HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Jeremiah 18:1-11 February 19, 2011

EPISTLE LESSON II Corinthians 4:1-18 Rev. Helen Collins

SERMON: “Jars of Clay”

Some folks were talking together. One of them said, "Our congregation is sometimes down to thirty or forty on a Sunday."

One from another church said, "That's nothing, sometimes our group is down to ten to twelve in the summer."

Not to be outdone, in a truly competitive spirit, another dear lady added, "It's so bad in our church on Sunday that when the minister says, 'Dearly beloved,' it makes me blush!"

Martha Grace Reese, director of Unbinding the Gospel, a project on

evangelism in mainline denominations, writes in her book on the project, “Evangelism books presume everyone wants to do evangelism, so they tell you how to do it. Six years of national, Lilly Endowment-funded research in nine denominations have demonstrated conclusively that most people would rather get a root canal than think about evangelism.

Four weeks ago today I had the privilege of serving on the presbytery’s commission to install the Reverend James Rausch as the new pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Muskegon. One of the great joys for a pastor serving on such a commission is getting to attend worship someone else planned and someone else preached. It was a joyous occasion. There was an added blessing, because the pastor who was invited to preach that installation service was Jack Stewart who served years ago as head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian in Grand Rapids. He went on from there, and among other accomplishments served on the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary where he was Associate Professor of Ministry and Evangelism.

Dr. Stewart began his homily on this very passage from 2 Corinthians by asking what the church has to offer that isn’t available to people through other groups or organizations. In these times of declining church membership and participation across the nation, across denominational boundary lines, in a culture that is increasingly ambivalent, if not apathetic to Christianity, what is it that gives churches a valid reason for being, and what reason can we give our friends and family for coming to church, – any church.

Churches provide community, opportunities for friendship, fellowship and companionship. We have great potlucks. So do families and social organizations.

Churches provide opportunities to give service; we do a great deal of

mission that involves reaching out to help others in times of hardship and disasters. So do the Lion’s Club, Rotary and Doctors without Borders.

Churches help to take care of the poor. So does North Kent Community Services and a multitude of similar organizations.

Churches care for and comfort the sick and dying. So do hospitals, hospice and Gilda’s Club.

Churches offer musical, dramatic and inspirational programs. So do concerts, theaters and television.

Churches offer educational opportunities, especially in Bible and theology. So do colleges, universities and seminaries.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those things. We have all of that going here at North Kent. They are rightly part of any living, vital congregation. And we might be able to convince people to come to church as one place where pretty much all of those things are offered under one umbrella.

The Apostle Paul answers the question in a way no other entity or organization can. “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” When Paul says ‘treasure’ he is speaking of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what we have to offer that no other community, service or social organization has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that many of those organizations don’t have a Christian component, or even a foundation in Christian faith and practice. But fulfilling the “Great Commission” to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus] has commanded [us]” (Matthew 28) is uniquely the both the gift and the calling of Christian churches.

Churches exist to make and grow disciples of Jesus Christ, to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God through worship and sacra-

ments, and to teach the faith. It’s our faith and followership that engender fellowship, mission and ministry.

We have this treasure, that “ ¹⁶God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷

We have this treasure, that although “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.— (Romans 3)

We have this treasure, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2)

We have this treasure that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, (Romans 8:28) and that nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have this treasure that brings comfort to those who mourn the loss of loved ones and those who fear their own death – the promise of eternal life.

We have this treasure that relieves those who feel a burden of guilt for whatever they have done, or failed to do – our sin debt is paid in full.

We have this treasure that relieves us of the pressure to do something to bring about our salvation/redemption. Jesus Christ has done it. He has taken the punishment, paid the price, and established a new covenant relationship with God the Father.

And we have this treasure in clay jars.

Have you ever received a gift where the wrapping and ribbons were so dazzling that you expected that when you opened the gift it would be something wonderful, only to be disappointed that apparently more attention was given to the packaging than to the gift itself?

We have the opposite. We have this treasure in clay jars to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We have this treasure in clay jars to show that it’s not what we do that matters. It’s what God has done.

We have this treasure in clay jars to show that it’s not the packaging, but the gift that is important.

The church in Muskegon has a big flat-screen up on the left side of the chancel area, where they could post the words for all the songs we sang in that installation service. That was nice. Kinda wish we had one of those. Then last Saturday I went to the church in Holt for the presbytery meeting. Their sanctuary is built with an almost identical layout to ours; it even has the same sort of ceiling and wood arches. The only real difference is that it’s perhaps about half again larger. As I entered the sanctuary I saw 3 or 4 flat screens on each side of the sanctuary. When I went up to the pulpit to present my committee report I saw up and to my right was a flat screen facing the pulpit. I thought, wow! It could be like a teleprompter. I could just look up and see the next thing I was supposed to say.

We have this old screen that reminds me of what my elementary school A-V people set up in our classroom when the science teacher wanted to show “Hemo the Magnificent” for the umpteenth time. I’m very grateful to have that screen. I’m not knocking it, but it is to contemporary screens what rotary dial telephones are to today’s smart phones.

Whether it’s one huge flat screen, or multiple smaller ones up and down the sides of the sanctuary, or one well-worn, portable (sort-of) movie screen, these are clay jars. It’s not the jars that we have to offer; it’s not the screens; it’s not the style of music or the instruments played, it’s not the bulletins, the time of worship, it’s not the flowers or the candles or the temperature in the sanctuary. It’s not even about what’s going to be served for refreshments afterwards. The true treasure we have in all these clay jars is the Good News that God so loved the world . . .

And that Good News prescribes our mission. We have a mission to support faith in Jesus Christ (whom God sent out of God’s great love) through education, challenge, inspiration and outreach (NKPC mission statement).

From the gospel according to Matthew we have a mission to gather men and women, children and youth into the Body of Christ.

We have a mission to nurture individuals to become living, growing disciples of Jesus Christ.

We have a mission to equip the Body of Christ which is the church for ministry and mission in the world.

We may need to clean up and polish some of our clay jars. We may need to get a few new jars. But the treasure – Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord – remains the same – yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Tom Bandy, one of today’s premier church growth experts writes this in one of Net Results’ e-newsletters in an article entitled Where you’re going is more important than where you’ve been. : Friends, here is the secret to church growth: Get a mission! That’s it. Beyond that single thing, you can do whatever tactic works to help you achieve that mission. If traditional worship works, do it. If your location and property does it, maintain it. But if it doesn’t, change it. And stop arguing about it. Stop trying “to have your property and your mission, too.” First the mission … always the mission … and your church will grow again.”

We have a mission, not a competition.

In the Philippines, deep in the dense rain forest, lives a primitive

people, known as the Agta Negrito. They are hunters-gatherers who wear loin clothes and little else. Several years ago a missionary family who was working among them set up a croquet game in their front yard. Before long several of their Agta Negrito neighbors curiously gathered to watch them. Soon they wanted to play, too.

The missionaries explained the game and gave each of them a mallet and a ball. Halfway into the game, one of the natives’ croquet balls landed next to another’s. The missionary excitedly explained one of the more aggressive rules: You can put your foot on your ball and smack it hard with the mallet, causing your opponent’s ball to go flying far away.

The native understood what he was saying, but couldn’t comprehend why anyone would want to do it. He said, “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?”

The missionary replied, “So you will be the one to win!” The native shook his head in bewilderment. You see, competition and winning is not important in hunting and gathering societies. People survive — not by competing — but by working together.

The game continued, but no one followed the missionary’s advice. When the first player successfully got through all the wickets, he did not see himself as the victor. For him the game wasn’t over. He went back and gave aid and advice and encouragement to the others. Finally, when the last wicket was played, by the last player, they all shouted happily, “We won! We won!”—

We have this treasure in clay jars – Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the World. He gave us a mission – to proclaim the Good News, to make disciples and teach them. Let us work on that mission together until we can all say, “We won! We won!”¹

¹Herbert G. Hand, “Imitating Jesus Series: I Want to be Like You!” Church of the Annunciation Web Site, September 29, 2002, Churchoftheannunciation.com.

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Psalm 30

EPISTLE LESSON I Corinthians 4:1-5

SERMON: “ (‘Creeno’)”

First there was The People’s Court with Judge Wapner. Now it’s Judge Marilyn. And then there’s Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Karen, Judge Alex, Judge Ross, Judge Napolitano. On top of that we have judges on shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars and Last Comic Standing. Then there are the judges who determine who will get an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony. We have Olympic and world cup judges who determine who are the best in their sports. We have referees and umpires who judge whether a basketball, football, soccer or baseball play was fair or foul. Perhaps you are more into cooking than sports. On the food network we have Iron Chef America, Chopped and Cupcake Wars. We have professors and teachers who pass out grades judging their students and bosses who judge whether or not their employees are doing a good job. Every time we go to the polls and vote, we judge whether or not a candidate is good enough to represent us and what we judge to be right.

So whatever happened to “¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? (Matthew 7)

Let me share with you one of Aesop’s Fables to help us with this subject.

A Lion, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food by force, resolved to do so by savvy or wit. He returned to his den, and lying down there, pretended to be really sick, taking care that his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to visit him in his den, – where the Lion devoured them.

After many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself to the Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful distance, and asked him how he was.

“I am very sick,” replied the Lion, “but why do you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with me.” “No, thank you,” said the Fox. “I notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but I see no trace of any returning.” Smart fox. He was very discerning.

Now what’s the difference in judging something and being judg-

mental toward someone? Or the difference between judging and discerning?

Concerning the nature of true apostleship, St. Paul wrote, “¹ This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. ² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

We’re continually evaluated by others — be they people above us in the corporate hierarchy or neighbors in the community. We are judged in terms of our achievements, our competence, our personality, our looks, our social status, our children’s accomplishments, our bank accounts.

And in this text we find that the Apostle Paul is judging all of the judges.

Let’s start by clearing up a misconception that many Christians have that “Christians shouldn’t judge.” The Greek  (creeno) and its derivatives have three general meanings: to evaluate, to decide, to condemn. The first two are encouraged in believers; the third is forbidden.

But the Greek word  is almost always translated as “to judge.” Addressing the Corinthians, Paul says Christians may, or should, in some ways

• Discerning spiritual truths (2:15),

¹⁵ “The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things,”

• Evaluating ungodly behavior of other believers, not unbelievers (5:12),

¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not

to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside.

• Deciding between two options (7:36-38),

³⁶ If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong^[b] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. ³⁷ But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. ³⁸ So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better

• Evaluating the truth of teachings (10:15),

• Judging our own sin and motives (11:31).

So enough with this “Don’t judge” stuff.

But Paul puts some things off-limits in chapter 4. He’s appropriately judging inappropriate judgers. And above all, he’s elevating the role of the One Judge.

Suppose you come to a stoplight that just turned red and someone comes up from behind you and goes through that red light. A discerning person might think, “That was not too smart. That’s a good way to have an accident.”

The judgmental person might think and say, “That idiot! How stupid could he or she be? They’re going to get killed and go to hell!” –– That’s being highly judgmental!

We all need to be discerning in life without being judgmental but sometimes, it’s hard to separate the two.

We must be careful not to judge people’s motives. We can’t know why they do what they do. Only the Lord knows this. –– Take, for example, televangelist Benny Hinn. I am not a fan of his, but to say that Benny Hinn preaches only for money is going beyond discernment. We may agree or disagree with what he says. We may think we know what’s in his heart, but only the Lord knows for sure.

We need to be careful not to judge the service of another believer.

We have people in the church who are highly dedicated to working for the missions we support. We have other people who are faithful in attendance at Bible study. We have people who promote the fellowship activities of the church and others who are faithful in choir. We have people who take care of the physical needs of the church building. It’s easy to consider our service as being greater than someone else’s service and thereby put them down. We need all of those things.

It is dangerous to judge outward appearances, because we all know that it is the heart that counts. It seems to be our human nature to want to judge people, but we are taught differently in scripture.

James 4:11-12 “Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law.”

We are not to judge people in such a way as to condemn them.

