Category: Homilies

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

“No Wi-Fi…no cell service…no problem.”

• That could be the motto for a growing vacation trend known as digital detox.
• There are those who are growing weary of the always-on…always connected madness of contemporary life.

 

Well…perched atop an Alaskan glacier six thousand feet above Denali National Park is a five-bedroom house accessible only by airplane or helicopter.

• Better remember all your groceries when you book the place.
• The nearest town is 50 miles away.

 

In the middle of Africa’s Kalahari Desert…in the nation of Botswana…is Jack’s Camp.

• In between wildlife-spotting safari excursions…guests sleep in tents.
• But it’s really a glamping experience.
• The roomy…Moroccan-style tents offer elegant furniture…
• With Persian rugs on the hardwood floorboards.
• The camp is located smack-dab in the middle of a wilderness area the size of Switzerland.
• But there is electricity from solar panels…
• But no air conditioning…no TV…no wi-fi…only electric fans.

 

Turn off a state highway in northern New Mexico and drive 14 miles down a rutted dirt road…

• And you will find yourself at Christ in the Desert Benedictine Monastery.
• Water comes from a well…and solar panels provide electricity for lighting.
• If you crave a break from your silent retreat…connecting to Spotify is a non-starter.
• But a short walk from the guest house is the chapel where you can listen to live Gregorian Chant to your heart’s content.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

In today’s reading Jesus invites his disciples to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

• He and his disciples have been busy.
• Their little movement has been growing like crazy.
• Streams of would-be followers and curiosity-seekers are crowding in on them.
• The Greek word for “deserted place” here is
• A modern-day descendant of that word is “hermit.”
• Jesus’ disciples are craving their own off-the-grid hermit experience.
• The “grid” for them…on which they feel trapped…is not electronic…though.
• It is a rigid framework of responsibilities that threatens to overwhelm them.
• They feel they need some Sabbath time.
• And what better place to go than into the wilderness.

 

The wilderness is…in the Jewish tradition…the place where the deepest of spiritual encounters happen.

• Where does Moses discover the bush that is burning and receives God’s call? The wilderness.
• Where is Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai…the summit where God gives Moses the Ten Commandments? The wilderness.
• Where does Jonah flee…to argue with God about his call to preach in Nineveh? The wilderness.
• Where does Elijah flee Jezebel’s minions who are out to murder him? The wilderness.
• Where does John the Baptist dwell…clothing himself in animal skins and subsisting on locusts and wild honey? The wilderness.

 

Jewish spirituality is a desert spirituality.

• The people who walk away from the fleshpots of Egypt…straight through the Red Sea waters…
• Are led by God straight into the wilderness.
• Into a daily struggle for survival…where they learn the skills they need to live.
• And so…it is no surprise when Jesus invites his closest friends to go on retreat with him…it is to a deserted place…the wilderness.

 

When Jewish men wanted to get serious about their faith…they often left home and family behind.

• And went to live for a time in a cave…or a crude hut…living off the land as John the Baptist did.
• Day follows day…the struggle is to find something to eat or go hungry.
• Through such an experience you learn self-reliance and the mastery of your emotions.
• Deep in the wilderness…at last…you encounter the desert God.
• The one who speaks out of burning bushes and says: “I am who I am.”

 

Jesus began his ministry being tempted by the devil. In The wilderness.

• The wilderness is Jesus’ experience of testing…of trial.
• It is Messiah boot camp.
• Mark tells us the angels are there to serve him…
• And their role is that of drill instructor.
• It is that very sort of experience Jesus is offering his disciples…with his invitation to a deserted place.

 

Well…how does this all translate into today?

• OK…you do not need to be in the wilderness to have a wilderness experience.
• A wilderness experience can be any challenge or testing that takes us out of our comfort zone.
• A challenge or testing that causes us to wonder whether we have got what it takes to live through it.
• Live long enough…and we discover that life itself serves up wilderness experiences…whether we ask for them or not.

 

In his poem… “Choruses from the Rock” T.S. Eliot says this:

• You neglect and belittle the desert…
• The desert is not remote in southern tropics…
• The desert is not only around the corner…
• The desert is squeezed in the tube-train next to you…
• The desert is in the heart of your brother.

 

There’s something about the life of a believer that is…at its very best…

• To use the words of Henry David Thoreau from his book Walden…
• A matter of living deliberately.
• A matter of living deep and sucking out all the marrow of life.”

 

An ideal believer’s life is incongruent with that of our consumer culture.

• Which is to live a life of opulent ease…surrounded by material blessings.
• The quintessential disciple is one who has taken to heart the teachings of Jesus.
• Is one who knows how to live simply.
• Is one who lives close to the earth and strives to be satisfied with whatever life may bring.
• It is a person who values simplicity…rather than luxury.
• Who knows the joy that comes from sharing with others.
• Who knows the glory of a sunset is superior to the light show of Times Square.

 

Is life hard for us right now?

• Are our days filled with struggles?
• We all have times like this.
• Likely…the deserted place…the wilderness…where we find ourselves…is not a place of meaninglessness.
• It just may be the sort of deserted place where God is melting us and molding us…
• So that he may fill us and use us for his glorious work in the kingdom.
• We may feel…in such a time as this…we are off the grid.
• But…for sure…we are not off God’s grid…and never could be.

Mark 6:14-29

OK…so…Herod is the ruler of the region…and while vacationing in Rome he craves and covets his brother’s wife…who he then marries.

• John the Baptist…then suggests that maybe that is not OK.
• Now…Herod likes John…as much as anybody can like a wild bug-eating prophet.
• Who lives outdoors and speaks inconvenient truths.
• Truths like…it is not OK to marry your brother’s wife.
• Which…being the truth…when he spoke it…got him arrested…in the first place.

It also got John on the bad side of Herod’s new illegal wife Herodias.

• She did not like John.
• So…when Herod threw himself a big birthday party…
• His daughter-in-law…Salome…danced for him and all the other half-intoxicated generals and CEOs and celebrities who were there.

 

We don’t know the exact nature of her dance.

• But we do know that it pleased Herod enough that he offered to give her anything she wanted…
• Up to half of his kingdom.
• So…I do not think it was the Chicken dance.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

So…then Salome runs to her mom and asks: “What should I ask for?”

