Hawk or Dove?

"Le t God arise, and let God's enemies be scattered..
.let the wicked perish at the presence of God."
Psalm 68:1,2b

Remember the good old days of Saturday Night Live--with Belushi, Akroyd, et al? And Gilda! She was a comic genius! Remember the bit she did on the pseudo-news program they did. She'd start talking about something obviously mangled in vocabulary or syntax, and talk it into the ground before the anchor would correct her. To which she would reply to the camera, "Never mind!"

One of the mistaken issues she commented upon was "Violins on TV." She had much to say about squeaky notes and why not give other instruments a chance, etc. Then Akroyd tells her, "That's violence on TV, not violins."

That's kind of what I think when I read Psalms and other texts where God is described as a mighty warrior, scattering the enemies (and much worse) I want to be able to say, "That's violins in the Bible, not violence." But I can't - because the scriptures are full of violence. If the bible was a cable tv channel, I would think many of us would block big parts of it. (Sorry, Joshua--but the destruction of Jericho is just too gory for my children. I'm going to have to block you!)

But here's the real kicker. The psalms and other scriptures also praise God for his mercy, his steadfast love of Israel, and his overriding concern for those on the fringes of life. "Your people found their home in your goodness O God." (Ps 68:10a) "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time..." 1 Peter5:6

So this begs the question-is God a hawk or dove. A mighty warrior who routs his enemies by casting a holy terror upon them? Or is God a God of mercy and justice for all? The answer to this conundrum is, maddeningly, "yes."

Yes, God was experienced as a warrior God by the people of Israel in biblical times. The word of God reflects that experience and speaks to it as well. The world is a violent place, due to sin--and so God's truth is couched within that milieu. The power of God was depicted by the writers of the Old Testament, especially, as greater than what was known to be the greatest power on earth then - a mighty army. (Nowadays God's power is perhaps described more in the creative rather than destructive mode--power that created the vast universe.)

And yes, God's mercy is universal for those who respond to it, and God is a suffering God who knows our vulnerabilities and acts to alleviate them justly. God speaks in a new way through his Word--Jesus Christ. Not negating his power, but revealing that there is strength in weakness that goes beyond all military might--the power of redemption and reconciliation and resurrection!

So we are left as usual with a paradox. God is dangerously violent in response to the wickedness of the world. And God is merciful and kind to the needy. We can't ignore one in favor of the other. But we can say that the definitive revelation of who God is and what God is all about came through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To know him is to know God ultimately. So, although I cringe at the violence in the bible, I understand that in the end, when it comes down to it all--God is good, powerfully gracious! And truth be told--scripture that avoided the evil and violence in the world would be like living in a bubble--safe but unreal.

Cue the violins! ...Never mind!

Are We There Yet?

The disciples asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" - Acts 1:6

I recently went on a trip to Gettysburg for a continuing education event and class reunion. It was fun--except for the long drive (8 hours). Kinda reminded me of our marathon trips up north from the Carolinas, back when I was a camp director. Those were not fun! Especially with Erik in the back seat chiming in regularly with that age old refrain, "Are we there yet?"

Basically that's what the disciples were asking Jesus, as he prepared to ascend to the Father. They had been traveling with Jesus for three years. Through good times and bad, over hill and dale. They'd heard much talk about the kingdom and its nearness. They were eager for it--longing for it. So they ask, "Are we there yet?"

Jesus reply is somewhat equal to "yes--and no." The kingdom has been restored to Israel because Jesus is here, and no, not yet because he's at the Father's right hand and hasn't yet returned. The kingdom is ours now, because Jesus' promise of it in the future is so sure and certain.

For us, this means several things. First and foremost--we are people of the kingdom--now and always. But there's always an element of being not quite there before the second coming--of falling short of the wonders of God's peaceable kingdom. There's always work to do to continue to reflect the glory of that promise and commission Jesus made at his ascension.

Are we there yet? Yes--Christ died for us. But is a way "the journey is our home." We are a peripatetic people, wandering Arimeans who seek understanding and speak gospel. We're not there yet-but we are.

It's Getting Hot in Here... (sermon draft 4/27/08)

Earth Day 2008

First of all, relax. There will be no slide show, nor will there be any invocation of name of Al Gore.

Because I’m going to make a major assumption here. I’m going to assume that we’re all on near about the same page on global climate change. I think we can all agree that it’s real and that it’s a problem. And I’m going to assume that we all feel that we have an individual responsibility to alter our CO₂ producing lifestyle, and also an obligation as communities—residential communities, as well as financial, industrial, religious, governmental, and scientific communities—an obligation to halt the damage already done to our planet, and to reverse the downward spiral before it’s too late. It’s our duty—our Christian duty.

