Life beats death

Sermon-Year A-Easter-March 23, 2008
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
Three priests are talking about funerals. And they are wondering what people will say at their wakes, as they walk by the open casket. The first priest says, “I'd like someone to say, 'He was righteous, honest, and generous.'” The second priest says, “I'd like someone to say, 'He was kind and fair, and good to his parishioners.'” The third priest says, “I'd like someone to say, 'Look, he's moving.'”
As my buddy Mark says, life beats death. Every time. Easter is about life. It’s about new life. It’s about transforming life. William Saroyan, the famous novelist called the Associated Press 5 days before he died and left this message, “Everybody has got to die, but I always believed that an exception would be made in my case. Now what?”
Now what? There aren’t any exceptions. Even Jesus had to die. We all die. Easter doesn’t mean people don’t die. It means a lot more than that. One of the things we all know-even though we don’t act like it-we will die. But Easter is about what happens after death. Bruce K. Modahl, a well known Lutheran pastor tells this story:
Margaret a woman in her late 30swho had a family-a husband and three children was diagnosed with cancer. She had surgery, radiation, chemo all of which depleted her. She was in and out of the hospital. Then she rebounded, the cancer was in retreat, and the prognosis was good. Then the cancer came back, metastasized , and within a year she had died. Pastor Modahl was asked to do the funeral along with his mentor, Hutch. As they were preparing for the funeral, Bruce said to Hutch, well, she put up a valiant fight.” “Yes, she did” agreed Hutch. “But the cancer won.” Bruce said. “What do you mean, ‘the cancer won?’” Hutch asked He sounded indignant. It seemed obvious to Bruce. “She died. The cancer killed her. The cancer won.” Hutch turned to Bruce and said, “Where is the cancer now?” Now it was Bruce’s turn to sound indignant, “What do you mean, ‘where is it now?’” Bruce asked.”
“If the cancer won, if the cancer was victorious, where is it now. That’s all I want to know” Hutch answered. Bruce looked around , completely befuddled. “Well, the cancer is in the coffin with her now.”
“So in killing Margaret, the cancer killed itself, too, right? Hutch asked.
“Yes,” Bruce replied.
“Where do you think Margaret is now-you who are supposed to be a Christian?” Hutch persisted.
“She’s with God,” Bruce said sheepishly. “Dead or alive.” Hutch kept asking.
“Alive,” Bruce responded. “So who won,” Hutch wanted to know.
“Margaret did,” Bruce finally replied.
She won, because Christ won, That is what we believe-and that is what you preach at her funeral,” Hutch said, “I am resurrection and I am the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Hutch asked a final time.
“Yes, I do,” Bruce said.
Jesus rose and showed that biology, violence, accidents, death, age, sickness, evil, none of the things that seem to win-ever really do. God is more powerful than death. And that is why we celebrate. That is why we’re here. Someone shows us the way to life.
We watched a movie a few weeks ago, called Feast of Love. It basically focuses on three people and the loss of love in their lives. It’s very sad. (I’m going to give away the ending now) Towards the end, a young man. who is ferociously in love with his young pregnant wife dies. Two of the other characters are talking about how terribly sad it is, and the old man, Harry says, “God is dead. Or he really despises us, because there is more heartbreak in life than we can ever imagine.” And the other character says, “No, his wife knew he was going to die-and still she decided to marry him-still she decided to get pregnant. She knew what was going to happen and she decided not run away.” Harry looked at him and said, “she knew he was going to die?” he asked incredulously. “Yes, Harry. God doesn’t hate us. If he did, he wouldn’t have made out hearts so brave.”
It’s the Sunday of the Resurrection. We need to be reminded, we need to hear, that we are made with brave hearts, brave brave hearts. We need to hear that death doesn’t win. We need to hear that Christ is risen, and he’s taking all of us with him. We need to hear that. There are days when we are tempted to believe that death wins. It doesn’t.
A pastor I know says this, there are 40 days in lent, 40 days to give up things, strive harder to be better, stronger, more disciplined. But, he says, there are 50 days in the season of Easter. 7 weeks. And he plans to spend some time every day in Easter being more thankful, more joyful, more loving, more faithful, more alive. One of these. He says, lent is about conquering his humanity. Easter is about savoring the divine.