• And her mom says: “The head of John the Baptist.”
• Herod found this disturbing.
• He clearly did not want to do it…but it says that he went through with it.
• Why? Because of his oath and because he did not want to disappoint his dinner guests.
• So…by the final course of Herod’s birthday dinner John the Baptist’s head was on a platter.
• It is a gruesome tale.
• And what in the world is a preacher to preach about such a story?

 

I mean…What is the moral of the story?

• Looked at in a certain way…this story is not so far from us.
• It is still being played out today.
• In my life and maybe in yours…certainly on the American political stage.
• And elsewhere throughout the history of humanity before and after Herod.

 

It is easy to demonize Herod and dismiss this story as something awful that happened before things like the enlightenment and post-World War two war crimes tribunals.

• But if we do so too quickly…we might miss seeing how nothing really has changed much in 2,000 years.
• We live in an age as faithless and corrupt as Herod’s.
• People still quickly divorce someone simply because they fall in love with someone else’s wife or husband.
• And young girls are still made to be sexual objects for powerful men.
• After all…human trafficking is the biggest black-market operation in the world today.
• And I have done or said things that have hurt others just so I did not lose face with people I am trying to impress.

 

Do not get me wrong…what Herod did was despicable.

• There is no diminishing it.
• But besides being a villain…he is also a tragic figure.
• Because he knew better.
• Herod was not some soulless…bloodthirsty…godless devil.
• He knew it was wrong.
• He knew it was wrong and after it was done…he had a guilty conscience.
• Because later…when he hears about Jesus…
• Why else would Herod assume…of all things…
• That the most logical explanation for why there was a man in his region who healed people and cast out demons…
• Was that it must be the guy he beheaded who had come back from the grave.

 

That is a guilty person’s assumption…straight away.

• He had a guilty conscience…which means he knew better and he did it anyway.
• What is tragic is that Herod went to his grave with all of his violence and stupidity and sin on his conscience…
• Never once knowing that he and his illegal wife and her child Salome and John the Baptist all are beloved children of God.

 

What is tragic about Herod is how different he is from the prostitutes and demoniacs and tax collectors and Pharisees and centurians we meet in the Gospels.

• They encounter Jesus Christ and are freed from the bondage of their past.
• In the presence of Christ…they are given a glimpse of God’s larger story of love and mercy…
• And are shown who they really…truly are in the eyes of a loving God…and they are made new.

 

Their story is given a new ending and a new meaning.

• But Herod was trapped in his own story.
• A story that tortured him.
• A story from which he felt there was no escape.

 

And when our own stories begin to feel self-contained and inescapable…that is when things are tragic.

• At one time or another…we have all felt the same way.
• Unable to change the story of who we are.
• Unable to change our behavior or attitude or outlook.
• So caught up in the events around us.
• So caught up in the identity we have had for so long that it clings to us like a wet suit.

 

And if that is true and we were hoping to hear some good news today.

• I need to be the first to tell you:
• There is no good news in this story.
• I looked for it.
• But that is just the point.
• We are supposed to notice that this is the only story in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus is not mentioned.
• There is no Jesus.

 

So…if this story stood alone…

• There would be only sedition and sin and violence and bondage and political maneuvering and incest.
• The only thing that makes this story good is that it is not the end of the story.

 

So…while there is no good news in this story…

• And while there is no Jesus in this story.
• What is amazing is that the story of Herod’s birthday is immediately followed by the feeding of the 5,000.

 

The Godless black tunnel of Herod’s party is immediately followed by another party.

• A sacramental one in which there is no exploitation of children.
• Or killing of prophets.
• There is only Jesus…and thousands of people sitting on the green grass.
• And a few loaves…and a couple fish.
• And all are fed by what seemed like not enough.
• And there were still baskets of loaves and fishes left over to share.

 

They were living a new story.

• A story written by a God who desires that all are fed and all are loved.
• And none are exploited.
• And God offers us a reminder of this every week right here at this table.
• This table is the antidote to whatever version of Herod’s birthday party is playing out in our own lives and in the world around us.

 

We are not trapped.

• God is still writing the story and it is so much better than the one we would come up with.
• Thanks be to God.

Mark 6:1-13

There was book some years back with the interesting title:

• “All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten.”
• Published way back in 1986.
• Since Miss Susan was a kindergarten teacher…I thought I should read the book.
• Well…the book offered interesting life lessons that were not only true…
• But were simple and hopeful.
• The book reminded me that oftentimes we get in the way of ourselves…
• We get caught in the weeds…
• By making things too complicated.
• Robert Fulghum…the author… reminded me of some simple wisdom… like:
• Share everything. Play fair. Put things back where you found them.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• And when you go out into the world…watch out for traffic…
• Hold hands…and stick together.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Well…This morning…I thought I would take inspiration from this book to offer some simple lessons from our gospel reading.

• Simple lessons on how Jesus wants us to live as his followers.
• You see…as Jesus got ready to send his apostles out on their first mission trip…
• He gave them some clear instructions written in our gospel reading for today.
• And from these instructions…I have singled out five simple lessons that we can hold onto as followers of Jesus.
• So…here goes.

 

Lesson 1 – Do not Be a Believer alone.

• Jesus has identified his twelve apostles…and now he is getting ready to send them out on a mission.
• And the first thing that he does is pair them up.
• Kind of like in kindergarten…or on a school field trip.
• Like Robert Fulghum’s rule:
• “Hold hands and stick together.”

 

Throughout Jesus’ ministry…when he calls disciples…the first thing he does is make us part of a community called the ekklesia…Greek meaning to call out…but Jesus spoke Aramaic…so he would have said ladoth…meaning to assemble or gather together. In English we say church.

• He calls us into this community because he knows that it is too hard to be a believer alone.
• We need each other…we are better together.
• For Jesus…there is no such thing as a lone-ranger believer.
• Life is too hard to go it alone.

 

Lesson 2 – Remember that Jesus Is the Boss.

• We read: “Jesus gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”
• Which means that when we go into the world…we go because Jesus has given us the authority to do so.
• Jesus is the boss.
• As he says in the Great Commission:
• “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go…therefore…and make disciples of all nations.”

 

Jesus is the boss…but he has put us in charge.

• So now we have the authority to go in his name.
• Jesus has entrusted us with his work.
• It is God’s work.
• It is our hands and feet.

 

I am the second oldest of four siblings.

• And when mom and dad left the house and left me in charge…
• I always reminded my two younger siblings that I was in charge…Mom and Dad said so.
• Which was fun…until we broke something.

