from my message on Pentecost, May 19, 2013, from Acts 2;1-21
Manuel. His name is Manuel. I met him at Jireh house a couple of weeks ago. Jireh house is a Methodist mission in the midst of a huge apartment complex called Cassiano Homes, on the south side of San Antonio. Imagine this: Methodists having a presence right in the middle of a pocket of poverty. There are 499 units in the complex. One of them is the home of Jireh house. Jireh is from Jehovah Jireh, or "the Lord provides."
I was at Jireh House because the group of 12 pastors who are in route to becoming ordained had wanted to do a mission project there. I am their spiritual director. Usually as a mission project, we build something, like a house. This time, we were building relationships and trust. We went to Jireh house to do 3 things: play games with the neighborhood children, sort clothes for the clothes closet, and distribute flyers about the clothes closet being open on the next day.
Before we went out, we heard testimonies from some of the people who had been helped by Jireh House. The director, Ms. Vega, is a dynamo. She has health problems, and is getting on up in years, but she is the angel behind Jireh House. It has been her baby since 1995. The first one to give witness was Manuel. I will share it in a moment. Others spoke. Esperanza whose name means "hope," said, "yesterday, I had no hope. My husband is in prison. I keep coming back here, because they are my family." Monica said, "I came first to get clothes from the clothes closet. Now I run the clothes closet." Daniel said, "I'm not too good with words. I've been in prison 3 times. Now I am a changed person." Most of them were Hispanic. Ed was white. He said, "I was a CPA with one of the big 4 firms. My job was outsourced. I lost the house, the 2 fancy cars, nearly lost my family. We moved to San Antonio to be with my wife's family. We came first for the food bank. Now we come for the spiritual food." Manuel, the first one to speak, said, "I grew up in the projects. LIfe was hard. I've been to jail. I've been on drugs. Now I've been sober for 1 1/2 years. My wife is about to graduate from nursing school in 2 weeks." I would have gone to Jireh House for the testimonies alone.
Manuel were partners in the mission project. We were passing out flyers announcing the clothes closet would be open the next day. You could take all you wanted. There would be a free lunch afterwards.
You may be asking, What does this have to do with Pentecost? On that day, they were all together, and all heard them speaking in their own language. Do you hear the list of nations? It reminded me of an article I read nearly 20 years ago, given to me by one of my ministry friends. The article said something quite remarkable. I found reference to it this past week in a foot note from one of the commentaries I was reading. It said that in the list of nations named, not all of them existed at the time that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. I am glad that you laugh at that. It's pretty funny. LUke is trying to make a theological point. The Holy Spirit comes at all times and places. You can look it up. Parthians and Elamites had already faded from the scene when Luke wrote. The Cretans and Arabs are peoples, not nations. Luke is trying to say that the Spirit won't be located in just one time and place, but will penetrate all times and places.
So the Spirit that was hovering over the face of the waters of creation in Genesis 1 is the same Spirit blowing across our lives today. The Spirit that literally inspired the prophets, when they said, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon me," is the same Spirit inspiring us today. The fire in the burning bush that Moses encountered in the Sinai desert is the same fire burning in us today. The fire that was in Jeremiah, when he said, "If I do not preach the word of the Lord, it is like a fire in my bones," is the same fire burning within us today. The Holy Spirit won't be domesticated. The Holy Spirit leaps over all of our barriers of time and space.
I have been to the Holy Land 3 times. It is a wonderful pilgrimage. It is like reading the fifth gospel. I remember the first time I went. I wrote in my journal. "I went to see the Holy Land. I found that the Holy Land is wherever I am." Holy Spirit comes at all times and places. If you want a good definition for the Holy Spirit, here it is, the presence of God in every present moment, in every place.
So Ms. Vega is full of the Holy Spirit on the south side of San Antonio in the midst of government housing. She said, "I don't have your education. I get my wisdome from God."
Manuel is full of the Holy Spirit. We were passing out leaflets advertising the clothes closet. We started by knocking on doors. Not many people were home in the middle of the afternoon. We saw children gettng out of school. We saw parents picking them up. We started approaching the parents with our leaflets. Guess who had more street cred? Me, middle aged white guy in an Aggie hat? Or Manuel, young Hispanic, in his baggy shorts, with high top shoes unlaced, sports jersey, and jauntily tilted cap? Manuel was so much more effect in that time and place. So are you. You can go so many more places and times than I can. Where is the Holy Spirit calling you to witness?
The good news is that the Holy Spirit comes in all times and places.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Come, Stay at my Home
from my message on 5/12, Mother's Day, Festival of the Christian Home, from Acts 16:9-15
Home...what a powerful word! Home...so many layers of meaning. Some of you have lived overseas or traveled extensively. You get on the plane to head back. A fellow passenger asks you, "Where are you going?" You answer, "Home." I remember coming back to the States after living in Scotland for a school year. I remember landing in NYC. The sky seemed bluer. There was definitely something about coming home. We sing it in our national anthem, "o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave." We will tear up at football games when they raise the Stars and Stripes, and we sing our anthem.
Home...we have a heavenly home. The 23rd Psalm ends, "and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." In the year 2001, on that day we have come to know as 9/11, the former superintendent of schools had died. He had been superintendent for 25 years before retiring from Gregory-Portland where I was pastor. That was my day shuttling back and forth between his home and the church, listening to the radio of planes flying into buildings. Dr. Andrews had talked to me about what he wanted at his funeral. Please know that this is a healthy conversation to have with your pastor, with your family. It does not mean you want to die, or that it hastens your death! In fact, Monday night, we are having a workshop on "Putting your house in order" over in Bldg. M, at 7 p.m., to talk just about this subject. Anyhow, Dr. Andrews had made a special request of something to do at his funeral. You need to know that I welcome such requests, and as far as possible try to meet them, in order to bring about healing. We held the funeral for the former superindent of schools in the high school auditorium. It was the only place big enough in Portland. It was the first public gathering after 9/11 for that community. Dr. Andrews asked if we could sing at his funeral his favorite song, Home on the Range. Let's sing it now. What goes through you? Doesn't it feel good to sing? We have a heavenly home. Our black Methodists pastors talk about the funeral as a "home-going." The apostle Paul talks in one of his letters that "we have a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens."
Home...Lydia had a home. Do we know a Lydia? Yes, she is sitting right back there, valued member of this congregation. The Lydia in Acts was wealthy, prominent. She was a dealer in purple cloth. Who wore purple? Royalty and the rich. It was made by crushing us certain sea shells which were used to dye the cloth. Lydia lived in the region of Macedonia. Do we know anyone from Macedonia? Yes, the Petreski family are sitting over here. It was a region of northern Greece. Lydia was at Philippi, at the riverside on the sabbath, worshiping God. We don't know which God, but she responded to Paul's preaching. She and her, get this, household, were baptized. She was the leader of her house. Talk about women in ministry! In fact, Lydia is the first convert to Christianity in Europe. A church begins to meet in her home. There were no separate structures for churches. There were house churches. The first house church in Europe was at Lydia's home. Paul would later write in his Letter to the Philippians, to her house church, "You Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone." They were generous.
I need to do some Greek with you now. The word for house or home in Greeek is oikos. We find this word in the eco of economics. Are we at home with money, possessions, giving, gratitude? We find eco in ecology. Are we at home in creation, in Mother Earth? Do we take care of our home? Is it messy like our bedroom? Home is such a powerful word.
