10/13/09 My prayer verses today center around Job 38:1-7, where God asks Job, Who? Where? Who? What? When? God answers Job's questions with deeper questions. I know that we question God. Today I wonder what questions God has for us.
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
service
from my sermon on 10/11/09 from Mark 10:35-45
What do you want? What would you ask Jesus for? I know it seems brash, but it is exactly what James and John do. We are uncomfortable with this. Margaret who read the scripture for us today in worship traded e-mails with me during the week. "Isn't there another translation?" We want to tone it down, edit it...this jockeying for position, this ill-conceived request.
The Gospel writers are equally uncomfortable. Matthew has the mother of James and John make the request. Luke and John omit the story entirely.
We don't like this story, but we are familiar with it. Don't we all come to Jesus with our lists? Our wants? It may be for ourselves ....to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. But it is also for others. We pray for Jacob, the 19 year-old, who was injured in a car accident in Italy, as he is barely hanging onto life. We pray for Edith, a charter member of this church who is actively dying, and just wants to be released. We pray for peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. What would you ask Jesus for?
And here is amazing grace...Jesus accepts their request...without a rebuke. But more than that, he reframes their request. "You don't know what you are asking." I was reading my journal from many years ago about a UM church asking for a younger pastor. You have never heard something like this before I know....but this was an older, dying church, and they asked the bishop for a younger pastor to attract younger families back to the downtown Cincinnati church. They got their younger pastor. Then they asked for funds for advertising, to try to get people back to the old cathedral-type church. They got those funds as well, and people started coming back. But what they didnt' ask for was an awareness of the community around them. They started to notice the folks right outside their door. "Where do these people sleep at night? It seems that there are a lot of people who have just been turned out of institutions who have no place to go. It looks like there are a lot of people who have drug and alcohol problems."
The church said, "We have the location. We have the space. We have the money. We see the need. We need to do something." And that church took off developing missions to the community where they were. The pastor said, "I can't imagine our congregation being any other way than it is today. We wanted to pay the light bill. What we needed was to witness to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What we wanted was to survive. What we needed was to serve."
We really don't know what we are asking. We don't get what we ask for. We get what we need.
Jesus gives a sacramental answer. "Can you drink this cup?" What does that remind us of? "Can you be baptized with this baptism?" What does that remind us of? So these are not sweet, sentimental acts, but are cross-shaped answers.
Jesus also gives an example for us to follow. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." We want Jesus to be a powerful military leader, politically astute, successful in business, and accepted as a religious leader, but what we get is a Savior who is a servant. Because Jesus is this way, the church, his church is a servant church. Fifty times in 18 different writings in the NT, Christians are referred to as servants.
Today, I am finishing up this series on our vows as United Methodist Christians. If you haven't guessed it so far, it's about service. Now we know that we have to serve, right? NO! We get to. We need to practice saying this word when it comes to all the requests that come our way. Say it with me, NO.
We can say no because we have been set free. Jesus says that he is a ransom. Now we use this word in a limited context....in kidnapping, we pay a ransom. But originally a ransom was paid to release a prisoner of war. You have heard of a king's ransom? Or it was paid to release a slave or a criminal. A ransom is paid to set someone free. We have been set free. We can say no. We don't always do want people want us to do for them; we do what they need. We do what pleases God, not other people. Ultimately, the one we serve is Jesus.
I once had a young man come into the office, inebriated. The front office staff tried to deal with him, but he said, "I want to talk to him "(me, the senior pastor). We sat and talked. He had scars on his leg and scars on his soul. What he asked for, money, I could not do. I tried to send him to Caritas and Salvation Army and a dry out center, but he wanted no part of these. He cussed me out, the church out, and Austin out. We let him use the phone to determine his future.
I am upset by encounters like this, but I understand that I need to let people make their own mistakes and that the body of Christ is a lot larger than just me or this congregation. I like that prayer that says, "Lord, help me to remember that I am not personally, totally, irrevocably responsible for everything that happens today."
I our freedom, we realize that others have gifts to serve too. This past week Minnie invited me to her house. We had a pleasant conversation. She had baked me a cake. I was wary though, I asked Minnie if there was some agenda, something she needed to talk about. You see, people ask me to do a lot of things for them. "No," she said, "I wanted to give you the cake and I wanted to thank you for letting me write the care notes." Please understand, that last week, we took communion elements from this table to Minnie, because she doesn't get around so well. She was thanking me for letting her write notes to people exactly like her.
