather together against Paul and Silas. They were stripped and beaten with rods, then thrown into prison. Things look dark indeed. I find myself wondering if Silas had wished Paul had held his annoyance in a bit better. We don’t have a record of what they said to each other in that prison, with their hands and feet in stocks. But whatever it was encouraged them enough to begin singing songs. And not just any songs, but songs of praise!

Songs of praise in the midst of their imprisonment. Songs of praise with their backs bleeding, skin broken, hands and feet tied. Songs of praise in the midst of the dark. Songs that not only encouraged Paul and Silas, but had an affect on the other prisoners as well.

How do we know that? Because when the earth begins to shake, when the walls begin to crumble, when the shackles fall free, no one, not one prisoner leaves. They all stay put in the midst of calamity, even when they have every opportunity to be set free. Why?

Perhaps because Paul had learned his lesson. This time perhaps Paul thought about the consequences his actions would have on another. This time maybe Paul paused, looked past his own nose and realized that there was much more to be gained by staying.

In staying he saved the life of the jailer, literally. He also led the jailor and his family to Christ.  He showed the love of Christ by thinking of others first, by putting his own needs after those of another person. By living the life Jesus asks us, rather commands us to live. A life that does the unexpected, that loves in unusual and life changing ways.

Sometimes when I’ve heard this text talked about I hear the comments “Wow, that must have been some powerful singing.” And I think it was. It was powerful enough to change the hearts of the prisoners and Paul. Praise can do that, when it is genuine. Paul’s reaction of love leads to freedom for Silas, and leads to the beginning of another house church group in Philippi.

This passage leaves me wondering how I can love in a way that changes lives. How we can all love as Christ called us to love, in unexpected and amazing ways.

There is a well-known story that Tony Campolo shares about a speaking engagement he had in Honolulu, Hawaii. He had jet lag and found himself awake at 3 in the morning and craving food. He hunted down an all night greasy spoon, one with a counter, no booths, and sat down for a breakfast of day old donuts and stale coffee. While he was sitting there the doors opened and in walked 10 or so prostitutes. He tried to make himself invisible, but it was a very small space, and he’s not a small guy. The women began talking with one another and the woman on his right said to her friend “Tomorrow is my birthday.” Her friend replied “What do you want me to do about it? Buy you a cake or something.” “No,” the woman replied “I was just telling you, you don’t have to be mean to me. I’ve just never had a party or nothing before and I wanted someone to know it was my birthday tomorrow.”

When they left, Tony turned to the owner of the greasy spoon and asked “Do they come in here every night?” The man nodded. “Even the one sitting next to me?” The man said “Agnus, yeah, she comes every night.”

“Let’s throw Agnus a birthday party!” He planned it out with the man and the next night Tony arrived at 2:30 to decorate the place. When Agnus and her friends arrived, a crowd had gathered and they shouted “Happy birthday Agnus!” Agnus was floored. She had to be lead to a stool to sit down. They brought out the cake, and she was too overwhelmed to blow out the candles. The diner owner told her to cut the cake and Agnus said “I can’t. Do I have to?” Tony said “It’s your cake, do what you want with it.” “Id like to take it home and show it to my mother, I only live a couple of doors down. Let me show it too her and I’ll be right back.” And with that Agnus left.

Tony was left standing there with a diner full of prostitutes and the owner/operator of the greasy spoon. There was absolute silence and then Tony said “Let’s pray”

He prayed for Agnus, for her mother. He prayed that God would bring about new life in Agnus. He prayed that she would be healed from the things terrible men did to her, because at some point that’s how all of this had started out. Some man had hurt her at some early age and then left her to deal with the fallout, while society blamed her and not the man who did these things to her. As he ended the prayer the Owner of the greasy spoon said “What kind of Church do you preach at?”

In one of those rare moments where the perfect words come together at the right time, Tony said “I preach at the kind of church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.”

The owner replied “No, no you don’t; cause I’d go to a church like that.”

