Life and death

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15/ Luke 23: 32-46

As famously quoted by Benjamin Franklin- “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, but death and taxes.”  And while he was talking specifically about our constitution, he was right. 

Death is a stark realization of life that we cannot avoid.

I remember the first people I ever knew that died, Amy and Suzanne.  I was 11 years old.  Amy was the older sister of one of my best friends and Suzanne was a classmate of mine.  Amy was killed in a tragic car accident on the way home from a school event with her best friend driving.  Just a couple of weeks later, Suzanne died in a house fire unable to escape the thickening smoke around her.   Both were sudden and both rocked my community to its core.  It was a tragedy that I will never forget and they caused us to hold on a little tighter to those we love and to life itself. 

The lessons about death often begin at a very early age but it is something we never really get used to. 

We say things like: they were taken too young, they lived a full life, or we bemoan the life they left behind- all the things they could have accomplished in this life and we grieve for the friends and family who are left behind to carry on without them. 

Death is often painful and heartbreaking so we do our best to avoid it.  We search for things we hope will keep us young and vibrant. Last ditch efforts at extreme and untested medical options that we hope will extend our lives just a little longer.  Death scares us and even though we know it is an inevitable part of life, we still try to deny its existence. 

Some churches try to capitalize on our fear of death.  They use it as a way to coerce people into believing in God.  I guarantee I am not the only one in this room who remembers being at revivals and church events when the preacher would passionately ask… If you die tonight- would you be right with God?  Would you know Jesus? Would you go to heaven?  I have even heard this question asked at funerals.   If you loved this person in this life, give your life to Jesus so you can see them again in the next. 

If all we are waiting for is heaven.  If all that matters is where we go after we die… then what’s the point of living?   If we know that death is coming sooner or later and we know we can’t deny it or avoid it… why not just give up?  Why not sit in a dark corner, bible in hand and wait?

If all we are focused on is what happens after we die, then we have missed the point. 

The Scripture from Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time to be born and a time to die but there is a lot that goes on in between!

Our Gospel lesson today has Jesus at the very end of his earthly life; in the midst of excruciating pain, constant ridicule, suffering and eminent death, even the people being executed with him won’t leave him alone but yet, even in these last moments, Jesus has not given up. 

All through the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem.  Biblical scholars call it the travel narrative because Jesus is constantly making his way to the place that will end his life.  Jesus knows where he is going and why and yet all along the way, with this end in mind, he kept his focus on fulfilling God’s will, not only for his death but for his life as well.  On the way, he ate and drank, celebrated, mourned, laughed and cried.  He healed, taught, counseled, got angry and loved.  He embraced the untouchable, accepted the rejected, prayed and worshiped. 

He lived life to the fullest- even to the very end.  There is a time to die, but it wasn’t yet.  There was still work to do.  Even as he hung on the cross taking his last breaths, he was still doing the work of God- loving, forgiving and understanding our brokenness.

People in churches around the world complain that we are just too old to do anything.  We need new, young people to do all the things we used to do.  We don’t think we can do mission and ministry any more.  But if you are reading this or hearing this- I am sorry to inform you but you aren’t dead yet!  There is still life and blood running through your veins and there is still purpose in your life. 

There is a lot of life to be lived between the time of our birth and the time of our death.  And things may not be as easy as they once were, we may have to modify how we live life.  We may have to use a cane, or get a stronger prescription for our glasses, stop and rest on occasion or we may have to ask other people for help but we are not helpless and there is always a way God can use us, now, just as we are, in the condition we are in.  It may not look like the ministry and missions you did in your youth but God still has work for us to do and still has a plan and a purpose for this church and every one of us sitting in these pews. 

God doesn’t want us to sit back and just wait for death to come.  God wants us to leave this world kicking and screaming, fighting to be in service for Christ just one more day. 

Lord!  Just give me a little more time!  Look- there’s someone I can feed, and another one I can clothe and look!  This one- Please let me tell them how much you love them!  Let me be your servant just a little longer!

This life we have been given is a gift and it isn’t about waiting patiently for death to arrive.  It isn’t about believing the right thing so that we can get into heaven.  Death isn’t about heaven and hell.  If we live our lives in service to Christ, if we sincerely ask God- what do you want from me?  If Jesus is our focus then we have already found heaven- and eternal life with Christ will just be the cherry on top of a life well lived. 

Maybe we should ask that evangelical, revival question.  If you were to die tonight… but not would you go to heaven- but how well will you have lived your life?  Will Jesus say- well done, good and faithful servant?  Or, will he say, eh here’s another “good Christian” who just gave up? 

Although the crucifixion was important, death was not the sole point and purpose of Jesus’ mission on earth.  There was a lot of life packed into his short time on earth.  Maybe we could wonder- how much more Jesus could have done if he had walked the earth just a little longer.  I don’t know who said it but one of my favorite quotes is this “It isn’t about the days in your life but the life in your days that counts.”

Are you living your life to the fullest potential God has created it for?  Are you giving everything you have to the service of Christ or are you just waiting for the end to come; hoping you’ve done just enough to get through the gates of heaven? 

As a parting thought I want to share the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas- written in London shortly after world war II 

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 *This sermon is influenced by "Beginnings an introduction to Christian faith" ch. 4 by Andy Langford and Mark Ralls

What does God look like?

John 4: 3-26/ Exodus 3: 13-15

Have you ever wondered what God looks like?  Maybe you have the image of an old man with a beard who looks kind of like Gandalf the Gray from Lord of The Rings, or a skinny Santa Clause.  Or, maybe you imagine the vision Michelangelo painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel as God reaches out to touch the hand of Adam.  We can get a little obsessed in this question.  Genesis tells us that we, humankind, were created in the image of God so God MUST look like us right?  Just wiser and obviously old since God was around at creation billions of years ago. 