Lydia's home became Paul's base of operation in that region because Lydia hd said, "Come, stay at my home."
Home...we can have a church home. Some of you grew up in the church, in the Christian faith. Some of you here today may have wandered away. Sometimes it is a stage of development, or a rebellion, or a getting into rationalism, or because some tragedy has happened. Some of you may be coming back home because you have had a baby, or you are dealing with grief, or someone invited you. Wherever you are, sing with me, Softly and Tenderly. Wherever you are, please know that the door is open here, the welcome mat is out. Come home.
Home....do we treat folks like visitors or guests in our church home? In my continuing education course the last book we read was Beyond the First Visit by Gary McIntosh. He advises the church to lose the word visitor and use the word guest. Get playful with me now. Visitors show up uninvited. It is awkward. We try to put a good face on, "Oh, it's so nice to see you." What we really are thinking is "What are you doing here?" We invite people in, maybe serve a snack, talk a bit. Underneath, we are thinking "When are they going to leave?" We want to say, "Good food, good talk, good-bye."
Guests are greeted with "I was so looking forward to seeing you. We have your favorite food prepared. We have the guest room made up for you to spend the night. Please come back soon."
Visitors just show up; guests are expected/invited. Visitors are expected to leave; guests are expected to stay. Visitors are to come 1 time; guests are to come again and again. I know that our registration pads and stick-on name tags both say "Visitor." I will fix this. I just finished reading the book!
Home...Sunday night I went to a worship service at First UMC downtown. It was a service highlighting the Reconciling Ministries Network, the movement within the UMC to be radically welcoming to all persons, especially those of other sexual orientations. Please know that I am firmly supportive of this movement. I know some of you are not comfortable with this position, and I still want to be your pastor too. At this service, we celebrated the sacrament of communion where all were welcomed. We sang a modern hymn by Marty Haugen, entitled All Are Welcome. We will sing the chorus and then speak the verse and then sing the chorus again.
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and vsions, Rock of faith of vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
That's what I want to say today. All are welcome in this place. As Lydia said, so I say today, Come, stay at my home.
Home...what a powerful word! Home...so many layers of meaning. Some of you have lived overseas or traveled extensively. You get on the plane to head back. A fellow passenger asks you, "Where are you going?" You answer, "Home." I remember coming back to the States after living in Scotland for a school year. I remember landing in NYC. The sky seemed bluer. There was definitely something about coming home. We sing it in our national anthem, "o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave." We will tear up at football games when they raise the Stars and Stripes, and we sing our anthem.
Home...we have a heavenly home. The 23rd Psalm ends, "and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." In the year 2001, on that day we have come to know as 9/11, the former superintendent of schools had died. He had been superintendent for 25 years before retiring from Gregory-Portland where I was pastor. That was my day shuttling back and forth between his home and the church, listening to the radio of planes flying into buildings. Dr. Andrews had talked to me about what he wanted at his funeral. Please know that this is a healthy conversation to have with your pastor, with your family. It does not mean you want to die, or that it hastens your death! In fact, Monday night, we are having a workshop on "Putting your house in order" over in Bldg. M, at 7 p.m., to talk just about this subject. Anyhow, Dr. Andrews had made a special request of something to do at his funeral. You need to know that I welcome such requests, and as far as possible try to meet them, in order to bring about healing. We held the funeral for the former superindent of schools in the high school auditorium. It was the only place big enough in Portland. It was the first public gathering after 9/11 for that community. Dr. Andrews asked if we could sing at his funeral his favorite song, Home on the Range. Let's sing it now. What goes through you? Doesn't it feel good to sing? We have a heavenly home. Our black Methodists pastors talk about the funeral as a "home-going." The apostle Paul talks in one of his letters that "we have a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens."
Home...Lydia had a home. Do we know a Lydia? Yes, she is sitting right back there, valued member of this congregation. The Lydia in Acts was wealthy, prominent. She was a dealer in purple cloth. Who wore purple? Royalty and the rich. It was made by crushing us certain sea shells which were used to dye the cloth. Lydia lived in the region of Macedonia. Do we know anyone from Macedonia? Yes, the Petreski family are sitting over here. It was a region of northern Greece. Lydia was at Philippi, at the riverside on the sabbath, worshiping God. We don't know which God, but she responded to Paul's preaching. She and her, get this, household, were baptized. She was the leader of her house. Talk about women in ministry! In fact, Lydia is the first convert to Christianity in Europe. A church begins to meet in her home. There were no separate structures for churches. There were house churches. The first house church in Europe was at Lydia's home. Paul would later write in his Letter to the Philippians, to her house church, "You Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone." They were generous.
I need to do some Greek with you now. The word for house or home in Greeek is oikos. We find this word in the eco of economics. Are we at home with money, possessions, giving, gratitude? We find eco in ecology. Are we at home in creation, in Mother Earth? Do we take care of our home? Is it messy like our bedroom? Home is such a powerful word.
Lydia's home became Paul's base of operation in that region because Lydia hd said, "Come, stay at my home."
Home...we can have a church home. Some of you grew up in the church, in the Christian faith. Some of you here today may have wandered away. Sometimes it is a stage of development, or a rebellion, or a getting into rationalism, or because some tragedy has happened. Some of you may be coming back home because you have had a baby, or you are dealing with grief, or someone invited you. Wherever you are, sing with me, Softly and Tenderly. Wherever you are, please know that the door is open here, the welcome mat is out. Come home.
Home....do we treat folks like visitors or guests in our church home? In my continuing education course the last book we read was Beyond the First Visit by Gary McIntosh. He advises the church to lose the word visitor and use the word guest. Get playful with me now. Visitors show up uninvited. It is awkward. We try to put a good face on, "Oh, it's so nice to see you." What we really are thinking is "What are you doing here?" We invite people in, maybe serve a snack, talk a bit. Underneath, we are thinking "When are they going to leave?" We want to say, "Good food, good talk, good-bye."
Guests are greeted with "I was so looking forward to seeing you. We have your favorite food prepared. We have the guest room made up for you to spend the night. Please come back soon."
Visitors just show up; guests are expected/invited. Visitors are expected to leave; guests are expected to stay. Visitors are to come 1 time; guests are to come again and again. I know that our registration pads and stick-on name tags both say "Visitor." I will fix this. I just finished reading the book!
Home...Sunday night I went to a worship service at First UMC downtown. It was a service highlighting the Reconciling Ministries Network, the movement within the UMC to be radically welcoming to all persons, especially those of other sexual orientations. Please know that I am firmly supportive of this movement. I know some of you are not comfortable with this position, and I still want to be your pastor too. At this service, we celebrated the sacrament of communion where all were welcomed. We sang a modern hymn by Marty Haugen, entitled All Are Welcome. We will sing the chorus and then speak the verse and then sing the chorus again.
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and vsions, Rock of faith of vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
That's what I want to say today. All are welcome in this place. As Lydia said, so I say today, Come, stay at my home.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Stpehen Ministers
from my message on May 5,2013, from Acts 6:1-7
You didn't hire me as the senior pastor to do all of the ministry for you. At least I hope that is the case! We will never be able to hire enough staff to get all of the ministry done.