Still we are meant to discern that which is evil in the world. In Matthew 7 Jesus said, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

The dogs and pigs of Jesus’ time were not quite what we think of today. As someone said, “We’re not talking Lassie and Miss Piggy here!” For instance, dogs weren’t the nice, domesticated puppies some of you have at home. The dogs of Jesus’ day were wild, feeding on garbage and road kill. Dogs and pigs were viewed with contempt. Pigs were considered unclean, and the ancient Jews were forbidden to eat them. No self-respecting Jew would go anywhere near a pig. In this verse Jesus is talking about discerning evil in life.

As the story goes, during a cold winter, a farmer found a snake stiff and frozen with cold. The snake said to the Farmer, “If you pick me up and hold me to your stomach, your body will make me warm.”

The Farmer said, “If I do that you will bite me.”

The Snake answered, “Why would I do that if you save me?”

So the Farmer had compassion on the Snake, and taking it up, placed it up against his belly. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound.

“Oh,” cried the Farmer, “Why did you bite me after I saved you?”

“You knew I was a snake when you picked me up,” answered the Snake.

With his last breath the farmer said, “I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel.”

Folks, if you cozy up to a snake you’re liable to get bit.

We are not permitted to judge our brothers and sisters in the sense of condemning them. But we are called to discern evil in the world, and we are never meant to embrace evil.

And if we can discern the presence of evil in the world we can also discern the presence of God, for scripture is clear that God is love. Where there is love, there God is. Jesus taught us to love even our enemies. The Apostle John wrote, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

 (Creeno): to evaluate, to decide, to condemn. The first two are encouraged; the third is prohibited.

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Isaiah 40:21-31

EPISTLE LESSON I Corinthians 9:16-23

SERMON: “ ‘Whatever’ or ‘Whatever It Takes’ ”

There are lawyer jokes and doctor jokes. There are plumber jokes and teacher jokes. And there are

lots of jokes about pastors. We become accustomed to being the targets of jokes and we become accustomed

to being targets of criticism. Years ago you may have seen a letter in the “Dear Abby” column. It read like

this: Dear Abby:

One of the toughest tasks a church faces is choosing a good minister. A member of an official board

undergoing this painful process finally lost patience. He’d just witnessed the pastoral relations committee reject applicant after applicant for some minor fault . . . real or imagined. It was time for a bit of soul searching on the part of the committee. So he stood up and read this letter - purported to be from an applicant.

“GENTLEMEN: Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I’ve been a preacher with much success and also have had some successes as a writer. Some say I’m a good organizer. I’ve been a leader most places I’ve been. I’m over 50 years of age and have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places, I have left town after my work caused riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrongdoing. My health is not too good, though I still accomplish a great deal. The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.

“I’ve not gotten along well with religious leaders in the towns where I have preached. In fact, some have threatened me, and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized.

“However, if you can use me, I promise to do my best for you.”

The board member turned to the committee and said, “Well, what do you think? Shall we call him?

The good church folks were appalled! Consider a sickly, trouble making, absent-minded ex-jailbird? Was the board member crazy? Who signed the application? Who had such colossal nerve? The board member eyed them all keenly before he replied, “It’s signed, The Apostle Paul.”

There is more than a little truth to that parody. St. Paul couldn’t seem to please anybody. It was a common practice in Jesus’ day for prominent philosophers and teachers to charge a fee for teaching and public speaking, but when Paul was in Corinth, he refused to do so. It’s not that he thought he didn’t deserve it. He is very clear on the fact that preachers and teachers of the Gospel deserve to get paid for their work. But Paul was grateful to God for all that God had done in his life, and he considered his salvation payment enough. Out of his great gratitude, he would willingly spread the Gospel for free. Evidently, some of the Corinthians criticized Paul, as if he weren’t a real teacher if he didn’t charge for his teachings.

Poor Paul. He couldn’t win. Some of the people thought he was not a legitimate preacher if he wasn’t paid, and the rest of them were offended if he charged for his services. Here is a man who is so committed to spreading the good news about Jesus Christ that he would do whatever he could to make that happen. He took the great commission to go and make disciples seriously.

Paul took that directive so seriously that he would do whatever it took to win people to Christ. Listen again to what he said: “to the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law. . so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law.” St. Paul was willing to do whatever it took to win people to Christ and Christ’s church.

It seems that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who say, “whatever” and those who say, “whatever it takes.” Those of you who have raised teenagers may remember times when you gave them advice or instructions and they responded with a petulant “whatever.” The word and the tone in which it is delivered make clear that what you consider important, they care little about – not even enough to argue about.

Some people are like that about living out their Christian faith.

Let’s wake everybody up this morning and have a little audience participation – a sort of responsive reading. I’m going to make some statements. After each statement you answer with a shrug, “Whatever.” Sigh. Give it some body language. Roll your eyes. Whatever. . .

Ok – Jesus said to love your neighbor. Whatever.

Jesus said there is more rejoicing over one sinner who is found than the 99 that stayed within the fold. Whatever

Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Whatever

Jesus said that when you have done it to the least of these . . . you have done it to me. – Whatever.

Now let’s change our response from ‘whatever’ to ‘whatever it takes.’

OK – let’s try it. Jesus said to love your neighbor. Whatever it takes.

Jesus said there is more rejoicing over one sinner who is found than the 99 that stayed within the fold. Whatever it takes.

Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Whatever it takes.

Jesus said that when you have done it to the least of these . . . you have done it to me. – Whatever it takes.

Are you and I, like the Apostle Paul, willing to do whatever it takes to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and share his blessings with the world around us?

Do you have any idea how much this church is worth?

If the church burned down tomorrow, would you give $10,000 to replace it?”

A professional fundraiser asked that question of a senior citizen.

The woman thought for a moment about the church that had meant

so much to her over the years. It had been the site of numerous life-changing events: her wedding, a Bible study for young couples, the baptisms of her children, vacation Bible schools, potluck dinners, candlelight Christmas Eve services, youth group events, Easter sunrise services, senior citizen gatherings and finally the funeral of her husband.

“$10,000 to replace the church?” she said. “Of course I’d give it.”

“Well, the church will probably not burn down tomorrow,” admitted the fundraiser. “But still, it needs your $10,000 if it is going to remain vital and strong.”

She wrote the check.

How much is this church worth?

How much is our church worth to the families who have had their children baptized and/or confirmed here?

How much is it worth to the people who were married here?

How much is this church worth to the children around the world who have received a shoe box of love and good news at Christmas?

How much is this church worth to the people who get food assistance through our support of the North Kent Community Services, Kids Food Basket, World Vision (30 hour Hunger fast) and 2 cents a meal?

How much is this church worth to the children whose lives have been touched by our vacation Bible schools and our scholarships to Camp Greenwood?

How much is this church worth to the people who have experienced healing because we have prayed for them, or presented them with one of our prayer shawls?

To all the mission and ministry that lie ahead of us, do you say, ‘Whatever.’ Or do you say ‘Whatever it takes.’ ?

One of the most-viewed YouTube videos of all time is the April 11, 2009, debut of singer Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. When Susan took to the stage, looking for all the world like a shy, frumpy housewife, a wave of amusement went through the audience. You could almost hear the people saying to each other: “This is going to be good. Just wait till the judges pull out their knives and carve up this poor victim’s performance!”

But then, Susan opened her mouth and sang. And did she sing! She had chosen “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. The sheer, expressive power of her voice left the judges sitting back in their chairs, open-mouthed. Even the famously acerbic Simon Cowell seemed at a loss for words. It was a stunning upset.

Where had Susan learned to sing like that? The answer: In church. Her most extensive performance experience, before the night that launched her global recording career, was singing in the choir of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Blackburn, Scotland. Without the church to encourage Susan Boyle as a person, a child of God, and help her nurture her God-given talent, where would she be today?

Before she began singing that night, Simon Cowell asked her several questions, including her age. She said she was 47 years old. Do you suppose that 30 years before, when she was a teenager, the leadership of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church debated whether they would support youth and music ministries? Can we imagine that some would say “ ‘whatever,’ it’s not worth it.” Or would the leadership have said, “ ‘Whatever it takes’ to nurture the personal value, the faith and talents of the souls God entrusts to our care.”

This church and its ministry are worth more than we can ever imagine. God doesn’t make mistakes. God put this church in this place at this time for a reason. Let’s do whatever it takes do what God is calling

us to do and to be the church that God is calling us to be.

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Judges 4:1-7

GOSPEL LESSON Mark 6:6b-13

SERMON: “Teamwork Works”

Swimmy is little fish, just like all the other fish, swimming in a large minnow
school, except that while all the other fish are all reddish-gold, he is pure black. In Leo
Lionni’s children’s story, the school of little fish swims along peacefully until a large
predator fish comes along. Then - whoosh -- all the little fish, including Swimmy,
scatter. Swimmy observes his watery neighbors, and in each case it seems that the
big intimidate, bully and consume the small. That’s what happens in nature. What
could one tiny little misfit fish do about that? Suddenly Swimmy gets a brilliant idea. It
is a plan that both celebrates his own unique style - his solid black coloring - and
depends on the cooperative teamwork of all his minnow schoolmates.

Swimmy organizes the school of all his little friends so that they are swimming in the
shape of a large fish. Swimmy himself, his dark body flashing, creates the “eye” of this
illusionary giant fish. In the last scene of the book, we see a huge would-be predator
take one look at this intimidating mammoth and then turn tail and run. Teamwork
worked!

Today's reading about the Judge Deborah offers us some advice on how to
overcome some of the obstacles that face us - as individuals and as a church. At the
time when today's passage takes place, the people of Israel are yet again in a state
of decline under the oppressive control of the Canaanite king, Jabin. As a judge,
Deborah was not only the person who would decide disputes among her people, she
was also a prophet and a military leader. As the people of Israel cried out to the Lord
for help, Deborah summoned Barak, the military leader of the tribes of Naphtali and
Zebulun, and told him of God's message that he was to raise an army to fight the
Canaanite army of Sisera which threatened them. It is Barak's reply that inspires
today's message. His response: “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go
with me, I will not go.” Deborah went with him. The two of them worked together as a
team. The enemy was defeated, and at the end of the fifth chapter of Judges we read
that, “the land had rest for forty years. Deborah and Barak - a team that accomplished
God's purposes.

Teamwork works. The first person to team up with is -- yourself.

Jack Canfield, of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” fame often says that two out of
three people have low self-esteem. He says, look to your left, look to your right. One of
you is okay, the other two are in trouble!

But God not only created persons, but persons of “value.” Some

times when we read Genesis, we spend too much time debating whether God literally
created the world in six days, and what the role of evolution is in creation. Missing the
forest for the trees we miss the affirmation that God not only created persons, but
persons of worth.

Genesis 1, verse 27 says, “God created mankind in his own image, in the
image of God he created them; male and female he created them. . . . .” and while
after every other creative day God acknowledged that what he had created was
“good,” after the creation of humankind verse 31 tells us that     ³¹ God saw all that he

had made, and it was very good.

In Matthew 6:26, Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow or

reap or gather in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?” Although his primary intent was to direct his hearers beyond an
anxiety-ridden life, the affirmation of worth is again underscored. “Are you not worth
more than they?”

The Bible tells us that each child of God is a creature of unutterable worth.
What more could we ask than what we hear in the third chapter of John’s gospel: “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son ...” We are worthy of the
Son of God dying for us! God has no unwanted children.

At the Pan American Games several years ago, Greg Louganis was asked how he
coped with the stress of international diving competition. He said that he climbs to the
board, takes a deep breath, and thinks, “Even if I blow this dive, my mother will still
love me.” Then he goes for excellence. At the beginning of each day, how good it
would be for each of us to take a deep breath, say, “Even if I blow this day, God will
still love me,” and then, assured of grace, go into the day seeking a perfect 10!

Before you can do much of anything, you have to team up with yourself. Know that you
are worthy to attain your goals.

Secondly we have to team up with God. Part of our arrogant human nature tells us
things like, if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself. Some of us
make ourselves so responsible for everything and then feel so guilty when we can't do everything. There's a plaque that many smart people have hanging over their desk
that says, “Don't feel totally, eternally, irrevocably responsible for everything. That's my
job.” --[signed] God.

Teaming up with God works. When Mother Teresa of Calcutta began her
ministry she started with a dream. She told her superiors, “I have three pennies and a
dream from God to build an orphanage.”