How do I mean that? Well, you may have noticed that the Pope was in America recently. Hard to miss him. He had a lot to say about American secularism, materialism, and morality. And one of the things the Catholic Church under Pope Benedict has done is to declare seven “new” deadly sins. Harming the environment is one of them. Now, we as Lutherans don’t distinguish levels of sins, but it says something that the Mother Church takes pollution so seriously that wantonly causing it is a danger to the mortal soul!

For, speaking theologically, from both Lutheran and Catholic viewpoints, global climate change is essentially altering God’s vision of creation. God created things and saw they were good. So, think about the ramifications of what we’re doing to the earth. Bird and fish migration patterns are changing, permafrost is melting, a huge piece of the polar ice cap is poised to drop off into the sea, and coastal wetlands are disappearing due to sea levels rising. Twenty to thirty percent of plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. And global climate change is predicted to bring along with it increases in flooding, severe storms, and drought. That’s not good! In fact, it is indeed, sinful. Deadly perhaps in ways far more literal.

And we need to confess and repent of our sin. Repent both individually and corporately. Repent in the classic sense of the word, which is to turn around 180 degrees from our present behavior. In his explanation of the seventh commandment (which is confirmands…?), “You shall not steal,” Luther writes, “We are to fear and love God so that we neither take our neighbors’ money or property nor use shoddy merchandise or crooked deals to obtain it for ourselves, BUT INSTEAD—help them to improve and protect their property and income.” The actions resulting in global climate change are tantamount to stealing from God. Stealing the creation. We need to repent of that sin and instead help God protect and improve creation.

But before we talk about how we can do that, I’d like to address a neglected effect of global climate change. Poverty.

The National Council of Churches writes that,

“Although global climate change affects all human populations across the globe, it hits those living in poverty the hardest because they depend on the surrounding physical environment to supply their needs and have limited ability to cope [with] climate variability and extremes.

As temperature changes increase the frequency and intensity of severe-weather events around the world, impoverished communities, which often lack necessary infrastructure like storm walls and water storage facilities, will struggle to respond to increased disasters. Warmer climates will also increase the spread of diseases like malaria and impact the ability of impoverished communities to respond adequately to outbreaks when they can’t afford the medication for those infected. Perhaps the harshest consequence will come from changed rain patterns. This will increase the prevalence of drought in places like Africa, where only 4 percent of crop land is irrigated. The resulting decrease in food production will leave populations without food and limit their ability to trade internationally to generate income.

Global climate change reduces access to drinking water, limits access to food, and negatively impacts human health particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, developing countries are expected to suffer the most from the negative impacts of climate change.

For instance, Lake Chad, a water source for five countries and 20 million

people in Africa, is drying up because of droughts. In 1960, Lake Chad covered more than 26,000 km2. By 2000, it was down to 1,500 km2.2 When weather patterns change in Africa, crops fail and people go hungry. [In biblical proportions, one might say.]

The challenges of global climate change won’t just be in developing countries. In the United States, for example, the town of Shismaref, Alaska, with a per capita income around $10,500, will need to be relocated because of shoreline erosion, which is caused by the melting of protective sea ice.3

Global climate change poses one of the greatest threats to the most vulnerable among us, especially people in poverty. The impoverished and vulnerable do not have the economic and technological resources to adapt to the expected impacts of climate change. Addressing climate change must involve addressing the plight of those in poverty to be successful, while addressing poverty must involve environmental sustainability to be a long-term solution.”

Our call as people of faith—to protect the vulnerable and to be stewards of God’s Earth—means we must act to stop global climate change. Because the effects of global climate change are already impacting those who can least afford to deal with it, addressing global climate change is also a justice issue.”

Well, that’s what the National Council of Churches says. But what does scripture say about helping the poor, and what does it say about global climate change? The former I think we have a firm grip of—scripture over and over and over again cries out for justice for the poor and the marginalized and commands the sharing of resources with them from a standpoint of God’s abundance. But global climate change wasn’t even thought of in bible times, much less addressed. However, even in seemingly unrelated passages such as those assigned for today’s readings, we can find hints and glimmers of a theology of ecological accountability. Specifically, they remind us of God’s role in Creation, and our responsibility for it.