It is not biblical to hire others to do ministry for us. Read the letters of Paul in the New Testament. I Cor.12 says, Y'all, literally, you plural, are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Rom. 12 says that we who are many are one body in Chirst, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Eph. 4 says that we have gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Martin Luther said in the Protestant Reformation, "The priesthood of all believers." Every member of the church is a minister. Our United Methodist Book of Discipline talks about the ministry of all Christians, that different gifs and ministries are given to all persons.
You know this. You practice this. This past weekend, we put on the Gospel Accordin' to Texas, where some 1200 folks came to our church for 4 performances. You were actors, dancers, musicians, lighting persons, tickets takers, ushers, refreshment providers, golf cart drivers, and hosts. This past weekend we had ReThink Church where we went out into the world on several service projects. You were card writers (to over 87 persons in nursing homes, in the hospital, in the military, etc.), hygiene kit packers for Mobilie Loaves and Fishes, handbell ringers for the Methodist retirement home in Georgetown, distributor of clothes to the homeless at church under the bridge, sidewalk art stencilers at Linder Elementary, community garden developers at Parker Lane UMC, and Queen Lola shed builders and lunch providers.
I will hush up and let you watch the video (go to our website, www.westlake-umc.org, and go to the YouTube icon at the bottom of the home page where you will find the 2 and 1/2 minute video).
That's what you all did last weekend as ministers of the Gospel. Every Christian is called to ministry. Not every one is called to ordained ministry. May I tell you a funny story? My dentist, Tony, is a member of this church. A few weeks ago he asked me before service if I had any resources on performing marriages. Yes, I said. Why, I asked. He told me that he had been asked to perform a marriage. He had gone on-line and gotten a certificate that allowed him to do that. He said that he could have gotten it done for $12.95, but that he got the deluxe package for $19.95, which included his certificate in a frame. I was kidding around with him. I said, You mean that my 3 years of seminary, 78 graduate hours, 1000's of pages of reading and writing, 1000's of dollars, not to mention interviews with the board of ordained ministry could all be gotten for $12.95? I had to further kid him. I asked, Could I become a dentist for $12.95? If so, could I work on his teeth?!
You don't have to go online to become a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You don't have to purchase it. He has already called you to this task. He is already equipping you for it. You can get training for you calling here at church. Consider that worship, prayer, Bible study, and other classes are the training regimen for you to become Christ's minister. We are partaking of Christ body today in Holy Communion. We receive his body in order to become His body, the Body of Christ out in the world.
Every follower of Christ is called to ministry. Not all are called to ordained ministry. Not all are called to Stephen ministry. We are consecrating 4 new Stephen ministers today. They have had training. They have read 3 books, had more than 50 hours of classes in listening and loving. They will continue to undergo supervision 2/month as they grow in skills. They will be assigned just one care receiver, male to male, female to female. I have been the only one making these assignments. It is a confidential relationship. It will be a life changing relationship.
I was reading a book on stewardship this past week. A book on generosity, on giving, and on gratitude had a story about the power of Stephen ministry. In Not Your Parents' Offering Plate by J.Clif Christopher had the following story on page 19. Clif was helping a church with a major capital campaign, and so was visiting a potential lead giver. The man said, I plan to give and to give substantially to the church, because the church saved my life. About 2 years ago my wife suddenly left me. I had no clue we were even having problems. We had two small children, and I was just devasted. I went to a church I had never been to before and jsut sat in the back. One Sunday I got up enough courage to check in the register that I wanted someone to call me. The very next day the senior pastor did and I shared with him my pain and also that I was not a member of the church. He did not seem to mind where my membership was, but he sure was concerned for my well-being. He offered to connect me with one of their Stephen ministers (lay care team). That person saved my life. He came to me adn right off shared how a similar thing had happened to him. Over the next few weeks he helped me find hope again and to realize that though my wife had left me and my life had just changed dramatically, God had never left me and he had a wonderful plan for the rest of my life.
We are in the life changing business. We are ministers to bring hope and healing to others. It goes all the way back to Acts. Remember the 12 disciples, had a replacement player, but still couldn't take care of all the needs of the people. The Greek speakers especially felt left out. So the 12 set an additional 7 men aside, Please note that all 7 had Greek names. They were trying to meet people where they were. The first one appointed to help was named Stephen. They were supposed to wait on tables, but very quickly they began to preach the Gospel. We meet people where they are with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Not all of you are called to ordained ministry. Not all of you are called to Stephen ministry. Some of you may be called to become Stephen ministers. We would be happy to visit with you about that. Some of you may be in need of having a Stephen minister walk and talk with you. Let me know.
We will never be able to hire all of the staff needed to do all of the minstry here. Thank God, we don't have to. You have been called to ministry and equipped by the Holy Spirit. That's the good news I have to share.
You didn't hire me as the senior pastor to do all of the ministry for you. At least I hope that is the case! We will never be able to hire enough staff to get all of the ministry done.
It is not biblical to hire others to do ministry for us. Read the letters of Paul in the New Testament. I Cor.12 says, Y'all, literally, you plural, are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Rom. 12 says that we who are many are one body in Chirst, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Eph. 4 says that we have gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Martin Luther said in the Protestant Reformation, "The priesthood of all believers." Every member of the church is a minister. Our United Methodist Book of Discipline talks about the ministry of all Christians, that different gifs and ministries are given to all persons.
You know this. You practice this. This past weekend, we put on the Gospel Accordin' to Texas, where some 1200 folks came to our church for 4 performances. You were actors, dancers, musicians, lighting persons, tickets takers, ushers, refreshment providers, golf cart drivers, and hosts. This past weekend we had ReThink Church where we went out into the world on several service projects. You were card writers (to over 87 persons in nursing homes, in the hospital, in the military, etc.), hygiene kit packers for Mobilie Loaves and Fishes, handbell ringers for the Methodist retirement home in Georgetown, distributor of clothes to the homeless at church under the bridge, sidewalk art stencilers at Linder Elementary, community garden developers at Parker Lane UMC, and Queen Lola shed builders and lunch providers.
I will hush up and let you watch the video (go to our website, www.westlake-umc.org, and go to the YouTube icon at the bottom of the home page where you will find the 2 and 1/2 minute video).
That's what you all did last weekend as ministers of the Gospel. Every Christian is called to ministry. Not every one is called to ordained ministry. May I tell you a funny story? My dentist, Tony, is a member of this church. A few weeks ago he asked me before service if I had any resources on performing marriages. Yes, I said. Why, I asked. He told me that he had been asked to perform a marriage. He had gone on-line and gotten a certificate that allowed him to do that. He said that he could have gotten it done for $12.95, but that he got the deluxe package for $19.95, which included his certificate in a frame. I was kidding around with him. I said, You mean that my 3 years of seminary, 78 graduate hours, 1000's of pages of reading and writing, 1000's of dollars, not to mention interviews with the board of ordained ministry could all be gotten for $12.95? I had to further kid him. I asked, Could I become a dentist for $12.95? If so, could I work on his teeth?!
You don't have to go online to become a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You don't have to purchase it. He has already called you to this task. He is already equipping you for it. You can get training for you calling here at church. Consider that worship, prayer, Bible study, and other classes are the training regimen for you to become Christ's minister. We are partaking of Christ body today in Holy Communion. We receive his body in order to become His body, the Body of Christ out in the world.