People have asked this question at least since the days of Moses.  Moses didn’t see God in human flesh but instead in the vision of a burning bush.  God had never been seen before and God was considered too amazing to look at so God was disguised in things like fire and cloud.  But what was Moses supposed to do- tell everyone a burning bush spoke to him? Crazy!!  He needed evidence so he asked for God’s name.  Moses is told that God’s name is “I Am”. What a powerful testimony to God!  I am, I am what? I am: creator, giver of life, love, justice, compassion, mercy, breath, bread, water, savior.  I am, I exist, I am all you can ever understand and more. 

They had never encountered such an all-encompassing God before.  In Egypt, the Pharaohs were considered gods.  The other religions that surrounded them thought of god as these wooden, stone, or metal creations that never really did anything. There were gods for each community and nation.-- It is awe inspiring to realize that all of a sudden they knew that God cannot be contained or assigned to any one thing.  Think for a moment what that means- God is “I am”  Whatever you can imagine- that is God.  God is no longer this wise old man but everything- omnipresent in all of creation.  It kind of makes me pause to think of God in this way, real and tangible but at the same time distant. 

God made God’s self known to the Israelite people so that they could know that they were no longer second class citizens in Egypt but accepted and included in the bigger plan for God’s world.  God provided them with acceptance, wholeness and meaning, leaders to guide them, food and water to help them survive in difficult times and a way to be in community with God and with each other. 

As time passed people repeatedly forgot and remembered and forgot again this characteristic of God- people began to distance themselves from God. 

Because God is in everything it became easy to overlook God’s presence, take it for granted.  Prophets had become silent, miracles and healing began being attributed to magicians and false teachers.  The people began to experience a collective Attention Deficit Disorder. They needed something to worship and focus their attention on so they focused on the temple and the rules of worship.  Instead of imitating the acceptance they received from God-Only special people were allowed to do special things.  Only people with a specific heritage, skin color, income level, only those who break the socially acceptable rules and wear the right clothes can come to worship and then only after they were willing to pay the tithe.  Sounds a little familiar doesn't it?  Churches all over the world still act that way.  Christians only want to worship with people who look, think and act like them, sin in the same ways that they sin, and follow the same rules that they think are important.  People remembered God’s name but forgot God’s spirit.  God was still the great “I Am” but many people stopped participating in God’s plan and stopped imitating the character of God in their relationships. 

The woman at the well was one of those people who were not accepted in the temple.  She was an outcast.  She was a Samaritan, a half-breed, part Jewish, part Assyrian heritage.  Just by her lineage she was deemed unworthy of the attention of a Jewish person, much less a full-fledged conversation. 

She was a woman which also immediately made her a second class citizen.  Not only was she female but she had also been married 5 times- virtually unheard of in her day and let’s be honest- not exactly honorable in our day- and the man whom she was with now was not her husband.  Not only was she shunned by the Jews but her own people had disowned her.  Her status was so low that she couldn't even go to the well for water in the cool of dawn and dusk as her neighbors did- she was forced to go in the heat of the day instead.

Even in this brief encounter we can see into the brokenness of this woman’s life.  Either she has mourned the death of husbands or been rejected by them.  She is damaged goods- her friends and family have turned their backs on her.  People gossip about her and make her feel small and useless. 

Jesus takes this opportunity to allow us to get a glimpse not only of this woman but of ourselves.  We have all felt rejected at some point in our lives.  We have all felt unworthy of honor and ashamed of our life circumstances.  And, as we get a good look in the mirror in the eyes of this woman, we also see into the heart and soul of God.  Jesus doesn't seem to care who this woman is.  He knows who she is- better than she knows herself and before she has a chance to tell him her story he is telling it for her.  Even if she is all this and more- Jesus, the heart of God, shows her she is worthy and loved.

We believe that Jesus is God incarnate- God made flesh and for the first time people can see God.  They can look into the eyes of Jesus and see the spirit of God.  He isn't some old man sitting on a cloud.  He is present with them, poor, dirty, thirsty and hungry just like you and me and this woman.  God is no longer distant and in this interaction we can see all the things God is. 

As Jesus interacted with the woman at the well and everyone else he encountered, we can see God’s spirit in the life of Jesus.  When we see Jesus, we see “the true nature of God.”  In Jesus we see God made flesh; we see the heart and soul of the great I Am. 

This woman was a nobody.  Everyone it seems Jesus cared about were considered nobodies: sinners, drunkards, adulterers, crooks, hypocrites, lazy, sick and broken, the very people that had been ignored or over looked by society.  As Jesus cared for them, accepted them into his company, ate with them, drank with them, spoke with them and loved them they felt all the things that God intended for us to experience from the beginning, all the things God tried to teach the Israelites by taking the name "I Am" are encompassed in the life and actions of Jesus. 

Jesus never told this woman she was forgiven or healed or accepted.  He just did it.  He welcomed this outcast into his world through conversation, companionship and the statement that she and all her people had been hoping and dreaming would one day come true- He is I Am. The Messiah had come and they too were part God’s plan for this world.  When we come to know Christ, we are called to be like this woman who is overflowing with excitement over who she has just met.  She is so excited she runs back to town- to all those people who have discarded her to proclaim the presence of the Messiah and share with them the same love, forgiveness and mercy she had received.  She has seen the heart of God and she couldn’t contain it any longer. 