Tony ends this story saying “Wouldn’t we all go to A CHURCH LIKE THAT? Well friends I’ve got news for you, that’s the kind of church Christ calls us to be, not some hybrid church/country club! We are called to be the kind of people that reach out with love and compassion wherever and whenever it is needed.

Friends we as Christians are too often known by what we stand against, what we hate, what we disapprove of. But that is not the command Jesus gave his disciples or us! They will know we are Christians, not by what we rally against. Not by who we exclude. No. They will know we are Christians by our love. By who we love, and how we love. May we love as Christ commands us to love. Our neighbor, our enemy, the foreigner or stranger, the widows and the orphans. Let us love one another since love comes from God.

Storytellers: Acts 11:1-18

Once upon a time. In the beginning. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. If music be the food of love, play on. Call me Ishmael. A good hook, or opening line, is what every storyteller searches to craft. These opening lines of well known tales draw in an audience. They cause our ears to perk up and our interest to be peaked.  We cannot wait to hear what happens next.
In our sermon scripture for this morning we hear a great first line from Peter "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision." With those words Peter insures that his audience will listen. With those words he sets the stage for something different to arrive.
What follows is a beautiful story about his encounter with God through vision, prayer, people and the Holy Spirit. This story is so powerful, so convincing, that the leadership of Jerusalem experience a changed heart, just from hearing it!
Story is powerful. Story is life changing. Story is Gospel.
Think about that. What we have in the scriptures are stories. Stories so powerful they have passed the test of time. Stories crafted and handed down generation after generation. Stories that have changed the world one hearer at a time.
Peter's story is powerful and life changing. It is his story that he shares of his experience with God.
This experience has led to great discussions of theology, of justice, of worship planning, but it didn't start out as all of those things. It started out as his experience with God.
If Peter's story has had such an affect, what might our stories do? Now there is a frightening thought. We spend week after week listening to other ancient peoples stories, commenting on their message and success. But how often do we think about our own story?
We each have one you know. We each have had an experience that has changed the way we view God, the way we view ourselves, the way we view our neighbors. These encounters can become amazing witnesses for Christ if we share them as our stories of faith.
But something within us is scared to share them. Scared of judgement, of not being good enough, of being ridiculed. These fears keep God's story from spreading, they keep God's message from reaching new ears.
If Peter had let that fear stop him, his mission to the Gentiles would have ended with Cornelius and his family. We would not have the good news if fear of being reprimanded had kept him silent.
Right now I want you to think of an encounter you have had with God. Perhaps it was running out of fuel, but coasting to the station safely on fumes. Perhaps it was an angel among us story. Perhaps it happened on a hike, or in a hospital waiting room.
Now then, I'm going to ask you to do something really uncomfortable. I want you to turn to your neighbor and share this story right now. Go on, don't be shy, no one here is going to tell you you aren't doing it right.
How did that feel? What did you learn? Would you do it again?
Stories tell us about ourselves, about God and about our relationships to God and one another.
A good story makes us think, makes us reexamine our beliefs and search for truth.
I'd like to share a story with you about a time when I had my faith changed through an experience with God.
I have always believed that children have a special place in the family of faith. They are essential to the faith community. That being said, I'd usually limited the amount of participation I offered to children to Sunday School and the children's moment. Times when they were learning, or being cute.
Steve and I co-pastored a church in Knoxville when Zanna was very small. She often went with me on pastoral visits, and was the hit of any place she went, I might add. One afternoon when we were driving home from one such visit with an elderly man who would soon pass away, who kept saying "I'm okay, I've got Jesus in my heart" Zanna began asking questions.
-What did Mr. Fred say was in his heart Mommy?
-Jesus
How did Jesus get there Mommy?
Umm, Mr. Fred asked him to live in his heart honey.
Does Jesus live in your heart mommy?
Yes
Does Jesus live in Daddy's heart, mommy?
Yes, baby.
Jesus doesn't live on my heart. How can Jesus live in my heart mommy?
Long pause, well, you can ask him to come live in your heart Zanna. You can tell him you want to live your life for him and ask him to live within you.
Okay. (Long pause, whispers) Jesus, could you come into my heart please?
(Me, crying and trying to not drive off the mountain)
Listen mommy! Do you hear that?
Hear what baby?
He's singing!
Who's singing baby?
My Jesus, he's singing to me!
At that moment every belief I had about children's spirituality and relationship process flew out the window. In that moment I realized that children didn't have to wait until they knew the "right words" or prayers to become followers of Christ. I realized that claiming them as children of God is not for their benefit. It's for our benefit. God knows, they know, it's us grown ups that need the reminder.
Stories are powerful, they change lives, they change us.
So tell your stories this week. Share where you have encountered God! Share where God is shaking you up! Share the good news, in any form you dare!

Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles (Acts 9)

Names are super important things in our society. The first things we try to teach new babies are names, mommy, daddy, baby. We recognize people by their names. It's one of the ways that we distinguish one from another.
In my own family names have been very important. As I believe I've told you all before, my parents picked mine and my brother's names on their third date. Family names, names that meant something. Names that they hoped would leave us in good stead.
In the biblical accounts names are often exceedingly important. Abram and Sarai, both have their names changed through a close encounter with the divine. Is sacs name mean laughter because his mother laughed at Gods promise. Jacobs name means trickster and it was perhaps a bit too on point! Why the whole book of Ruth is filled with names of meaning, Malon, weakness, Chilion meaning sickly, it's no surprise when both of Naomi's sons die as very young men. Joseph means, may the Lord increase, and through Joseph the lord increased The Israelites.
In our scripted today we have another important name, Tabitha.
Tabitha is an Aramaic name. That in and of itself should give us pause. There are not many strictly Aramaic words recorded in scriptures. Aramaic was the language of an oppressed people. The People of Judea  used Aramaic as their everyday language, they had Hebrew in the synagogue and Greek was the language of commerce.
The name comes from the word for gazelle. It evokes the image of a beautiful wild creature, graceful, swift and strong.  It tells us something of the hopes and dreams her parents must have had for her.
Her name is beautiful. But it is also surprising. Surprising because we know it at all. Many of the women recorded in scriptures don't have names given. Simons mother in law, the syrophenitian woman, the widow who helped Elijah all have had their stories told and there names forgotten.
Here, in 94 words we get the story of a named woman.
Not only is she called by name, she is called something else, she is named a disciple.
What a bold claim! What a worthwhile and wonderful title. We are told of her works, her legacy, her actions of grace. Really it is almost like hearing her eulogy.
I was privileged to speak yesterday at a women's Spring Fling at Bates Hill CP church in McMinnville, TN. There they spent a great deal of time remembering together a woman from that community who had passed away last year. Charlotte Rose was a woman of great creativity, hope, joy and encouragement. She started a grief support group that has made a huge impact on her community. As I sat there looking at her pictures and listening to her friends testimonies I couldn't help but think about Tabitha.
Her friends had gathered as well, to grieve, to remember, to morn. They too had sought comfort from one another by gathering things given to them by Tabitha. No doubt their gathering was similar to one we have during a visitation for a loved one.
But something was different among Tabitha's friends. They could not, would not let her go.
They sent for Peter, the Apostle who came, heard their cries of distress and then, in a quiet room prayed, and God worked a miracle, bringing her back from the dead to sit among them and serve with them once more.
And when I read this part of the story I get mad.
Why does this happen for Tabitha, but not for others? Why did they get the miracle and the rest of us don't? What made her more special than anyone else?
Why did she come back, surrounded by loved ones, while my uncle passed away yesterday morning surrounded by his loved ones?
It's easy to get caught up in the why question. It's easy to feel anger or sorrow or confusion. Especially in this particular text because we are not given a reason for this miracle. Peter does not give a speech about Jesus' healing power or lordship. He doesn't give a speech at all, which is really unusual for Peter.
We are left with an unexplained miracle, unjustified miracle one might say.
And while there is much of me that wants to put this tension aside, much in me that wants to give an answer as to why Tabitha was resurrected and others are not, I can't. And I won't.
Miracles exist outside of what we can understand or explain. That's why we call them miracles! Tabitha was restored to a community and she was able to be a living reminder for a time of Christ's wonder working power. Her story is shared even today as a reminder that death does not have the last word and God is more powerful than we can even imagine.
Tabitha serves as a reminder of all of the named and unnamed saints who work tirelessly for the gospel.
We don't know why this miracle was granted to Tabitha and her friends, and honestly the why doesn't matter.
It's what happened after the miracle that is important. She is returned to community and she continues to do what she has been called to do! No resting on her laurels, no going around in a traveling circus side show as the resurrected woman. She goes back to serving the Lord in a manner that allows this story, her story, Tabitha's story to be told for generations to come.
The miracle isn't the end of Tabitha's story, it's the intermission.
Friends, each of us here as experienced at least one miracle in our lives. If we believe in Christ, if we have surrendered ourselves to his salvation, we have experienced our own resurrection! We are no longer slaves to sin and death. Rather we are new creations, citizens of heaven sent forth to share that miracle with those around us.
Will we be like Tabitha, working loving breathing reminders of the resurrection? Will we share God's love in such a way that generations later people will associate our names with his resurrection power?
That is the life we are called to live here at Christ church, we are called to bear witness to the miracle of Christ's resurrection and of our own resurrections. As new creations may we wear the name of Christ and boldly love as resurrection people with nothing left to loose!