“Mother Teresa,” her superiors chided gently, “you cannot build an orphanage
with three pennies. With three pennies, you can't do anything!”

               “I know,” she said, smiling, “but with God and three pennies I can do anything!”

Team up with God. It was William Temple who first wrote, “When I pray,
coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't.” The gospel according to Mark
tells us that Jesus said, “So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you
have received it, and it will be yours.” Teamwork with God works.

Finally it is essential to team up with others. Jesus didn't even try to do it all by
himself. He didn't ask his disciples to go it alone. He sent them out two by two. I've
never quite understood folks who thought they could be Christians all by themselves.
But I do like the story about a mule named “Jim,” who was being driven by his owner.
When everyone got on the wagon, the driver yelled “Giddyup, Jim. Giddyup, Sue.
Giddyup, Sam. Giddyup, John. Giddyup, Joe.”

As the wagon started to move, one of the passengers said: “Jim is the only
one there. Why did you call all those other names?”

The driver answered, “If Jim knew he was the only one pulling this wagon, he'd
never budge an inch.”

This church needs every member of the team playing.

John Calvin, understood that the Devil's chief device is disunity and division.
He preached that there should be friendly fellowship for all [people] of Christ, and
made the point in a letter to a trusted colleague: “Among Christians there ought to be
so great a dislike of schism, as that they may always avoid it so far as lies in their
power. There ought to prevail among them such a reverence for the ministry of the
word and the sacraments that wherever they perceive these things to be, there they
must consider the church to exist.

I want to share with you a paragraph I came across as I was working this week.
Most of us can feel some sympathy for the person who wrote:

I tried to keep everybody happy (always a mistake) with our
worship service. Some people thought the sanctuary was too hot,
others thought it was too cold. Some like the start time, others
complained. Some want communion every week, some members won’t
come any Sunday we serve it. Some think the services were too long,
while others like the length. Some sermons were too conservative, but
for others they were way too liberal. Some complain when we get an
inarticulate liturgist, while others think everyone should take a turn. . . .
Some members like the kids in the service, while others want “the
brats” out of sight. Through it all I’ve tried to listen and accommodate as
much as possible. If we don’t do it your way, please forgive me. I’m just
trying to keep as many people happy as possible. If the sermon,
temperature, time, length, or whatever isn’t to your liking, maybe the
Lord is trying to teach you patience.

I have occasionally wondered what it would be like to be one of the seven
dwarfs heading off to work. Smiles on their faces, excitement in their step, off to a
meaningful day -- in a diamond mine. Why were they so excited? Why was only one of
them called “Grumpy?” Because it was their mine. Some of you work or have worked
for yourselves, but most of us work for somebody else. But folks, this is your church. If
you want it to dissolve in the face of disunity, then major on the minors and refuse to
cooperate with “the others.”

Evil loves it when we focus on our likes and dislikes instead of asking ourselves if
God was honored in worship today by my attitude, my reverence, my gratitude.

Evil loves it when we allow ourselves to pick sides and attack one another
instead of choosing God’s side and attacking poverty, hunger, loneliness, sickness
and injustice.

Evil loves it when we promote our own agendas over Jesus’ Kingdom.

Evil loves it when we hold grudges instead of granting grace.

Evil loves it when discord determines the church’s focus.

So, team up with yourself – Even when you blow your dive, God still loves you –
and so does your mom.

Team up with God – don't feel totally, eternally, irrevocably responsible for
everything. That's God's job. And team up with the rest of the church – because if we
work together we can all win, but if we allow the devil to distract us and divide us, we
will all lose.

By the way, the person who wrote that paragraph I read to you a few minutes
ago – I know him personally. I called and asked his permission to share it with you this morning. Actually, you know him too. That was Tom Doty in his 1997 Worship
Committee annual report. That was almost 15 years ago. How long, O Lord?

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Psalm 139:1-18

GOSPEL LESSON John 1:43-51

SERMON: “No Guile”

Are you sick of presidential politics yet? We have
 
nine and a half months to go, and if what has

happened so far is an accurate predictor of the
 
future, it won’t be long after the 2012 election b

efore we’ll begin hearing about the race for 2016

. One thing that would make the whole process
 
more tolerable would be if the various candidat

es could be believed in whatever they say.

Yesterday morning as I listened to the news I heard

that Romney had received something like 3

Pinocchio Awards for incorrect/misleading

statements, but he wasn’t the only candidate

singled out. Newt Gingrich receive 4 Pinocchio

Awards for things he said about Romney. I learned

that Pinocchio Awards are the result of the fact

checker process of the Washington Post. And it’s

not just done on Republicans. They checked their

own facts and found that there were almost an

equal number of Pinocchio fact checks on

Democrats as on Republicans. We value truth, and

if there is one most annoying factor about political

campaigns it’s that we know a lot of statements get

made as fact that simply are not true.

There are several insights into Jesus that we

gain from this first encounter with Nathanael. We

could focus on Jesus’ immediate assessment and

knowledge of Nathanael’s character – the

omniscience of Christ. You may be able to hide

deeds and motivations from your family, friends and

the people you work with. But you can’t hide from

God.

We’ve seen other occasions when the Lord knew
what was really going on with people. What’s

different here is Jesus’ comment, ““Here truly is an

Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “No deceit” is

the wording in our New International Version; it is

also the translation found in the New Revised

Standard, but the older Revised Standard Version,

and the still beloved King James Version and others
translate the Greek word dolos as “guile.”

Modern translations give us everyday language

we understand. We all understand what it means to

deceive someone. Who today says things like “Oh,

you can’t trust him – he’s full of guile.” ? Here’s

where word studies make Bible study fun and

interesting. The word "guile" has its roots in the Old

English word wigle, which denotes witchcraft and

sorcery. That word was picked up by French

speakers where it became guille, which came back

into Middle English as guile. In modern English, the

word has lost the witchcraft connotation, but it

retains the sense of deceitfulness, or of "snare."

Dictionary definition says “insidious cunning in

attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity,

and relates it to the word “wile” – which made me

think of Wile E. Coyote.

But Nathanael, Jesus declares on their first

meeting, is a true Israelite, without guile -- he's not

crafty, not deceptive and not out to take advantage

of others. The Message paraphrases Jesus'

statement as "There's a real Israelite, not a false

bone in his body."

This is quite a compliment that Jesus gives to

Nathanael, and it tells us that openness, honesty

and sincerity are characteristics Christ values.

“What you see is what you get” is valued and

respected. What Jesus is saying is that honest

character, like that of Nathanael, is to be a mark of

the new Israel, of those who respond to the call of

God in Jesus Christ, and that, of course, includes

us.

Even when it brings us a truth we’d rather not

hear, honest is practically speaking, regardless of

one’s moral and ethical standards, still the best

policy. Steven Gaffney, author of Honesty Works!

Real-World Solutions to Solve the Most Common

Problems at Work and Home, writes, “I’m not

coming from any moral high ground. . . I am as

flawed as anyone else. But what I’ve found in my

years of research and experience in working with

organizational and interpersonal dynamics in the

workplace is that honesty works. . . . When all else

fails, try honesty. Because it works!”

If we asked them too, I imagine our church

treasurer could produce for us a treasurer’s report

that would be something we would like to see. He

could increase the amounts in the receipts column

and lower the amounts in the expenses columns.

He could make up a report that shows us having all

our bills paid, great increases in our mission giving,

the building loan all but paid off and money enough

for every program we’d like to do. But such a report

wouldn’t be accurate; it wouldn’t be true. And the

reason we don’t get reports like that, aside from the

impeccable character or our church treasurer, is that
it wouldn’t work. A false report would lead to bad

decisions. We can deal with the truth, even when

we don’t like it. When all else fails, try honesty . . .

because it works!

So what do we have to do to be “without guile?”

That is easiest to see by thinking about some things
it does not mean. To be without guile does not

mean to be pushovers or naively trusting of

everyone. As Christians we value giving people the

benefit of the doubt, and yet we also remember that

when Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim the

message of the Kingdom and to heal the people,

among his instructions to them he said, “I am

sending you out like sheep among wolves.

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent

as doves.” Jesus is not calling for us to be simple-

minded or easy targets for scam artists and identity

thieves. Sad to say, but reality is not everyone fights

fair in politics, in families, at work or school, even in

the church. To be “without guile” does not mean that
you can naively trust everyone.

It also does not mean to deny that we are

complex individuals who are sometimes driven by

motives that we’re not even aware of. We are all

shaped by our experiences and see situations and

issues through our own filters. We all develop

coping skills that involve complicated mechanisms

like denial, rationalization, and passive-aggressive

behaviors. Jesus is not trying to make us feel guilty

for being human, but we can work to be radically

honest with ourselves and when we catch ourselves
in non-constructive behaviors to strive to deal with

conflicts in more honest and straightforward ways.

Being “without guile” is not a call to deny our

complexity, but to live by our highest values.

To be “without guile” doesn’t mean that we have

no social skills. Oh, those awkward questions

people ask. Sometimes it feels like being kind and

being honest just won’t go together. What husband

or boyfriend doesn’t tremble when his lady love

asks, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” My wise

mother in teaching me about this skill used to tell

me about a friend of hers whom she really like,

would never want to hurt or offend, came up to her

at church, all excited about a new hair-do, on that

apparently included a bad color job and a less than

flattering haircut. “How do you like my new hairdo?”

the woman asked. Total, brutal honesty would have

involved saying something like, “Not so much. It’s a

good thing it will grow out.” Mom’s response: You

know, I’ve always liked your hair.” -- Smart people

can read between the lines. Actually, it's quite

possible to be sociable and friendly without lying,

though it takes a bit more thought.

In his early years, American landscape

photographer Ansel Adams studied piano and

showed some talent. At one party, however, as

Adams played Chopin's F Major Nocturne he

recalled that "In some strange way my right had

started off in F-sharp major while my left had

behaved well in F-major. I could not bring them

together. I went through the entire nocturne with the

hands separated by a half-step." The next day a

fellow guest gave Adams a no-nonsense review of

his performance: "You never missed a wrong note!"

Guileless people are a treasure. People without

guile are easy to work with and much more fun to be
around. Living with integrity is not the only mark of

Christianity, and there are certainly some people

with great integrity who are not Christians. To follow

Jesus also means to live by the Great

Commandments, to follow Jesus’ example and

teachings. And living without guile is one expression
of loving God and loving neighbor.

We all encounter moments when to lie, to be

sneaky, to misrepresent our actions, to deny our

wrongdoings or do some other deceitful thing would

be expedient. But Nathanael, one in whom there is

no guile, can serve as a reminder that our Lord

praised living without guile, which makes it a

Christian thing to do.

Frank Zemanski – Notre Dame in the 1940’s . He
was very humble, never bragged. called to testify in

a civil suit, and went to court. The judge was trying

to place him, Zemanski, Zemanski, I’ve heard that

name before. Where have I heard your name.

I play football over at Notre Dame Perhaps you’ve
heard it on the radio.

What position do you Are you any good?

He started to sweat, got all hot and was really

uncomfortable, but then he looked the judge right in

the eye and said, the truth is, “I’m the best center in

the history of Notre Dame football.”

Later his coach – called him aside and asked

him, “Is it true you were in court and that you said

that you said you were the best center in the history

of Notre Dame football? That’s so unlike you.”

Coach, I really hated to do it, but after all, I was

under oath.

The charge for us is to always consider ourselves
“under oath.”

GOSPEL LESSON Mark 1:4-11

SERMON: “East from West”

Some time ago I read a classified ad which said: "We cater to Clutter. Dependable house,
apartment or business cleaning." And then there were a couple of phone numbers so you could
contact the folks.

There's nothing real earth shattering or funny about that ad but what struck me is that ad could
be the Church's motto. Any Church's motto.

We cater to clutter. We weren’t created to cater to the perfect. We don't cater to those who
have already made it. We don't cater to those who don't need help. We were made to cater to those
who need to be perfected. That's our primary purpose in being. Of course we have lots of work to do to meet the needs of the community for everything from food and clothing through North Kent Community and other services, to little dresses for Africa, and Kids Food Basket. And we meet each other’s
needs for support through illness and loss. This congregation is especially good at reaching out with a helping hand in times of trouble. And we don’t require people to be perfect before we reach out with a
little bit of love and kindness.