When we see the heart of God- God wants us to do the same thing-Allow it to change us and overflow with the living water.  But, maybe this world too has begun to forget who God is.  It has been 2000 years since Jesus walked this earth.  Have our memories begun to fade?  Although we have story after story painting an elaborate picture of the heart of God, we still imagine him as an old man with a long beard.  We argue and discuss what Jesus would have really looked like- blond hair and blue eyes or olive skin with dark eyes and curly hair? 

Has our spiritual ADD finally kicked in?  Have we gotten caught up with the physical, the social and the emotional brokenness that separates us that we have forgotten to look past all that to see the spirit of God in each other?   We half-heartedly throw around the title Christian.  We take it on but don’t acknowledge the responsibility that comes with it. 

Dictionary.com defines the suffix -ian to mean one who has the same meaning and properties as the root word.  As we accept the title of Christian we are claiming that we too have the same meaning and properties as Christ.  That means that the God who is I Am is to be seen and manifest in each one who accepts this title.  That we are to have the same spirit of God in our lives, that when people look at us and spend time with us they too feel the presence of God- the loving, accepting, challenging us to be better, forgiving and merciful God whom we confess. 

What does God look like?  God is still the Great I Am-omnipresent, in all of creation- including you and me.  Jesus, the true spirit of God is seen every time someone acts with the heart of God.  Can people see Jesus in you? As we seek to imitate the life of Jesus, we seek to imitate and show others what God looks like.  Can you accept the challenge to be a little more Christian each day and in every encounter you have with Creation?  It is a journey that only ends when we are made perfect in God’s love.  But it is a journey we can begin again today.

What's the point?

Lamentations 3: 19-24/ John 3:1-15 

A teenager stares confused at his math homework, frustrated at its complexity, slams the book shut and yells… What’s the point!?!   A mother in her 20’s tries her best to console her crying baby.  Leaning her head against the wall she too begins to cry.  Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing with my life?

A 50 year old man looks out his office window- long hours and a stressful job separates him from his friends and family.  Sighing, he mumbles, there’s got to be more to life than this! A couple in their 70’s drives home from yet another funeral.  Family and friends keep leaving them behind and they each silently gaze out the window pondering the meaning of life.

What’s the point? What am I supposed to do with my life? What is the meaning of life?   We’ve all asked these questions or ones like them at some point and time or another.  Even joyous moments bring up these feelings- We saved up all year long for this family vacation- for what-to drive 15 hours and stand in line in the hot sun to see a man in a mouse suit? 

There’s got to be more to life than this… we are all searching for  the answer to this universal question…what’s really important?  We aren't alone in our search.  Many people have this void in their lives and we search diligently to find something-anything to fill it.  We fill our time with worry, anxiety, anger and resentment towards others- allowing other things and people we can’t control to occupy our thoughts. If your single- maybe you are looking to find fulfillment in a spouse.  Or if you’re married, maybe you’re looking to find confirmation of your youth and vitality in the arms of another person. Maybe we fill our time with so many small, menial, and pointless chores- over-committing our time and energy trying to distract ourselves from our real problems and giving the appearance of perfection so that we don’t have to look at our own flaws. 

Maybe for you its money- if I only had a little more money, then I would be happy.  We play the lottery, or work long hours for that raise or promotion.  But this too is a moving target.  A professor at USC discovered that “at all levels of income, the typical response is that one needs 20% more to be happy” (Richard Easterlin- Professor of Economics at University of Southern California)

We numb the pain and emptiness of life with endless streams of technology; TV shows we just cannot miss- 280 channels and nothing on.  Or if you’re like me it is the stupid game on my phone that I cannot seem to master- an hour will go by and I won’t even realize it.  The problem is, all these efforts to fill the voids in our lives is like binging on junk food- it fills you up temporarily but it never really satisfies or gives true nourishment, and after a few minutes you are hungry again.  Our priorities have gotten out of order.

We all do it.  We all allow our priorities to get out of whack.  It doesn’t really matter if you are rich or poor, how educated you are or how spiritual you are; we may try our best to focus on what’s important but we get distracted or we realize that focusing on what is not important is much easier than trying to pay attention to what really matters. We allow ourselves to get so caught up in the little things that we don’t have the time or energy for what is really important.

Nicodemus knows this all too well.  He is a well-educated, spiritual, and devout believer in God.  But, he too is searching.  Something is missing from his life, something he has been searching for in the scriptures, in books, in rituals, and rules.  Things he thought were so important but yet something is still missing. He does everything he is supposed to do and yet, he still has not found the one thing that will fill the void in his life. 

Sometimes we think of people who don’t have faith as seekers.  But we are all seekers; even the religious teachers and preachers are seekers.  We are all searching to find the one thing that is most important in this world, remove the distractions and fill that God shaped hole in our hearts. Nicodemus is doing just that, searching, but because he thinks he should know all the answers already, he goes to Jesus under cover of darkness- embarrassed by his ignorance but also determined to find the answer to the meaning of life from this man he knows is from God- Who better to ask how to fill the God shaped hole than the one who is God?

What Jesus tells him is confusing and puzzling to him though- be born again!  How in the world are we supposed to be born again?  Nicodemus is too smart for his own good- but he has book smarts not life smarts so he tries to figure out how this would be physically possible.  I can just imagine Jesus rolling his eyes and saying seriously man, come on Nick- think about what I am saying.  It isn’t a physical re-birth it is a spiritual one.  One that doesn’t just happen once at baptism or conversion; it happens every day, every time we decide to refocus our lives on what is most important: a relationship with Christ.  Jeremiah knows this too.  He tells us in this section from Lamentations that he is on this journey with us.  Even when it seems nothing is going right.  The world is falling apart and we are lost in all the distractions- God is still there; guiding us, loving us, showing us how to be found- by keeping our focus on the most important part of life- our faith.  It is what gives us hope, encouragement, security and strength to get through the all the other parts of life.  