It’s the Sunday of the Resurrection. life beats death. Every time. Easter is about life. It’s 50 days of realizing that we were made with brave hearts. 50 days of not being afraid. 50 days of knowing what real victory is. Alleluia, Christ is risen.

The worst moments, the best faith

Sermon-Year A-5Lent-March 9, 2008
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
I read probably a dozen sermons about Lazarus and Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones.
Some days, no matter how much you work at it, nothing comes. I did find out two pretty good legends about Lazarus. One had him going with Mary and Martha and landing in southern France where he became a bishop. Another one had him going to Cyprus, by himself, where he established the Christian church and served as bishop for 30 years. One pastor I was reading said it sure was a good thing that Jesus said Lazarus’ name when he called him out of the tomb, or every dead person within a 100 miles would have been resuscitated.
But nothing grabbed me, until I heard a story about Sen. John McCain. McCain was in being interviewed by a reporter and the senator got very angry with the reporter. He thought the reporter was digging up dirt on the senator’s wife and was going to smear her in his newspaper. At one point McCain said, “this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.” And the reporter thought about this and said McCain was tortured and kept as a prisoner of war a prison camp for 5 ½ years-how could this be the worst experience of his life?”
I was thinking about that and how we decide when is the hardest or worst or most devastating experience in our life-and how we respond to it.
And I was thinking about the story of Lazarus all week. Debby and I were talking about the last 4 weeks how long the gospel readings had been and then something struck me. Every story each week in Lent hasn’t just been longer. Each story took life and pain and faith a little bit farther. Every week. Think about it.
3 weeks ago we heard the story of Nicodemus. A worried man, confused, cautious, scared. He doesn’t know who Jesus is. And Nicodemus is so afraid of making a mistake. He questions, he investigates. You know that this story is included in the gospel because Nicodemus, an important man, was so stressed about what to do. Nicodemus -uncertain-scared-afraid. Unsure about faith, unsure about himself-especially unsure about God.
Two weeks ago, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. A woman burdened by a heartbreaking past and an overwhelming sense of pain in her life choices. Clearly she felt alone, ostracized, away from everyone else. In fact that’s another characteristic of each of the stories-how isolated each person is. Notice how each person comes to Jesus alone. Alone in their pain, in their grief, in their fear. Much like us. Don’t you know that she thought that she was at her lowest point when she met Jesus? The woman at the well would have looked at Nicodemus’ pain and laughed. What did Nicodemus know about hurt, she would have wondered. He should feel what she felt.
Last week’s story-the man born blind. We move from emotional issues to physical ones. Here is a man who is an adult. All his life he prayed for just one thing-to be able to see. And then it happens. And he is healed. And if you remember the story from last week, he is healed, and loses everything. All his life I’m sure he thought-being blind was the worst thing in the world. Until he could see. And suddenly he is alone. One of the qualities of a terrible experience is, you feel like you are going through it by yourself. No one knows your pain, no one knows how much this hurts. No one knows how overwhelmed you feel. [My friend Mark and his wife have a daughter who is autistic and challenged. In his sermon this week he writes: I will not claim to have suffered much in my life. I have been raised in comfort, with every blessing, and have been given good health. I live in the richest nation in history, and have never known real need. The only shadow in my life is my daughter's condition of autism and mental retardation. And I will say this: do not ever, ever tell the parent of a disabled or wounded child that “God gave this to you for a reason.” You don't have the right to say that. And what you say is an incentive for a parent like me to embrace atheism.
When you are going through day after day of physical pain, or chronic illness, disability, or caring for someone you begin to think-this is the hardest thing that I have ever been through-how do I handle this? Think about your worst experience. At the time you wondered, “How do I make it through this” or “Can I make it through this?”
And then today’s gospel. The death of someone you love. Two times we hear that Jesus cried. When he was in the garden the night before he died-and here-at the death of a friend. And we see all the forms of grief here: Martha’s anger-“if you had been here-my brother would not have died”, the weeping, the bargaining, the depression. The rage. We all speak to God when we are overwhelmed by pain, “WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE WERE YOU? TAKE THIS PAIN AWAY!”
A confused Nicodemus, a discouraged guilt ridden woman, a man disabled all his life, and now the death of someone Jesus loved. Each story in Lent has Jesus facing an increasing amount of pain-and increasing challenges to faith. That is what has happened each week-we hear a story like ours-of someone going through the worst experience of their life-and then they meet Jesus. That has been the Lenten journey each week-from confusion and fear-to the burden of memory and guilt-to physical pain and isolation-to loss and grief. Each week the ante has been upped as Jesus met the overwhelming moments of life-of our lives.