 

As believers…we are something like the older children of the world.

• We have been put in charge.
• Jesus has given us authority over the powers and principalities of this world.
• And we embrace that.
• But we should also remember that we are not the parents.
• We are just in charge until the master returns.

 

Lesson 3 – Travel Light.

• The third lesson Jesus gives is this:
• “He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff…no bread…no bag…no money in their belts…
• But to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.”

 

I have been a cross-country walker for most of my life.

• So…when I would pack my backpack for a multi-day trip…I would make three piles.
• Necessities…things I must bring. (like rain gear or bug repellent).
• Things I might need. (like a first aid kit or Little Debbie Cakes).
• And things a probably would not need…but would come in handy. (like a deck of cards or a water-proof Bose blue-tooth speaker).
• Then I would eliminate the third pile altogether.
• And take only the things I might need and leave the rest behind.

 

In other words…we are to travel light.

• Why? Because traveling light means that we are trusting Jesus.
• Traveling light means that we have everything we need to serve our Lord.
• We do not need to read another book.
• We do not need to make more money.
• We do not need more time to solve whatever problems we face in our life right now.
• We do not need to do anything else before we go to serve our Lord.
• We have enough right now.
• We have everything we need…right now…to do what Jesus is asking.
• So…we can and should travel light.

 

Lesson 4 – Don’t Get Discouraged When You Fail.

 

So…we go on our mission with a caution:

• Not everyone will accept us.
• Not everyone will accept our message.
• There will be those who will refuse to hear us.
• What we can do though…is entrust the mission to God…and move on.

 

It is not our responsibility to successfully bring God’s kingdom to our world.

• As if we could.
• It is our task to enter a community…do as Jesus asks….
• And if not welcomed there…
• To shake the dust off our feet and move on.

 

So…what’s the lesson?

• Do not get discouraged when we fail.
• If the twelve apostles were told that they would sometimes fail…
• Then we should expect to fail…too.
• So…here is an acronym for fail:
• “Faith Active in Love.”
• When our faith is active in love…then we are serving our Lord.
• You see…failure in the eyes of the world might just be overwhelming success in the eyes of God.
• The cross proves that.

 

Lesson 5 – Don’t Be Afraid to Tell the Truth.

• When the apostles were sent out…it was to cast out demons and heal the sick.
• But it was also to proclaim:
• “Turn from your sin.
• Turn from your false hopes.
• Turn from your false gods.
• And turn…that is…re-turn…to the Lord.
• Our only God…and our only hope.

 

Our world is quick to offer its brand of gods and hopes.

• It always has and it always will.
• Always in the form of more stuff.
• Satan’s favorite word is more.
• More of this and more of that will make you ultimately fulfilled and happy.
• Our Lord’s favorite word is:
• Sola Gratia: by grace alone.
• As followers of Jesus…our mission is to proclaim that one source of hope.

 

This past Thursday we celebrated Independence Day.

• But the truth is that we are not independent.
• We might be independent from England.
• But we are very dependent on God.
• We are dependent on our Creator.
• We are dependent on the planet on which we live.
• We are dependent on our Lord Jesus…who came to rescue us from our brokenness.
• We are dependent on the Holy Spirit…who was given to go with us in the mission to which we are called.

Mark 5:21-43

I realized (in my preparation this week) that every sermon I have ever heard on this text has been vague about the actual ailment of the woman who reached for the hem of Jesus’ garment.

• So…to be clear…the woman in our Gospel reading today…
• Who was healed when she touched Jesus’ cloak had her menstrual period for 12 years.
• For 4,383 days in a row.
• Take a moment and consider what that was like back 2000 years ago.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

And worse…back in her day such women were considered impure.

• They were treated as so unclean that they could not be around other people.
• They could not enter the synagogue until their bleeding had stopped.
• Why? Because their impurity was considered contagious.
• Like a woman could catch it from another woman.
• And so…for 12 brutal years…our sister was segregated from the…so-called…good healthy people.

 

But…the Gospel tells us…she had heard about a man…a teacher…a prophet…a healer…

• Who did not recoil from women like her.
• She heard about a man who touched the unclean.
• Who did not seem to mind being close to lepers and prostitutes and mad men in tombs.
• She heard about a man who caused a stir.
• A man who caused religious people to clutch their pearls.
• A man who caused the blind to see.

 

She had heard about Jesus…and in a heroic act of self-respect…

• She pressed through those holy people…who if they knew it was her who was touching them that day…would have reported her.

 

She had heard about Jesus…and breaking all the rules…

• She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak…and said:
• “If I but touch his clothes…I will be made well.”

 

So…she reached with everything she had…

• She reached past her fears.
• She reached past her limitations.
• She reached past the dirty looks.
• She reached past 4,383 days of isolation and disappointment and despair.
• She reached past the hateful things said to her by those who were supposed to help her.
• She reached past her past.

 

Our sister reached for her own healing and her own dignity and her own wholeness and said:

• If I but touch his clothes I will be made well.
• That is to say…if I but touch his clothes I will be made me.
• I will be made me again and not what everyone has labeled me.

 

And immediately her bleeding stopped.

• And she felt in her body that she was healed by the power of Jesus of Nazareth.
• Her Yelp review read:
• Healing was immediate and thorough…5 stars.

 

Immediately…aware that power had gone forth from him…Jesus turned about in the crowd and said:

• “Who touched my clothes?”
• Jesus was looking for the one who reached for her healing and received it.
• He wanted to look this woman in the eye.
• A woman who for 12 years never received a whole lot of eye contact but Jesus knew it was HER he felt.
• And Jesus’ disciples are dumbfounded and say:
• “Get real…everyone is touching everyone’s clothes…it’s a huge crowd.”

 

But Jesus kept looking for her eyes.

• And the woman…who knew what had happened to her in that moment of her healing.
• And who knew very well what had happened to her in her 4,383 days of confinement.
• Came in fear and trembling…fell down before him…and told him the whole truth.
• She did not hold anything back.
• She told him the whole truth and nothing but.

 

Jesus said to her: “Daughter…your faith has made you well…go in peace…and be healed of your disease.”

• Everyone else may have called her impure…unclean…and unholy.
• But he called her daughter.
• In that one-word Jesus tells her who she really is.
• A beloved child of God.
• You are well…you are a daughter of God…go in peace and live as a healed woman.

 

I love this story but I have questions.