What is the point?  What is the meaning and purpose of life?  What does God want from us?  God wants us to be on the journey to a closer relationship with Christ.  God wants us to be seekers. Even those of us who think we’ve found all the right answers. Sure there will be days when it seems a boulder is in the way.  And days when we get one of those little pesky pebbles in our shoe and it is so annoying it nearly drives us crazy but the more we fill our hearts with the important things.  The more we focus on a relationship with Christ- the more we will want to stay focused on following him and the less necessary and important the distractions in life will seem.  And praise God this isn't a one-time, use it or lose it opportunity!  Because of the endless grace of God we get a chance to start over each day- being reborn in the Holy Spirit, an opportunity to remind ourselves of the big picture, what really matters, to choose our battles and words wisely, read the words of God more closely, to be more Christ focused than the day before, to be in service in love for others more than the day before, to be more welcoming towards the stranger and more generous to the poor, and more patient with others on the road. 

I was reminded of this at least twice this week.  Tuesday night at the High School graduation- we were reminded that while we celebrate achievements- commencement is not the end but the beginning of their journey.  Then again, at Wednesday morning bible study we heard Paul’s words in 2 Timothy about not getting distracted with trivial things: stay focused on the one thing that really matters-Christ. 

We won’t get it right today and we won’t get it right any of the days after but each day we can be further along on the journey and that is what is most important for our lives and to God- that we earnestly try to move forward in our faith and be willing to follow where God is leading.  God is the only thing that will fill that void in our lives and the way we experience that is through a personal relationship with Christ.  But there’s more good news- this isn't a lonely journey.  We are all on it together (this is the point of church)- here to encourage one another, challenge each other to remove the pebbles and walk around the boulders, and cheer each other on as we cross barriers and overcome obstacles to our faith and to lead and assist those newly on the journey to stay fast and true to our commitment to follow Christ. 

That is the meaning of life.  To be on this journey we call faith, focused on the goal of loving God and loving all the others who are on this journey with us.  Are you ready to go? 

Enough

Ephesians 1:15-23

Maybe you have heard the story of the elderly father who is saying good-bye to his daughter at the airport.  He realizes this may be the last time they see each other and as she leaves him he wishes her “enough”.   She replies that he has already given her all that she needs and she too wishes him “enough.  When a by-stander asked what he meant, with tears in his eyes he says it is an abbreviated way of saying:

*I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
* I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
* I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
* I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
* I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
* I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
* I wish enough hello's to get you through the final goodbye. [1]

I thought of that poem as I read the scripture this week- especially v18 when Paul says “I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s powerful strength.”  That is a pretty big prayer for the people of the church in Ephesus and for us here.  

Enough- this seems like an unusual prayer.  I don’t know about you but most of the time when I pray for something I want it all.  And once I get my mind on something I am a very impatient person.  I want what I want and I want it yesterday.   Patience is not my strong suit and as much as God tries to teach me to savor every step, appreciate the journey and celebrate each little accomplishment I really struggle to accept all these little bits and pieces as enough. 

We want these amazing Ah-ha moments.  We want life to be full of joy, excitement, answered prayers, and these moments of ecstatic revelation when everything goes just as you had hoped and dreamed…   But that isn’t the way life is.  Life is all too often- ordinary, routine, same ol’-same ol’.   Sitting at home, watching TV, work, ball games, reading, going to Bible Study- again, cleaning-  whatever it is that is occupying your time. In these ordinary times, we often struggle to see the richness of God’s inheritance amongst the humdrum of life. 

But then we hear of someone who seems to have had a miraculous God moment-a revelation as to the will of God and our cynical side comes out.  We hear of a woman who goes in for a procedure to remove a tumor and the tumor that was there on Friday is gone and we immediately think- the doctors must have mixed up the x-rays- she was never really sick.  Or the Alcoholic who has a conversion experience and vows to never drink again- but we have our doubts-placing verbal bets on how long his new found sobriety will last.  While we want to see and have these amazing, life altering, and exciting- Mountain top- God experiences- we struggle to believe them when they do happen.  It is beyond our normal scope of reason- so we doubt. 

It seems we just can’t be satisfied.  So Paul prays that we, the people of God, the church, can learn to see God in all these moments- the ordinary and the extraordinary and that in these moments we would come to know Christ better. 

I would garner to guess that most everyone in this room feels like they know Jesus.  If nothing else we know about Jesus.  We know that he was born to a virgin, Mary.  We know he died by crucifixion.  We know that he healed people and feed multitudes with small portions of food.  We know that he had 12 best friends that followed him around and that he liked to challenge the religious leaders of his day.  We have read his biography- most of it anyway.   But do we really know who Jesus is and what it is like to be in a relationship with him?  The surface level knowledge is only the beginning. 

Life is a process of learning that never ends.  People who are married don’t stop talking and sharing just because they have known each other for a long time and think you have heard all the stories of their childhood.  Just because you have been married for 40 years doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know about the other person.  You don’t stop calling your best friend since childhood because you already know every quirk, every detail of their life, every dream and every heartache.  We are even still learning things about ourselves.  Whether we are 25 or 95 we are still learning about who we are, what we like and don’t like and why we think and feel certain ways.  So if we feel that way about a spouse, our best friend since 4^th grade and ourselves- why would we ever think that we know all there is to know about God? 

It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve read the bible through or how many times you’ve heard a sermon or participated in a Bible study lesson on a particular scripture- there is always something to learn.  It is about more than just the words on the page, or the words spoken by a preacher.  It is about what those words are speaking to our hearts, how it guides us and affects what we are going through in that particular moment.  Reading and listening are only the beginning. 