For instance, the passage from Acts tells us that God doesn’t live in a shrine or man-made object, but rather throughout all creation, for God made all things. The verses from St. Peter remind us that repentance and creation saving action will require sacrifice. But we should not fear this, for with God pleasing action comes God’s blessing. And God has blessed us with the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, so that we might discern the righteous pathway to follow in earthkeeping. Today’s gospel says that!

So, with the guidance and strength of the Spirit within us-how can we repent of the sin of global climate change and the resultant cycle of extreme poverty that it entails? Sins of commission as well as sins of omission?

No doubt you’ve heard plenty of ways already, but aren’t doing them. No doubt corporately we know what’s needed but aren’t willing to alter the bottom line in return for such an elusive and future-bound objective. Shame on us. Shame on our families. Shame on our businesses and industries. Shame on our governments. Shame on us. We need to act, individually, as a faith community, as a community of fellow beings on this planet. We need to act.

If ever there was a need for someone on every street corner wearing the sandwich board sign “REPENT! THE END IS COMING!” it is now. I ask that you turn to your insert and join me in the prayer of repentance…

"Where've You Been?"

It's been a while since I posted last. I was down south in Gettysburg, PA, visiting my son Erik and his wife, Sarah, who is a student at the seminary there. It was Spring Convocation, which means not only are there lectures on a certain topic (this year it was the Ten Commandments), but also there are class reunions. Mine was a biggie--ten years!

It was nice to see a few old friends, meet some new ones, and take a dip in academia again. The travel wasn't all that much fun (8 hours), but it was a worthwhile time away, and I come back energized by the worship and learning I experienced!

So, I'm back--and more blogging to come...

BTW, if you're interested in what a seminary is and does, and would like to know about my alma mater--click on Gettysburg Seminary (scroll down to "Delicious Places to Visit" on left).

Pastor Tom

Using Our Building

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" Psalm 122:1

Yesterday was a wonderful day at Messiah. We provided the space for a meeting of the Questers--a local chapter of an international organization interested in history and antiques. One of our members is involved in this group and asked to use the sanctuary for a lecture by an author of a book on an historical New Hampshire man, John Stark. Finding their core values amenable to Messiah's, the council readily agreed to this use. About 50 - 60 people enjoyed a nice informative presentation and q&a time, plus some killer refreshments (I have it on good authority).

What's even better is that about 55 of those people were not Messiah members, and most were entering our church for the first time. What a blessing it is to be able to provide a nice place for these neighbors to meet!

And they're not the only ones who use our building! Sunday evening there was a meeting of the new Boy Scout Venture Crew that Messiah sponsors. And next month there will be a Quilt show here. And don't forget the blood drives. Join these with our own events and you can see this building gets some usage.

But there's room for a whole lot more!

Messiah sponsored events. Community meetings. Concerts. Choir Festivals. Lectures. Club meetings. Informational gatherings. Perhaps a day care operating in Messiah House. There's even a new way of thinking where two churches share a building.

The thing is--we have this mission central. So let's use it! Invite the community in. Yes, the oil and electric bills will go up. But we'll be reaching out in a new way, to new people, who will know our church in a new way. That's worth it!

Oh, and if you want to know about General John Stark, just ask me sometime!

Pastor Tom

Lutheranizing Scripture?

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:2-3

"Grow into salvation?" That sounds like (and has been interpreted to mean) you earn God's redemtion and grace! How do we reconcile that with our guiding Lutheran principle--"saved by grace through faith alone?"

Well, how many of you as a child have gotten a present from a relative who lived far away that was too big for you--a sweater, shirt, or slacks maybe? You can't and don't want to return it. After all it is a gift! So what do you do? You hold onto it and wait to grow into it! The gift (salvation) is free, but with it comes responsibilities and expectation of growth in faith and discipleship.

Using Peter's analogy, we get salvation (taste the Lord) freely, but we are like infants in faith--ready only for milk at first, but that milk (God's word?) nourishes our faith and increases our appreciation of the gift.

So this is a Lutheran friendly scripture, after all!

Pastor

Bo Knows Sheep (sermon draft 4/13/08

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I think I can say with confidence that every last soul here could join me in reciting this nursery rhyme—join in as you are able:

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,

And doesn’t know where to find them.

Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

Have you ever given much thought to this little ditty? First off, it’s painfully apparent that no one bothered to check Miss Peep’s references before hiring her to watch the sheep. She has little aptitude for such work—in fact she does a pretty crumby job, all in all. Not only does she manage to loose the whole darn flock—she also has no inkling whatsoever as to where or how to locate them! She’s not likely to be voted “Employee of the Month,” is she?