Longing to belong

John 21
Do you remember the first time you felt like you truly belonged? I'm not talking about a time when the right people accepted you,  when you felt like you fit in. I mean the time when you realized you belonged, just as you were, without any additions or subtractions.

For very fortunate ones among us that feeling of belonging came from our families of origin. Our mothers fathers siblings and grandparents loved us just as we were and made a point to let us know. But others of us struggle for many years to belong some of us here or still facing that struggle. My sense of belonging as I am is tied back into my baptism. Knowing that a group of people spoke words of love and acceptance over me and gave me the title child of God at six weeks old has kept me from completely losing my identity.
Belonging is core to our experience as human beings. We long for our family, our group, our tribe to embrace us and tell us we are good enough just the way we are. And when we find that belonging we become fiercely loyal – until we aren't. Because there are those times when we will question our connection. There are those times when doubt, fears, whispers will get in close enough to separate us from those we love.

Peter and the disciples I've been through the ultimate separation from their tribe – Christ had been put to death. They had locked themselves in the upper room and watched as their identity, their sense of belonging, slowly slipped away. Until – until the women brought the good news of the resurrection to their broken hearts. Until – until the risen savior how to come twice to stand among them and offer them peace and reassurance. They rejoiced they celebrated and then, they went fishing!
Wait, fishing? I suppose there is the thought of fishing being celebratory relaxing me time. But in this case – not so much. In this case the disciples of seen Jesus twice they've been given the Holy Spirit, they've been given the ability and responsibility of forgiving sins and they have been sitting in the upper room trying to figure out what to do next.

Peter get sick of it and announces I'm going fishing. This isn't a pleasure cruise, he's going back to what he knows. He's going back to the way of life he knew before. He goes back into the world hoping to find a purpose once more. Well Peter is the only one who's words of denial are recorded in the Scriptures, the other disciples deny Jesus as well. They ran away during the hours following Jesus his arrest and death. They had altering their backs on the belonging they have received.

It's safe to say they all were unsure of what to do next – who they would be – where they would belong – and so they go back to what they know – back to the way of life they lived before. And then – in the Munding of their normal every day tasks, which state by the way were spectacularly bad at that day, they met once more the risen Lord.