Every follower of Christ is called to ministry. Not all are called to ordained ministry. Not all are called to Stephen ministry. We are consecrating 4 new Stephen ministers today. They have had training. They have read 3 books, had more than 50 hours of classes in listening and loving. They will continue to undergo supervision 2/month as they grow in skills. They will be assigned just one care receiver, male to male, female to female. I have been the only one making these assignments. It is a confidential relationship. It will be a life changing relationship.
I was reading a book on stewardship this past week. A book on generosity, on giving, and on gratitude had a story about the power of Stephen ministry. In Not Your Parents' Offering Plate by J.Clif Christopher had the following story on page 19. Clif was helping a church with a major capital campaign, and so was visiting a potential lead giver. The man said, I plan to give and to give substantially to the church, because the church saved my life. About 2 years ago my wife suddenly left me. I had no clue we were even having problems. We had two small children, and I was just devasted. I went to a church I had never been to before and jsut sat in the back. One Sunday I got up enough courage to check in the register that I wanted someone to call me. The very next day the senior pastor did and I shared with him my pain and also that I was not a member of the church. He did not seem to mind where my membership was, but he sure was concerned for my well-being. He offered to connect me with one of their Stephen ministers (lay care team). That person saved my life. He came to me adn right off shared how a similar thing had happened to him. Over the next few weeks he helped me find hope again and to realize that though my wife had left me and my life had just changed dramatically, God had never left me and he had a wonderful plan for the rest of my life.
We are in the life changing business. We are ministers to bring hope and healing to others. It goes all the way back to Acts. Remember the 12 disciples, had a replacement player, but still couldn't take care of all the needs of the people. The Greek speakers especially felt left out. So the 12 set an additional 7 men aside, Please note that all 7 had Greek names. They were trying to meet people where they were. The first one appointed to help was named Stephen. They were supposed to wait on tables, but very quickly they began to preach the Gospel. We meet people where they are with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Not all of you are called to ordained ministry. Not all of you are called to Stephen ministry. Some of you may be called to become Stephen ministers. We would be happy to visit with you about that. Some of you may be in need of having a Stephen minister walk and talk with you. Let me know.
We will never be able to hire all of the staff needed to do all of the minstry here. Thank God, we don't have to. You have been called to ministry and equipped by the Holy Spirit. That's the good news I have to share.
Monday, April 22, 2013
After Easter: Tending Sheep with Jesus
from my message on April 21, 2013, from John 21:15-19
Rough week, huh. First there was Monday, a day not just known as IRS turn-in-your-taxes day, but in New England, a day known as Patriot Day, a holiday, a day when schools are out, and people don't go to work. It was also the day for the running of the Boston Marathon, for over 100 years. Talk about a crowd-friendly sport, there is hardly any barrier between the runners and those along the route. Twenty-six point two miles of people cheering. Then there are two bombs that go off near the finnish line. Three person killed, including an 8 year old. Scores are wounded. There are images of 2 perpatrators.
Before we get over that, just up the road, there is another explosion, in the town of West, Texas. This is a place where we usually stop for kolaches as we travel up I-35 to Dallas. There is a fire, then an explosion at the fertilizer plant, and people are killed. In this small Czech community, everybody knows everybody else, every person is affected.
Before we get over that, in Boston, there is a man hunt, then a shoot out where one of the bombers is killed, a lock down and intense search for the other bomber.
Before we get over that, Adam dies. It should not be this way. He is too young, just 22 years old.
Then there is whatever else is going on in your lives. Rough week.
Why relive all of this? Why rehash here today? This is exactly what Jesus does with Peter. He goes back over what Peter has experienced. Remember Peter? How many times did he deny Jesus? Three. So how many times does Jesus ask Peter if he loves him? Three. And how many times does Jesus give Peter something to do? Three. Worship is slowing down and holding things before Jesus. We relive it with Jesus. Jesus can redeem any situation. Any person. In worship, Jesus can reclaim and restore us. In worship we get a new perspective on what happened, even the roughest weeks.
Let me pause here to say that the God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, did not cause these tragic events to happen. The God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, is always on the side of healing and restoration. I reject any theology that says these things were God's will, that God intended these things.
God gives us something to do in the midst of tragedy, to bring redemption to others. Jesus says, if you love me, then feed my sheep, tend my flock. We are to nurture, to nourish, to guide, to protect.
So when people ask, Where was God in this past week? We answer, God was in the first responders, fire, police, EMT's, and others in Boston, who, when the bombs went off, did not run away, but ran in to help. So many ordinary folks were binding up wounds, opening their homes. In West, it was the same. So many of those who died were firefighters, were volunters. We put ourselves out on behalf of Jesus' flock. We will continue to give blood, to give food, to offer comfort, to offer a listening ear, to offer a hug.
Some people will ask, Why? Why did this happen? I am not sure we will always get the answer to that question. The God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, answers the How question. How do we respond? We take care of His flock.
Whose sheep are they? Jesus always says, My sheep. They belong to him. We take care of them knowing whose they are. We show love to them.
What kind of love? In the English translation, there is only one word for love here. In the Greek, there are two words for love. I have preached on these different words for love before. The first 2 times Jesus asks Peter if he has agape love, self-sacrificing, godly love, for him. Peter replies that he has philia, friendship love for Jesus. The third time, Jesus asks if Peter has philia for him, and Peter replies with philia. Many words in many commentaries have been written about this. Here is the thing: the English version got it just right. In John's Gospel, the two words for love are used interchangeably. Take this home, to show love for other persons, for Jesus' sheep, is to show love for Jesus. There is no difference in the two loves. It is one love.
There are some ways for you to show this love this next weekend. The Gospel Accordin' to Texas is one of them. Invite folks to it. Help behind the scenes taking tickets, being a greeter, etc. Taking part in ReThink Church, in one of the mission projects is another. Sign up today as we take our worship out into the world.
The message is simple today. When Jesus asks us if we love him and it's not just for Peter, is it? The question comes to us too. And we answer that we do. Then we are called to tend His flock. There are a lot of needs out there, a lot of sheep. We can't meet all of them, but we can meet some of them. We have been called and equipped just for this ministry. If you say you love Jesus, then tend His sheep. That's the good news I have to share today.
Rough week, huh. First there was Monday, a day not just known as IRS turn-in-your-taxes day, but in New England, a day known as Patriot Day, a holiday, a day when schools are out, and people don't go to work. It was also the day for the running of the Boston Marathon, for over 100 years. Talk about a crowd-friendly sport, there is hardly any barrier between the runners and those along the route. Twenty-six point two miles of people cheering. Then there are two bombs that go off near the finnish line. Three person killed, including an 8 year old. Scores are wounded. There are images of 2 perpatrators.
Before we get over that, just up the road, there is another explosion, in the town of West, Texas. This is a place where we usually stop for kolaches as we travel up I-35 to Dallas. There is a fire, then an explosion at the fertilizer plant, and people are killed. In this small Czech community, everybody knows everybody else, every person is affected.
Before we get over that, in Boston, there is a man hunt, then a shoot out where one of the bombers is killed, a lock down and intense search for the other bomber.
Before we get over that, Adam dies. It should not be this way. He is too young, just 22 years old.
Then there is whatever else is going on in your lives. Rough week.