And each week we see the response. Jesus cares. Jesus responds. Jesus weeps.
When we are going through the worst moment of our life we are usually praying for just one thing-GOD FIX THIS, GOD HEAL THIS, GOD TAKE THIS AWAY. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. And there are lots of folks out there who are saying exactly the kinds of things that Mark said drive him towards atheism. But that is not what we hear this Lent. That is not what we hear in these stories.
Jesus doesn’t say, let me take away your burdens, your challenges, your fears, your doubts, your worst moments. I will simply offer you the gift to handle them. That is his answer. To Nicodemus, and the Samaritan woman, to the man born blind, and the to Martha and Mary he always says the same thing-I will give you the faith and the strength to face this moment.
That has been the Lenten journey. That has been the Lenten message. Not the removal of our pain-but the faith and strength and hope to face and defeat it. The worst moments in our lives are the chance for the best moments in our faith. That is not easy. We don’t want more strength. We just want the awful worst moment to go away. But that is not what Jesus comes for, that is not his message this Lent. This is what Jesus teaches and shows: The worst moments in our lives are the chance for the best moments in our faith. Do you believe, each week Jesus asks someone in pain-and when they answer yes he responds-then you have what you need for this trial.
Deacon David Shea writes:
Death is not just a grave in which our caskets are placed. Many of us die and still live. We can all name the tombs in which life places us—the sickness that holds us captive, the graves we dig for ourselves, the problems and situations that are beyond our energies and abilities, the awful pain inflicted on us by the cruelty of life.
Where is God when people feel dead? When hope has been destroyed? When human limits are exceeded? When we’re ready to throw-in the towel because there’s nothing left to do? Do you believe that God ever withdraws from you and leaves you to yourself?
We all face death—the deaths of those we love that powerfully remind us of the finality of death and the terrible wrenching and emptiness of our lives. But we also face death if we lose our jobs, if our marriages fail; when we struggle with addictions, flunk out of college, give up plans to get married and have children, get wrapped-up in ourselves, and allow hate and resentment to control our lives. Today’s readings show us that God never abandons us at our graves— Deacon David J. Shea, D. Min.

Seeing is not believing

Sermon-Year A-4Lent-March 2, 2007
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
This is what I call a “buffet” sermon. It’s got a little bit for everyone.
Ok, how many of you wait for the joke every week in the sermon-raise your hands. Two guys, a Chinese guy and a Jewish guy are eating dinner at a restaurant. All of a sudden, out of nowhere the Jewish guy gets up, reaches over and smacks the Chinese guy knocking him across the room. The Chinese guy gets back in the chair and asks, “what was that for?” The Jewish guy answers, “Pearl Harbor!” The Chinese guy says, “that was the Japanese! Not the Chinese!” The Jewish guy says, “Chinese, Japanese, Burmese-they’re all the same to me.”
So they eat for awhile longer until out of nowhere the Chinese guy gets up, reaches over and knocks the Jewish guy knocking him across the room. The Jewish guy gets back in the chair and asks, “what was that for?” The Chinese guy answers, “The Titanic!” The Jewish guy says, “The Titanic! I didn’t have anything to do with the sinking of the titanic!” Whereupon the Chinese guy says, “Goldberg, Friedberg, iceberg-they’re all the same to me.”
Ok, how many come to hear the bizarre and little known church history that I sneak in every week? (raise you hands)
Ok, the 4th Sunday of Lent every year is known as Laetere or Mothering Sunday or Rose Sunday.
Laetare Sunday from the Introit at Mass, "Laetare Jerusalem" ("O be joyful, Jerusalem"), is a name often used to denote the fourth Sunday of the season of Lent in the Christian liturgical calendar. This Sunday is also known as Mothering Sunday (in England) which originated from the practice of visiting ones mother church annually, this meant that most families would be reunited on this day. Young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families.. It’s also known as Rose Sunday- Historically, it was the Sunday on which popes blessed ornamental golden roses that were then given to churches, Catholic rulers, and others in recognition of their loyalty to and support of the Church. The fourth Sunday in Lent, when the Pope blesses the “Golden Rose.” He dips it in balsam, sprinkles it with holy water, and incenses it.