We cater to clutter. We weren’t created to cater to the perfect. God takes us, the outcast, the
imperfect, the unfaithful, the tax collectors and sinners as the New Testament calls them and through
God’s divine love and grace, He perfects them. God transforms us and gives new meaning to our lives. God deals with the clutter in our lives and helps us clean up our acts. God helps us clean up our lives
by pruning and grafting until we are like Christ. That's why Christ came.

Every now and then I used to make something of an off-hand remark that “I need a wife.” I stopped
doing that, because I was afraid people might totally misunderstand. What I meant by that was that
as a person employed full time in a vocation that often requires way more than a 40 hour work week, it would be nice to have someone who would share in the chores -- cleaning the house, doing laundry,
fixing meals and washing dishes. Trust me, wives, and mothers – I know you do a lot more than that.
As Proverbs 31:10 says, a wife of noble character is worth more than rubies. But if I could just get
someone to do those things, I would be a happy woman.

Or so I thought. Over the years, a couple of times, I have hired people to do basic housecleaning –
dusting, vacuuming, kitchen, bathroom – stuff like that. The trouble I found was that it became too
pressure-filled to get my house ready for the people who were coming to clean it. To pick up the
clutter, to put stuff away. By the time I get that done, I might as well grab the dust cloth and run the
vacuum. So I quit having anyone come to clean for me.

No matter how clean I get my house, still – there is always something, several somethings, out of
place. There is always dust somewhere. Hardly does the last dish go into the dishwasher, before a
cup and a spoon are dirtied and waiting for the next load of dishes. I have come to the conclusion that having a perfectly clean house is impossible as long as I am living in it. If having a totally, perfectly
clean house were the required ticket to get into heaven, I’d be doomed. Fortunately, that’s not what’s
required.

But there are still a lot of people who believe they have to clean up their lives before they will be
welcomed into the Family of God. Some people have so much clutter, they feel defeated before they
get started. Others clean up pretty well, but fear that even one small corner with clutter is sufficient to
exclude them, so they stay away. Some fear that God doesn’t want them until they clean up their act, and some fear that even God couldn’t scrub them clean enough. And some, conveniently forgetting
about that mess in the basement, believe themselves to be so spic ‘n’ span that they don’t need
God’s or anyone else’s help.

At the start of every year we read about Jesus being baptized by John. John’s baptism was a baptism of “repentance” for the forgiveness of sins. Why did Jesus need to be baptized? He was the
unblemished Lamb of God, the One who was tempted in every way like us, yet was without sin.
Perhaps Jesus submitted to John’s baptism to identify with us, to encourage us, to help us discover
the refreshment, the renewal, the relief that comes when we realize that in our baptism sins are
washed away. How far away? The psalmist wrote, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

If God has washed our sins away in the waters of baptism, if God has forgiven us, then we are
commanded to forgive one another. – forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Christmas is a great celebration of the birth of our Lord. Easter is a great celebration of the
resurrection of Christ. Pentecost is the celebration of the establishment of the Church and the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The Sunday on which we remember the baptism of the Lord, and remember that we
too are baptized is at least as important, for through it we know that God caters to our clutter. In our
baptism, God takes every mistake, every flaw, every sin, every misstep, every blunder, blooper and
error, and cleans us up. Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.

This is what we have to offer to the community around us – that people don’t have to get all cleaned
up first. Come just as you are. God loves you. God accepts your baggage, takes your transgressions
and removes them as far away as the east is from the west.

Let me share a poem with you written by a pastor named Billy Strayhorn. It's titled: “Cleaning Out the
Heart”

I tried cleaning out my own heart one day.
So many memories and feelings piled in the way.
I knew it was cluttered but oh, what a mess,
Seeing all that garbage fueled my distress.

Bitterness, fear, anger and strife,
Lay in the dust of my tarnished life.
Pettiness, jealousy, old words I regret,
Hadn't been swept out since, well, I forget.

Down on my knees I started to scrub and to scrape
Trying to get my heart back into shape.
But no matter how hard I scrubbed and I wiped,
More and more clutter popped into site.

Just as despair started to conquer my tone
I heard a voice say, "You can't do it alone."
And reaching out gently with a nail scarred hand,
Our Savior, Jesus, invited me to stand.

The look in his eyes said more than enough,
I didn't need to worry about all that stuff.
For all of the stuff in my life that was rotten,
Now fell in two piles, Forgiven, Forgotten.

I tried cleaning out my own heart one day,
All cluttered and tarnished I'm here to say.
But in one simple moment with words barely spoken
A heart was healed that once had been broken.

No Ajax, Comet or Windex was applied,
Just the blood of the Lamb who on the cross for me died.
The Son of God stepped off of His throne
Because He knew I couldn't clean out my heart all alone.

SERMON: “Jesus’ Wish List” Rev. Helen H. Collins

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 21-12

The three wise men. "¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then
they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11). Simple words, but if we analyze
them carefully, we discover an important, yet often-overlooked,
theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping paper.

If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so: "And
lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper was
festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman. And Joseph was going to
throweth it away, but Mary sayeth unto him, 'Holdeth it! That’s nice paper!
Saveth it for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the baby
Jesus was more interested in the paper than, for example, the
frankincense."


But these words do not appear in the Bible, which suggests that the very
first Christmas gifts were not wrapped. This is because the people giving
those gifts had two important characteristics: 1) they were wise, and 2)
they were men.


Of course, it is not hard to figure just how all this gift giving began. It goes
all the way back to the story of the wise men and the gifts they brought ...
most likely unwrapped ... to the infant king. I don’t want to suggest for a
moment that we should end the custom of giving gifts to friends and loved
ones at Christmas. I enjoy both the giving and the receiving of gifts. And
as Black Friday and Cyber Monday attest, the holiday giving season is
integral to our retail economy. That said, what about our giving gifts to
Jesus also, instead of just to one another? As the alternative giving
question puts it, "Whose birthday is it, anyway?"

Then of course comes the question: what to give? After all, Christ is the
king of the entire universe - talk about the person who has everything!
What do we have that he could possibly want? Well, let us think about it.
The gifts the magi brought. Could it be that he wants from us the same
kind of gifts the wise men brought? Gold, frankincense and myrrh. We
know about gold. Selling now for over $1700/oz.

I would question whether Jesus wants us to give him gifts of gold, except
perhaps in the symbolic sense that gold represents material wealth. Not
that the risen Lord needs anything material from us, but it could be that he
would like for us to loosen our grip on our material possessions, perhaps
one gift that might be on his wish list is that we would trust him enough to
let go.

I know, we’re going through the worst economic times since the Great
Depression that shaped my parents’ generation. I know, it’s difficult to pay
the mortgage, and the taxes, and put food on the table and pay for health
insurance all at once. I know, we’re just a small church, and we give
generously to the North Kent Community Services, and Kids’ Food
Basket, and several other charitable causes. But in our minds, in our
hearts, who really controls our finances? I think I see it on Jesus’ wish list:
trust me, even when it comes to money.

Of the three wise men’s gifts, gold is probably the easiest to figure out.
But what about frankincense and myrrh? I’ve seen gold, but I don’t know
that I’ve ever even seen those two. Could you tell what they were if you
saw them for sale anywhere.

Frankincense and myrrh are aromatic resins produced by any of about
185 thorny tree species, native to Africa, Arabia and India. While Mary
was pondering everything in her heart she must have done a double-take
at a baby gift of perfumes and ointments that were traditionally used to
prepare a body for burial. Could she have known to save them for his
burial? Surely these don’t point us to gifts on Jesus’ wish list.

Here’s what grabbed my attention about myrrh – when a tree wound
penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree bleeds a
resin. Myrrh gum and frankincense are both that kind of resin. When
people harvest myrrh, they wound the trees repeatedly to “bleed” them of
the myrrh gum. The gum, a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin,
becomes glossy and yellowish in color as it hardens.

We remember that when Jesus shared that last supper with his disciples,
he took a cup, and after giving thanks to God he shared the cup with his
disciples and said this is my blood, poured out for you and for all for the
forgiveness of sins. Remember that Jesus carried our sins to the cross
and took the punishment we deserve. By his stripes we are healed. He
who was without sin became sin for us so that we might be forgiven,
healed, reconciled to God. You don’t have to go to amazon.com to find
frankincense or myrrh for your gift to Jesus. 

I can imagine his wish list saying the same to us as he said to the woman
caught in adultery. Everyone sins. The only one without sin is Jesus and
if you recall, he said to the crowd, whoever was without sin could cast the
first stone. We all fall short of the glory of God. If you’re looking for a
perfect church with a perfect pastor and perfect people, keep looking. If
you think you found such a church . . . keep looking. Every last one of the
people in that crowd left without so much as tossing a pebble at the
woman. And Jesus, who had the authority and the perfection, declined to
condemn her. He didn’t condemn her, but he also did n0t say, “Go ahead,
do whatever you want. Everything is okay.” He said, “Go, and sin no
more.”

Do you suppose that maybe it’s on Jesus’ wish list that we would stop
throwing stones; that we would love the Lord our God with all our heart
and mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves; that we would get
the log out of our own eye before we try to take the speck out of our
neighbor’s eye; that we would take seriously that whatever we do to the
least of his brothers and sisters, we do to him; that we would at least
make an effort to stop wounding and bleeding him.

Isaiah gives us a couple of wish list ideas for Jesus. Isaiah tells us that the
Savior will come to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners. These are gifts we can give to the Lord now
that help fulfill his mission and bring relief and joy now, today. I do believe
in heaven and that we are promised life eternal, but there is nothing in
Isaiah’s prophecy about pearly gates or streets paved with gold or
mansions on a hillside.

The church is the instrument God has chosen to do the miracles Jesus
did and more: to proclaim good news to the poor and the poor in spirit; to
bind up the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn; to proclaim
freedom for the captives, not just the captives who are in physical prisons,
but those who are imprisoned by selfishness and materialism; to release
the prisoners, not those who sit in jails, but those whose spirits are
covered in darkness so that the light of the World might come to shine
God’s extravagant love on them.

Think for a moment about how much time and effort you spend in figuring
out the gift for your most difficult to buy for person. How much time and
money do you then spend on getting and wrapping that gift. The
challenge today is to spend at least half that amount of time, effort and
resources to give the Lord something you find on his wish list.

SERMON: “Giving Up on Perfect” Rev. Helen H. Collins

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Isaiah 40:1-11

GOSPEL LESSON Luke 2:1-14

How many of you have seen the movie Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase? In this traditional
holiday movie, Chevy Chase’s character, Clark Griswold does everything in his power to give his
family a perfect Christmas. He takes his family into the wilderness in search of the perfect Christmas
tree. After a road rage accident which ends with the family station wagon crashing into a snow bank
the Griswolds set off into the wilderness on foot. Eventually they find the perfect tree only to realize
that Clark forgot to bring along the saw. There are hassles with tangled Christmas tree lights and
extended visits from invited and uninvited family. Neighbors are upset about the outdoor lighting
display, and it just seems that no matter his good intentions or how hard he tries, Clark simply cannot pull off the perfect Christmas.

Have you ever tried to put together a Big Wheel tricycle on Christmas Eve after the child has gone to
bed only to discover that tab A just does not fit into slot B? Have you ever baked a great pumpkin or
apple pie for that family dinner, only to have it crash onto the kitchen floor? Have you finally had a
good idea for a gift for your most-difficult-to-buy-for person, only to discover that there’s not one
available at any store, not even on the Internet?

I remember Christmas 1998. My mother and one of her friends, my two sisters, my brother-in-law and
I had enjoyed a Caribbean cruise in February of that year. It was the first time we had all been
together in many years. We had a great time, and I took quite a few pictures. Then I happened upon a vendor in the mall in Kalamazoo who would make coffee mugs with a picture on each one. I thought I
had found the perfect Christmas gift for my mom and sisters, all of whom are hard to buy for. Things
were not nearly as tight with airport security in those days, so I wrapped my packages and packed
them into one suitcase and a few clothes I would need in another as we all met in Corpus Christi for
Christmas. I went to Corpus Christi. The suitcase with my clothes and toothbrush went to Corpus
Christi. The suitcase with my perfect gifts went to Fort Lauderdale.