Why relive all of this? Why rehash here today? This is exactly what Jesus does with Peter. He goes back over what Peter has experienced. Remember Peter? How many times did he deny Jesus? Three. So how many times does Jesus ask Peter if he loves him? Three. And how many times does Jesus give Peter something to do? Three. Worship is slowing down and holding things before Jesus. We relive it with Jesus. Jesus can redeem any situation. Any person. In worship, Jesus can reclaim and restore us. In worship we get a new perspective on what happened, even the roughest weeks.
Let me pause here to say that the God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, did not cause these tragic events to happen. The God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, is always on the side of healing and restoration. I reject any theology that says these things were God's will, that God intended these things.
God gives us something to do in the midst of tragedy, to bring redemption to others. Jesus says, if you love me, then feed my sheep, tend my flock. We are to nurture, to nourish, to guide, to protect.
So when people ask, Where was God in this past week? We answer, God was in the first responders, fire, police, EMT's, and others in Boston, who, when the bombs went off, did not run away, but ran in to help. So many ordinary folks were binding up wounds, opening their homes. In West, it was the same. So many of those who died were firefighters, were volunters. We put ourselves out on behalf of Jesus' flock. We will continue to give blood, to give food, to offer comfort, to offer a listening ear, to offer a hug.
Some people will ask, Why? Why did this happen? I am not sure we will always get the answer to that question. The God I believe in, the God revealed in Jesus, answers the How question. How do we respond? We take care of His flock.
Whose sheep are they? Jesus always says, My sheep. They belong to him. We take care of them knowing whose they are. We show love to them.
What kind of love? In the English translation, there is only one word for love here. In the Greek, there are two words for love. I have preached on these different words for love before. The first 2 times Jesus asks Peter if he has agape love, self-sacrificing, godly love, for him. Peter replies that he has philia, friendship love for Jesus. The third time, Jesus asks if Peter has philia for him, and Peter replies with philia. Many words in many commentaries have been written about this. Here is the thing: the English version got it just right. In John's Gospel, the two words for love are used interchangeably. Take this home, to show love for other persons, for Jesus' sheep, is to show love for Jesus. There is no difference in the two loves. It is one love.
There are some ways for you to show this love this next weekend. The Gospel Accordin' to Texas is one of them. Invite folks to it. Help behind the scenes taking tickets, being a greeter, etc. Taking part in ReThink Church, in one of the mission projects is another. Sign up today as we take our worship out into the world.
The message is simple today. When Jesus asks us if we love him and it's not just for Peter, is it? The question comes to us too. And we answer that we do. Then we are called to tend His flock. There are a lot of needs out there, a lot of sheep. We can't meet all of them, but we can meet some of them. We have been called and equipped just for this ministry. If you say you love Jesus, then tend His sheep. That's the good news I have to share today.
Monday, April 15, 2013
After Easter: Fishing with Jesus
from my message on 4/14/13, from John 21:1-14
Fishing. Who here likes to go fishing? I have several quotes about fishing in this message. Here's the first one: A bad day of fishing is better than any good day at work. Can I get an "Amen?"
Peter said, "I'm going fishing." Six other disciples, Jesus' closest friends, said, "We will go with you." They had all seen the resurrected Jesus. More than once. Why are they going back? Hadn't Easter happened for them? We look around us today in the sanctuary. Where are all the Easter lilies, the trumpets, the crowds? I am glad that you are here. But how easily we fall back into old patterns, as if Easter had never happened. We never do this, right? We don't say, "I'll never take another drink," and then find ourselves addicted to alcohol again. We don't say, "I'll never be part of an abusive relationship," and then find ourselves trying to rescue someone who only hurts us. Ah, we can understand how these disciples can easily slip back to their former ways. Those ways are comfortable, no, familiar. We have grown used to them, in spite of Easter.
They fished all night and caught nothing. Frustration. I found a lot of good quotes when it comes to experiencing frustration while fishing. "Fishing is the sport of drowning worms." "All the romance of trout fishing is solely in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish." "The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad." And this last one is not quite on the subject, but is too good to miss, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." Frustration. No results after hard work.
Jesus is there on the shore. They don't know that it is Jesus. He is incognito. He doesn't say classic lines like, "Any luck? Caught anything? They bitin'?" No, he asks a question expecting a negative answer. "Lads, you haven't caught anything, have you?" "No," they say.
"Cast the net on the right side," the stranger says. Don't we just love to get unsolicited advice. "Let me show you where you are going wrong in your marriage." "Here's how you should raise your kids." "This is the way you should run your business." Here are professional fisherman, and some yahoo on the shore is saying, "You should try the bassmaster 3000, set at a depth of 2 feet, and reeled in with a jerking motion." Don't we just love unsolicited advice?
We preachers get a lot of unsolicited advice. Especially in the area of evangelism. That's what this passage is about, witnessing, sharing the Christian faith, telling the good news in Christ. "You should follow the Willow Creek model." "You ought to go through the Purpose-Driven Church."
I am in a continuing education course where 12 of us pastors read a book a month and then get together to talk about it. Last month the book was Breaking the Missional Code. It was about evangelism. The premise was that we needed to exeget the culture, in other words, we needed to find out what was going on in people's lives and hearts around us. In the fishing language, we needed to find out what the fish were biting, and use that kind of bait. In the book, there was a report on studies of church that had training programs on evangelism. They would present courses on witnessing. The report showed that such churches had poorer results than churches that did nothing at all! Why, because it was not genuine. It was rote, a cookie cutter approach. What people want is a credible Christian, a person who genuinely cares about them.
The disciples cast the net on the right side. They are not able to haul it up. I know you love it when I do the Greek, so here goes. The word "haul" is the same word that Jesus uses when he says that when he is lifted up he will "draw" all person to himself. This story is not just about fishing for fish. It is about fishing for people. Jesus wants to haul, to draw all persons to himself.
There are so many fish in the nets now. It is interesting in reading the commentaries on this passage. Never once in the gospel stories do the disciples, these professional fishermen, ever catch any fish except at the direction of Jesus. It is never a technique, a program, 4 spiritual laws, or Roman road of salvation. It is always about Jesus. Our relationship with him, our following his directions is the most important thing.
At this point, the disciple whom Jesus loved (I can preach a whole sermon just on this character), says, "It is the Lord!" Peter, ever impetuous, swims to shore. Now the Greek can help us here. It says he was naked. Another translation of that word is "poorly dressed." Most likely Peter was in a simple smock, lightly dressed for hard work. When he heard the news, he tucked his smock in and swam ashore. He couldn't wait for the boat to row in.
The other disciples bring the boat in with the nets full of fish. Peter at the instruction of Jesus brings the net upon shore. It has 153 fish in it. People over the years have tried to understand what the number 153 stands for. Is it the number of varieties of fish known at that time? Is is the number of countries known at that time? Augustine back in the 4th century, said, "It is a great mystery." Here's what I think the point is: Jesus wants all people to come to him; he doesn't want to lose a single one.
The passage says the net was not torn. The word for torn in Greek is "schizo," from which we get schism. How we in the church can tear each other down. Doesn't that make a great witness? Don't people say, "I would just love to be part of a conflict where I can get further bruised by life? That is so attractive to me." We can hurt each other in this congregation, in this denomination, in the many denominations that make up the Church. We hurl out theologies at each other. We tear each other down. Jesus doesn't want any holes in the nets. There are many congregations, many denominations who are working to catch as many people as possbile.