It feels good to serve. In fact, that's why we serve, because God only wants our deepest happiness. If you would take out the orange sheet on "Christmas in October" you will find 14 different ways you get to serve in the next two months. Here's Terrie, the chair of our Service Committee, to tell you more about it.
What do you want? What would you ask Jesus for? I know it seems brash, but it is exactly what James and John do. We are uncomfortable with this. Margaret who read the scripture for us today in worship traded e-mails with me during the week. "Isn't there another translation?" We want to tone it down, edit it...this jockeying for position, this ill-conceived request.
The Gospel writers are equally uncomfortable. Matthew has the mother of James and John make the request. Luke and John omit the story entirely.
We don't like this story, but we are familiar with it. Don't we all come to Jesus with our lists? Our wants? It may be for ourselves ....to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. But it is also for others. We pray for Jacob, the 19 year-old, who was injured in a car accident in Italy, as he is barely hanging onto life. We pray for Edith, a charter member of this church who is actively dying, and just wants to be released. We pray for peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. What would you ask Jesus for?
And here is amazing grace...Jesus accepts their request...without a rebuke. But more than that, he reframes their request. "You don't know what you are asking." I was reading my journal from many years ago about a UM church asking for a younger pastor. You have never heard something like this before I know....but this was an older, dying church, and they asked the bishop for a younger pastor to attract younger families back to the downtown Cincinnati church. They got their younger pastor. Then they asked for funds for advertising, to try to get people back to the old cathedral-type church. They got those funds as well, and people started coming back. But what they didnt' ask for was an awareness of the community around them. They started to notice the folks right outside their door. "Where do these people sleep at night? It seems that there are a lot of people who have just been turned out of institutions who have no place to go. It looks like there are a lot of people who have drug and alcohol problems."
The church said, "We have the location. We have the space. We have the money. We see the need. We need to do something." And that church took off developing missions to the community where they were. The pastor said, "I can't imagine our congregation being any other way than it is today. We wanted to pay the light bill. What we needed was to witness to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What we wanted was to survive. What we needed was to serve."
We really don't know what we are asking. We don't get what we ask for. We get what we need.
Jesus gives a sacramental answer. "Can you drink this cup?" What does that remind us of? "Can you be baptized with this baptism?" What does that remind us of? So these are not sweet, sentimental acts, but are cross-shaped answers.
Jesus also gives an example for us to follow. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." We want Jesus to be a powerful military leader, politically astute, successful in business, and accepted as a religious leader, but what we get is a Savior who is a servant. Because Jesus is this way, the church, his church is a servant church. Fifty times in 18 different writings in the NT, Christians are referred to as servants.
Today, I am finishing up this series on our vows as United Methodist Christians. If you haven't guessed it so far, it's about service. Now we know that we have to serve, right? NO! We get to. We need to practice saying this word when it comes to all the requests that come our way. Say it with me, NO.
We can say no because we have been set free. Jesus says that he is a ransom. Now we use this word in a limited context....in kidnapping, we pay a ransom. But originally a ransom was paid to release a prisoner of war. You have heard of a king's ransom? Or it was paid to release a slave or a criminal. A ransom is paid to set someone free. We have been set free. We can say no. We don't always do want people want us to do for them; we do what they need. We do what pleases God, not other people. Ultimately, the one we serve is Jesus.
I once had a young man come into the office, inebriated. The front office staff tried to deal with him, but he said, "I want to talk to him "(me, the senior pastor). We sat and talked. He had scars on his leg and scars on his soul. What he asked for, money, I could not do. I tried to send him to Caritas and Salvation Army and a dry out center, but he wanted no part of these. He cussed me out, the church out, and Austin out. We let him use the phone to determine his future.
I am upset by encounters like this, but I understand that I need to let people make their own mistakes and that the body of Christ is a lot larger than just me or this congregation. I like that prayer that says, "Lord, help me to remember that I am not personally, totally, irrevocably responsible for everything that happens today."