In the midst of a rough time of fishing he calls to them from the shore to put their nets on the other side and to hold the catch of the 153 fish without breaking the nets. This reminds us of the call story we heard in Luke chapter 5 a few weeks ago. Where Jesus gave them the same instructions and they holding to catch swamped the boats. If you recall, after that catch, Luke records them leaving the fish on the shore and follow Jesus.

Here, John has Peter dive off the boat and race to Jesus his side where Jesus has already cooked breakfast on the beach. They all break bread together they feast, they remember.

They remember being called – setting their lives down to follow this man. They remember the miraculous deeds they witnessed, the helix, the casting out of demons, the raising of the dead. And they remember they remember their denial of Christ. They remember saying they did not belong to him by their words and actions.

It's almost as if Jesus can hear the words in their heads but I let you down Jesus, I turned away, I walked away, I have sinned, I have fallen short, I am not enough.

Do you love me?

Jesus interrupt Peter and our thoughts of failure with these simple words. Do you love me?

Love here is agape love, unconditional love holy love God like love. Peter responds you know I love you. I philio you, brotherly love I belong to you. Jesus says feed my lambs.

Do you love me? Again agape you know that I love you again brotherly love. Jesus says take care of my sheep.

Do you love me? Jesus asks again this time brotherly love. You know all things you know that I love you says Peter. feed my sheep says Jesus follow me.

Here Jesus offers Peter three chances to claim him once more. To voice again his belongings. But Jesus is offering more than that, he offers a sensible longing and gives peter a clear new purpose. Replace a lot of conditions on our love for God. Sometimes it's guilt and shame as was peters problem. Sometimes it's painful memories of painful experiences. Sometimes it's reluctance to except that God is God and we or not. It doesn't matter though. If we love God and anyway, no matter the limits are conditions, the required response is to care for the children of God, especially the vulnerable ones.

Love me as much as you can right now – all love you completely

love me and show that love by caring for others – I'll provide for you.

Love me by following me, and you will always belong.

Not my friends, Christ comes to us in our every day lives and says follow me. Christ comes into our illness in times of distress and offers healing. Christ comes into our locked rooms, our dark corners and gives us peace. Christ comes to us even when we feel that we've let him down and offers us love – belonging and purpose right where we are – just as we are.

Ain't no Rock

Luke 19:28-40

I have realized something about myself in recent months- something those closest to me have known and have probably tried to tell me for years and years- I am a know-it-all.

I like to have answers. I like to know not only a word, but the right word. And while this can be beneficial when I am writing curriculum, letters, notes of encouragement, even sermons, in conversation it is less than helpful.

When someone else is seeking a word or pausing to gather their thoughts- I feel this compulsive need to feed them their next words, like a stage director in a high school play, knowing that only the correct combination of words will lead the next actor to speak to remember their lines.

“Let me say things for myself!” My brother often told me growing up. It was not out of a desire to control really, or to overtake him, but he just took so LONG and I didn’t want him to be embarrassed by those long awkward pauses. That and my ADHD mind couldn’t comprehend that someone might need a second to digest something before replying.

Perhaps this is why, with this particular triumphal entry story in Luke I have always preferred to focus on the preparations Jesus made before hand. I like the thought that Jesus might have been a bit type A. Prepared for all contingencies, he had arranged for a colt, an unridden donkey, to be ready for his entrance into the city. When his disciples entered they found it just as he had said, and even replied with the prescripted line “The Lord has need of it.” just as Jesus had instructed. No awkward silence there. That’s commitment and follow through!

But as the story goes on, I find things becoming uncomfortable. The disciples pile their coats onto the back of the donkey, and while one could applaud them for their ingenuity, it somehow makes me uncomfortable. Couldn’t they have found a saddle, or a pretty blanket to drape over the young beast? Wasn’t there something more fitting than worn and dirty cloaks?

Then the people start placing their cloaks on the ground in front of the donkey, in front of Jesus, and I get a bit more uncomfortable. Why would Jesus want to come into Jerusalem, the heart of Israel on a pile of dirty laundry? I climb over piles of laundry constantly in my house, there is NOTHING glamorous about the process!