John Wesley believed that faith and being in love with God was like breathing- we breathe in the words of God as we read scripture, listen to sermons,  hear Christian songs and speakers on the radio or TV and as we talk with others about what we believe.  As we do this, as we pray, we are inhaling all that God has to offer.  As we think about it, process it, and digest these words, experiences and conversations we are taking in nourishment, learning and growing and aligning our will with Christ’s will.  But once we have breathed in and nourished our souls, we must exhale.  We must send out into the world the results of that wisdom and knowledge we have gained.  We must exhale in order to inhale another life giving breath. 

In this very ordinary action of breathing we can see and experience God.  In the very ordinary action of cooking- we nourish and share love with others.  In the very ordinary act of arguing over when to have a meeting or who is invited to participate, we learn tolerance and patience.  In the very ordinary act of shaking someone’s hand we offer the hand of Christ in welcome and hospitality.  In the very ordinary act of disagreeing over politics or God’s will for this world we learn compassion and the beauty of diversity.  In the very ordinary laughter of children we see the love and joy of Christ.  As we take communion,  in the very ordinary juice and bread of the Lord’s table- we experience the unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness, and grace of God. 

We don’t need exciting awe struck moments of revelation to know God.  God has already given us enough to know God better.  All we need is to open our minds enough to see that God is in and of all things.  That is the true spirit of wisdom that comes from a relationship with Christ- not just knowing of Christ but knowing him as our personal Lord and savior and desiring to know him more and more- knowing that there will never be a time when we reach the limit and stop growing in our faith, loving him more, or able to be in a deeper and more intimate relationship with him. 

Like Paul’s prayer to the church to have enough… God too wishes us enough.  Enough joy to get us through times of sadness, to know the love of God enough to get us through the times when we don’t feel love from others.  Enough hope in a Christ who is risen from the dead to know that we can experience resurrection in even our toughest situations.  Enough knowledge of the life of Christ, so that we can imitate his character and love towards others.  Enough glimpses of the Holy Spirit so that we know we can trust its guiding and be willing to follow.  Enough ordinary moments with God that we know that Christ is always with us.  Open your heart enough to welcome Christ into your life to taste and see the glory of God’s kingdom and to glimpse the love God has for you- ordinary you- loved more deeply than you can ever imagine. 

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[1] Copyright © 2001 Bob Parks --- Sent in by Karen McGriff ---http://www.motivateus.com/stories/iwish2.htm

Abundant Life

John 10:1-10

The gospel of John likes to take the parables of the other three gospels up a notch to be more of a riddle than life lesson.  I thought I knew exactly what I was going to preach on today the first time I read the scripture, but the more I read it, the more complicated it seemed. 

We like the image of Jesus as the shepherd.  It is a warm, intimate, comforting and loving image.  But then Jesus says “I am the gate”, a gate keeps the sheep safe but also one that separates the sheep from the world.  Then there is the odd phrase that some know his voice but others don’t.  Are there some sheep that don’t belong to God? Aren't we all God’s children?  Then we have the image of Jesus who came to give us a full and abundant life. 

How can all these be true? We aren't the only ones confused.  The people listening to Jesus say these words were so confused he had to tell them twice and they still didn't get it.  And we as believers have been reading it for thousands of years and still find it confusing and perplexing.

Maybe the confusion comes because we try to think about it too hard.  We try to analyze every little detail and in the effort, we miss the big picture.   In the passage just prior to this in chapter 9 Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees for being blind to whom Jesus is.  Maybe in our effort to study, scrutinize every detail and find the “real” Jesus, we over stimulate our brains and in our efforts to know everything we possibly can, we become blind to what the gospel is speaking to our hearts. 

For me the truth in this scripture reading is the very last sentence- “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”   But this in and of itself is vague and confusing.  What does it mean to live life abundantly? 

For some, this may mean wealth and luxury or as Robin Leach used to say “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” The freedom to make choices and do whatever to whomever they choose -bar the consequences, eat what they want, buy what they want, work when and where they want, or not work at all.  Sleep in and watch TV, find pleasure in whatever way they fancy at the moment. 

I have to admit that sounds pretty good to me, maybe that sounds like a good life to you too.  Maybe that is your dream life.  But this is not what God intends when we are told Jesus wants us to live life abundantly.  When we go back to the scripture we realize that all the sheep, those who know the voice of Jesus and those who don’t are all in the sheepfold.  They are all hemmed in and there are always limitations to the freedom we experience in that place.      

Those who desire to live in abundance outside the will of God are still hemmed in- but by a desire for money, things, the consequences of their ruthless pursuit of the next greatest thing is what traps them in.  Maybe they think that the next Dr. Oz show or self-help guru will be what helps them feel fulfilled and loved, or it is the most up to date technology which will make their life easier but in reality they are continuing to run on the hamster wheel of life, bound by the limits of credit, never really going anywhere and this endless pursuit adds stress and worry preventing them from experiencing what God truly desires for them.

It is the sheep who hear and listen to the voice of Jesus, the one true shepherd who are led out of the confines of the pin and into a world of experiences and nourishment beyond the wildest dreams of those still confined.

 Maybe it is the unknown of the great big world out there that scares us.  We feel safe as long as we are in the confines of this building, our homes and our jobs.  We know that there is a nice fence around us to protect us from the dangers “out there” but this is a false sense of security.  The analogy in our scripture tells us there will be thieves and bandits who come to steal and kill and destroy, even entering the confines of perceived safety to do so, but it is the shepherd which keeps them safe, not the walls and fences of the pin. 