• I wonder if that word “daughter” …caused pain…as it surged through the parts of her that had been deprived of love and life for so long.
• I wonder if it hurt to be healed even though it is what she wanted. 

 

Because sometimes it is more comfortable to allow parts of ourselves to die than to feel them have new life.

• Because then we must face the pain of the whole truth.

But mostly…I wonder what her life looked like after that moment.

• Because 12 years is a long time.
• And it is not like there was some kind of re-entry program she could participate in.
• No halfway house between clean and unclean.

 

I wonder if…for our sister…the bleeding woman…

• There were times it felt more comfortable to cling to the identity of being unclean.
• Because at least it was familiar.
• At least then she knew where she stood.
• I wonder if there was an adjustment period for her before she could really live her new identity.

 

Here’s the thing:

• She may have been healed and returned to her community and family again.
• But she may not have really gotten well until she could accept both who she had been…
• And who she was becoming and accept the distance between the two.

 

And ultimately…when the pain of trying to lead the same life when she was not the same person was severe enough…

• She became willing to re-think old ideas about herself.
• Because she desperately needed relief from a life in which she was impersonating an old version of herself.
• She needed to repent of all the ways she had defined herself for so long.
• She did not know why losing things that hurt her…also causes her to hurt…but it did.

 

OK then…here’s the thing.

• Whatever it is that we do not want to let go of:
• Status…fear…bad relationships…victimhood…political correctness…moral superiority…resentment.
• Name your poison…whatever identities we think will keep us safe.
• Are not safe at all.
• They are just familiar and that is not the same thing.

 

Because when these flimsy designations touch even the garment of God…

• They fall away.
• And then Jesus looks us right in our eyes and tells us the truth when he declares:
• Daughter…you are well…go in peace and live as a healed woman.

Mark 4:35-41

 

While they were sailing Jesus fell asleep.

• A windstorm swept down on the lake.
• The boat was filling with water.
• And they were in danger.
• They went to him and woke him up…shouting:
• “Master…Master…we are perishing!”
• And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves.
• They ceased…and there was a calm.
• He said to them: “Where is your faith?”

 

Jesus and the disciples are caught in a storm at sea.

• The text says they were in real danger.
• Their boat was filling with water.
• So…if they were going to pieces it was not due to neuroses or an anxiety disorder.
• It was because their boat was about to sink.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Well…we are wired for certain responses when our lives are in danger.

• Adrenalin is released in our brains.
• Our heart rate increases…our pupils dilate to let in more light.
• And we become hyper-aware of what’s happening around us.
• We do not really choose to react like this.

 

So…it is kind of unfair that…amid a sinking boat Jesus turns to his disciples and says:

• “Where is your faith?”
• It feels like an accusation.
• Is Jesus saying that if we have enough faith…we can somehow transcend our animal brain chemistry?

 

Both New Age and Prosperity Gospel thinking would have us believe that if we just have enough faith…

• Or if we just think positively enough.
• We will draw only good things to us.
• But honestly…life does not work that way.
• We know that bad things happen to all people.
• And to think that storms happen because we did not think enough positive thoughts.
• Or practice the right kind of religion…is just spiritual vanity.

 

So maybe when Jesus said to them where is your faith…he said it not as an accusation…but as an invitation.

• An invitation to reflect on where God is amid storms.
• So…Jesus invites us to reflect on what it means to be alive on the other side of a situation.
• A situation we thought might kill us:
• A divorce…an illness…the death of a parent or a child…the loss of a job…depression…middle school.
• It can feel like it is going to kill us.
• But if it does not…then we get to ask questions like:
• In what did I have faith?  Where was God?  What did I fear?
• Because faith and positive thinking are not some kind of magic formula for a storm-free life.
• But faith is a way to find some calm.

 

So…here is what I mean:

• I am in the middle of a storm:
• A money problem or a relationship crisis or a medical emergency.
• And I say: “I am perishing here…God”
• I am sure I am perishing.
• But when I look back on it six months or a year later…
• After everything worked out or did not work out.
• But I am still alive and the world did not end and I think:
• “I do not know why I was so messed up”.

 

Well…I want some day to get to the point where I can trust God in the moment and not just in the past.

• Maybe things will work out and maybe they will not.
• But I can either have a sense of God’s love during the whole thing…
• Or I can be so out-of-sorts I forget God’s love is there.

 

Because here is what I believe:

• Our God…whose love is powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead…
• Simply will not be separated from me or from you.
• Not by a storm…not by a crisis…not by a pandemic…not by a war and not even by death.
• The love of God in Christ may not separate us from the storm.
• But the storm cannot and shall not and will not separate us from God’s love.
• Be still…and know that I am God (Psalm 46).
• That is what I have written on a big wooden sign as I enter my home from the garage door.

 

Every afternoon…after putting her daughter down for her nap…she moves to the garden in the backyard…and just sits.

• She enjoys the flight of a butterfly… considers a bee hovering over the garden…loses herself in the clouds above her.
• Then she returns to her little one to find her ready to charge through the afternoon.
• And…thanks to her moments of stillness…Mom is re-charged…as well.

 

The morning is filled with phone calls and meetings.

• Like most engineers…convincing…motivating…fixing…adapting…tracking…and computing and completing are what he does.
• But at lunchtime…he walks to a nearby downtown church to catch the 12:10 music and worship time.
• For thirty minutes he hears Christ speaking through the Word and music.
• The gift of stillness covers him with the breath of the Holy Spirit.
• He goes back to the office for the afternoon feeling whole again.

 

Like most teenagers…his life is filled with confusion and questions and discoveries and realizations and anxiety.

• Sometimes the rollercoaster of being 16 becomes too much.
• So…he closes his door…lies back on his bed…and puts on his headphones.
• But the music is not the usual.
• It’s a vinyl record played on a turntable.
• Soft jazz that quiets his nerves and soothes his spirit.
• In the music he finds the sanctuary of stillness.

 

Jesus’ words are addressed to us this morning:

• Peace! Be still!

Mark 4:26-34

²⁶Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
³⁰He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

 

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you O Christ

 

Today we heard Jesus say that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that when it has grown becomes the greatest of all shrubs.