Of course the advice she gets for solving her dilemma isn’t any more astute. Coming from an unknown source, she is counseled, not to mount a search party to seek them out, not to call 911 and report a missing flock, not even to check the neighbor’s back forty, but instead to wait for them to come home by themselves!

Now that might have worked with my dogs. They often roamed far and wide over the six hundred plus acres of the Lutheran camp we lived on. They’d run off in the morning and come home late in the afternoon, panting and smelling like cow poop, happily wagging their tails and giving us that look that said, “Miss me? When’s dinner?”

But, judging from what I know about sheep, the “wait and see” plan for getting the flock back just won’t cut it. Sheep aren’t dogs, and they aren’t homing pigeons, either. If you leave them alone, they’ll never come hone. They’ll simply follow whatever sheep happens to be in front, wherever that beast leads—which is more likely to be in circles than it is to be home. Sheep need a shepherd to lead them home. And another ting—sheep don’t wag their tails.

At least I think they don’t. Truth is, I know as much about sheep as Little Bo Peep. Growing up, I had a cat and a chameleon as pets. Later on Lisa and I had the dogs. Lisa’s family had horses and raised a few pigs for food and had ducks that unfortunately became food for one wandering neighborhood dog (who, no doubt, went home wagging his tail behind him that night!). And her mother got a goat for a 60^th birthday present. That goat is as close to a sheep as I’ve known, not counting lamb chops! So, no, I don’t know sheep.

Jesus seems to know a lot about them, however. I guess in his day, knowledge of sheep was as ubiquitous as is knowledge of cell phones today. Sheep were a given in life—in the economy, in the household, in the language, in the religious symbolism. They were an important part of the web of life that existed in that time and place. Primarily, sheep were to the nomadic tribes people, as well as their counterparts in towns and villages, the difference between survival and beggardom. Thus sheep were very highly valued, watched over vigilantly, protected vigorously, and care for scrupulously. Shepherds, even though they were often children, were charged with a great responsibility—to tend the very livelihood of their families. There was no excuse for not giving one’s all, no reason accepted for failure. So I imagine that if she had had these people as bosses, Little Bo Peep would have been in line at the Jerusalem unemployment office before you could say, “Ba-a ba-a black sheep!”

So Jesus knew a lot about sheep, that’s a given. It’s such a given, in fact, that Jesus is able, during the course of the gospel of John, to say, not only that he is the shepherd—the good shepherd—but also that he is the gate for the sheep, as well as the Lamb of God. (All right—John the Baptist says that last one, but he’s talking about Jesus!) Point is—Jesus is the Son of God. So why is he even talking about sheep, much less know about them? Why does Jesus care from sheep?

Well, to answer that I remind you of another Bo. Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson was the first athlete in modern times to play both professional baseball and football in the same year. Professional athletes being the darlings of Madison Avenue, Mr. Jackson’s feat (f-e-a-t) soon landed him a lucrative deal for his feet (f-e-e-t). He signed a contract to advertise Nike’s new cross-training sneakers. In the ad, first Bo is shown playing baseball as a fellow player says, “Bo knows baseball.” Cut to Bo running a football play, with a football pro saying, “Bo knows football.” Then on to basketball (Bo knows basketball), tennis (Bo knows tennis), and running (Bo knows running). The last scene shows Bo doing a body check on a hockey rink, with all time hockey great Wayne Gretszky saying, “No.”

I was reminded of “Bo knows…” when I was thinking about Jesus’ I am statements in John’s gospel, of which “I am the gate” is one. For some reason I just got these images in my head—Jesus, trimming a grape vine (Jesus knows vines and branches). Jesus, apron on, baking (Jesus knows bread). Jesus, hand on the bible (Jesus knows truth). Jesus with grave-clothed Lazarus stumbling around in the background (Jesus knows life), Jesus showing Thomas his hands and side (Jesus knows resurrection).

So who cares? Why is this important? What’s the big deal about these I am statements? Well, they were considered to be highly provocative for the ears of the ones who first heard Jesus say them. Why? Because of the two little words “I am.” Extra credit for a confirmand—whose name is “I am?” Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, the one who raised up a nation called Israel and delivered her from slavery, the one who spoke through the prophets, the one who sent his only Son, Jesus—Yaweh—LORD—I am who I am, I will be who I will be. Jesus says “I am”—which is provocative enough as is, since it is the name of God, not to be uttered by unclean lips, not to be said at all, really. Jesus says I am, and then he couples that name of the Lord of Hosts, El Shaddai , Elohim, Elyon—Almighty God—he couples that divine and sacred name with something lowly, earthly, common. Bread, a vines, door, light, gate, shepherd, and not least of all—a man called Jesus of Nazareth.