After Easter, Jesus provides for His Church, a mission, to catch as many fish as possible, at his direction. Who is on your heart? Friends, relatives, associates, neighbors. With whom do you have a relationship that Jesus might move within to bring good news. Isn't the world dying to hear good news?
You have some ways to go fishing with Jesus in 2 weeks. Invite someone to the Gospel Accordin' To Texas. Invite someone to join on ReThink Church on April 28. Go to our website, www.westlake-umc.org, to find out more information or to sign up.
I want to close with one more quote, an Irish blessing: May the holes in your nets be no larger than the fish in it. May it be so. That's the good news I have to share.
Fishing. Who here likes to go fishing? I have several quotes about fishing in this message. Here's the first one: A bad day of fishing is better than any good day at work. Can I get an "Amen?"
Peter said, "I'm going fishing." Six other disciples, Jesus' closest friends, said, "We will go with you." They had all seen the resurrected Jesus. More than once. Why are they going back? Hadn't Easter happened for them? We look around us today in the sanctuary. Where are all the Easter lilies, the trumpets, the crowds? I am glad that you are here. But how easily we fall back into old patterns, as if Easter had never happened. We never do this, right? We don't say, "I'll never take another drink," and then find ourselves addicted to alcohol again. We don't say, "I'll never be part of an abusive relationship," and then find ourselves trying to rescue someone who only hurts us. Ah, we can understand how these disciples can easily slip back to their former ways. Those ways are comfortable, no, familiar. We have grown used to them, in spite of Easter.
They fished all night and caught nothing. Frustration. I found a lot of good quotes when it comes to experiencing frustration while fishing. "Fishing is the sport of drowning worms." "All the romance of trout fishing is solely in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish." "The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad." And this last one is not quite on the subject, but is too good to miss, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." Frustration. No results after hard work.
Jesus is there on the shore. They don't know that it is Jesus. He is incognito. He doesn't say classic lines like, "Any luck? Caught anything? They bitin'?" No, he asks a question expecting a negative answer. "Lads, you haven't caught anything, have you?" "No," they say.
"Cast the net on the right side," the stranger says. Don't we just love to get unsolicited advice. "Let me show you where you are going wrong in your marriage." "Here's how you should raise your kids." "This is the way you should run your business." Here are professional fisherman, and some yahoo on the shore is saying, "You should try the bassmaster 3000, set at a depth of 2 feet, and reeled in with a jerking motion." Don't we just love unsolicited advice?
We preachers get a lot of unsolicited advice. Especially in the area of evangelism. That's what this passage is about, witnessing, sharing the Christian faith, telling the good news in Christ. "You should follow the Willow Creek model." "You ought to go through the Purpose-Driven Church."
I am in a continuing education course where 12 of us pastors read a book a month and then get together to talk about it. Last month the book was Breaking the Missional Code. It was about evangelism. The premise was that we needed to exeget the culture, in other words, we needed to find out what was going on in people's lives and hearts around us. In the fishing language, we needed to find out what the fish were biting, and use that kind of bait. In the book, there was a report on studies of church that had training programs on evangelism. They would present courses on witnessing. The report showed that such churches had poorer results than churches that did nothing at all! Why, because it was not genuine. It was rote, a cookie cutter approach. What people want is a credible Christian, a person who genuinely cares about them.
The disciples cast the net on the right side. They are not able to haul it up. I know you love it when I do the Greek, so here goes. The word "haul" is the same word that Jesus uses when he says that when he is lifted up he will "draw" all person to himself. This story is not just about fishing for fish. It is about fishing for people. Jesus wants to haul, to draw all persons to himself.
There are so many fish in the nets now. It is interesting in reading the commentaries on this passage. Never once in the gospel stories do the disciples, these professional fishermen, ever catch any fish except at the direction of Jesus. It is never a technique, a program, 4 spiritual laws, or Roman road of salvation. It is always about Jesus. Our relationship with him, our following his directions is the most important thing.
At this point, the disciple whom Jesus loved (I can preach a whole sermon just on this character), says, "It is the Lord!" Peter, ever impetuous, swims to shore. Now the Greek can help us here. It says he was naked. Another translation of that word is "poorly dressed." Most likely Peter was in a simple smock, lightly dressed for hard work. When he heard the news, he tucked his smock in and swam ashore. He couldn't wait for the boat to row in.
The other disciples bring the boat in with the nets full of fish. Peter at the instruction of Jesus brings the net upon shore. It has 153 fish in it. People over the years have tried to understand what the number 153 stands for. Is it the number of varieties of fish known at that time? Is is the number of countries known at that time? Augustine back in the 4th century, said, "It is a great mystery." Here's what I think the point is: Jesus wants all people to come to him; he doesn't want to lose a single one.
The passage says the net was not torn. The word for torn in Greek is "schizo," from which we get schism. How we in the church can tear each other down. Doesn't that make a great witness? Don't people say, "I would just love to be part of a conflict where I can get further bruised by life? That is so attractive to me." We can hurt each other in this congregation, in this denomination, in the many denominations that make up the Church. We hurl out theologies at each other. We tear each other down. Jesus doesn't want any holes in the nets. There are many congregations, many denominations who are working to catch as many people as possbile.
After Easter, Jesus provides for His Church, a mission, to catch as many fish as possible, at his direction. Who is on your heart? Friends, relatives, associates, neighbors. With whom do you have a relationship that Jesus might move within to bring good news. Isn't the world dying to hear good news?
You have some ways to go fishing with Jesus in 2 weeks. Invite someone to the Gospel Accordin' To Texas. Invite someone to join on ReThink Church on April 28. Go to our website, www.westlake-umc.org, to find out more information or to sign up.
I want to close with one more quote, an Irish blessing: May the holes in your nets be no larger than the fish in it. May it be so. That's the good news I have to share.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Praise
from my message on 4/7/13 from Psalm 150
Breathe. Breathe in ....and out. I want you to keep breathing. It is a good thing to breathe. The Psalmist says, "Let everything that breathes praise the LORD." There is no better use of breath that to praise God. When you read Psalm 150, it is like each line has breath marks, to breathe in and out:
Praise the Lord (in)
Praise God in his sanctuary (out)
Praise him in his mighty firmament (in)
Praise him for his mighty deeds (out)
Praise him according to his surpassing greatness (in)...and so forth
God gave us breath. You remember the creation story in Genesis...how we were just a clump of clay...until the LORD breathed into us the breath of life and we became living beings.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Everything...all creation. Some creatures have it easy. Listen to the app I have on my new iPhone, Sibley's guide to birds, a red-winged blackbird. I have been reading a book from the United Methodist Women book list entitled Green Church. It is about how the church is to be in the forefront of taking care of the ecology. The author imagined all of creation praising God, everything that has breath. I imagined a whale. Cathy and I were on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, at some state park that I can't pronounce, because all of the names have lots of vowels and hardly any consonants. Cathy was snorkeling while I was life guarding her. There just off the shore a whale breached the water, came completely free, and crashed back into the ocean, right there in front of us. It took my breath away. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
How will you praise the Lord? Are you still breathing? When I first started ministry here at St. John's, there was a Sunday School class called the Searchers' Class. They had a challenge to meet everything in life with the response, "Wonderful." It is like saying Praise the Lord. My friend Carl was in the class. He was an accountant. He lost his job. Wonderful. He got another job. Wonderful. Driving a Coca-cola delivery truck. Wonderful. He was driving on 183 North, back in the early 80's when there was a traffic light every 1/2 mile, in heavy morning trafffic, when the truck broke down, in the inside lane. Wonderful. Carl got cancer. Wonderful. He got treatments, chemo, radiation, surgery. Wonderful. The cancer abated. Wonderful. It came back. Wonderful. When Carl was going to the hospital the last times, he took with him a seining net that he strung up around the top of his room. Everyone who came in he had them write a prayer or blessing and place it in the net. He said, "That's my love net. You are carrying me." Wonderful. Carl died. Wonderful. But he didn't die alone. Wonderful.