• The greatest of all shrubs?
• What kind of kingdom is this?
• Yet he says Heaven’s kingdom is like Shrubs.
• We may think that the kingdom of God should follow our value system.
• And be powerful and impressive and shiny.
• But that is not what Jesus brings.
• Jesus brings a kingdom ruled by the crucified one.
• Spread throughout with mercy rather than power.
• The Kingdom is always found in the unexpected.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Jesus talked again and again about the kingdom of heaven and found any image available to tell us how to spot it – like:

• A little yeast leavens the whole loaf…a woman searches until she finds a lost coin…a father throws a festive banquet for a most unworthy son who has returned home…shepherd leaves all the sheep to seek one lost sheep…a wounded insider is helped by an unworthy outsider…a mustard seed grows into a treehouse for birds…the poor – crippled – blind and lame are brought in to a great dinner party…the humble sinner is justified – not the proud law-keeper…a poor and hungry beggar lies in the bosom of Abraham.
• And spotting these images is important.
• And the reason it is important is because there are two kingdoms.

 

OK…remember the Alleluia chorus in Handel’s Messiah?

• For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth: Hallelujah!
• The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord…And of His Christ…And He shall reign forever.
• OK then…there is the kingdom of heaven and there is the kingdom of this world.
• Not as in the world God created and called good.
• But the kingdom of this world we created for ourselves.
• The world according to us.

 

I randomly ask people what they believe the Kingdom of this world is like.

• One said…a thick fog that seems large…scary and impenetrable. But it is passing away.
• Another said: the kingdom of this world is like a rich…good-looking guy whose stock portfolio is as breathtaking as his Italian loafers.
• The kingdom of this world is a seemingly impenetrable system of victim and victimizer…winner and loser…rich and poor.

 

Everything around us can feel like it is demanding our allegiance to the Kingdom of this world.

• Allegiance to the weight-loss industrial complex.
• Allegiance to a worthiness-based system of getting ahead in life.
• The kingdom of this world wages an endless campaign for our loyalty.
• It is on billboards and magazines and TV.
• And the messages we receive lure us in with false promises.
• The promises of a human engineered kingdom are empty.
• The kingdom of this world cannot save us.

 

But Jesus came to bring another kingdom.

• You see…when God could no longer be contained by heaven…heaven came to Earth.
• The love God had for the world overflowed the heavens and was made flesh in the person of Jesus.
• And God’s Christ brought a message of good news to the poor and release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed.
• And he healed the sick and ate with sinners and scoffed at the powerful and he said the Kingdom of God has come near.

 

In the small and the unlikely and the unwanted and the mustard seed the kingdom of God comes to us.

• And it changes everything.
• This is the Kingdom of Heaven says Revelation 21:
• That God had come to dwell with us.  To make us people of God. To make all things new.
• For the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord…and of His Christ…and He shall reign for ever and ever.

 

We need to discover our own images of what the kingdom of heaven is like.

• It is important to have a field guide.
• To listen to Jesus when he says what it is like so that we can see it in our own lives.
• When we can identify the kingdom of heaven sown around us…it is not just an FYI kind of thing.
• It is God peeking through the curtain and letting us know that there is a deeper reality present in the world.
• A reality in which God gets God’s way.
• It is the light of God’s Christ which shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot…will not…shall not overcome it.
• And seeing where God seems to be insistently and dangerously and gorgeously and hilariously sewing signs of the kingdom is important.
• Because seeing signs of the kingdom of heaven loosens us from the kingdom of this world. 
• It frees us from the false promises of human culture and shows us that which is eternal and true and unstoppable.
• It shows us that drug overdoses and sweat shops and divorce and unemployment and senseless violence are not the final word.
• God and God alone will have the final word.
• Even if inconveniently God does not meet our expectations or work on our timeline.

 

You see…the kingdom of heaven is found in the ordinary…the daily.

• The kingdom of heaven is found right in front of our eyes.
• And when you see it…something is made new.
• A part of the world…a part of us is made new.
• Something is made new when the empty promises of the world according to us…
• Gives way to the whimsy…and the true and the eternal in the world according to God.
• And it is always a surprise.
• So…let us tilt our heads and look sideways at our lives and we just might see it in the small and in the unexpected.

 

Let us tilt our heads and look sideways and catch a glimpse.

• For the Prince of Peace has begun his reign.
• The signs are all around.
• They are signs of a battle already won.
• Signs of a world loved so deeply by God that God refuses to leave it alone.
• So…take another look. See if you can spot it.

Mark 3:20-35

In our reading this morning we see some of Jesus family members come and try to take charge of him.

• Why? Because they thought he was crazy.
• They thought he was out of his mind.
• They thought he had gone “over the edge”.
• They thought he was crazy because of what he was doing.
• Preaching about the kingdom of God…healing…and debating with powerful officials.
• You can sense the agony of the conflict as you hear the story of how family members decided among themselves to “put him away quietly”…
• Before he did any more damage to himself and them.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

OK…so what is really going on here?

• You see…Jesus had left home and the carpentry business his father Joseph had set up in Nazareth.
• Jesus’ departure had directly affected the financial security of his family.
• Because he was the oldest son of a deceased father.
• In Jewish culture…as the oldest son…Jesus was responsible for the security of the entire family.
• And Jesus had become an itinerant preacher…which had no security for him or for his family.
• And there was a lot of gossip in Nazareth when that happened.
• The family was embarrassed by what appeared to be an act of an irresponsible man.

 

Why? Because Jesus was on a head-on collision course with the orthodox religious leaders of his day.

• No sensible man would deliberately agitate the PTB (The Powers That Be).
• Jesus’ family knew that Jesus could not win in a battle with the priests…the Pharisees…and the Sadducees (the Jewish ruling elite).
• The conflict with the religious leaders rose to fever pitch when the religious leaders accused Jesus of being “possessed by Beelzebub” saying:
• “He is driving out demons by the prince of demons”.
• Jesus’ family and friends thought he was “beside himself”.

 

And then Jesus says something rather interesting.

• He says: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him…he said: “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
• The key to understanding this is Jesus saying:
• “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven…he is guilty of an eternal sin”.

 

And so…what is this unforgivable sin?

• If we lie…but regret…we can be forgiven.
• If we dishonor one another…but regret…we can be forgiven.
• If we hurt one another…but regret…we can be forgiven.
• If we hurt God…but regret…we can be forgiven.

 

One of the activities of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to the point where we are willing to forgive and be forgiven.