It is a natural tendency to want to stay safe, to not take any chances or not trust that which we cannot see or understand.  We want to protect ourselves and those we love.  It is scary to take risks on others and on our-selves. 

There is a phenomenon in modern day parenting called the helicopter Mom- maybe you know a few.  The one who refuses to let their child out of their sight-they are over protective, over cautious, overly worried and they try to create this protective barrier around their child with the hope that they never have to face the disappointments and challenges of life. While I understand this desire, the problem is that this doesn't work.  We cannot put ourselves or others in a bubble.  They will have their feelings hurt, they will get sick, they will get disappointed, not make the team or get the job they want, and they will have their hearts broken.  That is just the way life is. 

It takes a leap of faith and a great amount of trust, to let our children go but also to allow ourselves to wander out into the world, following the voice of our shepherd and teaching our children to do the same. 

Currently, one of the young adults from this church is on a whirlwind mission experience, 11 countries in 11 months.  I am sure when she told her parents and grandparents she wanted to do the world race as a missionary it took every ounce of their being not to lock her in her room and refuse to let her go.  Letting your child, no matter how old travel the world without you to protect them is a scary thing.  But instead, they decided to pray about it and trust that wherever she goes- God goes with her.  And the result has been an amazing transformation of her life; and the abundance she is experiencing could have never been experienced had she decided not to follow the voice of God and stayed in the safety of her home town surrounded familiarity and the people who love her.

Accepting the freedom to roam is a scary thing.  It comes with the sacrifice of control, the possibilities of failure, real fear of the unknown and the likelihood that we will make mistakes and others might hurt us and those we love.  Taking the risk to live life in abundance with Christ has its rewards but you don’t have to travel the world to partake in this adventure that leads to abundant life. 

What it takes is more than just listening to the voice of God and reading the words of scripture- it calls us to action. Jesus isn't calling all of us to travel the world.  Some he is simply calling to volunteer to read to school children, mentor a woman at Clean Slate or send cards of encouragement to missionaries or soldiers. The voice of Jesus beckons us to follow him to unknown people and to unfamiliar places so that others too will recognize his voice and find abundant life in him. 

Not only is Jesus, the good shepherd, our protector, he is our guide.  He leads by example.  In the fullness of his life, we see his self-giving sacrifice, his tender approach, kind words and healing touch to all those around him.  Love and compassion for all people are the driving force of his life and ministry and He calls us to live a life imitating him, loving those he loves, caring for the poor and the sick, the lonely, the orphan, the elderly, the imprisoned and the sinner. 

Abundant life is not simply what we aspire to achieve in the next life.  It is something we can experience now.  Imitating Jesus is how we live and experience this life to the fullest.  It is in loving these, that we can get a glimpse into the love God has for us.  And, when we mess up, because we will, Jesus will be there to help us pick up the broken pieces and start again with the grace and love of Christ.  Failure is not the enemy, it is the fear of trying something new which prevents us from experiencing the abundance Christ desires for us. 

This life is one with abundance of love.  It is found not in things but in the intimacy of a relationship with God in which Jesus knows each of the names of the all the children of God and everything about them.  It is in this intimate relationship with God and others that we receive life; not just life eternal but life now, in this world, full life with all its ups and downs, in the midst of chaos and fear, reasons for joy and reasons for sorrow and peace knowing that the loving shepherd goes with us through it all. 

Those of you who are parents, know this is true.  You have tried to shepherd your children to be the best adults they can be.  You have witnessed their heart breaks, broken bones and broken spirits.  You have witnessed them face the consequences of their own poor choices and live with the consequences of the poor choices of others.  You have laughed with them and cried with them, been angry at them and rejoiced with them.

You know that because we are humans, no matter how good of a parent you are, children can’t be protected from everything and God realizes this too.  Some of you know first-hand what it must be like for God to be heart broken when your children choose to leave the fold. But because you know the depths of sorrow, you also know the potential for the ecstasy and joy when you see your child make the right decisions, grow from their mistakes, and become stronger because of the adversity they faced. 

This is what Jesus intends as he tells us this riddle.  Abundant life is not found hiding underneath the bed or behind the door or even within the walls of the church.  Abundant life is found when we walk bravely through the gate, trusting that it leads to a place full of wonderful experiences, life giving diversity and nourishing pastures.  And trusting that the shepherd goes with us, leading us to an intimate relationship where we know the voice of the shepherd and he calls us by name. 

God is calling each and every one of us by name to come out of the sheepfold.  Leave the confines of perceived safety into the loving embrace of Jesus.  Follow him, encourage others to come along too and experience the abundance of life together. 

inheritance

Acts 2: 14a, 22-32/ 1 Peter 1:3-9

The two scriptures we read today took place in two very different times.  The lesson from Acts took place at Pentecost- just 50 days after the resurrection that first Easter.  Many people in the crowd that Pentecost morning had seen the miracles of Jesus and heard Jesus teach first hand.  They had been direct witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ. 

The Lesson from 1 Peter is taken from a letter written by followers of Peter to established churches in the early Christian faith, some 50 to 60 years and hundreds of miles away from the events of that first Easter.  Both of these groups are witnesses to the ministry of Christ.  Maybe not first-hand witness but witnesses to the same faith, hope and love we find in Christ today.  It has been 1,981 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus but we continue to be witnesses to the ministry of Christ. 

The words of 1 Peter remind us that “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.” 

It is hard to believe in things we cannot experience with our senses.  The early disciples had the benefit of seeing, touching, and hearing Jesus, tasting and smelling the bread which he shared with them.  Maybe we feel at a loss because we have been unable to share those same experiences.  That has been one of the questions and criticisms of those who don’t believe in God.  How can we as Christians believe in something we have never seen?  To unbelievers, Jesus is just a name. 