I didn’t know it had gone to Fort Lauderdale until after I got back to Michigan. It was properly tagged
with my name, address and phone #, but it had my home phone number, and . . . I wasn’t at home.
Technology wasn’t quite the same in 1998. Today, all I need is Internet access to get messages on
my home phone from anywhere. With winter snow and lack of communication within and from the
airline, I didn’t get my suitcase with the perfect presents back until about a week after I came home.

And that’s a relatively minor example of a perfect Christmas gone south. For some, the unexpected at Christmas involves much more serious problems like death of a loved one, a painful divorce, sickness, injury, unemployment. Life gets messy sometimes, but in the midst of your mess, God shows up!

Christmas cards portray the event of Jesus’ birth as warm and glowing. The star shines beautifully on
the Holy Family. Angels are singing, the cattle are lowing, while the little Lord Jesus sleeps on the
hay, and the little drummer boy taps gently on his drum.

Mike Slaughter in his new book Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, draws the more realistic, contrasting picture:

Jesus was born in a stable, a cave where animals were kept. Wherever there are animals, there is
dung. And where there is dung there are flies. [Slaughter says] I have made multiple trips to Darfur
since 2005 . . .Darfur has an arid climate where temperatures reach 120+ degrees Fahrenheit. People make a living by being farmers or herders, so even when we eat we are never far from sheep, goats,
cows, donkeys, chickens, and camels. That means the flies landing on the animal dung are also on
our bread, meat, and whatever else we eat. So, clearly, the setting of Jesus’ birth was not sanitary.
And it didn’t get much better from there. Jesus spent his earliest years as a refugee in Africa,
escaping the genocide that Herod was committing in Judea against children aged two and under.

The Gospel of Luke makes it indelibly clear that walking in the way of Jesus is neither safe nor
predictable. Sometimes we have the idea that when we do right, wrong is not supposed to show up.
And if we are faithfully following Jesus, then life isn’t supposed- to get messy, but it does.

I remember the Christmas pageant every year at the church where I grew up. Those of us in the junior choir were usually cast as angels. The part of Mary was always given to one of the 8^th grade girls.

She had few lines to learn, the prettiest of all the costumes, and I always thought it would be such an
honor to be chosen for that part.

Would I have wanted to be Mary. Not for a moment. Here is a young girl, in the midst of what today
we would call an unplanned, teenage pregnancy. What part of the angel’s announcement, “Do not be
afraid” could she understand? Would you be an understanding parent if you had a 12 or 13 year old
daughter come home and tell you, “Mom, Dad, I’m pregnant and the father is the Holy Spirit.” Matthew tells us that Joseph, who may have been the only person in Bethlehem to know he was not the father, Joseph, a man who was faithful to the law, was preparing to divorce her quietly to spare her public
shame. What a messy situation! And God is there, right in the middle of it.

When I get ready to teach or to preach I check my Bible references. I never was very good at
memorizing scripture. But there are two verses I can quote, and give chapter and verse. The first many of you also know: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Mary found favor with God because God loves the world. Nowhere does scripture say she was perfect
or that she earned the right to be the mother of the Savior of the world. Luke says she found favor with God. God’s favor cannot be earned. God’s favor can come when we are doing things right and it can
come when everything seems to be going wrong. God’s favor comes whether we are naughty or nice.
God loves us not because we are good, but because God is good.

We know that it makes sense to picture the manger scene in beatific light, because we know what
Jesus did, how he grew up, how he taught, and loved, and healed, how he sacrificed and paid the
price, how he overcame evil and rose from the dead. Mary couldn’t possibly have known all that when
she had to tell her parents that she was pregnant and gave the “God did it” excuse. Put yourself in her place for a moment and sense what it means to find God’s favor in troubled times.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. And the second verse imprinted in my brain is this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose.” If you want to look it up, that’s Romans 8:28.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that a life of faith will always make sense or follow a predictable
path. For God so loved the world that he sent his only son. . . . and as a consequence of Jesus’ birth
Herod murdered countless baby boys under the age of two. Hebrews 11 is a litany of biblical heroes
from Abel to Noah to Abraham, from Jacob to Joseph and David, and then says there were many
others:

There were others who were tortured, . . . faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. ³⁷They were put to death by stoning, . . . they were killed by the sword. They went
about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not
worthy of them.

None of our biblical ancestors were perfect or deserving of God’s favor. But in the midst of their
messes God was there, with them, loving them, preparing a place for them.

I don’t really know why God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus. I doubt she would have passed
the Bible content exam or the theology ords. But when she asked, “How can this be?” the angel of the Lord said that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and overshadow her. The Holy Spirit is the
presence of God in us and around us, the helper that Jesus promised when he prepared to go to the
cross. And Jesus doesn’t lie. The Holy Spirit is in you and with you to be your Helper in following the
Lord. The Holy Spirit is always there, but is often most clearly experienced in the midst of pain and
suffering, in the messy situations in life, not when we perfectly decorate, not when we perfectly cook,
not when we perfectly make or purchase and wrap.

Breathe a sigh of relief. Let the Spirit come in to the good, the bad and the ugly places in your life.

Why did God choose Mary to be the mother of the Christ Child? Not because Mary was perfect (she
wasn’t), but because God knew that when life didn’t make sense, when it got messy and painful,
scary and dangerous, that she would continue to serve God. . . “I am the Lord’s servant . . . may it be
to me as you have said.”

May you know the presence of God, even in the messy places of your life. Amen.

SERMON: “Christmas Is Not Your Birthday: Expect a Miracle”
Rev. Helen H. Collins

HEBREW BIBLE LESSON Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

GOSPEL LESSON Luke 1:26-38

What does God look like? What is your mental picture of God when you pray? Do you see a critical,
condemning judge or a merciful, loving parent? Do you see a God who favors some people over others or a God who loves all creation and all people who make up this incredible planet? Do you picture a
savior who is concerned only with saving people for life after death? or one who is actively engaged in
restoring and renewing devastated places? Do you believe that God always rewards obedience with
material wealth and physical health or that God remains present with us in
poverty, pain and suffering?

These are questions posed by Mike Slaughter in his new book, Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, subtitled, “Experience the joy of living and giving like Jesus.”

We know that Jesus didn’t look like what people expected. He didn’t come with worldly wealth or
political power. He wasn’t born into a privileged family with a sterling reputation in the community. His
birth wasn’t heralded with trumpets or pageantry. He came not in strength but in weakness. “He was
born a Palestinian Jew, into a community of marginalized, oppressed people, spending his early years as a refugee in Africa, eluding political genocide. His formative years were spent in a nondescript
village, as a member of an ordinary working-class family.+

“As a man, he lived in tension with the organized religious system. He resisted the world’s
obsessions with e=wealth, pleasure, power, and recognition. He identified with the weak and
powerless, the widow and the orphan. He did not condemn but defended the sinner. So what does
God look like? Like Jesus!”

Jesus is Immanuel – God with us. If you want to know what God’s priorities and values are, look at
Jesus, fully God, fully human.

It’s easy for children of all ages to confuse Jesus with Santa Claus. Consider how we tend to think of
Santa Claus as the one who fulfills our earthly wants and wishes, the one who supports the human
quest for meaning and purpose in material things in ways that having little or nothing to do with any
relationship with God. “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” That’s the song describing Santa Claus.
The message is that if you’re good, Santa will be good to you.

That’s not who see in the Jesus of the gospel. Jesus doesn’t enter our lives by coming down the
chimney and he doesn’t fill our stockings with toys and treats if we’ve been good and lumps of coal if
we’ve been bad.

There’s a Calvin and Hobbes comic in which Calvin asks Hobbes, his stuffed tiger, “Do you think
there’s an evil Santa?”

Hobbes: “An evil Santa?”

“Yeah, like Santa’s deranged twin brother, or something! He’d make toys for all the bad boys and girls. Evil Santa would give all the dangerous, annoying and corrupting toys your parents won’t allow!”

Hobbes: “And if you’re good?”

Calvin: “He punishes you with shirts and underwear.”

How did Christmas get to be about overeating, overspending and over indulgence?

Perhaps some of you took advantage of Black Friday and now Black Saturday sales. Some of you
have finished Christmas shopping, others won’t start until a week before Christmas. I Christmas shop
right along with the rest of you, although I refuse to get mixed up in the Black Friday crowds. When
you reflect on the materialistic nature of the holiday, keep in mind that the idol of consumerism is one
of the hardest to topple. I know – I’m a scrooge and depressing for even suggesting that we might do
well to change our focus from free shipping and wish lists to the savior of the world. Reformer John
Wesley identified the wallet as the last thing to be converted in a person’s life, and Jesus spoke more
about money and materialism than any other single topic except the kingdom of God.

Several years ago someone wrote a letter to Ann Landers which was published some time in
February:

Dear Ann: It's taken me until now to recover from Christmas. I hope the subject isn't too out of
date for you to print. Now that Christmas is over, I am grateful I don't have to read any more
photocopied, generic holiday letters from so-called friends. I want to tell these people: If you can't
spare a couple of minutes to write a short personal note in your Christmas card, just sign your names and write to me in April when you aren't so busy. What nauseates me is that the letter goes on and
on about how wonderful your life is. Don't you have problems like normal people?

Every year, these letters sound like this: John got another promotion and is grateful for each new
challenge. Although he works long hours, he still found time to paint the house, build a larger kitchen
and coach little Bobby's soccer team to first place. My part-time job teaching children to read is so
rewarding and joyful, and the boys and girls call me Aunt Betsy. I also took up quilt-making and
Chinese cooking, and in my spare time, I teach aerobics and serve meals to the homeless at our
church shelter. Joe received full scholarships to both Harvard and Yale and can't decide which one to
accept. He is captain of the football team and was valedictorian of his class. Jane is active after
school in cheerleading, dance and volleyball. We were lucky enough to take three family vacations
this year to Disney World, Aruba and the Grand Canyon.'

Next Christmas, I plan to write my own holiday letter. It will go something like this: Budget cuts at
Ed's company resulted in many layoffs, and he has been unemployed for 10 months. The mortgage
company calls on a weekly basis to threaten foreclosure, but I am not worried because I was offered a part-time job at Burger King for $4 an hour. Our son Billy's new business was doing well until his
partner and best friend embezzled $25,000 and left with their secretary for the South Seas.

Jimmy has many friends. Unfortunately, they are members of the Deadly Snakes motorcycle gang
and wanted by the police. Suzy had her nose pierced for Christmas and looks like a freak. We had to
replace the roof on the house after that hurricane destroyed it. When we called the contractor, we
found out he went out of business due to many lawsuits against him. Our family vacation this year
consisted of visiting the Christmas display on Main Street.'

Ann, please sign this letter - Life Is Not a Bowl of Cherries But We're Doing OK in L.A.

Is God somehow absent from this lady’s life? No, not at all.

Christmas is the celebration of a miracle, which the dictionary defines as “an effect or extraordinary
event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a
supernatural cause. 2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God. 3. a
wonder; marvel.

Now here’s something really cool: You and I are miracle workers. You and I have the ability to make
amazing changes in the world. You don’t feel qualified? Don’t worry about it. God does miracles
through you. Do you think you are too ordinary? Moses was ordinary. Mary was ordinary. Jesus was
ordinary too. Isaiah says “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53 says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we
esteemed him not.

Most of us can identify with being ordinary. And it is a good thing that Jesus came as such an
ordinary man or we would find it nearly impossible to identify with him.

As the story illustrates, “a man went into a land of strangers where he saw many people fleeing
terrified from the field where they had been harvesting hay. They said to him, ‘There is a monster in
the field.’ He recognized it as a watermelon, went into the field, cut it from the vine, sliced it with his
knife and ate a piece. The workers were even more terrified of him than the monster. With their
hayforks they drove him from their land.