We don't do this praise thing alone. We do it as a community of faith. As ones who live on this side of Easter, we can praise even in the hardest times. We do it so much that it becomes a part of us. It is like a spiritual discipline. Frank who plays in our praise band had a pastor who was traveling with Mother Teresa. They came to an airport to change planes. A storm moved through and the airport shut down. All the flights were cancelled. You can bet a lot of people didn't say, "Wonderful." Mother Teresa said, "Praise the Lord. Look at all the people who need ministry."
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Are you still breathing? How will you praise? This past week I caught instances of praise. I saw Adam who has terminal cancer. His appetite has returned. He has good hours, pain free hours every day. He got to go home on Wednesday. The game room has been cleared out, and he look out of the home he grew up in. What breath of praise! I got my breath going on Friday working at Habitat for Humanity, nailing on edging for the roof. On Saturday, I went hiking at Inks Lake State Park. Climbing hills, I was breathing hard, which made me slow down and notice the flowers, the purple, the yellow, the bluebonnets. I noticed the springs were all flowing after the rains of this past week. I could praise. What will you do to praise? There is no better use of breath. There is no better witness to the belief that Christ is risen.
John Wesley, an Anglican priest that was trying to reform his church in the 1700's, and the movement got away from him and became today the United Methodist Church, died at age 89. He is said to have been on his deathbed singing a hymn you can find in our hymnal at #60. He sang, "I'll praise my maker while I've breath, and when my soul is lost in death, praise shall employ my nobler powers..."
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. There is no better use of breath.
Breathe. Breathe in ....and out. I want you to keep breathing. It is a good thing to breathe. The Psalmist says, "Let everything that breathes praise the LORD." There is no better use of breath that to praise God. When you read Psalm 150, it is like each line has breath marks, to breathe in and out:
Praise the Lord (in)
Praise God in his sanctuary (out)
Praise him in his mighty firmament (in)
Praise him for his mighty deeds (out)
Praise him according to his surpassing greatness (in)...and so forth
God gave us breath. You remember the creation story in Genesis...how we were just a clump of clay...until the LORD breathed into us the breath of life and we became living beings.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Everything...all creation. Some creatures have it easy. Listen to the app I have on my new iPhone, Sibley's guide to birds, a red-winged blackbird. I have been reading a book from the United Methodist Women book list entitled Green Church. It is about how the church is to be in the forefront of taking care of the ecology. The author imagined all of creation praising God, everything that has breath. I imagined a whale. Cathy and I were on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, at some state park that I can't pronounce, because all of the names have lots of vowels and hardly any consonants. Cathy was snorkeling while I was life guarding her. There just off the shore a whale breached the water, came completely free, and crashed back into the ocean, right there in front of us. It took my breath away. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
How will you praise the Lord? Are you still breathing? When I first started ministry here at St. John's, there was a Sunday School class called the Searchers' Class. They had a challenge to meet everything in life with the response, "Wonderful." It is like saying Praise the Lord. My friend Carl was in the class. He was an accountant. He lost his job. Wonderful. He got another job. Wonderful. Driving a Coca-cola delivery truck. Wonderful. He was driving on 183 North, back in the early 80's when there was a traffic light every 1/2 mile, in heavy morning trafffic, when the truck broke down, in the inside lane. Wonderful. Carl got cancer. Wonderful. He got treatments, chemo, radiation, surgery. Wonderful. The cancer abated. Wonderful. It came back. Wonderful. When Carl was going to the hospital the last times, he took with him a seining net that he strung up around the top of his room. Everyone who came in he had them write a prayer or blessing and place it in the net. He said, "That's my love net. You are carrying me." Wonderful. Carl died. Wonderful. But he didn't die alone. Wonderful.
We don't do this praise thing alone. We do it as a community of faith. As ones who live on this side of Easter, we can praise even in the hardest times. We do it so much that it becomes a part of us. It is like a spiritual discipline. Frank who plays in our praise band had a pastor who was traveling with Mother Teresa. They came to an airport to change planes. A storm moved through and the airport shut down. All the flights were cancelled. You can bet a lot of people didn't say, "Wonderful." Mother Teresa said, "Praise the Lord. Look at all the people who need ministry."
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Are you still breathing? How will you praise? This past week I caught instances of praise. I saw Adam who has terminal cancer. His appetite has returned. He has good hours, pain free hours every day. He got to go home on Wednesday. The game room has been cleared out, and he look out of the home he grew up in. What breath of praise! I got my breath going on Friday working at Habitat for Humanity, nailing on edging for the roof. On Saturday, I went hiking at Inks Lake State Park. Climbing hills, I was breathing hard, which made me slow down and notice the flowers, the purple, the yellow, the bluebonnets. I noticed the springs were all flowing after the rains of this past week. I could praise. What will you do to praise? There is no better use of breath. There is no better witness to the belief that Christ is risen.
John Wesley, an Anglican priest that was trying to reform his church in the 1700's, and the movement got away from him and became today the United Methodist Church, died at age 89. He is said to have been on his deathbed singing a hymn you can find in our hymnal at #60. He sang, "I'll praise my maker while I've breath, and when my soul is lost in death, praise shall employ my nobler powers..."
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. There is no better use of breath.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Fear Not: Beyond Scared to Death
from my message on Easter, from Matthew 28:1-10
Death. We in the church are supposed to be experts at death. The culture looks to us Christians for a word about death.
How many times has it happened in my ministry that the first time I ever met someone, even church members, was at their funeral. This is not pleasant for me. When I first started in ministry, there was an older, maybe more hardened staff member, who called such members of the church, FBO. "What does FBO mean," I asked. She said, "For Burial Only."
One of the first funerals I ever did was for a man who lived in the Allandale neighborhood when I was the associate pastor here at St. John's UMC. I asked the family to describe the man. "He loved the ranch in Llano, the wildflowers, all of nature. He was at best, an agnostic." "Why did you call me?" "Well, you are in the church. You are a pastor. You are supposed to know about death." So I did a funeral for a man who was at best, an agnostic. I remember that I had a crick in my neck that day. Something about tension I think.
I know a lot about death. I bet you do too. Some deaths are easy. Some people have lived a long life, a full life, a whole life, a holy life. Their passing can be so easy, it is like a crossing over. In their last days, they can sometimes seem to be in between, already visiting with loved ones, and in the company of angels. Some deaths are hard. Too young, too soon, too harsh. You can find some names on the blue prayer sheet with situations that just break your heart.