Picture it with me: this rag tag group of followers, people who have left everything to go behind this carpenter’s son, coming into the city in mock parade mode.

Jerusalem, much like our own city of Huntsville, knew the splendor and majesty of a good parade. There are ways to do it right, with flags and bands, with military leaders, with pomp and circumstance. And here, the most important person to ever come to town, arrives with a group of ragga muffins who might as well have been playing kazoos for all its worth.

This display is less than fitting for the God of all creation. This mob scene isn’t good enough for the Savior of the world. Perhaps they will slip by with only mild mocking and gossip. Perhaps it will be no more than a footnote in Christ’s story. But somehow it makes it into all four gospels. Somehow this small time zero production value arrival is important enough to be celebrated every year in the Christian church. Somehow this strange moment becomes a part of what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the world.

The people cry out “Blessed is the king
    who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
    and glory in the highest heaven!”

And in those words I begin to remember. I begin to remember another entry into the world, some thirty years before this ragtag parade. Where in an unexpected place, with unexpected company, a Savior came into the world. And while angles heralded his birth with the words “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” it was smelly dusty shepherds that spread the news to those in the land. In Luke, there are no kings or wise men from other lands to share the story, only the shepherds, the farm animals and Mary and Joseph know the good news. And they prepare for the world to never be the same.

The Pharisees are a bit of a know it all crowd as well. And so they lean over to Jesus and give words to him, that quite honestly I might have said myself. “Teacher, order them to stop.” They are out of order. They are embarrassing themselves and you. This is not how things are done.

How often have we thought those words, or even given them voice? Especially in the life of the church?

But God did not come into the world in the person of Jesus Christ to keep things the same. God did not become Emmanuel so that things could be done decently and in order. God did not come into the world as a weak and needy infant so that we could demand all things be just as they should be.

When God came it was messy. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, in what we affectionately call the triumphant entry it wasn’t to take over the town. It was an act of triumph of the God who knew he came not to kill, but to die.

The way things had always been done was no longer working. Jesus knew this, that’s why Christ came, to make things right, to make things new, to reiterate God’s love for all, especially the oppressed and downtrodden.

Jesus gives the Pharisees and me a slap in the face answer to our perfectionist preferences. “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

If these were silent, the stones would shout. It doesn’t get much more out of the ordinary than that. God’s reign was breaking into the world through a week that would change the course of human and divine history. Jesus knew at this point there was no turning back, God’s plan was in motion, God’s grace was being poured out and the whole world was going to be changed. In this moment God chose not angles, but disciples to share the good news. God chose flawed human beings to bear the gospel message. But the message would not be stopped by their silence. The very rocks would cry out in praise if the people failed their mandate. The line would be given no matter if the people were hesitant to speak. Jesus would be announced as the king by whatever portion of the creation was necessary.

Sometimes, when change is a foot, when God is showing up, when something is happening, we can’t be silent. We have to tell the story. We have to let the world know what we see and what our hearts desperately welcome. And that will challenge and inconvenience some people — particularly those with power and privilege — but it still must be proclaimed. Someone might try to correct us or police our tone, but we still say what we see. If we don’t, someone else will. If we don’t, something else will happen in response.

There is a praise chorus that was popular when I was in college and Seminary it said:

Ain't no rock, gonna cry in my place
as long as I'm alive I'll glorify God’s holy name.
[CHORUS:]
Everybody praise God’s holy name
As long as I'm alive I'll glorify God’s holy name

People of God, let us be silent no more!

Let us not give away the power of our voices to others, to other thoughts, other causes, other beliefs. Let us not give our voices away to the rocks and the trees, leaving them to proclaim the good news we are privileged to share. Let us not turn over our voices to those who seek to maintain the status quo.

Let us praise God’s holy name, let us proclaim God’s mercy for all peoples, God’s love for all nations. Let us cry out with a loud voice “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”