“Some years later, when there were many more ‘monsters’ in the field, another man traveled into this
land of strangers. They pointed out the monsters to him. He carefully tiptoed away with them. In the
village he taught them carefully and gained their confidence. Soon he was able to teach them how to
cultivate melons, and even how to eat them

If God were to appear to us as the almighty, omniscient, omnipotent , we would rightly be terrified.
Scripture tells us God was so awesome that no one could look at the face of God and live. But we
can see and trust and believe in a God who looks like Jesus! We can follow a God who looks like
Jesus! And we can trust that a God who looks like Jesus can use even you and me.

If you are counting on a particular gift under the tree on Christmas be careful; It might be there, but
you may be disappointed. It might not be there. Or perhaps it will be there, but once you own it, it
may lose its appeal, get old, or even wear out or break down. But every Spirit-filled Christian has the
potential for a God miracle within him or her, if you are willing to dream God’s dreams and act on
God’s vision.

This year as you prepare for Christmas, during Advent expect the miracle, not that you will get the
keys to a new car, or a ginormous flat screen TV, or a mink coat. Look for the miracle God is ready
and wanting to do in and through you.

Amen.

“I LOVE TO TELL JESUS’ STORY”

7.10.11 

MATTHEW 13;1-9,18-23

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. ²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹Let anyone with ears^* listen!’

‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.^{* 22}As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’

This is the word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

While in Tampa this past week, I got to spend some time with a cousin that I haven’t seen in 17 years, but always felt connected to even thought we lived so far apart from one another. While we communicate through Facebook and email, the ability to share our stories and how we got to where we are today is part of bringing our families together again. Our moms are sisters, and so we shared about their lives and how we were brought up so differently, but yet shared similar struggles and challenges. Between us, we shared stories after story about how religion, God, faith shaped us and led us to where we were sitting in the coffee shop, sharing our lives and our journey of faith. My cousin shared much of a very difficult past that he has been coming to terms with, and while he is explaining this to me, I can’t help but be reminded of all the weeds that have choked who we are, yet they are a PART of who we are.

The weeds of our lives keep coming back –we think they are dead but they are very much alive and help shape who we have become. When we openly shared the truth about who we were in the past and how we see ourselves and the place of faith in our present and future, then the blossoming flowers, the wheat, the life-giving part of ourselves came together. This is how Jesus wanted to us to remember his story -- by sharing ours.

Jesus is saying in a way :Let me tell you a story, a story that will change your life, that will make you feel differently about me and what I do in God’s name. This is what Jesus is trying to convey to his dispicles about parables. This one in particular is about us and Jesus and the world. Parables, are stories about the kingdom of God and how we fit into that kingdom. Stories are powerful witnesses to how we can choose to accept the story as part of our own life’s journey. Parables are not just about a moral or lesson in the end, many times I have found myself preaching parables there is a tendency to unlock the mystery of the parable, as if that will satifisy me the preacher as well as the congregation.

However, I don’t think Jesus wants us to pull the weeds out of the story, we need to read the story in its entirety, and look beyond the “magic formula”, instead, we see this as an opportunity to build a relationship with our Lord and Savior. Jesus wants to spend as much time as possible with his disciples, using these powerful and real images to strike up a conversation about faith.

Parables are the stories that touch us personally, that move us to grow in faith or transform us in some way, or even help us to feel more whole. The stories that Jesus tells us are not for our entertainment, they relate to our everyday lives. The weeds among the wheat help us to have a better understanding of the whole story. Even when we don’t like to hear about the not-so-good-stories, they might inspire us to change or choose a different path or move closer or further away from the truth of who we are and are relationship with God is.

My mom loved to write, she wrote for the Chicago Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers and wrote for WGN news out of Chicago many years ago. However, in the midst of all of this, she wrote many poems. After she died in 2009 I have spend the last two years typing these poems into the computer, since everything was done on a manual typewriter (remember those?). As I have been typing it has been an interesting journey, to experience my mom’s faith despite disability from childhood polio, having two children, and marriage and unemployment, and stories of growing up in a transient military family and living in Japan for 4 years after WW 2. I think about the stories that over the years she shared as a volunteer chaplain at the Rehabilation Center in Chicago to those at worship that would come back later and tell her that it was her stories that inspired them when they were feeling alone or in pain. the truth of my mom’s faith inspired many and inspired me to become who I am standing before you today.

Even though she thought her own stories were mundane and unremarkable, she still had a story to tell that I have been compiling and listening to the truth between the lines of her writing.

I hope that over the next several Sundays, we will tell stories about our faith, our lives, our children, our past, our present, our future, our church, our community. As you leave, you may take a small journal kit that you can use to inspire you to write or draw stories or images that will inspire you to tell the truth about yourself and your faith. Your journal is for you to keep and do what you want with –but it is also a way to think the weeds and the wheat in our lives. So many times, through writing in my own journal, I see how I can get stuck in the weeds and not move forward. Telling the truth about faith builds up the body of Christ, to move towards wholeness and a faith that is caught and not just taught to us.

In addition to being a pastor, I was first and foremost a Christian Educator, serving churches and teaching and reaching out through programs held at the churches I served. Over the years, I have moved from thinking that teaching bible stories and memory verses was enough because it isn’t. I have observed that the biggest learning comes, by getting CAUGHT by the Spirit – caught by the relationships between teacher and student, CAUGHT by a teacher that remembers a students name and treats them as a child of God. As a Sunday school participant myself, I remember my teachers, one of which I still stay in touch with, and she just retired from teaching Church school after 50 years. This is the kind of teacher that kids remember. When I was teaching and leading programs at churches, the biggest concern was getting all ages to show up and finding the “just right” currculum to meet everyone’s needs.

Both of these goals are unrealistic because teaching is not enough, rally days and Vacation Bible Schools and Sunday School is not enough – it is about finding the spirit within and feeling compeled to teach Jesus’ story, not only the good parts, but to listen to children tell their stories –to hear their needs and wants and to provide a safe place for them to grow and bond with the teachers and leaders and the friendships they formed.

Christian Education is about Spiritual Formation – Jesus didn’t teach Church School and do crafts and sing songs with the disciples. They told stories and listened to one another and formed a community that told more stories and helped others tell their stories.

It is also important to hear the stories –in worship we remember the stories again and again through our sacraments, baptism and communion. We have to hear the stories of Jesus life and death and ministry among us – if we don’t, there would not be any church. Jesus Story is OUR story.

We are inundated with stories that don’t stick in our lives –reality tv gives someone’s reality but it is not our own, and it is not Jesus’s reality. What are the stories that change us, transform us? Most of the stories that are meaningful to me, come from family, and come from those that have been role models or influenced me to be who I am today. These people BECAME Jesus’s story for me – their lives, their hopes and dreams and their passion for what they did was real enough for me. Whether the story has a happy ending or not or a moral is not the point. Somewhere along the journey I will remember these stories of my relationships that helped me to get a closer connection to God. Faith in one another and God will keep the weeds down enough to create a community that sees the truth in Jesus’s truth.

I encourage you to think about the truth that will set you free to get CAUGHT by the Spirit, and not stay in the weeds of the past, but create new nurturing, wholesome wheat for the future and future generations. I hope that you will take a journal kit and consider the questions in there and spend some time after each week in July thinking about the story – To truly accept Jesus’s story – we must listen to the story, tell our own story, and listen to new stories and new realities that bring our lives together along the journey.

Thanks be to God.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” ²⁸He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ ³⁷He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears^* listen!

This is the word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Yes. I am a muggle, and I love Dumbledore, watching a game of Quiddich and sometimes talk to he who must not be named about Hogwarts.

Has Rev. Rachel gone mad? No, I am just using Harry Potter-isms, a few of which have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary as NPR described on its segment on Friday. Potterisms, are words or phrases that come from the book series, Harry Potter and its cooresponding films.

Over the years, I have read as much as I can, but as many of you know, the books are very thick, but written in such a way that the reader is never bored. The story line follows an orphaned boy, living with his muggle uncle and aunt. Harry, however, soon finds out about his past and that he actually is a witch and not a muggle, which is a non-witch person. The books follow him and his close friends, through his journey to become a practicing witch as he attends Hogwarts school and battles the forces of evil in and outside of the classroom.

I have read most of the books and am a few books behind, but have followed my nieces and nephews as they devour the books as soon as they are off the press. I remember one summer, several of my nieces and nephews went to the local bookstore at midnight to wait for the release of the book. It has been fun to follow the story and even my husband and I over the years have enjoyed listening to the series on the books on tape, when we would drive cross country visiting family.

I think Harry appeals to many, as even though he is the hero, he is also the loner, an orphan, has a small following of friends but not the most popular, painfully shy and doesn’t have any parents but has an extended family that helps him and support him when necessary. He is smart and not well liked because of his connection to his famous father who was also an important character in the story. In this case, while the story line and characters are not real – the author engages us in such a way through her writing that it becomes real to us – this is the power of story.

Got me thinking: how does the church build community? by writing a best-selling book? well….we have that…the BIBLE! How many of us can say the Bible is REAL for us? Many of the stories in the Bible have shaped us, shaped this church up until this point. Will the story –the Biblical story—still create an impact on us in the future?

Parables help us to feel inspired this is one of my favorites because it brings up all the good elements of a story: good and evil, truth, mystery, threats, furnace of fire and other great imagery that helps us to see that the kingdom is not something to take lightly, but rather the Kingdom is a place that we need to prepare for not only physically but spiritually as well. Jesus explains what all this means to the disciples, and as we look again, for the moral of the story – the story still is one of mystery and intrigue because we don’t know the exact moment when the Kingdom will be revealed to us, but through story-telling, we hear and see the importance and value of this imagery of the weeds and the wheat at odds. While the story may be hard to hear, sometimes, it tells us the truth and the truth of these stories helps us to help others and inspires us to be passionate about what we do in this place.

Stories and films like Harry Potter or even Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, or Disney movies, or Star Wars series, provide cultural stories in our country that have shaped who we are in the secular sense. Good prevails over evil – the Bible sets the standard for all these other parables that we have heard and witnessed in our life. The Bible also shaped how we became Presbyterian and the stories I have heard over these few months about the history of this church and its pastors, and its foundation are all important to share with others.

Last week, I asked if any of us had a favorite Bible Story that we remember and could retell to someone else? I hope you had an opportunity to either write in a journal or draw or spend some time reflecting on what that story means to you. For many Harry Potter fans, the story and the movies will continue to inspire children to fight for good , and experience the mysteries of life and work toward the truth. The stories will be forever part of the culture and part of who we are. Hmmm…this sounds rather familiar….this is the goal of our Bible Stories too!

            While our church community is a place where the story is – the story is alive! It must be shared. Tell the story from the Bible that you know well, tell it like you tell stories when the kids go to bed and want you to read a story. Be inspired to share and make the story come alive.

One of my favorite stories about telling Bible stories, is the amazing story of Gladys Aelworth, a missionary who went alone to serve God in rural pre-communist China, where the people had never seen white people before and mistrusted them greatly. Under the tutaluge of another missionary who had an inn, they began to gain the trust of the locals by not opening a church, but by telling stories and providing a rest stop and food for weary travelers and their horses. At first, many people were afraid and mistrusted these two white women, but when they realized they were there to provide hospitality first, they came in for the much-needed rest along the journey. While the locals were eating supper, the two missionary women would share stories about a babe born under a star that became a King and the big whale that swallowed a man named Jonah, just to name a few. The travelers were so amazed by the stories, that when they were traveling through the area where the inn was, they would always stop and even request certain stories. The stories became part of the culture and the community and inspired people to come back and here them again and again. I still think about this approach because needs of the community were met, trust was established, hospitality shared – this is what telling the Church’s story is all about. It’s about telling Jesus story in a way that fits the needs of the community.

I ask myself this question everyday – how will we continue to inspire the next generations to tell the church’s story. Are we inspiring others to tell the Church’s story? There are stories that inspire us in many ways and they keep getting told and re-told and shared and they just keep us inspired to carry on that tradition, or that meaning for our family and their families for years to come.

            For your next mission, if you choose to accept it, is to share a story this week in your journal or elsewhere about your church. What are you excited about here at North Kent Presbyterian Church? How would you describe what this church means to you to someone who either doesn’t attend here or any church? And for extra credit, share a story about how you got to this church and what you love about it to someone else.