The fourth Sunday in Lent, when the Pope blesses the “Golden Rose.” He dips it in balsam, sprinkles it with holy water, and incenses it. Strange as it may seem, Pope Julius II., in 1510, and Leo X. both sent the sacred rose to Henry VIII. In 1856 Isabella II. of Spain received the “Rose;” and both Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, and Eugénie, Empress of France, were honoured by it likewise.
How many of you wait for the theology part of the sermon?
There was a man born blind. That’s how the story begins. They call this story, a 6 act play. It starts with the man born blind. And then goes through several different scenes as the neighbors try to figure out if this is the same man, the parents are asked if this is really their son, and the Pharisees try to explain his affliction away. They can’t. Jesus is not present in most of the story. He heals the man, and then for 30 verses we see the man working through what the healing means. John the gospel writer loves doing this-saying to us-“See, this blind man is you-and you-and you! The man born blind ends the story by confessing Jesus-but losing everything. He loses his family, his town, his livelihood (he was a beggar),even his religion. Now he can see, but he has nothing else. Early Christians would have heard this story and identified with it. It also cost them a lot to follow Jesus. There is a book called, “Revelation” by Peggy Payne. It tells the story of a Presbyterian minister who receives a revelation from God one afternoon while grilling steaks in his back yard. The revelation changes his life-he is never the same afterwards. This is how the book opens. The rest of the book is about how the congregation pays for free psychiatric care for him and a long term administrative leave.
The story begins, There was a man born blind. And with his healing comes a terrible reality-he receives his vision-but loses his life.
I’ll call this last part, because it has been so identified with his campaign, the Obama part of the sermon-the part about hope. How many listen to the sermon for this?
This long story is about who we choose to be. Just like last week. Remember the story about the woman at the well? She was a woman who carried a lot more than the bucket to the well, but she chooses to begin living free from her past. The man who was born blind was healed of his blindness, but then he had to choose what a seeing life would be like- the Rev. Sister Judith Schenck: All of us are born blind in one way or another. Some of us have blindness of body: a crippling disease, cancer, diabetes, or bad bones. Some of us have blindness of heart, and that is a terrible blindness. …What kind of blindness lives inside you……
Theologian Marcus Borg writes: The word “believe” in the original Greek and Latin at it’s root means, “to give one’s heart to”. The heart, therefore, is the deepest center of the self….It is the place of the unwritten law where the Spirit longs to dwell.”
The neighbors could see, but didn’t believe it was the same poor blind beggar. The parents could see, and recognized that it was their son-but were so afraid of losing their life, that they looked the other way. The Pharisees could see, but were so locked in to what they already believed that they chose only to get rid of that they didn’t understand. The man who was born blind, received his sight but he wasn’t really healed until he started to believe. The stories from John in Lent are about making a choice. Like Nicodemus, who comes in confusion to ask who Jesus is, Like the woman at the well who is carrying around her baggage, or the blind man who has to lose everything-we face who we are-the first step towards freedom-and then we’re given a choice. To be a follower, to believe is “to give one’s heart to” this savior. It is a tough decision-a painful choice-because it means turning away from all the blindnesses in our lives. Not just seeing, but believing. In fact, that’s what I was going to title this sermon-seeing is not believing.
There is a difference between seeing and believing. Last week the woman heard who Jesus was , a gift, but deciding who he was –that was a choice. This week the blind man sees who Jesus is, a gift, but believing, giving his heart to him-that was a choice. That’s what we hear all through Lent-all the ways people learn who Jesus is-but that is not believing. Seeing is not believing. That is what we hear today. Giving our hearts to someone-that’s believing. That’s what the good news is all about.


John 9:1-41
9:1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
9:2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
9:3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.
9:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
9:6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,
9:7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
9:8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"
9:9 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."
9:10 But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"
9:11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."
9:12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
9:13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
9:14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
9:15 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."
9:16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.
9:17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet."
9:18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
9:19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
9:20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
9:21 but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."
9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
9:23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
9:24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner."
9:25 He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
9:26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
9:27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"
9:28 Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."
9:30 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.
9:32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
9:33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
9:34 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.
9:35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
9:36 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."
9:37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."
9:38 He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.
9:39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
9:40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
9:41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.