Not only do these statements illustrate that the infinite can be borne by the finite, the holy by the common, but I believe they each have something very unique to say about our relationship with God and Jesus.

Which brings me to the point of my ramblings (hooray!), that what Jesus both implies and says flat out when he uses the metaphor of shepherd and gate, is that we are the sheep. Which means two things, I think. First, speaking from a great cloud of witnesses and using the traditional interpretation, we are sheep because we are easily led astray by false doctrine, we are vulnerable to attack from evil, and we are in need of a shepherd to provide that guidance and protection.

Thus Jesus is the shepherd for us, because not only does he lead us to green pastures besides still waters, and use that rod and staff to protect us little lambies, but he is also the gate (because, Jesus, knowing things sheep, would have obviously known that sheep folds had no gate back then—the shepherd formed the gate, sitting by the opening in the fence by day and sleeping across it by night—keeping sheep in and wolves out). The message: LAW—we like sheep have gone astray, GOSPEL—but Jesus, the good shepherd calls us by name, and lays down his life for us, so that we might enter the gates of heaven through him.

Now, a new and non-traditional interpretation that I’d have you just roll around in your heads this week, considering its implications for you and your relationship with God and Jesus. Here it is…

In some way, shape, or form—God needs us. “Us” meaning us human beings as well as all of creation. Now, the traditional approach to this is that God has no need of us—that God is totally “other” to us, but deems it right to create the universe and mankind within it, and then loves and cares for all of creation. Which is all fine and dandy, except that it doesn’t capture a key element of the sheep and shepherd imagery—that being the shepherd’s dependence on the sheep. The shepherd and sheep are in a mutually beneficial relationship. The shepherd provides protection and the sheep food and wool.

Now I’m not reading the metaphor literally here—I’m not saying we provide God with food and clothing and so God defends and delivers us, tit for tat. That would be a misreading of this passage when compared to the rest of scripture. Instead I want you to focus in on the relationship itself as being mutually beneficial. God could and did exist before us, relating to Godself in the triune nature of Father, Son, and Spirit. But somehow that wasn’t enough for God. So God created the heavens and the earth, the birds of the air, the fish on the deep, and all creatures great and small that inhabited the ground. And God loved what he had created. But even all that was somehow not enough. So God created man and woman. And God created them in God’s image—so they could love him back.

And that’s where God “benefits” from our existence. God knows loved returned, thanks to us. Now granted, God doesn’t force us to love him—we learn to love God through experience and from hearing the stories of faith over and over. And we mess up time and time again—even to the point of killing God’ son, Jesus, the one God sent to be a sheep—so that God would know what it is to be a sheep. No, love forced is not love, so God proved his love for us by being a good shepherd.

What does it mean that we are in a mutually beneficial relationship with God? One, it means that God really, really loves us to allow such a relationship. Two it means that, even though God’s love for us is unconditional and not dependent on our loving God back, still our loving God back has inherent meaning because it benefits God. Three, that God rigorously protects us, as a shepherd does the sheep, because God has a stake in us. Fourth, that God loves us so much, and loves our loving him back so much, that he removes the natural, physical limit to such love—death. God makes our relationship permanent.

So, LAW – we must learn to love God, GOSPEL – God loves us enough to wait—not for us to come home wagging our tails behind us. But rather, to wait for the Holy Spirit to awaken in us the knowledge of God’s love, to gather us together by the Word that describes and is that love, and enlighten us so that we may respond to our shepherd and enter his fold.

So…

Little Bo Peep didn’t know her sheep

And so didn’t know how to find them

She left them alone, but they stayed gone

Leaving Bo Peep behind them.

However…

Jesus the sheep, know his peeps

And exactly how to find them

Gathers them in, forgives them their sin

And gives bread and wine to remind them

And that’s no nursery rhyme! Amen

Sitz im Leben

What's that? It's German for "setting in life." It's a bible scholarly term that refers to what the situation was of the people who first heard a text. Were they young, old? Farmers, warriors? Rich, poor? You get the picture.

If you were at Adult Forum last week, you saw that this is important in the way Lutherans interpret the bible. We (and many others) listen with the ears of the "intended audience," those who first gathered to listen to these bible stories. This, along with other methods, helps us determine not only what the bible said to them then, but for us now as well. Coupled with reading passages in context with the rest of the section--book--biblical message, it's a vital concept, one that keeps us from going to far-out, weird places with interpretation.