• To blaspheme or curse the Holy Spirit means to stubbornly cling to our own thoughts and opinions with an unwillingness to forgive and be forgiven.
• This hard-heartedness had set like concrete in the hearts of the Pharisees who were never regretful or repentant.

 

The unforgivable sin is not to repent or to have no regret.

• God’s will is that we have regret and be remorseful.
• That attitude of regret or repentance is what constitutes the faith family and brings reconciliation to the family of faith.
• In this context…Jesus would have meant that it especially included his own biological family.

 

So…reconciliation DID come to Jesus’ family members at the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

• We do not really know how it happened.
• But…we only know that it happened.

 

Mary and Jesus’ brothers were there with the believers in earnest prayer.

• Somehow…they had seen the amazing integrity that Jesus possessed.
• And had become followers of the Way.
• Through forgiveness they had joined the faith family.
• Later we are told that James…Jesus’ brother…became the head of the church at the council of Jerusalem.
• James had come a long way from wanting to put Jesus away to heading up the church.
• And Jesus’ family came to know the joy of forgiveness through the power of the resurrected Lord.
• They still believed that Jesus was out of his mind…
• But in a different way than they had originally thought.
• Here is what I mean.

 

Despite a long day at work and a cold coming on…it was Mary’s night to staff the soup kitchen our church helped to sponsor.

• People were depending on her.
• So…with extra Kleenex…water…Tylenol and a face mask…she went downtown.
• Mary was certainly out of her mind.

 

Aidan…a disciple in our parish…was in the middle of a meeting with prospective buyers.

• This deal had been in the works for months.
• But the prospective buyers insisted on changes to the original agreement.
• There was money to be made…
• But a lot of good and talented employees would lose their jobs.
• And the customer service protocols Aidan had worked so hard to establish would be seriously compromised.
• So…Aidan walked away from the deal.
• Aidan was certainly out of his mind.

 

 

The kids loved hockey…but things were getting out of hand.

• Every weekend from October to April was spent at hockey rinks…
• Some a two-hour drive from their home.
• The games were great…but making it work was taking a toll on everyone.
• So…Sarah and Rich…disciples of a church I had been serving…put on the breaks.
• Their kids were all great skaters…the engines of their teams.
• But it was not working for their life as a family.
• They must have been out of their minds.

 

 

Yes…we must be “out of our minds” to do as Jesus would do.

• But to follow Jesus means putting aside the mindset of:
• Me-first…it’s-not-my-fault…take-responsibility-for-yourself…my-time-is-too-important-for-the-likes-of-you.
• For the sake of what is right and just.
• For the sake of those we love.
• For the sake of the common good.
• God asks us to act as Jesus would.
• Even if those around us think we are “out of our minds.”
• But what others consider crazy can be the wisest…sanest and most faithful thing we do.

Mark 2:23-3:6

Once a week…all of us…including the preacher…must decide what we are going to do on the first day of the week.

• “What are we going to do this Sunday?”
• That’s the question that looms for all of us as the week nears its end.
• Will we go to church…or will we find something else to do?

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

The one thing Sunday offers in our society is a lot of choices.

• The weekends have become the ideal time for travel away from home.
• Sundays make a great day for a mini-holiday or a family reunion.
• Sunday is the perfect day to take a drive to the beach or a museum or the pier or take in a concert or a theme park.
• Most of the major sporting events occur on Sunday.
• Amateur golf on Sunday afternoon has become a religion.
• Boating and fishing are excellent choices for Sunday.
• And then there is always shopping!
• And restaurants and movie theatres.
• So…what will you do on Sunday?

 

Mark describes two dramatic actions in the ministry of Jesus that both occurred on the Sabbath.

• And both confront the question: “What is it lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
• In the first…Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grain field…and the disciples began to pick the heads of the grain.
• The Pharisees saw it and were offended.
• Is it lawful to do that on the Sabbath?
• No…they said…and charged Jesus’ disciples with breaking the Sabbath.

 

In the second…there was a sick man present in the congregation…

• And the Pharisees watched to see if Jesus would heal this man in violation of the Sabbath.
• So…Jesus gave voice to the “elephant in the room”:
• “Is it lawful to do this on the Sabbath?”
• As far as the Pharisees were concerned…there was nothing wrong with the actions in either of these episodes.
• The problem was that they were done on the Sabbath.
• Jesus defended his actions by citing the actions of David in the Old Testament.
• Then he said to them: “The Sabbath was made for humankind…and not humankind for the Sabbath.”

 

Well…Christians no longer observe the Sabbath.

• The Sabbath is the last day of the week which is Saturday.
• Christians observe the first day of the week which is Sunday.
• But we attach the same significance to Sunday that the Hebrew people attached to Saturday.

 

One of the most amazing transformations of being a follower of the new way (to be Jewish) was this change from observing the Sabbath day to observing Sunday.

• Since Jesus resurrection occurred on the first day of the week…
• The early Christians thought it only appropriate that they worship the Lord on his Resurrection Day.
• In that way…every Sunday is an Easter Sunday.
• Until Christ had come…we worked toward our Sabbath.
• Since Christ…we work from his Sabbath.
• In the old way… the Sabbath depended upon our work.
• In the new way…our work grows out of the Sabbath.

 

How then…should we observe the Christian Sabbath?

• When we move toward a strict observance for our Sunday activities…
• We are becoming more like the Pharisees with their legalistic rituals regarding the Sabbath.
• I much prefer that we come down on the side of grace rather than legalism.

 

So…what is the real meaning of the Sabbath principle?

• The Sabbath is not one day given to God while we are permitted to keep the six for ourselves.
• It is rather a sign and symbol of the deepest things in life.
• The Sabbath principle reminds us that there must be a time in our week when we stop and take note of God.
• We are being remiss when we let our lives become so rushed and burdened.
• So full of busy-ness…that we fail take care of two vital human needs…rest and worship.

 

As the early believers knew…the day of the week is not the important point.

• You can rest and worship on Saturday.
• Or you can rest and worship on Sunday.
• Some people must work on Sundays…and their days off may be Tuesday or Saturday.
• They can still accomplish the Sabbath purpose whatever day of the week it is.
• The Sabbath reminds us to take time to rest and to take time to worship.
• For me…the Sabbath is the day in which I hand my life back to God to remember that it is not my own.
• The acknowledgment that we belong to a generous God changes how we live the other six days of our lives.

 

In her book Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul…Rabbi Naomi Levy tells the story of Henry…a member of her congregation.