Our scripture tells us that even though we have not seen, we have inherited the word of God and our faith, through the shared experiences of Christians across the generations and the love, forgiveness, salvation and life from our creator. 

This inheritance is a gift from God to all who choose to accept it.  For those who have faith it is simply the removal of the gloves, blindfold, and earplugs that prevented us from touching, seeing, hearing  and experiencing these gifts before. 

We are reborn in our faith when we are able to remove these barriers which prevent us from experiencing God.  40 generations have passed since Jesus’ resurrection and we are made aware of these gifts through the grace of God and through the stories and actions of the generations who have come before.

None of you know my Grandma Ouida.  She lived with my family most of my life and had a major impact on who I am today.  I have a shadow box which contains much of the physical things I inherited from her.  Some of are just trinkets and objects of sentimental value but some of this goes much deeper than just sentiment.  Some of these things symbolize the shaping of my life and my faith.  My grandmother was God fearing, fiercely independent, strong and faithful.  But as a woman married in the pre-civil rights/ pre-women’s rights movement she lost part of her identity when she married- she was no longer Ouida, The certificate shows her name to be Mrs. John Brashear.  So the certificate in the box reminds me of the rights and freedoms I have because people of her generation made a decision to fight so that things would be different for their daughters and granddaughters. 

The certificate and Pins are from her years as a United Methodist Woman.  I remember going to UMW meetings with Mom and Grandma as a girl.  Learning first-hand what it meant to be in service and Mission for Christ.  I inherited my desire to “do” God’s work from these women.  As I grew older and helped begin new UMW units in various churches and began serving at the District Level, I was taught leadership, strength of character and a deeper understanding of my faith, because of women who wanted to share their love for Christ and their passion for the people God loves with me and this is what encouraged me to believe that I could be in ordained ministry.

I know my story is not unique.  Each one of you inherited your faith through the words and actions of someone else.  Maybe it was a family member, or maybe it was someone from the family of God who introduced you to Christ.  But, because someone introduced you to Jesus and shared the word of God with you- you have been able experience the abundance of love and joy we receive from God.

What we inherit is a gift of God but it comes through the lives of people who love Christ.  It is passed down from generation to generation-not just family lines but through the inheritance of being part of the family of God and a community of believers.   Those first Christians went into the world and told others about Jesus, his ministry and resurrection.  The next generation did the same thing and it has been repeated over and over again so that we, as believers today can continue to be witnesses of the cross to others. 

The people who crucified Jesus, intended for it to be an end to Jesus ministry; to put an end to the inheritance of his faith and ministry but what man meant for evil, God intended for good.  God used that moment to show just how powerful God is.  

Acts 2:24 says, “But God raised him up, having freed him form death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.”  Resurrecting Jesus from the dead proved God’s power and proved the religious leaders of the day wrong.  Instead of an ending, it has been the most powerful continuation of faith, this world has ever seen and we have been given a new birth through our faith in the risen Lord.  Because of the resurrection we know that Jesus is more than just a name.

This same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power we inherit through our faith in Jesus Christ.  It is the power which takes our struggles in this life and makes us stronger.  It is the same power which lifts us up out of our self-pity and allows us to experience joy even when those on the outside cannot see a reason to rejoice.  It is the same power which gives you peace when everything around you seems uncomfortable and chaotic.  It is the power that allows us to give up our attempt to control and trust that God can take care of whatever is out of our control. 

This is our inheritance and it is the most precious gift we could have ever been given- better than any trinket or life insurance policy we could ever buy in this life because it gets us through every day and goes with us everywhere we go. 

We are all indebted to those who invited us to share in this gift from God.  We are all grateful for the joy, mercy, grace, peace, and freedom we have found in the unconditional love of Christ- because someone was willing to witness to us and help us remove the things in life that prevented us from experiencing the fullness of Christ.  This inheritance is intended as a gift for everyone.  There is plenty to share.

I would like for you to take some time, read the scriptures, pray, talk with God, your spouse, your best friend, me or someone you trust.  Think about, talk about or write down what your relationship with Jesus means to you.  When did Jesus become more than just a name to you?  What would you be missing without Christ in your life? Who are you indebted to for offering you the word of God and encouraging you in your faith? What is it about Jesus that you think others shouldn't live without?  Spend time reminding yourself of why you love Jesus and why your faith community is so integral to your life of faith. 

After you have done this I encourage you to ask God to lead you and help you find someone to invite to lunch or coffee.  Get to know them, spend time listening to their stories and after a few cups of coffee, when you feel the moment is right, ask God to help you share your faith with them.  Find someone or several someones to mentor and encourage in their walk with Christ. 

I am forever grateful to my grandma, family, the men, women, pastors and UMW ladies who guided my walk of faith and continue to guide and mentor me.  As we celebrate the inheritance we have received from God and from the people of God in our lives; ask this question- 

Who will we pass on this wonderful inheritance to?  It is meant to be shared and while family is extremely important for creating a foundation of faith- it takes a village, the whole family of God to mentor, nurture, and encourage one another in our walk of faith.  

Easter is Coming

Psalm 31/ Matthew 21

In every church I have ever been a part of, Palm Sunday has been seen as a day of joy.  We revile in the fact that for once, we and the people of Jerusalem, finally seem to get who Jesus is.  We like the people in Jesus’ time, see, and experience the presence of God in our lives and we read all the stories of Jesus’ life and while some reject him and others accept him, it seems that on this day, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the foal, we finally get it! We finally understand who Jesus is!