           When Jesus’ story becomes our story we then become a church. The church’s story is what will inspired us to keep telling Jesus’s story again and again. Tell the story and listen to the story – we already are the story and have made an inpact on those sitting here today and others who have come and gone over the years. The Church’s story is worth telling.

Thanks be to God.

"On the Road Again” NKPC 5/8/11

1 Peter 1:17-23 and Luke 24:13-35

In our scripture today, Jesus is demonstrating this notion of him being both human and divine. Fully Human, Fully Divine. In theological talk, it is called the incarnation – or, rather, this is the way Christians see Jesus as both equally – human and divine. One of the questions the Donald McKim book asks is –What is the incarnation? And I hope to share some thoughts with you today around our gospel story today. 

Imagine Jesus walking and talking. Maybe Jesus and his disciples were sharing stories about what happened on the day Jesus was crucified. Jesus took this time to honor and share the fruit of God’s amazing love as he walked and talked with the disciples. Yet, Jesus does not reveal himself to anyone –yet. In fact, his disciples only see this guy walking along with them as someone who is truly clueless as to the recent events that happened to Jesus.

Jesus is listening and waiting for the right moment to reveal himself along their journey. It isn’t until they all reach the house and have supper together that their eyes were opened.

In the sharing of a meal, in the breaking of bread, the story and the revelation of who is at table with these disciples becomes real. Jesus becomes real to the disciples and is very much alive.

It is like this when we meet another along the road of our faith journey. There are people and certain experiences that shape who we have become and why we have gone to church in the first place. Sometimes we have people in our lives that make an impact or not. Here’s one of mine.

While serving the homeless at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church, I often would go to the sanctuary and see if anyone was there that needed assistance from our social service center. There was a man that came fairly regularly, who I knew and our staff knew as our diagnosed schizophrenic who was also a homeless and like many other homeless folks, would come into the sanctuary to get warm during the winter. One particular weekday, while working there, I was called by the church office to come to the sanctuary as someone was Preaching there. Now this would not seem unusual for a church, except that there was no church service scheduled that day. So I went to the sanctuary and saw this man that I have seen many times before, but this time he seemed more agitated. He was standing in the Chancel area near the pulpit and holding up hand written page after page of various writings. Some of it he was reading out loud, some not.

The tourists that walked in and out of the large, stoic sanctuary did not stay to hear him preach, but rather did an about face and left quickly. I decided that I would go and sit in the pew closest to him and listen. I had never heard him speak before until now and he was saying things like God, if you love me will you help me and help all these sinners here. Are you listening, God? After a few minutes of this, he finally saw me and stopped what he was doing. I took the moment to say, what are you preaching about today? He didn’t answer at first, and I didn’t expect him to respond – but soon he quickly gathered up all his loose papers and said to me – God has a plan for all of us, even you. I hope I can know what my plan is soon. And then he quickly walked away and out onto Michigan Ave – out into the busy world where he will become invisible again to most passerby’s. But for me, I got a glimpse into how God works through all of us. We get a glimpse through these stories of the human and divine and where they meet. In Celtic spirituality, the expression of this crossroads is the concept of the “thin place”. A place where we can experience Jesus as both a human and divine.

“A thin place is anywhere our hearts are opened,” writes Marcus Borg.  “They are places where the boundary between the two levels becomes very soft, porous, permeable.  Thin places are places where the veil momentarily lifts and we behold (the “ahaah of The Divine”)….all around us and in us”. (Borg’s The Heart of Christianity, 2003).

Are we willing to open our hearts, to see the place between, the human and divine as members of the church? This man from the homeless shelter opened his heart and said some truthful things – that really came I believe from God in that moment. Clarity for this man, came in the form of a brief encounter in a big church in a big city. God was present there.

Rather than intellectualizing, Presbyterizing and compartmentalizing our faith, we have taken away the mystery that keeps us wondering and hoping about what will come next. We are so busy watching the clocks that we forget that this may be for some the only hour or so in which we can sit in God’s time, and not ours. Time stands still when these God moments become flesh and dwell and walk among us.

Perhaps a simple piece of fruit will help us.

Image of an orange – skin (human) and fruit (divine).

(Peel orange to reveal its inner parts)

The place in between. the white thin skin around the orange is the thin place, the crossroad of what this incarnation, this story in our scripture is all about.

We are not in control of this thin place, this point where our humanity and divine-ness meet. As much as we want to keep this orange intact and look at its controlled existence, We are also tempted by its sweet scent, its delicious taste and wonder is it ripe enough to eat.

There is a mystery to the fruit before us as to what it holds for us –we might wonder if it will refresh us, or satisfy our hunger?

The only way we can find out is by peeling away the human side of things to get deeper to the meaning of what we seek spiritually –in our lives and in our church.

Is our hunger being satisfied as spiritual beings? We are so USED to going about our human existence that we forget to breath out to truly “taste and see” and sense that the Lord IS Good.

The Road to Emmaus is not just about us reaching the end or even finding the right answer to satisfy our hunger. It is about looking for the stories and places that bring both the human and divine together. The journey of faith does not end once you walk out the door here and go back out into the world. The journey of faith puts us on the road again and again and again.

I Peter says: “Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Peter 1: 22-23)

Until we can love from the heart, the seeds of faith will not truly be planted to carry on our faith and to create a church in which we are passionate about . My hope for each of us present here is to think about what are we passionate about in our faith? How can we share what we believe with others in our community and in our lives? Do you want to be here? Why do you come?

Several of you have shared with me about things you would like to see and do –keep the ideas coming! However, what happens when new things happen? How will the church respond? In the next several months, we will be expanding a little bit more each week on what it means to live as Christ intended.

We might try or experience new things and maybe even grow in our faith journey. I hope that we will each think about our faith stories and be willing to share what it means to tell the story along this road. Jesus is walking with us and he is waiting for us to recognize him in between our busyness and our doubts and fears about what this faith stuff is all about.

I would encourage you to read along with me, the Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers book. However, the answers are also there to inspire us how to live into what it means to be Presbyterian for every generation and for those who have no idea what being Presbyterian means. How do we meet people where they are at along the journey along the road? We are so busy walking we forget to look around and see who is right there next to us.

Sometimes we are afraid to look at people different from us, that may not be telling us the whole story for one reason or another, yet they are children of God also. Just when we think he have it all figured out – God sends us people like the one I encountered so many years ago, and has continued to do so.

Take the time to share a meal with someone and share what it means for you to bridge these two places that Jesus dared to live between – the human life and the divine life.

As Christians, we cannot see Christ as only one or the other. Our humanity cannot survive without the Spirit of God within us. While the roads of our lives, may have bumps and detours and road construction, we cannot be discouraged. We are told in I Peter to “love one another deeply from the heart” . Like this fruit, God has been good to us, we reap the rewards, and how are we giving back? We must go back to that road seeking not just our human needs but seeking our passions for the God that created us. It is with this, that I say, thanks be to God.

John 14:15-21

‘Presbyterians Questions, Presbyterian Answers –Who is the Holy Spirit?

McKim says: “ The Spirit points to God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus and operates to make the knowledge of Jesus Christ known. This is seen in two major aspects of the Spirit’s activity: the Spirit’s work in relation to Scripture and Spirit’s work in relation to salvation.” (p. 45)

The Spirit is alive in scripture – when we say that the scripture moves us to act, or respond with love to a difficult situation, or just helps us start our day or end it at night, this is the Spirit moving through us as we read scripture and as we teach and share it with others.

The Spirit is alive in how we share it with others –alive within us and our community. However – we rarely take note of the impact of the Holy Spirit’s power on the church, and ourselves and our circumstances. When we help a member get back on their feet, or go on a mission trip, or provide disaster relief for neighboring communities, or clean up the church together this is the Spirit of the God who saves us from just doing it for ourselves and helps us to then become advocates for others.

Of course, many of us might here the term Advocate and immediately be reminded of a legal perspective, or someone advocating for another, such as a lawyer or a guardian of sorts. This is someone who advocates for victims of crime or circumstance, usually an attorney.

Yet, how often do we think when we see a lawyer that the holy spirit is present within the case they are working on? Well, the Holy Spirit is present is all things that give life to another even in the court. 

However, Frederick Buechner in his book, Wishful Thinking, A Seeker’s ABC (San Fransisco, CA: Harper, 1993), 110, says that, “the word spirit has come to mean something pale and shapeless, like an unmade bed.” He invites us to return to its earlier meanings, such as Breath. He further encourages us to ponder, to see and the feel the “contagiousness” of the Holy Spirit, that is of God, powerful, mysterious and life-giving. The Spirit is about life and not death. It is about new beginnings and new openings to possibilities. The Holy Spirit, whom is also known as an advocate, lives for the life of another, supports another in bettering their quality of life.

Recently, a friend gave me a copy of The Shack, by William Young, a best-selling Christian Fiction book that she insisted was one of the best books she ever read. Intrigued, but skeptical of its contents, I began to read. It is an engaging story about a man named MacKenzie and his struggles with inner demons and the existence of God. MacKenzie goes to a shack in the woods to try to deal with what is keeping him from moving forward in his life. While the book theology seems somewhat simplistic and predictable, it offers some wonderful images of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in human form and how they relate to one another in the story is thought-provoking. The Holy Spirit image, however stuck out for me and gave insight into this part of the Trinity that is often misunderstood.

“The Spirit who main character MacKenzie encounters in the shack is called Sarayu. She is a small, distinctively Asian woman who collects tears in a fragile crystal bottle. She shimmers in the light and her hair blew in all directions even though there was hardly a breeze. She is described as being easier to see out of the corner of your eye than if you look at her directly. She is a gardener, a breeze, a breath of fresh air.

Wikipedia gives the origin of her name, Sarayu, as a feminine derivative of the root word, sar, which means to flow. It also comes from a masculine stem which can mean “air” wind, or that which is streaming. “ (Lectionary Homiletics on The Shack, May 29, 2011, 76)

The Spirit’s role in this fictional story was also as an advocate –but one that was to give a new perspective for not only the main character of the story, but also for the reader. Often time the images of the Holy Spirit are centered around the image of the dove and of course the Hebrew word, Ru’ah, which means breath and the Greek word – Pneuma for wind. We are given these images to help us to better understand the notion of the Holy Spirit.

Monday is Memorial Day in which we take the time to advocate for those soldiers who have died in past wars. Historically, it is also a day to focus on reconciliation and remembrance, as well as its broader practice of remembering loved ones with visits and the planting of flowers on their graves, reflect the theme of this reading on love of one another, the human web of caring, and the “great cloud of witnesses” in our lives and faith, including Jesus.

For me every Sunday is like Opening Day of the Baseball season. There is a new lineup of new possibilities – and whether you win or lose the game –everyone connects to a common purpose to enjoy the game and the sights and smells and tastes and sounds of the crowd. Unfortunately, it is also easy enough to say – oh well, its just another Sunday, its another thing I have to add to the list. This is not what new life has been given to us through Christ’s resurrection. The new life is about life within us –flowing and moving within us and changing us as quickly as the wind changes. Its not about the score –well, okay, I admit I would love for the CUBS to get that World Series moment—but with that said, sitting at a game and experiencing the fellowship with friends and fans is what is most memorable in my mind in the many games I have attended over the years. For some the church is a place for results and answers – this means things are final and done once a final response is given. Yet, the Holy Spirit has much more work to do within us and others. The Holy Spirit moves through scripture and how we respond to others beyond a few moments on a Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit gives us space to grow and question and make room for more questions and more growth.

Anne Lamott, author and Presbyterian church member, said at a college graduation commencement address --“We cannot make ourselves feel the Spirit, be we can sit up and strain to hear. Pay attention. Be kind. Care for those who are usually left out. Refuse to cooperate with anyone or anything that’s trying to push the Spirit out of our lives. Listen to the lonely. Listen to God. Rest when we need to. Laugh when we should. Forgive and hope. Share God’s love. Welcome God’s peace. Open our hearts to God’s gentle Spirit.”

Thanks be to God.

NKPC May 22, 2011

“The House that Christ Built”

Some of you might know what this is. It is a transformer toy. This toy looks like a robot, but it can turn into a car or truck or boat. Transformers have this ability to change at the push of a button into something that can create or destroy life. Transformation changes these figures into something else and you can change them back into what they were before –the robot form. The change is usually only physical. They are two things within one body.