• Henry’s internet startup was booming…he was making more money than he’d ever dreamed of.
• At 36…he was happily married with an adorable…energetic son.
• But Henry was feeling empty.
• Something was missing in his life.
• He sensed that he had “forgotten something” but didn’t know what.
• Yes…he admitted to the rabbi…he was constantly “plugged into” the office.
• Even though he was “there” …he was never completely engaged with his family.

 

So…the rabbi suggested that Henry and his family observe a real Sabbath day:

• Henry turning off his “work mind” for a day and the whole family unplugging from technology.
• And…instead…lighting Sabbath candles on Friday nights as a way to welcome sacred time and enjoying a festive meal at home together.

 

After a few weeks…Henry returned to see Rabbi Naomi.

• So how are the Sabbaths going? Naomi asked.
• “The first Friday night I just kept reaching for my phone…so I finally turned it off.
• But…Rabbi…it felt like an amputated limb.
• I kept listening for it and looking for it.”

 

But now…?

• “I feel like a father for the first time.
• I think I was just faking it before.
• I love playing with Jake and reading books and looking into his eyes.
• No more tech in bed…that’s our new thing.
• I go to bed holding my wife in my arms.

 

“The weird part” Henry said “is that taking Friday night as a Sabbath is actually affecting all the days of the week.

• The nagging feeling is gone…I feel rich.”
• “You are rich” Rabbi Naomi said.

 

Naomi Levy describes the Sabbath as “the soul of the week”:

• “Some think of the Sabbath as a day of prohibitions…you can’t do this…and you can’t do that.
• But the Sabbath is actually a day of permission:
• A day when we give our souls permission to dream again.

John 3:1-17

Well…as we look at today’s gospel reading…we come across a verse that has kind of become a cliché.

• It is probably the best-known Bible verse ever.
• While many people may know very little of scripture…they know John 3:16.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

OK then…our basic school-age understanding of John 3:16 goes something like this:

• God created us and all that is…but because the first woman ate something she should not have we are messed-up for all of time.
• And since we are all so terrible at following rules God needs to punish us.
• But here is where Jesus comes in.
• Jesus is God’s only son…and God only had one child.
• And he loved that child very much.
• But he had to kill that little boy because we stole a candy bar and lied to our mom and used swear words.
• (Mom didn’t need God to Punish me).
• The important thing to know is that God killed his little boy rather than punishing us.
• Because someone had to pay.
• And we should feel so grateful about all of this so that we believe and we behave.
• But the good news is that if we believe all of this and if we try hard to be good…
• Then…when we die…we get a special all-inclusive vacation package called Eternal Life.

 

So…here’s the thing…That version SO misses the point of what Jesus is saying.

• That version has instilled fear in people’s lives.
• That version has created a religion that is permeated with judgement.
• Judgement that Christians impose upon others.
• Far too often…this passage has promoted an understanding in which the story of Jesus is about God having to be pacified.
• Or a God having to be persuaded to forgive.
• Far too often we carry around within us an image of an angry…unforgiving God.
• And a loving…forgiving Jesus.

 

Quite honestly…that understanding of God has been used as a tool to scare people out of hell by promoting what is known as decision theology.

• Ironically…these very words that Jesus was speaking to a rigid and legalistic Pharisee named Nicodemus…
• Trying to help him see salvation more expansively…
• Have become the very symbol of conditional love instead of unconditional

 

God is not someone who sends Jesus in order that Jesus might be punished so that our sins will be wiped out.

• God is not the angry monarch…seeking vengeance or retribution for our sins.
• No…God is more like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son…
• Who is not happy until his wandering children have come home.
• God is love…love is the essence of God’s being.
• So…let us understand this verse for what it is.

 

First…in the gospel of John…the word for “world” refers to the cosmos…to everything.

• And…when John uses the words “eternal life” he is not only talking about life after death.
• John’s use of the words “eternal life” means the same thing as Matthew’s use of the words… “kingdom of heaven” …or Luke’s use of the words… “kingdom of God.”
• “Eternal life” is about the “reign of God.”
• In John… “eternal life” is something that we are already living.
• It is living life that truly matters right here and right now.
• It is living life to the full.
• With that in mind…let’s take another look at today’s reading.

 

In the beginning…God…the source and ground of all being…

• Set the universe into motion through sound and breath and self-giving in a love song.
• God so loved the world that he gave his own breath to speak into existence that which was not.
• And then…God so loved the world that he gave his own breath at another time…
• Breathing into dust to create humanity.
• Through dust and the very breath of divine love we were created.
• In the image of the Songwriter…we were created.
• And we too were given voice and language and breath and song.
• And that love song of creation continued.
• But we tended to create our own melodies in another rhythm…in another key…in our own key.

 

So…there is the song of life which rings through eternity.

• And then there are human-generated temporary alternate songs.
• With our own breath…language…voice…
• We still tend to create our own rhythm and melodies.
• That we think will save us…songs of domination…violence…greed…and power.

 

And so once again…God’s breath was given to us.

• Through sound and self-giving.
• Only this time…the sound interrupted the confused noise of the Roman empire.
• This time…God’s divine love song was heard in the cry of a newborn baby.

For God so loved the world that God gave his own self to it in the form of a son.

• This was such a big deal that angels sang back up.
• The heavenly hosts joined in the divine love song interrupting our regularly scheduled program of soldiers and taxes and purity codes.

 

God so loved this corrupt world of empires and victims and violence that God gave his own self to us.

• God so loved the world that he came to us in the most vulnerable and fragile way possible.
• God so loved the world he created that he walked among us as love.

But not our kind of love.

• Our love is limited by self-interest…biology and time.
• No…God’s love takes no account of opinion or history.
• But insists on ignoring information we think of as important.
• Data about worth…beauty…status.
• God’s love has quite ignored the Kelly Blue Book Value on us.

 

For God so loved the world.

• For God so loved soldiers and prostitutes and traitors and unwed mothers and soccer moms and CEOs and ex-cons and Burger King janitors…
• That God gave of his own self in the form of Jesus.

 

And Jesus was like a clearer set of lyrics so that we might be saved from the noise of sin and self-preservation.

• So that we might not perish.
• But be reminded again of the true beat…the real rhythm…the clear lyrics of the song of creation…
• And salvation that is life and that is eternal.

And those who heard this tune…began to sing it to others.