Take this week's second reading from 1st Peter (2:19-25). It seems to be saying that when we suffer abuse we should take it as our "calling" and endure it. That's an outlandish message to give from God to an abused child, or spouse. It is almost a perversion of the scripture (if were done knowingly, it would be). One could easily come to that conclusion if one read just this part with modern eyes.

But if we look back just one verse from the starting point of the day's reading, we see that Peter is addressing household servants here, not abused women or children. He's telling them that if they suffer punishment for their doing right (following Christ's example) it is a noble thing and a result of their being "free from sin...[living] for righteousness."

How did household servants in the first century hear this? No doubt it encouraged their endurance of what was likely a situation that they had no power over at all. The biblical truth that is being set forth in this passage is that following Jesus is an endeavor that involves "suffering." Suffering shouldn't be taken to mean anything other than what happens to one as a result of following Christ. Not disease, not spousal abuse, not financial inequity--at least not in this passage.

This is not a passage that encourages us to endure abuse or hardships because "that's our cross to bear." Spouses who are being abused should seek justice and healing. Children who are abused should be protected vigorously.

This IS a passage that encourages us to do what is right (perhaps even in helping those aforementioned) to help our neighbors and model the gospel to them. Be "little Christs" as Luther put it. Knowing of course that Christ is there supporting us, and our sisters and brothers are too.

That's our sitz im leben

Crop Walk Idol

What is your church doing to get ready for CROP Walk 2008? Here at Messiah, or coordinator has started a "jingle contest" called Crop Walk Idol. In the same vein as American Idol, this version gives would be singers a chance to come up with a song (original or new words for an oldie) and perform it during our announcement time.

We've had some stellar performances so far--including harmonicas and air guitar solos, the entire Senior High Youth Group and trios and individuals, folk music, rock and some that refuses to be classified! It's great fun for all involved.

(For those of you who need to know what a Crop Walk is, scroll down to the video bar and click on one of them to get some info.)

Although we have fun promoting CROP, the issues they address--hunger and poverty--are quite serious. Even here in upscale Amherst they exist, if by no other means than the minimum wage workers who ring up your orders at the big box stores. Remember--hunger is an evil we all have been empowered to fight individually, through our dollars, time, or donations of food. Best not to even wait for the Walk--do something now!

"For when did we see you hungry Lord, and not give you food?"

Walking with Jesus (sermon 4/6/08)

I understand that there’s a whole new crop of automobile drivers sprouting in our youth group. How many of you just started driving or will get a permit soon? And that’s a good thing. Well, maybe not for your parents—who will have to add you to their insurance (ouch!). And maybe not for your older brothers and sisters—who will now have to vie with you for the keys to mom or dad’s ride. Definitely not a good thing for the rest of us drivers who will have to dodge your driving skills (or lack thereof) while you learn things such as not to text as you drive.

But it is definitely a good thing for you. Because it means a certain amount of independence. Here in New Hampshire where everything is so far apart from everything else, you gotta drive just about anyplace you want to go. It’s too hilly for bicycles, for the most part. And walking just isn’t practical.

Back where I came from—Long Island, NY, where the houses were about 20 feet apart and the stores were all nearby, we walked a lot. It was the major method of transportation for kids. We even walked to school! Uphill—both ways! But even so, once we got to the age when driving was a possibility—we just totally ditched walking. It was go in the car or stay home. The highway or no way. I can even remember begging my dad for the car keys one day, and him asking me, “What do you think God gave you two feet for anyway?” And I said, “One for the gas and one for the brake!” Walking was not cool.

And that’s not a good thing. Not only because walking is good exercise—take it from one who doesn’t do it—walking’s great for your health. No. It’s a bad thing that walking is so ignored and avoided thee days because walking really gives you the opportunity to think things over, or if you’re with someone, to talk things over. To discuss problems, make plans, or to swap stories.

I don’t know what it is about walking. It may be the unique ratio of physical activity to mental activity required for walking. I mean—other kinds of exercise or activity require coordination, or strategy, or at the very least counting. But walking doesn’t require any brain work at all. You don’t have to think, “Okay, right foot, left foot, right foot, right fo—no, no left foot “ You just do it—thereby freeing up your mind for hashing things over. Walking is a good excuse for putting your brain in idle and reviewing recent happenings.