Jesus, on the other hand, is working toward transforming the world, and the big difference is once change happens the original form is lost, the original life is gone. Also the change is not just physical, it is an emotional and spiritual state of change. In this case the change occurs in accepting a new place – a spiritual home, a community, that Jesus is giving us in which we will discover the way we should go. A way to be transformed, a way to discover who we really are underneath our physical self.

I especially am drawn to this opening verse in the John passage –“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The trouble is, that the disciples were still struggling with change. How will they know the way?, says Thomas. How will these disciples face, or embrace life without Jesus leading them as sheep through the gate? What is so troubling that Jesus has to comfort the disciples at this point?

Perhaps the disciples now are recognizing that they will soon be on their own and Jesus’s earthly body will be gone, so they need to carry on the message of God’s trans formative power.

God is revealed through both words and works of Jesus. The hope is that those who follow Jesus will see beyond Jesus physical presence on earth and see Jesus as a way to understand God’s presence in their lives. The dwelling place is the place we go find out about this relationship between God and Jesus. It is the house that Christ built for us.

When Jesus ascends to heaven, we find God eventually takes on a new shape – the Holy Spirit. Our transformer toy can move from robot to vehicle with a few twists and turns, but they are still one and the same. Similarly when Jesus dies and is resurrected, God and Jesus are one and the same.

Yet, Jesus physical presence is gone and a new life and new Spirit is coming. Jesus asks, “ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14: 10, 11)

The disciples have been asking the question – when will Jesus come again? This question is also asked from our book, Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers. Jesus will be coming again – and many folks thought yesterday was the day. However, while we wait for the kingdom of God to come, we also live in the here and now. We need to do good works and continue to strengthen our faith as God’s people. According to Don McKim from the book, Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers,

“Presbyterians believe we live in this period between the “already” and the “not Yet”. We serve Jesus Christ in the church, sharing the good news of the gospel and serving the world in ministries of compassion, justice and peace. In these actions, we have an anticipation of God’s ultimate reign. We get a small “preview” of the coming kingdom.” (McKim, 102)

Jesus is offering us a new home, a new place to live that is accessible to all, if we so choose to accept it. It is in the new place that we will see God. I believe that this passage is helping us to understand that Christ is the way to God. And yet, this is also the place where once again we meet at that thin place between the earthly home and the heavenly home. The place where we better understand this relationship of God and Jesus, our spiritual transformers.

Our son enjoys transforming himself into various super heroes and sometimes animals or monsters or friends with the help of various costumes and objects around the house. While my husband and I witness the amazing creative transformation through these various stages of our child’s development, we see the costumes as a change to the outer part of who he is.

It is the change within, and not just how he creates his own costumes, or creates new stories and role-plays with us stories that he doesn’t just read about or see on T.V. It is how he plays with his friends and creates new ways of playing with toys beyond what their original function is about. I have no idea what all this creativity will transform into as he gets older. I don’t know what God has in store for him and for each of us. God is also preparing a place for us – a place of peace and acceptance and a place where all are welcome both here and now and in the future. So, as I mentioned on a recent facebook status, The past may shape us, but it doesn't have to define us in the present, and it shouldn't control our future.

I was reflecting on this status recently and how as members of this body of Christ – the church we also wear costumes of sorts, such as, the “person who always makes the coffee”, or the “one who always volunteers for church school” “or the one who always goes on mission trips”. Perhaps we should instead see our transformation as constant as Jesus intended. We are not only here to function and maintain –moving from the robot to the vehicle mode.

Although this is needed, it is not all we do as church folks. If we as Church people can see and accept God’s way as our way, and not our way as THE way, then we will open to finding the transformation beyond what we do and looking at how others can build up Christ’s house, Christ’s dwelling place. If we look at one another in this sacred space right now and say – I see Christ’s light within you. What would that feel like? How would that change us? (ask congregation to try it).

Maybe we are changed when we leave church on Sunday, maybe we are changed because we took the time to speak with a stranger today, but most likely we are changed by God’s transforming love and power through Christ example before his disciples. So, let the transformation continue – we may find that Jesus has many different plans for us and not just what we have pinned ourselves into. The House that Christ built is a place where we will see creation in motion. and the good news is that: JESUS IS STILL COMING! SO PREPARE AS CHRIST PREPARED HIS DISCIPLES –WITH LOVE AND ASSURANCE FOR ONE ANOTHER, THIS CHURCH COMMUNITY AND OUR WORLD.

THANKS BE TO GOD.

NKPC May 15, 2011

Speaking of sheep, here come a few of them now, do you have some questions for us to think about?

(Pause)

If you would like answers to these questions from a Presbyterian perspective, please check out the Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answer book available now while supplies last. This book that you don’t have to read straight through –just open to any page and a thought provoking question will pop out at you –guaranteed or your money back! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

As a teen, I remember being asked, about my faith from kids at school. I was very involved in my Presbyterian Church growing up and participated in youth group and attended church school and volunteered in the nursery and even was a deacon. I thought I knew what I believed pretty well, until I would get the occasional question, “Was I saved”? This question was confusing to me, because I knew I was a Christian, all my life I worshiped, sang and learned about Jesus. Wasn’t that good enough?

But for the inquirer, this answer was not enough. Of course, as a youth, I would just naively answer with the question, “Saved from what?” “I don’t need to be rescued!” (Pause) Somehow my answer wasn’t satisfactory. I professed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at confirmation time and read my statement of faith before the congregation –wasn’t that enough? But no one in my church talked to me about being saved. I knew about being saved through grace – which sounded better and more real to me. However, I STILL felt like my answer was still not correct, somehow. So, I asked one of the pastors at my home church in Chicago, what exactly DO I say? What kind of Christian am I? And in light of our scripture today, are we in or out if we are not saved? Can I still come to church?

Even as I stand before you today and reflect on these early years of ministry, I think about what the minister shared with me so many years ago. It does have to do somewhat with this passage from John – in which we read sometimes tentatively, as if to disrupt our Presbyterian sensibilities and get stuck on the words, that Jesus is the only way into the gate. Thank God for pastors that could speak to me so I could understand what this meant, and in reality, I wasn’t far off from my answer to this individual who kept probing me for the “right” answer.

So, the answer comes from a much deeper understanding – that this is about Jesus love for us to save and to serve as our calling. The shepherd guides and does not judge or force any of the sheep to follow. The sheep trust the one that leads with love and compassion and direction.

As we study, listen and pray through this text, it is easy to say, oh yeah, that’s the text that perhaps keeps me separated from other Christians because well, Presbyterians aren’t SAVED….are we? Again, I hope that you will take a moment to read this section in our book Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers. Are Presbyterians saved – is probably one of the more challenging of the questions. This passage from John is more than just about a sheep and a shepherd and a gate. It is more than about the cross and Jesus’s life laid down for us. If we don’t look at what the shepherd is doing, we risk losing the powerful offer of new life contained in Jesus’ words throughout the whole story. The shepherd leads with love and this is what we are called to do as well.

We must adjust our attitude about how we see salvation – it is not a word we should shy away from – we can be transformed by not just a few words or phrases in the story, but rather the whole story in which we see the full character of God that is revealed to us in Jesus. Let us instead have an attitude of gratitude for what Jesus has done for us to keep us on track.

I have a close friend that I chat with fairly regularly. We hold Prayer chats online when we have had rough days or want to celebrate and share our joys. Many years ago, she explained to me that she received the Lord into her heart and became a born again Christian. However, with this title, she feels comes great responsibility, one that she has wrestled with off and on throughout her life. She has felt that the expectation to have a personal relationship with Jesus is so great, she forgets the rest of the story. She forgets that Jesus journey to the cross is also part of the understanding that is confusing when we say or hear are you saved?

I am always amazed to hear stories of people like my friend that come out of darkness and into the light and continually are led back into the sheepfold and know that Jesus is part of the whole journey. While she may be “saved”, she often has revealed to me her concern over forgiveness of her past life, as if it doesn’t exist. I share with her that her past is still a part of her, just as Christ’s suffering is a part of his.

I assure her that to be saved is a transformation that doesn’t happen overnight – it is a lifetime journey. It does not mean to dismiss the old for the new, but rather to learn from the old to embrace the new. We may be safely back in the sheepfold, but it doesn’t mean we forget about the times we were lost or forgotten.

Yes, you can have a personal relationship with Jesus, but even Jesus himself would insist on doing it within a community in which this relationship is formed. Our lives happen –things happen to us which change us and shape who we are and what we believe.

The reality for those of us who follow Jesus’ teachings is discovering that each story leads us to understanding what it means for us to witness Jesus’ suffering on the cross and then to experience resurrection. When we suffer, Christ suffers. Jesus’ experience on the cross reminds us that we are in this together. Jesus is the gift given by God – the greatest gift of all.

Jesus’s saving power began over 2,000 years ago. It is through his example, his life and teaching and suffering and rising again that newness and wholeness comes and will come for each of us. “Our (Presbyterian) tradition is a focus on God’s saving action rather than human action”. Our emphasis will always be on God who saves and redeems rather than our own words or actions in saving ourselves.” (3, Presbyterians in the Bible Belt)

It is easy to try to frame this scripture into what we must do, whereas, this is about what God is doing for the whole community. It may not feel like it, but our liturgical calendar tells us that we are still in the Easter season. We still need to keep in mind the joy of the season and freedom that comes with resurrection.

Jesus saves me every day –through the prayer chats with my friend, through the eyes of my four year old son, through the stories of what is happening in the middle east, and in Africa and even in our own denomination. I am saved by God’s grace that gives me hope when I am having a bad day or when I see people transformed through worship, friendship, or finding a church home. Every day is a reminder that we can and will be saved from ourselves, from the things that keep us from communities such as this.

In Hawaiian the word for Pastor is Kahu, which literally means Shepherd. I was Kahu Rachel, not pastor or reverend while we lived in Hawaii. Even though I am already an ordained pastor, the title of Kahu must be earned by the church community. To shepherd ones faith community comes not only from the pastor, but it comes from all of the people – pastor and congregation –together. Kahu holds a different weight of responsibility to me – but it also reminds me that shepherds are not kings, they are not queens, they are not royalty. They are in the muck and walking with the sheep. Sometimes they have to carry the sheep even when they are tired or sick or just not up to doing it at all. Sometimes it is a lonely time, or sometimes a peaceful time for the shepherd then everyone can celebrate – the community celebrates the gift of the sheep and of bounty. There truly is a bit of the shepherd in all of us. They are the teachers, like the ones here today in which we appreciate their service in the trenches of ministry. They are the children, that carry the stories and the questions about our faith into the future and keep them coming back for more. The shepherd, is the one that guides the sheep –steering them in the direction of the safe place – the place where we will be cared for and loved and tended, as a garden.

This sounds so great, doesn’t it? Yet, we know life doesn’t always work this way. We cannot stay in our gated community forever. Once in a while we stray away, following things that probably won’t help us. Being safe doesn’t mean not responding to the world around us. I think today, it is about remembering who the shepherds are in our life and those relationships. We must take the time to stop and remember who it is that saved us in our lives, who brought us here to this place – at this point along our faith journey? After all, Jesus finds us and brings us back to center. Aren’t we called to do that for others in the fold? This is that saving grace that Jesus is reminding his disciples about here.

Being saved is not just about living a life of complacency or accepting Christ and then you are done – it is about service to one another, to your family to the community. The question, are we saved is relevant for us –even if we get nervous saying it out loud. I guess another way of thinking about it is – what will keep those sheep that wander and stray from time to time, coming back for more to this sheepfold? We forget that as sheep in this sheepfold, we are called to save and to serve – this is the attitude adjustment that we need to acknowledge and accept as Christian people.

Otherwise, we too, are just like ordinary shepherds, running away from the difficult questions, the wolves, that prevent us from being passionate about our church and its ministry here. So ask the question – of yourself, of those you shepherd, of your shepherds that guide you, of your community. Together, the community will celebrate when we understand the whole story – the story that Christ blessed us with so long ago. The good news is that God gave us his only son to save us and welcomes us all –no matter where we come from, or where we are going – back into the sheepfold. Thanks be to God.