I our freedom, we realize that others have gifts to serve too. This past week Minnie invited me to her house. We had a pleasant conversation. She had baked me a cake. I was wary though, I asked Minnie if there was some agenda, something she needed to talk about. You see, people ask me to do a lot of things for them. "No," she said, "I wanted to give you the cake and I wanted to thank you for letting me write the care notes." Please understand, that last week, we took communion elements from this table to Minnie, because she doesn't get around so well. She was thanking me for letting her write notes to people exactly like her.
It feels good to serve. In fact, that's why we serve, because God only wants our deepest happiness. If you would take out the orange sheet on "Christmas in October" you will find 14 different ways you get to serve in the next two months. Here's Terrie, the chair of our Service Committee, to tell you more about it.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
word of God
10/8/09 I have been using Heb. 4;12-13 for my centering prayer today, "Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account." What I like and dislike about this passage is how the word of God reveals us as we are. Nothing can be hidden. May I accept this as a gift and not a threat.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
yet
10/07/09 Still reflecting on Psalm 22, I am impressed by the number of times, the conjunction "yet" is used. There will be a litany of abandonements, distresses, pains, etc., interrupted by "yet" followed by an affirmation of faith. May that is what we believers are called to do: in the midst of much evidence to the contrary, "yet" we make sense of our exitence through God's saving actions in the past and we pray, in the future.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
forsaken
10/06/09 My prayer verse for the day comes from the opening words of Psalm 22, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest."
You may recognize these words as some of the last words that Jesus said from the cross. Jesus certainly identifies with our feelings of abandonement. I am glad that our Bible contains the whole gamut of human emotions and experiences. Is there anyone who has not felt this sense of being deserted and alone?
In my prayer time walking this morning, I gave up to God some of those experiences in my life past and present. I also remembered that this Psalm ends with a strong affirmation of faith in God, in God's providence, and in God's promised future. May it be so.
Love,
Lynn
You may recognize these words as some of the last words that Jesus said from the cross. Jesus certainly identifies with our feelings of abandonement. I am glad that our Bible contains the whole gamut of human emotions and experiences. Is there anyone who has not felt this sense of being deserted and alone?
In my prayer time walking this morning, I gave up to God some of those experiences in my life past and present. I also remembered that this Psalm ends with a strong affirmation of faith in God, in God's providence, and in God's promised future. May it be so.
Love,
Lynn
Monday, October 5, 2009
the welcome table
on 10/4/09, World Communion Sunday, I told the story by Alice Walker, entitled "the Welcome Table," from her book of short stories, In Love and Trouble
I had a woman enact the part of the old black woman. Some men for the usher and husbands who finally threw her out. Here is a brief synopsis of the story:
This story is about an old, rundown black woman who staggers the necessary distance in the freezing cold to attend an all-white church. The white people are at a loss when they see her near the entrance of the church and do not know what to do. Some people take her in as she is, an old black woman with a mildewed dress that is missing buttons. She is lean and wrinkled with blue-brown eyes. Her appearance makes some of the white people think of black workers, maids, cooks; others think of black mistresses or jungle orgies. Still others think that she is a foreshadow of what is to come - black people invading the one place that it still considered the white person's sanctuary, their church. They see her and transfer their fear of blacks onto her.
The old woman makes her way inside the church. The reverend says something to the old woman, but no one knows what and the old woman does not respond. Inside the church, the old woman sits at the first bench in the back; she is shivering. Outside it is freezing and inside the church it is cold. The rest of the white people sit at the front of the church away from her.
The usher approaches the old woman and tells her to leave, but the old black woman shoos him with her hand and tells him to go away. The women of the church finally take the matter into their hands and dare or demand their hesitant husbands to throw the old colored woman out of the church. The white women look with contempt at the old woman in her bedraggled state and are insulted that their husbands expect them to sit in the same church as her. This sufficiently motivates the husbands to grab the old woman and physically throw her out of the church into the freezing cold. The white women feel vindicated and hateful toward the old black woman. No one at the church speaks of the incident afterward, and the church service begins.
The old lady is surprised to find herself outside, for she had been singing a song in her head. The old lady looks down the highway and sees something that makes her smile, laugh, sing, and jump up and down in joy and excitement: the old lady sees Jesus himself walking down the highway toward her. He looks exactly like a picture she stole out of a white woman's Bible.