And that’s a good thing. Walking clears your head, calms you down, perks you up, blows off steam, and recharges your batteries. It’s amazing what this simple activity can do. It’s therapeutic. And it can be spiritually uplifting as well. One thing it can’t do though—walking can’t reveal the fact that Jesus is walking right there alongside of us.

At least it couldn’t for the two followers of Jesus who found themselves walking down the seven mile long road to Emmaus that first Easter day. They were walking along, and as they walked, they were giving their brains time to process what they had seen and heard over the last week—especially these last three days. They were talking as well as they were walking—discussing and analyzing, dissembling and reassembling, opinionizing and conjecturing what had really gone down with Jesus’ death and the subsequent disappearance of his body. It was all very confusing and very disheartening.

And then Jesus was walking with them, explaining it all to them. Opening the scriptures and interpreting what they said about the one who was to come—the Messiah—how he was to die, and how he was to be raised to life eternal. Jesus joined them on their journey, walking with them step by step towards revelation and understanding, talking over the events of the day which they struggled to put into perspective. Pointing out the overarching meaning for what seemed on the surface to be a horrendous defeat. How it was instead a glorious victory over death and sin!

It was perhaps the very first Adult Forum! And all possible because people walked back then. Would have been a short lesson in a car. Seven miles is only about ten minutes drive time (30 minutes on 101A). In a car, they wouldn’t have gotten past the ice-breakers before they were at pulling into Emmaus. Not to mention, Jesus would have had to have been a hitchhiker then—and who would pick up a long-haired, bearded man alongside a road in Palestine? Risky!

Yes, thank goodness, Cleopas and his partner were walking that first Easter. It gave them the chance to invite the stranger they met on the road in for the night. And to break bread with him. And to discover in that breaking of the bread that the man who had made their hearts burn with the holy word of God was the Holy Word of God—Jesus, risen and alive again!

So, what is the point of connection here? The point of connection between first century Israel and twenty-first century New Hampshire. It’s not the walking, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s not that walking is a good spiritual exercise. (Although it is, and you should try it sometime—just taking a walk and trying to think theologically about the events of the day. It’s very helpful and good for you to boot!)

But no, I’m not going to confiscate your car keys and send you all out to walk home—hoping you’ll encounter Christ on your journey. Because that would be doing it backwards wouldn’t it? The two disciples only recognized that the stranger who had walked and talked with them was Jesus, after he had broken the bread. So it stands to reason that, in a like manner, we, having had Christ revealed to us in bread and wine, might also recognize how Jesus walked with us in our life, through the past week—in ways we might not have identified him as doing so before.

So, instead of sending you out to walk and meet Jesus, instead I invite you to look back on your week and think of where the risen Christ was walking along side of you—where Jesus met you in your walk of life. Where you realize now your heart burned with the understanding of the scripture, with the guidance or comfort of the Holy Spirit, with the love of Christ overflowing through you. Think about this past week and turn to your neighbor and tell them, briefly, where Jesus met you. Go ahead, I’ll call you back in about a minute or two….

For me, it was not where you’d expect. You’d expect that I’d recognize Jesus as being present in Theil Fest—Ryan’s benefit concert that was so successful and so uplifting. Not that Christ wasn’t there—to the contrary, the entire project was infused with the presence of Christ, so saturated with Jesus that he leaked out into the community—but that was what I expected, knowing Ryan and Messiah Lutheran Church. I expected to meet Jesus in rehearsals, meetings, and the concert itself. And Christ was there—alleluia!

Where I didn’t expect to be walking with Jesus was in our guest bedroom at the parsonage. Long story short-Lisa and I got a new bed, and wanted to put our old bed in the guest room (or “yellow room” as it is called by us), replacing the captain style twin bed that was in there when we moved in. Lisa listed that bed on “freecycle,” a computer bulletin board where people can list items they want to give away, or find an item you want, for free. (My favorite price!)

The first three respondents changed their minds after they saw a picture of it, but the fourth agreed to come pick up the bed after my cooking duties at Anne Marie House Monday night. I pulled into the driveway at about 10 to 8 that night and he was already there.

He was a heavy-set man in his fifties who was interested in Lisa’s quilting business, since he was on disability and painted as a hobby and means of some income. He was very excited and appreciative about the bed—naming it the “best bed I’ve ever had,” without so much as lying down on it. But all of that was lost on me. I was focused on the fact that he had come alone. The bed had to be disassembled and carried down the stairs and out to his truck, and it was certain he could not do that himself—he was disabled in that he got very short of breath just climbing the stairs. He had breeched Freecycle protocol, we were forced to help him. And that didn’t set well with Pastor Tom!