• They expressed it in Gospels and hymns and art and hospitals and colleges and universities and camps and conference centers and social services ministries.
• And we who are gathered here…hear it for ourselves.
• And we know it is life and it is right here.
• It is eternal life and it is for us.

The love song that God has been singing from the beginning of time…is the song of life for all eternity.

• Sometimes…it is drowned out by the white noise of the world.
• But…this love song will never…ever…leave us.
• Yes…God so loves the world with an immense…redeeming
• A love that holds us…and a love that will never let us go!

John: 15:26-27;16:4b-15

Earlier in my ministry…a near-by Lutheran church gifted Bethany Lutheran church (a church I was serving) …a full set of used paraments.

• Bethany Lutheran church was like every other church’s little sister.
• So…they got a lot of hand me downs.
• As a group of folks went through those beautiful altar cloths…
• They came finally to the red set and found one with an image of a descending dove…
• With completely crazy eyes and claws that looked like talons.
• Yup…it was as though the Holy Spirit was a raptor.
• “O MY…someone said…we cannot use this one. It makes The Holy Spirit look dangerous.”
• That was some completely sound advice.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Yes…The Day of Pentecost IS a dangerous story.

• The story opens with that small group of believers isolating themselves as the text says: all together in one place.
• They were afraid of outsiders…so they all stayed together.
• Well…they were in danger but not from outsiders.
• The danger they were in…as they huddled all together in one place…
• Was from a God who is about to crash the party and bring in everyone they were trying to avoid.
• So then that red parament with the crazy taloned raptor dove is an apt image for the Holy Spirit.

 

The Spirit…while called the comforter…does not bring the warm chocolate chip cookies kind of comfort.

• The Spirit brings the comfort of the truth.
• So…let me tell you a story.

Way back in the 1970’s…at Bethany Lutheran Church in Siren Wisconsin…

• On the 17^th of December…the phone rang…and a voice at the other end said:
• “This is Marie from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services.
• I want to confirm the arrival of your Laotian family on the 19^th.
• They leave Hong Kong tomorrow morning and will arrive at Minneapolis International airport Monday at 11:22 am.”

 

Silence greeted the woman from my end of the line.

• “Are you certain you have the correct party?” I finally managed to say.
• “Is this Bethany Lutheran Church Siren Wisconsin?”
• “Yes.”
• “Sir…I have several pieces of correspondence with Pastor DeSota, one as late as November 3^rd.”
• I was the new pastor at the church.
• Pastor DeSota was my predecessor.

 

Why I did not tell the nice woman it was all a terrible mistake and that she would just have to find someone else to house the family…I didn’t know.

• But I didn’t.

 

For five minutes after I hung up…I sat in shock.

• Then I made two phone calls, confirming a hunch.
• The arrival of the six Southeast Asian refugees was not a total surprise to everyone.
• A few of the younger families had been consulted.
• Though everyone assumed that the former pastor had “canceled the order” when he left in November.

 

On Sunday evening I called a meeting at the church to decide what to do.

• The fellowship hall was packed.
• At first the group was in chaos.
• No one seemed thrilled over the prospect of locating a family just a few days before Christmas.

 

The meeting was approaching its second hour before one of the older members asked me what I thought.

• “There is a great deal about this situation that I do not understand” I began.
• What I do know is this: tomorrow morning six human beings…through no fault of their own…will be arriving at the airport without food…clothing, housing…or friends.
• A Wisconsin winter is hard enough to face under the best of circumstances.
• I intend to be at the airport tomorrow. I intend to be their friend. Do any of you plan to help?”

 

After a moment of silence…the room nearly exploded with excitement.

• No longer did people begin their sentences with “If this family comes.”
• Instead…they said: “When they come…”
• During the next 90 minutes…teams were formed to find food and clothing.
• And a woman in her 80’s…offered her house to the family until a permanent residence could be found.
• Later that evening…I fell exhausted into bed…pleased with what had happened but still apprehensive about what was to come.

 

The next morning the welcoming committee was near to the airport before it dawned on them that they would not be able to understand a single word this family would say.

• As it turned out…they need not have worried.
• When the family of six…a mother and a father in their mid-30’s…two girls…12 and 11…a boy…4…and a grandmother…
• Stepped off the plane…they communicated wonderfully in the universal language of gesture…smiles…handshakes…and even a tentative hug.

 

The next five days were hectic:

• The phone rang constantly.
• People offered food…clothing…and transportation.
• On Tuesday a house was located that needed fixing.
• And several volunteers quickly stepped forward to begin the necessary repairs.
• On Wednesday a pickup pulled into the church parking lot…filled with furniture.
• On Thursday an interpreter was found.
• One of the young women coming home from college brought an international student with her.
• At last…people would not be limited to pantomime for communication.

 

Bethany Lutheran Church…on Friday, December 24^th…normally reserved and silent…was buzzing.

• People who ordinarily entered quietly and sat in their pews until worship began…
• Were in the aisles talking and shaking hands.

 

At precisely 7 pm the church grew quiet…not because the acolyte had lit the candles…or the choir had begun to process.

• But because six people…led by an 80-year-old woman…
• Had entered the church and found their way to the very front pew…right in front of the pulpit.
• When the service began…the church shook with singing.
• I beamed.

 

I read the Christmas Gospel…and when I finished the beautiful poetry from the first chapter of John…I paused.

• “Dear friends” I said. “A great deal has happened in this church in the past few days.
• In a way it is very much like the story of the first Christmas…
• Where room was discovered for our Lord on the night of his birth.
• A night when he and his family were refugees.
• What has happened is that the Holy Spirit of God has broken into our lives.
• Just as he broke into the lives of a people nearly 2000 years ago.
• With a phone call and the arrival of six strangers…the Holy Spirit has interrupted our lives and brought us here together.
• May Christ be with us all.”

 

And that…my friends…is the work of the Holy Spirit.

• And it did not feel like a chocolate chip cookie…at first.
• You see…we are the very people to whom God sends the spirit to mess everything up.
• The very people God loves enough to send that crazed bird with bared talons and a predatory beak to come and snatch out our stony hearts.
• And replace them with the comfort of God’s own heart.

 

That is the thing about the Pentecost Spirit of truth:

• It feels like the truth might crush us.
• And that is right…the truth crushes us.
• But the instant it crushes us it puts us back together into something holy and real.
• Because the mysterious and dangerous thing the Spirit does has always been to form us into the Body of Christ.