May I share something with you? I hope it doesn't surprise you. You all are going to die. May I share some good news with you. Jesus died. The gospel story is that the Lord of all life came to live among us. He died, and he was raised again from the dead. God's chosen one, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, died like we do. It is this Jesus who says to us, "Don't be afraid."
We all will die. But for what would you die? For some of you on this Easter Sunday, you may need to die to the script that you have been following, the one that says, "I am not worthy of God's love. I am not good enough for salvation." This is exactly the reason Jesus came to live and die and be raised again for us. He saves us by his grace, his great love for us, and not anything we have done or not done.
For some of you on this Easter Sunday, you may need to die to some old hurt. You have nurtured this resentment in the hothouse of your soul, you have watered it and fertilized it and watched it grow. You may need to let it die, so that you may live.
The church is dying. The Roman Catholic Church is dying. I appreciate what the new pope, Francis, is doing. He is dying to power and privilege and place. On Thursday this past week, what we call Maunday Thursday, he washed feet like Jesus did with his disciples. But Pope Francis didn't wash the feet of cardinals. He washed the feet of convicts, even women, even a Muslim. We need to become good at dying in order to live.
This church is dying. We at Westlake UMC are learning to leave our comfortable places in the pew and in the parking lot to make room for others, especially on a day like today when it is so crowded. We are giving up our favorite hymns in order to accommodate others' tastes. These are small things. What is bigger is we are laying down our lives for the poor and the outcasts. We even lay down our lives for those who are rich in things and poor in soul.
Two ways we are laying down our lives are coming up in 4 weeks. One is ReThink Church. This is a day we call off worship here and go out into the world to be the church that stands with the vulnerable. This will be our 4th year to do this. It only bothers me a little bit that people cheer when I call off worship. Please sign up at our website how you want to ReThink Church on April 28. That same weekend we are having the Gospel Accordin' to Texas, a musical production that we hope speak in native Texan the good news we have in Jesus.
We want to hold onto the old Jesus. Did you notice how the women disciples worshiped at Jesus' feet and held onto him? But Jesus is always going on. Jesus really died, but as a child told me, "HE didn't stay dead too long." Jesus is always going on. One of our younger clergy said this, "And Jesus came back in a better version....Jesus 2.0." We will be raised to better things also. We die to the past and are going on to live with Jesus.
I saw an example of this on Friday, a day the church calls Good Friday. Imagine that....the day that Jesus dies we call Good Friday. I didn't have much to do at this service. I had delegated it out to Diana and the choir. There were reflection stations in our labrynth, the library, prayer garden, playground, and courtyard, many different ways for people to pray. "What can I do?" I asked Diana. She gave me a cup of nails. "Hand one to people as they reenter the worship center." So people would come in. I would hand them a nail. They said something very surprising, "Thank you." Nail. Thank you. Nail. Thank you. One women when I handed her a nail said, "Yes."
We are not afraid of death. Jesus says, "Fear not." When he hands us a nail, we say, "Thank you." When he hands us a nail, we say, "Yes." The good news is that we can die to being scared to death.
Death. We in the church are supposed to be experts at death. The culture looks to us Christians for a word about death.
How many times has it happened in my ministry that the first time I ever met someone, even church members, was at their funeral. This is not pleasant for me. When I first started in ministry, there was an older, maybe more hardened staff member, who called such members of the church, FBO. "What does FBO mean," I asked. She said, "For Burial Only."
One of the first funerals I ever did was for a man who lived in the Allandale neighborhood when I was the associate pastor here at St. John's UMC. I asked the family to describe the man. "He loved the ranch in Llano, the wildflowers, all of nature. He was at best, an agnostic." "Why did you call me?" "Well, you are in the church. You are a pastor. You are supposed to know about death." So I did a funeral for a man who was at best, an agnostic. I remember that I had a crick in my neck that day. Something about tension I think.
I know a lot about death. I bet you do too. Some deaths are easy. Some people have lived a long life, a full life, a whole life, a holy life. Their passing can be so easy, it is like a crossing over. In their last days, they can sometimes seem to be in between, already visiting with loved ones, and in the company of angels. Some deaths are hard. Too young, too soon, too harsh. You can find some names on the blue prayer sheet with situations that just break your heart.
May I share something with you? I hope it doesn't surprise you. You all are going to die. May I share some good news with you. Jesus died. The gospel story is that the Lord of all life came to live among us. He died, and he was raised again from the dead. God's chosen one, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, died like we do. It is this Jesus who says to us, "Don't be afraid."
We all will die. But for what would you die? For some of you on this Easter Sunday, you may need to die to the script that you have been following, the one that says, "I am not worthy of God's love. I am not good enough for salvation." This is exactly the reason Jesus came to live and die and be raised again for us. He saves us by his grace, his great love for us, and not anything we have done or not done.
For some of you on this Easter Sunday, you may need to die to some old hurt. You have nurtured this resentment in the hothouse of your soul, you have watered it and fertilized it and watched it grow. You may need to let it die, so that you may live.
The church is dying. The Roman Catholic Church is dying. I appreciate what the new pope, Francis, is doing. He is dying to power and privilege and place. On Thursday this past week, what we call Maunday Thursday, he washed feet like Jesus did with his disciples. But Pope Francis didn't wash the feet of cardinals. He washed the feet of convicts, even women, even a Muslim. We need to become good at dying in order to live.
This church is dying. We at Westlake UMC are learning to leave our comfortable places in the pew and in the parking lot to make room for others, especially on a day like today when it is so crowded. We are giving up our favorite hymns in order to accommodate others' tastes. These are small things. What is bigger is we are laying down our lives for the poor and the outcasts. We even lay down our lives for those who are rich in things and poor in soul.
Two ways we are laying down our lives are coming up in 4 weeks. One is ReThink Church. This is a day we call off worship here and go out into the world to be the church that stands with the vulnerable. This will be our 4th year to do this. It only bothers me a little bit that people cheer when I call off worship. Please sign up at our website how you want to ReThink Church on April 28. That same weekend we are having the Gospel Accordin' to Texas, a musical production that we hope speak in native Texan the good news we have in Jesus.
We want to hold onto the old Jesus. Did you notice how the women disciples worshiped at Jesus' feet and held onto him? But Jesus is always going on. Jesus really died, but as a child told me, "HE didn't stay dead too long." Jesus is always going on. One of our younger clergy said this, "And Jesus came back in a better version....Jesus 2.0." We will be raised to better things also. We die to the past and are going on to live with Jesus.
I saw an example of this on Friday, a day the church calls Good Friday. Imagine that....the day that Jesus dies we call Good Friday. I didn't have much to do at this service. I had delegated it out to Diana and the choir. There were reflection stations in our labrynth, the library, prayer garden, playground, and courtyard, many different ways for people to pray. "What can I do?" I asked Diana. She gave me a cup of nails. "Hand one to people as they reenter the worship center." So people would come in. I would hand them a nail. They said something very surprising, "Thank you." Nail. Thank you. Nail. Thank you. One women when I handed her a nail said, "Yes."
We are not afraid of death. Jesus says, "Fear not." When he hands us a nail, we say, "Thank you." When he hands us a nail, we say, "Yes." The good news is that we can die to being scared to death.
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