When Jesus approaches her, he instructs that she follow him. The old woman happily obliges. They walk in silence for a while, and then the old woman tells Jesus the story of her life, how she has worked for, cleaned for, and nursed the white people. Jesus listens and looks at her with kindness. The old lady indignantly recounts to Jesus how she was just thrown out of the white people's church. Jesus smiles at her and she instantly feels better. She tells Jesus of how she has his picture hanging over her bed. She alternately sings for Jesus, talks to him, and walks in silence beside him. They pass her house and the old woman doesn't even notice. She doesn't know where they are going but knows it will be wonderful. She feels as if she can walk forever by His side.
The white people from the church never finds out what happened to the old black woman who tried to attend their church. The white people do hear of a black woman who died on the highway after having apparently walked herself to death. They think this woman is silly and do not connect the two black women as one and the same. Black families witnessed the old lady walking by herself down the highway, sometimes singing, talking, and walking in silence, smiling. No one knows where she was going all by herself; they just assume she was on her way to visit some relatives.
I had a woman enact the part of the old black woman. Some men for the usher and husbands who finally threw her out. Here is a brief synopsis of the story:
This story is about an old, rundown black woman who staggers the necessary distance in the freezing cold to attend an all-white church. The white people are at a loss when they see her near the entrance of the church and do not know what to do. Some people take her in as she is, an old black woman with a mildewed dress that is missing buttons. She is lean and wrinkled with blue-brown eyes. Her appearance makes some of the white people think of black workers, maids, cooks; others think of black mistresses or jungle orgies. Still others think that she is a foreshadow of what is to come - black people invading the one place that it still considered the white person's sanctuary, their church. They see her and transfer their fear of blacks onto her.
The old woman makes her way inside the church. The reverend says something to the old woman, but no one knows what and the old woman does not respond. Inside the church, the old woman sits at the first bench in the back; she is shivering. Outside it is freezing and inside the church it is cold. The rest of the white people sit at the front of the church away from her.
The usher approaches the old woman and tells her to leave, but the old black woman shoos him with her hand and tells him to go away. The women of the church finally take the matter into their hands and dare or demand their hesitant husbands to throw the old colored woman out of the church. The white women look with contempt at the old woman in her bedraggled state and are insulted that their husbands expect them to sit in the same church as her. This sufficiently motivates the husbands to grab the old woman and physically throw her out of the church into the freezing cold. The white women feel vindicated and hateful toward the old black woman. No one at the church speaks of the incident afterward, and the church service begins.
The old lady is surprised to find herself outside, for she had been singing a song in her head. The old lady looks down the highway and sees something that makes her smile, laugh, sing, and jump up and down in joy and excitement: the old lady sees Jesus himself walking down the highway toward her. He looks exactly like a picture she stole out of a white woman's Bible.
When Jesus approaches her, he instructs that she follow him. The old woman happily obliges. They walk in silence for a while, and then the old woman tells Jesus the story of her life, how she has worked for, cleaned for, and nursed the white people. Jesus listens and looks at her with kindness. The old lady indignantly recounts to Jesus how she was just thrown out of the white people's church. Jesus smiles at her and she instantly feels better. She tells Jesus of how she has his picture hanging over her bed. She alternately sings for Jesus, talks to him, and walks in silence beside him. They pass her house and the old woman doesn't even notice. She doesn't know where they are going but knows it will be wonderful. She feels as if she can walk forever by His side.
The white people from the church never finds out what happened to the old black woman who tried to attend their church. The white people do hear of a black woman who died on the highway after having apparently walked herself to death. They think this woman is silly and do not connect the two black women as one and the same. Black families witnessed the old lady walking by herself down the highway, sometimes singing, talking, and walking in silence, smiling. No one knows where she was going all by herself; they just assume she was on her way to visit some relatives.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
two shall become one
10/01/09 My breath prayer today has been from Jesus teaching about marriage and divorce as recorded in Mark 10:2-10, especially verse 8, "the two shall become one flesh." In my walk this morning and throughout the day, I have been praying for marriages. I have also been praying for those who are going through the pain of divorce. From the beginning God made us for each other. The intimacy between husband and wife is so great that two become one.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
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