Until I began writing this sermon and thinking about the breaking of the bread and about how Jesus may have walked with me and burnt my heart with the scriptures. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus shone a light on Moses and all the prophets and what they revealed about the promised Messiah versus the “expected” Messiah. “Was it not necessary that the Messiah suffer and die before being glorified?” he asks them, shattering their misconceptions.

On the stairway of the parsonage with a heavy bed straining my back, Jesus was challenging my misconception of the scriptures that talk about the care of the poor and downtrodden. Sure it was easy to preach about giving to the poor and it’s wonderful to volunteer at Anne Marie House, or cook a meal for Ash Street, or donate the little soaps you didn’t use from your hotel room last vacation. But it’s a whole other thing to have someone right there in your house, wheezing and sweating—just trying to get my cast off bed. Jesus was walking with me that night to give me the opportunity to make a difference –not in that man’s life—but in my own life.

And it’s not even throwing in the sheets to go with the bed, or giving him some money or food, or even offering to go to his house and help him with that heavy load before the rains ruined it—though they are all things I could have, should have done. No, it’s the way I viewed this human being as lower than myself, as not worthy of my help, as the defective component of an internet deal gone bad. I was condescending, patronizing, and downright rude to that man. This I confess. This I repent of. Father, forgive me.

Now. Jesus has promised that the one place you can be sure he is present is in the breaking of the bread—the Eucharist. But that sacrament, especially in its use of earthly elements of bread and wine to bear God to us, also reveals that Jesus is not restricted to that bread and wine, he’s not cooped up in the church. He’s out there. Walking. Ready to set our hearts on fire with his love for us and for the world.

I don’t know about you—but I want Jesus to walk with me. Amen.

An Extraordinary Experience

Last night one of our senior high youth, Ryan, completed his senior project for school. His project was putting on a Christian rock concert benefit featuring our church's praise band Faith, Hope, and Love.

This was a huge undertaking involving lots of planning and working with volunteers. Ryan did it all with strength and grace and managed to pull it off tremendously! Not only was his project a success, but everyone had a blast, AND it raised over 2000 dollars for the American Cancer Society and St. Joe's Oncology Center. The concert was dedicated to Ryan's grandmother "Nana B" who recently was diagnosed with cancer. He made her proud.

The staff at the high school was great! The choir from the school tuneful! The crowd appreciative! The musicians rocking! All in all it was an extraordinary night! We'll see if we can get some video or stills for you to enjoy.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Pastor Tom

For Me?

The scene--a surprise party. You are the honoree. All your friends and family and business associates are there. They yell, "Surprise!" and blow noise makers and applaud. Then they wheel in a cake and bring you a present.

You say...
1. About time!
2. Only one present?
3. I don't like buttercreme!
4. For me?!?

Hopefully you answered number 4. It's a traditional response. It's humble and modest. Unless you're just saying it. Unless you mean, "For me? (Of course it's for me--I deserve it!)" Then it's a put on. It's haughty. It's phony.

Next scene--you're at worship. Some of your friends and family and some of your business associates are there. They yell, "Alleluia!" and ring bells. Then the pastor breaks the bread pours the wine gives thanks and you go forward. You are handed a piece of bread and a drink of wine.

You say...
1. For me?
2. Amen
3. Thank you
4. I don't like those wafers!

Actually, all but 4 this time. (Albeit those wafers are pretty cardboard-y!) "Amen" is traditional. "Thank you" is polite. But i really think "for me?" used rightly, is an acceptable thing to say as well.

In Peter's first big sermon after the miracle of Pentecost, he says this: "For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all those who are far away, everyone whom the Lord God calls to him." (Acts 2:39) It's pretty clear that forgiveness and new life are for you, no matter how unacceptable or undeserving you may be.

So in saying ""for me?" we are acknowledging the depth of God's mercy--the gift of his grace, and our own unworthiness--yet worthiness--to receive God in such a manner. The body and blood of Christ given and shed--for you! (For me?) Yes, for you!

Amen! Thank you!

April Fool

It's pure foolishness!

To think that some itinerant rabbi from 2000 years ago is alive and in our midst.

To look at the cross, an instrument of torture--and see salvation.

To trust in a God who lets us choose the wrong path, and then forgives us.

It's pure foolishness!

So April Fool's!

You were dead, but now alive!
Lost, but now are found!
Sinful, but now pure and forgiven!

Thanks be to God! Amen!