I remember as a child getting to come into the church on Palm Sunday smiling, happy, singing Loud Hosannas waving my palm branch in the air.  It was always a joyous occasion.  If nothing else, as a child, it meant Easter was coming.  Mom had probably already made my Easter Dress by then, we were starting to attend community Easter Egg hunts, dying and decorating eggs.  We were getting ready! Maybe if we had been observing Lent that year, I could look forward to taking up whatever bad habit I had temporarily given up.  I could soon eat candy again or drink sodas.  In my excitement I never really thought about what it might have really been like that first Palm Sunday.  What made this day different?  Why were they all of a sudden willing to claim Jesus as the Messiah?  And even if I did briefly think about this it quickly turned to blame.  These hypocrites!  Your shouting Loud Hosannas now but in less than a week you will have turned your back on the messiah… and in my naiveté, I thought I would never have done that- I am embarrassed to say that I no longer have the same confidence of that statement.  I hope and pray I wouldn’t. But even his best friends deserted him and who am I?  And what I really never thought about until I was preparing for today, is what was Jesus thinking and feeling?

This day was a very important day in the life and ministry of Christ.  Jesus had been fulfilling prophecies all through his life but it was coming to a climax on this day.  The Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and Zachariah had lots to say about who the Messiah would be and what that would look like.  The Messiah would ride in on a donkey, a sign of peace, not a war horse.  He would come into Jerusalem from the East, from the Mount of Olives; he would be betrayed by a friend, sentenced to death with criminals and hung on a tree.  This is the beginning of the climax of the fulfillment of these prophesies from hundreds of years before.  Jesus knew all this.  He knew at least to some extent what the week ahead would bring, and he knew his time had come.  His whole earthly life had been building up to this moment.  I get filled with anxiety just thinking about it.  And yet, every mental image I have of this moment, Jesus is smiling and waving like the grand marshal in a parade. 

I can only imagine the stress Jesus is feeling.  So, I struggle to reconcile this in my mind. Is Jesus welcoming the last bit of positive and supportive attention he will get from these crowds?  Is he smiling and soaking it all in or is he the humble, merciful and compassionate servant gently smiling at those he loves?  Maybe we see Jesus as smiling and laughing with the crowd because that is what we expect our leaders to do today.  We expect the well-oiled politician to shake hands and kiss babies and ride in the back of a red convertible with a big plastic grin on his face.  I am sure Jesus laughed and smiled, and joked around with his friends, just like everyone else but we know the idea of politician is not the type of leader Jesus embodied for us, especially not on this day.  Maybe Jesus is smiling, but I doubt it is a smile of Joy.  Instead, maybe it is that other smile that we are all too often aware of; the smile that covers up our pain.  The smile we give to friends and neighbors when we don’t want to tell them what’s wrong.  The smile we use to reassure ourselves when all we really want to do is cry.  Jesus knows where this road is leading, and while this moment is pleasant, he knows what the disciples and the crowd don’t understand yet, Good Friday is coming.  This smile is not one of Joy but one of anxiety.   The psalmist describes in our text today what I imagine Jesus was feeling.  You say you love me now but I know in a matter of days you will all abandon me, even my closest of friends will betray me.  People are already plotting my death and yet, I need to go through the motions, keep up appearances, all this will be over soon enough. 

It is a little much to claim that we know how Jesus felt.  I am sure over the course of history there have been leaders who were martyred for their faith, killed for standing up for what was right but most of us have never experienced anything close to it.  But we get a glimpse when we are in those situations that we find ourselves anxiously waiting.   It is the anticipation of the tough and painful conversation we know we have to have with a loved one.  It is the week between testing and diagnosis.  It is the waiting in ICU to see if a loved one will make it through the night.  It is what we have been symbolically walking through this Lenten season as we reflect on the times in our lives when we have found ourselves spiritually lost or in wilderness moments. 

Jesus did have one advantage.  It is one that we have been given too, but we don’t always recognize it.  He knew what the final outcome would be.  Despite the stress, anxiety, worry and anticipation Jesus knew that Good Friday was not the end- Easter was coming.  There was light at the end of the ordeal and Jesus is our light in these moments of darkness too.  The Psalmist expresses this trust in our scripture today.  “I trust in you Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands;” Because of our personal history and experience with God, because of the life of Jesus, because of the Gospel, because we have been given the word of God, we can have that hope too.  We have hope and can trust in the messiah, who knew what was coming next and loved us enough to endure the pressure of this week and the pain cross out of love for us. 

God can see past our anxiety, past our fear.  God can see past the things we cannot comprehend and promised to be with us every step of the way.  It is a matter of reality that sometimes things in this life get better but sometimes they don’t.  Like Jesus, we may still have to walk the road in front of us.  We may not be cured of the disease of our bodies; we may not get what we want in this life. But even still, and that is a big But- God can still be trusted to be there.  Whether the prognosis is good or bad, whether the conversation ends in forgiveness or anger, whether life or death, God will always be there with us, guiding us through to the other side.  And we can trust just as Jesus did and as many children celebrate on this day- Easter is coming!

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death- not over it or around it or avoid it- but as we go through it, God is with us.  Where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord.  The Lord will keep your life.  As we experience all the fear and anxiety associated with living this life, God hears our cries and not only does God hear, but in Jesus we see that he empathizes and understands our distress, and provides us companionship, comfort, peace, guidance and reassurance no matter the circumstances of our situation.  We can trust God, in good times and bad, to be there with us, leading us and guiding us to new life in Christ. We can trust that Easter is coming and we can believe with full confidence that Jesus is our Hosanna, and will save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the Highest!